Coming Up Close

Right smack bang in the middle of town is this small monument dedicated to Greymouth's gold rush history.  In 1854 gold was discovered here in the Grey district which bought 29,000 diggers by ship and across mountain passes to Te Wai Pounamu (the place of Greenstone). Many never made it as floods and shipwrecks were frequent. Bodies washed up on the beach and in most cases many were recorded as unidentifiable. At that time the area was known as Mawhera Pa which was accepted by Maori who arrived here 1000 approx years ago. Storekeeper Reuben Waite sailed up the Grey River in 1864 with 70 gold prospectors and a contract to precure 40 tons of coal from further upstream. 3 million ounces of gold was extracted during the gold rush. Greymouth was one of the busiest ports in the country with the gold financing alot of the growth. Westland's coal fire the furnaces that industrialized New Zealand. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the worl...

This is our local police station in town - looks like quite an old building maybe estimated construction to me is possibly 1950s? I've heard that it's going to be replaced at some point due to black mould being found in the walls, can't be good to breathe that in. In fact many houses here in New Zealand have mould problems but the government has introduced the healthy homes scheme under a grand where you can apply to have underfloor insulation done. All landlords are required to be a part of this by also having a heat pump and/or a fireplace necessary, no mould etc - too many people get sick otherwise. So we watched the rugby world cup yesterday - what a load of rubbish. The better team won I think, between the rubbish referee and my team who were poorly disciplined, they deserve it. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

Taken last time we were in Westport a year ago back when people were required back then to wear masks in businesses. This is one of the best cafes in town so if you're ever in town check them out. 3 days to go until we fly to Auckland - yay! Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

This week I've caught up with the girls again for our fortnightly coffee meet. There are many cafes here in Greymouth and it's hard to find a place that makes a decent coffee. I'm looking forward to this year coming to an end as it's been a hard one for me health wise. It's almost like ever since I had covid in 2020, my immunity has been non-existent. I don't know if anyone else has had that experience too. This winter was really hard - every week I was sick with a different type of flu due to people coming into my work sick constantly. My body is starting to feel like it's rundown and in need of a relaxing holiday. I'm finally starting to come right and we are due to fly to Auckland next week for 7 days so I'm hoping that will enable me to take some time out from work. I'm still having issues with all comments going to the spam folder so my apologies if you don't see your comment show up immediately. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  T...

We spotted a new bird in the garden this week - this is one we've never seen before. It's a Spur Winged Plover and they are widespread throughout New Zealand. Much like the Pukeko they like to wade through wetlands and grass looking for tasty morsels to eat.  I popped into our local garden centre last week to look for new plants. I need to go back again this week and buy some more Lavender plants. I ended up buying this insect/bee house which is now sitting tied to an old tree stump in the front garden but I may move it to the tree above the vegetable garden as I have herbs, different vegetables and flowers there. I believe in companion planting rather than using nasty pesticides and sprays. EDITED TO ADD: I've been visiting blogs this morning and I've had trouble commenting on some, I will keep trying to get to you. And all of the comments I've received so far are going into the spam folder. Hopefully its only a brief glitch. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  T...

This is where one of the local vets use to be but the building is now sold. On the side of it was this dog wash which anyone was able to use for a gold coin like $2, not sure but now it has moved to the side of one of the local petrol stations - I regularly see people washing their dogs in it. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

 In the central North Island is the little town of Paeroa, which has an estimated population of approx 4630 people. On the corner at the incoming intersection is this old hotel. Most towns and cities around the country all have historical hotels like this which double as a drinking/eating establishment and somewhere to stay. The Paeroa Hotel is part of the historic plates trust being built around 1897. It was relocated to where it now sits in 2 sections when the local railway station was constructed using skids and winches in 1904. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

Over Winter you would think life gets quiet around here but we have many tourists arrive here via the tranz alpine and tour buses. It gets to be a dry cold with snow only on the mountains, much more bearable than when we lived in Northland. This week we have enjoyed the rugby and we've been getting things done around the house. B has made more progress on building the outside deck and he changed the filter which was attached to our water system. B had been trying to remove the filter by itself but was unable to so he ended up having to buy a brand new system. We have lived here nearly a year and don't think it had ever been changed beforehand because it was covered in thick black stuff but from now on it will only need changing once a year. Quite disgusting really. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

