Interclub Volume 27 Issue 2 2021

15 INTERCLUB • VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 - 2021 Steampunk HQ in Oamaru. c l u b l i f e : T R A V E L O A M A R U EXPLORE www.visitheritage.org.nz Find out more at CLARKS MILL HAYES ENGINEERING WORKS AND HOMESTEAD TOTARA ESTATE Experience living history when you visit Totara Estate, the birthplace of our frozen meat industry. Group tours include billy tea and scones around the campfire. Open Thursday–Monday, 10am–4pm, September–May. For group bookings call 03-433-1269 or email: totaraestate@heritage.org.nz Restored Oamaru Stone Flour Mill dating back to 1866. Four floors of machinery ready to roll into action for your visit. Open Labour Weekend to April, Sunday 1–3pm & Thursday 10am–1pm. For group bookings call 03-433-1269 or email: clarksmill@heritage.org.nz Discover New Zealand’s very own agricultural mastermind and his inventions at Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead, Oturehua. Open 7 days, 9am–4pm, Septemebr–May. For group bookings call 03-444-5801 or email: hayes@heritage.org.nz HERITAGE your all its tools and equipment left intact - in the mid 1970s when the smithy faced the threat of demolition, four local farmers stepped in to purchase the smithy and all its chattels determined to save the forge for posterity . Since 2006 Nicols Blacksmith Historic Trust was formed - they restored the building to attract visitors to experience the working Blacksmith Shop and today its used by volunteers who have courses to learn the craft and for them to make forge and create crafts that you can purchase. Two volunteers were on site working making pokers for fires etc. Next we walked down the road to Vanished World Centre also known as Waitaki Whitestone Geopark in Duntroon - we were given talk to explore the evolution of marine animals at the Geology and Fossil Centre - were shown the fossils found in the area eg the shark tooth dolphin - ancient whales and giant penguins - hard to believe where these fossils have been found in recent times - we enjoyed digging our own fossils out of the millions of years old limestone - the writer was lucky to dig out a perfectly formed little “clamshell” estimated at 25000 millions years old - the tutor was very patient! Next stop Kurow 30 mins up the road - we had a delicious lunch at the Wild Sage Cafe - they were prepared for us and served the food promptly - friendly locals and then we were on our way over the Waitaki River bridge down and over hills to Waimate - then headed out to SH1 on way nor th home - we encountered lots of traffic south and travelling through Ashbur ton. We reached Papanui Club at 5.50pm - Our President thanked Norm our Tour Bus Driver for making our trip a tremendous success. Diana Robb - March 2021 Getting out and about these days it’s always good to find somewhere where you can not only enjoy an experience in beautiful surroundings but learn something along the way. Heritage New Zealand looks after the places where the stories that make our nation took place and in Otago, we are have 3 wonderful proper ties that tell the impor tant farming story. In Nor th Otago just south of Oamaru you come across Totara Estate – normally remembered as the bir thplace of the frozen meat industry. This is a surprisingly interesting tale and well told by knowledgeable guides dressed in costume who take you on a journey around this collection of 4 beautifully restored Oamaru stone farm buildings. The story is so much more than just a “meat” story - it encompasses the era of the great estates and the Victorian pastoralists, the arrival of the sheep, agriculture, innovation and the economy. And it also billy tea either around the campfire or in the original cookhouse if wet. Not far down the road from Totara Estate is Clarks Mill. Originally par t of the Estate, this restored flour mill has its own story to tell. Built in 1866, it operated for more than 100 years before the quota system arrived in the 1970s and the small mills all over the country closed. The mill itself is built of Oamaru stone and has four stories of machinery from across the eras that can be operated as par t of your visitor experience. The site also includes the currently unrestored Millers Cottages and various other buildings. You can visit either one of these proper ties or the other, but you may like to combine both tours in one day which you can do by arrangement. Over in Oturehua, Central Otago, is another impor tant story of our agricultural history. Not many stories capture the kiwi spirit as well as Hayes Engineering Works; these skilled pioneers produced labour saving devices for farmers and in the process developed a brand with a worldwide reputation. The Hayes family began their adventures here in the late 1800s, star ting off in the wee ear th cottage, now the café, and became another impor tant link in the farming story with key inventions such as the wire strainer. Your group will enjoy a tour of this site including the original Engineering workshop and quirky restored homestead, with the ability to add catering on by arrangement. Celebrating the stories of our land.