Ancestry

ANCESTRY INQUIRY

BY THOMAS.C.WINTER

INTRO

My parents came to New Zealand for a new life and to see how life was in a different country. One of the reasons they left England was the people in England. They do not talk as much as New Zealanders and are not as welcoming. There were more opportunities here for Mum. With Mum having to go to work around the world. Dad was the easy one with working on the railway. He was the one who got them here in the first place with a job offer from kiwirail.

Push factors

Change of environment

The people

Push factors described

1-My Mum and Dad were born in England and had worked there all their life there . New Zealand appealed to them because of Dad's work opportunity ( more on that in pull factors ).The work environment was not the only environment that they wanted to change. My parents lived in a mile long street and they only knew the people next door to them and the house across the road did not even say good morning to them. Which leads me in to push factor 2.

2-The people in England at that time were not that interested in each other. If you did not have the right car or phone they were not interested in you and my parents were not a fan of that so they wanted to live. To be honest with you this is probably the reason why they left England. They were happy in their jobs and had a good amount of friends . You are probably thinking, “ if they had good friends and family why did they not like the people”. Well it was not those people that were the problem. See my Mum likes to have a good talk to pretty much anyone so when she said hi and they did not even raise an eyebrow that is when she knew.

Pull factors

Kind people same language

Work for dad

Pull factors

1- The people in New Zealand were very kind to them when they came before and it was an English speaking country. There were more adventure opportunities here and they like that there was not hierarchy here and you could live in a rubbish bin and people would treat you like a normal person.

2-Dad was offered a job on the railway here before leaving England. So moving here they know that they were going to have some money coming in.

The Winter Story

Bernadette and Graham Winter Moved to New Zealand from England on the 4 July 2003 with only 64 kg of luggage each. They came on my dad's work visa as he was going to work on the railway for 2 years up in Auckland as an electrician. This was where my dad met my now God Father and Mother who treated me like a son for the whole time I have been alive. My parents didn't have any family here so aunty Carolyn and uncle Kevin looked after them while they got to grips with NZ life. The two people who have had the biggest impact on me are probably my NZ brothers. They were like the man or men to me and even though they are married now they are still the best. One of the reasons they came to New Zealand was to get away from England and the people that were there and I understand why.

This is my Mum - Bernedette Winter This is my Dad - Graham Winter

This my family tree https://www.geni.com/family-tree/canvas/6000000123548226913

A quick summary of the journey that my parents took

My parents left England on 4/7/2003 and arrived in New Zealand on 5/7/2003 in Auckland on a 2 year visa. Dad had a work visa to work on the railway as an electrician. It was an adventure that they wanted to try and if they were not able to fit in or missed their family they could go back to England, so kept their house there for that reason. My cousin now lives in that house. My Mum loved it and they moved down to Taranga after Mum and got a job offer down here. Mum,Dad and I lived on Ocean Beach road for a year and then moved down the road from where we live now.

THE MOVE

Coming to New Zealand would have been pretty big decision but it was not as big as some people but they did not sell their house so if they did not like it here they could move back and even now they still have the house and my cousin is living in it

PLACES THEY HAVE LIVED

Both my parents were born in a small town called Twyford,Hampshire in England. New Zealand is the only country outside of England that they have the places they have lived in now some of the more popular places in New Zealand and England. Now Twyford is a place where you need to have at least 2-3 generations who have lived there to be able to buy a house there. When they moved to New Zealand they first lived in Auckland like most people do.

After 2 years in Auckland they moved down to Turanga for Mum to work at Comvita because when she started working down here I was not born but as I got bigger in the pregnancy the pilot on the plane said to her that I was getting to big and that she might not be able fly down and then I was born and then we moved down here for Mums work and Dad became a full time super Dad.

TRAVEL

How much have they seen of New Zealand?

With family and friends coming over they have seen more of New Zealand then they would have seen otherwise. In the early years of being here they went diving every weekend at goat island and at Great Barrier which is where their love for diving started and it has rubbed off on me. One of our favorite places here is in the southern lakes we take most people there.

We do not really have a family sport like some families have but as a small family we can go diving and get to see more of the oceans than most.

FAMILY LIFE

What is it like not having family here?

As a family we are pretty close to each other so sometimes when they go it is hard but we have got used to it. We try to go back every 3 years or if there is a death or marriage in the family. But most new people come over and see us and then we get to go around New Zealand and see our beautiful country ( and I get to go mountain biking ).

NZ family

In terms of NZ whanau we have a good one. Coming over here my parents had no family and friends or even knew anyone. Over the 14 years they have been here they have got a good group for friends and family. And if we need anything we can call on our NZ whanau.

CONCLUSION

The move to New Zealand was a big adventure for my parents but they made a smart decision of keeping their house back in the UK. The house was in a 1 mile street and when they were in the house no one talked to each other and they did not like that. One of the reasons for coming to New Zealand was Dad had a job offer here so when they got here they only had a few weeks on 10,000 and then Dad went to work. They did originally come with 20,000 NZD but they spent 10,000 on a car.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Family

Ancestry.com

Geni.com

Gapminder

Tbc Inquiry website