Be Our Guest entry: Letter, Valmai Single
Maker
Single, Valmai
Object detail
Brief Description
Letter to the Be Our Guest competition by Valmai Single (nee Crabtree). She writes about her memories of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. Titled: Memories of February 3 1931 and after (as clear as if it were yesterday).
Valmai Single was aged approximately five and a half on 3 February 1931. She was in Primmer (Primary Class) One at Hastings Street School in Napier. Her class had been kept in by the teacher at playtime, and were sitting at their desks with their hands on their heads when the earthquake struck. Valmai remembers saying to look at the power poles as they were swaying, before they felt the actual movement of the earthquake. A girl in her class had her arm broken by a falling blackboard. Valmai remembers feeling unafraid but interested in everything going on around her. She began to walk home.
Her family lived at 28 Marine Parade, Napier in one of the houses now known as the Six Sisters. She had an older brother Keith and younger twin brothers Trevor and Vernon. She also had at least three other older brothers and an older sister. The family took belongings and set up their tent on the beach, over the sea wall. Their piano was also recovered and sat on the footpath by the seawall. Once it was clear that the fire would not affect their house, they returned everything back inside. They went to Palmerston North in her father's truck, stopping at Woodville. Valmai still has a pottery bowl given to her by a Danish gentleman from Norsewood.
After the earthquake Valmai, her mother and younger brothers stayed at the home of Lady Clausen in Palmerston North, while her older brothers, sister and father helped with cleaning up in Napier. Valmai also had a photograph album with pictures of their family tent erected on the beach but she cannot remember to whom it was loaned.
Valmai Single was aged approximately five and a half on 3 February 1931. She was in Primmer (Primary Class) One at Hastings Street School in Napier. Her class had been kept in by the teacher at playtime, and were sitting at their desks with their hands on their heads when the earthquake struck. Valmai remembers saying to look at the power poles as they were swaying, before they felt the actual movement of the earthquake. A girl in her class had her arm broken by a falling blackboard. Valmai remembers feeling unafraid but interested in everything going on around her. She began to walk home.
Her family lived at 28 Marine Parade, Napier in one of the houses now known as the Six Sisters. She had an older brother Keith and younger twin brothers Trevor and Vernon. She also had at least three other older brothers and an older sister. The family took belongings and set up their tent on the beach, over the sea wall. Their piano was also recovered and sat on the footpath by the seawall. Once it was clear that the fire would not affect their house, they returned everything back inside. They went to Palmerston North in her father's truck, stopping at Woodville. Valmai still has a pottery bowl given to her by a Danish gentleman from Norsewood.
After the earthquake Valmai, her mother and younger brothers stayed at the home of Lady Clausen in Palmerston North, while her older brothers, sister and father helped with cleaning up in Napier. Valmai also had a photograph album with pictures of their family tent erected on the beach but she cannot remember to whom it was loaned.
Maker
Production place
Production period
Production technique
Media/Materials description
A4 printed sheets, typed.
Media/Materials
Measurements
In the Be Our Guest Folder No 2.: Height x Width: 298 x 210mm
Classification terms
Subject person
Subject period
Subject date
03 Feb 1931
Credit line
gifted by Mrs Valmai Single
Other number(s)
m2006/27/123, 35833
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