Average Age of Kiwis Goes Up

Eric King-Turner, 102, has moved from Britain to New Zealand—his wife's homeland—making him that country's oldest immigrant.

"It's a wonderful new adventure and I would say to anyone that if you want to do something you should do it straight away while you can. What's important is that when I'm 105 I don't want to be thinking 'I wish I had moved to the other side of the world when I was 102'."

Mrs King-Turner met her husband, both widowed, while researching her ancestry. Despite sharing the same last name they were not related but decided to meet anyway. [Link]

Sure, you let one of them in, and then another, and pretty soon the whole damn country is overrun by centenarians.

Real Genealogists Don't Wear Ski Masks

A woman in New Zealand who thought she was attending a genealogical get-together was actually being recruited by a group of masked Maori "freedom fighters."

The woman, who did not want to be named, told the Herald she thought she was going to a Maori genealogy wananga (place of learning) in Ruatoki, about 15km inland from Whakatane, but was terrified after meeting balaclava-wearing footsoldiers.

"I honestly thought it was a whanau thing so I asked which family they belonged to, but they wouldn't say." [Link]

The woman refused to join, and told the men to "take those stupid bloody balaclavas off."

It's Time for Him to Shove Off

Eric King-Turner and his wife are moving to New Zealand next January. At 102, he may be Britain's oldest emigrant.

Says Eric: "We not only had to produce a marriage certificate but we had to produce evidence that we were in a long and stable relationship!"

Eric says he was not asked about his age but had to show that he could support himself financially in New Zealand. [Link]

That Baby Can't Be 4real

Parents in New Zealand have been denied permission to name their baby "4real" because it starts with a numeral.

Pat and Sheena Wheaton said they decided to name their new baby "4real" shortly after having an ultrasound and being struck by the reality of his impending arrival.

If no compromise has been reached by July 9, the baby will be registered as "real," officials say. [Link]

[Thanks, Nancy!]

Switched for 60 Years

Two baby boys were switched at birth in a New Zealand hospital on Christmas Eve, 1946.

A lively, dark-skinned boy who should have been raised a Lebanese Catholic instead grew up in a middle-class Presbyterian home, and a reserved fair-haired Anglo-Saxon lad took his place.

It was almost 60 years before Jim Churchman and Fred George discovered the truth through DNA tests.

The only surviving parent, Helen Churchman, had always wondered about her baby's dark complexion.

But Helen's mother had a darkish complexion, as did some of the cousins. It was also thought that Jim's looks could come from Welsh ancestors.

Fred stood out even more, although his mother, Ngaire, came from Caucasian stock and married into the Lebanese community.

Perhaps Fred's looks came from a Scandinavian ancestor, it was suggested. [Link]

Granny's Gator's Gone

Someone broke into Glen Day's New Zealand home and made off with a treasured family heirloom: the alligator his great-grandmother shot 80 years ago.

"We have some old photos of my great-grandmother out on hunting trips, riding on the back of an elephant through the jungle," he said. "They would hunt for tigers and alligators. Of course, it is not the sort of thing we would do today but the alligator has sentimental value and is part of our family history." [Link]

The Gravity of the Situation

Derek Bourner moved from Britain to New Zealand a few years ago to live near his daughter. Now immigration authorities are kicking him out because his family's "centre of gravity" is in the wrong place.

Immigration officials say because he has two daughters in Britain and only one in New Zealand, the family's "centre of gravity" is considered to be Britain.

The immigration policy states that parents of New Zealand residents will be given residence only if they have "an equal or greater number of adult children living lawfully and permanently in New Zealand than any other single country". [Link]

This is a useful concept. Giving each family member equal weight, one can figure out the center of gravity of a clan, and then hold a family reunion at that location. Most of my immediate family lives in Maine, but I have a brother who lives in Florida, which would shift our reunion spot to the south.

The folks in New Zealand have made the mistake of allowing only two possible residences for Derek. If they really wanted to teach him a lesson, they would deport him to the true "centre of gravity" of his family—a place half as far from Britain as from New Zealand. Pakistan, I think.

Some Things They Don't Teach at Cambridge

Centenarian Jessie Ridd of New Zealand recalls here the early days of her married life, she a Cambridge graduate fresh off the boat from England.

Her husband had removed the coalrange from his Woodville farmhouse, but because of war restrictions no replacement electric range was available. She had to cook outdoors on an open fire.

"I said to John 'What should I cook?' 'Stew,' he replied, and I asked 'How?'

"Put meat and vegies in the pot and boil it," he said.

To keep the fire going in the rain, Mr Ridd erected a corrugated iron roof over her temporary kitchen. "The carpenter was living with us, building a bathroom because I refused to marry John until I had a toilet inside." [Link]

Whakapapa in the Scrum

From sport.telegraph:

Maori traditions rooted in the never-ending tour
By Brendan Gallagher
(Filed: 10/06/2005)

The clash between New Zealand Maori and the British and Irish Lions [rugby teams] at Hamilton tomorrow - the so-called fourth Test - may be viewed by many as a massive culture clash, but you only have to scratch the surface to realise that it is a meeting of kindred spirits.

The Maori, like their opponents, are always on tour, even in their own country. They are a team of no fixed abode, though they can pitch their tent anywhere on the North Island, where 90 per cent of New Zealand's Maori population live.

[snip]

The eligibility process governing those who can play for Maori is thorough. Those wishing to be considered have their credentials examined by the kaumatua, or cultural advisor, who will trace the players' whakapapa or genealogy.

Waiting for the green light can be a tense business. Christian Cullen - with largely Tongan and Anglo-Irish antecedents - was deemed to have no chance but the kaumatua found him to be 1/64th Maori.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

I'm glad the Boston Celtics don't have a similar requirement. . .