To kick this off, they are holding an event and have invited Briar Corbett of Far North District Council and Dr. Georgia Grant of GNS Science to a drop in session to discuss the recent release of sea-level projections and explore what it means for Kororāreka.
[
Many people will be enjoying a tipple again after “Dry July”, an increasingly popular fundraising event organised to support people with Prostate Cancer. And with the growing popularity of non-alcoholic beer and cocktails, more and more people are reducing their alcohol consumption for health and wellbeing reasons, turning to increasingly palatable alternatives.
Back in the day, it was the Temperance Society encouraging people to quit the demon drink. People assume that the Temperance Society was another good work of the Paihia missionaries, but this is not entirely correct. The first move seems to have come from the masters of vessels that called at the Bay of Islands. They were seriously concerned for the well-being of their seamen who were suffering the effects of over-indulgence in over-proof liquor, in some cases even dying of alcoholic poisoning.
They appealed to Mr James Busby the British Resident at Waitangi and the Paihia missionaries and the “meeting to establish the Temperance Society” was the result. Unfortunately, this attempt to promote Peace, Order and Sobriety was not successful, however well-intentioned it may have been. There was, quite simply, no way of enforcing the excellent principles.
Nowhere is this more evident than at a Temperance meeting convened and presided over by Rev. Mr. Hawkes, at the Public Hall, Russell on the evening of Monday 20 August 1883. Those attending were given an account by Rev. Hawkes good work in Auckland of “reclaiming the fallen and winning in about 150 sailors to the Temperance cause and the Blue Ribbon Army”. Free entry was granted, and lectures and addresses were interspersed with songs, music, recitations and music while outside “…some little annoyance was caused by the throwing of stones on to the roof and the firing of a pistol by some larrikin or larrikins outside and opposite the hotel.”
Judging by the number of bottles and glass that have been recovered from the beach and waterfront over the years, no doubt the larrikins were enjoying a drink or two.
Photofile. no. 3527
Northern Luminary, Sat 25 August 1883. “Temperance Meeting at Russell.”
This winter has been notable for the rain, however floods have been a feature in our area for the past century particularly since urban development. Regular flooding is recorded throughout the 1930s on the Russell to Whangarei Road, with Russell being cut off on numerous occasions. In the 1940s the road was in such a bad state, that the Automobile Association recommended “travellers not make the trip unless absolutely necessary”. Eventually, the County Council invested in major stormwater works including replacing the Russell Road bridge “which had been wrecked completely”.
The Russell Township itself is very low lying and has also suffered from significant flooding in the past. In 2007 there was major flooding in the town and many will remember local resident Clive Arlidge taking to a his boat and joining other kayakers down York Street.
With all this recent rain we have escaped fairly lightly here in the Bay in terms of flooding. Much of this is down to past flooding and the remedial works done by respective councils over the last century or so. In Russell, we have Janet Planet to thank, as she has tirelessly championed the stormwater improvements with council to mitigate the risk of flooding in our town centre.
Unfortunately, due to the impact of climate change, we can expect more severe weather events in the future.
Russell Museum’s new exhibition, The Story of Managahāwea is a fascinating look at an extremely early site of first arrivals from Polynesia. Beneath the soil of its beautiful beachfront, archaeological evidence from a series of excavations under the leadership of Ngāti Kuta has shown that some of the earliest people to come to Aotearoa arrived and settled here.
This physical evidence is reinforced by oral histories passed down by descendants of Te Kemara who lived on the island of Moturua. Both the histories and the archaeological evidence agree. They tell the story of migration, survival, cultivation and trading – and how this country came to be settled by peoples from Polynesia and beyond.
…was yet another first for Russell. Museum curator Marie King, in 1977, was not about to let Wellington claim that honour. She wrote to the NZ Herald and set them straight.
“It was in Russell on the afternoon of February 6, 1963. There was no advance publicity of this visit, as the tour organisers considered that large crowds in Russell’s narrow streets would be difficult to control. When the visit was being discussed with the town board, the chairman, Mr Eric Gilmour, pointed out that the Strand…was too narrow to allow for the royal car and the people. So he asked, would Her Majesty like to walk?
At first no one would hear of such a thing. The Queen would be mobbed. Mr Gilmour said quietly, ‘ Gentlemen, I assure you that Her Majesty will not be mobbed.’ Finally, the suggestion was approved. The royal party came ashore, walked along the Strand to the museum grounds… visited the museum, walked along to Pompallier House and from there to the old church. Not until then did the Queen enter the royal car to be driven up the hill to see the view…”
Where did she look out from? Queen’s View of course!
