A Treat at the End of the Road- Central Otago

Catch-up; Late March 2016

Well, I didn't quite get this batch of back blogs done before it was time to pack up the van, say our good-byes once again to Mum & Dad in Napier, and hit the road. We're heading south this time, at a snail's pace. Heading south, back to the South Island for some more adventures but doing a little beach hopping along the east coast on the way. 

So here's the last of the Central Otago blogs from our day trip around the Ida Valley, and funnily enough, this was the one I really wanted to tell you about because we found an extraordinary sight at the end of the day (and at the end of a road).

After a delightful afternoon at Hayes Engineering exploring the wonders of yesteryear we carried on north a few kilometres before stopping at the historic Gilchrist Store in Oturehua for an icecream.

The shop was closed when we drove through here last August so this time I was able to take some inside photos of the general store (after asking of course).

Many of the shelves had grocery items from the past stacked along them.

You could certainly spend a wee while reminiscing and still miss some of the displays which were tucked into all the nooks and crannies. It was actually hard to decide what was for sale and what was on display.

That's now three historic general stores we've visited in the South Island; the other two being Hodgsons of Murchison and my favourite, the Langford Store at Bainham in Golden Bay.

Our next stop was at the site of the old Golden Progress Mine where the quartz reefs of the Oturehua field were worked on and off from 1868 to 1936. The size of tailings left behind suggest that the mine was one of the bigger ones in Central Otago.

I left David in the car reading his virtual paper while I made my way up a narrow gully full of shady poplars. I scared the living daylights out of a number of sheep resting in the shade but not before the first of them nearly tripped me up as it made a dash for freedom up the hill. I would have thought they'd heard me crunching through the leaf litter, I could certainly smell that they were nearby.

A restored miners hut sits near the bottom of the gully where once there were a number of huts and a hotel, the Withers Pub. 

Across the 'lane' from the hut is the remains of the Mine Manager's house.

A track leads the way up to the head of the gully, past the tailing mounds and on to the poppet head and mine shaft.

The 14 metre high poppet head sits over the mine shaft which is 45 metres deep. This is a very rare relic, it's the only poppet head left standing in Central Otago. The poppet head supports wheels which ran steel ropes that hoisted the gold bearing ore to the surface. The metal cage sitting beneath it was used to move miners, equipment and ore up and down the shaft. The boiler powered a winch that pulled the steel cables through the wheels.

This is looking back down the gully from the tramway track where once the ore was carted in trolleys down to the battery to be crushed.

The battery, which was removed to another mine, was once supported by the concrete blocks here and powered by this second boiler. I always find these sites fascinating, reading the information boards and imagining the frenetic activity that would have been going on in this now peaceful valley.

Our next stop was along the straights at the north end of the Ida Valley, to take a photo of the Hawkdun Range. The range made famous by NZ painter Grahame Sydney. I can understand its appeal, it's a fairly uniform row of mountains that stretches like a backbone across the landscape separating Central Otago from the Waitaki District. It looks really impressive when it has a coat of solid snow om it too.

The Hawkduns are on one side of the road and the old Blackstone Hill (aka Hills Creek) School, is set back off the road and tucked into some pines, on the other side. The school which was built in the 1890s and closed in 1949, looks to be fighting for survival. This is one of the few remaining buildings in Hills Creek left over from the gold mining era when there were also 13 hotels operating in the township during its heyday. 

We take the loop road off SH85, there a couple more stops I want to 're-do', we're heading for the hills...

...back to St Bathans and the Blue Lake. I want to see if the scenery and lighting are any different to my last photo shoot of the lake back in early August last year. There's a slight ripple and the sky is just as moody as on our last visit. I'm happy with the first visit shots but I take a couple of quick shots for old times sake...

...and we carry on down the road leaving St Bathans behind. The sun has lit up these 'Badlands' cliffs that border a wide gravelly river bed. They remind me of the Clay Cliffs at Omarama but are not on such a grand scale and also look like the Cathedral Cliffs at Gore Bay in North Canterbury.

