Thirty years ago, Tony Morrison and seven friends and partners decided they wanted the simple life for their children, one that living in Mt Eden couldn't offer. All members of the same Playcentre, they already knew they shared the same life values and, in 1979, had enough common memory of what communal living at its best could offer, namely community, friendship and shared resources. However, they were also realistic enough to know that communal living hadn't always worked, so they set about cherry-picking the best and discarding the worst of the ethic.
Consequently, what evolved on the sunny rural land Tony found for them all just north of Wenderholm Reserve is an interesting piece of social engineering as much as it is land ownership. The way it works is that each of the eight partners has a freehold building site of around 3000sq m, theirs to do what they like with, within the bounds of council rules and regulations, and all share the amenities and maintenance of the remaining 35.5ha.
"What we have created here," explains Rhiannon Herrick, Tony's partner, "is a community of like-minded friends. It's definitely not a commune. To keep connected we all meet most Friday nights for dinner. There's always a 'welcome in the summer' picnic down by the river, Guy Fawkes by the orchard and so on. We're now on to a second generation of family, friends and hangers-on so there is a wonderfully full and warm community of all ages."
The amenities on offer are pretty special. To keep the soul contented, a parcel of the most densely treed land covenanted as native bush, and protected from cattle and sheep, has grown richer and stronger over the years. With an organic growers' Biogrow registration, the shared land also takes care of many other needs.
