Cabinet 1: Introduction: Ernie Webber
Typed list of books in Ernie Webber’s collection, p.1. MS-3333.
In Māori tradition the ‘Maero’ were wild, violent men with long, bony fingers and long, dirty hair. Webber, a life-member of the Polynesian Society, wrote articles for the Otago Daily Times and Evening Star on his various tramping expeditions which he signed ‘Maero’, and, as revealed in this exhibition, his scrapbooks are labelled ‘Maero’ or ‘Pamaero’ (perhaps the ‘House of Ernie’). Generally, he applied this name to himself and a group of ‘wild young men’ who roughed it outdoors. Webber was a dedicated collector. He constructed typed lists of the books he owned and included the prices paid. And from the interior photograph, he also seemed to house his books (only a portion shown) well.
Photograph of the interior of Ernie Webber’s house, possibly 50 Seaview Road, Remuera. n.d. MS-3333.