Last week we began to explore questions we had about the people in our community.
Why did they come to Thames? Why did our family come to Thames? Where did our family come from originally?
We asked our parents where in the world our family came from. We then pinned a spot on the map of the world to show where we came from.
Many families were originally from Aotearoa New Zealand. 8 out of 20 children have a Maori heritage from around Aotearoa including Waiomio, Tapu, and Kennedy Bay.
Many other families came from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as other countries from around Europe.
We asked ourselves why some families heritage was connected to European countries.
Some reasons were;
Alyssa Davy
My mum is from Thames and so is her mum, Nana Jene. Dad is from Auckland.
Luke Moxsom
Charles was from France. He was my great, great grand father.
My great grand father worked in the gold mines in the Karangahake Gorge. My other great grand dad on my nana's side owned a gold mine in Thames
Mary Wiki
My mum's family is from Moerewa and my dad's family is from Waiomio.
Caleb Howard
My mum's family cam from Ireland. They came to New Zealand because the potatoes rotted in Ireland and they wanted to farm in New Zealand.
Joella Johnson
My mum's family came to New Zealand from England for work. She came on a ship.
Why did they come to Thames? Why did our family come to Thames? Where did our family come from originally?
We asked our parents where in the world our family came from. We then pinned a spot on the map of the world to show where we came from.
Many families were originally from Aotearoa New Zealand. 8 out of 20 children have a Maori heritage from around Aotearoa including Waiomio, Tapu, and Kennedy Bay.
Many other families came from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as other countries from around Europe.
We asked ourselves why some families heritage was connected to European countries.
Some reasons were;
- given a ballot farm after the war
- came from Ireland because of the famine, when their potatoes rotted
- came from Sweden for farming
- Thames is a quieter place than Auckland for retirement
- came from Scotland to bake goods
Alyssa Davy
My mum is from Thames and so is her mum, Nana Jene. Dad is from Auckland.
Luke Moxsom
Charles was from France. He was my great, great grand father.
My great grand father worked in the gold mines in the Karangahake Gorge. My other great grand dad on my nana's side owned a gold mine in Thames
Mary Wiki
My mum's family is from Moerewa and my dad's family is from Waiomio.
Caleb Howard
My mum's family cam from Ireland. They came to New Zealand because the potatoes rotted in Ireland and they wanted to farm in New Zealand.
Joella Johnson
My mum's family came to New Zealand from England for work. She came on a ship.