Heritage Talk - Norman McLeod Firebrand Minister

Next date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 | 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Zana Bell will present a portrayal of the Reverend Norman McLeod who, in the 1850s, spearheaded a remarkable migration of six ships that brought his Gaelic-speaking community to Waipū and the Whangārei Heads, transforming these shores forever. This was his second migration; he had already led many of these same families 30 years earlier to Nova Scotia.

A firebrand minister and an impassioned preacher, Norman McLeod had a knack of exciting both adoration and dissent wherever he went. Nearly two centuries later, he still incites controversy. Free-thinker or fanatic? Patriarch or despot?

Zana went to Scotland to learn more about this man who could inspire entire communities to up sticks and move across the world. Twice.

His exploits are highly entertaining and he was an undoubted wordsmith. Excerpts of his inflammatory sermons might have made Shakespeare envious. Come along and judge for yourself.

Images above: a painting of Reverend Norman McLeod (Waipū Scottish Migration Museum), and the barque Breadalbane, one of the ships which brought the early settlers from Nova Scotia to New Zealand.

About Zana Bell

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Zana Bell grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe and studied English Literature at the University of Cape Town. After travelling for several years doing a wide range of jobs, she immigrated to New Zealand where she now lives with her family and cats in a small harbourside community.

Zana has written six novels across a range of genres, which have all been published internationally. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and was the Academic Lead of NorthTec’s writing programmes until 2022. Non-fiction has now snagged her interest and she is currently working on a biography of Auckland’s first female doctor, Alice Horsley.

When

Location

Cafler Suite

Forum North, 7 Rust Avenue, Whangārei, 0110, View Map