Old Mangapehi Railway Station

In 2020, I took this shot of a forgotten railway station in Waikato.

Mangapehi (or Mangapeehi) was a flag station on the North Island Main Trunk line, in the Waitomo District of New Zealand. It was 5.89 km (3.66 mi) north of Poro-O-Tarao and 5.15 km (3.20 mi) south of Kopaki.

Ellis & Burnand had a sawmill at Mangapehi from 1901 until 1968.

In 1950 the station was moved almost a kilometer north, away from the sawmill, at a cost of £13,405. In that year it had 23,636 passengers, 4 staff and railed 148,093 board feet (349.46 m³) of timber and 28,633 sheep and pigs, earning £3,256 from passengers and £85,473 from freight. https://kids.kiddle.co/Mangapehi_railway_station

As I looked for its history, I found that, sadly, it had been taken down on 2022.

You can read about that by clicking here.

St Mary's Catholic Church

One of the many churches in Whanganui.

Much ado about a phone

 Today I got a new phone. Considering the first (and only) phone I ever had was at least 5 years old, it's a big step. I mean, it couldn't even read QR codes!

I really wasn't prepared for all the work I had to do just to get it running, but I understand the security that is needed out in the world for those 'just in case' situations. So, a nap was in order to get rid of my headache 😌

It's bigger than my old phone and feels like it's 'more important', if you know what I mean; but, that is lost on me, since I have all of 13 contacts--some of which are businesses like the pharmacy and doctor's office :)

But, anyway, I'm all set up for the next 5 years or so of texting (or calling if I have to) and, more importantly, amusing myself while waiting for appointments.

John Ballance

 Maybe some things are not meant to be...

 Twelve-year old Kia Kingi practises flax weaving beneath the pumpkin-headed statue of John Ballance during the 79-day occupation of Whanganui’s Moutoa Gardens (Pākaitore). The demonstrators believed Ballance – a former Whanganui MP and premier of New Zealand – had encouraged Māori land alienation.https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/35094/ballance-beheaded

 

  

A bronze statue of former New Zealand premier John Ballance has been unveiled in Wanganui, 14 years after its plaster-and-concrete predecessor was beheaded.  The new statue, unveiled by mayor Michael Laws, stands outside the offices of the Wanganui District Council.https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/52091/ballance-restored-in-wanganui

Wanganui's controversial John Ballance statue is undergoing major repairs after it was discovered every weld in the structure needs to be replaced.

The bronze statue, which cost Wanganui District Council $64,000, was removed for repairs in March after its foot went missing one night.

However, it was revealed at the council's community and environment committee meeting yesterday that the statue's problems were more than an absent foot.

"Every weld has had to be replaced, and the whole statue has had to be built from scratch."https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/statue-in-total-rebuild/VZEIHYMMIL6QXKAWAKPT3TSNYE/

The Beacons

 

 The Beacons are a prominent landmark near the foreshore between Napier and Bay View. They were erected in what was then part of the Inner Harbour in 1907 by the then Napier Harbour Board, to serve as leading lights guiding shipping into the Port of Napier through the channel at the south end of the Pania Reef. 

Apparently, they were built on swamp land until an earthquake drained the land.

Te Kiri hall memorial

Outside of the hall at Te Kiri is a piece of art depicting the work of the pioneers in the area that we have passed many times. A few weeks ago, we stopped to capture its beauty. I can find nothing about it on the internet. Enjoy.

Front

Side (away from the road)

Back

There's not much information about the town of Te Kiri itself

except  this bit that was written on 1908.

This short article on the Waimate Plain says a lot. 

The Waimate plain, north-west of Hāwera on the southern ring plain, was once one of New Zealand’s most densely populated rural areas. There were small communities, often centred on a dairy factory or school, at nearly every intersection of the grid of roads in the area. However, Mākākā, Te Kiri, Awatuna, Riverlea, Auroa, Mangawhero, Mātapu, Ōtākeho, Ōeo and Mangatoki all but disappeared in the later 20th century. The district’s population fell sharply during this period – the population of Waimate West County dropped from 2,788 in 1951 to 1,944 in 1981. The closure of many schools in 2004 and 2005 was the final blow for many townships.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/taranaki-places/page-5

A bar of Bochox

 Hubby got this 'medicine' for me when he was picking up some refills at the chemist/pharmacy.

I love that it is 'not to be taken seriously'!!

In memory of George

 In 2007, a 9-year-old Jack Russell Terrier called George died after protecting 5 local children from an attack by two pit bulls. He was given a posthumous PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the George Cross, at a special ceremony in Manaia in February 2009. The town has also erected a statue in his honour.       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaia,_Taranaki

Patea Dam parking lot

Hubby has taken me to see so many places since I arrived here almost 18 years ago! It was a bit overwhelming at first and I asked sooooo many questions! After a while, I stopped asking so many and figured I will find the answers eventually.

The parking lot at Patea Dam was one of them: how in the world did seashells get to this dam, considering that it's about an hour's drive from the actual sea shore.

 

As curious and striking as it is, the answer is quite simple. A while back, Hubby was talking to someone who was a part of the project that built the dam. He was told that the concrete that was not up to standards was dumped out to become the parking lot. 

Another answer!

Another mystery solved

 I have posted pictures of the strange 'beach' at Castlepoint a few time on the other blog with  the following pictures. Apparently, there are similar coastlines near Wellington, too.

I searched many times trying to find out what it was made of but no success until now! It's called 'Miocene sandstone' on one page.

Here are some links if you are interested in how they are formed. 

https://outtherelearning.co.nz/2012/04/whakataki/

https://www.geotrips.org.nz/trip.html?id=19

https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/Foraminiferal_Analysis_of_the_Late_Miocene-_Early_Pleistocene_Mangaopari_Mudstone_South_Wairarapa_New_Zealand/17132204

Neighbors

 I met some more of our neighbors today. We had only waved to them in passing until now.

This is what happened: I was minding my own business about 11:30 this morning looking online with the tv in the background when the power went out. A few seconds later, Hubby hurried in the back door and said, "Phone, please! I need to call 111(our version of 911)!" 

About 100 meters down the road to the left, the mail carrier had run into a power pole, although I don't remember hearing the crash. Apparently, Hubby was talking to our landlord in the back garden when it happened, so the landlord went to the crash while he was calling. 

 I went out front and watched from the gate so as not to be in the way. Up the road from the right comes the neighbors that we hadn't met yet in their farm car and they stop to get out and talk and introduce themselves. They are sharemilkers and had heard the noise when their equipment went out. So, they were looking out for traffic to caution them about the crash.

Then our closest neighbor came out and officially introduced herself to the couple and we stood in the road talking. Hubby came down to let us know that there are no serious injuries, thank the Lord, and wend back to the crash to wait for the drivers wife, the ambulance and the police. It wasn't long before we heard the sirens for the volunteer fire department and they arrived rather quickly.

Apparently, the load of mail had fallen forward onto the gear shift and, instead of stopping, he just tried to fix it while in motion. His wife has a heart condition, so they only told her there was car trouble so she wouldn't panic before she got into her car to drive.

We eventually all went back to our houses and I listened to the hustle and bustle as the professionals did their jobs clearing and moving and putting in a new power pole until I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up all was well and the road crew was picking up road cones.

It was definitely a unique day for me--actually, seeing people and talking to them!