Wendy Larsen with photos of trip to Norway connecting with her family roots. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY
Wendy Larsen with photos of trip to Norway connecting with her family roots. PHOTO/ BEVAN CONLEY
A Whanganui women is discovering her long-lost family in Norway after a trip late last year to visit her great great grandfather's grave.
Wendy Larsen's great great grandmother, Eli Larsen, migrated to New Zealand in 1872 as a widow with "some of her children".
Before Wendy began planning her tripto Norway she had no knowledge of her family roots remaining in Norway.
She soon learnt one of Eli's sons stayed in Norway to continue working for the military.
Almost tearing up as she spoke to the Chronicle, Wendy said she never expected the experience to have such a powerful effect on her and wished to share her story to encourage others to explore their own family heritage.
After getting in contact with a third cousin Trond Haugen, through word of mouth, Wendy ventured to Norway for a six day trip to stay with his family.
Trond Haugen with his children Kaja Haugen, Lars Haugen and Johanne with Wendy. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED.
Ever since Wendy was young she said she used to listen to her dad talk of her family roots and she always wanted to know more of her Norwegian heritage.
"On the plane to Norway my heart would start racing everytime I thought about landing...I got this werid sense that [Norway] felt like my second home...by the time I got there half of Norway knew I was coming..."
Wendy said it was funny she wanted to know all about her Norwedgian family and her Norwedgian family wanted to know all about New Zealand.
"We worked out that the number of Eli Larsen's decendants in New Zealand were around 5,000 and only 50-100 remained in Norway....so to them New Zealand was extremely intresting," Wendy said.
Third cousin from Norway Kari Vikerhaugen and Wendy Larsen with their great great grandfathers grave. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
She said when she was in Norway she went to Trond's sons' school to give a talk about New Zealand.
"The kids had so many questions - they asked if I had pets, they wanted to hear what New Zealand kids names were and they wanted to see a kiwi fruit as well as the kiwi bird,"
The Larsen clan were part of the first southern Wairarapa settlers to arrive in New Zealand and migrate to Masterston, where Wendy was born. They were a key part of Premier Julius Vogel's immigration and public works plan to establish Scandinavian settlements along forest stretched 70 miles from the Wairarapa to Hawkes Bay.
"Connecting with my family roots in Norway was an amazing experience and I want others to experience it too...I feel like it's added another dimension to my life,"
Wendy and her Norwegian relatives Lars Haugen and Reidun Haugen with a reef and Norway flag to lay on Wendy's great great grandfathers grave. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED
