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 |  is paved with good intentions... |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
These are the books I read in May 2022, and the ratings I gave them.  Out of the Ashes by Cara Dee The Fractured Fallen by Jessamyn Kingley What Remains by Garrett Leigh The Scars That Bind Us by Michele Notaro Top Priority by Cara Dee Their Boy by Cara Dee Don't You Dare by C E Ricci The Seer's Wolf by Claire Cullen The Mage's Game by Claire Cullen The Caster's Alpha by Claire Cullen The Wolf's Secret by Claire Cullen Buff & Shine by Morgan Noel and R Phoenix Seen by A M Arthur Heard by A M Arthur Just Sign Here by Cara Dee Leo by J J Harper Mind Magic by Macy Blake Wild Magic by Macy Blake Forbidden Magic by Liam Kingsley and Jill Haven |
So we went and saw two properties in Bayly's Beach on Saturday. The first was a disaster. It had a leak that was affecting the ceiling and wall, and the agent admitted that the leak hadn't been located yet, and that the damage was worse every time she went to the house.  The second agent later told us that she'd heard (just hearsay) that there was rot in the walls. Ugh. That's a hard pass from us.The second property was more promising. We had time to kill before the walk-through of the second property, so we scouted the area. It's a three minute walk from the house to the beach, and the beach is stunning. It's a white sand surf beach. Quite rugged, but we like that. We drove on the beach a little bit, but didn't go too far. The beach itself is 100km (62 miles long) so there's plenty of beach to explore at a later date. Here were the highlights of the area:  No winding roads to get there. Every other place we've looked at, I've got carsick on the way. This is the first town we've looked at which doesn't make me carsick to get there. The town has a fish and chip shop that also sells ice creams and milk. The previous town we looked at didn't have a convenience store of any description. It's only fifteen minutes drive to Dargaville which has a supermarket, chemist and department store. And a whole bunch of cafes/bakeries/takeaways. We had lunch at a cafe and the food was really good. Did I mention the beach? We loved the beach.The house itself is very basic. It's a small two bedroom bach. It has a consented deck which they've enclosed to create a sunroom, but it's not consented as a sunroom. That room was very warm, even though it was a cold day. There is a small bedroom and a slightly larger master bedroom. No evidence of damp or mould. I literally sniffed inside all the closets (which were unpainted) and Steve noted that none of the doors were warped or sticking. There were a bathroom/laundry room which was very basic. The agent told us that there was some water damage under the shower that the vendor was going to repair prior to the sale, so that was good. And then the remainder was a kitchen/dining/living area, which was fairly small. The house comes fully furnished. Even the stuff on the walls is staying. Not sure we want EVERYTHING, but it's definitely a bonus for us that it comes furnished, because that means we can use it until we replace the stuff with our own purchases over time. It means there's no initial outlay to furnish it. Steve noted a bunch of potential problems, but we're not sure if they're structural or aesthetic. As I said to him, I could live with them if they're aesthetic, with the view being to renovate or rebuild in the long-term (like, maybe twenty years from now). If they're structural, that's a different story. It needs a whole new roof, and we'll have to factor that expense into how much we're willing to pay for the property. It's not currently leaking though, so there's no damage that's getting worse while we wait, as with the first property we saw. We asked about the ownership structure and how that might affect our ability to renovate or rebuild. You do need permission from the other owners in the collective, but three of the other owners had recently renovated and/or extended, which is a good sign. We probably wouldn't be looking to extend, but to renovate. Again, not just yet, but long-term. So we need to get a builder's report to see if there are any other issues we can't see. There have been three other offers on the property that all fell through. Two fell through due to finance, and one was an overseas buyer who couldn't proceed (maybe because of Covid). Steve said, a couple of times, that the builder's report would tell him how much he was prepared to offer. Not whether he was prepared to offer, just how much. I said "What if the builder says the whole place needs to be torn down?" And he replied "Then we'll offer less and build our own place there." So he REALLY likes the location. So yes, next step if the builder's report. We go from there. |
