Close friends Anne Haye, Josephine Adrian and Mary Chapman discuss growing up together as neighbours in the Norsewood village.
Close friends Anne Haye, Josephine Adrian and Mary Chapman discuss growing up together as neighbours in the Norsewood village.
The people of Norsewood will eventually have their history digitised and freely available after Kathryn Mulinder video-recorded stories and memories during the Norsewood school and district’s 150-year celebration over Labour weekend.
The Ngā Taonga Tuku iho o Norsewood District (Norsewood Treasures and Heritage) project is the brainchild of Hiraina Tamihana, who enlisted Mulinder’s help to preserve the cultural heritage of the area.
Mulinder described Tamihana as the “driver” of the project, while she was the “engine”, as it had been a huge task.
Norsewood is located 20 kilometres northeast of Dannevirke in the Tararua district and is well-known for its Scandinavian heritage.
The project was funded by Aotearoa Gaming Trust under the umbrella of the Norsewood Pioneer Museum, which enabled them to buy two iPhones, a tripod and a hard drive.
They hoped to capture the legacies and traditions of the community, including historical sporting, social, educational, economic and community organisations and events, through the memories of the people.
People of all ages and stages came to visit her to have their stories recorded, including school children and a woman in her 90s.
She said it was encouraging to have people of all ages participate in the project, because in the future, it will provide insight into life at the time and how and why families had come to be in the area.
Most people were encouraged to speak by friends, came in groups and forgot they were being recorded, which afforded some great real-life moments.
“The memories just flowed,” she said.
Mulinder said she provided people the option to be either video-recorded or audio-recorded, and felt “privileged” when everyone chose to be video-recorded.
One stand-out moment for her was when she had a father and son point to a piece of bark artwork she had on display.
“It was the exclamation and the excitement, and straight away, I heard it,” she said.
The bark artwork caught the eye of creator Gladys Mulholland's family.
The piece that Mulinder had inherited was actually made by the man’s mother, and he had similar pieces so recognised it immediately.
Despite her best efforts to limit each video to six or seven minutes, Mulinder said one video taken towards the end of the day lasted 57 minutes.
“I didn’t want to stop them,” she said.
Mulinder was pleased with the turnout and said she had a few follow-ups to do, as the project will be an ongoing one.
The records will eventually be available on the DigitalNZ website.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. Michaela covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
