During a photography road trip around the Far North, two old friends started discussing the significance of place. They were there to document places by creating photographs, or documents of that place in time. These documents were from their individual camera perspectives and this was just one of numerous ways to interpret or record that place.

These places had all been inhabited, visited, impacted, or not – over time. They had been people’s whanau land, battle grounds, kumara patches, homes, holiday destinations, backyards, fishing spots, dairy farms, first homes, places of rest, school bus routes etc etc. These places all had names that often have Maori and European meaning and these names had their own associated stories. There were also iterations and varying perspectives of these stories over time. Could there be something that let you share your experiences, documents and stories of these different places with others? The internet was surely the medium to house a website about all of us and our history using place as a window to look through… a way of sharing the the memories and significant happenings that had been created there, the photos taken there, the meaning of that place.

In 2006 the Blue Orb Charitable Trust took this idea, and submitted an expression of interest for Digital Strategies funding from the Department of Internal Affairs. This was successful, and in 2007 Blue Orb was granted Community Partnership Funding to develop a community-centric, grassroots website named This is the Place - Ko Tenei Te Wahi.

Ko Tenei Te Wahi is a project that has inspired government agencies, local communities, business groups, historians, tourism leaders, and individuals. Contributors from around the country have to date matched every dollar of funding with contributions of time and talent.

This reflects the grassroots, citizen-centric approach of the project. From conception it is being driven by the community, including design, development, and implementation. More importantly, the content will be from the people, in their place. We acknowledge all the funders, contributors, partners and volunteers who are making This is the Place – Ko Tenei te Wahi a reality.

The website will house and share your thoughts on an intruiging question: What does this place mean to you? Visit the website at www.thisistheplace.org.nz to explore and share stories of Northland.