News & Events

17 October 2021

Hawke's Bay branch visit to Ormondville

Hawke's Bay branch visit to Ormondville

A recent Sunday excursion took 65 members of Hawke's Bay Founders by charter coach to the historical area of Ormondville. South of Waipukurau and near Norsewood, Ormondville is right in the heart of an area settled by Scandinavian families in the nineteenth century.

The trip proved a special delight for many as the settlement and farms are just to the east of the busy Highway 2 and so it is missed by travellers driving the main route into Hawke's Bay. Including many of our members who had not been into this district before.

National Founders past president and Hawke's Bay branch president, Paddy Bayley and her husband Richard had planned the outing and Paddy provided an excellent commentary on places of historical interest as the bus made its way south from Hastings.

Of particular note was mention of:

-       Poukawa. Its early railway station, opened in 1876; had three trains a day in each direction by 1891.

-       Te Hauke War Memorial, commemorating soldiers lost in World Wars I and II.

-       Opawa Radio Transmitting Station. Built in Art Deco style, it opened in1938 and boasts two masts 640 feet high.

-       Te Aute Hotel. With origins in the mid 1800s, this hotel has a distinctive Spanish Mission architecture.

-       Christ Church, Te Aute. The oldest church within the Waiapu diocese and Hawke's Bay Province.

-       The Forest of Memories. At the northern foot of Pukeora Hill, south of Waipukurau. This is an arboretum created in 1993 as a place for trees and memories. 

-       Abbey of Our Lady of the Southern Star, Kopua. A Trappist abbey supported by its own dairy farm.

-       Railway viaducts. Straddling deep gullies, there are six impressive viaducts between Kopua and Dannevirke.

A buffet lunch was served at the unique and quite zany country travern, the 'Black Dog,' at Makotuku 3 km from Ormondville. Images abound of dogs and motor cycles on the walls and in the main lounge of this pub. And just to complement the setting, the rumble of Harley Davidsons was heard over lunch and about a dozen or so amiable grandpas rolled into the yard on their machines, for a chat and a beer.

Tea and coffee were served at a nearby venue - the lovely historic home and grounds of Juliet and Klaus Van der Oord. This gracious home was built in 1907 and has undergone extensive renovation and additions. Founders members greatly enjoyed their warm welcome and the chance to explore.

Also of great interest were other historic sites at Ormondville. The group were given access to and  provided with local hosts who gave explanations for the Church of the Epiphany, consecrated in 1884, the Masonic Lodge (1898) and the Ormondville Railway Station.

This station is quite unique in New Zealand. It was built in 1880 in the midst of a clearing in the Seventy Mile Bush, and thanks to an active restoration society, it is now a working museum and railway enthusiasts can stay overnight and enjoy its ambience.

In concluding the day's introduction to the history of this area, Scandinavian settler descendant, Barry Erickson, provided some poignant anecdotes of the difficulties faced by the pioneers of the Seventy Mile Bush. 

CAPTIONS

Hawke's Bay Founders alight from the coach for lunch at the Black Dog Tavern, Makotuku near Ormondville

Founders enjoy conversation at the Black Dog.

Exploring historic Ormondville Railway Station.

Church of the Epiphany, Ormondville.

Founders assemble for talk by Ormondville hosts, Juliet and Klaus Van der Oord.

Homestead of the Van der Oord family.

L-R. Alan De La Mare, new Hawke's Bay member, Elizabeth Mooney and Hawke's Bay president, Paddy Bayley.

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