In Russell last week while the other half was investigating the tattoo shop there I walked around some of the shops trying to dodge the rain and spotted this wooden illustration next to one of the post boxes. A Victorian lady is holding a piece of paper with the words "Temperance Meeting" probably trying to recruit new members.
The above painting was completed by Captain Clayton in 1845 of the area which has since grown. According to history word had spread about the place also called "Kororareka" being called "a most noble anchorage" with it's good deep water harbour by Captain Cook. Foreign ships started arriving and whaling was a popular industry. Life on this waterfront was rough and sometimes violent which earned it's nickname as "the hellhole of the Pacific".
Russell became a place that was useful for the Maoris trading with the Europeans with things such as pork and potatoes. Some of the Maori worked on the ships and made regular trips across the Tasman. No doubt many Christian missionaries touted for temperance/abstinence from alcohol but somehow with the land being covered in bush and with Russell being a tiny town at that point there wouldn't have been much else to do but drink alcohol and visit brothels. I wonder how many people she recruited for her meeting?
Linking up with Skywatch Friday.
15 comments:
Good one.
like the vintage sign
Pretty area with an interesting history.
Nice post, Amy. Looking at Russell today it's hard to believe it could ever have been called "the hellhole of the Pacific".
...I love the little town, it remind me of New Orleans with the porches and railings.
I love this post. Something about ports, mining towns, and oilfield boomtowns leads to a lot uproar.
I imagine that poor lady was in the minority and not many attended her meeting.
I never imagined Russell as a frontier town; all the images you have conjured up are also associated in many ways with the gold rush towns in Otago too.
Not come across many temperance halls though I did come across an Hotel onece
It certainly seems peaceful.
I bet she didn't have very many takers!
A nice small town, very pretty.
Sweet photo of the 'temperance lady' ^_^
Live each moment with love,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Not being from the north I never thought of sleepy Russell as a frontier town - those descriptions match the sort of things described of the Otago and West Coast goldrush towns.
Russell is a town with a lot of history Amy ✨
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