Trash to treasure

Victoria University Museum and Heritage Studies student Reuben Schrader has been tasked with working through a collection of ceramics that were dumped in Wellington more than 100 years ago.

The Victorian rubbish pit was recently found under Wellington's Supreme Court site, which has been undergoing major reconstruction.

"When you had rubbish back in those days you'd either chuck it out the back window or you’d dig a hole for it," says Mr Schrader.

"In this case, rubbish was disposed of in the reclaimed land in front of the original Supreme Court. So far amongst the ceramics I've found old ginger beer bottles, toothpaste jars, ink bottles and broken teapots, most of which are cracked or broken in some way."

"These sorts of things are the building blocks of reconstructing Wellington's social history. It provides the evidence that can then be interpreted to show us more of what life was like. I know that the project will give us a more complete database of patterns used here during this period," says Mr Schrader.

"My job is to put ceramics back together where possible, cataloguing each object by type, pattern, and the maker, and taking photos," he says.

Other objects found include mid-to-late 19th century glass, leather, metal, bones and shells, and the full collection is looking for a 'home' at the moment.

 Mr Schrader, in his first year of study towards a Master's of Museum and Heritage Studies, is working on this urban archaeology project as part of a 200-hour work placement at OPUS (environmental planning division), the company that is contracted by the Ministry of Justice to carry out the project.

"The goal of the placement is also for me to learn some heritage and object-handling skills at the same time as getting more experience in a professional environment," he says.

"This placement, and the two more I'll do for during my Master's, broadens my horizons and helps me keep in mind the need to align theory I'm learning with the practice. I'm really enjoying postgraduate study. It's more about my own contribution to the ideas than just what other people said. It makes my work more meaningful and creative.

"My supervisor, Dr Conal McCarthy, is always available to kick an idea around or make some suggestions, and that's proven really helpful a number of times already. Working that closely with a supervisor or lecturer is a big improvement on undergraduate study, when they don't have time to help out every student to that level. It gives me a better idea of what directions I need to head in, plus he can come up with ideas or people to talk to I'd never have known about on my own.

"This particular qualification is about getting and developing skills so I can work in more specialised roles that better fit what I want to do. The nice thing is that in spite of that, there looks to be plenty of variety in this sector, so I won't be tied down to one specialised area."