Interior of Sitting Room, Malvern Hills Station, Canterbury, New Zealand, July 1858

Macmillan Brown Library - Te Puna Rakahau o Macmillan Brown, University of Canterbury, reference: UC/MBL/1670

Artist: [Henry Harper]

Date of work: 1858

Collection: Macmillan Brown Library Sub Collection

Media: Pencil and watercolour on white paper. Cut and mounted on thin cream card.

Dimensions: Actual - 238 x 213 mm

Additional information: Bishop H.J. Harper bought shares in Malvern Station around 1858, and appointed his son Charles as manager. His other son Henry later used Malvern as a base for his work ministering to the station families in the area. The interior view suggests the house was prefabricated, and shows the colonial love for rich red fabrics which enlivened their houses. Anna Peterson notes in ‘New Zealanders at Home’ that the furniture in the room was typical of middle class interiors at this time, being a mix of items imported from ‘home’ alongside makeshift shelves and homemade cupboards.