AUCKLAND/THAMES

Heritage holiday getaways

If you’re planning a summer getaway in Auckland or the Coromandel, or simply find yourself road-tripping your way along our stunning scenic roads, here are some Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga gems to check out:

1. Alberton Nestled on the lower slopes of Mount Albert lies Alberton – a romantic Indian architectural inspired house built for Allan Kerr Taylor in 1863 as the centre for the family’s original 500 acre farm. With an extensive collection of family items and sprawling heritage garden, a tour of Alberton’s 18 rooms offers a unique heritage experience. Over the summer, Alberton plays host to a number of exciting summer events. The Alberton Market Day on the second Sunday of the month, from 10am to 2pm (starting November with a break in January) is a summer ‘must do’ in Auckland.

2. Highwic After a quick exit off the southern motorway at Gillies Avenue and up the spectacular tree-lined driveway is Highwic. Located a stone’s throw from Auckland’s premier shopping district of Newmarket, Highwic is set in a tranquil setting. A visit opens the door to life in the colonial ‘boom and bust’ period of Auckland and to the family of Alfred Buckland. Upcoming events and features include the Highwic Christmas Shop, which is open until 23 December, and Highwic’s Christmas Garden Party on Sunday 6 December. The party is a fun day out for all the family with live music, a café and bar, craft, book and plant stalls, and variety of activities for children. 3. Ewelme Cottage When Vicesimus Lush, the vicar of Howick, wanted his eldest sons to have an education at the Church of England Grammar School in Parnell his solution was to build Ewelme. Situated just off Parnell Road at 14 Ayr Street, this delightful yet modest cottage and garden reflects the restraint and standards of what life was like in the Victorian era for a busy ecclesiastic family. The house is full of treasures collected by the original family and their ancestors. Bring a picnic to enjoy in the beautiful cottage garden and listen to the enchanting sound of tui living in the historic trees surrounding the lawn.

4. Thames School of Mines Located on the site of a Māori urupā (burial ground), fascinating Māori, industrial and geological history converge at one of New Zealand’s largest and best-preserved mining schools in the heart of the Hauraki gold fields. The Mineralogical Museum houses a comprehensive collection of minerals and fossils from New Zealand and abroad. Guided tours are available at the Mining School and Mineralogical Museum, as well as gold panning, by appointment.

For more details on these places please visit www.heritage.org.nz n

Writer: Antony Phillips

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So much to see and do in the South

Majestic scenery matched by heritage hotspots – the South Island has it all. This summer is as good a time as any to spend time checking these Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga properties out.

1: Fyffe House In a stunning seaside setting, Fyffe House is Kaikōura’s oldest surviving building and the last remnant of a pioneer whaling station established in 1842. In addition to touring the house and gift shop, the surrounding landscape provides a charming place for an amble. In 1859, this property was the venue for the Kaikōura Deed signing between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown. Visitors will also discover interesting clues to past activities at this site; a striking carving, Pou Tangaroa, recounts stories relating to the area’s Māori history.

2: Kate Sheppard House This is the former home of suffrage pioneer, Kate Sheppard and husband Walter. It was the site where suffragist supporters spent much time working towards New Zealand becoming the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the vote. Suffragists gathered here and organised the petition before it was presented to Parliament in 1893. The house, at 83 Clyde

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Road, Ilam, Christchurch, was acquired last year by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and is open for tours.

3: Lyttelton Timeball Station Before radio communication, visual symbols were important features of any port and necessary for communication between ship and shore. From 1876 to 1934 a ball dropped from its mast on its stone tower, signalling the time to ships in Lyttelton Harbour. The Timeball Station was damaged significantly by the Canterbury earthquakes, suffering irreparably from the second earthquake in February 2011. Thanks to key donors and a supportive community, the Timeball tower was rebuilt and the Timeball again drops daily.

