Wellington

I am afraid I am falling behind with my blogs. That's partly because the long distances to be travelled leave me with little time, but also it does take such a long time to do. Writing involves the awful decisions about what has to be left out, then all the images have to be uploaded from the cameras, then selected , re-sized etc, then I have to find an internet cafe with facility for using a memory stick to transfer the information then of course I am subject to the usual slow speed and sticky software of these places. It can take an hour to upload one blog. Anyway tonight I have set aside an evening to catch up so here goes.

I arrived in Wellington in torrential rain and it didn't improve. However my main purpose was to visit the Turnbull archive where I found interesting letters written by Margaret Shaen, Connie's companion, to the Richmond family in New Zealand . Margaret just features in the diaries as M with only glimpses of her personality, so it was good to get a feel of her character and interests . The staff there were most friendly and helpful unlike some national libraries I have been in.
I also visited Te Papa the National Museum of New Zealand . On a previous visit I went there after it was first opened and wasn't too impressed, however now I take that back. It is a great place. they have a different t way of presenting material and artifacts from the usual, and use a lot of interactive and media presentation ,which was all working - again unlike some places I have been to.There were two cruise ships in town , it was tipping with rain and the information bureau was sending everyone to the museum because all the tour busses were full , but the spacious museum coped brilliantly, I didn't feel crowded at all. Again the staff went out of their way to be pleasant and helpful.`this si something I am really picking up on as I travel - tourists matter here and I am feeling welcome.
I was really indebted to Maureen for setting up a meeting with Awhina Tamarapa the curator of Maori artifacts at Te Papa - although she told me that hey don't like that word since all the `Maori objects still have living importance within Maori culture. Indeed after we visited the store room of all these precious treasures I was taken to the water fountain to wash my hands and sprinkle myself with water as a purifications process. They don't just house and record the Maori culture but they keep it alive through respect. I had brought photographs of the Maori artifacts we still have which Connie collected in 1988. Her diaries make this clear. And as a woodcarver she was choosy when it came to quality. I had always assuemed these were standard tourist fare but Arwhenea thinks not so I am to send her more detailed images and sizes to see what more can be fount out. We certainly didn't d]see anything that matched them in the store. Awhina has been to Perth to ostudy the Maori items in their collection some of which have alreday been re-patriated.

My departure from Wellington on the car ferry to Picton in many ways mirrored Connies. It was grey and wet with a crisp wind. It was also totally overcrowded. While for her night time journey she requested another cabin, this journey was capacity with all seating full and young people sleeping on the floors wherever they could find a suitable space.
The entry through the sounds to Picton is specatcular whatever the weather and the torqouise colour of the water just magical. On land I headed for Nelson where I was to be hosted by artist Cindy Flook.