Large-scale exhibition prints taken during the last year of the war poignantly illustrate some of these efforts at self-reliance. The photographs are displayed with examples of handwork carefully crafted by soldiers recovering in hospital, and returned veterans whose disabilities made it impossible for them to hold down full-time jobs.
Road to Recovery was conceived as part of Te Papa’s four-year Conflict and Identity programme. It draws on research undertaken for the Te Papa Press publication Holding on to Home: New Zealand Stories and Objects of the First World War, by Kate Hunter and Kirstie Ross.
Tour schedule