We take one last detour (can you hear David protesting?). It's just a short dead-end road to the tiny settlement of Cambrian, the 'Village of Trees'. We've visited it before, it's a quirky & creative little settlement (Grahame Sydney lived there- there's that name again) but I wanted to see if there was anything new now that it's a different season. 

I spotted these old cars in a shed at the end of the road so I take a photo while David is turning the ute around. I hear someone calling out and down the road comes a wily old 'hippy' guy followed by two well toned younger guys who I find out are Woofers. They've been doing some planting and clearing down the road. The old hippy (and he is, he tells me) says he's got something that might be of interest to me seen as I'm taking photos.  

He leads me across a grassy woodland area, around a corner and over a small bridge which crosses a tiny stream and there stretching off into the distant is the most amazing sight...

...a mass of mauve; thousands of false autumn crocuses, aka meadow saffron.

My hippy man proudly tells me I'm the first person to take photos of his flowers this season, they've only come out en-masse in the last couple of days. He also tells me not to tell too many people, he doesn't want his peaceful little village overrun with tourists! So don't go telling him I sent you there. 

Hippie guy has been a very busy man now that he has put down his roots, there's a few hectares he owns at the end of the road and he's converting them all to woodland gardens, and visitors are free to wander. He's planted crocuses everywhere, right up the road edges, in another forested area where on our last visit there were masses of bluebells. 

He tells me he decided the bluebells had to go and he's replaced them all with the crocuses. They do make an amazing display but it seems such a shame that they only last for a short while- a fleeting moment in time. If you are in the area mid to late March do check out this stunning display. And once again we're thrilled to find a hidden gem while out exploring.

As we walk back to the road, I stop to take a photo of the old stone cottage where the Woofers are staying. It's just as well I only had eyes for the cottage because David alerted me to the fact that I might be taking a photo of the stark-naked Woofers who are standing under their outside shower right beside the cottage! And no I didn't mange to get them in the shot....sorry ladies. 

The Complete Ida Valley Loop

A Step Back in Time- The 'Big House'; Part 2

Continued on from Part 1

The Hayes Homestead-

After exploring in and around the Hayes factory, we passed through the gate and into the house compound and first up is a visit to the dairy at the back of the homestead...

...where all the necessary equipment was kept including a very familiar Alfa Laval separator. I'm not so sure the one on my childhood farm was an Alfa Laval but it had the same spouts; one into the skim milk vat and one into the cream can.....or our mouth, if we were quick and weren't caught, or a fast wipe through the cream stream with our finger and into our mouth. I think it's the reason I hate (with a passion) pouring cream, especially warm cream!

Beside the homestead is a small garage, a Pedal Car Garage (1938) ...

... and inside the garage is the pedal car that was made for Ernest & Hannahs' first grandchild, Les Hayes, with suitable photo as provenance.

The 'Big House' (1920), as the Hayes family referred to the homestead, was built from sun-dried bricks which had been stored nearby and under tussock during the First World War. The 11-room mud-brick home was the first in the district to have a flushing toilet and electricity and comprises five bedrooms, a drawing room, laundry, kitchen, pantry, bathroom and large passageway.

The vegetable garden at the rear of the house is still in use and supplies Hannahs Cafe with fresh veges and herbs. 

Not far from the backdoor is the water tank tower. I'm sure the small room underneath it would have been used as a coolstore. Nowadays it'd make a great wine cellar.

The home had many innovations for the time, these included an indoor laundry, flush toilet, a shower over the bath and radio piped throughout the house- there are small pipes protruding through the ceiling in some rooms. 

The Drawing Room

Power was supplied to the house years before the national grid was switched on. It was generated by the pelton wheel at the factory. 

Dining Room

The only problem was that when the Hayes switched off the power for the night, it was 'lights off' for all the other homes connected to the system!

Kitchen

Laundry

Pantry

Ernest's bedroom- from the information board; Ernest was born in Warwickshire in 1851 and served a 5 year apprenticeship as a millwright, a highly skilled profession. He helped set up flour mills in the district, first the Vincent Flour Mill in Ophir then the Ida Valley Flour mill (500 metres from this site).

