Missing rusty relic is a piece of Central Hawke’s Bay history

The sole remaining door of Central Hawke’s Bay’s historical Gardner and Yeoman Mill boiler.

It could be propping open a shed door, or languishing in a rustic garden as a feature ... but it should be with its matching partner, the other firebox door to the Gardner and Yeoman boiler.

The boiler was last used at Makororo, to power the Gardner and Yeoman Mill, which was last fired up in 1959.

Work at the mill sustained many families, so many that they formed a village and had their own school. The mill processed native timber from the Ruahine Range: rimu, matai, a bit of kahikatea, which was transported to Coles, Wharmby and Williams and Ashbys and used to build houses and woolsheds all over the district, as well as being put on the rail and sent further afield.

Until a couple of years ago the big boiler was in a paddock at Makororo, the last remaining marker of the spot where the mill had been.

Now, it’s in the care of the Ongaonga Historical Society and is being refurbished and prepared for placing at the entrance to Ongaonga as an icon and a memorial to all of those hard-working mill families.

When the boiler was at the mill site years ago one of the doors was taken - most likely as a memento - and the society would love to get the door back and reunite it with its partner, rather than try and build a replica.

If you have a rusty relic in your garden or your shed, please take a look and see if it is a match for the remaining boiler door. You could be helping to remake a piece of local history.

If you can help, please contact the Ongaonga Historical Society Inc. on Facebook.

To showcase the work of the historical society, the CHB Spring Fling is featuring “Step Back in Time in Ongaonga” with high tea at the Ongaonga Hall.

Free entry to the Coles Factory and Ongaonga Museum is included in the ticket price, and this event is a fundraiser for the maintenance of the historic buildings in the Ongaonga Historical Society’s care.

There are two time slots available so book now to reserve your spot: High Tea at the Ongaonga Hall.