Some Victorian Drama

... and melodrama

• Craighead Diocesan School
• Mon 17 Sep
• South Canterbury Museum
• Timaru

The origin of the name 'Timaru' is disputed. Some believe that it derives from Te Maru, which can mean a 'place of shelter'. However, other authorities allege that Timaru originates from a literal translation of the combination of ti, a cabbage tree and maru, meaning 'shady'. 

Nonetheless the sheltered shores of Caroline Bay were well-used by Māori waka as a place to rest on journeys up and down the eastern coast for many years and by whalers from 1829 although the first European settlers did not arrive until the SS Strathallan landed 120 immigrants in  1859.

In Some Victorian Drama, Year 11 Drama students perform the Victorian melodrama comedic scenes Boo and Hiss and Cheer and Groan featuring heroines, evil landlords and African explorers.

Year 13 students have researched the Strathallan of the 1850s and what conditions were like for many women making that arduous voyage from England to New Zealand. They have written their own original scene based on that research and included many real-life events from on-board ship

Year 12 Drama have also researched what it must have been like for women disembarking in the new colony of Timaru and then surviving those first few days.

The migrant performances are original and devised solely by students.

Performances

DATE	TIME	VENUE	LOCATION
Mon 17 Sep	7.00pm	South Canterbury Museum	Timaru