Ernest turned to engineering his engineering skills to produce equipment needed by farmers to succeed in the 'new world', tools for fencing, irrigation & pest control and the firm Ernest hayes & Sons was born. Ernest was keenly interested in education and was the first chairman of the local school committee.

He died in 1933, aged 82 years, and is buried in the Hills Creek Cemetery, Oturehua.

Hannah's Room- Hannah Pearson was born in Whittington, Norfolk, England in 1862. She married Ernest in 1881 and the following year, together with baby son Llewellyn, they arrived in Dunedin. Hannah brought up her family of nine children in the mud-brick cottage (now the cafe).

She helped establish the business by selling tools and equipment from farm to farm on bicycle, and was arguably New Zealand's first travelling saleswoman. Hannah was involved in local community activities and worked hard to raise money to build the Anglican Church, St Aidans, in Oturehua.

She died after a long illness in 1946, aged 84 years.

What isn't mentioned on the information board is the fact that when Hannah cycled off, in her full skirts, with catalogue and order book in hand, she travelled to far off  MacKenzie Country and was often away for days on end leaving her eldest daughter, aged 12, to look after her eight siblings.

Quirky design features befitting the engineer builders (Ernest & sons) were sash-opening cupboards, bookshelves secured by wire from the ceiling and as shown here in the bathroom, sheet-metal surfaces. The indoor flush toilet and overhead shower were well ahead of their time.

One of the childrens' rooms.

Some of the original furniture and linen pieces feature in the restored homestead which was known as the ‘‘the grand house" of the district. During restoration, a chattels list was obtained from the Hayes' oldest son to work from, and there were generous donations from daughters-in-law and grandsons who gave items back to the house. 

Side entrance and hallway

The gardens have been restored as close as possible to their original design...

The rock garden and water feature looks very familiar; I'm sure it was a regular feature in 1920s gardens.

I read somewhere that in 1975 the workshops and homestead were just $100 away from falling into the hands of a scrapmetal dealer. Thank goodness that didn't happen and this fascinating look into our past has been preserved for future generations.

There was one more place we wanted  to visit to complete the story- the Hills Creek Cemetery which  we visited later in the afternoon after a couple more stops on the circuit we were travelling.

The family plot includes Ernest's sister and two unmarried daughters. There are a number of other graves close by that hold more family members and it was with interest that I noted the name 'Pearson' making a regular appearance. My father's middle name is Pearson, which is not a usual middle name. 

It wasn't until I was working on the first blog that I realised the Hannah's maiden name was Pearson. The Hayes obviously gave many(if not all) of their children her maiden name as a middle name, which I thought would have been quite forward thinking for their time. 

If you'd like to see many more photos from our visit to Hayes Engineering Works, I've uploaded them to their own special Flickr folder- click on this link to view.

Footnote-

If you haven't already, a visit to E Hayes & Sons, a hardware store in Dee Street, Invercargill is also a must visit if you're in Southland. Irving Hayes, one of the Hayes' sons, opened the store in 1932 and it's still run by 4th & 5th generation family members today. 

Not only does the shop sell just about everything anybody ever wanted, it is full of memorabilia, vintage machinery and over 100 classic automobiles & motorcycles. The 'pièce de résistance' and main attraction is the original 1920 Indian Scout belonging to Burt Munro; that's Burt of  'The World's Fastest Indian' fame.

A Step Back in Time- Hayes Engineering; Part 1

Catch-up, late March 2016

Our next destination was not too far past the Idaburn Dam; the historic Hayes Engineering Works & Homestead, a family business dating from 1895, and one that has more significance than most to us.

It was closed for winter during our last visit back in July, 2015. The complex is managed by Heritage New Zealand and while we were there back then the manager arrived and offered to show us around, we declined and said we'd be back in the summer. So here we were and so were quite a few others; the carpark was busy with locals and tourists vehicles including a few campervans. The Hayes carpark is also a NZMCA CAP- an overnight fee includes entrance to the heritage site. There are also 'Operating Days' when some of the machinery is switched on, these are held one day a month over summer with guided tours. The rest of the time it's a self-guided tour. 

