NZ's worst ambulance

407- it's a dog! 0-110 k in about five minutes.

It won't go any faster, except with a serious tailwind and it sways about like a drunken sailor!

Drive carefully over here!

Gladstone range

Four-gauge hand gonne firing!

Over the intervening years the hall has seen many changes and has withstood them all, but there was one fad that spelled the demise of the original floor. The stiletto heels of the 1940s and 50s ruined the cork and the floor was pitted with indentations, described as looking like a golf ball.

Following World War II the people of Featherston wanted a tribute to the memory of the men and women who fought and died, so the offices at the back of the hall were remodelled into what is now the Kiwi Hall. A supper room was created at the same time and portraits of the early settler families who donated money for the building of the Anzac Hall are housed there.

Iconic Building

Put up in a matter of weeks during WWI, this was built from subscriptions form the locals- Not funded from taxpayer grabbed funds like today!

"...But Featherston is home to many of Wairarapa’s historical treasures and in no small measure this includes the Anzac Hall.

Featherston was home to one of the training camps for soldiers heading over to fight on the Turkish beaches and later in the trenches of Europe. The Featherston Military Camp was established after the railway to Wellington opened and was no longer needed to house workers. Cavalry, artillery and infantry were trained here and, with 8000 soldiers in training at a time, more than 30,000 men passed through Featherston Military Camp on their way to World War I.

Of the 7500 New Zealand casualties suffered in the Gallipoli campaign, 2721 died – one in four of those who landed – and many of these would have trained at the Featherston camp.

In 1916, the year after the Gallipoli campaign, the Featherston community was struck with the same patriotism and nationalistic fervour hitting many of New Zealand’s towns. They wanted some way to remember their dead, to give something back to those who had already returned and to those who were heading over to “fight for king and country”.

In March the idea of the hall was struck and all the descendants of the early settler families were asked to contribute £50 – a great deal of money by today’s standards – and all people in the district were asked to donate something, including crockery, cutlery, paintings, photos and chairs. However many donated a lot more, some fronting up with the princely sum of £300.

Within three weeks they had all the money they needed, the equivalent of $1 million today, and the first meeting of the Wairarapa Anzac Club was held. A design was agreed upon, foundations laid, walls built and the roof on within months, all without the use of an architect.

Native heart timber panelling and pressed metal wall coverings give the hall further ambience and the floor was covered with a special cork. The hall was equipped with all the modern conveniences, including electric lights..."

MORE TO FOLLOW:

Lake Wairarapa

Ye Olde Library

Featherston library

Ngawi Trailer

Big fish need big boats which need big trailers!

It's further down than it looks!

An old picture- Featherston Army Camp

The camp was bigger than the town is now, but it's all gone apart from some old foundations.

One of our local features

Our own Stonehenge!

The Wairarapa fault

In 1855 this heaved upwards about 10 meters.

It's about 1km from where I live- but everywhere here is near some fault line or another...