Ted’s Bottle and Waimate

I was looking forward to our next stop after Dunedin -  Waimate, which was 159km up SH1. The first glimpse that we were getting closer was the yellow shed on the main road featuring a wallaby and  encouraging us to “Hop in for a Visit".   Wallabies? You may well ask, this is New Zealand, not Australia. Wallabies were released for hunting purposes near Waimate in 1874. Fifty years later, they were recognised as a pest, responsible for destroying pasture, native regeneration, damaging fences and displacing stock. Although tens of thousands have been shot, unfortunately it has  made little dent in the population.  They may be cute and furry, but they are an introduced species and are not welcome.

Hop in for a Visit

We stayed overnight at the Waimate NZMCA Park, a lovely camp which we had visited before.  It was nice to park up on grass, and water and rubbish facilities were available.

Waimate NZMCA Park

The reason I was so keen to stop at Waimate was to visit one of the pubs in my “Great Kiwi Pub Crawl” book, and check out the sad story of Ted’s Bottle at the Waihao Forks Hotel. 

Ted d’Auvergne was having a farewell drink or two with his mates at the pub, waiting for the train to take him to Burnham Military Camp for training before heading off to war.  Ted heard the train coming, and left an unopened bottle of beer on the bar, calling to the publican to “save it until I get back”.  Ted served for two years in the Middle East, was transferred to Greece, and was killed in May 1941 in the Battle of Crete.  The publican saved Ted’s bottle of Ballins XXXX beer, and it is now stored in a case above the bar, engraved with Ted’s battalion insignia.  Each April on Anzac Day, another poppy is placed inside the case, and the locals drink to Ted and all his fallen comrades.  There is a statue of Ted outside the pub, showing him waiting with his kit bag at the station.

At the Waihao Forks Hotel

We stopped to admire the Silo Art back in town.  Waimate artist Bill Scott painted murals on grain silos at Transport Waimate’s Queen Street yard.  The silos were built by hand in 1920 nd were the first of their kind in the country.  Hometown hero  WW11 soldier Eric Batchelor was twice awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous bravery when he served in Italy.  Beside him is Margaret Cruikshank, the first registered woman doctor in New Zealand.  She practiced in Waimate from 1897 until she fell victim to the 1918 influenza pandemic while treating patients. The artist then recreated a scene between New Zealand's 29th Prime Minister, Waimate born  Norman Kirk together with a child at Waitangi.

Silo art in Waimate

There is yet another thing Waimate is well known for and that is the White Horse monument high up on the hill at Centrewood Park overlooking the town and farmlands.  Retired farmer Norman Hayman returned home from an European holiday inspired by a Friesian Cow statue in Holland and decided the hard working Clydesdale horse deserved a tribute too.  It took Norman and his wife Betty three months to prepare the ground and lay 1220 concrete slabs, with a huge 2.5 ton precast head.  For a small town, Waimate certainly has a lot to offer visitors. 

Seen high on the hill from the camp