HAZEL WINIFRED JOHNSTON

Interviewer: Stephanie Herring

Abstracter: Linda Cooper

Interview date: 24 FEBRUARY 2011

TRACK 1

00:00 Interview identification

00:32 HAZEL WINIFRED JOHNSTON, born 14 January 1931

00:45 Interview agreement

01:32 Interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] states that focus of interview is on early history of GORE AND DISTRICTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY]

01:43 Born youngest of five children - eldest sister married in 1942 to air force man [ROYAL NEW ZEALAND AIR FORCE, RNZAF] before he was sent to GUADALCANAL

02:04 Next child was a brother who did a lot of SWOTTING [EXPRESSION] to prepare for enlistment in SECOND WORLD WAR - [EDUCATION] brother had no secondary education and was assisted in studying by an accountant who lived nearby - [MILITARY SERVICE] brother joined RNZAF - spent one month at ROTORUA - had all his teeth removed there - came home for three days before being sent to CANADA for full training

02:56 [EMPLOYMENT] first sister had been dentist’s helper [DENTAL ASSISTANT] - [WAR WORK] was MANPOWERED to a WOOLEN FACTORY in DUNEDIN

03:19 [EMPLOYMENT] Next sister when aged about 15 or 16 worked at DAVIE BURN’S CAKE SHOP [sp?], on site of present-day CAPRI [CAPRI RESTAURANT - CAPRI BUILDING] - only about one-third the size - all the baking done in the back of the shop and sold in the front - sister loved baking - [WAR WORK] sister got MANPOWERED to the CREAMOATA MILLS [FLEMINGS CREAMOATA MILL] in GORE - did not particularly like it

04:03 [SECOND WORLD WAR] Self was age nine when war was declared - next brother would have been 13 or 14 - [VOCATIONAL EDUCATION] he left home at age 15 for ELECTRICIAN COURSE in INVERCARGILL

04:32 [DEATH AND DYING] Mother died suddenly from a BLOOD CLOT in January 1943 - sister had married in September 1942

04:48 [EMPLOYMENT] Father was an ELECTRICIAN working at a SUBSTATION in CHARLTON ROAD - their home was at lower end of CHARLTON ROAD, about a mile from SUBSTATION - it was a very rough and gravelly road at that time - very few houses, only about three other homes between theirs and the substation - this suited her father fine - was the reason he bought that section

05:23 [ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY] Father was a FAULTSMAN at that stage - previously he had been putting power into the streets in DUNEDIN - [HUMOUROUS STORY] father used to joke that he had put power into ‘every street’ in Dunedin, referring to EVERY STREET

05:55 Father had a wife and three children by then - [RURAL LIFE] they wanted a bit of acreage for the children to play in and be brought up as country children - [LAND ACQUISITION] bought four acres at lower end of CHARLTON ROAD - father bought another 16 acres covered in rough temuka halfway between home and substation - gradually cleared it - [SMALL-SCALE LIVESTOCK FARMING] a good excuse to have a few SHEEP and HORSES - father loved the country life, too - he passed his land every day on the way to the substation - work schedule was 10 days on and 4 days off - during those four days father would work on his section

06:59 [DEATH AND DYING] Next elder brother was still living at home when mother died - he was away helping at a THRESHING MILL out in the FERNDALE area - someone told him his mother had died the night before and he’d better take a bike and bike home

07:40 Only self and father lived at home after that - [EDUCATION] brother decided soon after mother’s death to leave high school - most important thing for him at school was RUGBY - [VOCATIONAL EDUCATION] he was interested in ELECTRICITY so he went to do the course in INVERCARGILL

08:06 [EDUCATION] [GORE, N.Z.] Self attended GORE MAIN SCHOOL followed by two years at GORE HIGH SCHOOL - was quite happy at school

