Mick’s Journey: An Irish Immigrant’s Story
Ellen Legg
This map seeks to explore how the story of the life of one immigrant (Michael “Mick” Dunne) can illustrate the experiences of others. In this case, Irish immigrants to New Zealand in the post-World War Two period. While the biographical details of the subject’s life are personal and individual, when displayed on a map with important world events and other information they draw together larger trends.
Mapping out the events of a person’s life across the world allow them to be understood in a global context. It enables you, the viewer, to interrogate the significance of the events of a person’s life as they fit within broader knowledge of history and identity. A map of this type also enables layering of places and dates with photographs, memories, and events. These add depth to the understanding of the subject’s life and the context they lived in, as an individual making choices grounded in historical circumstances. This in turn seeks to enable you to develop a deeper understanding of those circumstances.
The map allows you to draw out connections. Rather than being presented with conclusions between cause and effect, you are invited to explore the map and create connections between events and actions throughout the world. These span not just continents but centuries and generations.
Mapping out the events of a person’s life across the world allow them to be understood in a global context. It enables you, the viewer, to interrogate the significance of the events of a person’s life as they fit within broader knowledge of history and identity. A map of this type also enables layering of places and dates with photographs, memories, and events. These add depth to the understanding of the subject’s life and the context they lived in, as an individual making choices grounded in historical circumstances. This in turn seeks to enable you to develop a deeper understanding of those circumstances.
The map allows you to draw out connections. Rather than being presented with conclusions between cause and effect, you are invited to explore the map and create connections between events and actions throughout the world. These span not just continents but centuries and generations.
I invite you to explore the map, starting with the first layer (chronological events of the subject’s life). Read the descriptions below before you begin, and explore the other layers concurrently as you work your way through the first.
Layer 1: Mick Dunne’s Life
The first layer chronologically presents key events and places in the life of an Irish immigrant to New Zealand, Michael “Mick” Dunne. He was my grandfather, and lived between 1921-1989 in Ireland, England, and New Zealand. Research largely drew on oral interviews with his three children, as well as documentation from family records and official historical records. Often, the source material is included directly in the map, for example: photographs, documents, and quotes from interviews.
Layer 2: Key World Events
The second layer includes significant events throughout the world which may have affected the life of the subject. It is not intended as a comprehensive list of impactful events, as there would be too many to include while allowing you to meaningfully engage with the map. Nor does it attempt to give a broad overview of world history, only including those that the subject personally experienced. Rather, it seeks to highlight global interconnectedness in a historical life. This has an advantage over a written piece of work, where varied global events may be too diffuse to include in a short biography.
Layer 3: Mick’s Descendants
The inclusion of the subject’s descendants shows that an immigrant’s journey does not end with their life. It has lasting impacts that shape societies and communities. This element gives a living dimension to the map and invites you to consider how the past shapes the present.
Layer 4: Rangitāne o Manawatū
The final layer describes in brief the history and geography of the iwi local to Papaioea/Palmerston North. Palmerston North was chosen as a focus because that is where the subject settled and owned land. Because Aotearoa/New Zealand was first occupied by Māori, it is important to pay respect to their histories when writing immigration histories. For centuries, Europeans have ignored and overriden the society that existed here before their arrival. Land in particular has been of central importance in Pākehā-Māori relations, and any story told in relation to this land must give credence to its first inhabitants.
Layer 1: Mick Dunne’s Life
The first layer chronologically presents key events and places in the life of an Irish immigrant to New Zealand, Michael “Mick” Dunne. He was my grandfather, and lived between 1921-1989 in Ireland, England, and New Zealand. Research largely drew on oral interviews with his three children, as well as documentation from family records and official historical records. Often, the source material is included directly in the map, for example: photographs, documents, and quotes from interviews.
Layer 2: Key World Events
The second layer includes significant events throughout the world which may have affected the life of the subject. It is not intended as a comprehensive list of impactful events, as there would be too many to include while allowing you to meaningfully engage with the map. Nor does it attempt to give a broad overview of world history, only including those that the subject personally experienced. Rather, it seeks to highlight global interconnectedness in a historical life. This has an advantage over a written piece of work, where varied global events may be too diffuse to include in a short biography.
Layer 3: Mick’s Descendants
The inclusion of the subject’s descendants shows that an immigrant’s journey does not end with their life. It has lasting impacts that shape societies and communities. This element gives a living dimension to the map and invites you to consider how the past shapes the present.
Layer 4: Rangitāne o Manawatū
The final layer describes in brief the history and geography of the iwi local to Papaioea/Palmerston North. Palmerston North was chosen as a focus because that is where the subject settled and owned land. Because Aotearoa/New Zealand was first occupied by Māori, it is important to pay respect to their histories when writing immigration histories. For centuries, Europeans have ignored and overriden the society that existed here before their arrival. Land in particular has been of central importance in Pākehā-Māori relations, and any story told in relation to this land must give credence to its first inhabitants.
Sources:Sources are listed in the order the corresponding source material appears on the layer.
Layer 1:Entry for Michael Dunne, Births register, 27 April 1886, no. 374, p. 583, 11109996, General Register Office, Dublin.
Entry for Maurice Dunne and Margaret Hanley, Marriages register, 20 February 1919, no. 133, p. 143, 05505195, General Register Office, Dublin.
Entry for Margaret Dunne, Deaths register, 24 October 1924, no. 487, p.124, 04372881, General Register Office, Dublin.
Medical card issued by the London Insurance Committee, 20 July 1940, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Certificate of Proficiency, Merchant Navy A/A Gunnery Course, 13 July 1944, Mary Legg’s personal papers, 15 Totara Road, Palmerston North.
