Remembering Robert Winter (Barney Whiterats)

Remembering Robert Winter (Barney Whiterats) 

While many historic figures buried in the Oamaru cemetery are remembered for their wealth and success some are remembered simply for their strong presence and unique character. This is the case for Robert Winter, a popular swagger in the North Otago area who was most commonly known as Barney Whiterats.

Robert Winter was born in London in 1821. Little is known of his early life although it is believed he was, at periods of his life, a showman in London, a circus performer in the United States and even the basis of the character ‘Short Trotters’ in the Charles Dickens novel the Old Curiosity Shop.

Winters arrived in New Zealand as a seaman aboard the Mariner and abandoned ship at Port Chalmers in June 1849. He began his itinerant life as an entertainer for small children, starting with Punch and Judy shows then moving on to a monkey and organ. However, he was most well known for his shows with trained white mice and a magic lantern, this is how he got the name Barney Whiterats.

Winter was most often seen wandering the road between Invercargill and Timaru, although Oamaru was one of his favourite destinations. It was common practice for Winter to call into schools as he travelled through towns to perform his white rats act to the children for a penny per child.

The white rats show was a series of tricks with trained white mice (or rats) and shadowgraphs of birds and animals projected onto a white screen or sheet. The show was intriguing to small children, as one audience member recalled: “Barney carried out his performance out of sight behind a suspended sheet. The blinds were drawn and he cast moving figures onto the screen with the aid of a lighted candle. These figures appeared to me as rapidly moving mice or rats, but whether they were actually these creatures, I was never able to ascertain”. There was no doubt that Winter was a natural performer, he was even known to give benefit performances for those in greater need.

Robert Winter was a small bearded man with a stoop. He wore a wide brimmed hat, a large coat, well worn boots and swag on his back. His trousers were far too long for him, and as he aged he was seen with a large stick that he used to help him along and he adopted a shuffle. In later life Winter would check into the Oamaru Old Men’s Home to keep himself dry and well rested during the colder months of the year, but when the weather began to improve he would be on the road again.

In 1911, after a long trek in Otago, Robert Winter checked into Victoria Home where he passed away at the notable age of 90. He is recorded as being buried in the Oamaru Cemetery on 12 July 1911 with no headstone to mark his grave.

All information in this article comes from the Waitaki Museum and Archive.

Sources for this article:

• Magee, B (1952) ‘Barney White Rats, Memories of Itinerant Entertainer’, North Otago Museum Archive n. 68975.
• Milburn, K (1998). ‘Winter, Robert (1821-1911) in Southern People, a Dictionary of Otago Southland Biography’, p. 555.
• R.W.T (1984) ‘Colourful Characters of North Otago’s Past, Poor Old Barney White-rats’, North Otago Museum Archive n. 58776.

Written by Shannan Carr, Curator of Archives, May 2009