Huntly Museum’s latest project is near completion, with just a few gaps to be filled. Five leaflets featuring past interviews with old identities of Huntly bring to life memories of the past.
But author Pamela Ferla has a mystery to be solved. Who is the man in this photograph, which was taken about 1988? He is believed to be one of the miners she interviewed at that time.
The publications, which will be available soon, offer insights, humour and heart-warming stories from characters who have lived in this special town.
Here is an extract from the series, which includes miners, Māori elders, shopkeepers, town officials, doctors and musicians.
“During the war years, it was illegal to strike, but the 500 men were desperate to get their pay up to at least minimum wage. So they staged a protest strike.
“They were immediately arrested and summoned to court. The tiny courthouse, situated next to the Rotowaro branch railway line, was so crowded with defendants that they spilled out on to the lawn. Some folk sat along the railway bridge, waiting for the verdict.
“When they were all found guilty and sentenced to one month’s jail, the police had a big task on their hands. They said there were too many men to round up. So they told the miners to report the next day to be transported by a special convict train to Mount Eden.”
But the police could not find a train driver willing to drive all the miners to jail. However, the problem was solved through the intervention of a sympathetic Labour MP and resulted in the Government quashing the miners’ sentences.
For more information, contact Huntly Museum or Pamela on 021 035 8017.
