Over the Hill to Petone

Our time at cold and blowy Cape Palliser had come to an end.  It was time to hitch up, in our case, or start the engines for the motor homes and head off to our next stop, up and over the Rimutaka Hill.  There was a Devonshire Tea waiting for us at Aston Norwood (formerly known as Kaitoke Country Gardens) at the bottom of the hill.  It was a bit of a juggle to get all the motorhomes into the carpark, with some electing to park beside the busy road.  There was a room set aside for us, with the tables nicely set.  This is the same room where we celebrated Robin’s 50th Birthday with family and friends, quite some time ago now.  We all enjoyed our tea or coffee, and freshly baked scones served with jam and cream.

 

Devonshire Tea at Aston Norwood

The last stop on our ICA Rally “Art Deco to the Capitol” was at the Petone Rugby Club.   Although we had booked the car park space for the next two nights, that hadn't stopped the local workers from parking there early in the morning.   We all squeezed in as best we could, and when the last workers car had left for the day, rearranged ourselves a bit better.

At Petone Rugby Club

The Petone Rugby Club, known as the Home of Champions, has produced 30 All Blacks, 3 Black Ferns and 16 NZ Maori representatives. Andy Leslie  was the club’s first appointed All Black touring captain to Britain (1974) and South Africa (1976). Tana Umaga became an All Black in 1997 and became captain in 2004. As well as this Petone players have represented New Zealand at all levels of the game including Under 20s and Sevens.  We saw some of the youngers ones arrive for practice the afternoon we arrived.

Good keen rugby players

The next day a few of us took a trip around the Day’s Bay pavilion for lunch.  Days Bay and Williams Park have long been the place to go for a swim and picnic or in earlier times, a thrilling ride down the water shute.   Back in the heady years of 1907-12, thrill seekers flocked to a newfangled water chute that sent riders rocketing down a 67-metre drop in boats that hit the lake at speeds of up to 50kmh before bouncing them across to dry ground. The vessels held eight people and skidded off the pond below before skipping three times and delivering passengers back to terra firma.  But daytrippers faced a long queue before getting a ride – on fine weekends up to 5000 people travelled on the ferry from Wellington to Days Bay, attracted by what was then the largest water chute in Australasia.  What fun that would have been!

The famous water shute

Then we took a drive further round the bays to Eastbourne, as the others had not seen  the Wahine Memorial.  The sinking of the Lyttelton–Wellington ferry Wahine on 10 April 1968 was New Zealand’s worst modern maritime disaster. The Wahine was within sight of land and many other vessels, including the smaller New Zealand Railways Wellington-Picton ferry Aramoana, which stood by to pick up survivors. Many were blown across the harbour towards Eastbourne Beach, an area with difficult access. Rescue teams found the road to Eastbourne blocked by slips. Eventually 200 survivors struggled through the surf to safety on this coast, but it was here that most of the 51 fatalities occurred. A number of people who reached shore alive did not receive medical attention quickly enough to prevent death from exposure. Others were drowned or killed when thrown against rocks.  This tragedy was a coming of age for television news broadcasting in New Zealand as images of the disaster were beamed into the nation’s living rooms. The footage was later screened around the world as the international media spotlight focused on Wellington.  What a terrible day that was.  I was home in Wainuiomata with my two young children, terrified the large picture windows on our new house would be blown out in the storm.  Robin was working in Wellington, and had to bunk down at a co-workers home as the Wellington Station came to a standstill and all trains were cancelled, buses too, road slips everywhere.

Wahine Memorial in Eastbourne

Later that evening we all gathered in the Rugby Club bar for our Farewell Dinner, catered by Chalet Caterers.  What a wonderful meal it was, a great array of dishes on offer, all cooked to perfection.  Bill and Val were thanked for their stirling efforts in planning, organising and running the three week ICA Art Deco to the Capital Rally and were presented with a token of our thanks.

Bill and Val

Everyone said their goodbyes, with a group of our happy travelers heading down to the South Island for a fishing adventure.  Some were staying locally for a few days to catch up with friends, and others, like us, were heading home.  We personally had a great time on this rally, going to some “new to us” locations and some old favourites.  It was our first time experiencing the Art Deco weekend, that was a lot of fun.  Many thanks to Bill and Val for all their hard work in making this ICA Rally such a success.