A Thorndon family
As a group we met up and interviewed a lady named Janet. She was also one of our group members mum. She has lived in the same house her whole life and we thought it would be quite interesting to find out more about her life and the changes in Thorndon and Thorndon School.
How long have you lived in Thorndon? 50 years
When was the house built? 1905
What was special about growing up in Thorndon? It is really close to everything. Thorndon swimming pool was one of the first pools in Wellington, We were really lucky because our family used to get season passes and all the staff knew us because we were the local kids.
What things have changed most drastically? There are a lot of apartments now in Hobson Street and not as many young families. The brewery has changed to a supermarket.There are a lot of government departments around Thorndon now so a lot more working people around.
What do you think is unique to Thorndon? It is close to everything the city, Parliament - lots of action. Thorndon is very sheltered and not so windy as other parts of Wellington.
What were your favourite things about growing up at Thorndon School? It is a nice small school, really friendly. There were only four classrooms. It was really friendly. There was a fire station next door and all the kids that lived there went to the school. It was really strong community and I don’t think it is so much now because lots of children live out of zone. Thorndon was a really family oriented school and all my friends lived close by which is different for the students today at Thorndon School because their friends come from all over the Wellington area..
Can you tell us about your house in Hobson Street? It has stayed the same on the outside but changed a lot in the inside and back.
My parents bought the house before I was born and I grew up in the house, now I have brought up my own family in the house. Four generations of my family have lived in that house. When my parents brought the house my grandmother moved in also.
We went to Daniel's house and took photos of Daniel standing outside his house and of him standing on his balcony. We also took photos of Hobson Street.
