Comments for envirohistory NZ

Comment on The effect of personal memory on environmental consciousness by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:18:11 +0000

” ……its report of 1949 concluded that farming had nothing to do with erosion.”
Incredible! Perhaps there is a little more openness to the possibility of a connection now?

Comment on The “Hautere Turnips” of Te Horo by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:54:14 +0000

Living in the area we have contributed to the history and taken “turnips” form our land to estabish rock walls as landscaping features, including the wall around the “Totara Grove Reserve” sign

Donald & Pat

Comment on The effect of personal memory on environmental consciousness by Raina Taylor (@taylor_raina)

Raina Taylor (@taylor_raina) — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:27:12 +0000

We holidayed on the East Coast the year following Bola – the devastation was unbelievable. Great gouges out of the hillsides, swathes of bush just gone.

Comment on Upper Pohangina Valley farmscape by tessawhiteman

tessawhiteman — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:13:57 +0000

And the women wore white dresses – how DID they manage it? Their lives would have been far harder than anything we could imagine today.

Comment on Upper Pohangina Valley farmscape by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 01:16:48 +0000

The Post Office photo and the long white dresses leave for me a deep impression of the difficulties and contradictions of their situation and efforts.

Comment on Horse anyone? – Exploring the upper limits of the Manawatu by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:39:56 +0000

Very interesting, as usual.

Comment on Cameron Blockhouse: a strategic view of the landscape by Nick

Nick — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:26:03 +0000

For such a small, plain building, it really is spectacular, probably because it is on an amazing site. Because the surrounding area is still all farmland it almost takes you back 140 years. The sad thing is we’ve lost the ability to utilise natural materials like the early settlers and Maori did. Modern buildings are essentially made in factories and alienate us more from the natural world.

Comment on Ashhurst wetland: the restoration of the wetland that wasn’t by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 04:03:46 +0000

Very interesting. More and more community-based activities like this would be great contribution to a sustainable future.

Comment on Dear’s Bush – a rare relic of Manawatu swamp forest by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:57:22 +0000

Yes indeed. A good thought Alan. I don’t think it is the kind of thought this government is capable of having, unfortunately. But the planet needs us to accept new ways of thinking if it is to survive.

Comment on Dear’s Bush – a rare relic of Manawatu swamp forest by Tessa Whiteman

Tessa Whiteman — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:01:05 +0000

This is an inspiration – how love and care for the original landscape can be passed down through the generations. I hope enough younger folk see this for some to step forward and commit to its ongoing care

Comment on Dear’s Bush – a rare relic of Manawatu swamp forest by Alan

Alan — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:11:40 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great to be building up more forest like this all around the Manawatu and NZ? Perhaps our land use rules need changing so that at least a certain percentage of properties needs to be in trees/native bush…? Just a thought!

Comment on Manawatu history talk: Totara Reserve by Nick

Nick — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 07:23:09 +0000

Wow! visited Totara Reserve today, the totara there are immense. Thanks for blogging about it.

Comment on Biophilia as an “environment-sustaining instinct”? by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 21:05:08 +0000

Yes, exactly! It always puzzles, even annoys me that on both radio and TV weather forecasts, they describe the prospect of sunny fine days with positive words while on the other hand the prospect of rain is always described with negative connotations. Anyone with the slightest interest in growing things, especially food, will find this habit to be very unintelligent pandering to the shallowest thinking of listeners.

Comment on Japanese mountain asceticism: a spiritual approach to the environment by Torrey

Torrey — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 03:39:53 +0000

That Japanese whakatauki reminds me of another: “Hokia ki o maunga kia purea e koe I nga hau o Tawhirimatea” or return to your ancestral mountains to be cleansed by the winds of Tawhirimatea. Everyone has a sacred mountain so they must be everywhere! I will have to check out this doco.

Comment on Creating a pastoral world through fire: bush burning in the Manawatu by Sue Stirling

Sue Stirling — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 07:45:35 +0000

This is very informative and is very useful for teaching secondary school students in the local area about their heritage – great way to keep your Ph.D. alive. I finished one in 2006 about geography fieldtrips so know the ups and downs one goes though. Good luck!

Comment on Swamp fires of the Manawatu by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:28:36 +0000

More very interesting history. Thank you.

Comment on The New Zealand love of natives by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:52:43 +0000

Gosh I didn’t know about Pitt Park though I lived there for 30 years. Great work by those people. At least I can say I have chopped out lots of Camelia and replaced them with natives

Comment on Manawatu Estuary: “muddy wasteland” to “Wetland of International Importance” by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:57:55 +0000

Great that it has RAMSAR status.