08:26 Once mother died, the idea of education went out of head - [HOUSEWORK AND CHORES] had to get up at 6 o’clock to help make lunch - had breakfast together with father before he went off to work on his bike - self would bring in and milk the cow, separate milk from the cream - make preparations for evening meal - make lunch - quite a lot for a teenager - carried on until leaving home after marriage

09:30 Memorable teachers from GORE MAIN SCHOOL included MISS PAULA on CROMBIE STREET - inevitably would run into her on the corner - was terrified of her on school premises - she would “take you by the shoulders and give you a jolly good shake” - they would have conversations

10:00 [PERSONAL ANECDOTE] Mother died on January 30, the Saturday before school was scheduled to start - FUNERAL was held on Sunday afternoon, the day after mother’s death - allowed brother-in-law on final leave to be there to support eldest sister - Dad and sister took self into town to get NEW SCHOOL SHOES - went to school the next day, on Monday - ran into MISS PAULA, who said something like, “Oh you have been having such an exciting weekend” - to this day, self puzzles away about the meaning of “exciting”

11:03 MISS PAULA was INFANT MISTRESS at GORE MAIN SCHOOL - quite a lady - used to ride her MOTORBIKE from CROMBIE STREET to CROYDON and back when she was teaching in CROYDON - unique for that period, around 1935–36 11:35 This was 1935 - TEACHER’S COLLEGE closed down due to GREAT DEPRESSION - TEACHER SHORTAGE meant that students who should have started school in 1935 started in 1936 instead - double year, all starting at the same time - a great big group - made it hard for schools to know what to prepare for - instead of one room per class, students were divided into groups A and B

12:32 Memorable teachers from GORE HIGH SCHOOL include SCIENCE TEACHER NORMAN HAMILTON - also MISS WINNIE HURST [WIN HAMILTON] - she taught FIRST YEAR ENGLISH and later married NORMAN HAMILTON - he taught SECOND YEAR ENGLISH in fourth form - self learned far more from them in later years working alongside them at [GORE HISTORICAL] MUSEUM

13:30 [GRIEF AND BEREAVEMENT] was suffering from all sorts of things like shock [from mother’s death] - life was so different from anybody else’s - became friends with another girl whose mother died during high school - remained in communication ever since

14:10 Aftereffects of mother’s death included LONELINESS, a whole lot more HARD WORK, having to PREPARE MEALS and so forth - learned to MEND and SEW a lot earlier - a lot more responsibility than kids with both parents running the household

14:45 [EMPLOYMENT] After just two years in high school, entered work as OFFICE GIRL at SMITH & DOLAMORE’S [BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS]

15:00 [End of Track 1]

TRACK 2

00:00 [EMPLOYMENT] Found out about position at SMITH & DOLAMORE’S through father - he may have inquired about a job for his daughter while there on other business concerning mother’s death - left school willingly - really wasn’t progressing well in school - nobody there understood situation and how difficult life was (with household duties)

01:00 [ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY] SUBSTATION workers lived or stayed in houses built nearby - father stayed in SINGLE MEN’S QUARTERS when on duty - when anything went wrong and people lost power, a bell would ring - single men’s quarters still there, separate from houses and substation - father had to stay until next person came on at 6 or 7 a.m.

01:47 At night, for something to do, would ride bike up to substation and make father’s bed - he had hurt his shoulder and this was difficult for him - self would drop by with NEWSPAPER, stay for a while, and then go home

02:12 [EMPLOYMENT] Duties as OFFICE GIRL included ADDRESSING ENVELOPES and a little TYPING - there were two typists - [HEATING] also had to keep fire going in big STOVE - turned into a DIESEL BURNER by the time she left - [TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS] little TOMAHAWK would get so blunt - she would go along to MACKENZIE’S GARAGE on MERSEY STREET, close to where NATIONAL BANK is - he was quite a character and would ‘give her a lot of cheek’ about breaking up the concrete in the bottom of a big WALK-IN SAFE with huge doors where they had to cut up wood or break up coal for the fire - didn’t do the tomahawks any good

