Now in Northland!
Ten days before Christmas I began the long drive from Dunedin up to the Far North. I’ll be based in sunny Kerikeri until the end of February, during which time I’ll be seeking out farming families, local historians, and others ‘in the know’ about this very special part of the country. Already the cross-currents of culture, geography and history – and rich artistic traditions – are becoming very apparent. Continue reading
Article in Farmers Weekly
This week the well-known rural journalist and writer Neal Wallace published an article about my study in Farmers Weekly magazine. Under the apt title ‘Land Chains’, the article nicely summarised where I am at with the project, and has already elicited an excellent response from rural people around the country. Continue reading
Visit to Taieri Historical Park
Earlier this week I visited Taieri Historical Park in Outram to meet with local historians Neil Gamble, Zelda Matheson, and Sally Hodgkiss. The Park is a wonderful facility run by the Taieri Historical Society. We met in the vestry of the former Berwick Church – one of several historic buildings relocated to this idyllic setting overlooking the Taieri River. Continue reading
In the beginning…
With teaching responsibilities almost over for 2017, I’m thrilled to be at the beginning of six months full-time research. Since the project began in March, I’ve been making great inroads on several fronts – working with land records at National Archives in Dunedin, presenting at conferences at home and abroad, and making contact with descendants of farming families in Taieri and Hokianga.
It is already becoming clear that these are two fascinating districts with surprisingly similar dynamics in the way that communities were formed out of diverse cultures and geographies. This photograph of the scroll plain on the Upper Taieri River is a wonderful metaphor for the integrated and evolving nature of rural communities.
Photograph by Stephen Jaquiery; reproduced with permission from the Otago Daily Times.
