Nostalgia Overload: Exhibition Showcases a Career Tied to Sport

A collection of more than 150 nostalgic sporting ties from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s are on display at Te Ara o Mauao Gallery, Windermere campus.

The Graham Hausman Eskay Tie Collection features corporate ties worn by players, referees and team management during iconic sporting events and tours throughout New Zealand's recent history. This includes ties from the 1991 All Blacks tour of the British Isles, All Blacks versus South Africa in 1992, several historic Bledisloe Cup matches and former Telecom Super 12 Rugby games, as well as ties worn by New Zealand cricketing greats; Sir Richard Hadlee, Gary Troup and John Wright.

Former Toi Ohomai kaimahi, Jan Hausman, recently gifted the ties to our institute's creative department. It was her husband, Graham, who designed and manufactured the ties during his career working at New Zealand clothing and accessories manufacturer, Eskay, from 1980 to 2004.

Sadly Graham passed away in 2023, but through this collection his legacy lives, says Toi Ohomai creative tutor, Donna Dinsdale, who curated the display.

"It is clear that Graham's work wasn't just about creating beautiful designs; it was about preserving memories," she says.

"Many of Graham's ties were donated to the Rugby Museum in Palmerston North and the Cricket Museum in Wellington. The remaining ties, which Jan and Graham carefully stored for years, have kindly been gifted and entrusted to our creative department at Toi Ohomai."

Graham's wife Jan was on campus at Toi Ohomai when the exhibition opened on Monday, 17 March. She says working at Eskay for 25 years gave Graham the opportunity to combine his love of sport with creativity.

"While selling fashion and accessories to clothing retailers was the focus of his work, he also designed corporate ties for rugby clubs and cricket clubs and a smattering of golf, bowls, the New Zealand Police and World Cup organisations," Jan says.

"Graham enjoyed meeting with cricket players when they were planning special celebrations, called The Benefit Year, and arranged for the manufacture of their benefit ties. He particularly enjoyed designing the '100 Golden Ducks' tie for pace bowler, Danny Morrison."

The Graham Hausman Eskay Tie Collection is on display at Te Ara o Mauao Gallery (M Block), Windermere until Friday, 28 March. This is an exhibition you won't want to miss!