You’ve undoubtedly heard of Peter Rabbit™, Beatrix Potter’s mischievously loveable bunny who took the world by storm in the 1900s.
But did you know about New Zealand’s very own Peter Rabbit™ connection? Possibly not, because Peter’s House has been a special secret in Garston for a long time now.
Once upon a time, a rabbit dug a burrow under an old fir tree.
Thirty years ago, only those who crept under the spreading branches of the massive fir tree between the Presbyterian church and the Garston cemetery knew the secret. Someone had spotted an abandoned rabbit hole and put up a tiny sign — “Peter Rabbit’s House.” Then came a small washing line with delicate, knitted garments and, next, a lopsided bunny dunny.
Who put them up? It’s a bit of a mystery, but whoever it was, I hope they know how their whimsy brought smiles and that gradually more secret “rabbit paraphernalia” appeared.
Welcome Rocks Gardens owes its existence to a VERY lucky break: “If I hadn’t stopped here, a day later I’d have been locked down in a Queenstown hostel for six weeks.”
Have you ever noticed how, sometimes, split-second decisions have far-reaching consequences? Tiny choices can lead to life-changing events — and you never know when the Fates are spinning their threads.
Welcome Rock Trail owners, Tom and Katie O’Brien, needed a WOOOFer to clear some firewood. And when Brendan Lopez applied, he never dreamed that he’d end up running a market garden south of Queenstown.
I mean, there wasn’t even a hint of an idea of market gardening in Garston at the time.
Yet, two years later, he’s at the helm of Welcome Rock Gardens, a thriving supplier of fresh, organic vegetables in Queenstown and beyond.
The Piha surf is pounding; wind and rain are sweeping across the black sand. Usually, only the surfers brave this weather — but today there’s one, lone photographer, hunched into her jacket.
She’s waiting. Any moment now there’ll be a break in the weather. That’s when she’ll whip out her Sony A7SII camera and get the shots — waves, surfers, footprints on the sand, and the next on-coming rainband rushing across the bay.
Daisy Thor-Poet is the sole camera-crew, sound operator and director of Tinted Productions. And she will brave any conditions to get the footage for her latest documentary series, “Changemakers.”
Because, as she explains, “I had one day free in Auckland, so it was my only chance. I got soaking wet, but I got the shots… which ended up working perfectly.”
Whenever I want to know about Garston’s history, I go straight to Peter Naylor and Noel McMillan.
These two farmers were born and bred in Garston and have lived here all their lives. And both men are passionate in their own ways about preserving our history.
Peter has albums filled with photos of farming life back in the day and a story to go with each one. He kindly let me use some of these photos in
One of Peter’s main passions is restoring old vehicles to their former glory. When Russell Glendinning found that two of his old railway jiggers had gone to rack and ruin he brought them to Garston, hoping that Peter would work some magic.
And Peter did. Now, Garston is lucky to have them on display as part of our railway heritage precinct on the Garston Green.
This 1910 hand-operated railway jigger is part of the railway heritage collection on the Garston Green. It was donated by Russell Glendinning and restored by Peter Naylor.
Noel, on the other hand, has dedicated much of his time to collecting and preserving documents from the past. He’s got files, folders and books galore of fascinating documents and photographs showing farming and community life as it used to be.
The way we were. Garston railway yards, hotel and garage. Winter, 1950-60’s.
Now, Noel is collaborating with his granddaughter to bring us a new Facebook page. Amanda has been posting photos and articles from Noel’s vast collection and reminding us of a bygone era. If you’ve lived in Northern Southland, you might well recognise places, events and faces. You might even spot yourself at these special events.
Thanks to Noel, Peter and all the dedicated historians who collect, sift, store and retell the stories of their districts. Our lives are richer for your work.
Want to add more vegetables into your diet? Me too! A chowder is a thick soup, usually containing seafood or corn. This particular sweetcorn chowder makes a very tasty, winter-warming dish.
In his book, The 4 Pillar Plan, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee talks about aiming to eat a rainbow of vegetables every day. It’s a fun challenge to help you focus on eating a range of vegetables. Without it, I’m inclined to stick to the same old few.
This sweetcorn chowder has plenty of white, red, yellow and green veggies. So, if you eat it for lunch today, you’ll already be halfway through your rainbow.
1 leek
1 medium-sized red kumara
2 tbsp butter
1 can Watties creamed corn
1 tbsp rice flour
Pinch salt
3 cups Campbells Vegetable Stock
Parsley
Cheese
Wash the kumara and grate it with the skin on.
Finely slice the leek.
Melt the butter in a large microwave bowl. Add the leek and kumara and microwave on high, covered, for 8 minutes.
Mix the rice flour into the cooked vegetables.
Add the canned corn and vegetable stock.
Microwave again for 10 minutes.
Add salt, chopped parsley and a little cheese to suit your taste.
Soap. It’s become the new gold in supermarkets since COVID 19 turned our world upside down.
In recent years we’ve been bombarded with advertisements for soap alternatives. There are all sorts of fancy hand sanitisers, wet wipes, and sprays on the market.
But it turns out that good, old-fashioned soap is the key to washing dirt and germs off our hands and down the drain.
So, from a teacher and science-nerd, try these experiments to see why every bubble needs a little soap these days.
