SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

By Rebecca Toon

An inspiring four week harvest of visionary people and projects achieving the seemingly impossible within 100 miles of my Coromandel home.

What do French pirates, Egyptian numerology, really good dresses and my ancestors have in common? They all lead me to Morrinsville, the site of my first harvest.

I chose to begin in Morrinsville, because I am directly related to its founders and their history is so remarkable, I just knew there must be some serious magic happening there today!

It all began with an encounter with a French Pirate……

My last experience in Morrinsville left me stunned for days. I am directly descended from Thomas and Samuel Morrin who founded the town in the late 1800’s and within 5 minutes of sharing that with wonderful Morrinsville museum curator and manager Mike Gribble, I found out the astounding story of how my family came to be there.

Thomas and Samuel’s grandfather, and my many times great grandfather, Thomas Morrin, was a Scottish trader in the West Indies in the early 1800’s when the British were at war with France. On a voyage back to Scotland in 1804, he was kidnapped by French pirate Le Blonde and thrown into prison in France for 11 years until the British defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815! When he finally returned to Scotland, he ironically became a prison guard and was killed by prisoner David Haggard as he escaped the jail.

After that incredible sequence of events, the remaining family moved to Quebec, having learnt French off Thomas during his years in France. And it was from there that the next generation, Thomas and Samuel decided to go exploring the world themselves and ended up in Aotearoa. Unbelievable!

The years of pioneering and a dramatic escape on a mail boat Like many men of the day off exploring new lands, Samuel and Thomas were entrepreneurs and opportunists. Between them they had a wine and grocery business in Auckland with older brother William, were involved in gold mining in Thames and Waihi, set up the first waterworks and trams in Auckland, had farms in Remuera and Mount Wellington, won poultry and cattle breeding competitions, and bred horses who’s bloodlines still flow today from Sylvia Park Stud, which is now the site of NZ’s largest shopping mall in Auckland, also called Sylvia Park. They were busy men!

And then they overextended themselves and bought all the land around Morrinsville in 1876-77. A depression quickly followed and things took a different turn. Samuel, who I am directly descended from, died in grace in 1886 with a half a mile long funeral procession in Auckland, where all the shop shutters were shut and flags flying at half mast. Events were a bit more dramatic for Thomas, my great great great great uncle. After so much expansion things got a bit tight, and in 1905 he wrote a dodgy cheque, which earnt him an urgent spot on the San Francisco mail boat out of the country and back to Canada!

Morrinsville today, guaranteed to surprise you……

Morrinsville today is just a little different from Thomas and Samuel’s time. The old pub the Nottingham Castle is still there, having a makeover under a wrapping of scaffolding and luscious green dairy farms still surround the town. But there are cars now instead of horses, a new museum, art gallery and skate park all waiting in the wings and as I was about to discover, a whole new generation of men and women subtly offering the town a completely new direction.

They are the reason I am here today, to find people who share the same amazing pioneering spirit as my ancestors, but are exercising it in a more sustainable way, that doesn’t result in urgent escapes on mail ships!

Since I am from the South Island and new to the area, I asked local Bette Blance to help me out over coffee and a divine gluten free melting moment at the Crazy Cow Café. As well as being a pretty inspiring woman and successful Choice and Reality Therapist herself  www.betteblance.com , Bette quickly filled me in on the towns’ goodies. There were so many I can’t fit them all in, like the first town
resident to successfully go off the grid, but I will share my favourite one.

Great dresses, good food and inspired business

The incredibly innovative NZ fashion giant Annah Stretton’s businesses all began on a farm nearby and her main office for the Stretton Group www.annahstretton.co.nz, along with a very funky ‘Café Frock’, are right here in Morrinsville! Annah’s achievements are definitely in the pioneering spirit of my ancestors and even better, come with a good dose of social responsibility. She has 27 retail stores throughout Aotearoa, is the author of 2 books, the editor of successful ‘Her’ business magazine, major sponsor of Starship Hospital, NZ Breast Cancer Foundation, and the SPCA to name a few, has won more national and international business awards than I can fit on this page, and all her clothes are made and
designed in New Zealand. I think Samuel and Thomas would have liked her and possibly been a little bit intimidated!

A little town gem

After a great chat with Bette, I headed off to meet another remarkable woman, whose shop reflects a global movement away from the mainstream back towards products that support nature rather than exploit it. Over the years Linda Tong has turned her families traditional grocery shop into a wonderfully eclectic mix of natural and organic health and food products, bulk gluten free products for Africa, and
my favourite NZ magazine ‘Good’ www.good.net.nz, all at really reasonable prices. She is now getting into permaculture so she “knows where the food she is eating comes from” through the weekly classes that just started in the town.

Tracking down the Egyptian Numerologist

After stocking up with Linda, I moved on to The Relax-In, my last stop and the place where you will find the town’s Egyptian numerologist. I met with Marion Golding-Clarke who runs the centre to find out how on earth a town of 6000 people came to even have a centre for an Egyptian numerologist, along with a clairvoyant, naturopath, Chinese acupuncturist, chiropractor, masseuse, natural beauty therapist,
homeopath, herbalist and energy healer! Well it all began with an idea and 3 therapists back in 2002 and has just grown from there.

For Marion The Relax-In provides an opportunity for people to view their world with new eyes, “to go inside and have a look and become aware of themselves” , and as I sat talking with her in the heart of the centre relaxing into a couch, it felt like the perfect place to do just that.

Harvest Reflections

Driving back home over the Hauraki plains to Coromandel, I felt very satisfied with my days harvest. I am full of admiration for the dynamic energy and phenomenal achievements of my ancestors, and it was also a relief to find people looking towards the future with more balance and in harmony with nature rather than viewing it as a resource to be reshaped for profit . That is what makes sense to me now as the new generation of the Morrin family. This is where I stand.

I am looking forward to coming back in 20 years and seeing what other great things have opened up in this special wee town. Ah yes, it’s been another magical day in Morrinsville.

Week 2 of the 100 Mile People Harvest:

Next week I am in legendary kiwiana town Paeroa to meet the Mayor of Otorohanga, Dale Williams, and learn how his town managed to achieve a 100% employment rate for people under 25, and reduce its youth crime rate by 75% in 5 and a half years.

For more details on the Morrinsville harvest treats check out:

The New Morrinsville Museum – 07 889 7035, www.morrinsvilleheritagecentre.org.nz a great site for history on the area and information on the new upcoming museum.

The Crazy Cow Café – 07 883 3241, 30 Tirau Street, a great range of gluten free sweet treats that were worth driving down from Coromandel for!

Café Frock and the Stretton Group Main office – 07 889 4053, 2 Marshall Street, with a tempting selection of gorgeous dresses and animal friendly free range eggs and meat.

Joe’s Health Foods – 07 889 6369, 225 Thames Street, Linda Tong’s great shop I wish was in my town!

The Relax-In – 07 889 4093, 59 Studholme Street, a little pocket of goodness waiting to be explored.  Check out the Open Day on November 13th from 930am to 4pm.

New Morrinsville Art Gallery – www.morrinsvillegallery.org.nz, the new gallery will exhibit the largest private collection of contemporary art in NZ, donated by James Wallace on a rotational basis along with space for other national and local artists.

Morrinsville Info Centre – 07 889 5575 www.morrinsvillenz.co.nz – for details on the towns events, including a fireworks display that draws 5000 each November and a monthly country market.

Tags: people harvest