Comment on The town that lost its river: the sad story of Piriharakeke by Manawatu Estuary: “muddy wasteland” to “Wetland of International Importance” « envirohistory NZ

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 06:37:56 +0000

[...] and the Foxton end of the river became increasingly degraded by siltation and pollution [see also: The town that lost its river: the sad story of Piriharakeke], the river mouth was seen largely as a useless and unattractive wasteland of tidal flats, [...]

Comment on Could blackberry jam have become NZ’s biggest export? by Nick

Nick — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:32:10 +0000

I seriously hate this plant, trying to clear some by hand recently and it grabs onto you at any opportunity because its so flexible. Even the dead stems keep those vicious barbs on them. Give me gorse anyday!

Comment on The fungus, the Chinese trader, and how they helped the Taranaki dairy industry by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:42:38 +0000

That’s a heartwarming story! I went to EGGS (Epsom Girls Grammar School) with Prof Cumberland’s daughter Tanya and we studied geography together. It was in part a forerunner to Envirohistory, I think, looking back!

Comment on Burning New Zealand’s forests by Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:51:37 +0000

Here are some parts from a letter of my grandmother’s great grandfather in Hamama, Takaka dated 1 November 1893 where he writes to a long lost relative back home. He had 11 children. He was the first to drive over the Takaka hill.

My little Estate is 110 acres my own freehold and all that is on it I have about 150 sheep 1 cow 2 horses pigs and poultry.

As I reckon it is the greatest mistake for people to mortagage(sic) their property for the sake of doing things beyond their means. Hundreds are ruined by that in these Colonies I hold my own.

No dread of workhouse here shall raise our anxious fears.
But in our well earned home we’ll spend our latter years,

Now for the weather we have had 21 months wet, wet, wet. It has put every one behind in their working operations we have not been able to burn the felled Bush what you would call the native forest. Black logs & lumber & tree stumps laying in the grass paddocks are wet and sodden we would all be glad with a spell of fine weather to burn up the lumber that is left after the first bush fires I have trunks of trees lying on my sheep run 4 to 5 feet diameter & 50 or 60 feet long these are the size of a good many of the trees we have to chop down their height is with their tops on will reach from 150 to 200 feet and the wood lying on the ground is in many places 12 feet thick and when you see from 50 to 100 acres on fire you can warm yourself without getting very close then we sow it down after the fire with English grasses which grow very quick this is how we have to get our sheep & cattle feed vegetables grows grand in new burnt bush land all among the logs, roots & stumps. We have had too much wet while you have it too dry before you get this letter we will have the sheep shorn and the wool on its way to the London Market it takes 6 or 7 months before we get our wool returns in cash. We send through the Agency of merchants in Nelson so that it gives no trouble it cost about 1½d per lb expenses. I will tell you now the accidents I have meet with. In July 1875 I was knocked over senseless in the bush while rolling logs the windlass chain broke I was picked up like a dead man it disorganized the digestive organs for 12 months I only stopped work a week that time. In 1876 the big bone was split in my left arm just above the wrist that was bad for some time in 1878 a peice(sic) of timber came over on my right leg it was 7 or 8 hundredweight I was on crutches then about 6 weeks from the crush. it was full 2 years before my leg got strong again. the next thing my right knee got a severe blow in the bush which crippled me a long time the same knee has been hit twice in the same place since then 12 months ago it was very bad it is alright now 2 years ago just now I had a very narrow escape of being drowned. I was crossing the river in half a flood. The mare I was riding at the time fell down in the middle of river & rolled over on me I don’t know how I got from under the mare but I was washed over a long fall for some distance down the river before I could get out of the heavy current that was running I managed to get out with a few bruises. had I have got frightened I must have drowned like many I have known drowned in the same way. In December 1891. My young horse got frightened by our dogs fighting close to him while Sidney and myself was putting him in the spring trap to go out for the day. In his fright he bolted. I was caught between the trap & the side wall of the trap-shed I got a severe crush through my chest & shoulders it give the Arterys(sic) a great shaking as it hurled me out of the shed and one wheel went over me Sidney thought I was killed on the spot until he saw I come(sic) to life again. You must need think I must be as hard as an iron pot. I have never ask the assistance of a doctor with all my rough ups & downs I can doctor myself by reading good books and get the very best known patent medicines. use common sense. With care & good nursing a docter(sic) is not much wanted. My motto is just this from Docters(sic) & Parsons & Law. Do all that you can. keep clear of their claw. The medicines I use Hollaways pills & Ointment. Mother Segiels Syrup & pills and other chemicals for illness in general for accidents. I use St Jacobs Oil Elliments Royal Embrocation. and a few other remedies. I had the middle finger torn half off one day among the logs Ellimans Embrocation cured it in about a week. I bought a new spring mattress last autumn it is wove steel wire made in New Zealand it is the most comfortable I ever slept on to rest on.

