Anyone who follows the travails of the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui knows that they have a difficult time with their Mayor. No doubt they were thinking about this last Thursday on the anniversary of another Wanganui Mayor’s altercation with the arts. That day, in 1920, in his mayoral office, Wanganui Mayor Charles Mackay shot poet D’Arcy Creswell. Creswell survived, Mackay was imprisoned, and you can read the grisly details here. The Sarjeant Gallery was further connected to this event when Mackay’s name was removed from the Gallery’s foundation stone. It was reinstated in 1985.
Image: gratuitous picture of two bullets.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A few days ago in history
