I realised I haven't passed on too much about Kiwi history - so I thought I'd give you all a bitesize portion of European migration and its story here on the South Island.
So we're looking at earliest the 1840s, to about the 1860s - when a whole number of British and Scottish folk were offered the opportunity for a one way ticket to this new land and 200 acres in their own name, all for the sum of £35. Conditions were pretty bad back in the UK at those times and it seemed a very exciting prospect to many - but if you put yourself in their shoes, and please for a minute do, consider the trepidation they must've felt leaving Britain, never to return again, to live in a country they know little about, where most of them were left with nothing, giving all that they have - and many in debt - to pay the £35 price.
After a 3 month journey by sea, where an average of 15% of the migrants died on the way - with as much as 50% of lives lost at times - they arrived, picked up their map detailing their allocated plot of land and set off for a two or three week hike through the bush to find their new abode. When they found their plot and looked up, most were confronted with dense rainforest and swamp and had to go about the teadious task of clearing their land for the next two or three years. Now understand that these brave, or foolish men depending which way you look at it, were entirely dependent on their land for sustenance and accomodation. For the years it took to clear their pastureland, they were therefore at the mercy of the local money lenders, accumulating vast amounts of debt in return for food and supplies. Until they had cleared their land, they had no way to feed themself, nowhere solid to build a home and with the winter temps here, it can't have been a jolly existence. Understandably, many quit upon seeing the vast amount of work needed to clear forest into farmland, and joined the gold mining industry when that erupted around the same time.
However, many persisted, many came over and many mixed the local tribes - where nearly all Maoris today have European decent in their bloodline - and with the Treaty of Waitangi 1840, the Europeans and native Maoris signed a contract to live together harmoniously in one land...
So that's a brief glimpse into European migration - I hope it was insightful and you have a new found respect for the intrepid few who ventured into the abyss and left all behind in search for a better future. Althought the conditions must've been tortourous, life extremely simple and the weather soul destroying, their decendents have, as a result, what I reckon to be one of the greatest countries in the world.
I read recently, that the vast majority of Britons said they held no pride in their own nation. Now although Britain today is largely falling into the proverbial shit, I reckon these brave few expeditionaries are something to look upon with an immense sense of pride. They headed to distant lands in search of a greater future for their subsequent generations, were confronted by seemingly impossible tasks - and what's more excelled - and now have created an island that in many ways seems the Britain we tried to create but never quite managed. Everything here is improved. The landscape is as if some grand architects had an open debate and created a tick list of must-have features for the country, then went about forming every possible variation in environment, one could imagine. With fjordlands, sounds, white beaches, bushland, fertile soil, rainforest, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, hanging valleys and rivers to name but a few, these architects somehow managed to fill these relatively small islands with a landscape as close to eden as I've yet to experience. And considering they are relatively small islands, it is even more astonishing that all the above details seem so grand in their design, so vast and inspiring, competing with any environment in the world in beauty, awesomeness and wonder.
It's incredibly tempting to join the ranks of those early explorers, like them buy that one way ticket, join the ranks of those fortune fellows who can call themselves Kiwis and continue their legacy...
It is very tempting indeed...
No comments:
Post a Comment