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Recieving The Notebooks
Laura recieved a big, ledger-like notebook with a marbled cover. Her's was green. It was given to all senior pupils in the school by the teacher, Miss Price. The notebook serves as a diary which they had to write in for several afternoons each week at school as practice for the Proficiency exam. -
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Kauri In My Blood: Events In The Story
This timeline is about Laura Ann Findlay's life in the bush. When Laura's father becomes unwell, the whole family is split up. Laura's mother becomes a bush cook in Waitawheta with Laura as her offsider. Her brothers take up their own jobs separately, and her younger sisters stay in Auckland. -
Mick's Gut Problems
Laura's father, Mick Findlay skipped tea that night. He was having pains in his gut. He used to be a kauri bushman but got injured working on one of the dams. -
Not Coming Home During The Week
Mick was no longer going to come home during the week, but was to stay in the shed built behind the hauler. The locomotives, or lokeys didn't always go down the line late enough. And Laura's mum didn't want him walking all the way down after a long day of work. -
Labour Day With Mick
It was Labour day, so the school got a day off school. However, the bushman didn't get a holiday. Because they had Monday off, Laura managed to spend Sunday night and all of Monday with Mick in the hauler shed. -
Katie & Laura's bet With Harry
Katie and Laura had a bet with Harry quite a while ago on the 4th of June.It was that Jimmy and Mageret were going to walk out together by Christmas. Jimmy had bid for Magaret's fern baskets at a dance, raising money and won which meant that he got to sit with the maker, Magaret for supper. At the recent Saturday dance, Jimmy danced with her the whole night. -
Laura's Birthday
It was Laura's birthday and she turned eleven. Her mum and dad gave her a new .22 rifle. Harry was super jealous as it was a better-quality one than his. Her mum made a big fruit cake with candles just for her, and her friends Alice and Katie went over to share it with her. They thought that Laura was crazy about being excited about a new rifle, allthough, they didn't say it. Mick came down from the line that night to have a family dinner and sing songs around the piano. -
Mick's Gut Flared Up
Mick's gut flared up without warning. Some of his mates brought him home on the lokey. He tried to pretend it wasn't worse that usaul, but he looked awful and was all grey and sweaty. He couldn't sit up right too. -
Going To Auckland
The next morning, after Mick was brought home, Laura's mum sent Jimmy to fetch Dr Patrick form Thames,Dr Patrick said that he needed to see the specialist in Auckland. So soon, in no time, they had packed up and were in their way to Aukalnd. However, Jimmy and Harry didn't go along with them. Jimmy and Harry were to start their new jobs soon. -
Deciding To Stay or Not
Laura had the choice of staying in the Kauaeranga Valley and sit her Proficiency test on Monday, or follow her parents and younger siblings to Auckland were Mick was having his operation. He chose to go with her parents. -
Mick Survived The Operation In Auckland
Laura's mum had telephoned the hospital the day before, and they said that Mick had come through. She was permitted to visit him if she liked, but he was still unconsious. Laura's mum had to wait till the next morning. -
The First Time Laura Saw Her Dad After the Operation
This was the day Laura was meant to do her Proficiency exam too. Her friends had to do it too and were in Thames South doing it. -
Mum & Dad's Twentieth Wedding Anniversary
It was Laura's parent's wedding anniversary, usually, in Kauaeranga Valley, they woyuld invite all their friends over to celebrate. but in Auckland, this was not the case. Laura's grandmother was an old grouch and wouldn't accept a party that would disturb her. Laura was very dissapointed. -
Finding Out About Mum & Dad's marriage
Laura was wondering why Gran would be so mad to Mum and Dad having a party for their 20th wedding anniversary. So, she asked her dad, she also asked about Gran saying that green and orange don't mix, her being dirty khaki and that there was no good coming out of that marriage.Laura found out that her Gran's family, back in Ireland were called Orangemen- protestant, and anit-Catholic. Green stood for Irish Catholics, but her father's family weren't Irish, they were just Catholic. -
Last Diary Entry
