Tūātapere history - Part 3 of Tūātapere Hump Track, Fundraiser Weekend with Marcus Lush (4 Parts)

Shared by Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive

Part 3 - photo collection of a fundraising weekend with Marcus Lush for the Tūātapere Hump Track and the development of the Humpridge Track that we know today. This is a large collection of photos, so look out for following related entries, which will all be labelled in parts with numbers. NOTE: we have had quite a few locals have some attempts at naming those in the photos. If we have any mistakes, please let us know and if you can identify anyone else in the photos, please let us know. Thanks! IMAGES Photo 1 - Group of people in the dining room at Port Craig huts, with large tables. Some unknown person is doing what appears to be a skit and it looks like perhaps Peter Templeton sitting down with the microphone. Can anyone confirm or identify any others, please? Photos 2 & 3 - Group of people in the dining room at Port Craig huts, with large tables which now have drinks on them. Some unknown people doing what appears to be a skit and it looks like perhaps Peter Templeton sitting down with the microphone. Can anyone confirm or identify any others, please? Photo 4 - Group of people sitting inside the Port Craig dining room in rows of chairs, drinks on the table. People identified so far, L-R: back rows - unknown, unknown, 3rd from left at back could be Lynley Dobson (can anyone confirm or deny this please!) Front row L-R is Paula McKenzie, Shirley Whyte and Jane Norman. Photo 5 - Group of people sitting inside the Port Craig dining room around the tables in rows, drinks on the tables. Only one identified so far, is Pam McNay, 3rd from right at back. Can you please help with who all these other people might be? Thank you. Photo 6 - Person in blue with blonde hair, person in red with short blonde hair and a drink in hand. No-one identified yet, can you help with this? Photo 7 - Three people in a group hug, those identified so far are, L-R: Shirley Whyte, Doc? Sutherland, and an unknown person in red. Can you help with the identification of those we are not sure about? Thank you. Photo 8 - Two people standing, one leaning over. Those identified so far: potentially the one on the right is Linda Peak, can anyone confirm/deny? Photo 9 - Two people drinking, one in red, one in blue. None identified. Can you help with this please? Photos 10 & 11 - The same two people drinking and laughing, one in red, one in blue. No one in these two photos is identified yet, can you help with this at all? Thanks. Photo 12 - Marcus Lush in a hug with a blonde person in yellow. Does anyone know who this other person is please? Photo 13 - Two people at the dining room of Port Craig, smiling and drinking. People identified as being L-R: Pam McNay and Peter Templeton. Photo 14 - Two people standing and drinking, both in red. Neither of them has been identified as yet. Does anyone know who they might be? There was one suggestion that the first person might be someone Howard. Photo 15 - Three people standing, drinking and laughing, the two in red are the same as in the photo previous, the women in yellow has been seen in other prior photos too, but no-one so far has been able to identify any of them. Can you help with this please? Thank you! ... more to come in Part 4 (see also Parts 1 & 2) These photos were gifted to the Tūātapere Hump Track Charitable Trust by family of Les Johnston, who was a Trustee and the Treasurer of Tūātapere Hump Track Charitable Trust for many years. They were in his possession at his passing and it is presumed he took them. We are at this stage a little unsure of exactly when this fundraising weekend event took place, but it was likely in the early 2000's. If anyone can help us with a more exact date and further details, please let us know! Were you there? Please help fill us in on any memories you have and the people involved. What we can see from the photos is that the huts were complete and there was work done on the boardwalks. What we do know is that it was for fundraising, and Marcus Lush was there for the weekend. It looks like the event was a lot of fun, with food, games and drinking along with what appears to almost be a pyjama party of sorts, which comes in the later parts of this wonderful collection of local history! So, enjoy... ATTENDEE MEMORIES: From Peter Templeton, "I was the compère that night, Marcus was the host on the Aircraft. What a great night it was, a lot of fund, good memories." For more information on the idea of a Track to be created over the Hump Ridge in Western Murihiku Southland by Tūātapere Promotions, through to the public meetings of 1994 and on to the formation of the Tūātapere Hump Track Charitable Trust and the completion of the track, see the many other entries in this archive covering the history of this track. And most fascinatingly, some of this covers much of the logistical nightmares faced by the project, which Les Johnston had first-hand knowledge of. By 2000 the required Resource Consents had been granted at last by the Southland Council and finally the official opening could be undertaken on 2 November, 2001, with a further weekend of events on the 3-4 November 2001. The Hump Ridge Track is now set to become Aotearoa New Zealand's next 'Great Walk' later in 2023. That would not have been possible without the input and service of many dedicated locals and other interested parties across the region. Other events from the Track Opening will be featured in this archive elsewhere, as soon as those entries are prepared and digitised, which is hopefully in the near future. Some websites of interest on the track, are also in the Place Notes below. IN MEMORIAM: JOHNSTON, Leslie Clifford: known as "Les", JP (retired) QSM. Les passed away 1 March 2022 after a lifetime of being involved in his community. This entry is in tribute to him and the many thousands of hours he gave for us. The success of the Hump Ridge Track is due to Les and so many others like him, who gave their all to see this local project succeed. More information about the Tūātapere Hump Track Charitable Trust will be added shortly. In the meantime, please share your memories of this important asset to our community and stories over the years that you know of, and most of all, do let us know if you have any more photos you can share with us all please. You can do this by adding a comment about at the bottom of the image page, or making contact.