Another Batch of 10mm Romans....AND Holiday Pics!

 Another couple of Auxiliary units, one cavalry, the other archers, wearing green this time.

Not a lot to add, they are basically the same figures as the earlier cavalry unit

Likewise, the auxiliary archers, same poses, different colours!

I currently have LOADS of Britons nearing completion, so they should make an appearance in a few days.

Now, everybody's favourite part of this blog - yet more pictures from the S Island trip (maybe my wife is right when she says NO ONE is interested in other people's holiday snaps.... nah, can't be, surely!)

Our last day in Christchurch and we started with another walk along the Avon River, stopping at the Kate Sheppard Memorial

Katherine Wilson Sheppard (née Catherine Wilson Malcolm; 10 March 1848 – 13 July 1934) was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. Born in Liverpool, England, she emigrated to New Zealand with her family in 1868. There she became an active member of various religious and social organisations, including the Women's Christian Temperance Union New Zealand (WCTU NZ). In 1887 she was appointed the WCTU NZ's National Superintendent for Franchise and Legislation, a position she used to advance the cause of women's suffrage in New Zealand.

Kate Sheppard promoted women's suffrage by organising petitions and public meetings, by writing letters to the press, and by developing contacts with politicians. She was the editor of The White Ribbon, the first woman-operated newspaper in New Zealand. Through her skillful writing and persuasive public speaking, she successfully advocated women's suffrage. Her pamphlets Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote and Should Women Vote? contributed to the cause. This work culminated in a petition with 30,000 signatures calling for women's suffrage that was presented to parliament, and the successful extension of the franchise to women in 1893. As a result, New Zealand became the first country in the world to establish universal suffrage.

Sheppard is considered an important figure in New Zealand's history. A memorial to her exists in Christchurch. Her portrait replaced that of Queen Elizabeth II on the front of the New Zealand ten-dollar note in 1991.

Next stop, below, is pretty self-explanatory

Punting on the Avon is a well-known tourist "thing" - we did not partake, however!

Last stop before the airport and the flight home was the RNZAF Museum in the suburb of Wigram.

RNZAF Wigram was home to the Central Flying School, Pilot Training Squadron, Navigation Training and recruit training. It was gifted by Sir Henry Wigram for the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company on 20 September 1916 and originally named Sockburn Airport. In 1923 that was then gifted to the Crown as a Royal New Zealand Air Force base. Charles Kingsford Smith made the first Trans-Tasman flight from Sydney to Wigram on 10 September 1928. In 1953 RNZAF Wigram was the scene of the worst RNZAF crash in New Zealand when two RNZAF De Havilland Devon collided coming in to land and seven men were killed.

In the 1990s, the government wanted to rationalise their military property, and a decision was made to either close Wigram or RNZAF Woodbourne near Blenheim. Despite having just been renovated at great expense, it was decided to close Wigram. The aircraft and squadrons moved to RNZAF Ohakea and recruit training went to Woodbourne. The closing parade was held on 14 September 1995.

Christchurch's Air Force Museum of New Zealand is located at the northern side of the aerodrome.

And that's it for the S Island - one more batch should see the completion of the pictorial record of my 3+ week holiday!