| Dad, Steve and I went to Tinopai on Saturday to look at a house there. Steve and I had been discussing our budget a bit further in the prior days, and we'd decided to lower the amount we were willing to spend. Yeah, there's something to be said for maxxing yourself out to get the best property you can afford, because over time you will gain back disposable income. However, it leaves no room for error. We do NOT want to get stuck in a position where we can't pay our bills. So we have put some thought into it, and reduced the max limit we're prepared to spend. Which meant that the house in Tinopai was too expensive for our new budget, even if Dad contributed. The house itself was lovely. In really good, modern condition. Large, with plenty of useable land space. The problem definitely wasn't the house. The problem was the town. Tinopai is very small (approx 400 permanent residents, with an additional 600 holiday-season residents). There are no shops. None. You can't buy milk or bread or anything. The beach is not suitable for walking (it's a mangrove estuary really). There are no nearby walks. There is nothing to do. Yes, we would spend a good portion of our time there in the house itself, which was lovely, but there was literally nothing else to do. So even though it was outside of our budget, it wasn't a wasted trip, because it solidified a few more things in our minds. With our new thoughts in place, we reviewed the house in Rawene again. We could potentially get the house in Rawene within the revised budget we've set ourselves, but whereas Rawene has shops (a small grocery store, an art gallery, two cafes and a couple of book/craft stores), there isn't much to do in Rawene either. Again, no beach to walk on, no walks to do. But it's quite near some decent beaches. The house is very small, which is fine because we don't need a large place, but they're asking a lot of money for it. So we haven't ruled it out 100%, but we're definitely leaning toward a no on that one. Too much money for too little. I think if we'd bought it, we'd have been happy with it. But we've seen other places since that might offer us more. We've asked our mortgage broker to see if we can get approval for a place in Bayly's Beach. It's significantly cheaper than the Rawene property, but that's because the land is held in a trust. Rather than owning the land outright, you'd own 17% of a larger section of land as part of the trust. The real estate agent said we wouldn't get approval from the bank for it, but we've asked anyway. We haven't been to see it yet, but on paper it looks really good. It's literally on a white sand (west coast) beach. The beach itself is 100km (62 miles) long, so that's a HUGE stretch of walkable beach. There are also loads of walks nearby, including one that starts immediately behind the house we're looking at. How perfect is that? And the house comes furnished, so we wouldn't be scrambling to get furniture for it. We'd be able to slowly swap things out over time and make it our own, but we'd be able to use it immediately. There are some small shops (a convenience store for milk, bread, etc. and a takeaways) in the town, and a supermarket just 15 minutes drive away. So yeah, we're super keen. But the real estate agent was very skeptical that we'd get approval, so we'll have to wait and see if we do or not. So that's where we're at right now. Waiting for the bank still, but with different properties in mind than what we were looking at originally. |
Prompt: What book would you recommend? Why? ~ "Blogging Circle of Friends "  We haven't heard back from the bank yet about Operation Buy A Bach (see earlier entries) but my mind is already thinking ahead to how I'll cope if we end up going on a restrictive budget. One of the easiest ways for me to save money is to stop buying ebooks. I have a lot of ebooks. 1,979 to be exact. That's a lot. So I'm currently working out which ones I haven't read yet, and which ones I want to re-read. I estimate I probably have half a dozen that I haven't read yet that I really want to read at some stage, and then there's a whole bunch of historical romances that my mum ordered on my account that I've never read. I used to read a lot of historical romances, but don't tend to read them much these days. I could, though, if I was on a budget and not able to buy any new books to read. I do have a bunch I'd be happy to re-read though, and some I'm even looking forward to re-reading. Sometimes I think 'Ooh, I wanna read that one again', but I'll set it aside for a future date when I don't have any money.  I'm so silly.So these are some books or series I really enjoyed that I'm looking forward to re-reading.  Charlie Adhara's Big Bad Wolf series. This series has the BEST lines. It's a m/m paranormal contemporary series. Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series. I read up to book 11 and own up to book 15. I really enjoyed the first few books, and I think if I start back at the beginning, I'll get sucked into that world again. There are 18 books in the series now. It's a m/f paranormal contemporary series. Lynda Aicher's Kick trilogy. I actually didn't like the third book, but the first book was a five star read for me and the second was a four star read, and I'd be happy to read them again. It's a m/m bdsm contemporary trilogy. Ilona Andrew's Innkeeper Chronicles. The first two books in the series were five star reads for me, but for some reason I never got around to reading the third one, which I own. There are five books in the series now. It's a m/f paranormal series. I'm not sure if it's contemporary or not, I'd have to read it again to find out. Idle Bloom by Jewel E Ann. I rated this five stars, but it has been a long time since I read it. It's a m//f contemporary stand-alone. The Cost of Repairs series by A M Arthur. Most of the books in this series were a four star read for me. It's a m/m contemporary series. The Restoration series by A M Arthur. This was two five-star reads and a four-star read, so I'd enjoy reading these again. It's a m/m contemporary series. The Perspective series by A M Arthur. I've re-read The World As He Sees It numerous times. It's such a compelling book. Tristan is such an intriguing and unique character. But there's another five star read in this series and a four star read, plus two books I haven't read yet. It's a m/m contemporary series. