From Dunedin we headed south down the coastal route again, our destination being another Scottish named town – Invercargill. The views were varied and we visited a small but pretty waterfall at Purakaunui. There was another one jokingly called Niagara Falls, but after chatting to some locals in a café nearby where we had lunch, it emerged the name was given ironically and the falls are more like a few minor rapids! Having already been satnaved down several miles of dirt road after the last falls, we decided therefore to give that one a miss.
The route took us through a forest park area called the Catlins so there were scenic views both inland and to the coastal side.
As we came into Invercargill we noted that we had time to take in a recommended stop at the E Hayes & Sons hardware store. Not the first place most would think of visiting, but this is a very special hardware store. The business is a family one, as the name suggests, and was started in by Ernest Hayes who arrived on the South Island from Warwickshire with his family in 1882. Ernest was a millwright and engineer by trade so started his own engineering business in Rough Ridge, now Oturehua in centra Otago. He invented many things, perhaps the most significant being a fence strainer from 1905 which is still manufactured and used all over New Zealand.
In 1932 the family opened the Invercargill branch of E Hayes & Sons. Under the direction of Irving Hayes the business expanded to supply a wide range of hardware and engineering`products to businesses and individuals. Irving’s son Norman joined the firm and brought with him his passion for motor racing. Norman took over as MD from Irving and was later succeeded by his own son Neville. Due to their enthusiasm for motors and motor sport they have put together a large collection of cars, vans and motorbikes – the E Hayes Motorworks Collection.
As you can see, bikes mixed with merchandise for sale – beats “Lidl in the middle” for shopping variety anytime!!
re is a massive sub-story to all this. The pride of the collection is Burt Munro’s 1920 Indian Scout ‘Munro Special’ and original Streamliner body shell, plus his 1936 MSS 500cc Velocette. Both bikes were created to break records. The story of the Indian is told in the film The World’s Fastest Indian, which starred Antony Hopkins as Burt Munro. We had seen the film a few years back and it tells the story very well. If you are interested, watch it, or at least google his full story. It is well worth it if you are at all interested in bikes, cars, racing or just the story of someone with incredible drive (sorry!) and determination to achieve his goal.
Burt Munro was great friends with Norman and Neville, and following a partial stroke in 1977, which prevented him from going for another record with the Velocette, he retired and sold the Munro Special, the Streamliner body shell, the Velocette, trailer and various engine and workshop parts to them. They keep them on display, with the rest of the collection, in the store so you can see them for free!
After a night at the Invercargill campsite, our next destination was Lake Te Anau in the Fiordland National Park which runs down the west coast of the South Island. Before heading there, we took a detour directly south to Bluff – the most southerly point of the South Island, and the closest we have ever been to Antartica.
As you cannot see in these photos, as it’s a bit obscured, the South Pole 4,810km away – so still a long way to get to the frozen south, and you go past the islands of Ruapuke (!) and Stewart before heading across the Antarctic Ocean. It was, perhaps fittingly, a cold and blustery day but we had our moment – and late breakfast – there before taking to the road once more.
Footnote: I heard somewhere after this that the Hayes family were recently offered millions ($10million? not sure, anyway a huge amount of money) for the their collection. They refused to sell, preferring to keep the collection free for anybody to view which we think is truly amazing in this age of greed. A feel good factor to finish on for sure 😉