During my history hunt, I realised that while lots of information is becoming more available... the fantastic fun fact nuggests are in many out of print history books. To access them via the Timaru District Libraries, and the South Canterbury Musuem. My history hunt deep dives started during covid pandemic and I was lucky enough to have borrowed some books from my father... some passed down from family. Its so helpful to have them on the shelf ready to refrence... but I know not everyone has hours to spend working out which ones to read... so I thought... maybe I could write a book club blog on my favourite local history books to you determine what sparks your interest.
WuHoo Book Club
Discovering Timaru.
Published by the Timaru City Council in 1984 by Win Parks
Discovering Timaru : past & present.
Date 1984
By Parkes, Win; Timaru (N.Z.). City Council
Identifier ISBN
Publisher [Timaru, N.Z.] : Timaru City Council, 1984.
Format 24 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) ; 30 cm.
Blog By Roselyn Fauth
This gives a wonderful review of Timaru from the 1984 lens. I hate to imagine the effort Win had to go to in the early 80s to research and pull this together. No computers, physical archives to fossick through. We are so lucky that this treasure exists and I have found it a wonderful refrence book to learn about where I live. As an 80s kid myself, this is like a snapshot of how I remember the area growing up. Thank you Win. This book is a treasure, and I love it so much. This is the first book I would like to review for the WuHoo Book Club.
This opening chapter sets the scene beautifully by grounding Timaru’s story in its natural landscape and geological origins. It explains how volcanic eruptions two to three million years ago created basalt flows that formed reefs and gave Timaru its only natural shelter along an otherwise open coast. Early settlers quarried this exposed lava to build the moles that shaped today’s port and reclaimed Caroline Bay.
Timaru is described as both a “place of shelter” (its name’s origin) and the hub of South Canterbury—halfway between Christchurch and Dunedin, and closely tied to its surrounding rural communities and iconic backdrops like Aoraki/Mt Cook.