The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST” SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1938. Northland's Own Story

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1938, Page 8

The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST”

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1938. Northland's Own Story

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper

OF the many schemes mooted in connection with Northland’s share of tne Centennial none has aroused greater interest than the proposal that'Northland should produce a history of its own —not a pompous official tome tracing only the progress of civil institutions (though these necessarily form part of the story), hut a hook devoted primarily to the story of Northland as it was evolved through the efforts of its own people. The story of the North is not, after all, confined solely to those phases of its history which have already obtained so much publicity. These phases are certainly interesting. The work of the missionaries, the early wars and negotiations with the Maoris, the landing of L)e Thierry, the enforcement of British authority at Russell —all these and other chapters of Northland’s colourful history are not only fascinating in themselves, but also they are of national interest and importance, and this fact will be recognised by the re-enactment of the Treaty of Waitangi, as one of the most important national ceremonies during Centennial year. But Northland’s story did not stop, as the history books might almost lead the uninformed reader to suppose, when the seat of Government was transferred from Kororareka. That, in a sense, was where it actually began, for whereas previously the bulk of the residents had been transient kind of people, here today and gone tomorrow, whether they were missionaries, soldiers, magistrates, or merely unruly whalers, now the North gathered to its bays and river valleys a more permanent kind of settler — people who came to stay to build their homes, plant orchards or plantations and raise families which would multiply and prosper (they hoped) in this new setting.

It is in the toil and triumphs of such people, and their joys and sorrows that the real story of Northland is written. They gave the place its character. Theii’ mistakes and failures were many, hut their success, too, was large. No history of Northland would be complete or even half complete which merely traced formal enactments and public events, and overlooked the more absorbing human dramas which make up the fabric of life in any community.

It is to obtain such material that the Zone A Historic Committee is appealing today for the assistance of the old families in the different districts of the North. There are several such families which have long had a lively appreciation of historical values, and have zealously preserved any material bequeathed to them. The Bedggood family, of Waimate North, may be mentioned as a particular example, Mr W. E. Bedggood being a mine of information about the history of his district. There are others not quite so conscious of the wealth of material contained, not only in their family archives, but also in their own recollections. It is to these in particular that the appeal is addressed. M'any family reunions take place at Christmas, and such gatherings offer the best possible opportunity for an exchange of reminiscences: and the recounting of tales that are passed on from father to son. ’ln such narratives there must be much that is essentially personal, but much, too, that, pieced together with fragments of other such narratives, would yield a great deal of historical data. It is to harvest such fragments of history, while the chance is offering, to catch the fleeting word and put it to paper, that the appeal is made at this particular time; and if it awakens in members 'of the old pioneering families that historical sense latent in nearly all men, then it will surely bring forth a rich store of material for the Centennial historical committees to work upon.