Overview In 1965, as Te Anau faced a surge in population due to two major government construction projects in the district, John Donaldson saw an opportunity to set up his own pharmacy business in the town. A lean-to built onto another shop on the main street was the start of a 31-year tenure as Te Anau's pharmacist during which time he was also involved in the community's first ambulance service as well as its high school and local council. All of these topics are discussed through the interview during...

Overview Brought up on a farm in Canterbury in the 1950s and 60s, Judy was well-versed in the changing seasons of a rural lifestyle. So it was with some equanimity that not long after she married her farmer husband she was ready to leave the rolling midCanterbury plains for the more rigorous climate and terrain of Northern Southland followed by the remote, uncultivated soils of the Te Anau Basin. As new settlers of the Long Valley Block — part of the government's farm settlement scheme in the Basin — in...