Travel. O.seas.Aotearoa, country of my Birth

Aotearoa, Country of my Birth

Monday, 1st. March 2004 was exciting as it was the start of my holiday back home to New Zealand to visit friends and relations; I boarded the Air N.Z. flight to Auckland from Brisbane for the very short 2hours. 20-minute flight. On arrival my custom clearance was swift with no alarm bells like in Brisbane where the highly sensitive x-ray machine had picked up the extra hardware I now have with my brand new hip.
I soon found my rental car and was motoring north across the harbour bridge towards Red Beach and the home of my only remaining uncle and aunt, Max & Gloria, there is motorway all the way now and this cuts the time down a lot. It sure was great to see them again and we were soon very busy catching up on all family affairs. It was nice to walk the streets of Red Beach with my Aunt; the sun had finally arrived after a very wet February, must be me being the breath of sunshine.!! After a nice kiwi breakfast of bacon and eggs we took a drive to Puhoi, Bohemian settlement I was born to and still have very fond memories, there is the lovely old Catholic timber church with it’s beautiful stained glass windows, the old pub which hasn’t changed all these years, still tells the stories of the pioneers around the walls with photos and relics of farm tools which the early settlers used to cleared the land, along with bullocks and bare hands, a visit to the Cemetary is always a must to spend a few moments silence with many of my relations. We took a drive further north to the lovely town of Warkworth with a lovely stream meandering behind the shops, on to The Spit, where the pleasure and ferry boats leave for Kauwau Island, about an hour off shore, we had a delicious lunch of Mussel and pipi fritters, yum. Still early so we took a drive to Whangaparoa Peninsular, a beautiful narrow piece of land now nearly all built on with many residents commuting to Auckland daily, and also the home of Gulf Harbour, a haven for hundreds of pleasure crafts.
Next morning it was time to move on but I was still able to take a drive to Helensville, a small historic town where my brother Maurice was born and a great health spa and thermal baths. Antique shops made an interesting place to browse for maybe a small bargain or a piece of fine furniture.
On my way to Paeroa which is back over the harbour bridge, passed the “city of sails” and sky tower of New Zealand largest city and then south of Auckland in the Thames Valley to spend some time with my sister Noeline and brother-in-law Kevin. Driving through the Hauraki Plains it was great to see nice green farmland and also lots of green feed maize nearly ready for harvest.
It was nice to see my sister again after a year and there was much to talk about, plus we were all excited that our newly found cousin will be making a trip north to visit us, maybe in the next few days or later.
Kevin and Noeline took the day off work and we made a lovely drive around the Coromandel Peninsular, an area I have always enjoyed, first we stopped at the old gold mining town of Waihi where they still mine for gold and silver, we viewed a huge man made crater where huge trucks carrying ore out to a conveyor belt with takes it through tunnels to the countryside to the processing plant. We carried on through winding bush clad country to Whangamata, a nice beachside town, I can remember going here with friends as a teenager before there was any electricity, now I couldn’t recognise any part except the beach, on to Pauanui, built for the very wealthy, a seaside resort with it’s canals and marina, still a nice little haven but now the resort town of Whitianga seems to be the popular place to own a beach or canal side home. Traveling on through some nice stands of timber forests and natural bush we came to the very old and picturesque town of Coromandel, a very popular fishing and holiday place, many antique shops to explore. Next we drove over the hills to the Thames Coastline, my favourite drive slowly winding it’s way around the rocky shoreline lined with huge pohutukawa trees ( N.Z. Christmas trees) as they burst into brilliant red flowers around December.. Our last town was Thames, the old Gold mining town, it has claimed over a hundred hotels in its heyday, now I think there are still twenty plus along the long main street. It was a very enjoyable day and perfect weather for touring around.
A trip to the old gold mining town of Te Aroha brought back memories of my school days and my first job as a menswear salesman which lasted eight years, not much future to be had there so I moved to Hamilton city. Walking down the streets I just couldn’t see anyone I recognised, sadly even the shops I worked in were no longer, the town is trying to make a comeback through it’s thermal baths and lovely domain. Both my parents are buried in the local Cemetary where I spent a few quiet minutes with them. A visit to my old friends Ted & Patty Mc Carthy was great, we have been friends since my teen years. Next was a visit to see the old home at Waitoa where I had lived from age 7 years, mother had lived there for over 50 years and the house was sold when she moved to a retirement home and renovated to a comfortable little cottage, it has a lovely garden and still has that homely feeling. Waitoa is another town that sadly was full of strangers, just one family; the Marsden’s still lived four doors away.
