Talk:Denniston, New Zealand

Heavy amendments are in progress

A major revision of this article is in progress. The section "Townships and people" has further work still to be done.

Vogel Era(talk)23:50, 27 December 2016 (UTC)

Suggested amendments

This article needs major revision, possibly by separating the section on the history of the Buffalo lodge or by editing this section substantially.Kwiki6(talk)08:46, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Reason to Save the Lodge History-Please Read!

The article on the lodge must be preserved because it contains names, places and events that are part of the "Social History" of Denniston. If you read the article properly you will see the names of the founding members and the meeting places mentioned. This is a part of the towns history not previously known but which may help fill a void in the communitys history. The Sources used for the history are held in a Private Museum in the North Island so not readilly avilable to history researchers or the Freinds of the Hill Society. The fact is, We only know what life was like in the Glory Days of communitys like Denniston from the fragments of history we have preserved. If there is no lodge history then an interesting aspect of the community life may be lost, and if that happened then how would we be able to tell the true story of the community? This is history. Unlike what some may care to think, Denniston was more then just an Incline, it was also people and the story of the people that lived and worked on the hill and their community is just as important as that of the industrial side of things namely the Incline and Mines. The lodge history covers a small portion of the Denniston Communitys history that is not widely avilable but which is an important part nonetheless. We need to preserve the historys of the lodges and other such societys so as to remind researchers that Denniston was a community of people not just a Railway or mine. If you delete entirely the article on the lodge you are deleting a part of the Denniston communitys history and thus the efforts of those lodge members, and their contribution to community life. Considering that organisations like the Buffaloes did much to assist the members of their lodge, and when you realise that on Denniston and other such places that the majority of members in such organisations were miners then you see the importance of such organisations viewed from a social historical context. Where would the community be without its clubs etc. Yet when I look at all other historys about Denniston, I am not seeing a history of the people of Denniston, all I am seeing is images of a Railway Line or a coal mine which is not the full story. Denniston was a community as well, it was populated by people and what we need to see more of is the story of the people of the community as opposed to just focusing solely on the Railway or Industry. True if you are solely fascinated by Railway and Industial History then all you want to read about is such things but we should not forget, the Railway and the Mines would be nothing were it not for the hard won efforts of the Miners. These miners were actual real people, men whom had familys and whom were a part of a community. And that community was made up of clubs and societys established to meet the social, benevolent, religious and recreational needs of its inhabitants. If you delete the lodge history you delete a part of the community's history. Is that something we want to consider? Perhaps the hardcore train nuts and industrial heritage enthusiasts only care about steel and coal, however i choose to differ in that I am interersted in the people as well as the industry. On that basis I say keep the lodge history.

Lodges content should be removed

I think there is merit in the lodge article because The Lodges were really important back in the days before social welfare. These organisations were valuable parts of the community yet where are their historys. for the most part lost. Thankfully the history of the Buffaloes lodge has been preserved and shared but what of the Other Orders. We know that there was a Freemasons Lodge on Denniston, also Oddfellows, Druids, Orangemen. However these socitys being "secret initiation groups" their history and heritage has for the most part gone to the grave with the members whom are all now deceased. Perhaps it needs a seperate page on the social history of Denniston. The Social History is even more interesting then the industrial history. To think of all the trials and tribulations of the Denniston community. You Thought it was hard going working the incline and mines, How hard was it to get by as a community when you were cut off from civilisation and the majority of familys were those of men on low hourly wages. The Lodges and Friendly Societys were a really important part of such communitys as Denniston and need to be mentioned. They are one of the most important aspects of Denniston as they deal with the lives of the people and are a community thing but are very much a personal thing. Since little has been preserved intact of their existence there needs to be somewhere where this important information can be preserved and displayed in open forum for the benefit of those interested in the social history of towns like Denniston.—Precedingunsignedcomment added by119.224.40.249(talk)11:11, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

The content on lodges should be in a separate article.PatrickDunfordNZ(talk)03:05, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree. I'm not sure whether or not it merits an article of its own.Kwiki6(talk)—Precedingundatedcomment added22:53, 26 January 2011 (UTC).

Denniston, New Zealand. A person I knew, and her partner used to live up there, in the police house, the very early wooden jail house was at the end of the garden, and the property also has a in-ground bunker.

Denniston, New Zealand. A person I knew, and her partner used to live up there, in the police house, the very early wooden jail house was at the end of the garden, and the property also has a in-ground bunker.114.23.108.196(talk)00:27, 10 February 2022 (UTC)