he National Tapestry which hangs in the House of Parliament is an artistic study of Rhodesian history. The work had its origin in 1946 in a suggestion by Lady Tait, wife of the then Governor of Southern Rhodesia, that the Women’s Institutes of the country should combine to create a tapestry which depicted the cardinal events in Rhodesian history on the lines of the famous Bayeux Tapestry.

he suggestion inspired a group of members to discuss the matter. After much consideration a committee was formed to undertake the project by co-ordinating the work of the various Women’s Institutes throughout Rhodesia. The finished product is thus truly a national evocation of the Rhodesian past.

n all, forty-two panels were designed and embroidered on linen. The Committee stipulated that these panels should show a harmonious uniformity of design, of materials used, of colour shading and of stitching techniques.The different Institutes were first asked to submit sample sketches of an historical event in their districts from which preliminary drawings could be prepared.

collection of drawings was accumulated, and several artists redrew them to make a congruous whole. During this part of the exercise historical facts were carefully checked from old diaries combined with research in the National Archives and the Department of Antiquities. Great care was similarly taken in obtaining likenesses of the figures portrayed and in depicting the colour of their clothing. The drawings then had to be translated into embroidery designs, while border patterns and motifs were collected and accurately delineated.

he finished designs were now traced onto linen, and the appropriate panel was sent to the Institute concerned together with instructions regarding the stitching and shading required, and with a supply of embroidery threads of the correct shades. It was stressed that the panels must show a conformity of design, and that the materials and embroidery forms used should not vary.

inen for the panels was especially woven in Switzerland and donated by a Rhodesian firm. No less than 1 500 skeins of Swiss embroidery cotton, dyed according to the artists’ instructions, were imported.

he Institutes now proceeded to embroider their panels, and although some particularly skilled needlewomen bore the greatest part of this work, the fact that all members of the Women’s Institute contributed to the cost of materials on a pro rata basis allows it to be correctly stated that every member had a share in the project.

he finished panels were meticulously scrutinized for harmony and accuracy; many of them had to be unpicked and embroidered again; thus the original panel of the Mazoe Patrol showed Mr. Pascoe sitting on the wagonette clutching a revolver; to ensure verisimilitude a rifle had to be substituted for a revolver.

hen all the panels had been satisfactorily completed, there still remained a great deal of work to be done in stretching and pressing the embroideries before they could be mounted and framed. For it had been decided not to join the panels in a frieze as in the Bayeux Tapestry but frame them separately. The finished work measures 100 feet in length.

ts design and completion had called for an enormous variety of talents: artists, draughtswomen, historians, archivists and, above all, needlewomen had all made their specific contributions. In addition members of the organizing committee had over the years spent freely of their time and experience in co-ordinating the work of the different Institutes.

hen completed the National Tapestry was presented to the Speaker of the House of Parliament in 1963. Today it hangs in the Members’ Dining Hall where it can be inspected by the public.

he forty-two panels incorporate 5 000 000 stitches and they have captured the essence of Rhodesian history from the earliest times. They represent many thousand hours of work and artistic endeavour by the women of Rhodesia. It is fitting that this great work should have found its home in the building of the country’s Legislative Assembly, and that a copper plate should have been placed nearby which reads