In good hands - CHB Community Menzshed members Uwe Engels (left) and Colin Oliver, who are working on the museum’s horse-drawn vehicles, with CHB Community Menzshed chairman Owen Spotswood (right).
In good hands - CHB Community Menzshed members Uwe Engels (left) and Colin Oliver, who are working on the museum’s horse-drawn vehicles, with CHB Community Menzshed chairman Owen Spotswood (right).
Back when horsedrawn carts were Central Hawke’s Bay’s main mode of transport, none of the wagon drivers would have envisioned their carts being loaded on to an even bigger mode of transport and carried away at speeds no horse could achieve.
But that’s what’s happened to the three historic horse-drawn wagons that have long been an attraction in the courtyard of the Central Hawke’s Bay Museum in Waipawa.
Courtesy of Stevenson and Taylor, the wagons have been carefully loaded by crane on to a truck and taken to the CHB Community Menzshed in Waipukurau for maintenance and mending.
Central Hawke’s Bay Museum curator Jana Uhlirova said maintenance on the historic vehicles is scheduled for once every five years and is a community project, with the lifting and transport donated and the CHB Community Menzshed doing the sanding, painting and repairs.
“It’s great that our community gets behind something like this, using their skills and equipment to support our museum,” Jana said.
The display of farm vehicles has long been a feature outside the Central Hawke’s Bay Museum.
The vehicles include a large horse-drawn cart with a flat deck and four wheels, one seat and a spring system and a brake system. This was used in town for transporting goods from railway station, such as beer barrels, coal and other merchandise.
On the farm it was used for carting anything from hay to seeds and grain or fencing material.
The other two carts are horse-drawn tip drays for transporting metal, shingle, sand or rocks as well as general farming duties.
All three vehicles were donated to the Central Hawke’s Bay Museum by the Knight Family of Ōtāne.
Going: One of the drays and the farm wagon from the Central Hawke’s Bay Museum, carefully loaded and ready to roll.
Menzshed members Colin Oliver and Uwe Engels have started sanding down the smallest of the tipping drays, which they think has been made from native timber, with the shafts possibly made from jarrah.
“We have to go carefully as the timber is very weathered. If we get too carried away there won’t be much left,” says Owen Spotswood, chairman of the Menzshed.
“We’ll sand it, do some general repairs and then give it three coats of paint, which has been donated by Dulux, to protect it from the weather.
“There are some repairs to be done on a wheel on this first dray, which we will do as sympathetically as we can. The museum doesn’t want them to look new - they have to stay as original as possible.
“It’s going to be a long job, there’s a lot of work involved. Seven hours so far on the first dray and we’ve only just started.
“We haven’t put a finish date on the project ... it’ll be finished when it’s finished.”
Gone: The museum courtyard stands empty without its display of horse-drawn history.
Museum curator Jana says community projects help keep the museum’s costs down, which will go some way towards keeping entry to the museum free.
“Last year we were able to make entry to the museum free for a year, thanks to a grant from the Gwen Malden Charitable Trust. Since then visitor numbers have tripled, so we are looking for funding to keep it free for another year.
“We will have free entry for as long as we can because so many more people are coming through the doors. The demographic is changing too - it used to be older people, but now we have a lot of 25-and-older including international visitors and backpackers.”
The museum is gathering information and memorabilia for an exhibition to explore the history of the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) at Pukeora Sanitorium, Waipukurau.
From the late 19th century, TB was a major cause of death for New Zealanders.
After World War I, returning soldiers doubled New Zealand’s TB numbers and caring for these returned soldiers was part of the ongoing war effort. Hospitals were established, with Pukeora becoming the largest.
The museum would love to tell local stories and record memories of Pukeora during the sanitorium years. If you can help, please contact Jana Uhlirova at Central Hawke’s Bay Museum on (06) 857 7288.
The CHB Community Menzshed is one of many established around the country. The group exists to give retired men a space to gather, share skills and stories and work on projects, either their own or items brought in by the public for small repairs at a minimal charge.
The Menzshed is open at the Waipukurau Racecourse from 10am-noon on weekdays. To join or to have repairs done, drop in or phone (06) 858 5125.