03:33 Job provided great company - [LEGAL PROFESSION] at that stage solicitors included E.C. SMITH, father of HALLAM SMITH, and MR DOLAMORE [A.L. DOLAMORE] - they were the first ones - HALLAM SMITH came back from the war around 1946 and became part of the business - never changed the name (of firm), was always SMITH & DOLAMORE - E.C. SMITH died first and MR DOLAMORE left the business about six months afterwards - he joined another office doing similar things with DEEDS AND WILLS and things - he kept office near SOUTHLAND HOTEL on MERSEY STREET until he fully retired

5:00 HALLAM SMITH’S brother RALPH SMITH also came back from the war but stayed only about six months - RALPH SMITH then married a CHRISTCHURCH girl and went off to CHRISTCHURCH

05:15 Liked the job - was able to witness WILLS - a lot of “tripping around” [EXPRESSION] to the other solicitors with clients to have AFFIDAVITS sworn - cost was ten shillings, with each firm paying half - [HUMOUROUS STORY] MR BANNERMAN [RONALD BANNERMAN] didn’t agree with that - “he always wanted to toss you for it” - every time he ended up paying the whole lot

06:25 The war was over by then - [SECOND WORLD WAR] recalls the day war ended, someone gave her a bag of LOLLIES - they hadn’t had SWEETS for so long - her mouth and lips were all swelled up - her body probably had a much better DIET while the war was on - just didn’t know when to stop eating the sweets

07:05 [MARRIAGE] Married ALEC (ph) [ALEX JOHNSTON] in 1952 - worked up until marriage - after SMITH & DOLAMORE, worked at MALLOCH’s [ACCOUNTING FIRM] for about a year - much the same type of work - firm sent out ACCOUNTS to BUTCHER SHOPS and little COUNTRY SHOPS

07:40 [RURAL LIFE], [MAITLAND, N.Z.] Moved to FARM of husband’s family upon marriage - couple had COTTAGE put on the farm property at MAITLAND

07:58 Transition from working life to married life was busy - [JOHNSTON FAMILY] ALEC’S PARENTS still lived in farmhouse down on the main road - couple lived up a side road - ALEC had his own track to get to main farmhouse

08:22 [TELECOMMUNICATIONS] at that time you couldn’t get a TELEPHONE - 13 people already on the line, no way to add any more - ALEC (ph) [ALEX JOHNSTON] set up a TELEPHONE LINE along the fence to enable calls between farmhouse and cottage - still had no telephone at time of father’s death in 1955

09:30 [COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS] involvement in community groups included COUNTRY GIRLS [NEW ZEALAND FEDERATION OF COUNTRY GIRLS' CLUBS] - group had members up to age 30 - has a very attractive brooch given upon retirement from group at age 30 - COUNTRY GIRLS was sister organisation of YOUNG FARMERS [NATIONAL FEDERATION OF YOUNG FARMERS' CLUBS] - farewell brooch was probably chosen by JEANETTE McINTYRE, who has very good taste

10:45 [COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS] COUNTRY GIRLS group was a way of getting to know other people in the country with similar interests - [HOBBIES AND CRAFTS] flowers, flower arranging, choosing flowers or bushes for garden, preserving - preserving important this year as well

11:26 [GORE, N.Z.] On the subject of GORE AND DISTRICTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY], interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] notes that society had first meeting in November 1969 - self saw notice in newspaper and thought it would be interesting - WIN HAMILTON and NORMAN HAMILTON were great fun - you could learn in a very good situation, much better than school - had not associated with them since leaving school - they just had a great lifestyle - not sure when they got married

12:59 (Before formation of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) there was no meeting place to gather on that level and discuss topics of historical interest - after first meeting, it became a takeover of the SENIOR CITIZENS [EARLY SETTLERS] [GORE AND SURROUNDING DISTRICTS' EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION], which was having trouble getting officers - [EARLY SETTLERS] members were keen on BUS TRIPS but had little interest in leadership