Comment on Earthquake reveals the forgotten streams of Christchurch by Julie Silcock

Julie Silcock — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 23:25:45 +0000

The name of Marshlands reflects the ground and the council want to make this area into a settlement !!!!

Comment on Burning New Zealand’s forests by Alan

Alan — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 07:58:01 +0000

It’s pretty disgusting really – when will we start to re-forest our lands in a committed way, and not with exotic monocultures?

Comment on Burning New Zealand’s forests by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 22:10:13 +0000

Yes, indeed. A very powerful image but hard to accept the culture which could promote and justify such destruction.

Comment on Welcome to Year of the Dragon: a New Zealand “dragon” story by What has become of the “great naturalists”? « envirohistory NZ

What has become of the “great naturalists”? « envirohistory NZ — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:54:21 +0000

[...] See also: A Kapiti environmental history – Nga Manu Nature Reserve; First day of spring at Nga Manu Nature Reserve; Welcome to Year of the Dragon: a New Zealand “dragon” story [...]

Comment on A Kapiti environmental history – Nga Manu Nature Reserve by What has become of the “great naturalists”? « envirohistory NZ

What has become of the “great naturalists”? « envirohistory NZ — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:54:17 +0000

[...] also: A Kapiti environmental history – Nga Manu Nature Reserve; First day of spring at Nga Manu Nature Reserve; Welcome to Year of the Dragon: a New Zealand [...]

Comment on The fungus, the Chinese trader, and how they helped the Taranaki dairy industry by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 05:38:08 +0000

Fascinating story. Very interesting and good man.

Comment on Christchurch – a city built on buried forests? by The fungus, the Chinese trader, and how helped the Taranaki dairy industry « envirohistory NZ

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 03:36:51 +0000

[...] community, and when he died in 1920, he was fondly remembered as a man of the community. See also: Christchurch – a city built on buried forests? Photo top: The general store that Chew Chong owned in New Plymouth before becoming involved in the [...]

Comment on About by envirohistorynz

envirohistorynz — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:28:57 +0000

Hi Sophie, That’s a good question. When I write posts, it is generally a mix of factual information, and my (or another author’s) interpretation of some historical fact. Either way, I will make reference to the source from which I got the information. These sources are generally academic or other authoritative sites such as Te Ara. On the other hand, where I suggest an explanation for something, but have no evidence for it, I will say so. I hope this answers your question. Cheers, envirohistory NZ

Comment on About by Sophie W

Sophie W — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:28:03 +0000

Hi, I am citing this website for a school assignment and I have to write about why this is a reliable source. Could you please give me some more information about this site and why it is reliable?
Thanks

Comment on Reikorangi: walking the bush tramway (into the past … and future?) by envirohistorynz

envirohistorynz — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 04:37:04 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Anon. I suspected the silence was probably due to the use (or not) of possum control, but it is good to have that confirmed. It is a salutary example of how much damage these critters do.

Comment on Did European settlers loathe the forest? (Part 2) by envirohistorynz

envirohistorynz — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 04:34:16 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts Adelia. It is interesting that more recent immigrants from England still feel this way towards NZ bush. I suspect many of the early settlers also felt this way (pretty from afar, oppressive and gloomy from within). However, the point I am making is that however early settlers felt about the NZ bush (I have no doubt that many did harbour negative feelings towards it), it was subsidiary to the economic imperative to clear it. For one thing, given the back-breaking effort required to clear a farm of forest, with its dense layers of undergrowth, settlers are unlikely to have done it simply because they disliked it; they did it because they felt compelled to, in order to make a living from the land. And because fire was widely used as a tool to clear bush, particularly in the North Island, it was difficult to be “selective” about what was destroyed and what was retained.
The point you raise about regional variation is also an interesting one. My sense here (again, unproven), is that this was more likely to be have been the product of the economic pressures to develop land, than due to some form of regional cultural variation, itself a result of the types of immigrants attracted to certain regions, for example. For this reason, the West Coast of the South Island still has a large number of bush stands and wetlands in its lowland areas. (For discussion of possible regional variation in historical environmental attitudes see: http://envirohistorynz.com/2011/08/28/the-kingdom-of-taranaki-is-there-truth-behind-the-epithet/ and http://envirohistorynz.com/2011/01/04/turakina-does-the-celtic-tradition-live-on-in-the-landscape/ for example.)

Comment on Did European settlers loathe the forest? (Part 2) by Adelia

Adelia — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:27:15 +0000

This is a very interesting idea, and it’s probably a big part of the picture. However, I’m not sure you can dismiss the “fear and loathing” aspect entirely. A friend who grew up in northern England but has lived here for more than 40 years told me the other day that she still finds native bush spooky. We were riding past a lovely patch at the time, and she said that while she could admire it from afar, she didn’t like being in it because it’s so dense and unlike the “proper” deciduous forests she grew up with.
It’s also interesting to ponder why the practices differed in different parts of NZ. Here in Northland, many paddocks have trees in them – either stand-alone exotic or native trees, or small patches of bush (sometimes fenced off, but often grazed), yet in other parts of the country you see paddock after paddock without a single tree.