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. I really enjoyed this book, and have been tempted to re-read it several times. I also own ten other books in this series, so it would be a good one for me to dive into. It's a m/f historical series. The Earth's Children series by Jean M Auel. This is a series I've read multiple times, and I actually started re-reading the second book earlier this year. I should really start from the Clan of the Cave Bears though (the first book) and read the whole series through. I only own the second book on kindle, but I own the whole series in physical books, including the last book in the series which I haven't finished reading yet. I was actually thinking that I might put this series in the holiday home if we got one, to read while on holiday. But I'm wary of things being stolen from the holiday home when we're not there. Anyway... This is a m/f series set in the ice age (so basically, extreme historical!  ). The two lead characters, Jondalar and Ayla don't meet until at least halfway through the second book, so it's really Ayla's story (Jondalar isn't even in the first book) rather than a romance, but it's a pretty amazing read. There is a LOT of scene description, plus the author shares things that the characters couldn't possibly know. For instance, the character might see a cave lion, and the author notes that these are the predecessors of, and much larger than, modern lions. Well, the character has no way of knowing that (or caring about it!). So there's stuff like that, which never bothered me the first time I read these books in my teens, but it bothers me now. But it's still an amazing series and well worth the books. Steve is also working his way through them. He's on the third book. Never Seduce A Scot and Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks. These are the first two books in the Montgomerys and Armstrongs series by Maya Banks. There was supposed to be at least a third book but it was never written. Both these books were five star reads for me, and I've read Never Seduce A Scot multiple times. This is a m/f historical series. Whispers in the Dark by Maya Banks. This is the fourth book in the KGI paramilitary series. Only books four and five contain any paranormal aspects. There are twelve books in the series. I have re-read this particular book numerous times, and I usually read the next book afterwards because it follows on well. I own nine books in the series, but books seven and eight were only two-star reads for me, so I kind of lost the will to keep reading. I would definitely go back and read Whispers in the Dark again though. This is a m/f paramilitary contemporary series with paranormal aspects in books four and five only. A Dragon's Spirit series by C I Black. There are four books in this series, and they were all four star reads for me. I was intrigued by the uniqueness of this series and would be keen to re-read these. This is a m/f paranormal contemporary series. The Kingmaker trilogy by Amanda Bouchet. This was one of the best series I've ever read. Three five-star books, and I was totally swept away. I actually re-read it immediately after finishing the third book, which is unheard of for me. I wanted to re-read the start with the knowledge I had from finishing the series, to see what small details I had missed. This is a definite re-read series for me. It's a m/f fantasy series set in a world that is similar to ancient Greece.To be continued (since this list is actually for my future benefit!)... |
| Original version ▼ You burned bright in the early years, with your constant chatter and your passion for dinosaurs. As I tucked you in bed, my whispers of love and hope and dreams gently stoked the flame. But bullying and depression smothered the flame, and so did harsh words and raised voices born of frustration, until it was nothing more than embers, barely warm. But I wrapped that ember in 'I love you's, and kept it safe. My heart warms to see that flame dancing again. |
| So last night we sat down to work out what paying a second mortgage would do to our budget. It's not pretty. I'm in two minds about it. There is definitely part of me that knows that when we're on a tight budget, Steve gets stressed and the whole house becomes tense. It's not fun. But on the flip side, we probably wouldn't have to do it hard for too long, maybe a couple of years, before his salary would increase (and potentially mine) and then we'd have more discretionary spending money. AND we'd have a bach. Basically, if we wait until we can 'afford' it, we'll still be in the same position in twenty years' time, whereas if we just bite the bullet and do it hard for a few years, we'll end up with a bach to show for our efforts. And the bonus is that while we're doing it hard, we'll have a holiday home that we can go and stay in whenever we want. For free, because we own it. So there's that. That might help with