14:07 EARLY SETTLERS [GORE AND SURROUNDING DISTRICTS' EARLY SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION] had been using two rooms on the east side of the OLD HIGH SCHOOL beside the river - [HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS] there were beautifully framed family PHOTOGRAPHS and loads of CROCKS - at first meeting WIN [HAMILTON] said the crocks all badly needed dusting - all sorts of ledges above cupboards, quite high - corridors were all full of OLD SEWING MACHINES and WASHING MACHINES - recalls WORK DAY spent in room with old photographs and crocks now displayed in museum

15:00 [End of Track 2]

TRACK 3

00:00 on that work day, self was allowed to climb up the ladder and dust the crocks - [laughing] thought that was a real honour to be trusted with those crocks of every shape and size - got to know about the crocks - own family had had crocks at home

00:27 Mother always had a crock containing a “VINEGAR PLANT” [MOTHER OF VINEGAR CULTURE] - looked just like a JELLYFISH - once a year mother would lift them out - all sloppy, slimy - they were layered and had to be torn apart and divided - unfortunately never found her recipe - knows she boiled up a lot of brown sugar and fed them on that - doesn’t know what else she put in - occasionally has found stuff grows at base of an old vinegar bottle - wishes could find out how mother did it, for the fun of it - could never find the details and nobody seemed to know - recalls going to CARTER BEACH on the WEST COAST and seeing JELLYFISH everywhere - took self back to mum’s “vinegar plant” - a brown almost opaque colour

02:27 Members [of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY] would agree on an afternoon to hold a work day - self did dusting - not sure what others did - this went on while group was in that building - not sure how long they were there

02:56 When NEW FIRE STATION was built, [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY] was invited to move into OLD FIRE STATION to use as museum - (shows photo taken in 1995) - interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] remarks that move to OLD FIRE STATION might have been in 1984 (?)

03:44 (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) was in operation in 1982 - (shares photos from CENTENNIAL of GORE A&P ASSOCIATION) - describes photo showing HOWARD ADAMS and self in PIONEER DRESS - describes photo showing WIN HAMILTON and self playing around with wooden PENNY FARTHING (HIGH-WHEEL BICYCLE) given to museum by MR CROSS - dressed in period costume during the few days of the show

05:03 WIN (HAMILTON) was prepared to launch into anything and everything - (her attitude was) “let’s get publicity” - “you can’t get them to come, but if you can go out to people and they see that you’re active and doing something…”

05:26 Prime movers [of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY] besides NORMAN HAMILTON and WIN HAMILTON included BILL AND KITTY MACNAMARA - always present at meetings - not sure whether KITTY (MACNAMARA) was ever president - WIN HAMILTON was always quite happy to be president - JEAN SMITH [wife of HALLAM SMITH] was the other president - that covered many years

06:14 (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY members) were very silent workers - each member would take a turn at opening up museum, unlocking it and having it open for visitors - no memory of open days for MUSEUM at earliest location - museum’s open days began after moving to OLD FIRE STATION - open almost every afternoon, weekdays and certainly Saturdays and Sundays

07:16 Interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] notes that in its first year, (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) MEMBERSHIP was 181 and dropped to around 100 over first 10 years - self unsure whether these were regular attendees of meetings - many probably wanted to be financial members - meetings with a prominent GUEST SPEAKER might have 60 attendees

08:16 ROOM MEETINGS (of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) could have THEMES like ‘bring along something your grandmother gave you or that’s very old’ - things gave attendees something to talk about - some members did not want to talk at meetings - but if they bring along something important to them like a picture, “they’ll open up and tell you quite a lot”

09:09 Local history information was shared at ROOM MEETINGS - one person might recall SCHOOL TRAIN TRIPS from WAIKAKA to BLUFF - others would join in with own memories - recalls FIELD TRIP around 1960 taking train from WAIKAKA to WYNDHAM - trip possibly organized by churches

