Down by the Station

There has been an awful lot of changes since our last visit to Paekakariki Station Museum.  We stopped off for a visit yesterday  afternoon with our SLG friends after visiting the tie factory in the morning and lunching in a local cafe.  Jan was in charge of organising our day, and the lunch service was so slow that she was getting rather concerned that we would be be running late for our visit to the museum. 

New signage at the station

We had never been up in a signal box before, so followed the guide up the steps to see what there was to see inside.  The signal box has recently been restored and looks very smart with it’s new paint job.

The signal box

The man in front of all the levers wasn’t really saying much to us as we all crowded into the small box.  The signal box would have been a very busy place in it’s hey-day, as this is the Main Trunk Line, running from Wellington to Auckland. 

Up in the signal box

Back in the museum, I commented to the guide on the changes since our last visit.  There is obviously a keen group of volunteers working hard to keep things fresh and interesting.  The museum is focused on three areas, the local Maori people, the Marines stationed in the area during WW11, and local railway history.

Warrior Chief Te Rauparaha was a brooding presence in the area in the 1800s.  He travelled down from Kawhia with his people, taking large territories and founding a new home for the Ngati Toa in the Porirua and Kapiti region.  From his base on Kapiti Island, Te Rauparaha also controlled his invasion of the top of the South Island and launched devastating attacks against Ngāi Tahu as far south as Kaiapoi.  He composed “Ka Mate”, the well known haka used by New Zealand sporting teams such as the All Blacks. 

The museum has a fine collection of traditional carved wooden pieces, a door lintel, and the prow of a canoe, amongst others.  Also this modern carved kumete (wooden box) made especially to house (replica) teeth of sperm whales which stranded on Paekakariki Beach in 1996.

Kumete with sperm whale teeth

Paekakariki was home to 20,000 American Marines from 1942, staying at three specially built bases, Camp Russell, Camp Paekakariki  and Camp Mackay.   The Marines were put through their paces with intensive artillery training, marches and exercises in the surrounding countryside, and taking part in amphibian exercises on the beach   Some of them were at the camps for barely a month before heading off to battle again.

Marine uniform

What does Semper Fidelis mean, one of our ladies wanted to know.  I know that, I told her, remembering my Latin lessons from long ago school days.  Semper Fidelis is Latin for "Always Faithful" or "Always Loyal", and is the motto of the United States Marine Corps and is often shortened to Semper Fi.

The Marines were here

A new interactive display about the Marines and their time here has been installed at the museum since our last visit.  This is the sort of thing that you could spend a lot of time watching, as locals tell of their memories of when the boys were in town.

New display about the American Marines

The railway part of the museum was also full of interesting artefacts.  Some of the posters and photos made us smile.  Passengers used to jump off the train at Paekakariki and rush into the Refreshment room to purchase a cup of railway tea and a pie, then clamber back on board with their goodies before the train took off again.

Through another door was an interesting second hand book shop, which had many books on history, religion, and old New Zealand books.  There were several books that appealed to me, and I finally made my choice.  For a “Tudorphile” like me, what could be better than “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”, by Alison Weir.  I well may know the stories of these unfortunate women  inside out, but that won’t stop me reading another version all over again.  At only $15 for a hard back copy in excellent condition, I think I’ve got a bargain!

My new Tudor book