In this thesis I argue that food and drink were of central importance to Don Dunstan throughout much of his political and private life. The conventional view of Dunstan always proclaimed that his passionate interest in food and drink was merely peripheral to his life. Food and drink were simply an aberration, of the same idiosyncratic order of importance as his song and dance routine with Keith Michell, his piano playing, or his reciting poetry from the back of an elephant. These various accomplishments were merely confirmation that Dunstan was different from other politicians. I argue that Dunstan was indeed different, but that the difference was rooted firmly in his life-long love affair with food and drink. I argue that his fascination with food and drink drove much of his reform agenda, that it helped his day-to-day survival, and that it provided him with the means of expressing his ove for others. Dunstan's 1976 cookbook announced his arrival as a devotee of gastronomy and furthers my argument that he helped to introduce and establish a new Australian cuisine. After Dunstan left political life in 1979 he tried to establish himself in other spheres, but it was his almost obsessive interest in all of the aspects of a gastronomic life that triumphed. In the final decade of Dunstan's life his long love affair with food and drink became a full-blown passion. I argue that, with his long-overdue adventure as a restaurateur, he finally became the complete Don Dunstan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of History and Politics, 2004.

A hydrogeologic model, groundwater chemistry and stable isotopic analysis were used to establish recharge resources and outflows so a water balance could be developed for the Cromwell Terrace Aquifer (CTA) in Central Otago, New Zealand. Increased popularity of the Central Otago region for viticulture, orcharding and tourism, has resulted in an increased demand for water. Groundwater is a viable option to meet this demand for water. The CTA is a single unconfined aquifer contained within a thin veneer of permeable Quaternary glacial outwash gravels that range in thickness between 10 and 50m. These gravels rest unconformably on less permeable folded Tertiary sediments. The buried surface of the Tertiary sediments is irregular and provides the main hydrogeologic control in the CTA. Buried topographic highs in the Tertiary sediments impede groundwater flow, while the buried paleochannels at the southern end of the Cromwell Flat allow groundwater to flow unrestricted. The saturated thickness of the aquifer varies between 10 and 30 m. The direction of groundwater flow is in south easterly and south westerly directions toward both Lake Dunstan and the Kawarau Arm respectively. This indicates that recharge is from the Pisa Range. Annual fluctuations in groundwater levels show that there is a seasonal effect on the groundwater table. Annual fluctuations in groundwater level are in the range of 0.4 – 0.5 m, with lowest levels in winter and highest groundwater levels in late summer. The higher groundwater levels in summer correlate with when higher rainfall occurs, but could also be due to artificial recharge from irrigation during summer, and/or seepage from the Ripponvale Irrigation Scheme canals and storage ponds. Groundwater chemical analysis showed the dominant facies to be calcium bicarbonate waters. The source of the calcium bicarbonate is considered to be calcite in the Otago Schist, with concentrations of calcium bicarbonate being higher closer to the bedrock schist of the Pisa Range. Concentrations decreased toward Lake Dunstan, where calcium bicarbonate concentrations were lowest. The trend of calcium bicarbonate concentrations decreasing toward Lake Dunstan produces a similar pattern to the direction of groundwater flow. This would suggest that calcium bicarbonate concentrations are being diluted by rainwater infiltrating into the aquifer. However stable isotopic analysis showed that lake water infiltrates into the aquifer around the lake margin, and would also dilute calcium bicarbonate concentrations. Stable isotopic analysis found that groundwater was more depleted in both δ¹⁸O and δ²H than water from Lake Dunstan. The average δ¹⁸O for groundwater was -9.5‰, whereas the average δ¹⁸O for samples from Lake Dunstan was -8.1‰. The average δ¹⁸O value of Pisa Range snow, Pisa Range streams and Cromwell Flat precipitation gave values of -9.2‰ +/- 1.4‰, which is very similar to groundwater. This suggests recharge to the CTA is from a combination of snow melt and surface stream flow from the Pisa Range, and some direct rainfall infiltration on the Cromwell Flat. A water balance was calculated for the CTA groundwater system using the information from this study, and from a limited Otago Regional Council (O.R.C.) database. The main inputs to the CTA were found to be recharge precipitation and subsurface flows from the Pisa Range. The main outputs were identified as surface evaporation and discharge from the CTA to Lake Dunstan. The water balance showed that the total flow of water through the CTA is 93 Million cubic metres per year (Mm³/yr). At present the CTA has limited groundwater allocation measures in place. Using the information from the water balance, a volume of groundwater that could be abstracted sustainably was estimated. This volume was estimated using the O.R.C. method of allocating 50% of the mean annual precipitation that recharges the aquifer for groundwater abstraction. The total mean annual precipitation for the Cromwell Flat and Pisa Range is 20 Mm³/yr. Using the 50% of mean annual precipitation method, 10 Mm³/yr can be allocated for groundwater abstraction. The total volume of groundwater currently abstracted is 3 Mm³/yr, leaving 7 Mm³/yr of unallocated groundwater. Due to the small land area, types of land use, low population density of Cromwell Flat and availability of surface water (i.e. Lake Dunstan), it is unlikely that the total volume of 10 Mm³/yr will be fully allocated.

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