ZOE REISS
Many people live in a place without ever knowing the stories that shaped it. Golden Bay writer Robin Robilliard has spent nearly a decade making sure those stories of her neighbourhood are not lost.
Robin is the author of Behind the Hill, a book that traces the social and cultural changes in Golden Bay from the 1930s to the present day. The book explores how one of New Zealand’s most isolated regions evolved with the arrival of hippies, international newcomers, IT specialists, retired professionals and environmentalists, and how the physical barrier of Tākaka Hill shaped daily life.
The hill looms large throughout the book, particularly during winter and periods of bad weather, when access to and from Golden Bay could be cut off.
“My passion is, as you'll find out, people and how they live,” Robin says.
To bring the stories together, Robin interviewed dozens of people and drew on a wide range of historical sources.
“I've been here since the 1950s and also saw part of this book; I spent days and days and days in the Golden Bay Museum here in the archives. There's the back coverage of the Golden Bay Weekly. Picked many. Several people handed me their notes that had their own family stories written on them. Other people said that I could use a quote from their book. So that helped round up the stories.”
Robin spent nine years researching and writing Behind the Hill, documenting changing values and social norms for both women and men, as well as childhoods in a pre-digital era.
Among the many personal stories is that of Bernie Lewis, who always dreamed of becoming a pilot. After training as a teacher to satisfy his mother, he joined the British Air Force, where he excelled.
“So, on retirement, he came back to New Zealand with his English wife and two daughters, and when the Queen and Prince Philip came out on a visit, it was Bernie Lewis from East Park who flew Prince Philip round the South Island in the helicopter.”
Robin began her writing career in the 1950s with the Auckland Weekly. She later authored and photographed two well-known social study series, Families of New Zealand and People at Work, followed by her Country Readers, which sold in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
In the 1980s and 1990s she travelled to 63 countries, including North Korea, the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia, documenting everyday life in places few New Zealanders had seen.
Robin will speak about her book Behind the Hill at Motueka Library Te Noninga Kumu Motueka on 22 April.
