1872: Dannevirke
October 14, 2019
By AHNZ
Today in New Zealand history, 15 October 1872, the town of Dannevirke was founded by Scandinavians. The names means “The Danes’ Work” or “The Dane’s Village.” Either or both fit.
These children from the land of the midnight sun were set up to fail, in my opinion, by The State. The Vogel Gang¹ (1869-76) hatched a centrally planned scheme under the guise of developing the lower north island. That would mean a great deal of bush would need to be cleared. This army of trees even had a name, Seventy Mile Bush.
Thrown in the deep end with basic resources and huge isolation, the settlers might have tried to run like so many other pawns of poorly thought-out Government schemes. Instead, they picked themselves up by the bootstraps and cut themselves to prosperity. How bow’d the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
The Prussians back in Europe had made these immigrants hurt, especially their leader Ditlev Monrad (left.) The great bush became their redemption, their new war. The Dannevirke was also the name of a great wall/trench a millennia before to hold back the invaders threatening envelopment. Back home they had lost that fight in the 1860s so now envisioned the New Zealand native timber as Saxons and Prussians standing between themselves and a homeland. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Tree after tree was sent to the Valhalla of being a prostrate railway sleeper beneath the pounding feet of the Wellington to Napier steam train.
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun, where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
W’ell drive our ships to new lands– Immigrant Song; Lead Zep
(boy, I’m really getting into this…)
Long story short: The spiritual and temporal battle was won. Dannevirke became a mighty town. Ditlev Monrad helped redeem his fellow escape-pod kinsfolk and himself. Monrad, who had formerly been the President/Prime Minister/Top Man of Denmark, rebuilt himself and returned to his homeland leaving God’s Own better for it. This included founding New Zealand’s national art collection which he left behind for us, his bug-out country.
Summer and Winter
As shown in the 1920s photo (left,) Dannevirke’s ‘front entrance’ once directed the alighting traveller through beautiful rose gardens. Unfortunately these were bulldozed into abeyance in 1975 for the sake of what is (at least now) a very uninteresting and fairly pointless road and a car park. This change may explain my first observation that the car park was unusually, even apologetically, furnished with a very basic verge garden composed of specials from The Warehouse.
The remains of their railway station were of particular interest. Her Majesty the Queen may not have had the chance to quietly contemplate it during her own visit to the same building some 60 years previous.
It really goes to show what a vibrant town Dannevirke had become, full of life and importance. Worthy of that 1957 1954 Royal visit.
I like the way that the railway station’s pillars are formed out of a combination of native timber and railway line steel fusion forming a row of man-made trees.
That is highly appropriate to a town met by rail which is built on a foundation of pioneer logging. I can find no confirmation of this intention or pride in the newspaper records but the station dates from 1903. (Sorry, I didn’t get a photo of this metal work to share. Next time!)
When I visited last year the town was a shadow of its former self. Old and run-down buildings and run-down pensioners. Hell of a great second hand shop though. The demolished railway gardens are symbolic of what has gone wrong.
Dannevirke District Council was absorbed into Tararua District in 1989 as part of the endless entropic march from individual community units into the one big globalised blob we’re heading for. Another scalp claimed by the Armageddon for localisms that was the 1989 amalgamations.
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1 The Vogel Gang was led by Julius Vogel but the Ministry was not; Other men were also Prime Minister. There was a discontinuity in their reign, an interlude of half a year while Atkinson and Pollen ran the show, if you want to get technical
Image ref. Onehunga Borough Council’s epitaph, another scalp claimed at the same time; Photographed inside the Onehunga Blockhouse last weekend during my visit to their heritage talks
Image ref. Monrad portrait; vipfaq.com
Image ref. QEII visiting the town in 1957 1954, Sir George Grey Special Collections
Image ref. 1920s scene; Sydney Charles Smith, Alexander Turnbull Library
Image ref. AHNZ Archive, May 2018
Note: Had year of QEII’s visit wrong; Fixed it.
5 thoughts on "1872: Dannevirke"
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Greetings! I enjoyed your commentary and thoughts but really you could have said more? Vogel was but one of the key colonial players who were in pursuit of profit and acted in self-interest. They didn’t have any thought or care for those they deliberately targeted with false propaganda. I am a descendent from a Danish family who came out in 1874 and were settled at Makaretu now Ashley Clinton. They had no choice. It was either perish or survive and it is a testament to their fortitude, hardiness, and imagination that they did the latter. By the way records show Monrad ran from Denmark after his stupidity and responsibility for the Schleswig-Holstein war and loss to the Prussians. He was eager to return when he thought he could be politically welcomed back in Denmark. He too was politically ambitious and self-serving. I am currently writing a book on My forbears and the historical circumstances of the time. If you have any information about Danes and work on seventy mile bush and want to share it please do.
Pleased to be of service. I don’t think anyone is more responsible for the Vogel Gang than Vogel himself but there’s plenty of blame to go around. I’m glad to hear we share skepticism toward politicians! Very worthy book to write.
Big Scandinavian celebrations at Norsewood every year.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/dannevirke-woman-finds-separated-ancestors-while-making-scandi-disks/25VSY33LPJC5RC5WOGCMGYRLM
I was born in Dannevirke. My great grandfather, born in England, was a sawyer/carpenter/builder who was active in working trough the Seventy Mile Bush in the late 19th century. Not all the pioneers were Scandinavian.
Thanks. I didn’t know that. Would love to learn some more about that time when your grandfather’s generation were pulling a rabbit out of the hat.