100 Castlecliff

 

I'd forgotten about this mural that I took a photo at last time I was at MOTAT. This one on the front side of a tram shed depicts one that was made in 1891 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. The tram was bought to Whanganui in 1910 for construction of the Gonville and Castlecliff Tramway board's electric tramway extensions.

It was hardly used after 1912 until 1920 when the Whanganui power supply failed for 3 months. Apparently of all the 500 tram motors that were built for use around the streets this one is the only that is still operating in New Zealand. 

Linking up with Mural Monday.

Don'ts for women

Loving this old bicycle on display at MOTAT in Auckland. The signs in front of and on it say this - be prepared to be amused:

"don't be a fright,

don't faint on the road

don't wear a man's cap

don't wear tight garters

don't forget your toolbag

don't attempt a century (?)

don't coast - it is dangerous

don't criticize peoples legs

don't boast of your long rides"

and...

Photo from Nelson Provincial Museum

"Step through bikes first arrived on the sene in the 1880s. With no top tube a women could ride while wearing a dress. This triumph model is likely from the early 20th century".

Oh how times have changed...

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and The Weekend Roundup.

Chapel of the Good Shepherd

In MOTAT (Auckland's museum of transport and technology) is this wee church named the "Chapel of the Good Shepherd" which was built in Blockhouse Bay in 1867 with the permission of Bishop George Selwyn.

 Apparently progress was slow and it took 30 years from start to finish. The first wedding to be held here Mary Emily Pooley and George Keen on 26th October 1898.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Travel Tuesday, Tuesday Treasures, Through my lens, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Turnbull and Jones Ltd

Much of MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology) in Auckland is set up as how the city use to look. This mini street shows how shops and stores use to look once upon a time and because the old trams are still running throughout this area the lines can be see in the top left hand side of the photo.

As for Covid, thankfully Northland is now in level 3 but poor old Auckland is still in level 4 lockdown. We still have to wear masks in public but many people out walking for exercise not wearing theirs, sad how you get some willing to do their bit whereas others aren't that bothered.

This is for Tom's post for things with "J" in it and Weekend Reflections.

Life with less plastic

 This week's mural is one I found on our last visit to MOTAT. According to information found from the Auckland City Council, this particular one was painted by Australian/New York based artist "Vexta".  It is based on a mediation of ideas, dreams, plastic particles and the interconnectness of life. 

In 2016 MOTAT commissioned a number of murals to make the site more vibrant and appealing for their visitors. This mural named "A world without plastic" is part of a partnership with Pangeaseed's "Seawalls: murals for oceans" which was an international event that took place of that year. 

Here in NZ, plastic bags of a certain width and weight with handles have been banned. So in supermarkets you can only use the thin plastic bags for vegetables, meat is obviously enclosed in plastic - if you go through the checkout they only supply paper bags or reusable bags that you have to buy or you can bring your own bags.  But we still have a long way to go, companies need to get in on the act by not wrapping every single product in plastic.

Linking up with Mural Monday and Our World Tuesday.

Dan Mills at MOTAT

Last Summer we visited MOTAT - the Museum of transport and technology in Auckland. You might remember previous posts I've written about this interesting place. Anyway one of the many murals  there are these ones. Painted by Dan Mills the above one is a tribute to the blacksmith, an occupation popular in the Victoria era (and older eras) but still around today here and there.

This one is a nod to New Zealand agriculture with a farmer holding a pig and a farmer's wife milking cows.  I can't remember which is where but one is on the back of the vintage tractor shed and the other is on the back of one of the tram sheds.

I hope you're keeping well wherever you are. We have another rainy wet weekend so we will be staying warm and keeping dry. Kia kaha.

Linking up with Mural Monday.

MOTAT Trams and Spam

Auckland's MOTAT (Museum of transport and technology) has these lovely trams which have been rescued, renovated and re-used.  Here in NZ they first appeared in Auckland City travelling out through other suburbs through the countryside. The system in the 1930s and 1940s was about 70kms in length and the electric tramway was first privately managed by the British Electric Traction Company in London with the Auckland Borough Councils.  It was lastly taken over by the Auckland City Corporation in 1919 and continued operating until 1956.

After WW2 they were replaced by diesel and trolley buses which saw the trams fall out of favour. The Western Springs Tramway is operated by MOTAT and carries over 200,000 people a year between their 2 museums. They have 23 trams, 12 which are restored and operational which include a steam tram and a double decker from Wellington.  When the other half and I were there last year we took a ride on this one which was actually a thrilling experience and bought back memories of when I was little and my nana taking me here for rides.

The attendants and drivers on these trams are elderly men that look over 60 years old which we thought was a great idea as it would've given helped them feel useful as well as earning a wage. You can read more information about all of the trams here.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

It's bubble time!

Down at MOTAT (museum of transport and technology) in Auckland they have Bubble Weekends for the kids.  Part of the show is bubble wands where some of the workers use implements to make giant bubbles - this photo was taken in early Summer last time we were there and the kids looked like they were having a blast.

They also have UV bubbles, bubble painting, a bubble performer, bubble machines and kid in a bubble (not sure what that's about).  They must have the event periodically because it's on again in the 2nd week of February - I'm surprised given the North Island's water restrictions.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.

The Mount Albert Signal Box

Back in the day when railway travel was popular here in NZ buildings like this baby were positioned at most stations. This one originally from Mount Albert use to house the signalman during his working day. Using levers that ran along the side of the building he could control the rail signals as well as as well as movable parts of the tracks called points. By shifting the points the signalman could send trains onto different tracks avoiding collisions.

In 1966 the control of the signals and points was centralized at Auckland Railway Station but signal boxes still remain at some railways around the country.

The building above apparently was built from Rimu, made in 1914 and later on was moved to MOTAT in 1966.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday

Vexta - Miya Tsukazaki

On our recently trip to MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology) in Auckland we saw so much but one thing that caught my eye was the artwork painted on alot of the buildings. This one named "Vexta" was painted by Mia Tsukazaki in 2016 and was done to symbolize the world's love of plastics.

According to their website it explains the artwork as this:
"Plastic was invented in 1907 and in the short since since it's birth we have firmly embedded it into our lives, our environment and now inside our bodies. Ever single piece of plastic ever made still exists on earth and now it is breaking down into tiny particles in our seas and being consumed by us...the world is choking on it's plastic consumption. Now is our time to find ways to create a world without plastic. This artwork is a meditation on the consumption of ideas, dreams, plastic particles and the inter-connectedness of life. A woman is being fed plastics representing these themes from an outstretched hand, below a snake representing wisdom wraps around a QR code which can be scanned by the viewer device leading to a blog dedicated to sharing knowledge and discovering a world without plastic".

I don't know if you are aware but our government banned plastic bags with handles and of a certain thickness and when it first came into law some people were supportive of this others didn't handle it quite so well. It was quite sad to see how many loved plastic and hated to see them go despite them not being good for our earth but on the flip side since the ban last year it's also been positive seeing how many people take their re-usable bags with them when they go shopping. There is however still a long way to go in getting rid of plastic and bringing in biodegradable products.

Linking up with Mural Monday and Our World Tuesday.