Olive and Arthur Rhodes ... were a myth.... Steenstra made these vases.

I want to find out more about these competent potters who made ware for Crown Lynn in answer to the Studio Pottery boom.
They only used terracotta clay and used the old tiki and three stars stamp.

This ashtray of John's is typical of their glaze work:

and the base:

To my potters eyes this looks like a Rhodes piece!
Thanks for the photos John.

I found one of these ashtrays in an opshop today
I wouldn't be surprised if this is made from 'New Lynn' clay -
as it is full of unexpected impurities and looks similar to the New Lynn trench clay that I tried.
It looks like it has been handmade ..... there are throwing rings on the inside base ...
and the lower outside and base appears to have been trimmed as that is where the impurities show up.
The colour is the most insipid whishy-washy earthenware colour and has a clear glaze all over.
The piece has been low fired on a three pointed stilt.
The texture around the top is in the same style as all of the Rhodes pieces that I've seen pics of.
The Crown Lynn tiki and three stars stamp is from around 1948 - 1950.

I have tried to find out more about this couple using old Electoral Rolls, but without success.
Today however Ancestry.com.nz has all of the Electoral Rolls available in digital form to search for free. Luckily I remembered about Olive and Arthur, but I have searched every which way I can think of and nothing turns up for a husband and wife with these names ..... anywhere in NZ !! Here is the link which is only free to search for the weekend in case someone else wants to have a go ..
http://search.ancestry.com/Places/New%20Zealand/Default.aspx

Perhaps they moved around a lot and missed the Electoral Roll Registration? But surely they would have been picked up in time.
Another thought is that they used their second names instead of their given names ....?
Or perhaps they were visitors from England and only stayed a couple of years?