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Words and images Vivienne Haldane

Does Feilding live up to its reputation for being friendly? MCD'sViv Haldane put on her super sleuth hat and went to check it out.

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isiting a town you are not

acquainted with can be like

throwing a daft at a dadboard,so it's impodant to find the

right cafe to sit with a few guides and

rnaps to declde where to go.

I liked the one that had window seats

and a view of the pavement. lt washumming with customers and, after

ordering coffee and a bite to eat, a lady

offered me a seat at her table but because

Glenn and I were making a beeline for the

window seats, I politely declined. lt struckme as being such a friendly gesture and

there it was: the first friendly act in

Feilding. How good was this?

Then, leaving the cafe, I salv a car with

a bumper sticker that read 'l lo,.re v ng n

frlendly Feilding', so here was furlher

evidence of this good vibe.

At Feilding lnformation Centre, I asked

Cohen Stephens, who was mann ng the

desk, why is Feilding spelt the rnray t ts:

'el' instead of the usual 'ie'? [h]s is

parlicularly mystifying when you have

Field days in Feilding).

They must get asked this a I the time,

because out came a printed card with the

following information. lt said, 'Feilding was

named after Colonel Feilding who staded

the settlement here in 1871 . Over 200years ago many people couldn't spell and

so one branch of the famiy becameFeilding. We like lt thls way; it is un que,

so please do us the courtesy of spelling it

accordingly,'

Having clarified that, he gave us a fewpointers on what to do on this lovely

November Saturday. And there wasplenty happening.

The Feilding and District Steam Rail

Society was hav ng its open day, A crowd

had gathered to watch as v ntage steam

engines puffed up and down the track,

Happy passengers peered out the train

windows as black smoke swiried above,

They may not have been going far but

that didn t seen'to matter.

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One of the trains in action that day, theFl 63 locomotive, was built in Glasgow in

1880. lt was shipped to New Zealand in

1BB1 and worked until it'retired' in .,1967.

Having been fully restored, it has a newlease of life and is much admired by old

and young alike.

We wandered through the workshopwhere a graveyard of old trains awaitsresurrection. A sign said 'Queen's Car' so

we presumed that on one of her visits,

Queen Lizzie must have looked oui at the

New Zealand countryside from there.

At Manfeild Park, the buzz oI the 30il'

MG Classic car race could be heard; wehad intended to go and watch butdecided instead to explore Kowhai Park.

I know ducks are only friendly becausethey think you are going to feed them, butthese ones were extra wiiling to pose

beside their pond so I gave them the tickof approval too.

of domestic items with none of thelabour-saving devices we take for granted

today.

The museum has the biggest

col ection of horse- drawn vehicles n oneplace ln New Zealand. l'm pafticulary

taken wth a brlghtly painted, spring caft.It belonged to Chinese market gardener,

ffi ,,,i:il;,"J ff#3 ^:J",1:T:::i"ffi match fixing here I betl On the perfectly

ffi manicured green. groups of people were

ffi sprawled out enjoying the peaceful

ffi atmosphere.ffi

ffi At The Coach House Museum, visitors

ffi are able to get a fantastic glimpse into the

ffi districts history and learn how immigrants

ffi carved out new settlements from the

re bush.ffiffi Theres a comprehensive collection of

=T carefully restored artifacts that

;:.$j demonstrates what daily life in the new'?E?, colony was like. And what hard work it

*.*eA must have beenl "Aren't you glad you

ffi weren't a woman of those times?" says

ffi our museum visitor host, Brian Hunter. "l

am indeed," I agree, looking at an exhibit

Chung Lee who delivered vegetables in

this until 1966.

There's also a long line of bright green

and yellow, vintage John Deere tractors

- apparently the biggest collection in theSouthern Hem sphere. Tractors such as

these helped revolutonise farmingpractices in the early 19OOs.

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Motorhomes Caravans & Destinatiorib

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We chatted to another museum host.

Alan Hodges, who came from Wales tolive in Feilding in I961 , He to d us,"People can sell a house in Auckland and

buy a comfodable house here and sttll

have money ln their pocket." And to myquestion of why the town has suchreputation for friendllness? "Oh it's always

been like this, And do you know, wedon't have parking meters or traffic1lghts? The farmers' market every Fridayis very popular, as are the sale yards

tours, Feilding is a very busy andprogressive place."He mentions thatself-contained motorhomes are welcometo park in the Coach House Museum carpark, which has secure surroundings andis close to town.

The Feilding Rose & Flower Show is onin the Feilding Bible Chapel. I love eventslike thls - they are such fee -goodoccasions with raffles and afternoon teaon offer. The lady on the sales table toldme that Feilding is a very communityminded place, that everybody helps oneanother and "if you are lying at homefeeling all sad and sorry there's alwayssomewhere to go for a chat."

After a morning spent exploring, alate lunch at Murray's lrish Public Houseis in order. Here we find welcoming barstaff and an excellent-value, $10 lunch.Wow - what's not to like about Feilding?

"t $4 Votornomes Caravans &Destinations

There has not been one sour face tosully its sunny reputation,

And so, as satisfied visitors. we leave

this rural town with its wlde streets and

distinctive clock tower, the bronze

sculpture of a drover and his dog and thewelcome sign with Murray Ball s caftoonof Footrot Flat's sheep dog, Dog,

snoozing on a sheep's back.

One last port of call we had to make,

however, was to Colyton Clocks in

Feilding's rural hinterland. As we drove in,

owner Bill Williams emerged from theagapanthus where he was wrestling witha tangle of Christmas lights. Bill is big on

Christmas and he's big on clocks - he

has a collection of 3458, which he's beengathering for 27 years.

His wife, Cathy, has a large collectionof mermaids, and fortunately, they are

tolerant of each other's crazes.

There are Elvis clocks, cuckoo clocks,crystal clocks, ship's clocks and agrandfather clock made painstakingly

from matchsticks by a prisoner - withtime on his hands... oh, bad joke; its timewe left Feilding, we have become far toohappy. *

For morc information, visitfeilding.co.nz and check outthedircctoryon page 134forthe closestKiwi Holiday Park

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