Cracker by Damian Christie

As one of the smug Waiheke dwellers, I can endorse the assessment of our island's micro-climate. We don't grow the best wine in the country without it. Weather bomb-schmeather bomb. Good to hear you had a swell time on Rotoroa. Oh, and if you had ever run out of booze, take a lead from the former inmates in 1914 in this delightful newspaper report: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19141031.2.133

I love papers past!!

We don't grow the best wine in the country

Marlborough and other regions would agree

Meh. I give Waiheke third place, after Otago and Martinborough - but my mate does a good job at Man 'O War, has to be said.

Meh. I give Waiheke third place, after Otago and Martinborough - but my mate does a good job at Man 'O War, has to be said.

And I can report that their newish tasting pavilion right on the bay is a very pleasant place to spend an hour or two.

Thanks for mentioning Papers past, never knew it existed, wonderful!

Thanks for mentioning Papers past, never knew it existed, wonderful!

Wow! Don’t know if link will work, but this page with snippets of Te Kooti updates from 1889 is absolutely fascinating. On the right side of the page.

Great post. I was listening to RNZ's Spectrum program, which went to Rotorua Island, so it is nice to put some images to the audio

@Ben - yes it's become very trendy with the liberal media of late it seems - I saw a magazine article the other day somewhere too. Note the correct spelling if you plan on going there though, lest you end up in a thermal wonderland :)

The liberal media certainly have a lot to answer for, promoting recreational usage of what was once a fine curative island.

Sadly I shall have to pine from afar for both Rotoroa and the other one

If it weren't for Papers Past, I may never have discovered the real scandal in the family.

a batch o inferior glaze :)

Oh no, it was far more salacious than that. My great great grandfather was a bigamist. Gasp!

I love papers past!!

You're welcome.

Coming soon: more Auckland papers, and a range of smaller titles listed here.

Jackie: I think Bigamy must have been our National Crime, in the early colonial days. (Later, I guess, it was the misappropriation of land. Now?)

Papers Past can of course give you guidance on Vine Culture for Wine Making in New Zealand, with excellent advice on the varieties of grape.

But watch out for the Vine Louse.

Remember the punishment for bigamy is very harsh - two mothers-in-law!

Remember the punishment for bigamy is very harsh - two mothers-in-law!

Hilarious. Or might be, if I was male and born about 50 years earlier. My mother-in-law is awesome, and I'd very happily have two people like her in my life.

I realise this comment puts me in danger of proving the old joke about how many feminists it takes to change a lightbulb (answer: a deadpan "That's not funny.") but that's a risk I'm prepared to take.

I don't like weddings, especially if they're my own but I've been to a couple. I consider that Big o' me.
/grabs morning coat and top hat.

take my husband, please