A Letter to the Future Revisited

Published on 20 January 2023

Display of Items from a Time Capsule Packed in 1993

“I hope you are enjoying life on a non-polluted (Earth), complete(d) with ozone layer.”

This was written in 1993 by a then 10-year-old Yvette Fletcher, a resident of Upper Hutt, who signed off her letter with this statement addressed to the people of Upper Hutt in the future. 

The letter formed part of the contents of a time capsule put together in 1993 by the Upper Hutt City Council's Recreation and Community Affairs team. The time capsule was part of our city-wide celebrations in 1993 to mark “A Centenary of Suffrage” in Aotearoa. Contributions poured in from local schools, community groups and individuals.

 Upper Hutt Youth Council; 1993

Silver Haven Social Club; Christmas Celebration; 1992

The capsule was then sealed and kept in the Council’s storeroom with instructions for it to be opened on the 125th anniversary of the suffrage.

On 19 September 2018, Mayor Wayne Guppy opened the capsule, as per the instructions, to a small crowd at The Mall.

The various items found inside the time capsule provided an interesting snapshot of popular culture in Upper Hutt and Aotearoa in 1993. The items were then donated to Upper Hutt Libraries’ Heritage Collection.

At the time of donation, the Upper Hutt Library was in a pop-up space while the central building was undergoing seismic strengthening. This meant there was no space to display the collection, and after being catalogued, the items in the time capsule were stored away again.

That is until last week when the letter, along with other ephemera and photographs from the time capsule, were put on display at Central Library.

The display can be viewed in the Heritage area of the Central Library from now until 28 February 2023.

To browse our photos from our Suffrage Time Capsule collection, please click here. 

To read the stuff article, please click here. 

For more information about the items on display, please contact heritage@uhcc.govt.nz