Living In
New Zealand

Some people visiting New Zealand, initially come here for a holiday, and enjoy their visit so much that they return to live here permanently. A few decide to go back "home", but most think that New Zealand is perfect, especially for bringing up children.

The fact that we are at the bottom of the earth and have to travel thousands of kilometres and endure over twenty- six hours of flight before reaching London or Los Angeles, doesn't deter these new immigrants. Between 1839 and 1890 several hundred sailing ships brought immigrants from Europe to New Zealand. The route they travelled involved sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in the “roaring forties”, a gale force westerly wind on the fortieth parallel. Ships passed down the North Atlantic, then on to Capetown.

There is so much coast-line in New Zealand to enjoy, it doesn't take long to travel to a beach here - they are so accessible. Living in Hamilton as I do, it takes about forty-five minutes to reach Raglan Harbour on the West Coast of the North Island. Raglan beach is not my favourite beach to visit, as it consists of volcanic black sand. However, the it is famous for it’s surfing beach. Raglan has about 3000 permanent residents, with additional tourists in the summer season.

Maori legends abound in Raglan. The migratory canoe Tainui, on sailing along the West Coast of the North Island, found that Mount Karioi dominated the landscape. Raglan was earlier known as Whaingaroa until 1855. It was renamed in honour of Lord Raglan, who was an officer in charge of the Light Brigade.

Life glides along smoothly in Hamilton. Suburbs have spread quickly out to the northern end of the city and shopping malls abound here. Much of our population is young. Children attend Waikato University after secondary school has been completed. We recently had the Oxford – Cambridge boat race on the Waikato River. Cambridge (in New Zealand) won the race. Hamilton is still a country town, but is growing fast. In 1864 Hamilton was first settled by Europeans when the ship Rangiriri landed at Kirikiriroa. This Maori village was first settled by a sub-tribe of Tainui maori in 1700. Hamilton was named after a British Captain John Hamilton, who died at Gate Pa. These days, Hamilton, New Zealand’s third largest city, serves a thriving farming and university community.

I lived in Wellington for about twenty years, and enjoyed the bays and beaches of white sand which surround the city on it's southerly aspect. Cook Strait was named after the famous explorer, Captain James Cook who visited us in 1769. It seems to be a target for the roaring southerly gales which regularly shake the houses clinging to all of the surrounding hills. The gales last for three or four days at a time, during which one must "lock down", fasten all windows and avoid standing in front of these in case the glass shatters. Everyone in Wellington takes shelter during "a blow", otherwise you risk being flung against the nearest parked car as you try to traverse the street.

Yet Wellington was a cultural capital and still is today. The theatre is very strong and top-line acts always perform there. It is the home of our NZ Symphony Orchestra and National Ballet; plus a very good museum. I used to park my car in a place near Evans Bay, where I could see jet planes take off and land. At each end of the runway there is water - Evans Bay, and at the other end was Wellington Harbour. It could be a very bumpy landing at Wellington airport, and as the plane descended to make an approach on the runway, the whole cabin was silent and tense, as sometimes the gale-force winds were a challenge for the pilots, or so I imagined!

Yet on a fine day, Wellington just shimmers in the sunshine, the bays and harbour glisten, and the timber houses clinging to the hillsides look delicate and picturesque. Wellington is sited on a major fault line with parallel active fault lines nearby. In 1855, a major earthquake raised much of the region’s coastline. The city centre with all of the high-rise buildings looks international. No-one would dream that at times the city could be battered with a force 10 gale, and endure frequent earthquakes of sometimes 5 or 6 on the Richter scale.

I spent my first twenty years living in Christchurch in the South Island. A huge city, more contained than Wellington. With all the streets designed at right angles, it was a very planned city, flat on the Canterbury Plains. One of my ancestors, Isaac William Philpott was a Canterbury Pilgrim. He arrived in Littleton Harbour in 1850, aboard one of the first four ships, the "Randolph". His original home was in Kent, England. He travelled to New Zealand with his wife, Mary, and their four children. Mary had a still-born baby during the voyage, and so the child is registered as being a "death at sea"

Everyone in New Zealand came from an immigrant, and many of us have our genealogical books and writings. Family History has a strong following here, as sometimes we feel we have no roots, or identity. We only have ourselves, our parents and grandparents, and those who are lucky have had great-grandparents who lived in New Zealand. My parents and relatives often spoke of "the old country", namely England, with great wistfulness and longing. I know everyone in my family had a strong desire to see England, the home of their forefathers. Yet none of my family actually landed on it’s shores.

In Christchurch, when a teenager, I belonged to a tramping club and climbed small mountains. The men and a few very strong women climbed the bigger mountains.

Back in camp we would wait for them to return; they would fall asleep as soon as they had got into their sleeping bags. The 1950s was, for me the era of ballroom dancing in Christchurch. In the suburbs, the local community halls were the venue for ballroom dancing every Saturday night. The boys collected together at one end of the room, and the girls sat in chairs around the perimeter, looking really splendid with dresses that whirled as they danced. We girls primped and preened before going in to take our place on the chairs, to be looked over by the massive crowds of young men. They were eyeing us up, before deciding whom to ask for the next dance.

Ballroom dancing was a good way to meet people and many girls finished the evening being taken home by their dancing partner; or, like me, sat on the bar of a young man’s bicycle, to be ridden home some eight miles away. Christchurch was a conservative city then, but now the city council is planning to build a music conservatorium near the museum and art galleries. It has a beautiful town hall and lovely public gardens and daffodil parks. It is quite rightly known as "The Garden City”

Lola Badman