Postcard that made its way back to Dunedin home after 116 years

By Radio NZ - Nine to Noon | Posted: Tuesday Apr 21, 2026

A postcard featuring two wahine by a river was sent from Dorothy Theomin to her cousin Allison Hallenstein, of the Hallenstein retail dynasty, in 1910 during her travels in the North Island.

Dorothy's family home was Olveston, the stately home that's one of Dunedin's top tourist attractions, and which she gifted to the city after her death in 1966. What makes it so special is there's little of Dorothy's letters or diaries that were left. The postcard was returned to Olveston from an Auckland collector. To explain about its unusual journey home Kathryn is joined by Olveston's manager Jan Davies.

More here: The postcard that made its way home to Dunedin after 116 years | RNZ