Historical handiwork recognised

Paul Davidson’s 30-year mission to document Marlborough’s history has been rewarded with life membership to the region’s Historical Society.

His contributions to the Historical Society and the region’s history through physical material at the Marlborough Museum and in the online archive Marlborough Video Vault, were acknowledged last week by Society patron Prue Matthews.

After 45 years of study and filmmaking about the region - 30 of which he has been a member of the Marlborough Historical Society – he believes his journey through Marlborough’s history was made more interesting having not been from the region originally.

“I initially felt that people took subjects for granted because they’re so used to seeing or hearing about them here, and I think with the dozen or so life members there have been, I’m probably the only one who wasn’t born and bred in Marlborough, so I feel doubly privileged to be accepted.

“I found my fresh eye enabled me to convey quite a sense of awe of things, because the whaling history and the marvellous aeronautical history fascinated me.”

Paul’s interest in whaling history led him to document old whalers helping DoC in conserving, counting and recording humpback whale populations, while his engineering background led him to tell the story of SAFE Air’s final flight.

However, his interest in history had an unusual and unintentional start. He had little interest until required to complete an Ancient Greek history course as an engineering student at Canterbury University and returned to him through his 45-year “love” of documentary film.

“Filmmaking is a wonderful combination of art and technology, and I think my engineering background didn’t make me any less creative but made me more comfortable with working out how to use the technology to complete those creative ideas.

“As you get older, you respect family and heritage and whakapapa and, from an engineering point of view most of the engineering of the past is much more interesting than the digital engineering of today.

“I get an incredible amount of value out of informing and exciting people about history. I love dramas, but why would I wait to make up stories when there’s so many stories of real people doing real things in the whole world?

“Combining art and technology, it’s been very satisfying.” However, he still sees many more interesting topics within the region to tell the tale of.

“The very first human beings whoever came to New Zealand, the last outpost of the world to be settled, stepped foot on familiar soils on the Wairau Bar - that’s a story of great interest to both Māori and Pakeha I don’t think is promoted with sufficient local or national importance and deserves memorialising”.

But, as Paul admits, the Historical Society is struggling with funding and volunteer shortages. “We used to be generously funded by the District Council to the order of nearly $400,000 a year, which Council has seen fit to make $40,000 in the past two years.

“Discretionary time of today is far more limited than it was, and the advent of the digital world means that people are more likely to look at their phone for history, but when they do get a hands-on experience of the past, they do enjoy it.

“I very much respect what’s happening at Flaxbourne, Havelock and Renwick but the Marlborough Museum is honestly full of treasures, and while respecting local histories it’s the place Marlborough’s history all ties together and where Marlborough’s history is stored.

“I’ve been personally desperate to turn Brayshaw Park into a living heritage themed village and as much as we’re desperate to do something with it, it’s gradually rotting.

“My personal wish is that the District Council takes over the Provincial Museum, then compensate the Historical Society who invest it into a revitalized, rejuvenated Beavertown Village.

“If people do choose look at their phones, the Marlborough Video Vault has many happy hours learning about Marlborough history,” added the current Marlborough Historical Society president.