After the successful symposium in Whanganui we took a road trip that brought us close to volcanoes, isolated hamlets, incredible scenery, amazing food, and lots of art and craft.
From Whanganui the road to New Plymouth – at least, the route we took – goes along the coast. Along the way are historic settlements, some no more than a couple of houses, some more substantial. Pātea, the township made famous by the Pātea Māori Club and the song Poi E. Once a thriving town, the closure of the freezing works that offered employment and income for Pātea’s inhabitants has had a serious effect on the settlement but it is still a place of pilgrimage for anyone who enjoys history, music, and a slightly melancholic air. Of course, listening to Poi E as one enters the town is a no-brainer…
One of the must-sees, and an easy one to achieve, is the concrete waka (canoe) that commemorates the voyages and journeys of Turi who came to the area in the 15th Century.
One of the must-sees, and an easy one to achieve, is the concrete waka (canoe) that commemorates the voyages and journeys of Turi who came to the area in the 15th Century. Faithful in its detail, the waka, Aotea, has been sailing since 1933 and continues to be maintained and loved by the local community. You can read more about this commemorative arch here.
Another somewhat eccentric but appropriate sight is the small museum that commemorates the freezing works that used to provide employment in Pātea. Some of the old machinery from the company has been restored and moved to a small museum in town where the faintly ghoulish can imagine the exhibits coming to life in the dead of night!
At the end of the main road through town, Taranaki, the coned dormant mountain that exemplifies most people’s view of a volcano, sits. It is perfectly aligned with the road so that travellers head towards it through the centre of town.
Pātea is filled with interesting buildings: churches, houses, shops and, of course, the Pātea Māori Club HQ. Kim Jarrett’s sculpture of Tutunui, a pet whale who holds great meaning for Māori people, is on the way into town.
Leaving Pātea and heading inland brought us to Stratford. Its English name is reinforced by the clock tower in town, which has been reclad to resemble an Elizabethan building, and which houses a glockenspiel. Unfortunately we were not in time to hear the chiming of the instrument and the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet but our next stop brought us to the Tawhiti Museum, the owner of which had made the figures for the glockenspiel.
The Tawhiti Museum is one man’s passion project. Art teacher and artist, Nigel Ogle, has brought history to life through life-size and miniature dioramas and displays, collections of toys and cars and tractors, and much more besides. Each of the figures in the displays has been hand-moulded and painted, and perspective faithfully rendered in the dioramas, some of which are tens of meters long. Through this museum we learnt about Chew Chong, a Chinese merchant who not only pioneered the modern dairy industry in New Zealand but also made a fortune out of the export of mushrooms to China. Housed in an old dairy factory, the museum is an easy stop along the way to New Plymouth, a route that circles Taranaki.
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