Exciting things have been happening there, with the recent acquisition of six Kahikatea "smokers' bow" chairs made in Dannevirke in the 1880s by Thomas Bates.
The Christchurch earthquakes meant the previous owner, antiques restoration expert William Cottrell, was forced to rid his damaged Darfield home of many of his treasures.
The chairs are of outstanding quality and possibly the best set in New Zealand, so any cabinet makers or wood turners would relish the chance to examine them. (The Southland Museum has one Bates chair made when he had a business in Christchurch before coming north and settling in the Scandinavian village of less than 100 families.)
All credit is due to Mr Cottrell for giving Dannevirke's museum the opportunity to get these chairs home and to the generous donors who funded their purchase.
Listeners to Jim Mora's afternoon programme on Radio New Zealand would have heard the item on the winding up by Mid-Central Health of the Bates Estate Trust after 90 years.
More than $200,000 has been granted over the years to many organisations dealing with the well-being of children in the Tararua Health District. Thomas and Sophia Bates lost their four babies in infancy, in Christchurch, no wonder then they chose the Dannevirke Hospital Board's children's ward to receive their legacies.
Thomas died in 1926 and Sophia 1929 and until the 1980s the "Nottingham House" furniture shop and factory (now a garage) and three houses had been rented out by the hospital board. The buildings were then sold and funds added to the trust.
There are many other fascinating items to see, from an 1880s hand-adzed farm whare to a ship's carpenter's chest of tools - but that's another story and a mystery ... Who says museums are dull?Phillipa NilsonDannevirkeSafety for cyclistsJudging from some recent comments it would appear that the emphasis placed on the rights of the individual has destroyed the ability of some to make common-sense decisions and to recognise that every personal right involves a responsibility to others.
The suggestion that cyclists should ride in the centre of a main highway road bridge and tough luck for following motorists is an example. At regular intervals our local paper publishes a full page of those recently convicted of driving while over the alcohol limits.
What, therefore, are the chances that the next car is driven by a drug or alcohol-crazed moron who very likely will not consciously recognise the twinkling light or yellow jacket? Everyone on the road is put at risk by such irresponsibility but cyclists must surely be the most vulnerable.
Such advice could result in an individual failing to exercise a major responsibility that we all have, namely taking steps to ensure our own personal safety. We need to act ourselves to reduce the possibility of misadventure in circumstances over which we have no control. This is not rocket science.
Our ancestors living in the jungle and the beasts of the forest worked it out long ago. It was called survival.
We certainly have a major problem in this area but perhaps those concerned would achieve better results if they put their energies into establishing safe cycling classes. Having stuck doggedly to our rights will give us cold comfort in the grave.R HicksNapier
Cause of riotsA news item from London states that the British prime minister proposes a social media ban. Presumably he means banning Twitter, Facebook and Blackberry and it is the most ridiculous suggestion I have ever seen. Perhaps he would try to ban radio and television, as well?
He is, of course, an old boy of Eton and is hopelessly out of touch with reality. It would be interesting to know what his close friend John Key thinks of this proposed ban.
The riots are mindless violence and destruction but we must ask why they have happened - if a person has nothing to lose then he or she has everything to gain. England is a class-conscious country with extremes of wealth and poverty.
Some of the rioters are from immigrant families. It was Enoch Powell who some 40 years ago said that Britain must be mad to allow a huge number of immigrants from the colonies to have British passports. He was howled down at the time but time has proved him right.
Conditions in South Auckland are similar and we can only hope the Government acts to nip trouble in the bud.Pete CarverHavelock NorthCruelty to sheepI read with disbelief about the planned "Running of the Sheep" in Waipukurau. This is cruel and unnecessary mal-treatment and should not be allowed to happen.
The sheep would be terrified and could be injured in this thoughtless pursuit of public "entertainment".
Auckland was planning something similar but was forced to abandon the idea because of huge public outrage, so we can only hope that the same will happen in Waipukurau.
It certainly does not paint a good picture of New Zealand culture to overseas observers. Surely man has progressed beyond this type of cruelty.
Please cancel the event.Lyn ManselTimaruWhy there's erosionIn 1960 I came to live in Napier. Westshore was a sandy beach with no erosion, we used to drag a large net there and catch flounder. Off the breakwater and wharf was a reef we called middle reef. We used to fish on the reef and catch 20lb snapper. The spot was called the pinnacles, which rose up from the reef and was encrusted with molluscs which the snapper fed on. If you lined up the sentinel trees on the hill with the beacons then lined up the last Norfolk pine with the Sugarloaf Hill you were over the top of the pinnacles and fishing was great.
They then extended the wharf so bigger ships could come in and they then proceeded to blow up middle reef to accommodate the deeper draft on the larger ships.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why there is erosion at Westshore. Don SorensenClive
