Pottery pioneer remembered
The Elizabeth Lissaman pottery exhibition at the Morrinsville Heritage Museum has been a popular destination for locals.
Its popularity stems from the link to the Waikato town, where New Zealand’s first studio potter once made her renowned pottery.
Around 1966 Lissaman moved to Morrinsville, where she had a custom-built studio with an electric kiln.
Several of the visitors to the exhibition knew Lissaman personally, as she gave lessons on pottery when she was living in the area.
Worker and volunteer of two years, Barbara Dalziel said, “It’s been very popular, and it’s linking well with the pottery they’ve got at the Wallace Gallery.”
The items held in the exhibition were loaned by 16 locals, specifically for the exhibition.
The assortment of mugs, jugs, bowls, and plates have never been seen before locally.
Elizabeth Hazel Lissaman was born in Blenheim on October 11, 1901.
At the time, potter’s wheels could not be bought in New Zealand.
Her father, brothers and friends devised a unique machine using a bicycle chain mounted on a vertical wheel-shaft, a fly-wheel and a plaster-of-Paris wheel head.
She staged her first exhibition in 1927 at the Winter Show in Christchurch.
Elizabeth Lissaman was always helpful to aspiring potters, teaching lessons and weekend schools.
Her book, Pottery for Pleasure in Australia and New Zealand, was published in 1969.
She was also an honorary life member of the New Zealand Society of Potters and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to pottery, in the 1982 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
- The exhibition is open to the public from 1 March – May 20.
- Opening Hours: Tue-Fri: 12.30pm to 4.00pm; Sat: 9am to 2pm, market day only.
