There is a colloquial saying in Aotearoa New Zealand, that everyone is connected by only 2 degrees of separation. I did not realise how true this could be until I started researching and editing for Wikipedia.

In November 2025, I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Wikipedia Summer Studentship through the Sheldon Werner Summer Studentship Programme for the Tāmaki Makaurau Wikipedia Local Histories project. In the Wikipedia programme’s third iteration, I was part of a cohort of 6 with 5 other incredible wahine. The 2025/26 programme saw the expansion to include other Auckland GLAM institutions for the first time, so I was extra fortunate to be the first Wiki summer student placed at MOTAT , the Museum of Transport and Technology.

The first article I wrote was on one of the buildings that is an essential part of MOTAT’s history, Sargeant Quinlan’s Fencible Cottage .…