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Day 8 Feb 3
Bluff to Dunedin
To borrow the words from a TV advert over here, Fred & Myrtle Flutey were
world famous in New Zealand. They decorated their bungalow in Bluff with
shells by the million, invited the world to visit them - and the world
came. The cameras came, notably in the form of Robin Morrison, one of New
Zealand’s greatest photographers, and recognition came, in the form of
high level national awards to Myrtle for services to charities.
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The Paua Shell House -
Fred & Myrtles's house |
She died in 2000 aged 89 and Fred died the following year aged 97. When
Myrtle died, they had been married for 70 years and the various telegrams
they received from the Queen are amongst the exhibits at the house. My
usual diffidence with a camera meant that I didn’t have the courage to
take a photo inside the house so I have scanned a postcard, instead.
Their youngest daughter looked after both them and the house for years,
a task which kept her tied to the house. When they died, she had to find
a life of her own, which culminated in her serving my dinner last night.
The elder daughter, who showed me the house, explained what a trial it
was for her and her brother, who were trying to find a way of keeping the
house open but without it taking over their lives completely. Negotiations
with the local Council had not been successful but I hope they do find
a solution as the house is something of a national icon and it represents
the life’s work (probably even the life) of a remarkable couple.
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Club Hotel,
Bluff
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Bluff
Harbour - Tiwai Point in background
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Bluff
Harbour
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Oyster
dredge, Bluff Maritime Museum
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The remainder of Bluff is distinctly industrial and on the decline. The
Club Hotel, where I stayed on my last visit 10 years ago, is a grand old
building but looks as if it hasn’t seen a coat of paint since Queen Victoria
was a lad.
Apart from the oyster fishery, the harbour services the ferry from Stewart
Island, the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter - which has its own huge jetty
running from the opposite side of the harbour - and large quantities of
general cargo from all over Southland. The most famous old boy of the town
is Sir Joseph Ward, twice Prime Minister. The second time, in 1928, he
took over the reins of power from my distant cousin following the latter’s
election defeat. He eventually died in office in 1930.
Left: Sir Joseph Ward
Memorial, Bluff
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The Maritime Museum is an unprepossessing building which contains lots
of wonderful paintings, photos and maps. Parked alongside (it’s on dry
land) is the Monica II, an old oyster dredger. The dredges, themselves,
are like chain mail shirts but a bit rusty.
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Clock tower,
Invercargill |
Alternative church,
Invercargill |
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Back on the road to civilization, Invercargill is a reasonably large and
prosperous city. It has a few old buildings, although seeing one of the
Banks converted into an “alternative” church is a sign of the times. There
is an interesting new public space, with a clock tower and some cafes.
I had a coffee, quite a good one but 50c more than I would have paid in
Wellington.
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Station
Hotel, Invercargill
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YMCA Training Station,
Invercargill
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The railway station is no more, the site of the old building now being
a YMCA Training Station (ugh!) The last passenger trains stopped arriving
a couple of years ago. Opposite, however, is the Station Hotel, quite magnificent
and currently being refurbished. Cambridge Buildings house an interesting
arcade, quite unusual for New Zealand, and the newspaper offices and town
hall are worth a visit.
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Southlands
Times offices, Invercargill
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Cambridge
Buildings, Invercargill
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Invercargill Town Hall |
Tuatara, Invercargill |
The Museum and Art Gallery are well housed on the edge of Queen’s Park,
an extensive area of public gardens and sports facilities. The collection
is the normal mix but with two very interesting features. There is a tuatarium,
a breeding collection of Tuatara, the prehistoric reptiles which are indigenous
to New Zealand but which are now restricted to Zoos and a few offshore
islands.
Upstairs is an exhibition dedicated to the history and ecology of the Sub
Antarctic islands, the collection of tiny islands scattered between New
Zealand and the South Pole. I had a very light lunch at the museum café,
changed into shorts as it was getting warmer, and headed north.
Because of the suspect weather, I decided not to follow the scenic coast
road through the Catlins, but took the main road which runs inland. The
town of Gore has a new museum which concentrates upon the local, Hokonui
area, tradition of distilling illicit spirits (moonshine) and also examines
the history of the temperance movement in the bottom of the South Island.
It is very good, although the layout is slightly confused so that I got
lost a few times.
After Gore, the weather became distinctly hostile, with some torrential
downpours followed by outbreaks of sunshine. The road was busy and it wasn’t
pleasant driving. I eventually arrived in Dunedin, in the middle of the
evening rush, got lost of a couple of time, had a run-in with a policeman
because I had stopped in a yellow line to ask directions, and eventually
found the house.
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The evening was spent in an old church, which is now a child friendly restaurant
and not bad at all, with a group of friends and their children.
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