Today is 1st January 2018! I have celebrated New Year’s Day in many different countries but I never thought I would be doing this in New Zealand and together with, now our very dear friends, Eve and Ralph. And today was a very special day as today’s tour in Dunedin was to include Gerry’s Memory Lane – places where he had lived and been to when he lived in Dunedin and friends with the “other” Dutch boy, Ralph. And to add the fun of going down memory lane, we had fantastic warm and sunny weather!!
The first memory that Ralph drove us to was King Edward Technical College where both Ralph and Gerry attended school and became friends. Well as the story goes, when Gerry arrived in New Zeland, he did not speak any English, so he was allocated to Ralph, the other Dutch boy, so that he could help him to adjust to his new surroundings. And that’s when their friendship started!! Photos taken and anecdotes told!
Then Ralph drove us to the first place where Gerry had lived together with his parents and brother, Rob back in 1959. Gerry knew exactly which street it was and the house was still standing there on a corner – This was located on Cosy Dell nr 4 and of course when we were out of the car and walking around, Gerry was full of stories of what had all happened during those days – they had a neighbor at the back of the garden who came from (then) Czechoslovakia who guarded his fruit trees at night as the possums searched for ripe fruit.
Well after taking some pictures here we went onto memory nr.3
We drove along the North East valley on the North Road to get to the second house where Gerry had lived with his family. But before getting to North Road 462, we stopped in front of the steepest street in the world – also mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records – Baldwin Street! Of course there were quite a number of (Asian) tourists visiting and taking pictures
Driving further on the North Road, Gerry asked to stop at a certain point as this was where a pathway led up the hill to their second home. So we all got out of the car and climbed this really steep hill which left me out of breath! I can imagine as a kid you wouldn’t have a problem climbing this pathway but as a 65 plusser, it was quite strenuous!!
The pathway was quite overgrown with bushes and Ralph thought that Gerry had got the wrong place but no – Gerry was very certain and we arrive to North Road 462. The house was tucked away among all the shrubs and trees so we could not get a good look at it and being New year’s day we were not going to disturb the residents!!
Ralph then took us to the next stop – Signal Hill – however this is not a place they came to as kids so this was a new memory for all of us. The hill is some 330 meters high and is capped by a monument to the New Zealand Centennial of 1940, a large structure including two large bronze figures representing “History” and “The Thread of Life”. Although commissioned for the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (signed between Maori chiefs and the British crown) the monument was not constructed until the 1950s, owing to the enforced strictures of World War 2. A large stone from Edinburgh in Scotland, is also incorporated in the monument.
Our next stop was at South Street in Cavensham as this was the third house where Gerry’s family moved to, however due to the new highway built behind the housing area, Gerry was not able to locate the house, but we will be going back to search for this house on another day before we leave Dunedin.
We drove further to St. Claire – the beach where the boys used to go swimming. This looked completely different to Gerry as there were houses built along the beach front but the scenery was fantastic. The sea was rough especially as the tide was in but we were not going to get wet again so we walked away from the sea front and drove to the next hilltop: Mount Cargill. This again was a very high point having Dunedin sprawled below.
We had fantastic views even though the wind was very blustery but we managed to take some great pictures and take in the great views.
Our final stop was back in the city of Dunedin and this time at the University Campus – not that Gerry attended this university! He had already left New Zealand prior to finishing High School here. The University of Dunedin has magnificent buildings and started accepting students in 1871 making it the oldest university in New Zealand and the third oldest in Oceania. The campus was very quiet as all the students are away for their summer holidays and apparently this is also noticeable in the city too as normally it is buzzing with students.
After our Down Memory Lane tour we went over to Kim and Murray’s house for drinks before getting back for our dinner at Eve and Ralph’s place. This was an exciting day for all of us but certainly most of all for Gerry as he could re-live those adventurous years he had spent in New Zealand. Thanks Eve and Ralph for making this day happen!