the stress and tension, yeah? Because we'll be paying 2 x rates (and weirdly, the rates for the bach would be more than for our primary house), 2 x house insurance and 2 x mortgages, we have to save money elsewhere. Regular payments We worked out we'd have to give up on these regular payments: Caitie's pocket money. I haven't told her yet, but in return she'd be allowed to use the bach with her friends at no charge. My Ancestry membership. This will mean no working on the family history stuff for a while. My Writing.com membership. I'm not sure how I'll make it work, because I have "The Snail Mail Group" which I need at least an upgraded membership for, but I'll have to figure something out. Sky TV (as soon as the current contract runs out) Microsoft (the company should be covering this anyway) Steve's WW subscription Regular SPCA donation OneDrive subscription Discord subscriptionsWe've currently budgeted to keep: Netflix My WW subscription Twitch Spotify family membershipSpotify and Twitch might end up going (I'm not even sure what the Twitch payment covers), but we'll likely keep Netflix to help keep sanity in the house.  Groceries We'll also have to reduce our grocery budget. That will mean less luxury items and more homemade stuff. For instance, we currently buy muesli bars and similar snacks, when we could make muffins or bars on the weekends for much cheaper. We do want to continue eating lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables, which are hugely expensive, but we definitely have room to trim our grocery budget without going hungry. It'll just take more organisation. I'll have to plan meals and shop to the plan, which will help reduce food wastage too (although we've been better on the food wastage side of things since we got the chest freezer). Vehicle costs We will be leaning on the business a little bit. Which we don't feel bad about, because both Steve and his mother acknowledge that they're underpaid. If they went out and got regular jobs, they'd earn a lot more, but then they wouldn't be working for themselves, right? So they get less money in the hand, but they get less stress because they don't work for asshole bosses. But yeah, we'd be getting the business to cover my petrol (I am currently the only person in the family actually paying for my own petrol I think!) and the insurance on Steve's car (which is used as a company car anyway). Books, clothes, gifts, etc. The list of things we're getting rid of doesn't really show the truth of the matter. Currently we have a decent amount of discretionary spending money, which I spend on ebooks, clothes, gifts, etc. To put it in perspective, in January I spent $23.55 on ebooks, $52.16 in February, $83.25 in March and $60.24 in April. I won't be able to do that. I might not be able to buy any more ebooks. The good news is that I have a lot of ebooks in my digital library, so I can start re-reading the ones I enjoyed and that'll see me through for a while. Plus, I have a couple I own but haven't read yet. And then I've got some physical copies of books, including a couple I haven't read yet. Will probably take my physical books up to the bach and read them up there. Not buying stuff will be the hardest thing for me. I have a bit of a spending addiction. I've been aware of it for some time, and I've known it's a problem, but I haven't wanted to do anything about it because I know I'll hate it. I did try at one point last year, but it didn't last long. But yeah, on this new budget, I'd have to rein myself in hard. No spending without consultation with Steve. It'll be really hard. But I also know it will be good for me. Ugh, why are things that are good for you so awful to go through?  I have five books currently pre-ordered. One releasing today (maybe tomorrow with the time difference), one releasing in June, two releasing in July and one releasing in September. There'd be no more bought lunches for Steve (except work-related ones that the company pays for) and no more restaurant dinners. This is probably where Steve will notice the pinch the most. I also have both kids' birthdays coming up, one in June and one in July. I have a few things for Caitie already - a pair of shoes, a couple (two or three, I can't remember) of skirts, and a couple of belts that she has been asking for. I intend to get her a couple of pairs of long socks I know she wants too. It's not a lot, compared to what I normally get, and I know that she actually really wants a new tablet for her digital drawing, but I can't see that being in the cards if we buy the bach. And it's Jayden's 21st birthday this year, which means a big family dinner at a nice restaurant, and we're supposed to be contributing a decent amount of money towards an overseas holiday for him. Like, enough to cover his flights. Which is a few thousand dollars. Which we don't have, because I suck at saving. The good news is that he wouldn't want to go until at least when he finishes his current course at uni, which is the end of the year. The bad news is that we wouldn't be able to save up to give him the money then if we bought the bach. So I have kind of failed Jayden.  