Kauaeranga Valley

A replica of a dam

After wandering up another 10km of sealed, winding road, through lush green pastures & native bush clad hills, I came to the iSite, that is about half way up, before all the bush walks & the narrow road, that I wasn’t able to drive through, in a motorhome.

Gorgeous bush up here

I decided to go up there, as my dear new friend from Parawai had suggested it as a destination for those hungry for more local history.

I drove past this gem on the way to the iSite

And I wasn’t disappointed! I now know about what exactly The Booms was, not to mention the fact that there were 100 hotels in Thames, yes you read that right! And 100 dams up in the hills. Gold wasn’t a thing then, Kauri was.

Kauri timber operations 1888-1908

Dams & their distribution in the North Island 

And boy was it a Big thing! All this talk about gold through my years on the planet, pale into insignificance compared with the North Island history of kauri, both the wood & the gum.

Excepts are from this book primarily

And a few from this book

There were artefacts lining the ceiling, walls, & on stands/boxy type things. And books!

Pretty cool to have these eh

A cast iron Dutch oven with a tin lid & a turning thing for the dam

I sat there reading some old books loaned to me by the lovely lady behind the counter, that were written by one of the chaps who worked on the kauri logs, & had an interest in photography. 

This guy

Apologies for the quality

His are the only pictorial record of the events of logging up in those hills, & then there are some from other sources, in regards to other parts of the island. 

An introduction to the kauri dams 1850-1940

A sawmill existed in Fanshawe St in Auckland City

These are Museum archives! How blessed did I feel, sitting there as if in a library, studying the texts & taking pics, with permission this time.

And in the weekend...

A bath then card games ensued

Or perhaps a tree climb for gum?

Or pose for a pic?

A lot of good clean fun was had, after the 50 hour week, once the chores were done. And some wine, women & song I’m pretty sure too.

I picked up a few on my way out of the valley

I want to live here & pan for gold, but it’s in the rocks

Funny how enamel utensils are now a ‘thing’ eh

~I do believe I may have turned into a local travel writer.