It was with considerable trepidation that I arrived at the Department of History and Art History at the University of Otago in 2009 with my family letters from Kalimpong. How would I turn such personal material into an academic topic? From the moment I stepped into Tony Ballantyne’s office I began to learn how. Tony introduced me to scholarly works that modelled the ways that historians, particularly women historians, have put the personal, the creative and themselves into their work. I am so utterly glad that I chose to follow the academic path, and I cannot think of a way to sufficiently express my gratitude to the many extraordinary scholars that I have been inspired and supported by in the years between then and now. They have helped me to find my voice and for that I will always be grateful.
Special thanks to all of my colleagues in the Department who have offered expert feedback, valuable support and advice, and great company through the writing of this book. I thank especially Jane Adams, Judy Bennett, Barbara Brookes, Tom Brooking, Katie Cooper, Angela Findlay, Mark Seymour, John Stenhouse, Kate Stevens, Mike Stevens and Angela Wanhalla. For materials and insights from afar I thank Robyn Andrews, John Bray, Samia Khatun, Jacqueline Leckie, Alex McKay, Dorothy McMenamin, Satoshi Mizutani and Frances Steel.
Archival research took me to Edinburgh, Kalimpong and around New Zealand. At the National Library of Scotland, Robbie Mitchell, Alison Metcalf and Elizabeth McDonald have provided exceptional service since my visit in 2010. In New Zealand I thank staff at the following archives and libraries: the University of Otago Central Library and Hocken Collections, Dunedin Public Library, Presbyterian Archives Research Centre (Dunedin), Archives New Zealand (Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington offices) and community archives in Nelson and Blenheim. Tanya Paramore at the Department of Labour was a great help when I required access to restricted files at short notice. Conducting research in India requires special assistance. Thuten Kesang, who runs the New Zealand committee of Dr Graham’s Homes, made it possible for me to stay at the Homes in Kalimpong. I am grateful to Christine for assisting with pre-travel arrangements and advice, and ensuring my comfortable stay at the Homes. Ruth Glashan, the former Homes archivist, and Colonel Pradhan, the current bursar, were very supportive of my research. Also very helpful with Indian research were David Air, editor of the Koi-Hai website that connects researchers with an interest in northeast India, and John MacKenzie, who provided detailed information about tea plantations to myself and other descendants.
Much of the primary material in this book has been made available to me by descendants of the Kalimpong emigrants, with whom I recorded interviews and who I had the great privilege of getting to know. I have been welcomed into many homes around New Zealand, where we have enjoyed gregarious family meetings, tears and reflections, and genuine sharing of stories. This generosity of spirit has come through just as strongly in telephone conversations, emails, letters and cards. My wholehearted thanks to all of the families; and for those I have not met in person yet, I look forward to doing so in the future. I do want to take this opportunity to warmly thank the following people for their generous hospitality: Richard and Betty Cone, Gaynor and Gordon Cullinan, the Gammie families in Wellington and Hamilton, Joan Cudby-Leith and Martin Leith, Pam and Peter Gardner, Gilbert and Annette Hawkins, Ian Spalding and Margaret Matterson, Peter and Jane Webster, the Mortimore family, Ruth den Boogert and Colin Nicholls, Mary Milne and Carol Ridgeway, and Yvonne and John Gale. Several of the descendants I met on my first trip have since passed away and to those families I offer my special thoughts. We are on the cusp of losing the generation who remember the 1930s and with them the voiced experience and memories of what it was like to live through the extraordinary upheavals of their era.
I wouldn’t have made it to Kalimpong without Tiffany Cone. I am extremely indebted to my brother, Harley, for the time and creative skill he put into making and maintaining the ‘Kalimpong Kids’ website, which has been such a wonderful way for descendants to get in touch with me. Harley also built a web-based database and created the maps for this book. To my big family of relations and friends, and to the Pine Hill clan – Don, Barbara, Harley, Stephen, Helen, James, Sunny, Hazel and Anika – I am so grateful for the life you bring to my world. When I told Anika, my six-year-old niece, that I was nearly finished writing a book, she looked at me with wide eyes and asked ‘a real one?’ In an age where things seem to be changing too quickly, it was nice to say ‘yes’. A final thank you then to the publishers who continue to make books and to all the folks who continue to read and treasure them.