Amanda Giorgis's Blog, page 7
July 28, 2019
Innoxious creatures
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From Te Ara – Hamish Foote, ‘Allegorical triumph of Sir George’ (2001)
The first New Zealand acclimatisation society probably started in Auckland in 1861. It was focused on introducing “all manner of new species as long as they were ‘innoxious’.”
Innoxious means harmless, and we all know now that the introduction of some species to New Zealand has been far from harmless to endemic species of flora and flora. But the introduction of such things as deer, chaffinches and skylarks was, in the main, to give settlers a reminder of home. In my research it seems to me that there were three kinds of acclimatisers. Those who just wanted to be reminded of home, surrounded by familiar sights and sounds. Those who saw it as God’s work to bring the superior creatures of their homeland to the heathen world – to improve on nature. And finally those who wanted to continue their country pursuits by releasing animals just for the purpose of then hunting them to death again. The first kind I can sympathise with – I miss robins too. The second, I can’t quite accept. Who are we to say that one creature is more superior than another? And the third, well I have never been a fan of guns for sport, let’s leave it at that!
In all cases the acclimatisers had the best of intentions. But what a different country we would call home if there were no rabbits to wreak havoc on our high country land, no gorse swamping our hillsides, no mustelids killing our ground-dwelling birds, no hedgehogs eating our native birds’ eggs. (One day I will write a book about the demise of the Huia. It may have a happy ending).
Sometimes researching a new book can be tedious, but not in this case. I needed some facts to fit the story of Lucy’s creatures, brought from England in cages. Finches, larks, pheasants and doves. Lucy meets Basil Drummond, a local acclimatiser, and we have a taste of romance between them. But when Mr Drummond shows himself to be in the third group rather than the first, well, let’s just say there’s a falling out between them!
It has been fascinating. If you want to know more, try Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand – I kind of wish the zebras on Auckland streets had been a thing, though!
Look out for Lucy’s story in Book 2 of the Applecross Saga, ‘Shepherd’s Delight’. Due out in spring 2019.
July 23, 2019
Crack willow, Russel lupin, buddleia, alder, elderberry, cotoneaster, gooseberry, flowering currant, raspberry and hops
That title reads like a link to the local Garden Centre – but no, this is the list of invasive weeds that will be targeted in the Hopkins River and Dobson Valley area on the western edge of the Mackenzie Basin. Whereas we would probably enjoy these plants in our gardens, they thrive in the wild and have the ability to affect the natural ecosystem in which they grow. None of these plants would have been here at the time that James and Sophia set up Applecross. Great to see they will be replanting with native species too.
Read more here :-
Bid to protect 40,000ha of South Island high country from invasive weeds
July 21, 2019
Hinewai
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If you’ve read the Prologue in The Wideawake Hat you would have met Hinewai, the maori girl who catches an eel for supper. Hinewai, who’s name means ‘water maiden’, we find out later, is Atewhai’s mother.
Hinewai is also the name of an ecological restoration project on Banks Peninsula, privately owned and managed by the Maurice White Native Forest Trust, but freely open the public on foot. It is a magical and beautiful place. Hinewai celebrates its 30th birthday this year and a film has been made to celebrate. I recommend it to you.
Fools & Dreamers is a 30-minute documentary telling the story of Hinewai Nature Reserve, on Canterbury’s Banks Peninsula, and its kaitiaki/manager of 30 years, botanist Hugh Wilson. We learn about the commitment of Hugh and the Maurice White Native Forest Trust to regenerate marginal, hilly farmland into native forest, using a minimal interference method that allows nature to do the work, giving life to over 1500 hectares of native forest, waterways, and the creatures that live within them.
July 8, 2019
Record-setting dog, Jack!
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Wow – I wonder how much Friday would be worth these days?
Note – the photo above is of Alfie, our very first foster pup from Dog Rescue Dunedin who now lives and works in the Mackenzie Basin.
June 19, 2019
No spoilers here!
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Time to tickle your tastebuds for Book Two of the Applecross Saga – due for publication Spring 2019. (Spring in the Southern Hemisphere, that is!)