4: Totara Estate A historic farm situated in the beautiful North Otago countryside, Totara Estate played a significant role in the establishment of the frozen meat export market from New Zealand. After a development in steam-powered freezing technology, the first shipment of frozen mutton made the three-month journey from New Zealand to England in 1882. Visitors are welcome to take a guided or self-guided tour through the beautifully restored farm buildings and learn about the place and people associated with this typical Victorian-era farm. A daily guided tour and tea is available at 10am or by arrangement. Group tours are welcomed by arrangement.

5: Clarks Mill An important industrial landmark in beautiful North Otago, this historic flour mill houses fascinating working machinery inside striking stone and timber buildings. Located just 12km south of Oamaru, knowledgeable hosts are on hand to explain the mill’s working history, historic photographs and other interpretive displays. Tours are available every Sunday afternoon and Thursday morning to April, with the

Kaikōura 1

Christchurch 2 3

6 Queenstown

Invercargill 7

Oamaru 4 5

Dunedin

IMAGE CREDITS 1, 4-7: GRANT SHEEHAN/ HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND

POUHERE TAONGA 2: Kate Sheppard House CHRIS HOOPMANN

3: Timeball Station ROBYN BURGESS/HERITAGE

NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA 4

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machinery working on the last Sunday of the month. Join us for our special open days where Clarks Mill Comes Alive on the last Sunday of January, February and March.

6: Ophir Post Office

The advent of digital communications has largely retired much of the telegraph services of old but the Ophir Post office in Central Otago, the longest continual postal service in New Zealand, is a post shop with a difference. Built in 1886 in a style reflecting the importance of government services in isolated communities, the building is notable for the use of unworked schist and its concrete pillars and arches. The interior remains largely unchanged with all original features. In addition to enjoying the garden and having a peek into the jailhouse, visitors can enjoy posting a letter franked with the original VR (Victoria Regina) stamp. 7: Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead Marvel at the workshop and homestead of Ernest and Hannah Hayes, 19th century pioneers whose resourcefulness, skill and determination define the spirit of ‘Kiwi ingenuity’. In a picturesque Central Otago setting, the workshop can be explored with its labyrinth of overhead shafts, belts and pulleys driving various lathes, drills and saws. The commanding homestead tells the story of this remarkable family and offers up its own pieces of ingenuity to discover. A popular rest stop on the Otago Central Rail Trail, visitors can enjoy guided and selfguided tours along with the delightful gift store and café.

For more information on these properties, including opening times, please visit www. heritage.org.nz n

Writer: Antony Phillips

Diary of a Tamatea/Dusky Sound adventure

In July, Sarah Gallagher, Heritage Assessment Advisor for Otago/Southland, joined a team travelling around Tamatea/Dusky Sound, Fiordland, exploring historical sites and recording a docu-series for Toitū Otago Settlers Museum titled Furthest Frontier: Stories from Tamatea/Dusky Sound.

The project developed as an unlikely result of the global turmoil created by the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. Overseas-based Toitū projects were cancelled, and Te Anau-based Fiordland Expeditions accommodated the expedition at a generous rate.

Team leader, William McKee from Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, noted, “Whereas a century ago the aim may have been to collect items to add to general collection, this time the team had a strict non-disturbance understanding. Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” The team was made up of four Toitū staff, two marine archaeologists (Dr Matthew Carter and Kurt Bennet, PhD candidate), James York, from Ōraka Aparima runaka as the cultural advisor, and Sarah. Her role was to photograph the sites, and update records on the Tamatea/Dusky Sound Historic Area.

Just like Captain Cook, who kept a diary of his time in Tamatea/Dusky Sound, Sarah kept a record of her experiences. Here are some edited highlights:

1: Sarah Gallagher at Māmuku/ Indian Island.

2: James York, cultural advisor from Oraka Aparima runaka of Kai Tahu, with a baby seal at Luncheon Cove. 3: Filming at the site of New Zealand’s first brewery, at the mouth of the Cook River at Pickersgill Harbour in Tamatea/ Dusky Sound. Pictured, from left, the Toitū team, Peter Read, Chris Kwak, William McKee and Sean Brosnahan.

4: View of Patea/Doubtful Sound.