09:59 MINUTES were kept of (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) COMMITTEE MEETINGS - ROOM MEETINGS may not have been recorded but were discussed at committee meetings

11:18 One highlight of (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) FIELD TRIPS and ROOM MEETINGS was a good field trip to GOLD-DIGGING area of WAIKAKA

11:39 Even own family farm had CHINESE (GOLD MINERS) living on it - their hut had two big (GUARDIAN) STONES at door to keep ghosts away - even at time of marriage in 1950, stones remained in the ground in the same place

12:25 Interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] reads from minutes of (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY’s) inaugural meeting: object adopted at first meeting stated as “the preservation of records and articles of historical interest and a fostering of interest in the history of the district”

13:05 [ACQUISITION OF ARTIFACTS] As far as collecting things (for museum), group did it through monthly meetings - you “think historic” - thoughts like ‘this would be valuable’ - ‘probably be safer here (at museum) than at home’ - ‘I don’t have any mantelpieces now’ - old homes always had loads of mantelpieces with loads of things on them - what do you do with them when you move to a new place?

14:00 [ARTIFACTS] Many thought of giving items to museum - there were things from places like EGYPT from during the WAR - they were a treasure to people but as they died off, families weren’t very sure what to do with them - own family had a horse’s foot turned into an INKWELL - likely gave it to museum - as years go by, what do you do with these things (of historical significance) - believes inkwell was made by a PRISONER OF WAR

15:00 [End of Track 3]

TRACK 4

00:09 [ARTIFACTS] Other people also would think of MUSEUM as a place to give items to, especially after a death, if family members aren’t interested in them and have nowhere to put them

00:51 [ARTIFACT RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION] NORMAN HAMILTON did a lot of REPAIRS (in capacity as ARCHIVIST) - lots of things needed attention - great with his hands - recalls box of TOYS mostly sent by ALEC’S SISTER when she was NURSING in CANADA - springs had gone - he would take them to bits and do the repairs - have it looking exactly the way it had been - so neat and tidy - old COAL SCUTTLES with a bit of a twist or bend, he would put them right

02:15 No particular memories of DISPLAYS erected in historical society’s rooms for special events - while still living on FARM, was more a MEETING person - took turn having MUSEUM open - not as active as members who lived in GORE

03:25 Moved from farm into GORE in 1988 - 22 years ago

03:40 Interviewer [STEPHANIE HERRING] notes that by 1975 members had to give up meeting in rooms (in OLD HIGH SCHOOL) due to growing collection of items and the difficulty of “seating and eating” and started meeting in CAMERA CLUB next door or in JAMES CUMMING WING

04:15 During its first four years (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) met in OLD HIGH SCHOOL - met in SCIENCE ROOM - then next door in CAMERA CLUB, just inside main door

04:45 (Regarding locations used for STORAGE and MEETINGS once group had outgrown OLD HIGH SCHOOL) not sure, a lot of stuff was brought along - certainly they were “packed in” at the new place - maybe one room was kept as storage at old high school - not enough space at new location for all the old SEWING MACHINES and so forth

05:45 PIONEER COTTAGE donated by WIN [HAMILTON] and NORMAN HAMILTON - [BUILDING REMOVAL AND RELOCATION] they purchased it and paid for it to be shifted - MR GILDER possibly did the work on it

06:21 Was involved in first committee to establish HOKONUI PIONEER PARK [HOKONUI PIONEER VILLAGE & MUSEUM] - recalls photograph of one very cold Saturday morning - men from WAIKAKA were there - BILL MACNAMARA was on that first committee - big meeting was called for that, too - (attendees included) MR BARDSLEY, a grocer from WAIKAKA; BILL [MACNAMARA]; ERNIE [MACMANUS], who sold burners and still lives in EAST GORE

07:39 [LAND ACQUISITION] Committee was looking into whether to purchase area that had been used as RUBBISH DUMP - there was “rubbish in every little corner”

