Howick Village

We enjoyed a bus trip recently that took us across to the east side of Auckland, and to Howick Historical Village.  There, we spent a couple of rainy hours, slipping under umbrellas from one building to the next.  

I'm not going to try to give you a detailed tour of the village, naming each building and giving its history. I doubt that you're really that interested. I'll just show you some pictures. If you do want to learn more, the link below will take you to a virtual tour that does a much better job than I could do here. The photography is impressive.  

https://www.historicalvillage.org.nz/

We learned that this town began as a 'fencible.' Offers were made to retired military men (no long on active duty but still young) in England. They were promised free passage to New Zealand for themselves and their families, a cottage, and an acre of land here, at Howick, in exchange for seven years of helping in the defense of this area. 

Unfortunately, when they arrived, they found no cottages and a very wild land. They started out living in tents like the one you see below. In time, it did become a walled, 'defensible' enclosure and the town grew within it. 

Not all of the buildings now on the site actually originated here. Many have been moved to this location from other similar, fensible sites around Auckland.  

I don't know if this dwelling qualifies as a cottage or not, but it's a big step up from a tent.  

Eventually, the settlement grew and became what we are seeing today. 

We'll start off with one of the finest houses. (It's also the first building we came to after leaving the entrance, café and gift shop.) I'm sure this one came much later in the 'evolution' of this village.  

But let's back up a bit...

I've already shown you a tent and 'cottage wannabee.'  Here is another of what must have been an early form of housing. 

Another step up, but still pretty rustic. 

At long last, this building shows that the soldiers had started to live in relative comfort.  As you see, the closer side of this structure is the general store.

 Next week we'll look inside the store and some of the homes and other buildings.  I hope that you'll come back and continue to explore in both time and space.  -djf