But we might be able to make it work with end-of-year bonuses, plus he may well put it off another couple of years to do more studies. But that was the deal we came to. He didn't want a contribution towards a car (which is what I got for my 21st and what my nephew got and Caitie will probably get) or something like a gold necklace (which is what Steve got for his 21st). After much discussion, he wanted to travel overseas, so that's what we're contributing towards. My mum is going to contribute too, so if we can cover his airfares, her contribution will help him with food and accommodation until he finds a job over there to keep himself afloat until he decides to come back. Anyway, that was last night. While it was just a preliminary budget and preliminary talk, I think we came out of it with the agreement that we were prepared to do it hard for a while in order to be able to buy the bach. But we also kind of decided that we needed to get the asking price on the property as low as possible. And we're not sure how realistic that is. But we're pretty sure we're the only buyers interested in the property, so there's a chance. She might decide not to sell it rather than sell if for significantly less than the asking price. I dunno. We'll have to see. The bank might reject our application yet, so it might all be moot. |
| The broker requested some additional documents today, including proof of income from the Inland Revenue Department for both the business and Steve. In doing so, we discovered that more than $50k of the business income has been attributed to Steve personally as income. Glad we figured that out, so Steve doesn't get a big income tax bill in the near future! The broker said that they now have everything they need, and they have submitted our application to the bank. I presume that they anticipate it will be approved, or has a good chance at least. Which is great. They've told us that the bank is taking about five days to respond to applications, so we probably won't hear back until mid next week. Oof. The house we wanted is still available though, so there's that. The other two (cheaper) places that we were eyeing up aren't looking good. The micro house on the large section is under conditional contract, and the property on the beach we were told is 'unlikely to be approved by banks'. So we're back to our original choice. And so we wait. |
| The wind attempts to sweep away autumn leaves even as I crunch them underfoot. Ivy clambers recklessly up the overbridge, as if the constant rumble of traffic is not a threat to continued exploration. Roots cling desperately to eroding hillside while a sparrow balances on a twig decorated with dead flower heads. A woman sings off key as she passes on my right. The Auckland Town Hall, having heard better, maintains rigid composure to my left. Pigeons gather for a lunchtime briefing until they startle. Fight or flight? They seem unanimous, wings slapping air into my skin as they skim past. A man asks me for food and I lie with an apologetic smile that uses only half my mouth. The traffic lights turn red as buses send out rumbling farts of exhaust fumes countered a block later by the overly sweet smell of sugar, a solid match to the young blonde man in the pink Rick and Morty sweatshirt. A young Asian woman sniffs behind her mask and I pretend not to notice. Original version ▼ |
| 3 April 2022 - We spoke to friends of ours and got the first idea to see if we could afford a bach (holiday home) of our own. Our friend (who is actually Steve's friend's dad) explained that they had been visiting a friend's bach thirty years ago (much the same as we were doing at the time of the discussion) and he had commented on how jealous they were. His friend had said you can never afford to buy one, you just have to do it anyway, suck it up and do without for a few years to make the repayments. So that's what this couple did. They bought a bach, did it hard for a few years, and now they're reaping the rewards. That kind of resonated with Steve and I, so we started looking at prices and seeing what our options might be. We liked the idea of having somewhere to go on holidays, but also somewhere to mould into our eventual retirement home. 4 - 5 April 2022 - We visited some real estate agents in the Coromandel and quickly realised we can't afford to buy property in the Coromandel. 6 April 2022 - We started looking at properties in the Far North. We found one we wanted to visit on our trip north and set up a viewing time with the real estate agent. We were trying to find places that didn't need much work done, that didn't have a lot of stairs (thinking ahead to using it as a retirement home) and that had a nice sea or rural view, or a nice holiday feel. 10 April 2022 - We viewed a property in Rawene. We both really liked it. It's small (two bedroom), but completely renovated so new kitchen, new bathroom, etc. Very clean, tidy, light and airy. Has views of the Hokianga Harbour. The only thing we thought might be an issue is that the roof looked a bit old, and Steve thought it might need replacing in the near future. If we got to the 'make an offer' stage, we'd get a builder's report to confirm that. 15 April 2022 - We visited Rawene again on our way south, and it was super busy being Easter weekend. Crazy busy. We ate in the cafe that's part of the art gallery and checked out some shops. The town seems nice, although the overflow of the pub patrons onto the main street was a bit concerning.  