Success is getting what you want; happiness is liking what you get

Friday 14 August 2015

Wandering around Woodville – Part 2

Lunch in Woodville was at the Lindauer Restaurant and our bus group of 40 filled the restaurant to capacity.  Roast lamb was on the menu and our 60s Up group was quickly served – silence reigned while we all enjoyed our meals.  Later the owner told us some of the history of the area.  His restaurant sits on the site of the old Club Hotel and stables, which replaced Woodville’s very first building, a log hut in a clearing inside 70 Mile Bush.  Two large photographs grace the walls of the restaurant, showing Woodville in it’s very early years.

P8120019 Part of 70 mile Bush can be seen behind the early buildings

P8120022 This photo was taken just 9 years later showing growth in the town

Woodville still had more to show us, so after lunch we boarded the bus, and drove around a few corners to the Woodville Pioneer Museum. 

P8120027 Woodville Pioneer Museum

P8120034 Old fashioned grocer’s shop

There was plenty to see, from the grocer’s shop, and lovingly decorated vintage rooms, kitchen, dining room, parlour, and bedrooms complete with dolls clothed in beautiful hand made clothes.

P8120032 Dining room

Many cabinets house the 600 strong Bessie Spinnet Teapot Collection, lovingly collected over many years and donated to the museum in 2001.  Like most collections, it started small, and grew and grew, with tea pots from all over the world.

P8120036Just part of the Bessie Spinnet  tea pot collection

P8120044 Outside was a tiny gaol, with hardly room to swing a cat.

And sheds behind the house held a plethora of artefacts, from tools, farm machinery, horse drawn wagons, and even a fire engine.  We could have spent a lot of time here, looking at this and that, but we were called to board the bus for our return journey.

P8120052 A gig and flat bed wagon

After Peter made a quick head count to make sure we were all safely aboard, he announced that we were travelling back home over the Saddle Road, instead of driving back around the notorious Manawatu Gorge.

P8120015 All aboard – it’s time to head home

We would have a stop at the Te Apiti Wind Farm Lookout, to get up and personal to the wind turbines, Peter announced.  Sadly, this wasn’t to be, as the area was closed for maintenance.  

P8120058 Wind Farm Lookout closed

P8120062 So we continued on our way, up and over the Saddle Road

Once through Palmerston North, it wasn’t too long till we arrived back in Levin.  I don’t know how many enjoyed the scenery, as most of the passengers seemed to have nodded off after their long day out.   As always, it was another interesting 60s Up trip.

2 comments:

Marilyn, nb Waka Huia said...

Now who would have thought that Woodville had so much to offer! I'm going to check out t that teapot collection for sure, as well as those cafes!
Glad to see you are keeping warm in such a hard winter, J&R.
It's 2 months today that we depart for home - seems like just last week we were coming over to the UK!
Cheers, Marilyn & David

Jenny said...

There is always plenty to see in these small places, so it is good to take time for a good look around. Mind you, we are usually whizzing past, towing the caravan behind us.