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Featured Book: Harbouring

From the author of Denniston Rose and Heart of Coal her new book, Harbouring, is set amid the NZ Company’s arrival in Wellington and the establishment of the colony there.It is a Welsh family from the foundries who are one of the first to join the scheme of Colonel William Wakefield. This is early Wellington as many stories depict it.  The towering trees and roughly cut roads, shining harbour full of ships and gutsy weather. There is bureaucratic bumbling, land sales a...

Featured Book: Ōkiwi Brown

While this is a story it could be true.  Ōkiwi Brown, is set in the time of, Cristina Sanders other book Jerningham: early colonial Wellington, in all its rough and grubby glory.Ōkiwi Brown draws heavily on historical fact and real-life characters to paint a picture of lives lived on the colonial fringe, away from what passed for ‘respectable’ society in the 1840s and ’50s. Two historically recorded suspicious deaths — first a child’s body found in a stream in 1846, his hea...

Research Award Book Launch 27th November 2021

On a balmy Hawke's Bay afternoon, in the beautiful gardens at historic Duart House, Michael Fowler, Hawke's Bay historian, launched "A Beacon on the Hills"."When Duart was new, it stood out like a beacon on the bare hills of Havelock".It is a new social history of Duart House and the McLeans of Havelock NorthAuthor, Rose Chapman, recipient of the 2018 New Zealand Founders Research Book Award, was a former resident kaitaiki (caretaker and guardian) at Duart House from 2008 to 2013. Rose now lives...

Hawke's Bay Branch Centurians

The first two Branch centurions were celebrated in 2019.Another milestone was celebrated by the Hawke's Bay Branch - two more members celebrated their 100th birthdays in 2021. Audrey Densham's birthday was in July, and Isa Anderton's was in October.Branch Committee members and their spouses took both these wonderful ladies out for their complimentary lunch at The Thirsty Whale Restaurant in Ahuriri Napier.Audrey's lunch was at the end of July, and Isa's at the end of October. Both ladies were pr...

Hereworth Essay Competition

New Zealand Founders Society National President and Hawke's Bay President Mrs Paddy Bayley recently announced the winning entries in the essay competition this Branch of the society has run at Hereworth School, Havelock North. This is the third time Hereworth boys have participated in this competition since 2017.The boys in years 7 and 8 were invited to write an essay entitled 'My Family – A new life in New Zealand'. Participants were encouraged to research family records and discuss the new...

Book Award Recipient, Alan Livingstone, launch of "Te Pahu, A history"

Recipient of the 2020 Research/Book Award, Alan Livingstone launched his book, Te Pahu, A history on 13th June 2021. Former Prime Minister, third generation Te Pahu resident, and former pupil of Te Pahu school, Helen Clarke was on hand for the launch....