Entry for Michael John Dunne, 1946, New Zealand electoral rolls 1853-1981, p.6, 4032 fiche, Archives New Zealand, Auckland.
Entry for Joseph and Nellie Dunne, 1946, New Zealand electoral rolls 1853-1981, p.9, 4032 fiche, Archives New Zealand, Auckland.
Michael John Dunne, April 1949, New Zealand marriages series, p. 146, 5309, Alexander Turnbull Library (ANZ).
Watersider’s Loyalty Card 1951, Michael Dunne, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Record of Title, 15 Totara Road Palmerston North, 18 July 1954, LINZ, WNB3/1232.
Death certificate of Michael John Dunne, 2 September 1989, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Mary Fitzgerald, interview by Maurice O’Keeffe, Camp, 17 July 2016.
Mary Legg, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 4 October and 6 October 2021.
Maurice Dunne, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 6 October 2021.
Josie Dunne, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 9 October 2021.
‘Warrant for Michael John Dunne’, Kelvin Grove Cemetery records; (https://www.pncc.govt.nz/services/cemetery-and-cremation-search/warrant/?id=18048); accessed 9/10/2021.
Layer 2:Orange, Claudia. The Treaty of Waitangi. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books Limited, 2015.
Patterson, Brad, (ed.), The Irish in New Zealand: Historical contexts and perspectives (Wellington: Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, 2002).
Bartlett, Thomas, A History of Ireland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Millar, Grace, ‘Families and the 1951 New Zealand waterfront lockout’, PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013.
Millar, Grace, ‘As a Scab’, New Zealand Journal of History, 48, 2, 2014, pp.71-90.
Franks, Peter and Nolan, Melanie, (eds.), Unions in Common Cause: the New Zealand Federation of Labour 1937-88 (Auckland: Steele Roberts Aotearoa, 2011).
Hay, Doddy, War Under the Red Ensign: The Merchant Navy 1939-45 (London: Jane’s Publishing Company Limited, 1989).
Royde-Smith, John Graham and Hughes, Thomas A.. "World War II". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Sep. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II. Accessed 9 February 2022.
British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948.
King, Michael. The Penguin History of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003, pp. 402-415.
Layer 3:Mason Durie and Meihana Durie, 'Rangitāne', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/rangitane (accessed 7 February 2022).
Waitangi Tribunal (2015). The Manawatū Claim (Report No. Wai 185).
Layer 1:Entry for Michael Dunne, Births register, 27 April 1886, no. 374, p. 583, 11109996, General Register Office, Dublin.
Entry for Maurice Dunne and Margaret Hanley, Marriages register, 20 February 1919, no. 133, p. 143, 05505195, General Register Office, Dublin.
Entry for Margaret Dunne, Deaths register, 24 October 1924, no. 487, p.124, 04372881, General Register Office, Dublin.
Medical card issued by the London Insurance Committee, 20 July 1940, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Certificate of Proficiency, Merchant Navy A/A Gunnery Course, 13 July 1944, Mary Legg’s personal papers, 15 Totara Road, Palmerston North.
Entry for Michael John Dunne, 1946, New Zealand electoral rolls 1853-1981, p.6, 4032 fiche, Archives New Zealand, Auckland.
Entry for Joseph and Nellie Dunne, 1946, New Zealand electoral rolls 1853-1981, p.9, 4032 fiche, Archives New Zealand, Auckland.
Michael John Dunne, April 1949, New Zealand marriages series, p. 146, 5309, Alexander Turnbull Library (ANZ).
Watersider’s Loyalty Card 1951, Michael Dunne, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Record of Title, 15 Totara Road Palmerston North, 18 July 1954, LINZ, WNB3/1232.
Death certificate of Michael John Dunne, 2 September 1989, Mary Legg’s personal papers, Palmerston North.
Mary Fitzgerald, interview by Maurice O’Keeffe, Camp, 17 July 2016.
Mary Legg, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 4 October and 6 October 2021.
Maurice Dunne, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 6 October 2021.
Josie Dunne, interview by Ellen Legg, Wellington, 9 October 2021.
‘Warrant for Michael John Dunne’, Kelvin Grove Cemetery records; (https://www.pncc.govt.nz/services/cemetery-and-cremation-search/warrant/?id=18048); accessed 9/10/2021.
Layer 2:Orange, Claudia. The Treaty of Waitangi. Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books Limited, 2015.
Patterson, Brad, (ed.), The Irish in New Zealand: Historical contexts and perspectives (Wellington: Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, 2002).
Bartlett, Thomas, A History of Ireland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Millar, Grace, ‘Families and the 1951 New Zealand waterfront lockout’, PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013.
Millar, Grace, ‘As a Scab’, New Zealand Journal of History, 48, 2, 2014, pp.71-90.
Franks, Peter and Nolan, Melanie, (eds.), Unions in Common Cause: the New Zealand Federation of Labour 1937-88 (Auckland: Steele Roberts Aotearoa, 2011).
Hay, Doddy, War Under the Red Ensign: The Merchant Navy 1939-45 (London: Jane’s Publishing Company Limited, 1989).
Royde-Smith, John Graham and Hughes, Thomas A.. "World War II". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Sep. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II. Accessed 9 February 2022.
British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948.
King, Michael. The Penguin History of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin Books, 2003, pp. 402-415.
Layer 3:Mason Durie and Meihana Durie, 'Rangitāne', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/rangitane (accessed 7 February 2022).
Waitangi Tribunal (2015). The Manawatū Claim (Report No. Wai 185).