ALL IMAGES HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND

POUHERE TAONGA

Monday 20 July “We were the only people eating in the dining hall at the Manapōuri lakeside hotel. The electricity was flickering in and out as the rain lashed outside. We knew a bad southerly was coming. I felt pretty apprehensive as I get really seasick.”

Tuesday 21 July “We drove over the Wilmot Pass. In Doubtful Sound we boarded the Tutuko II. It was glorious on the water, like a black and white photo. It felt like we were sitting in the clouds, sailing amongst the mountains. Mid-afternoon, I found it really rough and was (unsurprisingly) unwell. We came into Tamatea/Dusky Sound via Breakneck Sound and the Acheron Passage, to cut off a bit of the horrible journey. We moored at Cascade Cove. As soon as we tied up, the guys put their wet suits on and went diving for crayfish and kina and Richard (our captain) got the fishing rods out. We feasted on crayfish several nights in a row. It made me appreciate what a haven it must have been for the early explorers who spent months at sea at the mercy of the elements.”

Wednesday 22 July “We headed to Pickersgill Harbour, named after Richard Pickersgill, Cook’s lieutenant on his second voyage in 1773 on the HMS Resolution, where we visited Astronomer’s Cove, where William Wales, Cook’s astronomer, took the first accurate longitude measurements of New Zealand. There was a boardwalk at Astronomer’s Cove, but everywhere else involved bush bashing. It’s so wet, the ground is like a massive sponge. Cook’s Creek was close by where New Zealand’s first brewery was established, making beer from rimu and mānuka to prevent scurvy amongst Cook’s crew.

“Luncheon Cove was stunning and a haven for seals. It was the site of the first shipbuilding yard and European house, from 1792, with the arrival of sealers. We didn’t have particularly accurate maps and were using Arch Site records and descriptions to identify places. Initially we missed the slipway but ended up in another place where we found the remains of a boat. It was a very exciting moment, and transpires that it likely dates to pre-1900.”

Thursday 23 July “More filming for the Toitū team while the rest of us travelled back to Luncheon Cove to conduct a proper survey of the boat we found yesterday. Matt recorded photos for photogrammetry; Kurt was taking measurements and calling out results for me to note on a marine archaeological survey form; all this during squalls of hail and visitations from an inquisitive baby seal.

“Later we sailed to Facile Harbour, to take Matt and Kurt to the site of the Endeavour wreck from 1795, where 240 people were marooned. They were in their element – it was the first time a professional archaeological survey has been conducted of the site.

“After lunch we sailed to Pigeon Island, the home of Richard Henry in 1894. He was a Conservator appointed to live in Tamatea/ Dusky Sound to help preserve the birdlife. All that remains is the chimney from his house, and his bird pens built of punga logs.” Friday 24 July “We went to Māmuku/Indian Island, where Cook first encountered South Island Māori. It was the most exquisite place although rough getting there. There are some Māori archaeological sites – two stone-lined storage pits – sitting like mossy bathtubs up on the tree-lined headland.

“Next we went to Stop Island, where the sinking of the Waikari occurred in 1910, where more diving and filming was carried out by the team. Details of the trip back up the coast are best left unreported.”

Saturday 25 July “Back in the stillness of beautiful Doubtful Sound, we filmed at Macarcione’s Point and Bauza Island, some of the several places named during the Spanish exploration of Doubtful Sound in 1793 by Alessandro Malaspina. We also visited the tiny Seymour Island, named for Percy Seymour who lived there for a year. He was a school teacher who was researching a book about flora and fauna.

“Back in Dunedin I’m missing sleeping on the boat, very grateful to have been invited to be part of this extraordinary experience, and marveling at how organised and productive the team was. I’m really looking forward to seeing the series, it’s going to be a cracker.” n

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Exploring the Forgotten World Highway

If you are planning to spend time in Taranaki over the coming holiday period and are thinking about possibly heading to the Ruapehu District, do consider taking the alternative highway out of Stratford.

1: The well-known Whangamōmona Hotel.

CREDIT: 2015 WALGERT – CC BY-SA 2.0 FLICKR

2: The former Ōhura Prison.

