Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
I N S I D E: I N S P I R I N G A N E W G E N E R AT I O N O F W R I T E R S P4
A whisker away from crisis P3
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Where were you?
1990
Lucy Cooper
lucy.cooper@age.co.nz
On September 23, 1990 – a Sunday, according to Google – a time capsule in a cardboard box was created. Apart from the date, the only other clue to the capsule’s provenance is that it was “put down as part of Childrens Pavement Art Day”. Also, those in charge of the “putting down” process were very clear on when the capsule could be opened. On the front of the modestsized cardboard box, bordered by bright red marker pen is the instruction, “Not to be opened until 2011.” The shifting sands of time worked their strange magic: 2011 came and went, and the
time capsule remained sealed. In fact, where the capsule has been since 1990 is something of a mystery. Becky Bateman, Aratoi’s public programmes and communications manager, was handed custodianship of the box “a few years ago”, she said. “Jo [Torr, collections curator] was tidying the collections room and said, ‘I think this is one for you, Becky’, and handed me this box. ‘I’m not sure what it is, do you want it?’. “I was like, ‘Sure, why not!’” Unsure of a good time to open it, Bateman popped it under her desk for safekeeping. With International Museum Day [IMD] on May 18, this month seemed “as good a time as any to crack open the capsule”, Bateman said. “The IMD’s tagline is ‘unlocking knowledge,’ so it feels appropriate that we are unlocking this box of 1990s knowledge now.” Bateman invited Midweek to witness the unsealing of the
time capsule on May 3. The 34-year-old box is in surprisingly good condition, Bateman said. “It’s survived quite a bit, this box, including the redevelopment of the former Arts Centre in the early 2000s when the Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History was built.” Bateman confessed to feeling “a little nervous and excited” before the un-boxing. “There’s no indication of what’s inside the box, or who put the items in there. It’s a mystery.” The first item Bateman gently pulled out of the box gave a clue as the rest of the capsule’s contents. It was an A4 State Insurance envelope with the following inscription: “TIME CAPSULE 23.09.1990 [the year the gym was pegged out].
Continued on page 5
Becky Bateman holding the mysterious 1990 time capsule.
PHOTO/LUCY COOPER
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