Bright Wings

A missed opportunity

Soldiers' Memorial Square, Carterton, 1925

Between engagements last Friday I parked briefly in the Town Square in Carterton.

I watched children playing happily on their skateboards in the Square, and thought how well the Carterton District Council had done in restoring this park as an attractive centrepiece for the town.

I toyed with the idea of taking some photographs as the late afternoon sunshine filtered through the trees.  But I was tired and my camera remained in its bag.

An hour or so later a vicious southerly storm ripped through Carterton and two of the lovely oak trees on the northern side of the park were toppled.  They lay like fallen warriors across Park Road, trapping a motorist in her car. 

I later heard on the grapevine that the car was completely crushed, but the occupant escaped with a broken finger.

And I greatly regret not taking those pictures.

Photo from Picture Wairarapa (Wairarapa Archives)

Harvest Rally glimpse into rural history

The Harvest Rally of vintage farm machinery, held near Carterton on 6/7 March, provided a unique glimpse into our rural past.

The event brought together a vast collection of things mechanical used on farms, with everything from traction engines to stationery engines that ground wheat for flour, pumped water, and collectively made a lot of noise.

Environmental considerations weren't an issue in the heyday of the traction engine. Powered by steam, and its boiler fueled by coal, the huge beast lumbered stolidly along, treating bystanders to great wafts of coal smoke.

The rally is a mecca for people working in the rural transport industry and lovingly restored trucks, together with their modern counterparts, were a feature.

Some displays came with authentic-looking props.

Harvesting wheat, using environmentally-friendly horse-drawn equipment, was for me the highlight of the show. 

The only sound as the horses went up and down the rows was the pleasant swishing noise of the reaper mechanism, which produced neatly tied stooks of wheat, ready for threshing. 

It's great to see the old skills of driving a team of horses being retained. I enjoyed watching the team do neat side steps at the end of each row to line themselves up for the next row.

Divine lunch at DeVine

DeVine Cafe at Clareville, near Carterton, is a superb venue for live music, with high ceilings and wooden floors, and plenty of space for the sound to develop.

We enjoyed lunch there yesterday and listening to The Cool Cats playing jazz. 

Many live bands seem to feel the need to make themselves heard several miles away, with the result that patrons end up with laryngitis from having to shout to carry on a conversation with their friends. 

The Cool Cats got the volume just right. Their music, mainly from the 40s and 50s, was most engaging and seemed to appeal to all ages. 

DeVine is very family-friendly and a great place for Sunday lunch. There were several parties with everyone from grandparents to new babies, all enjoying the food and music. DeVine has plenty of space for small children who don't like sitting still, as well as a dedicated play area.

They have live music on the first Sunday of every month, from 12 - 3 pm.

Carterton Country Fair

The weather was perfect for the Carterton Country Fair, held as a fundraiser by St Mark's Anglican Church.

Set under the trees in the spacious grounds 

Woodland in Carterton

Houhere - lacebark - under the canopy of large, old trees at Carrington, in Carterton.