From: mark <whitroth at 5-cent.us>
Subject: [WSFA] How an ordinary New Zealand town became steampunk capital of the
 world
To: "gt-pfrc at ml.gt.org" <gt-pfrc at ml.gt.org>,
 WSFA Official List <wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com>,
 WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>, bsfsgeneral <bsfsgeneral at bsfs.org>,
 Sunshine Adams <snygrl at dmarc-yahoo.com>,
 Amanda Carter-Roth <amandacr.smith at gmail.com>,
 Liz Sullivan <elizabethmsullivan at gmail.com>,
 Kevin Whitworth <quazark at gmail.com>, lock <l_george at zoho.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2016 18:53:11 -0400
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

Dunno what to say....

Excerpt:
he humble farming town of Oamaru, three hours south of Christchurch on New
Zealand\342\200\231s South Island, used to be known for its population of blue
penguins and having the best-preserved collection of Victorian
architecture in the country.

But that was before it became the world\342\200\231s unlikely capital of steampunk,
drawing enthusiasts from around to globe to what was once an economically
depressed rural service centre wedged between the Kakanui mountain range
and the Pacific Ocean.

Earlier this month Oamaru made it into the Guinness Book of World Records
for the largest gathering of steampunks in the world.
<...>
The tipping point came when local farmers started turning up in droves to
the exhibition, intrigued by the creative, outlandish inventions on
display \342\200\223 which often incorporated materials scavenged from dumps and
secondhand shops in the area.

\342\200\234The farmers went home and started tinkering in their sheds, creating
steampunk inventions. That\342\200\231s when it really started to go like wildfire,\342\200\235
recalls Clark.
--- end excerpt ---

<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/new-zealand-town-oamaru-steampunk-capital-of-the-world>

       mark