Congratulations Russell and everyone else who contributes to this part of the blogosphere. As you acknowledge this community has been developing for so long. This award is well deserved for foresight, continued innovation, and outstanding tenacity. Looking forward to the new subscription format.

Thank you to everyone for the sharing. As a first generation New Zealander I grew up with 'home' being the other side of the world: the letters from grandparents and my parents' extended family and friends. Like many who grew up in the 1950-1970s, with parents working in the banks and public service, we moved regularly (I share Greymouth with you Russell). In England, my uncle still lives in the house my great-grandparents lived in from the mid-1890s. It is not my home, but it is a house I treasure: it is a part of the fabric of our family life. The same goes for the land in Ireland which only went out of our family in 2010. They are part of me, but I am a New Zealander: I love this place - the greenness; the wide open spaces; the attitude of life and people; and so many indefinable things. The people I have met and loved throughout this country have shaped me and helped make what I have become. Wherever I am in this country, it is home, despite my multiple passports. And while I am a 'lurker', this forum has also been somewhere I have enjoyed being, right from the beginning. Thank you all for the often informed and active debate, which adds so much to my interactions with the world.

I agree with your recommendation of Sam Neill's documentary: thoughtful, reflective and moving. Many aspects of this commemoration have created missed opportunities for a more informed discussion on the myths and meanings of what we are commemorating. I doubt we will have that opportunity again over the next three years as many seem to have reached overload.