John and Jessie Barr in Auckland: Scots Wha Hae
As posted earlier on Heritage et AL (see the post on 14th April ), John Barr (Chief Librarian at Auckland Public Library 1913-1952) and his wife Jessie came to live in Auckland in the early 20th century. Like many immigrants they remained attached to their home country, Scotland, while also becoming increasingly engaged with the history, life and culture of their new home in Auckland. They were very active members of the Auckland St Andrews Society. As secretary of the St Andrews Society in 1919, John Barr took care of many of the arrangements for the installation of J.M. Mennie’s gift to Auckland of a Robert Burns statue (ref: Auckland Star , 03 May 1919, p.11 ). The statue was installed and unveiled in Auckland Domain in 1921 (ref: New Zealand Herald , 5 November 1921, p. 8 ). Ref: Frederick George Radcliffe, statue of Burns, Auckland Domain, c. 1921, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 35-R142 Jessie performed in the St Andrews Society production of “Bu...