Comment on Did European settlers loathe the forest? (Part 2) by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 10:52:16 +0000

If there is a better answer to the question as to why they thought it good to inflict such tragic devastation, I have no idea as to what it might be.

Comment on Did European settlers loathe the forest? by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:22:18 +0000

There was also an imperative to get your piece of land productive as soon as possible so an income could be generated. So it is a good point that how the early settlers felt about the bush is irrelevant. Good Youtube clip of a geographer in action

Comment on Did European settlers loathe the forest? by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 23:29:57 +0000

Excellent analysis of the cultural and economic issues involved at the time. I have often wondered how N.Z. might have turned out if, instead of
European migration with a background of pastoral farming, the migration had originated from one or more rice growing cultures.

Comment on The “Hautere Turnips” of Te Horo by History Carnival 111: Environmental History Edition | Stillwater Historians

History Carnival 111: Environmental History Edition | Stillwater Historians — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:22:05 +0000

[...] around us. Some call this ground-truthing. Catherine Knight at envirohistoryNZ takes us on a descriptive and photographic tour through time and Te Horo, New Zealand to understand the origins of the “turnips”. [...]

Comment on Moon over Paekakariki Hill by Paul Knight

Paul Knight — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:01:47 +0000

A great background story in two senses of “background.” I have for years wondered about the sanity of those who decided to clear those hills. Did they not know what the consequences would be? Or did they just not care? Was it because they were mostly from the UK, a country not directly affected by volcanic activity or earthquakes?

Comment on Reikorangi: walking the bush tramway (into the past … and future?) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:01:22 +0000

The real problem is possum control! The Reikorangi Basin is the one area between Wellington and the northern end of the Tararuas that is not targeted with 1080 by DoC or Regional Council. The Regional Council uses 1080 on the Regional Forest Park on the Akatarawa Side, and DoC has a 1080 programme for the rest of the Tararuas every seven years or so. One thing is that now possum fur is getting $130/kg there is active interest in trapping possums up in the valley.

Comment on What is a groyne? (And what’s it got to do with environmental history?) by raydc

raydc — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 05:32:03 +0000

I enjoyed this item very much. The groynes on the Wairau River are many and varied.

Comment on Totaranui: the many totara of Te Horo by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 07:03:29 +0000

The groves are treasures and I hope they will be treated as such. Another very interesting blog.

Comment on The “Hautere Turnips” of Te Horo by tessawhiteman

tessawhiteman — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:18:33 +0000

Could those greywacke rocks have left their own legacy in the soil, mineralising it over millenia and leaving it richer?
They make a beautiful wall that has stood the test of 80 years or so!

Comment on The “Hautere Turnips” of Te Horo by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:36:58 +0000

Another very interesting insight into the past of a familiar place.

Comment on The place of 5000 pennies – Hamurana Springs by Cherry

Cherry — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:41:28 +0000

The local community mentioned is actually a group of people belonging to the Hamurana Springs Incorporated Society who devote their spare time to restoring the area to its former glory.

Comment on What is a groyne? (And what’s it got to do with environmental history?) by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:52:24 +0000

Very interesting indeed.

Comment on When did the moa become extinct? by paulknight35

paulknight35 — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:37:43 +0000

If “The dense inland forests were rarely ventured into” by humans, what else would there be to kill off the moa in such habitats? Their continued existence at that time does not seem impossible.

Comment on When did the moa become extinct? by Lemuel

Lemuel — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:29:55 +0000

Great post! Down here in the South Island there are a few stories of sightings by early settlers. It is hard to know what to take seriously but one likes to think there is some truth to them. Fascinating to hear similar stories from the North Island as well.

Comment on Kimbolton and surrounds – “putting the small man on the land” by When did the moa become extinct? « envirohistory NZ

When did the moa become extinct? « envirohistory NZ — Sun, 13 May 2012 04:29:24 +0000

[...] In a letter to the Feilding Star in July 1908, Mr Thomas A. Bryce, a farmer from Kiwitea (see: Kimbolton and surrounds – “putting the small man on the land”), [...]

Comment on Prehistoric revelations of a Manawatu flood by When did the moa become extinct? « envirohistory NZ

When did the moa become extinct? « envirohistory NZ — Sun, 13 May 2012 04:29:21 +0000

[...] previous post Prehistoric revelations of a Manawatu flood made me curious about other signs of moa habitation in the Manawatu area. I came across an [...]