Overall, still had a good feel about the place.19 April 2022 - We contacted our mortgage broker to find out how much we could realistically borrow for a bach. 5 May 2022 - The mortgage broker came back to us with a price range that was about half the value of the house we were looking at, and a range that would make it difficult to buy anything.  However, she said if we could send her a copy of the company financials, she could allocate 42% of the profit (we hold 42% of the company shares between us) to our income on paper (without withdrawing those profits from the company) and that would increase our borrowing ability. Also, she suggested we see if we could get anyone else to contribute to the house.I asked the lady who does our accounts how long before we could get a copy of the draft financial statements. She said she'd work on them next. Yay! I mentioned the broker's comment about getting someone else to contribute in the Dad chat group on viber, not really expecting Dad to be keen. Seriously, it's virtually impossible to get Dad to part from his money. He surprised me by saying he would be keen to contribute a chunk (about 1/6th of the value of the house we were looking at) for the right property. Emphasis on the right one. He didn't seem at all keen on our current selection, and we weren't altogether keen on some of the others he proposed. Then my sister said she might be able to borrow the same amount (as Dad was considering) for a share in a property, but not one in the far north. That kind of rules her out, I think, because there aren't any in our price range (even with the two of them contributing!) in the Coromandel or Bay of Plenty (which is her preferred area) as far as we can see. Will keep both offers in mind though.9 May 2022 - I sent a copy of the draft 2022 financial statements to the mortgage broker. Now we wait for a revised budget. We expect the house in Rawene will be out, but we'll go back to the drawing board with our new budget and see what we can get with us. I've found a couple of cheaper places I quite like, so we do have some options in a lower price range, just not as low as the initial range she gave us. I advised the real estate agent for the property that it was likely out of our price range, and she confirmed in writing (she had already told me over the phone) that she would be happy to step out of the deal, reducing the asking price by the value of her commission. Which is nice of her (obviously it's not for our benefit but for the vendor's), but I don't expect it'll make a big enough difference for us. She also sent me a rental appraisal that we could give the bank, but since we're not planning on renting it after purchasing it, I'm not sure what good that will do. So next step is to wait for the broker to come back with the revised budget. It's quite exciting, a little bit nerve wracking, and also potentially disappointing because it might end up being that we can't buy a bach. But if that turns out to be the case, we've agreed to save up (something we're notoriously bad at!) to go on a trip overseas instead, as a sort of consolation prize. |
| Prompt: Every place has a history. Some towns were founded to support gold rushes, others were close to oceans. What's the history of where you live? What was the early industry that made your town the place to be? Who founded your town and when? ~ "Invalid Item" Auckland was originally settled by Maori, which makes sense since they were in New Zealand for several hundred years before Europeans arrived. The Maori people were spread over most of the North Island, but the tribe that lived in Auckland (which is known as Tāmaki Makaurau in Maori) chose the Auckland region because it was fertile farming soil. I would also guess that the harbour and the easy access by sea had something to do with it. The Maori people either walked or travelled by canoe, so if they found an area with a safe natural harbour, that would be a good place to settle, right? Easy fishing, etc. Good beaches for collecting shellfish... The Maori people chose the highest points on the land to set up pā or defence forts. While Auckland doesn't have any particularly tall mountains, a number of those high points are still considered sacred today. I have walked up Mt Eden (Maungawhau) and One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) numerous times. There are no remnants left of the pā, but there is information and there are areas set aside where we're not allowed to walk. Europeans originally settled the far north of New Zealand first, and so the 'capital' of New Zealand was a place called Russel in the far north. After Auckland was settled by Europeans in the 1800s, it became a hub due to the harbour.  Auckland 1857 It was named the capital of New Zealand in 1841. However, while Russell was a ridiculously long way from most of the country, Auckland was also a long way from some parts of the country, especially the South Island. So in 1865 Wellington was named the capital, because it had a port AND it was relatively central with close proximity to the South Island. Auckland remained one of (if not the) largest settlements in New Zealand. The European settlers were mostly soldiers, and (I didn't know this before today) in the mid-1800s, a good 50% of the settlers in Auckland were Irish. That might explain why Auckland doesn't have the very strong English feel that Christchurch does. Of course, it doesn't explain Wellington. |
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