Plan to unearth Timaru history by TBHS teacher
A Timaru woman unsure of where her aspirations to write a book on the town’s history will take her, is seeking the stories of locals to get her started.
Dr Jill Harland, who teaches history and social history at Timaru Boys’ High School (TBHS) and is a member of the Friends of the Aigantighe group, hoped her book would bring ‘‘a different perspective’’ of Timaru as she looked to base it on photographs and paintings belonging to people around town.
‘‘I’d like to ask people it they have particular stories about their ancestors and their history with Timaru,’’ Harland said.
‘‘That’s something that I would be very interested to hear. There’s an aspect of capturing the stories before a lot of them are lost.’’
Harland had been slowly delving into the town’s history over time – inadvertently starting while working towards her PhD eight years ago. While she had only lived in Timaru for three years, her PhD study saw her trace the 1848 immigration of Scotland’s Orcadians and Shetlanders to the town.
It was the South Canterbury Museum’s latest exhibition, Painted Memories, and in particular a William Greene painting of a former tourist attraction near her home, Beverley Pond, that had ignited her desire to pick up the pace.
‘‘There’s lots of little icons around here that we pass every day and we don’t know the history behind them.’’
She felt a connection to William Greene not just because of the painting, but that he was a part-time art teacher in the town.
‘‘It would be a really good opportunity to have a look at past artists that have worked within the area,’’ she said.
‘‘I thought I should have a little look at the art and the different forms of culture that Timaru has experienced over the years.’’
The timeframe she wanted to focus on was from the 1850s to World War I but could see herself touching on the Springbok tour and other significant events.
She encouraged anybody interested in sharing their story to email her at harlandji@timaruboys.school.nz