Cousin Keith couldn’t make it for a visit but will catch up before I head home so next morning I drove to Tauranga, a coastal city that has grown so fast, I called to spend some quality time with my grandson Sam and daughter-in-law Robyn, (Pete’s ex wife) nice to catch up with family news. amazing how fast Sam has grown . Another stop was to my friends Malcolm and Linda who own a garden centre at Mt Maunganui, then on to the scenic drive, passing many Kiwi fruit orchards and market gardens around the Te Puke area and then timber forests and natural bushlands, there was the familiar smell of sulphur as I approached the thermal city of Rotorua, home to natural geysers and boiling mud, it also has much Maori history, old customs and action songs are still very popular with the tourists.
I managed to find my old friend Roy Oates and his partner Audrey, Roy and I go back to us being neighbours in Waitoa in the years up to late teens where we lost contact with each other until 2003 when a mutual friend Elaine found him and now we are so sad that we missed over fifty years of friendship but there is always those early days that we can talk over. I had two lovely days with them and enjoy Audrey’s great cooking. It was also very nice to catch up with my sister-in-law Jackie and learn all her family whereabouts, Jackie and I have always corresponded, she writes an interesting letter. A visit to an old primary school friend Barry Mc Phee and Kay, again 30-40 years since I had seen them, he reminded me of a few incidents at school I had forgotten about. A trip into the city surprised me on how it had grown, new streets and many big shop names are now to be seen. Some really old friends from my Yates travelling days are Ben & Bobby, they still have their successful garden centre and look well.
Moving on towards Hamilton after some sad goodbyes I travelled over the Mamaku range of mountains, through the very picturesque Fitzgerald Glade, where the road travels through some beautiful natural bush, my next call was the Antique town of Tirau and a stop to say hello to Corinna & Rex, friends from way back, now they have some successful craft shops in the town. some huge corrugated sheep dominate the roadside and are great tourist attractions. The old English town of Cambridge was next; a friend of mine Terry owns a lovely florist shop among the many antique dealers and matured trees.
At last I was in Hamilton, the place I have spent most of my working life, first call was to Greens Garden centre, the place of my final employment, hardly anyone I new there but the centre still looks interesting, I still had time to visit my old friends Elaine & Alan, lifetime friends, will be seeing more of them later, managed to catch up with Jean, my neighbour in Rimu Street, we lived next door to each other for twenty years. Then on to Placemakers where I had worked for a few years running the garden department and later part time on the weekends, here there are still lots of old friends, I will be staying with Fay and Bob who also work there and we go back to my running days and have enjoyed lots of social life with them, they are staying with their daughter Jody and Lee while their son lives in the family home awaiting his new home. It was time to share a few nice rum and cokes.
Another glorious morning and a busy one calling on many friends and a drive around the city, I noticed with delight the old bus depot has been demolished, I had written to the Mayor and the local paper about my concern after my last trip home and now at least the eyesore has been removed, a huge three story Warehouse building will be built on the sight. I joined my old walking friends on a tour around the new walkway, which surrounds the lake; parts are timber bridges across the waterlily planted lake. Of course it is used by hundreds of fitness fanatics who can also enjoy the views.
Next day proved another brilliant sunny one and there was a full day of visiting friends around the city, firstly my cousins Colin & Thelma to sample her delicious hot scones with real butter, Colin and I worked together at Yates Seeds many years ago. I used to see them once a week when I was in the area doing my house cleaning jobs, always nice to have a chat. Next visit was Mac & Gloria; I used to clean their home. A lunch date was next with Rob. & Amos, two South African friends who are coming over to my place at Mooloolaba while I’m away, also Robs friend Kerry was going with them to watch they never strayed on the beautiful Sunshine Coast beaches. It was great to catch up with my friend Kerry who is manager of Hamilton’s branch of Air N.Z. He also made sure I had a good seat reserved for my return flight. The rest of the afternoon was taken up with a visit to my old friend Anne who I had spent many years working with in Garden Centres, also as a customer when I was a travelling salesman, sadly her partner Terry had recently died after suffering years with strokes and bad health, Anne had finally sold the big home they had and bought a lovely smaller home complete with cottage gardens and a picket fence, just what you would expect Anne to have. The evening was passed with another of Bob’s great barbecues.