08:08 Was there representing the [GORE] HISTORICAL SOCIETY - MUSEUM and [GORE] HISTORICAL SOCIETY were invited to collaborate by [GORE] VINTAGE CAR CLUB - VINTAGE CAR CLUB wanted to expand and have their own little area [VINTAGE CAR CLUB MOTOR MUSEUM] - that (collaboration) is what has really happened

09:20 Set-up of PIONEER COTTAGE must have involved working through the committee - went ahead so quickly - / [BUILDING REMOVAL AND RELOCATION] didn’t see cottage shifted, but pretty sure saw [MANDEVILLE ANGLICAN] CHURCH shifted

09:45 Helped with setting up of (PIONEER) COTTAGE - [ACQUISITION OF ARTIFACTS] pretty sure almost everybody in [GORE] HISTORICAL SOCIETY donated something - self contributed old cabinet with cupboard in the bottom and two glass doors - probably one of ALEC’s [ALEX JOHNSTON’S] grandmother’s things from the farm

10:35 Donated items were placed on display - everything (in PIONEER COTTAGE) was probably donated by [GORE] HISTORICAL SOCIETY - other people would start to hear about (PIONEER COTTAGE) and decide to donate more things - recalls a child’s COT that turned up at the cottage

11:32 Group would gather to set up cottage - great fun - not a big group, probably just half a dozen people - (unable to recall names, except for) MRS MACDONALD - very active as secretaries and so forth - very willing to give their time - so many have passed on - hard to know what committees they might have been on

12:45 Believes (HOKONUI) PIONEER PARK was outcome of (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY and WIN HAMILTON being approached by (GORE) VINTAGE CAR CLUB

13:19 (regarding move of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY to OLD FIRE STATION in 1984) - didn’t think they had been there very long, but now surprised to see 1995 photo taken there - looking back, it is hard to gauge (length of time)

14:15 Following move of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY to OLD FIRE STATION, went there often in the afternoons - [LOCAL NEWSPAPER] that was when THE (MATAURA) ENSIGN started drifting in - self had been doing it for a fair while then - never did anything like that at the old high school - the first copies of THE ENSIGN must have started coming into their hands as early as 1995 (at the OLD FIRE STATION)

15:00 [End of Track 4]

DISC 1: TRACK 5

00:00 Move (of GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY to OLD FIRE STATION) meant spending a lot more time - knew what had to be done and could do it - [NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES] made notes (from THE ENSIGN) of deaths, dates, birthdates, anniversaries, farewells, obituaries - there were lots and lots of obituaries in the paper - things like names, lots of details - [GENEALOGY] GENEALOGISTS were just settling in, too - it was a great place for them to go to get information from the old ENSIGN newspapers - [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY and GORE BRANCH OF THE NEW ZEALAND SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS] were separate in their organisations but one used the other

01:24 [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY] OLD FIRE STATION had no outside windows - you came in a side door - there was a little room used as an office - [ACQUISITION OF ARTIFACTS] (people in office) dealt with articles that were brought in - great position to attract people walking past - a lot more acquisitions came in, compared to location in OLD HIGH SCHOOL, which was used by various groups - you didn’t know what was behind the other doors - after move to OLD FIRE STATION, you got more people popping in

02:27 [GERMAN IMMIGRANTS] One woman came in seeking information about GERMAN FAMILIES that came to SOUTHLAND - woman had just been up to DUNEDIN but was unable to find information - Self had knowledge about a GERMANTOWN around GORE - offered to take woman home to see book with a story about it - woman came home, had a drink, and took home the book

03:40 It turned out she was originally a TEKOVSKY - [STATE CARE] (she and siblings) had all been brought up in a home - [FARM WORKERS] it turned out her brother had been brought to work on JOHNSTONS’ FARM when he was 15 or 16 - he lived with JOHNSTON family for about five years when children were young - really strange coincidence - here was his older sister trying to “tie everything together” in their family

