Early Pioneer Stories at doco

From valleys to plateaus, from city centers to remote outposts, Sean Brosnahan, curator of the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, explores the trials and tribulations of the early European settlers who came to call Otago home. I have tried my best to find the

online documentary series Travel to New Edinburghresearched and published by Mr. Brosnahan, the project has come to an end after three years and over 350 locations.

Brosnahan said the series will tell the story of the Otago settlement from conception to realization in the 1840s.

It not only explores the movers and shakers who led the formation of the settlement, but also reveals the stories of some ordinary settlers.

“We wanted to go where they came from and why they left.”

Period records in museums helped reveal the true nature of the early settlers, and online records, such as those from the National Library of Scotland, helped pinpoint where the pioneers’ journeys began.

“In some cases, for example in Edinburgh or Glasgow, many of the buildings where these events took place in the 1840s and 1950s still exist, so we went looking for them.”

Things are different in London, where many areas were heavily bombed in World War II and changed by subsequent developments.

For the shoot, Brosnahan and crew traveled to rural and urban locations in England, Scotland and Ireland.

Not only does the series tell the overall story of the settlement, but it also draws from leaders such as Captain William Cargill, the Rev. Explored the lives of 100 settlers, up to the settlers.to ship Philip Lang.

“He comes from Aberdeen and has a background as a seasoned shipbuilder and contractor.”

Adam was “a bit of a brawler” when he was young, but settled down and got married, and then listened to a lecture by the Reverend Thomas Burns, which inspired him to come to Otago. preached. Scottish settlement.

From his beginnings as a “working class man” he became a successful farmer owning his own land near Milton.

The full series can be accessed on the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum website and YouTube.

Funding was provided by the Otago Settlers Association and the Otago Scottish Heritage Council.

simon.henderson@thestar.co.nz