Mount Drury

Mount Drury from Moturiki (Photo courtesy of Fiona Kean & Charlie Colquhoun)

We took this photograph from Moturiki. It is also called Leisure Island. It was hard to find the right place to take the photograph from as it has changed a lot. Mt Drury doesn’t look as big.

Mount Drury from Moturiki (Photo courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection)

In the old photograph I thought there was a path on the beach. Aunty Fiona told me it was a tram track. I wonder where it went? Maybe it is still there? It could be under the sand. I thought maybe we could find it with a metal detector and dig it up.

The Silk Three-quarter Coat

The coat pictured is made of black silk, and lined with the same fabric. By its size, I would assume that this garment was made for Mrs Brain, and it is typical of the 30’s style when garments of fur, or decorated with fur, were very fashionable.

It is entirely hand made, with the maker using every scrap of fabric to complete the lining. evidence of this is all the hand stitching evident on the inside. The coat has a padding of some description to give it warmth, as it was possibly made for eveningwear. Without undoing a seam, I have not been able to identify the material used; it makes the coat quite heavy and it would have been very cosy.

Embellished with a wide band of fur around the hem and around the sleeves, and fastened with two toggles, this evening coat would have been very smart in its time. Sadly the fur is very fragile now, and attempts to repair it had to be abandoned because it was falling apart as I tried to re-stitch to the coat.

On this day in 1882

Horse drawn coach and passengers, Athenree Post Office and homestead, Tauranga district, c. 1906
Image courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library

6 Nov 1882 - First coach trip from Grahamstown (Thames) to Tauranga.

Credit:
Horse drawn coach alongside the Athenree Post Office and Athenree homestead, Tauranga district. Ref: 1/1-003810-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22606632

On this day in 1872

Cricket on the Tauranga Domain, 1900
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Library, Ref. 99-349

2 November 1872 - First meeting to set up a Cricket Club

Spread your Mock Woodcock on toast ...

NZ Truth Cookery Book, 1950. Image: Tauranga Heritage Collection

"Spread your Mock Woodcock on toast and serve immediately," are the instructions in Phyllis Browne’s A Year’s Cookery published in 1902. The public’s fascination with old cookbooks and recipes is increasingly evident. Retro recipes feature in the Bay of Plenty Times, while David Veart traces the history of New Zealand cooking through cookbooks in his book, First Catch your Weka.

William Park’s New Cookery Book, 1895-96. Image: Tauranga Heritage Collection

The Tauranga Heritage Collection holds an array of cookbooks including New Zealand classics such as early editions of Edmonds Sure to Rise Cookery Book and NZ Truth Cookery Book. Most of the cookbooks were printed prior to WWII and a few date back to the 19th Century. William Park’s New Cookery Book, A Boon to the Household was printed in 1895 and its recipes reveal a time when anything could be turned into a tasty dish.

Fricasseed Calf’s Head
Clean and half boil a head; cut the meat into small bits and put it into a stewpan, with a little gravy made of the bones a bunch of sweat herbs, and onion and a blade of mace. Season the gravy with a little pepper, nutmeg and salt, rub down some flour and butter, and give all a boil together, then take out the herbs and onion and add a little cup of cream, but do not boil it.

Mock Woodcock

2 eggs, 1tbs Cream, Anchovies, Minced Tongue

Beat eggs and mix with cream. Warm the anchovies before the fire and put them with eggs into a saucepan and stir briskly over the fire until sauce thickens. Add the minced tongue, spread the preparation on toast and serve immediately.