Cruising historic rivers
$1.1 million boost to celebrate our shared maritime history
As cars and trucks zoom through on State Highway 2 near Paeroa and beside the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, they pass one of the Antiques Town's greatest jewels, the Historical Maritime Park and Museum, which serves as a reminder as to how once it was the waterways which were the highways of the country.
The Maritime Park and Museum is another of the Waikato's hidden tourist attractions, which focuses on celebrating the culture and history of New Zealand, complementing towns in the area like Rotorua, the cultural capital of New Zealand.
The popular maritime attraction has opened for businesses again with the move to alert level 1 and is embarking on a new voyage to take the park and museum to another level of visitor experience.
This will see visitors taken on a scenic trip down the Ohinemuri River and into Paeroa adding to the cultural experience of the Waikato's tourism market.
The tourist attraction has received a $730,000 Provincial Growth Fund grant and $400,000 from Hauraki District Council for stage one of the museum's master plan.
The $1.1 million in funding will build a community jetty on the Ohinemuri River, three pontoons, and a new riverboat to ferry people and cyclists from the Hauraki Rail Trail between the museum in the Paeroa Historical Maritime Park and Wharf St in town.
Trustee of the museum and park, Gloria James, said the funding has opened the doors for the museum to unlock its full potential.
“The maritime history of New Zealand is under valued, mainly because we are a very young country, but when you look at what the Ma¯ ori did to get here, and what Captain Cook did. They were incredible navigators, and so we want to make that part of New Zealand history more known,” James said.
“With the funding we are able to bring back a form of transportation that was heavily relied upon before cars and trains. Paeroa was the gateway to the goldfields in the region, and passengers and heavy machinery were transported down the Waihou river into the town, and so we want to bring a glimpse of that back.”
Pre-European arrival, and Ma¯ ori used the local waterways as a form of transportation between settlements, with Captain James
Cook the first European traveller to sail up the river where he said that it was as wide but not as deep as the river Thames in Greenwich, England. He then bestowed upon the Gulf and the river the collective name of “The Thames”.
The maritime park and museum links up with another of the Hauraki's tourist attraction, the Hauraki Rail Trail, and soon people will be able to travel by bike on the trail and then catch a river cruise into town.
Board member Julie Bubb said that during the Covid-19 lockdown people slowed down and took in more appreciation for what they have in New Zealand, and she thinks the rail trail and the Maritime Park will complement each other nicely.
“A few more people are getting out and cycling more now, and I think that is just going to increase with
ebikes becoming more available,” Bubb said.
“What we're hoping is that people will cycle along the rail trail and see our attraction here and then decide to take a little river cruise into Paeroa.”
Chairman Colin James is one of the main workers on the site, who keeps the park in immaculate condition, while also servicing the boats.
James said that work is set to begin within the new few weeks, and hopes to have tours going by the spring and summer seasons.
“We should be going by spring, that's what I have sort of planned for the vessel, is to have it ready to go by spring,” James said.
It is presumed by that time there will still be border restrictions due to Covid-19, and domestic tourism will be a big pull for the museum.
“That will play into our hands, it will be local tourism that is more interested in cycling the rail trail and then coming on the river cruise.”
“There is a lot of support for going to your local tourist attractions in New Zealand right now and we are hoping we can be a part of that.”
While river cruises are the star attractions of the maritime park, the museum is full of models and historical antiques is attracting crowds both young and old.
A miniature model of one of the world's most famous ships the R.M.S Titanic is a favourite for children, who Julie said, have a surprising amount of knowledge about the tragedy of the ship that was called ‘unsinkable.'
“We have had children in here that know exactly how many lifeboats the Titanic had and it just shows that there is an interest in these things for crowds both young and old.”
A hand made model of Britain's most famous flagship the HMS Victory also sits in the museum. The Victory was famous for the part it played during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson died during the battle that prevented a French invasion of England. The vessel now sitting in dry docks in Portsmouth, England.
“It's just really nice to have these antiques and relics of maritime history, of both New Zealand and the world sitting in the Waikato and we just want to share that with our community,” Julie said.