The museum is featuring a new display called Bayswater - Gladfield: The history of farming settlement. It's an extensive photographic collection of farming families and practices in the Bayswater and Gladfield areas, just a little north and northeast of Otautau.
The farming encompassed not only different grain crops but also sheep, chicken, turkeys, deer and dairy cows. Clydesdale horses were a necessity to pull ploughs and work the land. Pictured above: A member of the Manson family kidging at Korowai, 1932.
But rural life isn't all about work. The Bayswater Tennis Club and the Gladfield School are also featured in the display.
Various homesteads are highlighted as well. Many of the names originate from ancestral connections to lands in Scotland and England. Other homesteads have Maori names such as 'Korowai' or 'Tatarepo'. So before there were postal addresses, you would say you were so-and-so from 'Korowai'. And that is how people identified each other. You were linked to your homestead.
This display is on until 30 Aug 2009 so drop by and have a look. We're open Wednesdays and Sundays, 2pm-4pm, and by request. Your comments are always welcome!
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