Overview Holidays in Te Anau were a regular event for Val from a very young age. As a result, she is one of a handful of people with memories of summers on a section of land just a stone's throw from Lake Te Anau which was bordered by scrub and manuka and indented by makeshift wharves and boatsheds. By the late 1930s, the family had gone upmarket after being allowed to build a 'crib' on the same section. The dwelling, which was extended and upgraded over the years, was soon one of a motley collection of...

Overview The Roberts family connections with Te Anau span almost one hundred years as it was Tom's grandfather, Captain Thomas Roberts, who first laid roots in what was a remote settlement in 1906. As skipper for the government steamer, Tawera, there is already printed documentation about Captain Roberts and his years spent in Te Anau. This interview, therefore only touches lightly on Tom's ancestors. The focus is more on the achievements made by Tom and his brother, Ted Roberts, in the local building...

Abstract Interviewee: John Robert (Jack) MURRELLInterview date: 2 November 2004Interviewer and Abstractor: Morage ForresterRecorded at Jack's home in ManapouriTape 8 Side A starts001: Continues discussing his jobs around NEW ZEALAND, saying his next move was towards WELLINGTON. 022: There, he says, he wanted to find a way to work his passage to ENGLAND (in the 1950s the mode of transport was by passenger ship). Recalls getting a...

Abstract Interviewee: Thomas Andrew (Tom) Roberts Date: 27 October 2005Interviewer and Abstractor: Morag ForresterTape counter: Sony TCM 939Tape 1 Side A004: States his full name is THOMAS ANDREW ROBERTS and that he was born in INVERCARGILL in 1932.009: His FATHER, he says, was named JAMES EDWARD ROBERTS, born in BLUFF in 1901 and five years later living in TE ANAU with his PARENTS (TOM’S GRANDPARENTS). Adds that his...

Abstract Interviewee: Valerie Joan (Val) Robbie Date: 31 October 2005Interviewer and abstracter: Morag ForresterTape counter: Sony TCM 939Tape 1 Side A006: States she is VALERIE JOAN (ROBBIE née CUTHILL) and that she was born in 1924 at home in INVERCARGILL. 007: Replies that there were three CHILDREN in her family: one SISTER, NORMA, and one BROTHER, BOB (ROBERT).021: Her FATHER was JOHN ELLIOT...