The Capitol Dome

awash with things and certainly not old things; they were quite rare and unusual and I can remember from the earliest age being fascinated by them. WdG: So it's the very rarity of historical objects. . . . PW: Yes, the objects. There was a sensuality about old things that there wasn't about manufactured goods. Everything was made in New Zealand; there was very little imported. They had an import substitution policy for things that were made. They were well-made and quite interesting, I mean my fa- ther's furniture for example, which now I discover is a cult item because it's that mid-century teak. WdG: So this leads from the comment about New Zealand history: what exactly got you interested in the history of the United States? PW: Well my father was interested in history. He was self- educated and my mom was a "blue stocking." But he was interested in the history of technology particularly, and mechanical things, which I have a passion for myself. But he was also a Civil War buff, which was highly unusual in New Zealand. So he had a grasp of history and he had been in WWII and had gone to Egypt and then fought his way out of Italy after he'd finished fighting in Egypt. He saw history as well as being a part of history. I mean, he saw [the opera] Aïda being done down at the Colosseum, and if you knew the little town my dad came from then, you can't think of anything less likely than an opera. Certainly not Aïda in the Colosseum or climbing the great pyramid, which he did. So he had these very sharp memories because it was recent times to him and by far the most interesting thing that had happened to him in his life apart from marrying my mother. THE PINK AND WHITE TERRACES AT TARAWERA NEW ZEALAND (1886), 24" x 36" oil on canvas The Pink and White Terraces were huge silica volcanic creations destroyed and buried in a huge eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. For a brief time it was one of the wonders of the world and a popular if very remote tourist destination. 32 THE CAPITOL DOME

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