04:40 After traveling from WINTON (?) to DUNEDIN and being unable to find information, she got all the information she needed right in “GOOD OLD GORE” - woman didn’t think she could find help

05:03 [GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY] OLD FIRE STATION location made (historical) INFORMATION accessible to people - story gives great example of being able to pass on something you had read - information actually came from a WAIKAKA VALLEY book or possibly a MCNAB book - knew there were one or two pages having information on GERMANTOWN

06:06 (regarding how GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY built up its LIBRARY) self donated quite a few BOOKS - [HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS] areas like WAIKAKA, WAIKAKA VALLEY, and MCNAB have always put out magazines - periods of the SCHOOLS probably the biggest reason for them to give detail - CHURCHES as well had their BOOKLETS - different people would speak or write about the HISTORY of whatever they’d been doing - those little booklets are really valuable now

06:45 (regarding how GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION was made publicly available) if people came in and asked about a certain family, you could go immediately and have all the references from the NEWSPAPERS (on CARDS) - you would go to the INDEX and look up the family - you could very quickly get a NEWSPAPER out to show them

07:45 Not sure what prompted (GORE HISTORICAL SOCIETY) to move across the road from the OLD FIRE STATION to current location - was probably not on that committee

08:20 Was not on early committee for (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY - served on the HOKONUI PIONEER PARK committee - went there representing the (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY

09:09 (regarding significance of contributions of HISTORICAL SOCIETIES to town and surrounding districts) very, very valuable, when you see the FIRES that take down BUILDINGS and the changes that take place/ so many buildings lost to history - [ARCHIVES OF PRINTED MATERIAL] (community has) a great deal of INFORMATION in the stored NEWSPAPERS and gathered from BOOKS - written word so important

10:00 [JAMES HERRIES BEATTIE REPRINTS] People found the (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY’s REPUBLICATIONS of HERRIES BEATTIE’S books very valuable and very interesting - people still come asking (for them) - WIN HAMILTON was probably behind it - she could see the books’ value - certainly the books have sold over the years

10:55 [PUKERAU RED TUSSOCK RESERVE] (in regard to (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY’s involvement in preservation of PUKERAU TUSSOCKLANDS) not much to say on this, except they are still there on the way to PUKERAU, if the rushes haven’t grown up around them

11:25 (in regard to COMMEMORATION PLAQUES produced by (GORE) HISTORICAL SOCIETY in its early years) there is a COMMEMORATION PLAQUE where PINNACLE SCHOOL was - remembers going there - no recollection of work that went into it - was done by committee, perhaps with the help of locals - local people may have approached, saying “if we don’t put something there, no one’s going to know about it”

12:20 (in regard to WIN HAMILTON’s role in HISTORICAL SOCIETY) WIN HAMILTON was so capable - she and NORMAN (HAMILTON) both had two college degrees - well-educated people - not sure whether WIN HAMILTON had traveled much - intelligent and had the ‘oomph’ to do it - always saw things through to completion - she and NORMAN (HAMILTON) were a great pair, well-matched

13:52 Recalls arriving at the museum one afternoon - WIN HAMILTON said, “You’ll never guess where NORM and I went this morning” - [HOKONUI HILLS] they had taken a lunch, gone to the west side of the HOKONUIS, and climbed up to the top to get some of the STONES - wanted to examine the stones - brought some stones back

14:32 (WIN HAMILTON) was active in all areas of her life - certainly put her heart and soul into the historic side of things

15:00 [End of Track 5]

TRACK 6

00:10 (on a typical day at the GORE HISTORICAL MUSEUM) had head down reading the (ENSIGN) NEWSPAPERS - unless there was no one on duty - (ANOTHER VOLUNTEER) was always on duty - their role was to answer questions people wanted to know, whatever they’d come for

00:51 Interview concludes

01:11 [End of Track 6]