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