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Mabel Stainger of the Town of Selwyn 1919 & 1921
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TitleMabel Stainger of the Town of Selwyn 1919 & 1921
DescriptionJean Halliburton and Peter Stainger married in 1881. They settled in Selwyn Town and had a family of six girls and one boy.
Mabel was born in 1891 and wrote a diary in 1919 and 1921, from which this article has been written.
This diary (and the newspaper articles that describe the events extracted using Papers Past) present a fascinating glimpse of life in Selwyn Town and its very close neighbour, Dunsandel.
1919-21 was a time before the first licenced radio station began broadcasting and electricity was not reticulated.
Most of the transport was by train and horse cart for short distances but motor cars were becoming more common.
Some of their visitors would “motor” from Christchurch to visit but more commonly they would come and return by train.
The presence of the railway was of great benefit to the Stainger family to the extent that Mabel was able to travel into Christchurch and return on the same day, just for a single singing lesson.
The local train stopped at Selwyn Station but the express only stopped at Dunsandel and this necessitated a trip to collect or drop off the passengers.
While Mabel worked both in the house and on the farm, it would seem from her diary that her social, religious and musical life occupied quite a bit of her time. Farm work ranged from picking potatoes, checking the animals, to delivering meals to the workers.
With the need to boil the copper for water to wash clothes, washing would be carried out on one day in the week, sometimes depending on the weather for drying, and the day that the washing was done was noted in the diary.
Ironing without electricity was also always a more difficult job than it is today.
The three churches were in Dunsandel and the Stainger family frequently attended services at the Methodist Church.
Mabel had an admirer (Chappie), at the time, who visited often and the evening’s entertainment was often music and cards (often 500).
Music was very important and continued an activity that had started when Dunsandel was first founded in 1872.
Frequently Mabel would go to choir practice in Dunsandel of an evening. Her sisters were also musical with for example, Rene playing the violin.
Socials in the first Dunsandel Hall were a high light with, for example, the Hall and Library Committee running fortnightly events.
The usual format was card playing (often euchre) and a dance following the supper.
1919 was also the time when soldiers were returning from WW1 and welcome home socials were always very crowded.
One of the most surprising things, if you imagine that Mabel’s life was largely in a small village and a nearby small township, is that there are approximately 500 people named in the diary.
Many of these people are named as being visitors or visited people, as social visits were a very common activity in these pre-TV days, often with other members of Mabel’s family.
Mabel attended the Dunsandel School Centennial (1979), and was the only pre-1900 pupil at the event.
Mabel’s Diary is largely short sentences but is very interesting to read to get some idea of what life was like for at least one family around 1920.
The published version is now out of print, but the Selwyn Library has copies that can be borrowed.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date30 March 2023SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationSelwyn Village
DescriptionJean Halliburton and Peter Stainger married in 1881. They settled in Selwyn Town and had a family of six girls and one boy. Mabel was born in 1891 and wrote a diary in 1919 and 1921, from which this article has been written.
This diary (and the newspaper articles that describe the events extracted using Papers Past) present a fascinating glimpse of life in Selwyn Town and its very close neighbour, Dunsandel.
1919-21 was a time before the first licenced radio station began broadcasting and electricity was not reticulated.
Most of the transport was by train and horse cart for short distances but motor cars were becoming more common.
Some of their visitors would “motor” from Christchurch to visit but more commonly they would come and return by train.
The presence of the railway was of great benefit to the Stainger family to the extent that Mabel was able to travel into Christchurch and return on the same day, just for a single singing lesson.
The local train stopped at Selwyn Station but the express only stopped at Dunsandel and this necessitated a trip to collect or drop off the passengers.
While Mabel worked both in the house and on the farm, it would seem from her diary that her social, religious and musical life occupied quite a bit of her time. Farm work ranged from picking potatoes, checking the animals, to delivering meals to the workers.
With the need to boil the copper for water to wash clothes, washing would be carried out on one day in the week, sometimes depending on the weather for drying, and the day that the washing was done was noted in the diary.
Ironing without electricity was also always a more difficult job than it is today.
The three churches were in Dunsandel and the Stainger family frequently attended services at the Methodist Church.
Mabel had an admirer (Chappie), at the time, who visited often and the evening’s entertainment was often music and cards (often 500).
Music was very important and continued an activity that had started when Dunsandel was first founded in 1872.
Frequently Mabel would go to choir practice in Dunsandel of an evening. Her sisters were also musical with for example, Rene playing the violin.
Socials in the first Dunsandel Hall were a high light with, for example, the Hall and Library Committee running fortnightly events.
The usual format was card playing (often euchre) and a dance following the supper.
1919 was also the time when soldiers were returning from WW1 and welcome home socials were always very crowded.
One of the most surprising things, if you imagine that Mabel’s life was largely in a small village and a nearby small township, is that there are approximately 500 people named in the diary.
Many of these people are named as being visitors or visited people, as social visits were a very common activity in these pre-TV days, often with other members of Mabel’s family.
Mabel attended the Dunsandel School Centennial (1979), and was the only pre-1900 pupil at the event.
Mabel’s Diary is largely short sentences but is very interesting to read to get some idea of what life was like for at least one family around 1920.
The published version is now out of print, but the Selwyn Library has copies that can be borrowed.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date30 March 2023SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationSelwyn VillageConnections
CollectionHistory of Town of SelwynOrganisationDunsandel Historic SocietyMore Informationhttps://selwynstories.selwynlibaries.co.nz/nodes/view/5237
OrganisationDunsandel Historic SocietyMore Informationhttps://selwynstories.selwynlibaries.co.nz/nodes/view/5237Attribution
Researched ByMike NoonanWritten ByMike Noonan
Written ByMike NoonanClick on the image to add
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Mabel Stainger of the Town of Selwyn 1919 & 1921 (30 March 2023). Selwyn Stories, accessed 06/04/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5378
