Today in NZ history- 19/11/2010 - Pike River mine explosion kills 29The mine exploded at 3.45 p.m. on Friday 19 November 2010. Twenty-nine of the 31 men underground died immediately or shortly afterwards from the blast or because of the toxic atmosphere this generated.
- 20/11/1937 - Parachuting Santa crashes in AucklandGeorge Sellars narrowly escaped serious injury when he was able to swing his parachute away from the glass roof of the Winter Gardens during the Farmers’ Christmas parade in Auckland.
- 20/11/1841 - Mass murder in the Bay of IslandsMaketū Wharetōtara, the 17-year-old son of the Ngāpuhi chief Ruhe, killed five people at Motuarohia in the Bay of Islands. In March 1842 he became the first person to be legally executed in this country.
- 21/11/1863 - British capture RangiririMore British soldiers were killed at ‘Bloody Rangiriri’ than in any other battle of the New Zealand Wars, but their victory opened the Waikato basin to the imperial forces.
- 19/11/2010 - Pike River mine explosion kills 29
Monthly Archives: December 2010
The best Christmas present
My best Christmas present this year didn’t arrive on Christmas Day. It came on Christmas Eve, when I played the piano for residents of Martinborough’s Wharekaka Rest Home. It’s something I do from time to time, usually playing Great American … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Nostalgia, Retirement
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Is our cat kinky?
This afternoon our Burmese cat, Chino, was taking his ease on an old sack in our greenhouse, beside a battered old concrete griffin. Suddenly he took quite a shine to the old griffin, as these photos attest.
Posted in Burmese cats, Cats
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How things get done
From the latest edition of the Martinborough Star, our community newspaper, comes a great little story by Katherine about how she begged, borrowed and cajoled the necessaries to make up a special lot of wine for a fund-raising auction to … Continue reading
Posted in Martinborough, Wine
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