Laura missed her family, friends and her animals back in Kauaeranga. At her new school, that she and Meg started going to a while back, Laura didn't get along with the other kids. She didn't like her teacher too.This was Laura's last diary entry as she'd run out of pages, and there was 'nothing worth writing about' . -
Laura's 12th Birthday
Laura's father came home for the whole week, as he had been working as an engineer on the coastal steamers out of Auckland. The day before, he had announced that he was coming back ashore. They were going back to the bush. Though, they weren't going back to Kauaeranga, it was her mum who had gotten the contract. as bush cook in the Kaimai Ranges, Her dad would do manintanance work. Laura recieved a new notebook for her birthday. -
Offsider
Laura learnt that she had passed her Proficiency exam. Laura's mum's job was at a place called the Waitawheta. Meg and Pat were staying in Auckland, as Laura's mum wouldn't have time to take care of them. Laura was not going to be able to go to Secondary School. They needed Laura to be earning money, as her mum's offsider. -
Going To The Waitawheta From Auckland
Laura, her mum, and her dad travelled out of Auckland on train to Wiahi. The bush manager, Mr Sillars, picked them up. Over tea at the boarding house they were staying over night, Laura also promised her dad that she'd write in her diary whenever she had time. -
Arriving In The Waitawheta Valley
After a short drive to the Waikino, they offloaded all their gear onto a horse-drawn bush tram. It seemed old fashioned to Laura, since she's very used to lokeys. Plus, the rails were wooden. But it was only temporary. After going through the unlit Devils' Elbow they had finally reached the bush camp -
The Cookhouse
After arriving in the cookhouse, Laura immediately started work the next morning. Laura felt that being a cook's offsider is hard work, but it was worth being with both her parents. At the cookhouse, Laura's parents slept in a proper room at the back of the cookhouse, while she slept in a makeshift bunk in the cookhouse. It was just a boxed in corner on the floor, full of mangemange fern and covered with sacking and a sheet. Laura's job is to help in all sorts of ways in the cookhouse. -
Annie O'Connel and the Saturday Owharoa Dance
By this stage, Laura was familiar with everything at the mill camp, she knew all the men by their nicknames and all about their wives and children. Some of them even have kids Laura's age. One of them, is Sam O'Connel. A few days before, he was having te with her mum. Then, out of the blue, he suggested that Laura come down the line with him one Saturday. Laura could go to the dance with his daughter, who was the same age, too. In the end,Laura was going with Mr O'Connel to the dance on Saturday -
Micks's New Job
Laura's dad was given a hauler job on the Waipapa tram. He was working on the bush end of the tramline and hauling logs out of the bush to the rail head. He'd gotten much fitter and was well again. -
Marking Uncut Bush
After lunch, Tom Heke took Laura up into the uncut bush off the Waipapa tramline to mark and survey the biggest kauri trees in the area. When they'd got there, Tom told Laura to stand there and listen. Soon, she heard something like a flock of wood pigeons coming from the heads of kauri trees. Tom explained that when they hear that, they say the father of the forest is laughing. Tom left a tree on the edge of the ridge unmarked as that was going to be used as a singing post by kokako. -
Triggering A Dam
Mr Sillars had a surprise for Laura and he didn't tell her before they reached the top bush camp.They were triggering the dam that day and Mr Sillars thought Laura would like to see it. When they reached the dam, all the men were waiting for them and let out a great cheer.At the top of the dam, she was to pull the trip wire as hard as she could when Mr Sillars said. -
Back To The Kauaeranga
Laura's parents were offered jobs back in the Kauaeranga. They decided to go back to the Kauaeranga as the money was better than in the Waitawheta. Laura would miss everything. The men there seemed like family to her and Annie O'Connel too. They'd become really good friends. At the Kauaeranga, Laura was continuing being he mum's offsider. -
Same Old Harry
Laura and her parents went up on the tramline with Harry and the Andersen brother. Harry had gotten very tall since Laura last saw him and his shoulders were broader too. He didn't talk much, and he shook their dad by the hand and kissed their mum quickly on the cheek. They didn't manage to talk much, as Harry had to keep shovelling coal inot the boiler. He didn't ask anything about the Waitawheta, nor his dad's health. -
Jimmy's Surprise
