By the numbers
1 museum
7,261 steps
5.03kms
I spent an hour or so going through the Auckland transport
service website as I wanted to make sure I had done my research before I went
to the city next week. I wanted the bus time table to get me to the national
archives. It is the little things that improve trips. I had no idea what I was
going to do for the day, but Claude and I soon sorted out where we were going
to go. The night before I had found a map on Whangarei that included a Fernery
called Botanica, which is near the library. I did have an idea that I could visit
the post office to post some books home. The other place we nutted out was to
visit the Packard museum in Maungatapere.
Before we went towards the fernery, I was dropped at the
post office where I found the required bag and filled the paperwork. When the
weight was heavier as in just over 2 kilos, which means even more paperwork to
post off and attach. I was happy to have two kilograms less in my bag after
last time I nearly had trouble on the plane being over 20 kilos. Once we left
the post office and my package that was going to make its way home, hopefully
before I arrive. We headed to the Fernery otherwise known as Botanica where we
wandered through the area where there were ferns of all different kinds
including cacti that lived there too. I don’t know anything about the building
or ferns, but this place had been around for a very long time, I think around
the 1970s. It was free for people to visit and enjoy the plants and they
included a newspaper within the building. I cant really say much about ferns as
I am no plant expert, but I think other family members would love these.
The next place we were going to go was Maungatapere, which
is a short distance from Whangarei to the Packard and pioneer museum. I had
never visited the museum and according to the website they had updated some
lighting in one of the sheds. That and the museum was open today so it was all
going to be good. I had once visited the small display they had while it was in
the Town Basin in Whangarei, but they bought the collection back together. Once
we had something to eat, it was time to visit and we had a crowd follow us in.
Turns out they take people on tours of the buildings and we were joining the
group that had arrived with us, which never bothered me especially since they
would remember half the older vehicles. The Packard museum is all about the history
of the Packard car especially in New Zealand from the early cars to the later
ones in the 1970s. They do have other vehicles and parts of peoples lives, but
everything revolves around the Packard. I wasn’t expecting the museum to be
big, but they had several sheds. One of the Packards they could get 13 sheep
inside the car and that stunt gained them a tank of fuel when they placed a bet
with the servo attendant. They had a model T Ford and several others in one
room. I did ask how they lit the lights if not by candles and the response was
they used Kerosene and I was allowed to toot the horn on one. It is interesting
when cars were once designed to have a driver, maybe a doorman and the owner in
the back seat. Vases that had real flowers were included so you got a real
smell and not the scents we have today. That was incredible.
It took us nearly two hours to go through the museum as they
had steam engines, where they had chains at the base that were their steering
mechanism unlike what we have today. A train that is one of four left in the
country, which is the Dubs 0-4-0 Steam Engine according to their website. I couldnt
remember the name of the train off hand. They had early Indians, Triumphs and
Harleys. I thought I would be bored going through all the mechanical wonders.
They even said the Packard engine was used in Spitires as one lot of engines by
several other companies were produced during the way. I heard a story about the
Scoby cars being exchanged for NZ butter from Russia. I thought this was
interesting and maybe unsettling, but I did look it up and the story actually
is true from the 1980s. One of the tractors I was looking at had an arrow on
the front, which was a guide for the driver who was so far back that he needed
to know which direction his wheel was in. Did I say I enjoyed the museum?
I was impressed as they pointed out cars that were used in
Movies like Grease or was apparently used as a hearse for president Ford as
they didn’t have a Ford or some such thing. There was even a jeep that was once
used by the Queen during a tour in New Zealand. So much to see and they had
cleared quite a bit in one of the sheds that a week or so before one o the
guides could not move in certain spots. Claude I think was happy to wander through
the displays and we ended up with the vehicles that were basically the end of
the line for the Packard as they had bought out the Studebaker company, but
those cars looked pretty cool too. Before leaving we spoke to the tour guides
who gave us feedback forms. I said I was impressed and that they had a great
museum on their hands. I learnt that they do custom tours if someone asks like
they had one person spend an hour just with the motorbikes at one stage who was
a collector. If people ask questions then the tour could end up longer than the
2 hours, which can be a good thing as it shows interest. I wasn’t expecting the
tour, but we got one and I was happy just to be looking around as well.
It was soon time that we had left and while I wasn’t wanting
to go elsewhere once we got back home, I met up with an old Friend of Granny’s,
Betty who had come for a coffee. We chatted about where we had been and later
on I was taken to the shops where I wanted to walk back to the house to stretch
my legs as I wanted a walk. I did stalk the shop assistants around the dairy
section of the local supermarket. I was happy with my second last day in
Whangarei and am looking at the weather that maybe coming across as a little
wet. Hopefully that is not the case.
Links
Packard and Pioneer
museum
Butter for car
Botanica
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