In the next suburb over, about 5 minutes from where I live off the side of the road is this display of old heritage mining equipment.  Dobson is a very small suburb but a bit bigger than Kaiata (where I live), it has houses and a local pub which has now closed down and lived in privately. These photos were taken early in the morning over Winter so not many people about. This particular display was officially opened in 2018 by the then mayor of that time Tony Kokshoorn and assisted by Brian Creagh who was the oldest living Dobson coal miner. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

So we had our general elections here and one party won that I hadn't voted for but oh well like I've been saying...life goes on right? Rugby was a bit more of a fruitful exercise between the ABs and Ireland. Great game - I felt a bit sorry for the Irish as they played a great game. Looking forward to the rest of it. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

Another one from our last visited to Reefton. If there's something I love it's a good second hand bookshop and although most shops in the town are a bit pricey, I did manage to find a thick book "A column of fire" by Ken Follett. My favourite books to read are biographies and historical. If you read what's your favourite? Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

This is quite a lovely but dangerous place. Maruia Falls is located just outside of Murchison, we stopped there recently. At first glance it looks like a great swimming spot but don't let that fool you. Photo not mine. Local residents have put up this sign to show how many people have drowned there due to the fast moving current and whirlpool full of timber that we saw while we were there.  I do have some good news though. Earlier this week my first grandchild Hailey Maree was born weighing in at 7lbs 6oz. We will be flying up to Auckland in November to see her and spend some time with my oldest son and his partner - very excited. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday , All Seasons   and  Tom's Signs .

Sometimes on the way to work I ask B to stop so I can take random photos. This was 2 days ago near the center of town I couldn't help but notice the Spring blossoms in one of the nearby parks. The memorial in front is in honour and remembrance of the coal miners who passed away in the Pike River explosion on 19 November 2010. This memorial site was dedicated on the first anniversary by John Key who was the prime minister and the time and Tony Kokshoorn who was the district mayor along with family members in a private ceremony.  Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

This is the local theatre in Westport and is located on the main street. We have a movie theatre in Greymouth too and despite the technology we have these days for downloading and streaming, people still seem to like going to the movies. I remember in the 1970s and 1980s my nana taking me to ones when we lived in Auckland and seeing films such as "The Muppet Movie", "Tom Thumb" etc. It use to be such a treat back. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

I don't know who Nana Ni is but I saw this cafe sign in Reefton recently. People watching is sometimes interesting as well as amusing and I do love this very neat, pretty town but sadly buying anything there is a bit over-priced. So we've had leaders debates in the last couple of weeks from the larger and smaller parties in this year's election and there's a reason why I don't bother watching them, more like so I don't have to listen to people talking over each other and finger pointing. It just gets a bit much. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

This photo taken last time we were in Taupo still amuses me. I think I took this shot just at the right time, do you think the gull was trying to tell me something or just look important? So with our general elections getting closer we were able to get down to our local community centre with our voting cards and vote a bit early.  It doesn't matter who wins quite frankly, well it does but I'm going to be very happy when it's all over. A new party in power is not going to change alot I think but life goes on. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

During our trip to Taupo 3 years ago (I had forgotten I'd taken these photos), we spent the day in Napier as my grandmother on my mother's side grew up there. This was one place we decided to visit. Otatara Pa site is a historical reserve and walk which sits on top of a hill outside of town. The carvings are known as Pou. So there is an upper pa (Hikurangi) and a lower pa (Otatara). Visitors can see the remnants of terraces, living sites, and food storage pits. The area covers over 40 hectares and is one of the largest and oldest pa sites in the Hawkes Bay area. Maori preferred this place because of it's strategic point in Napier and of it's expansive views over the region. The Chief Turauwha was very important at this time, around 400 years ago. Another Maori named Taraia lead Ngati Kahungunu (a tribe) to Heretaunga where they attached Otatara.  Through living there, intermarriage and power/influence they expanded to dominate the region. In 1973 part of the pa was desi...