Our Living
History Museum Trip…
We
stepped back in time to experience the lives of the people who settled in H.B.
over 100 years ago. We found out how
things were done in the past by role playing chores, games and pastimes, all in
old style clothes from that time. Life
was hard work!!!
Gaynor
was our teacher for the afternoon. Look
at her big underwear over the chair.
They were big, baggy button-up bloomers with a frill.
Gaynor
told us a little history of NZ. Early
settlers travelled from across the world on big ships to settle in NZ. Many settlers came to clear the land and farm.
The land
was cleared by hand. Bushmen used simple
tools to cut down the forests that covered the land.
They built
simple houses out of whatever materials were available – some even out of river
rocks, mud, flax and raupo leaves.
We
dressed up in the clothes that the early settler children wore.
Girls
learned to curtsy.
Boys
learned to bow. These were formal ways
to greet people.
Gaynor
showed us how they made candles. Here
she is pouring melted bees wax into a candle mould. The wick is threaded through and knotted at
end to hold it in place while the candles set.
Stilts
were a popular pastime.
Clothes
were scrubbed on a wash board like this.
Dripping
washing was put through a wringer to get most of the water out. Washing took all day.
Knuckle
bones has been a favourite game hundreds of years.
Ironing
was a laborious job of heating the irons on a stove.
This is
a bath tub. Water would be heated on the
stove if you were lucky.
A hand
operated sewing machine was a real luxury.
Old
scales for weighing things.
We
practised writing in the old fashioned handwriting style.
Spinning Tops and Cup and Ball .
Quoits
using a horse shoe.
Sucking
dirt off the floor with hand vacuum was exhausting.
Everyone
took turns to whisk the cream into butter.
People would often sing to help pass the time while working. We sang:
Come
butter come,
Come
butter come,
Peter
stands at the gate
Waiting for
his butter cake,
Come
butter come.
Marbles.
More wringing of the wet washing!
Here is
the candle Gaynor made. It smelled of
buttery honey.
Abby
wound up the gramophone and Gaynor played a very old record. The music was very old fashioned.
Here we
are dancing to the music.
At the
end of our visit we waited to taste the butter we’d made. Gaynor made some fresh sandwiches. The butter was very creamy.
We all enjoyed our trip back in time and we learned a lot about how early settlers lived in NZ. We are pretty glad to be living in 2014!!
