So..Whaddaya do?

The job..ahh yes, the job..it has consumed much of my life since the moment I arrived here in NZ. I love the work: the hours are long and the tasks are varied and challenging. My tasks,as part of my learning contract with the college, are to help with the Technology Collection in any capacity I can, to garner more experience working with collections and to be part of a large collections move. One day I may be constructing shelving to house the artifacts, the next day I may be leading a tour group, or doing research, or numbering and photographing objects for inclusion on the electronic data base for the Museum..chief, cook and bottle washer!

M-548 Tracked Carrier

Sometimes I work on large armoured vehicles, such as this GM built M-548 tracked carrier, some times we travel to inspect those portions of the collection that are in remote locations ( we will see this later..) I suppose what I enjoy the most about this internship is that it allows me to gain experience working with items other people only dream of while living in a sub tropical country. I enjoy going to bed more tired than you can imagine, and waking up to start a new day where anything can and will be thrown at you, just to keep you on your toes...on top of this, Waiouru is a working military base, so I get to see and experience that side of life as well. If the day could have 30 hours, we would use them all.

WW 2  German FF33 Feldfernsprecher

  

The storage area that we are converting is a former sub calibre range for the Scorpion AFV. We have converted the four bays into a carpentry shop, a vehicle storage area ( mostly Land Rovers, motorcycles of all descriptions and light armoured vehicles) as well as a smaller technology storage area. Here, we will store the various communications equipment etc. that the NZ army has used over the years. The collection contains everything from Morse Code key devices to early computers and testing equipment

My Office Space..

Store Room 14: The Calm before the Storm

Interior

Yes, we put up this up too!

Austin Powered

Left Side of Austin: Note Replacement Wheel..

The Morris and Austins of This Period Are Very Similar

Here's one of my favourite runabouts..a 1949 Austin straight 8. Not very fast,not very powerful and built in England just before Korean War austerity measures took hold. Everyone who drives it falls in love with the Austy, and it is used extensively by the museum for local historical events.


Purrs Like a Kitten!



A World of Our Own..

Did anyone ever compare to Judith Durham?

NZ: It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure!

1966 Land Rover and Moi

Open Beach Ahead..

These next few shots may give you an idea of the ruggedness of the NZ coast, facing the Tasman Sea..me and old bessie here were born in the same year, according to the spec plate.I have to tell you that driving on the right and shifting with your left hand is an experience! You can drive here for miles and not come across a single soul..great for thinking and clearing your head..with the rolling dunes, you can just wind it up and let it go..


Some Have Been Here Before..




..We're Running Up Those Hills...



The Beast



Tasman Sea



A Visit From the Skies

Today at around ten a.m. ( or smoko time as we call it here in the wilds of NZ..) we had a visitor drop in ( literally) from the sky and land in our forecourt. A pilot jumped out and dropped a package off for the firemen at the camp station and then proceeeded to take off at a high rate of speed. Visitors are unusual here!

Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 ( ..and Waiouru..)

Another day of liquid sunshine here in Waiouru..work is finished for the day so once again I have a chance to pick up the story where I left off last. First let me introduce you to my direct supervisor, George Pycraft. George is the Assistant Curator for the Technology Collection at Pye Range ( no relation!) and has been working here for nearly 20 years. George is our resident humour expert and has a thousand page volume on the worst jokes ever told available to him at a moment's notice. He would give Don Wragg a run for his money!

George and his wife Bev

George is extremely knowledgeable and in the time I have worked with him here, I have learned many a thing or two from him. There are four people who work in this wing: George Pycraft, Chris Williams, Tess Smallwood and Myself. George and Tess are both ex-pat Brits, with George coming over in 1963 and Tess immigrating with her husband Adam quite recently. Adam works in the Museum proper with Heraldry.

You can see Tess and I at this link on the Museum web page..not the best photo I must admit, but certainly not as horrendous as my I.D  card which looks like I was just released from Rikers Island.

http://www.armymuseum.co.nz/museum-news/#doug

Jet Setter..!

I landed in Auckland on the 20th of January, 2012. I won't say the journey was long, but let's just say I had time to learn War and Peace backwards (in Latvian..) and solve the growing debt crisis in Greece..my Gaaaaawd that was a long journey, folks. Three days travel time and nearly 20,000 miles traveled.

The itinerary was Ottawa to Toronto (2 hour stopover),Toronto to Vancouver (overnight layover, spent on a bench, 6 hrs) Vancouver to San Francisco (4 hour flight, 12 hour layover), San Francisco to Auckland (17 hrs), Auckland to Waiouru ( by bus, 6 hrs). The plane landed at 5 a.m local time on a Saturday morning. Nothing was open.

The journey by bus was quite the trip; I sat beside a Maori family who was making their way to the south island for a visit to their Grandmother's house. Nice people, though the baby could have used a diaper change (or three) on the way down! It would be the first of many encounters over the next few weeks with the native population of New Zealand, many of which I will report on in the upcoming days.

I am ensconced at Waiouru military camp, a primary training facility for the NZDF or New Zealand Defence Force. The area that I work out of is called Pye Range, a converted sub calibre range for the Scorpion AFV. In the first few photos to kick off this blog, I will show you my quarters and working area. The days are long and the work is plentiful.



Room - work/study area

 New Zealand is the land of the long white cloud, and as you will see, quite different in many ways to home ( and in many ways quite similar).



Bed and vanity sink



The only one on my floor



Fire station from Pye Range car park



Our office and stores building

                                      

Self explanatory...



Road to Combat School - Quarter Master Stores

Next Post..what I do and who I do it with...

Love That Kills

Well, first of all, I am alive and well in New Zealand. It has been a whirlwind month so far and I am just catching my breath and getting up to speed..so much work to do with very little down time...

Let's start the proceedings with a song , shall we? Ladies and gents..the Waldos

Love That Kills

There, wasn't that better? Did you play it loud? It's the only way to play music, ya know!