| Brief Description |
This black and white photograph shows members of the Wanganui Swankers' Club and their Merry Makers Concert party. They made appearances at functions to raise funds for the war effort. The Merry Makers are posed in a photographer's studio, probably the Tesla Studios in Wanganui, as the backdrop and setting seem to be those favoured by Tesla owner Mark Lampe.
Six men have joined four women to create this concert party and they are dressed for their parts.
Standing left to right: Bill Vernon, Bert Gray, Harold Dyson, Mr Paterson.
Seated on chairs left to right: Elsie Dunbar, Alec Wright, Bertha Brett.
Sitting on floor left to right: (Granville) George Barlow, Mrs Wyson, Miss Forster.
Bill Vernon was on the staff of Senior and Bennett, Butchers.
Bert Gray was a shop assistant in a drapery firm.
Harold Dyson owned a grocery shop.
Mr Paterson was caretaker of St Pauls Presbyterian Church and Manager of the Concert Party.
Elsie Dunbar was a shop assistant.
Bertha Brett became Mrs Margetts.
Georhe Barlow was a printer.
Mrs Dyson was a housewife.
Miss Forster was a music teacher the was the Concert Party's pianist.
The Swankers' Club was formed in Wanganui in 1915 for the purpose of raising funds for Red Cross nurses and hospitals during World War I. It ran until 1929. Swankers, as members were called, had a light-hearted approach to a serious purpose.
After the war, they were very active during the Influenza epidemic of 1918-19. Members continued to raise money for the Red Cross and to establish and maintain the Wanganui-Waitotara Patriotic Society and support a range of other charities. Like the Savage Clubs, Swankers held concerts, Mardi Gras and gala days and were very successful. In June 1925, for example, the Swankers' Club assisted the annual YMCA street appeal, raising £121 2s 6d, which was equally divided between the Swankers' Club and the YMCA.
The word swanker means a dashing, smartly-dressed or stylish man. Swankers wore a distinctive, stylish garb of top hat and tails, usually teamed with formal striped trousers and spats.
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