LOOKING BACK AT HISTORY

I recently went on a camping trip to Cornwall and had to visit the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft based in Boscastle particularly as it's on my museum bucketlist! The Museum of Magic and Witchcraft was created by Cecil Williamson who had always had an interest in witchcraft since he was a child. A Witchcraft Museum was originally opened by him in Stratford-Upon-Avon but this was met with local opposition and moved it to the Isle of Man in 1951 under the name The Folklore Centre of Superstition and Witchcraft. Eventually in 1960 Cecil decided to move his museum to Boscastle, Cornwall where it remains today. Cecil stated, ‘Three miles away from this spot you can find this pre-historic maze stone carved into a living rock face, proof that from ancient times man and his magic making with the world of spirit were active in this area. The centuries have passed and times have changed and yet all around us in this quiet corner of England there is a strange feeling that we are not alone an...

Located on State Highway 8 in Central Otago, Lindis Pass stands at an altitude of 971m. Prior to English settlement, the Maori named the main route through Lindis Pass to the Clutha River "Okahu". Evidence shows that Maori were familiar with this area and often camped by Omako, now commonly known as Lindis River. In 1857 a man named John Turbull Thomson crossed the area and gave it its name. He named it after Lindisfarne island in North East England which was his home. During his travels, he noticed that there was gold in the area but not in substantial quantaties. It wasn't until 1861 when Samuel Mcintyre found a substantial amount in Lindis Pass that actually had payable quantaties. The Lindis River saw the small scale gold rush in the Otago area. Mcintyre had previously worked in gold fields in California and could therefore indentify the similarities between the two regions, noticing the area's  potential for goldmining that others had not. By April that year ...