Heritage et AL

Now on in the J.T. Diamond Room, Waitakere Central Library is our Dalmatians out west exhibition. The exhibition features images from Auckland’s Dalmatian community and will run until 30 August 2016. This is the first in a series of blog posts based on the themes in the exhibition. Early Dalmatian settlers of West Auckland The first Yugoslavs to settle in New Zealand are thought to be sailors from the Frigate Novara which berthed in Auckland in 1858. There was then a small influx of Dalmatian migrants, mainly from Podgora, in the mid to late 1870s with many working in the gumfields around Dargaville, Ahipara and Riverhead. In 1903 the first vineyard in Oratia was established by Ivan and Katherine Vella, the first Dalmatians to arrive in the district, and by 1913 they had six acres of grapes. They also grew apples and peaches on the land. In 1904 Tony Borich, Mate Borich, Jack Sunde and Stanko and Lovre Marinovich bought 160 acres of land in Oratia. Ref:  Lov...

Sheep, the cornerstone of the agricultural industry in New Zealand since the 1850s and a very important part of the economy. Sheep have shaped the farming environment throughout the country and spawned many a joke. Where would we be without New Zealand lamb and merino clothing? When refrigeration on ships became available in 1882, meat was able to be shipped around the world, including to Britain, and the industry flourished. The population peaked in 1982 at 70 million but has steadily reduced over the years as other industries have come to the fore such as dairy farming and the timber industry. With around 40 million sheep, that is still a whopping 10 sheep per person. Over half the sheep in New Zealand are Romney, which is an English breed used for both meat and wool. What to find out more?  Te Ara has a great section on sheep farming and its importance . Now you are all set to wander through the sheep of yesteryear, drawn from the heritage collections at Auckland Librar...