Tomoana Players 1945

Description

The Tomoana Players production of “Jane”, 1945

Back row, left to right: CP Thompson (flyman), Hector L Spence (stage manager), W Lord (musical director), HFN Ayre (mechanist)
Middle row: Alex Kirkpatrick (patron), J Dobson (wardrobe mistress), J Charles (patron), Bob McKay (Claud), EC Spence (makeup), DK McKay (president)
Front row: Charlie Heald (Tipson), Noeline Sparling (Lucy Norton), RJ (Dick) Thomas (Charles Shackleton), Betty Dobson (Jane), ML Moloney (Michael Kershaw), Peg Lines (later Morgan) (Mrs Chadwick) [HBKB – name missing]

“Alex Kirkpatrick was head of Tomoana Freezing Works. At one stage the works was called Nelson’s (NZ) Limited.
Mr Thomas organised all the theatre productions. We played to a full house at the Municipal (“Muni” for short!), Waipawa, Waipuk, also. Altogether we were a very popular group.”   Peg Morgan.

Noeline Sparling and Peg Morgan are 3rd cousins.

Peg, who was born in November 1924, worked as a shorthand typist in the office at Tomoana during her late teens and early 20s, prior to her nursing training at Wellington Hospital. Her father, Percival Anton Lines, worked in the “casings department”. Her experience with the Tomoana Players led to her taking starring roles in Hibiscus Coast Women’s Institute theatrical productions in later years.

[Information from Caroline Morgan and Peg Morgan]