THREE QUICK QUESTIONS... with scientist, author and heritage volunteer John

McAneney

How did you become a volunteer with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga?

I unwittingly became involved whilst doing research for my latest novel, Dead Reckoning

The French visit to the Bay of Islands in 1772 under the command of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and the ‘lost’ bottle buried after his death at Waipau Bay (pictured right) serve as one of this book's themes.

The bottle contained a letter claiming New Zealand for the King of France. Directions to the bottle can be found in the journals of the French officers, but to the best of our knowledge the bottle has never been found.

Surprised by how little awareness there was of this history, I approached Bill [Edwards] and James [Robinson] in the Northland office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga seeking an explanation. Pretty soon I found myself pressganged into helping with their planned commemorations of the 250th anniversary of Marion du Fresne's visit and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

How have you been involved in the commemorations?

My scientific interest concerned the likely location of the buried bottle. Acting alone, sea-level rise of about 25 centimetres should have led to significant beach erosion, with the possibility that the bottle had been eroded away.

However, we now believe this to have been largely offset by sediment accumulation arising from the discharge of several major rivers into the bay.

The two processes – sea-level rise and sediment accumulation – have effectively cancelled each other out at this location.

We are now looking at other explanations for why this bottle has not been found, leaving aside for the moment the default explanation that tangata whenua dug it up soon after the French departure. If that were true then it's end of story for the bottle search, although the counterfactual of a stronger French involvement in New Zealand's colonial history remains, for me, a romantic notion.

Why were you inspired to use these historic events as a theme in your latest book?

Dead Reckoning is a celebration of a sailing history in the Bay of Islands that stretches back 800 years. It is impossible to sail in these waters without being inspired by the adventurous spirits who first arrived here from the Pacific, and much later from Britain, Europe and America. Marion du Fresne's visit forms an important chapter in this history. Today the Bay faces environmental challenges that also feature in the story, but, above all, Dead Reckoning brings home to the reader the exhilaration of sailing in these amazing waters, which are and have been home to many of New Zealand’s finest sailors

You can read more about the activities around the 250th anniversary of the arrival of MarcJoseph Marion du Fresne in the Bay of Islands on page 42 and about John McAneney’s latest book, Dead Reckoning, on page 53.

BEHIND THE STORY... with music historian and writer Gareth Shute

In this issue you write about some of central Auckland’s historic music venues, which have been the subject of ongoing research for you. What got you interested in this area?

Writing for the music history website AudioCulture made me interested in how historical information might be brought to life by harnessing an online approach. I decided to do maps of venues in Auckland over time, since I thought these would provide readers with an interactive view of the city’s nightlife history.

This work led me to taking guided walks of historic venues for Auckland Live and also opened some great new avenues of research, such as looking through Auckland Libraries’ Rykenberg Collection – and I gave talks there too.

What’s your own favourite historic music venue?

I’m a huge fan of the Wine Cellar in St Kevin’s Arcade in Auckland, since it’s such a hub of the music scene, and I’ve played there for over 15 years in half a dozen different bands. However, as a music historian, I’m equally intrigued by venues that have stood the test of time, such as Galatos, which opened in 1908 as Druids’ Hall and held dances from the first week.

I also have a strange fascination for venues that were closed long before I was born, such as the Shiralee in downtown Auckland and the Polynesian Dance Club on K’ Road. I’ve written AudioCulture articles about each of those to discover how the music scene operated in those eras – especially since music couldn't be played in pubs back then!

What’s something new you learnt about a venue in the course of writing this story?

It was wonderful to examine the archaeological report for the Bluestone Room and see some of the items that were found: old beer bottles, a drumhead box and a handful of old 7-inch records [45s]. It was also nice to discover that Helen Clark played a key role in saving the building from demolition, back when she was Minister of Conservation in the 1980s.

SOCIAL HERITAGE… with Paul Veart, Web and Digital Advisor, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

Very occasionally when you’re searching for photos to accompany a social media post, certain images jump out. You don’t always know why, but usually there’s something that catches you off guard and you just know you have to include it.

That’s exactly what happened with the photos attached to a recent Facebook post featuring the settlement of Opononi during the summer of 1955-56. Of course, that summer is still synonymous with the arrival of Opo, a young female dolphin whose gregarious behaviour drew huge crowds and international media attention until her untimely death.

Like many New Zealanders, I thought I knew the story of Opo quite well. But then, as I was searching the Te Papa Tongarewa website, I came across a series of striking photos taken by artist Eric Lee-Johnson.

The collection of 500 images documents not only Opo but also the surrounding settlement. There are images of the two-storey Opononi Hotel – a converted gum store – crowded with entranced onlookers, the narrow wooden wharf lined with cars and photographers, and the beach overflowing with adults and children.

Among these photos, you begin to notice something else. It’s not immediately clear, but it may have something to do with the rapture on the swimmers’ faces, or the dazed expressions worn by many of the onlookers – like they can’t quite believe what they’re seeing.

The more I studied the photos, the more I realised I hadn’t understood the magnitude of what it was like to encounter Opo, to dive with her, to look at her and to see her looking back inquisitively. Eric Lee-Johnson’s images managed to summon some of that extraordinary experience.

It didn’t take long for people following our Facebook page to agree, with comments coming from those who had met Opo and others learning about her for the first time. Thanks to a significant number of shares, the post reached more than 27,000 people.

We’re also celebrating New Zealand Music Month with a story on some of central Auckland’s iconic live music heritage venues. Read more on page 22.

High note

May is New Zealand Music Month, when we celebrate music from New Zealand and those who make it, and historic places will be playing their part.

Some of the country’s most beloved venues are in heritage spaces, including Wellington’s Old St Paul’s, which regularly hosts concerts by top Kiwi musicians. Last year, French for Rabbits, Nadia Reid, and

Old St Paul’s Property Lead Tamara Patten says the magnificent timber Gothic Revival pro-cathedral hosts around six gigs a year and has capacity for 460 concert-goers.

“It’s intimate without being too small and it’s a little less formal; there’s no way to allocate seats, so you come and you share a pew with whoever happens to be there. It creates a good vibe in that respect.

“The dark wood interior also provides a beautiful backdrop for a concert and obviously the acoustics are gorgeous.”

As Old St Paul’s is an historic church, there’s no green room where artists can hang out before a show, but that also has advantages, particularly for those who work there.

“Something that’s really great about having concerts here is you get to chat with these amazing artists,” says Tamara. “Before a show they’ll hang out in our exhibition area and share the kitchen, so we get to have nice chats with some pretty interesting people.”

Visit oldstpauls.co.nz