Without giving too much away, the working title of the book is ‘Shepherd’s Delight’ and the subjects of my research include (in no particular order) :-
early photography and the wet collodian process
the photograph alleged to have been of Friday
the Otago gold rush
the Carrington event
the British Army in India
Acclimatisation societies
horse racing in New Zealand in the 1850s and 60s
the history of fences in New Zealand
The continuing story of Sophia and James and their friends and family, with the addition of a few new faces, and one or two we lose as well (tissues required).
Someone is looking for James………..?
June 3, 2019
May 4, 2019
The Waitaki River
[image error]Earlier this week Terry and I flew from Christchurch to Invercargill on our way to Stewart Island. The plane travels at about 16,000 feet which, in clear conditions, gives passengers an impressive view of the South Island, similar to looking down at the map.
Here we are flying over the Waitaki River, just north of Oamaru. This mighty braided river is the one that Sophia and George came across as they headed up the coast from Port Chalmers. You can see why they chose to turn inland rather than cross the wide mouth of the river. And the rest, as they say, is history…….
March 28, 2019
Between Gallagher and Gnanalingam
‘The Wideawake Hat’ is now available from Scorpio Books. Here are some details about this amazing independent bookshop in the new BNZ Centre, just off Cathedral Square in Christchurch :-
“Established 40 years ago, Scorpio Books is a Christchurch institution. It is the best place to go to browse and buy books in Christchurch, or if you get stuck, we encourage you to come ask our knowledgeable staff for a recommendation.
We have an extensive range of books covering a variety of genres, and if you can’t find it on our shelves, we’ll be more than happy to source it for you if it is still in print. We invite you to sink into one of the old-fashioned leather chairs placed around our shop as you browse.
We also have an online store, and offer free shipping within New Zealand for online orders.”
So you will find ‘The Wideawake Hat’ on the NZ fiction shelf, in strict alphabetical order, between ‘Inangahua Gold’ by Kathleen Gallagher and the intriguingly named ‘A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse’ by Brannavan Gnanalingam.
To be honest, I would be tempted to buy all three……..!
With thanks to Mark Harris for the photos.
March 11, 2019
The Cardboard Cathedral
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The Transitional Cathedral in Christchurch is an iconic building and well worth a visit if you are in the city. It is hard to spot the cardboard that was used to build it, but it has an atmosphere of calm and beauty that is quite inspirational. It may have been built as a temporary replacement for the cathedral in the square after the 2011 earthquake destroyed that building, but it doesn’t feel temporary at all, and it has fast become a tourist destination in its own right and a venue, not only for worship, but for concerts and events of all sorts.
I recommend purchasing two things from the cathedral shop. Buy yourself a Bartholomew Bear, and you will also find The Wideawake Hat for sale there too.
Go visit…..
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March 6, 2019
First Anniversary
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At 7:18pm on 7th March 2018 I sent an email to my friend Heather. It was the first time I had come clean with anyone that I was writing a book. Did I know then what I had let myself in for? Probably not.
And it is odd to look back and see how much has changed. At the start of it all, my heroine was called Elizabeth (I changed it to Sophia because I kept typing Elizabeth wrong), and our hero was Angus (George is so much better!).
In my notes I had written, ‘Angus dies (illness or accident?)’. Well we know now that George drowned, leaving room for James to enter the story. Rather surprisingly the rest of the story remained much the same over the next few months, as it left my head and entered the laptop.
And Heather became my sounding board, my editor and my proof reader without whom I doubt I would have completed and published ‘The Wideawake Hat’. On that day Heather suggested we needed the film and TV rights, even Netflix – that hasn’t happened yet, but you never know when the call may come through!
To celebrate the completion of my first year as a proper author, I give you small taste of Book 2 in the Applecross Saga called ‘Shepherd’s Delight’ – due for publication in mid 2019.
For those of you who care to work it out, you could connect the photo above with the start of book 2, and the choice of title – 3rd September 1859. Go on – google it!
“Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning,” Sophia chanted the words in time to the bouncing of baby John James on her knee. The child looked back at her mother as if he understood every word, a wee bubble bursting on his lips as he digested his latest feed of milk.
But what, Sophia wondered, did shepherds do when the sky stayed red all day and night? “
