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Shirley Arabin interview two
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Summary
Short BioShirley Arabin (née Rice)
Shirley Rice was born in 1935 and raised on a farm in Ōhura to the west of Taumarunui in the area
known as the King Country. She was educated at New Plymouth Girls’ High School and later
received a Bachelor of Social Sciences and BA from the University of Waikato.
Her mother encouraged her interest in family history and her first published work appeared in 1989,
Shirley married Barry Arabin who was descended from a distinguished and somewhat eccentric
Huguenot/Irish family.
She worked for the Housing Corporation for many years and when she retired she pursued her
lifelong interest in history by completing a BA at Tauranga University College at the University of
Waikato. After that she was for some years more or less continuously employed on projects in the
Bay of Plenty as an independent researcher and historian. Those who commissioned her knew that
they could rely on her absolute thoroughness, accuracy, and integrity as a researcher.
Her main interests are Irish and New Zealand history, and family history, but she is also very skilled at researching the history of places and buildings.
Shirley Rice was born in 1935 and raised on a farm in Ōhura to the west of Taumarunui in the area
known as the King Country. She was educated at New Plymouth Girls’ High School and later
received a Bachelor of Social Sciences and BA from the University of Waikato.
Her mother encouraged her interest in family history and her first published work appeared in 1989,
Shirley married Barry Arabin who was descended from a distinguished and somewhat eccentric
Huguenot/Irish family.
She worked for the Housing Corporation for many years and when she retired she pursued her
lifelong interest in history by completing a BA at Tauranga University College at the University of
Waikato. After that she was for some years more or less continuously employed on projects in the
Bay of Plenty as an independent researcher and historian. Those who commissioned her knew that
they could rely on her absolute thoroughness, accuracy, and integrity as a researcher.
Her main interests are Irish and New Zealand history, and family history, but she is also very skilled at researching the history of places and buildings.
OverviewShirley shares her vast knowledge of the Brain family, the Brain Watkins House and the house contents.InterviewerBev HodgesDate of Interview17 November 2021Equipment UsedZoom 5Occasion/ProjectTauranga Historical Society
InterviewerBev HodgesDate of Interview17 November 2021Equipment UsedZoom 5Occasion/ProjectTauranga Historical SocietyUsage
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Shirley Arabin interview two. Pae Korokī, accessed 19/03/2026, https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/60267
