Today in NZ history- 30/03/1940 - Funeral procession for Prime Minister SavageNew Zealand’s first Labour prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, died in office on 27 March 1940. His body lay in state at Parliament for two days before his funeral cortège, which was more than 1.6 km long, set off for the railway station at 9 a.m. on 30 March.
- 30/03/2004 - Historian Michael King diesHistorian Michael King (aged 58) and his wife Maria Jungowska died in a car accident in south Waikato. King’s Penguin history of New Zealand became the most popular book of the year, and was the Readers’ Choice at the 2004 Montana New Zealand Book Awards.
- 31/03/1864 - Rewi's last stand?The last battle of the Waikato War began when the spearhead of a strong British force charged an apparently weak Māori position at Ōrākau, south-east of Te Awamutu. After two frontal assaults failed, the British besieged the pā.
- 31/03/1910 - Hocken Library opened at Otago MuseumThomas Hocken’s priceless legacy of historical material is the most important collection outside Crown ownership in New Zealand.
- 30/03/1940 - Funeral procession for Prime Minister Savage
Category Archives: Wairarapa
Woolcrafts at The Wool Shed
A couple of years ago I offered voluntary services to the The Wool Shed museum in Masterton, to help tidy up their printed display panels and captions. Originally, when the museum was set up in 2005, I did the panels, … Continue reading
Masterton A&P Show
A lovely Wairarapa day: calm, blue sky, 25C forecast – why not go to the Masterton A&P* Show? *Agricultural and Pastoral A&P shows were once a big deal in towns all over New Zealand. They celebrated and showcased farming endeavour … Continue reading
Martinborough Country Fair, 2010
The first Saturday in February has come around again, and with it the annual Martinborough Country Fair. There’s always a follow-up on the first Saturday of March too. This year’s fair was again huge and well attended. It’s essentially a … Continue reading
Posted in country fair, Martinborough, Martinborough Fair, Wairarapa
Tagged Martinborough, Martinborough Country Fair, Wairarapa
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Weird skies in Northern Wairarapa
Liz and I drove from Martinborough to Palmerston North today and enjoyed an unusual cloud formation that covered a large part of the sky in northern Wairarapa. These photos were taken just at the beginning of the Pahiatua Track, an … Continue reading
Posted in Clouds, Wairarapa
Tagged Clouds, Pahiatua Track, Undulatus Asperatus clouds, Wairarapa
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Spring has sprung
During spring our property in Martinborough is an exciting place to return to each weekend. Everything, including daffodils, is busting out all over. It’s quite a contrast to our place in Ngaio, Wellington, where most of the vegetation is New … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Martinborough, Spring flowers, Wairarapa
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Rimutaka realignment ready to roll: Huzzah!
This image, from today’s Dominion-Post, shows the coming realignment of the worst of the Rimutaka hill road – all on the Wellington side of the summit. Work starts later this month and completion can’t come soon enough for those of … Continue reading
Posted in Rimutaka, Wairarapa
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Dabbling in Druidism
Last weekend we booked ourselves into the annual winter solstice celebrations at Stonehenge Aoteoroa, near Carterton. It was, or claimed to be, an ancient Celtic/Druidic ceremony called Alban Arthan – which can be translated as “Light of Arthur.” The ceremony … Continue reading
Posted in Celtic, Druids, Stonehenge, Stonehenge Aoteoroa, Wairarapa, Winter Solstice
Tagged Stonehenge Aoteoroa
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