Jimmy came up on the late lokey that night. As soon as Laura heard it coming up towards the Booms Camp, she rushed to meet him. They had both changed a lot since the last time they saw each other. They had a great big hug, and some bushmen from the lokey from behind teased Jimmy, because they didn't know Laura was his sister. Jimmy also had a surprise, which was Buster and Bully. All the animals had to be sold when they went to Auckland, but Jimmy bought them from Mr Melich. -
Catching Up With Katie and Alice
Laura and her parents managed to go down to the schoolhouse for the Kaeauranga dance. Laura caught up with her old friends Katie and Alice too. At first it was akward, but after a laugh together, it had disappeared. Alice had news to tell Laura, it was that her father had found a husband for her. To Laura's surprise, Alice was actually happy with the arragement, but Katie and Laura didn't think highly of it. -
Target Practice With Harry
The target practiced that was planned with Laura and Harry didn't turn out like what they'd expected. There were far too many wild chickens about and Laura's mum had been asking her or her dad to kill them for her. So, that day Laura thought she'd try and see. But, just when she was about to shoot a chicken, it fell over and was dead. It was Harry! So, the two of them were competing to see who could get the most birds. Laura's mum soon found out and Laura had her ,22 confiscated. -
The Melich's Get Together
The man Alice was going to marry had taken charge and was deciding on the guest list. There was no chance of Alice's friends and the Kauaeranga community of going to the wedding, so Alice convinced her parents to have a supper for the valley people. -
Kauri Gum Digging
Laura was saving up for a new horse and thought she'd try her hand at kauri gum digging to get some extra money.She went up to Table Mountain with some gear lent to her by Sid Jamieson and the dogs.Laura's dad gave in and gave her back her rifle.The pigs up at Table Mountain were quite dangerous and Laura needed the protection.Buster and Bully were chasing a rabbit when Laura encountered a huge old pig.There,it ran off and there was a good spot for digging for gum.Laura ended up with half a sack -
Practising Making Kauri Gum Hair
Mr Melich had promised to show Laura how to make kauri gum hair, but Laura spoilt at least half a dozen until she got it right. -
Laura's First Target-Shooting Competition
Laura won the novice section of the local meet. It was also her first time. -
Off With Ernie Hayes for Two Days
Laura spent two days with Ernie Hayes and his team of horses going to some of the bush camps. They delivered supplies to various places, and Laura got a chance to see some new places. -
Laura's 13th Birthday
It was Laura's birthday and her mum had given her the whole day off, including a new diary. It had real leather covers and was much grander. She spent a few hours in the morning with her dad in the hauler. On the lokey down to Thames, an old bushmen gave Laura enough money for tea. -
Jimmy Findlay & Magaret Strang's Wedding
The wedding reception was held at the Strang's hotel in the valley. The couple then got married at the big St James Presbyterian Church in Thames. It was very grand, all built of kauri, After that, Jimmy and Magaret left on their honeymoon to Whitianga. -
Visiting Mrs Norton
Laura visited Mrs Norton up in the Whangaiterenga. Laura was the first female person that Mrs Norton saw for eighteen months and was great company. She also met Tom, who was the youngest of the two Norton sons and was about the same ageas her. -
Tom's Gelignite Candle
That night, the bushmen had thought that Tom was getting too cokcy, as he was reading at night with a candle. So, to make him learn his lesson, one of the bushmen put a gelignite wrapper attached to his candle. Then, Tom went out of the bunkhouse and started yelling his head off. -
Tom helping Laura
Tom said he'd help Laura dig for kauri gum as she mentioned she was saving up for a horse. -
Missing Bob
That night, Mr Norton had his older son, Bob, go up to one of the dams as they were to release three dams. Bob was on his own. After the drive, Bob didn't come back. He had gotten lost, burn his arm, and lost his lamp. -
Laura's Pedigree Horse
After the races, which Tom and Laura won £1,Tom and his parents invited Laura to go with them.It was a surprise for Laura as they went to a farm.It was for Laura to choose a horse.Laura was blindfolded and led to a horse stable.There was a beautiful pedigree horse in the stall nearest to Tom and her. But Laura knew that it was too expensive. Instead of the price she expected for it, it was far apart and much cheaper. The farmer took care of old race horses, but he was sick they needed homes.