VISIT TO ORKNEYS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 193, 15 December 1941, Page 5

VISIT TO ORKNEYS

HOME OF SOLDIER'S ANCESTORS

SAPPER RENDALL'S EXPERI-

EiNCE

An interesting experience has been the lot of Sapper Ray F. .Rendall, son of Mr and Mrs A. J. Rendall, of Manawahe, who while in England found time during leave to visit the Orkney Islands. This event in his life is marked in an issue of the "Orcadian" of September 4, which includes a photograph of Sapper Rendall being greeted by Mrs Richmond Burgess, an Australian resident of the Islands.

The newspaper also gave prominent space to an interview with the N'cw Zealander, who related how his ancestors had been natives of the Orkneys before in the "fifties," one, a shipping officer, had left for Melbourne, where he left his ship to go to the gold diggings. From there he came to New Zealand and took up land near New Plymouth. The receipt of 100 acres of land was left to the Whakatane District High School Museum. The Sapper's grandfather served in the latter part of the Maori War in Taranaki.

Discussing Orkney ancl New Zealand Sapper Rendall said that he observed growing in Orkney the same grasses and clovers that farmers in New Zealand employed. He had not seen anj 7- similar features down in England, but the first day he was in Orkney he discovered various similarities between Orkney and New Zealand.