APPOINTMENT OF HISTORIAN

Lake County Mail, Issue 12, 13 August 1947, Page 3

APPOINTMENT OF HISTORIAN

The historical Committee of Lake County and Internal Boroughs is to be congratulated on its latest step in preparing the way for the publication of the official history of the county —the appointment of an historian to collect the information and to write the history. It will be readily admitted by those interested in the preparation of this history that it is a work that would have been better undertaken about 20 years ago, when many of those pioneers who came to the district in the first gold rush days were still alive. But even at this stage there will be much valuable information to be collected. To the historian there will be some inspiration in the thought that in no other part of New Zealand will there be the wealth of fascinating material, of legend and anecdote, of recorded facts, and of human reminiscence that will be dredged out • of the past when he begins his research for the Wakatipu story. Tor it is a romantic story—probably the most romantic story of any district in the Dominion. Other histories have been written and published by various local bodies in New Zealand, and these, while probably commanding a ready market within their own geographic boundaries, must, because of the very nature of the material available, meet a limited demand from the outside world. Wakatipu may be regarded in a different category from such places, for its story is unique in the annals of the country. The story of Wakatipu is the story of William Rees and von Tunzelmann, who settled on the lonely shores of Wakatipu after driving their sheep over mountains and across rivers; it is the story of the gold rush days, when McGregor and Low found their secret gorge in the Arrow and washed out gold by the pound weight; of the Cardrona and the Shotover; of Bully Hayes and many other colourful characters who are woven into the tapestry of the times. It is a story of howling blizzards and roaring floods, of the hot sun of summer and the clouds of penetrating dust, of the bullock wagon and the coach. There is a rich store of material to be assembled ,and presented to a community that will be minded during the next 12 months to make full acknowledgment of the debt that we owe to the pioneers who settled this province a hundred years ago. Within the next 12 months the newly appointed historian, Mr F. W. G. Miller, who is the chief reporter of the Southland Daily News, will be visiting many parts of the county in his quest for material, and it should not be necessary to remind all those who have personal recollections of the past, written records, and letters from their forebears that may convey a picture of the times in which they lived that they will be performing a valuable service to their district in making this information available to Mr Miller.