Overview This is quite a lengthy interview easily divided into three parts, Nightcaps, World War II and Te Anau. Now in his eighties, Alf has good recall of his early years visiting the Te Anau basin in the 1920s as well as those first post-war years when he and Thelma chose to live in what was then still a small settlement. Listening through the interview you will hear descriptive details about some of the long gone people and dwellings that first dotted the water's edge of Lake Te Anau.

Abstract Person recorded: Walter George Radford Date of interview: 14 September 2004Interviewer and abstractor: Morag ForresterTape Counter: Sony TCM 939Tape 1 Side A starts005: Opens discussion giving his full name as WALTER GEORGE RADFORD and born in 1919. Adds that he was born in PALMERSTON NORTH and that until he reached the age of four, his family lived in the main street opposite the city showgrounds. They then moved to...

Abstract Person recorded: Robert Alfred (Alf) Excell Date of Interview: 28 July 2004Interviewer: M. ForresterTape counter: Sony TCM 939Tape 1 Side A006: States his full name is ROBERT ALFRED EXCELL and that he was born in NIGHTCAPS in 1920. Adds that he was named after two uncles both of whom were killed in WWI.023: Describes NIGHTCAPS, along with its neighbour, OHAI, as thriving mining towns when he was a child. Says...