Kidscorner

Saturday 18 February 2017

Foxton NZ

There are many Dutch people in NZ. Most of them arrived after World War 2 as there was no work in the Netherlands and the country was in a bad state. People received free tickets from the government to travel to America, Canada or NZ if they wanted to emigrate and my husbands dad got one of those tickets and traveled to NZ when he was only 18. In that time they had to come by boat, a six month trip.




In Foxton, a town on the West coast of the North Island you can enjoy the Dutch culture. We passed through this town last month and had a great time.
On the left a Dutch Windmill which you can visit and you can find some information about it  here




In the mill is also a small shop and of course
we had to buy some Dutch drop (liquorice)
from Petronella, an authentic Dutch lady.











Opposite is a Dutch bakery and cafe. On the back of the windmill they are building a  Dutch museum which should be ready by June this year.


There are some beautiful Art Deco buildings in the street


When we walked through Foxton we had a chat with a New Zealander who invited us to his house where he showed us this beautiful Dutch organ and played for us "Tulips in Amsterdam"
This organ was made in France and owned by Perlee, an organ rental company in the Jordaan in Amsterdam. The NZ-lander had bought the organ in a bad state in America and fixed all the mechanics himself. We really enjoyed this visit.





btw we were shown another few beauties like this one.  It is a Chicago coins band box jukebox orchestra from the 1950's When it plays a record the curtains open and the band starts to play.  So cool.

11 comments:

  1. Hi Marja - looks a wonderful place to have visited and bringing lots of remembrances for you ... loved the Organ and that chap must be so clever with his hands ... a great place to know about - and that museum will be worth a return trip ... cheers Hilary

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  2. What an interesting post! So the government itself encouraged people to emmigrate?!
    I'm sure the talented Dutch people created their own Dutch paradise within the big paradise of N.Z.and Foxton town is probably a good example of that.
    Lovely pictures of the mill, the bakery, the art deco building, the organ, the Dutch lady in the dutch costume!

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  3. woow the mill loooks great Love from Poland

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  4. These are incredible pictures. Thanks for the show around

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  5. Dat is leuk al die Nederlandse dingen te zien. Zo'n draaiorgel van Perlee is echt beroemd hier. Knap dat hij het helemaal gerepareerd heeft en het nu weer speelt. Het blijft een typisch Amsterdams geluid, hoewel ze steeds meer uit het stadsbeeld verdwijnen. De jongere mensen vinden het niet leuk meer ermee rond te rijden en te spelen.

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  6. ...and the country was in a bad state.

    Still wondering if Trump might force some Americans like me out of the country. Things are progressively getting weirder here.

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  7. That is interesting about the early Dutch settlements and their location choices. Actually, I only recently realized that in Crescent Beach (on the West Coast of BC in Canada) where I walk regularly some of the most beautiful scenic areas were settled by the Dutch. A very few original homes remain and are distinctly Dutch architecturally.

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  8. I did not know about the free tickets for Dutch people wanting to leave the Netherlands after WWII. Don't you wish you had wound up in America and had Trump as your president now? (LOL?)

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  9. A fascinating place to visit. The fellow who invited you to see the organ did a great job at restoring it.

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  10. How wonderful to have such a place. I do know you visit your home on occasion but nice to have something familiar there. I recently have an addition to the family. My fourth great grandchild and my second great granddaughter. A week before my oldest daughter (her Nana) had major surgery so I have been going out to their home to help a bit. Hope you and your family are well and thank you as always for sharing.

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  11. I've been there a couple of times and enjoyed the lovely Dutch community. I love the little shops, too.

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Thank you!!