The Johnsonville Diamond

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)

Dance Notes

1- 2 Taking nearer hands, first and second ladies set advancing to first and second men who set back.
3- 4 First and second ladies cast left about back to place.
5- 8 Repeat 1-4 this time with the men advancing and casting.
9-16 First couple dance a figure of 8 around the second couple crossing between them to begin.
17-24 First and second couple dance a modified la spirale. (The Alec Hay Variation.)
La Spirale is a new progression. (described here for 1C and 2C)
 17-18 First and second couple dance ¾ of a two hand turn to finish in a line of 4 up and down, first man back to back with second lady.
 19-20 First man and second lady cast around each other (pulling back RS, beginning tightly and then opening out) to finish first man in second man's place and second lady in first lady's place, while first lady dances clockwise around the outside of the set to second lady's place and similarly second man to first man's place. (These dancers should not cast but dance straight onwards.)
 21-24 For this dance, 1C and 2C turn partners with 2 hands. (5-6) and, staying in the middle, cast back to place. (Full turn, hesitate and cast.)
25-32 Second and first couples dance an all round poussette.

Repeat, having passed a couple.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser Rod Downey, Johnsonville SCD Club Tutor)

Dance Notes

1- 2 First and second couple dance ¾ of a two hand turn to finish in a line of 4 up and down, first man back to back with second lady.
3- 4 First man and second lady cast around each other (pulling back RS, beginning tightly and then opening out) to finish first man in second man's place and second lady in first lady's place, while first lady dances clockwise around the outside of the set to second lady's place and similarly second man to first man's place. (These dancers should not cast but dance straight onwards.)
5- 8 For this dance, 1C and 2C turn partners with 2 hands. (5-6) and, staying in the middle, cast back to place. (Full turn, hesitate and cast.)

Note that in La Spirale, the cast of 1M and 2W should be tight else the covering will be lost.

When teaching this formation, it is often helpful if the first lady retains right hand with first man's left momentarily at the beginning of bar 3, and similarly second man's right with second lady's left.

"The Alec Hay" variation is the modification of the last 4 bars, which are usually a 4 bar 2 hand turn.

Alec Hay was a New Zealand deviser of dances who gave us half turn hesitate and cast, set and link, inverted double triangles, amongst other things, as well as shuttle step.

(Dance notes by the deviser, Rod Downey)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

The Johnsonville Diamond - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

2015 was the diamond jubilee (60th anniversary) of the formation of the Johnsonville Scottish Country Dance Club, as best we can tell.

Recommended music is "The Braes of Busby" by Joseph MacFadyen played ABAB and a suitable recording is the RSCDS one for dances from Book 9, by Liam Stewart.

(Dance information from The Johnsonville Collection Of Scottish Country Dances, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey)

Originally named after Frank Johnson who began clearing the area in the 1840s, the suburb transitioned from farmland into a rural service settlement before growing rapidly with the arrival of the railway in 1885, which was electrified in 1938 linking it effectively to Wellington.

Covering around 3.7 square kilometres, Johnsonville had a population of just over 11,100 at the 2018 New Zealand census, up about 8.5 percent since 2013, with an estimated 11,810 residents by mid-2023, giving a density near 3,166 people per square kilometre. Of those counted in 2018, roughly 48 percent were aged 30 to 64, about 20 percent were under 15, and around 12 percent were 65 or older. Inhabitants identified ethnically as approximately 61 percent European/Pakeha, 9.8 percent Maori, 5.9 percent Pasifika, and 30.3 percent Asian, with a significant share born overseas.

The suburb functions as a major northern town centre for Wellington, featuring a sizeable shopping centre, several supermarkets, cafes, libraries and other services within its retail hub. Key community facilities include the Waitohi Library and Community Hub alongside the Keith Spry Pool complex, both serving as focal points for leisure and social activity.

Transport infrastructure is a notable feature: Johnsonville is the terminus of the Johnsonville Line railway and is intersected by multiple bus routes, offering swift commuter access to Wellington CBD, Porirua and surrounding suburbs. The suburb also lies at the start of the Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway, New Zealand's first motorway inaugurated in the 1950s.

Among historic landmarks is Daisy Hill Farm House, a simplified Georgian-style dwelling built around 1860 for an early settler and now one of Wellington's few surviving colonial residences, recognised as a Category 1 historic place.

Johnsonville has evolved over time from rural service town to robust suburban centre with steady population growth, ethnic diversity, established transport links and a range of civic and commercial amenities serving both local residents and neighbouring communities.

Johnsonville, Wellington, New Zealand

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