There were quite a number of cyclists that were riding this part of the Otago Rail Trail and a small group on an outing having a set lunch beside 'Hannahs Cafe'.  The cafe building is a re-creation of the original sun-dried brick cottage (1890) in which Ernest & Hannah Hayes first lived with their nine children.

We also ordered lunch and although there was a short delay, it was worth the wait. It was also lovely to sit outside watching the world go by and soaking up the warm sun.

Ernest Hayes Engineering holds a prominent position  in New Zealand’s agriculture history as a producer of a large range of innovative agricultural tools and equipment that were sold nation and world wide.

Our first stop was at the Company Office (1930) where products were displayed and sold. 

Many of those products and the history behind them are now on display inside. Ernest Hayes inventions include fence wire strainers, the Hayes Permanent Wire Strainer (2nd photo on the left) was once, and no doubt still is, a competitor of the Wirelok, a wire strainer that David developed and manufactured during the 1980-90s. 

David Evans Wirelok Ltd went on to sell over 1 million units before we sold the business. The Wirelok is still manufactured and sold in NZ and exported overseas. We quite often come across Wireloks holding fences together on our travels, although I bet we won't find any on fences around here.

Our next stop is the Hayes Factory (1902-14) and wow, what a thoroughly interesting building. 

This is a typical nineteenth century machine shop, complete with dirt floors, the smell of grease and looking like the workers had just stepped out for a smoko break.

Power to the 'machine shop' was transferred from a central drive shaft via a series of belts and pulleys to individual machines that included drills, lathes, punch & shear machines and grinders.  First powered by wind, then water and finally today, just a 3HP electric motor. 

You might not be able to see it in this photo but there's something unusual about the clock on the far wall. The number 7 must have gone missing at some stage and has been replaced with an upside down number 2.

Up to eight men worked in the machine shop and at the start of each day they would stand by their machines waiting for the signal to start work. There's a bell cord beside the forge here (I couldn't find it) and when it was rung it signalled 'start work' everyone.

Ernest was a trained millwright and engineer, he was skilled at the lathe, the anvil and the carpenter's bench. He was also an astute business man.

Battery Charging Stand- the sign reads; Power comes through resistors which break down the current from 230 volts. It is then controlled by switchers at the bottom. 

We climb through a small backdoor in the building to see the base of what was one of the largest windmills in New Zealand (1910). It stood 12m (40ft) tall, with a 6.7m (20ft) span and was used to power the factory which actually wasn't such a good idea as there was hardly any wind in Central Otago. In 1927 a water-driven Pelton Wheel was installed and fed from a reservoir at the top of the hill behind.

We head back through the door into the workshop and step through to the newest part of the old factory (1914). 

Sun dried brick moulds sit on a workbench. Earth, tussock and cow dung were mixed and packed into the moulds and then removed to bake in the blistering heat of a 'Central' summer.

The surrounding shelves contain dozens of boxes and other receptacles holding thousands (3500 plus) wooden patterns (moulds) from which steel parts were cast from. 

Another bench is covered in Hayes stencils with brand names and patent numbers.

There was so much to see inside the workshop, it was hard to take it all in. If you're intending to visit allow a good amount of time to explore the many different work rooms, benches and shelves; it's a fascinating look into our pioneering history and a good example of Kiwi's well known 'No. 8 Wire' tradition & philosophy. 

The steel rack with garage behind. There's no access to the garage but I wonder what machinery, or even farm vehicles are in there.

Nearby are the stables, loft and men's quarters. The Hayes also ran a 150 acre (60ha) farm which required bullocks and manpower.

On a fence separating the factory from the house is the original Hayes wire tensioner and strainers. The 1924 Hayes Smooth Grip Wire Strainer model is still being made, unchanged, today. 

Beside the strainers is the first model of windmill to be sold by Hayes Engineering. It was purchased by W. Becker (that familiar name from the cemetery, in the previous blog post) and has now been returned to the Hayes site. Hayes sold more than 400 windmills between the 1920s and 1950s.

To be continued.....Part 2- The 'Big House', the Hayes Homestead