Central & Western Districts - Postcard Collection of Dr John Alexander Pottinger

Shared by Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive

Central & Western Districts - Postcard Collection of Dr John Alexander Pottinger; part of the Collection from the Pottinger families of Invercargill, Otahuti and Te Anau, plus O'Brien Family, of Sunnyside, Southern NZ. Small collection of Aotearoa Postcards of Whakarewarewa Rotorua, which are believed to have been collected by Dr John Alexander Pottinger MB, ChB 1903 (Edin), FRCS (Edin) 1909, FRACS 1930, of Invercargill: MB - Bachelor of Medicine, ChB - Bachelor of Surgery FRCS - Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons FRACS - Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons We believe these postcards are from the collection of Dr John Pottinger, as he immigrated to NZ and married here in 1911. The two 'Maoriland' brand postcards were released in the early part of the 1900's (we have seen some c1910 and been told others were up to 1920) by Tanner Bros Ltd, Wellington, & the third one shown is slightly different, it appears to have been torn from a book of postcards and was published by H Carew, Bookseller, Rotorua. It is of note that none of these postcards have been used, so they have most obviously been collected, likely while the owner was on holiday or new to the country. Dr John Pottinger was initially practising at Gisbourne on the East Coast from 1908. If anyone has more information, please advise us. IMAGES Postcard 1 - Front & back views, captioned as: "Boiling Mud, Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, NZ, #2864". Made by: "Tanner Bros Ltd, Maoriland Photographic Scenes, Tanner Bros Publishers, Wellington". Postcard 2 - Front & back views, "Keruru & Pohutu Geysers, Whakarewarewa, NZ, #70". Made by: "Tanner Bros Ltd, Maoriland Photographic Scenes, Tanner Bros Publishers, Wellington". Postcard 3 - Front & back views, "Malfroy Geyser, Sanatorium Grounds, Rotorua, NZ. Published by, H Carew Bookseller, Rotorua, NZ." NOTE: all the above cards are loudly labelled as being Made In England and of British origin - there was no such thing as Proudly New Zealand made then! PRESUMED OWNER OF THE POSTCARDS Dr John Alexander Pottinger, son of David & Elizabeth (nee Tait) Pottinger in 1881, grew up in Stronsay, Orkney. He was to qualify at Edinburgh University with a Bachelor in Medicine, in 1903. During WW1, he was Army Captain on the Hospital Ship "Marama". He was to work around the world. Later on he immigrated to NZ set up a medical practice at Invercargill, in Southland, New Zealand. In 1930, his brother, Colonel (Dr) David Pottinger was to also immigrate to Invercargill and joined him with a medical practise in an adjoining street. Dr John Pottinger was to pass away in 1968 at the age of 86. More on both Dr Pottinger's lives and family will follow in these Community Archives soon. COLLECTION DONATION Dr John A Pottinger's effects along with those of his brother, Colonel (Dr) David Pottinger's war & family collections, remain together. Both of them ended up practicing medicine in Invercargill and both families grew up close to each other, often spending time at the family holiday home (crib) at Lake Te Anau. Some of the family lived, worked and brought up their families in rural Central & Western Districts. To keep the family collection together, is is being preserved and shared by CWA Community Archives. Hopefully this entry will be added to as more information comes to hand. If you or anyone you know has any more information or photos to share or accounts of Dr John Pottinger, his wife Helen or their various other family members during the years, please do share this with us in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. Or make contact with us as per the archive front page. Note: these entries are compiled with information provided by donors with the records, from locally reported news, from national and occasionally international reports in publications, from personal records made by the people themselves - such as their electoral enrollments, wills, war records etc., also from government and council held records such as births, deaths and marriages or cemetery information, and lastly, from community memories, such as those passed on by friends, family and contemporaries. It is not always possible to verify memories from others, so please let us know if you believe we have any incorrect information. If you believe that any public or personal record information quoted is wrong, if you can provide proof of any alternative fact to us in a document showing evidence of the correct details, that would be very helpful to us. Thank you.