Wednesday 19 August 2015

A quick dash through Toitu

This week we're back in Toitu,
 otherwise known locally as The Early Settlers Museum.
We are doing a quick dash through today as there is so much
 to see and do I thought I'd just give you a taste.

Josephine
Josephine is the very first thing you come across
 as you enter the foyer.
She is loved by old and young alike, if you mention seeing Josephine at the museum we all know what you're talking about.
If you go to the link on her name you can read about her.
And I do apologize for cutting her nose off when photographing her. Once again there is a great photo in the link.


Turn to the right and you have a little gift shop 
with lots of cool stuff in it and on the sunny side of 
the foyer is the cafe/tearooms
 where you can get a nice meal or hot drink. 
Or a cold drink if that's what you prefer.

Maori kite made from flax
Through the door to the museum 
and you have a short history of Otago 
from pre-European times through to the current day.


A little further on and we enter the passenger section of a sailing ship, complete with creaking and groaning boards as
 the ship moves up and down across the waves. A weird sensation. 
Around about are the passengers bunks, goods and utensils. 


There is a section devoted to fashion, men's and women's, 
as well as a few children's pieces. Again a great range of clothes.
And a dress up section if you wanted to don a whale bone petticoat
 and see how you would look in a crinoline.


Another display houses the appliances, gas, coal and electric. 
It doesn't seem that long ago that these
 old coal ranges were in homes.
My grandparents had a gas stove top but the oven was coal fired, 
and it sent out a lot of heat in the winter,
 and probably too much in the summer.
It was a wetback and heated the hot water
 so had to be on most of the time.
(Now I'm definitely showing my age,
 that was nearly 70 years ago, haha).
Everything from these ranges to old irons and 
more modern milk bar equipment and everything in between. 
We laughed at the old typewriters, computers and dishwashers etc.
How life has changed :)


Now this fellow was atop a butcher shop in the city 
when I arrived here in the late '60s.
He was in charge of a herd of little pink pigs
 who ran around the veranda, also neon lights.
 They were quite a landmark.


In the Smith Gallery there are paintings of some of the settlers.
 Also an index so you can find your ancestors
 somewhere in the crowd.
Or maybe they are hidden away somewhere in the archives.
My GKB's ancestors arrived on one of the first boats 
and I've recently discovered that my father's were on one of the early ships as well.


At the opposite end of the museum to Josephine 
is this display of feet.
A modern sculpture on temporary display,
 commemorating the men who went to war and didn't come back. 
I find it quite strange even though I 'get' what 
the artist was trying to say. I think. 


I should have put this photo in the post I did 
about the transport on display here.
This is the arrival and departure platform at the bus depot.
Exactly as it was when we used to catch the buses 
after a night out on the town or day out shopping.
It is midway through the museum and a nice place 
if you want a bit of a sit down
and there is also a corner for the littlies to play in.

And that is it for another day. 
I hope you enjoyed having a quick poke around Toitu with me.

linking up with Stepanie at:

Have a good week.
See you next time,
Diana

11 comments:

  1. What a fun outing, Diana! Thank you for taking me along on the tour of the museum.

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  2. Hi Diana, Thank you for this quick dash through Toitu. If you've had an eye on my blog for a while you will know that I love trains and ships. So there is definitely a good reason for me to put this museum on my list of places to see if I ever get lucky enough to get down to New Zealand. I love the story of Josephine! A marvelous old steam engine for sure. I am fascinated with railroad history. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures and giving us the tour. Kind regards to you from Seattle.

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  3. So very interesting. Thank you for sharing here. I love things of our past lives.

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  4. I love genealogy and your comments about your ancestors made my ears perk up! It is so interesting to see where we came from and what motivated our family to pull up roots and move somewhere far away! In my case, it was from Yorkshire, England to Virginia in the colonies. Where did your family start out Diana? I guess I assume most of the immigrants to New Zealand had British roots.

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  5. Looks like an interesting place to visit. Enjoyed all the photos. That's a lot of feet! : )

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  6. This was very interesting. Nice to meet you I'm assuming you are from New Zealand. I would love to visit there someday because I see such beautiful pictures from there.
    Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  7. Good day, swetet friend! Thank you so much for taking us along on your adventure :) I always enjoy seeing new places and thanks to you and you wonderful pictures I am able to see places that I probably won't ever see in person. You are a joy and I appreciate you joining Roses of Inspiration. Hugs!

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  8. Hello Diana,Thank You for this fun and interesting tour.Off to read more about the town and Josephine.Hugs Denise

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  9. Hello Diana,Thank You for this fun and interesting tour.Off to read more about the town and Josephine.Hugs Denise

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  10. Hi Diana! I wanted to let you know that this wonderful post is going to be featured at Roses of Inspiration later today. Thank you so much for sharing, dear friend. Have a delightful week. Hugs!

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  11. I love visiting museums and enjoyed your pictures so much - almost like being there. Also enjoying your photos on the right of your blog as well. I will definitely be following your continued adventures!

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