Page 43 - Constructing Craft

pioneers like Jones grew in stature over time. The 1960 article is written in the third

person and presents an overview of the history of pottery in Auckland in which she
pays tribute to the early potters such as Briar Gardner (see below). The 1978

article was written in the first person and was largely concerned with her
development as a potter. It outlined her training in England in the early 1930s, how

she established her studio in Auckland on her return and how wartime shortages
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helped her sales. The telling is simple and does not embellish with a philosophy of
craft. The 1995 article, ‘The Pioneers, Olive Jones 1890 – 1990’ (sic) by John

Parker repeats her life story and adds in the final paragraph:
From the thirties she helped establish a sympathetic climate of
attitude and interest in pottery, which provided a solid
groundbase for the craft revival boom of the sixties. … After
her sudden death in 1983 (sic) at 89, there were still some
leather hard pieces wrapped in plastic by her wheel, waiting
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patiently to be turned and finished for the next firing.

Olive Jones, through her persistence and her position as an early starter became,

like Elizabeth Lissaman, a matriarch of New Zealand pottery.

Olive Jones. Photo: New Zealand Potter.

The other potter who established an early pottery in Auckland was Maria Louisa

Gardner, known as Briar. Gardner’s family had strong connections with the

Constructing Craft