Island Block
ISLAND BLOCK: Land of Promise. This book tells how a small, scrubby island in the middle of Waikato swampy wetlands, develops into a closely knit farming community. Heather tells the story of how her dad, Bruce Murray, in 1934, wins a ballot for a farm in the Northern Waikato. With several other farmers they begin…
WRITTEN BY
Heather Vincent
About This Book
ISLAND BLOCK: Land of Promise. This book tells how a small, scrubby island in the middle of Waikato swampy wetlands, develops into a closely knit farming community. Heather tells the story of how her dad, Bruce Murray, in 1934, wins a ballot for a farm in the Northern Waikato. With several other farmers they begin to develop their land into productive dairy farms. With young families on the way, a one-roomed school is built and becomes the hub of the district’s activities. This story is typical of the history of many small New Zealand farming communities. It was written in 2019 to commemorate 85 years of settlement. It was self published as a A4 sized coffee-table type book.
Email: hebron716[at]gmail.com
Writer: Heather Vincent
About The Writer
Heather Vincent
HEATHER VINCENT, formerly from Auckland, now lives in Tauranga with her husband Brian. They married in 1968 and had three children – Cherie, Karen and David. They are now retired – Brian as an electrician and bus driver, and Heather as a tutor of learning-disabled children. Their son David passed away in 2002, from the disability, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, aged 28. This hereditary disability has affected three generations of Heather’s family, her brother, her son and three of her four grandsons. They were the inspiration behind her first book, “It’s All Right Mum!” published in 2004 by Daystar and became an e-book in 2013. It was re-published in 2023, again by Daystar, to include the on-going story of her daughters and grandsons.
Heather loves history and her second book, Island Block, Land of Promise, tells the story of the small farming community where she grew up. She is also researching her family’s roots in New Zealand’s early colonial history.
Heather has been a member of Christian Writers since 2004, and has entered some of the competitions. She, and her son David, have written articles for a couple of magazines for people with disabilities – In Touch (Muscular Dystrophy Association) and The Encourager (Elevate Christian Disabilities Trust).
Photo: Heather Vincent
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