It was the neighbour’s hens who required their daily feed and the lions were, in fact, a group from the West Otago Lions Club who were exploring Maniototo and had asked to meet me at the Patearoa Library.
This confirmed my theory that libraries are genuine tourist attractions. In my own wanderings I’ve browsed in the Bodleian in Oxford, the British Library, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and many others. To top it all, I was asked to write the history of Dunedin’s Atheneum a few years ago. Yes, I’m a library tragic and never happier than when fulfilling my role as the Patearoa assistant librarian.
My Tapanui visitors wanted to hear something of the history of Patearoa and I suggested perhaps an hour or two might cover it. With obvious regret they begged me to keep it to 20 minutes as they were planning to have lunch at Waipiata. Patearoa’s past certainly got a mention but, as always with us country folk, the talk turned to the weather. One farmer from Southland was amazed at how dry it was in Maniototo and I suspect he regretted not bringing a few bales of hay for his fellow farmers.
One distinctive accent belonged to a bloke who had been a farmer in England and he offered thoughts on the difference in climate he found in New Zealand. They shared my concerns about the blight of rural depopulation. I mentioned Patearoa’s loss of shop, school and garage. The future of the pub hangs in the balance and they sympathised, showing the genuine concern of people who know of life in small places.
Of course, they were mightily impressed with the library which still flourishes after 124 years and, despite my invitation to borrow any books which took their fancy, they left empty handed. Not that there weren’t dozens of great books they’d love to have taken home, they said, it was returning them which created a problem. When they explained they’d left in darkness that morning to make the trip over the hills past Lake Onslow, I understood their point of view. I offered to load them up with books we’d like to see the back of but they shook their heads. Apparently, the Tapanui Community Library already has multiple copies of the biographies of forgotten All Blacks and well-thumbed editions of Fifty Shades of Grey.
So, I trotted out a quick potted history of Patearoa, mentioning all the places they had no time to visit and they promised to return, perhaps for a week, or maybe just a day or two. I hope they do.
Their affable organiser, George, insisted on taking a photo of me and I insisted on taking a photo of them. These days no historical moment goes unrecorded. In the quiet winter evenings they will look at their photos and talk of the time they met this unusual bloke at a famous library.
It all made me realise that great travel moments need not focus on visits to the Taj Mahal, Niagara Falls or Elvis Presley’s gracious house — they can be created on a day trip from home.
My visitors invited me to Tapanui and I’ll do it. A day trip to West Otago, just to prove the point. I know the drive from Raes Junction to Tapanui is full of great country and I also want to find out why the Tapanui branch railway never actually made it to Central Otago.
A guided tour of the area showing what was lost in the great flood of 1978 would be intriguing. There must be tales of the town’s starring role in the 2015 Disney film Pete’s Dragon and my visitors assured me there is much else to see but were disappointed that I’m not a fisherman. Their Pomahaka River brown trout can match the Taieri River fish any time, they insisted.
So, don’t neglect places like the Blue Mountains when you plan your travels. It’s a corner of Otago which can be explored without the drudgery of air travel but with local treasures included. Tapanui is one and, of course, the Patearoa Library is another.
- Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
