We are on a short (4 days/3 nights) trip to Christchurch in the South Island to mark our impending thirty seventh wedding anniversary.
Immediately after landing at 8am, we picked up our rental car and headed south for Lake Tekapo. En route, we passed through the small rural town of Geraldine, and I noticed an interesting building. We carried on to our destination and took the obligatory pictures (these will follow in a later post) but on our return trip, I suggested to my dear wife that I might stop in Geraldine for a short visit
British army WW2 Truck...I am sure lots of you can let me know in the comments exactly what model!
A 25lb field gun
Lloyd carrier
Ex NZ Army Scorpion tank. The guy running the museum used to drive them, and he owns this one...which is still in working condition and is driven around on occasion. He told me they once removed the governors on the engine and the tank did 109kmh on the Desert Road where the army has its Waiouru training area....our version of Salisbury Plain.
Two WW2 carriers Universal (Bren gun) to the left and Thorneycroft to the right
M113 armoured personnel carrier
A WW1 Ambulance...looks like a Model T Ford to me...can anyone confirm, or correct?
A WW2 Russian Maxim MMG and a couple of helmets
US softskins
Vietnam era mortar in a "firebase" setting
Inside the rear of the M113
NZ soldier with a "Jimpy" = GPMG, General Purpose Machine Gun.
To give school kids a general idea of a WW1 trench
Some WW1 artifacts
A display by a local reenactment group...1 SS Leibstandarte....who would have thunk, in rural New Zealand?!
The sign says it all....with the odd wrong word here and there!
Probably the most modern vehicle in the collection
The Scorpion from a different angle
WW1/Back of Beyond side arms.
WW1 French Nieuport aircraft, but don't ask me which model! I think it is a modern reproduction....a pilot flew it once...but said it was scarily unstable, and it's never been in the air again!
This is a Fokker D7.....pretty sure the guy said it was a 5/6 replica.
One last image of a US truck and a Dingo scout car.
I have done this post entirely on my phone and a very slow and time consuming process it has been, so I am finishing up here. I will present some "Why not visit beautiful New Zealand for your next overseas holiday" propaganda in a subsequent post!
Thanks Keith…..and a military museum 👍 a long way to travel though…never say never ?
ReplyDeleteCheers Matt, and given your predilection for retirement travel, I would never rule out the possibility of you visiting the antipodes one day!
DeleteReally great museum. Thanks for a photos sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal, I was impressed too!
DeleteNice museum! Your NZTB work never stops! The Nieuport looks like a model 11 “Bebe” to me.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it and thanks for the info on the plane Jon. I take my responsibility of promoting New Zealand very seriously!
DeleteFun post, you never stop with your second job , does look like a good find!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, I thought it was a good find too, given the dearth of anything relating military history in this country!
DeleteCongratulations on the anniversary, Keith! Nice museum displays too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean, hope you are having a good visit to Hawaii and your mum!
DeleteThanks for the photos, Keith, there's some brilliant kit on show, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteCheers Ray, I am pleased you think so!
DeleteGreat pics of the museum, Keith.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Richard.
DeleteThat looks a cracking museum Keith, certainly loads of interesting stuff there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie, it certainly wasn't something I expected to come across in a small rural town!
DeleteA nice collection, and well done for doing it on your phone Keith. Not something I would like to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence...uploading the pictures is the biggest challenge. I can only seem to do 3 at a time, any more and it times out. The 3 pics take over a minute to upload, hence the reference to it being time consuming!
DeleteLooks like a great trip and a cracking museum
ReplyDeleteThanks Scotty, it's been most enjoyable so far!
DeleteCongratulations to you and your wife Keith for 37 years together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful museum for such a small town.
I trust the Soviet Maxim MG was pointed at the Nazi display. 😁
Thanks a lot Ben!
DeleteIt certainly was a pleasant surprise to discover that museum en route to Tekapo, and of course, the Maxim was indeed facing the Fascist Invaders display!
No wonder the mannequin in the camo gear was looking a bit pensive.
DeleteAlways good to see Fascists looking pensive, Ben!
DeleteYou are right...who would have thought! I've been through Geraldine half a dozen times and never seen it...mind you I didn't see the speed camera that caught me their either!
ReplyDeleteHaha...no speed cameras so far Mark (fingers crossed). Just drove Christchurch to Greymouth and only saw one cop about ten minutes before we arrived.
DeleteA nice little museum there Keith and some excellent exhibits too:). We passed one tucked away on the cornish coast this week, but didn't have the time to pop in, as the weather kept us home for half the day. Maybe next time...
ReplyDeleteIt was a good find Steve! You will probably have "a next time", whereas it's possible I won't ever be in Geraldine again, so I am glad I stopped when I had the chance!
DeleteThat bit about 'Geraldine' could be misconstrued😉😆!
DeleteHaha...in that context Steve, given my advanced years, the statement is doubtless accurate too! Shame, that!
Deletethat's a sign that would have had me asking the wife as well... "We are on vacation, right?" nice pics.
ReplyDeleteDead right Stew........it's not just her holiday, right?!
DeleteYou'll laugh at this. I skipped over the thirty in the opening sentence, so read seven years! (Corrected by Ben's comment above, hahaha).
ReplyDeleteAnother marvellous visit NZ photo log and I look forward to the propaganda post to follow!
What a brilliant collection. I especially liked seeing and reading about the field kitchen. Were you treated to a bit of venison?
Did soldier settlement occur in NZ after 'the' wars? There are lots of little museums in the wheatbelt here (and elsewhere in Oz). I have not visited them and have decided to make an effort to get around to them—excuse for a road trip, should one ever need one!
Best wishes, James
Haha - seven years - right - ask my wife if she feels like we have been married for seven years James! She actually said something quite amusing (for her) to a waitress the other day - " We have been happily married for 30 years!" LOL
DeleteNo venison - not my favourite to be honest but we have heaps of it as my son goes hunting occasionally and about three weeks ago, he, his boss and a couple of mates shot 8 deer between them - so we have a freezer full of venison at my daughters place!
We did have quite a bit of soldier settlement here in NZ - they were called Fencibles as in (from the web) - "The Fencibles were among the first European settlers in the area, the name deriving from the Royal New Zealand Fencibles Corps. The Fencibles were the military defenders of the first settlers in the Auckland Region.
Fencible comes from the word “defencible” meaning “capable of defence”. European settlement began in 1847 when three companies of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles were assigned to a defence post. They were retired soldiers enlisted to serve for seven years in exchange for a cottage and an acre of land. Howick was the largest of the Fencible settlements, with 804 people in three companies in 1848. To emigrate to NZ under the Fencible scheme, retired soldiers were required to be under 48 years of age and of ‘good character and industrious habits’ They received a small pension and were required to find gainful employment in addition to their ‘fencible’ occupation."
We have a museum in almost every settlement of more than 1000 people - most are likely pretty naff - but I have visited very few so I could be missing some interesting stuff I guess - sounds like you have a good plan in mind!
A splendid looking museum Keith…
ReplyDeleteA good mix of interesting big boys toys…
All the best. Aly