Xmas 1918
In my last post I shared a Christmas card that was sent by a New Zealand soldier who was about to head off to fight in the Battle of El Alamein in the Second World War. To make sure it arrived in time the card was sent on […]
Lemuel
Christmas Recommendations
In my last post I shared a Christmas card sent by a New Zealand artillery gunner from the Battle of El Alamein and by comparison made light of our own silly season stresses. I apologize. I know that it can be a crazy time of year so I […]
Merry Christmas from El Alamein
It is that wonderful time of the year again. Deadlines are looming, traffic is congested, frantic shoppers jostle for position at the cashier and all the while we are being mocked by sadistically ironic jingles about what a wonderful time we are supposed to be having. It sure […]
Dunedin Botanic Gardens in 3D
One of my geeky obsessions is stereographic photography. This interest manifests itself in the form of a personal museum of historical stereoscopic photographs and examples of 3D viewing devices ranging from an original 19th century wooden viewer through to an aircraft recognition training tool from the Second World […]
To Shave or Not to Shave
To mark the month of Movember I’ve got some prickly profile shots to share with you from my collection of 19th century Otago photographs, followed by a facial hair inspired parody written by a largely forgotten New Zealand poet. Sadly, the photographs I’m about to share are orphans […]
Opening of the Campbell Island Post Office
A few months back I shared this post where I claimed that every envelope has a story to tell. Well today I’m going to share another envelope with a completely different story, one that begins sixty years ago on a remote island at the bottom of the world. […]
Guy Fawkes Day 1912
Guy Fawkes Day is among New Zealand’s most bizarre commemorations. For my international readers, here it is the only time of year when anyone of a “responsible” age can buy and let off fireworks. The reason for such merriment – to commemorate this foiled plot to blow up […]