A short trip into the lush countryside to visit my second cousins Christine & Tom, the Bohemian “ Homeland News” news letter is the great editing work of Christine and is a credit to her in keeping the family news up to date.
Back in town again I picked up my friend Elaine for morning tea at the Workingman’s Club where I met Heather who kindly passes on my emails to Elaine for me and we discussed the small gathering for me on the next Saturday night, then I called into see my old friends Gerald. Doug & Val. Doug and I go back to our college days on the slow train from Te Aroha to Hamilton and still get a laugh at the mischief we used to get up to. The day finished with a gathering at a Tavern to share a few drinks with Alan, it was his 52nd birthday, also I met other ex-workmates from Placemakers.
Looks like the good weather is holding but of course a bit cooler than what I am used to on the Sunshine Coast, Fay had the day off and we took a trip to Raglan by the sea to take a look at the renovations of their beach home, it is a credit to them, a very comfortable getaway from the busy work life they have. We had a nice seafood lunch at the beautifully restored Marlin Restaurant owned by an ex-work mate Kevin from my Hutton’s Bacon Factory days. Moving on the country town of Te Awamutu we called in on John and Margaret, who were fellow running and walking friends, they have both had some illness over the years but seem to be back leading a reasonably good life. I am now changing my accommodation, will be staying with my friends Gary & Patrice who have just been blessed with a lovely daughter Natasha.
Another day of visits, first to my ex-neighbours, Jean, Margaret and Leslie, great to see them again, I was lucky to have a chat with Paul who bought my unit and was doing some painting and just had the gardens barked for low maintenance, it really looked good. Moving on again to visit my brother-in-law Kerry, Angela was working but we had a nice long chat about family and their busy life. Last call for the day was to visit Jonell and Chris, who was working but I had caught up with him in town, they have redecorated their home and it really looks good.
My evening out at the Workingmans Club was a very pleasant surprise with a gathering of at least 40 of my friends for drinks and dinner, my friends Elaine and Alan organised everyone to join me and help celebrate my 70th birthday, (it really isn’t till December but I won’t be here then) a very happy evening, I was presented with a huge beaten copper flower for hanging on the wall, very lovely but now I was concerned how I would take it home to Australia, there will be a way, I’m sure. It was great to have my friends Bill and Judy from America join me, they were home for a family visit, also Camille and Garth plus Merle Forster and Annette and Malcolm, most of the other folk I had visited around town and not a word was said about this gathering. For once in my life I was lost for words but very happy to have so many of my friends around.
A lot people to see yet, being Sunday I first called on old friends Morrie and Muriel, I have know since my milk bar diary days, Morrie has had lots of throat problems and can’t talk but somehow we managed to communicate with the help of Muriel, great to spend some time with them, then I called on Buddy and Heather, they bought my diary and stayed there over twenty years, Buddy is waiting for a hip replacement so I was able to give him lots of encouragement. My friends Diane and Keith have moved into the city now after selling their lovely home in the country, it was my job to keep it clean and I often house sat for them and the animals while they went overseas. The day soon past and it was time to once more change my place of residence, this time to spend the night with my friends Don and Judy on their 10 acre block on the outskirts of the city, they fatten beef stock on the lush pasture and I was at last able to sample some of the succulent steaks, Don usually called one of their cattle “JIM” and often used to say they had taken Jim to be killed. Next morning was an experience I had not had for a long time, “ a Waikato fog” it was so thick I could barely see the cattle in the paddocks, a sign of the on-coming winter.
An early start to see an old college day friend Ron, we laughed when we realised it was nearly fifty-five years since we left school, another friend Loraine who had done many bookings for my trips overseas travels in past years but unfortunately she was away so I came back past my old address in Kingsley Street where we spent over twenty years bring up the boys and Rosenne, the house looked overgrown with trees and shrubs, I called to see the neighbours Thelma, Tom had died and she was the same happy person I always knew, it was a shock to see her daughter Josie, a really lovely girl about the same age as my eldest son Peter, she had a bad stroke three years ago and heart trouble, and now just walking and talking again, still a long way to go , so sad. Excitement was a visit to my foster daughter Rosenne, her day off from work in an old folks home, we were able to have a nice long chat, her husband Gary works away from Hamilton but I did manage to see him when they came to my birthday party I admired her lovely garden and new water fountain. Fay had made arrangements to meet some old gym friends for lunch but they forgot about it so we ate our way through a very tasty meal. Last call for the day was Jean and Jim, friends from way back, they have been over to visit me and will be returning in June to house sit for sister Nancy and John, not far from where I live so I will be able to catch up with them a lot.
