There is of course much more to Gore than illicit moonshine whisky. Anglers come from far and wide to try and catch one of the local brown trout during the fishing season. In fact, the “Welcome to Gore” sign shows a monster version of one of these fish. Designed by Errol Allison in 1989, the brown trout statue was commissioned to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Gore Lions Club.
We had found the Flemings factory in Invercargill a couple of days ago, and here in Gore we came across the Flemings Creamota Mill building, constructed in 1892, emblazoned with a picture of “Sergeant Dan, the Creamota Man”. The iconic Sergeant Dan was used as advertising way back in the 1920s to promote the sale of Creamota porridge made from locally grown oats. Kiwi mums made big pots of the stuff and ladled it out to their children for breakfast during the cold winter months. If we were lucky, we got to put some brown sugar and cream on top of our plate of porridge, but usually we just poured milk over it. It was both yummy and warming, and no doubt the mums liked it as it porridge was quite a cheap breakfast. Those were the days.
The modern looking clock tower houses the clock mechanism and bells from the Post Office Tower, which were commissioned in 1906. This was dismantled in 1945 and the clock and bells were stored until the new tower was finally erected 50 years later. The “Westminster Chimes” clock was made in England by J B Joyce and Co, and the bells were also made in England by world-renowned John Taylor and Co. The clock mechanism and full descriptions of the parts can be seen through the glass windows at the bottom of the tower.
Gore is known as the Country Music Capitol of New Zealand, and the Gore Country Music Club’s “Hands of Fame” monument features the handprints and names of well known Kiwi musicians and singers.
We are certainly enjoying our stay at the Gore A & P Showgrounds. We are parked up on hard standing next to the grand-stand, have power available, as well as showers and toilets and a water supply. What more could we need?
There was a lot of “horsey” sounds coming from behind a stand of trees so we wandered over to have a look. The Southland Shafts and Wheels club were busy preparing for a “Fun Day” and were busy harnessing up their horses. We watched as a part Clydesdale, part Morgan horse had a gig attached ready for a trot around.
The club has a large collection of gigs and equipment all safely under cover in a huge shed. Fancy little ones, big heavy carts, a gypsy caravan, and everything in between. There must be a whole lot of serious money in this collection, which no doubt has been loving collected and restored over the years. Today was a fun day for the club and they were having an outing without any competitions, although there was one horse being reacquainted with harness as he was to be used in a ploughing competition shortly.
So you can see, there is plenty going on in Gore. And as a nice finale to our time here, we are off to the Gore Town and Country Restaurant just over the road tonight for a Sunday Roast for dinner.
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