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TRIP TO ROTORUA
Sunday 9 August 2009

For its second field trip of 2009 the Whakatane & District Historical Society visited Rotorua on Sunday 9 August, after the trip had been postponed from 12 July due to bad weather.  After an icy, slippery drive to Rotorua, the party of 19 were met by Bryon Somervell at the Te Amorangi Museum.  After a general introduction from Bryon, the party split up as its size was not well suited to the intimate spaces of the museum buildings.  People explored the exhibits of indigenous logging, as well as steam, industrial and agricultural machinery.  A special feature enjoyed by all was the restored Douslin house and the Sheward Collection of Maori, Missionary and Colonial artefacts.  Bryon remained on hand until lunch time to answer questions.  As it was a Live Day, the static displays were complemented by steam exhibits, a blacksmith’s forge and model train.  The latter was greatly enjoyed by the young-at-heart.

FIELD TRIP TO TAURANGA AREA
Sunday 3 May 2009

WDHS at Monmouth Redoubt– The
Whakatane Historical Society group explore the fortifications of Tauranga’s Monmouth Redoubt.

On Sunday 3 May, a beautifully clear and sunny day, nine members and guests of the Whakatane & District Historical Society were met at the foot of Mauao (The Mount) in Mount Maunganui by Historic Places Trust archaeologist, Frank van der Heijden.  While meandering up the four-wheel-drive track, Frank pointed out some of the many archaeological features of Mauao and its surroundings, in an area which had been heavily settled in pre-European times.  These included: numerous platforms cut into the hillside for gardens; kumera storage pits; a distant view of the ditches of a large pa on the western side of the mountain and an enormous shell midden, a sure indication that the people had plenty of kai.

The next stop was preceded by a climb up steps from the town centre to Hopukiore (Mt Drury).  The summit of this former pa provided excellent views of the mass of terracing on the slopes of Mauao.  The party descended past the pa fortifications to some very modern terracing, the seating for a 1960s sound shell and then along Pacific Avenue to view the little-known site, nestled into the east side of the hill, of the barracks occupied in 1842/43 by the 80th Regiment, the first British Army unit to serve in New Zealand.

The group then moved to the Robbins Gardens, Cliff Road, Tauranga for a picnic lunch in the sun overlooking the harbour, before exploring the nearby Monmouth Redoubt, near the modern Police Station.  Imagining the site without the present trees and buildings it was clear that the redoubt, as well as the pre-existing pa, had been sited in a superb defensive position.

Next to be visited were the nearby grounds and buildings of ‘The Elms’, formerly part of the Church Missionary Society’s Te Papa Mission Station, sited, once again, on an extensive pa that also incorporated the cemetery overlooking the present harbour bridge.  The group was guided through the two main buildings, the mission house and the separate library, which was built first in 1839 to house Archdeacon Brown’s extensive collection of books. It was made clear that the Mission Station was as much about providing education to local iwi as in promoting Christianity.

The final stop for the group was the Brain-Watkins house, a fine Victorian villa on the corner of Cameron Road and Elizabeth Street, which has much of the original furnishings of the family that occupied it from the time it was built in the 1880s until 1979.  It is now cared for by the Tauranga Historical Society.

Future events will be advertised on this page and in the local Whakatane newspapers

FURTHER INFORMATION FROM:

Warner Haldane,
Vice-President,
Whakatane & District Historical Society.
Ph: (07) 308 0215,
Email: warnerh@wave.co.nz