More food… a new restaurant in town and a small gathering of my friends joined me, a place where you pick the food you like and watch them cook it, eat as much as you want for $20.
The days are going too fast and so many more friends to see, I decided to go to the city with a couple of stops to visit two car salesmen I know, first to see Bruce an ex-neighbour of mine and big Wayne who married the daughter of my neighbour in Kingsley Street, both happy in their jobs, also my friends Elaine and Alan, and to pick up the tasty fruit cake she cooked for me to take home, spoilt again… a sad goodbye also. Into the main street I called in to visit Christine, my friend in the Super and Pension department, nice to see her again, she was always there for a chat when my time came for retiring, I managed to buy a few souvenirs then called into see Kim and Rob, another of my house cleaning days, I was lucky to catch up with my sister-in-law Angela at Lodge Real Estate, only had a brief time before her next appointment, another friend John who also works for the same company in another suburb, after three calls I gave up trying to see him. Called into the Building Depot and was fortunate to see my old work mates from Greens .Lynn, Alison and Damon, also a farewell to my cousins Colin and Thelma
Said my last goodbyes to Fay and Bob, my wonderful hosts and drove back to my sister Noeline’s place in Paeroa, no word when cousin Keith is coming to visit, he is a barrister and in the middle of a court case but hoped to make it next day. On my way I called into the Hamilton Cemetary to pay my respects to my grand parents, my wife, an uncle, aunt and cousin and some close friends, I bought a meat pie at Morrinsville and soon had tummy trouble, must have got a past use date one. Had the first little bit of rain since I came to N.Z.
Noeline had the day off work, I felt much better so we took a drive to Thames and the Goldfields Shopping centre, there is a huge Warehouse store, bought some more C.D.s, must control myself as I have a huge collection already. Took another drive along part of the Thames coastline, which I love and never get tired of admiring the views.
At last Keith has a definite time to pay us a visit, it is a six-hour drive from Levin, which is in southern part of the North Island. It was a great moment when we finally met; he looks a lot like his father and is very happy to at last have a family after about thirty-five years. I was equipped with more family photos for him and we discussed other family members. During our conversation his mothers maiden name was mentioned and her family had once lived in Paeroa, amazing Noeline and Kevin new people by that name, on contacting them it was soon discovered he had an Aunt and first cousins right here in the town, they came to meet him and it turned into a double celebration, they had thought he had died years ago. Keith was to go back home for work related interviews that same night but a few brown ales later he was persuaded to stay the night, we had a family cuppa next morning before it was time to say goodbye and I’m sure it won’t be for too long till we meet again.
Noeline and I went into town to rummage through some of the 20 antique shops, I always look out for old beer steins but it looks like lots of other people do the same thing, a look into the local garden centre is always interesting to me, Noeline found a lovely ceramic planter for her back deck which had been their lovely old dog, Jake’s home before he died some months.
My holiday is coming to an end, one last sad goodbye to my sister and brother-in-law and I drove to Auckland, I was soon in the fast lanes of the southern motorway and arrived at the huge shopping centre of Manakau which appeared more multi-culture than usual, there is a large community of Island people living around the area. I found my usual Motel close to the airport, took a long walk past the local shops, all owned by Asian and Indians.
Next morning I took my rental car back and was taken to the Auckland International Airport for my flight home to Australia, it has been a very full three weeks holiday and I enjoyed meeting all my friends and relations once again, I had travelled about 1800 kilometres and enjoyed some lovely New Zealand scenery.
My reaction on having to leave everyone again was a little sad but I have made my home in Queensland now and accept the fact and as I always say, “home is where your personal items of furniture and mementoes are”, now I am looking forward to family and friends coming here for their holidays and hopefully give them a great time.

CHEERS

JIM