Today was so fun! Here is a photo of Chris Thomas getting the computer connected to the TV's... I was a guest speaker sharing stories with around 80 people from Age Concern South Canterbury.
I had the most fascinating lunch, hearing so many memories. One lovely lady told me what it was like being a child living on Cliff St. A blue stone house was relocated to Pukaki. Her family home was later demolished. She used to walk to Main School, and had a linen pouch around her neck. Inside was a cork to place in her mouth, and chewing gum to place in her ears. If there was an air raid, they would use this while ducking for cover in the school's air raid trenches/shelter. I would love to learn more about this. I asked her if the drills were scary. And she said they didn't really think about it, it was just something they practiced. She remembers the barbed wire on the beach.
Someone else asked me about the history of the corner where the Customs House is, so I promised I would post a section of the 1874 map so she could see what used to be there. It's really tricky to read, but it looks like 'R Green' was at 2 Cains Terrace. Royal Hotel over the road, R.M Customs by the railway and the one on the corner might be P. Cummingham & Co? What do you think?