MUSEUM MUSINGS -NEW ZEALAND JOURNEY

BLOG POST 11

Our next stop was the Kauri Museum a hidden gem in the west coast village of Matakohe  Northland, New Zealand. We spent about three and half hours there and found it one of the best museums we have visited, its ticket was included in our  tour package

The museum, to the south of the Waipoua, contained many exhibits that told the story of the pioneering days when early European settlers in the area extracted Kauri timber and Kauri gum.

As instructed by Tony we waited for the museum guide and yelled a loud Kia Ora at her ,she was rather amused at our energy ,she took us inside the museum and showed us around , the guide was dressed in a period costume representing a gum collector .She explained what people in that occupation did in the past while guiding us to the main displays .

The museum had over 4000 sq meters of exhibits, including the largest collection of kauri gum and the largest collection of kauri furniture in the world

 Many examples of fine antique furniture were displayed in the museum, concentration was on the harvesting and processing of the tree into timber, we saw the life style of the workers and their brilliantly produced figures.

It had a model of a two storey 1900s Colonial kauri house with furniture and models in the dress of the early years, and an extensive collection of photographs and pioneering memorabilia

On the wall, there were full-scale circumference outlines of the huge trees, including one of 8​¹⁄₂ metres, larger even than Tane Mahuta which is the largest kauri tree known to stand today in Waipoua forest, estimated to be between 1,250 and 2500 years old.Fossilised and swamp kauri, tens of thousands of years old was also on the display

 The museum included a working mock-up of a steam saw mill with full sized working engines, realistic sounds and excellent models of the workers tools

Our guide told us that Kauri Museum has helped raise awareness of the need to conserve the remaining forest through a display of photographs by the conservationist Stephen King, presented in partnership with the Waipoua Forest Trust

The gum I particularly loved for its lovely colors. Gum from the kauri tree has great value for its beauty and lumps of it are worth a small fortune ,we saw a lovely and amazing Gum room with different colored and sized pieces of the gum ,lovely jewelry has been made over the years using this Kauri gum.

The gum varied in color depending on the condition of the original tree. It also depended on where the gum had formed and how long it had been buried. Colors ranged from chalky-white, through red-brown to black the most prized was a pale gold, as it was hard and translucent. 

The size of each lump also varied greatly.Swamps tended to yield the small nuggets known as "chips", whereas hillsides tended to produce larger lumps. The majority were the size of acorns, although some were found which weighed a few pounds, the largest (and rarest) were reported to weigh 50 pounds, Kauri gum shares a few characteristics with amber, another fossilised resin

 The museum itself  was so  large, just as we thought we were at the end, there was  another doorway leading to even more displays, luckily we had a map to follow . I was most impressed with the layout and cleanliness of the place.
The staff were all very friendly and very helpful.One of our bus mates had a foldable rollator walking frame as she had recently had a hip replacement and found it very easy to get around as there were good ramps and a lift.
 Gift shop with rest rooms were available and a restaurant was located across the country road from the museum. As we were crossing for the café I came across the local Coates Memorial Cemetery next door.Was very well maintained and easy to walk about. It had lovely rose bushes, roses were lovely and colorful !.

As I was wistfully wandering around the cemetery  imagining myself laying down to rest among the lovely roses,my husband who can read my mind  like a book said scathingly “ don’t even entertain that thought ,it is not allowed “

There was a Post Office which had functioned from 1909 to 1988 and  a telephone exchange too ,A pioneer Church Built  in 1867 and original school were also there.