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Owen McShane, "illicit" distillery owner in historic south New Zealand Charles and Elizabeth Roebuck of London, first instance of whiskey being distilled in Dunedin, Otago Newsletter 8 Newsletter 7 Newsletter 6 parts 1 and 2
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About
Meet the Team Pricing Safety Managment Booking Terms and Conditions
Tours
Distillery Tour and Tastings Historical City Walk Port Chalmers Anderson's Bay Cemetery The Northern Cemetery The Southern Cemetery Tales of Murder and Woe - True Crime in Victorian Dunedin
News
Owen McShane, "illicit" distillery owner in historic south New Zealand Charles and Elizabeth Roebuck of London, first instance of whiskey being distilled in Dunedin, Otago Newsletter 8 Newsletter 7 Newsletter 6 parts 1 and 2
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Newsletters

And Other News

Every so often, when there's something noteworthy to share, Gregor sends out a newsletter. You can sign up using the form at the bottom of the home page or read them here as they come out.

Owen McShane, "illicit" distillery owner in historic south New Zealand
27th March 2024

In the spirit of the distillery tour that Darkest Dunedin is taking of Distilleries in Dunedin, we’re sharing some research from old newspapers that Gregor has done and offer you the story of Owen McShane’s ‘Chained Lightning” Owen McShane, "the cooper," (1815-1879?). "McShane's Chained Lightning" The Hokonui Moonshine …

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Charles and Elizabeth Roebuck of London, first instance of whiskey being distilled in Dunedin, Otago
27th March 2024

A blog story about Charles and Elizabeth that describes very early Dunedin and also describes the first whiskey distilled in Otago! Charles and Elizabeth Roebuck of London, Nelson and Otago. Charles Roebuck arrived in Nelson in 1842, on the ship "Bombay," travelling Steerage class with Elizabeth, his wife, …

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Newsletter 8
7th April 2023

At the Dunedin Winter show of 1910 people could, for a special fee, see something they had not seen before - an aeroplane built in their city. It was the culmination of seven years of experimentation and construction by John Henry Gill, a professional photographer living in Musselburgh. The …

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Newsletter 7
17th December 2022

My latest explorations took me to the south of Dunedin, with a short list of places to try and explore.  First on the list was a coal mine in the Taratu Formation - that layered piece of geology in the hills along the coast south of Dunedin.  I'd seen …

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Newsletter 6 parts 1 and 2
11th November 2022

Working for myself, I don't really have holidays as such.  But my partner does, and she organised the bookings to enable us to tick something off her personal "to do" list. She doesn't do Facebook or much online due to the nature of her job and the personal security risks …

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Newsletter 5
9th October 2022

Written with memories of Julia; disobedient, possum-mad, beloved dog, who would follow me anywhere and everywhere. With a day to myself for a change I decided it was time to go and find something I'd found before - and something that I might just be the only living …

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Newsletter 4
6th September 2022

I've been concentrating on the New Cemetery at Port Chalmers recently - it's my intention to take tours around it for cruise ship passengers when the season is on. My work on this is mostly done at home, going through photos I've taken months - if not years - …

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Newsletter 3, part 2
6th August 2022

Morning broke fine and sunny. I considered making coffee in the van and got it in town instead, then made my way to the cemetery. A couple of hours later, rather footsore, I had done the photography part of the job - and found the grave of Janet Frame …

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Newsletter 3
31st May 2022

31 May 2022 Newsletter 3 part 1 - the Goodwood cannon and other heavy metal. Tuesday, May 17 was the AGM of the Oamaru Victorian Heritage Festival and, as a trustee of Dunedin's Southern Heritage Trust, I decided to attend to meet the committee and begin some kind of …

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Newsletter 2
11th May 2022

May 11 2022 Greetings all, Thanks to those who joined me last Saturday at the Northern Cemetery.  With more than 17,000 burials there, there are many more stories for me to find and add to the 50 or 60 I have so far. I'll probably develop three different tours …

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