In 2006 motor enthusiast Jim Baird bought a triple banger stucco showroom on Patea's main street, and renamed it the Star Garage. If his intention was to become a Star in Patea he is succeeding. The old building which had retailed petrol and then groceries in it's time, now houses memories, automotive memories, as well as Jim, his faithful dog Ted and their homebrew kit. Jim scours New Zealand...
ViewHokianga Visitor Centre is near the Opononi Hotel. A statue in the beach resort commemorates 'Opo the Friendly Dolphin' who made Opononi famous in the summer of 1955-56 when she played with the locals and tourists. Rare film footage of Opo playing with children in the harbour is on Pictorial Parade #47, link below. Whispering Trails and Footprints, links below, are the guides in the are...
ViewHere is where the Donaghy manufacturing dynasty (In New Zealand terms) made rope, starting in 1876. The very long and very low (380m x 10m) building called a 'rope walk' may well be one of the last such facilities in the Southern Hemisphere, which is why it has Category One status on the Heritage List. Rope making was important during the earlier parts of New Zealand settlement and Donaghy's were ...
ViewThe sequence of five earthquake-raised beaches are internationally-renowned in scientific circles for the continuous record they provide of geological upheaval over the past 7,000 years.
View1868 Chapel belonging to this tiny community and with an interesting history. Worth a glimpse behind the (significant) hedging on the way to or from Larnach Castle. Interestingly from above it has the shape of a perfect Greek Cross, which only the birds would have been able to see in the 19th Century. Next door, and bounded by a classic Otago low stone fence, much to NZPlaces delight, is a...
ViewTataraimaka is one of the great pa of the Taranaki tribe. It was attacked and taken about 1820 by a northern taua (war party) named after its leader Murupaenga of Ngati Whatua. The storming of the pa followed the first ever use of guns in the region. Across the road at the Fort St George Redoubt there is a memorial to Maoris who were killed in the Battle of Katikara on 4 June 1863 when a large...
ViewAn accessible area (8 hectares) of lowland mixed podocarp forest. There is a 15-minute circular walk. Look for a giant totara, miro, matai, rimu and kahikatea and on the hill slopes lacebark, lancewood and five finger. There are many birds, including tuis, bellbirds, grey warblers and fantails.
ViewAfter many years of urban decline, in 2013 community of Otahuhu managed to convince the new Supercity Council to inject some urban design into the disused and misused Fairburn park area. The result, opened in late 2015, is a whole lot of everything. Perhaps most importantly a fittingly vibrant and engaging park-like setting for the celebrated David Lange Memorial, 2009 (see nearby places). In an...
ViewA fine centrepiece for the town, the result of a bequest, the gallery design was by a young New Zealander Donald Hosie who was conscripted in 1916 to fight in World War One and died in France at the battle of Passchendaele. (See the Historic Places link.) Lively special exhibits complement the permanent collection in this well established gallery. Gallery space was due to be expanded with a new...
ViewWhilst Governor Hobson may have moved New Zealand’s first capital from the Bay of Islands in 1841, his successors could not ignore the troubled North. Eight-five metres of the Albert Barracks Wall survive from a wall begun in the new capital, Auckland, in 1846 and completed in 1851–52 to counter any raid by anti-government Maori. It used basalt quarried from Mt Eden and, ironically, relied hea...
ViewVisit the interior display in this Victorian house to see how the lifestyle of a well-off Englishman and his family was transferred to New Zealand. The fully furnished cob house, dating from about 1855, is thoroughly worth a visit. Broadgreen, originally the home of Edmund Buxton and his family, is unusually large (11 rooms) for a building made of cob and has a grand appearance. Buxton chose t...
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