CREDIT: 2013 ITRAVELNZ® – CC BY 2.0 FLICKR

3: The Moki Tunnel.

CREDIT: 2011 SEAMOOR – CC BY NC 2.0 FLICKR

4: Mount Damper Falls.

CREDIT: 2013 ITRAVELNZ® – CC BY 2.0 FLICKR

State Highway 43, which runs for 150km from Stratford to Taumarunui, is also known as the Forgotten World Highway, so named by the late David Walter, a well-known and highly respected farmer and Taranaki political leader, who sadly passed away in September.

David Walter knew all its features as a longtime farmer in the Douglas area. Driving this highway can take up to three hours or more, depending on the number of stops you want to make. It passes through some rugged countryside and climbs four saddles between Stratford and the Tangarākau Gorge – Strathmore, Pohokua, Whangamōmona and the Tahora. There are lots of detours you can take to many interesting places, which are well documented in travel brochures.

Heading east from Stratford, the highway runs through the ‘Republic of Whangamōmona’, located 45 minutes east of Stratford. Local residents declared it a republic after their frustration with councils and a revision in district boundaries in 1989. The famous Republic Day is held biennually in January and is enjoyed by thousands of visitors. The pub in Whangamōmona is well worth a visit.

The Forgotten World Highway passes through a number of early settlements – Toko, Douglas, Te Wera, Pohokura, Strathmore, Whangamōmona, Marco, Kohuratahi, Tahora and Tatū.

Between 1901 and 1933 the Stratford to Ōkahukura railway line was built and many of the small settlements are left from those early railway days.

Fourteen kilometres past Whangamōmona is the Moki Tunnel, also known as Hobbit’s Hole. It was one of five tunnels proposed by Joshua Morgan, a surveyor in the area in the 1890s, before his unfortunate death.

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The tunnel is considered a fine example of the unusual, but well-thought out, work completed by roading engineers and surveyors in early New Zealand. It is widely recognised as one of Taranaki’s most remote tourist attractions.

Near one end of the Moki Tunnel is the turnoff for the Mount Damper Falls, the fourth-highest in the North Island. Past the other end of the tunnel is the Tangarākau Gorge, with impressive walls just under 60m high. In the middle of the gorge, at the Tangarākau River Bridge, you will come across the grave of Joshua Morgan. Rugged and remote countryside stood between Morgan and getting medical assistance, and he died of suspected peritonitis in 1893. He was buried where he died, working to link Stratford to Taumarunui.

Approximately 12km of highway road through the Tangarākau Gorge is unsealed. This makes SH43 the only state highway that still has an unsealed section. Heading further north, and detouring up to 10km off the highway, is the settlement of Ōhura, a former coal mining town. Mining was a key industry in Ōhura from the 1930s until the state-owned mines closed in the early 1970s. The Ōhura Prison was built on the site of a miners’ hostel in 1972 but it was closed in 2005.

Many features remain to be seen as you get closer to Taumarunui. Nevin’s Lookout is one, a short walk up a hill through some farmland for great views to the King Country, and where on a good day you can see the three mountains, Ruapehu, Ngāuruhoe and Tongariro. There are lots of stopping places for views and photos along this picturesque highway as you drive to the end of the Forgotten World Highway at Taumarunui.

There are a few travel tips as you plan your journey. There are no petrol stations on the highway, so fill up in Stratford before heading east. Although the journey is only 150km, it is not a road to negotiate in a hurry, so take your time.

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The Whangamōmona Hotel is 88km from Taumarunui and is currently the only place open all year round where you can buy food and drinks on this highway. Lauren’s Lavender Farm, 15km from Taumarunui, another favourite stopping point, has a café.

Cell phone coverage is almost non-existent, but climbing to a high point can assist with communication.

As one traveller posted on social media, whoever came up with the name the Forgotten World Highway was bang on, because that’s how it feels, and has spectacular views. David Walter would be looking down smiling at his astute choice of name. n

Writers: David Watt and Ron Lambert