Southland’s past presents itself
Life must be lived forwards but can only be understood backwards, the philosopher Kirkegaard said.
(Actually he said it the other way around so we’re hoping Danish wisdom is commutative.)
In Southland, or anywhere, the past is seldom completely behind us. Much of it is under each footstep we take as we move forward. Or try to.
The Marist brothers taught generations of Southlanders during the 113 years until the last of them left Invercargill in 2011. Many’s the tale told of their severity at times; the capacity for gentleness shown by many among their ranks is perhaps rather less discussed.
For the great majority of them, theirs was not a career but a vocation. One that frequently found expression more in hearty encouragement rather than puckered piety.
The Bluff train line has by any measure stood the test of time. Built as part of a financially ruinous wider project by the shortlived Southland Provincial Council it has proven a vital artery for the transport of goods so important to the wellbeing of the province.
As for its years of passenger service, we offer no comment on the conduct aboard the Bluff school trains, other than to suggest to the youth of today that Hogwarts Express was a dull, placid conveyance by comparison.
For its part, the harvest festival at Riverton may be an annual event, but it is hardly a case of . . . ahem . . . the same old same old.
The resurgence around Southland of heritage fruit varieties, so many of them perfectly suited for the particular environments in which they originally thrived, is much more than a case of nostalgists showing the past due respect. The products are of such quality that they fully earn their place in our present and our future, in terms of the landscape and the kitchen cupboard.
The values instilled in Southland schoolboys haven’t just informed our past. They were themselves passed down through families.
The Bluff rail link serves the province to this day, and beyond. Heritage fruit still tastes better than so many of the supermarketsold varieties.
Reminders, all, that the past doesn’t necessarily stay put.