Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 18, June 1974
By MONA BEATTIE
The McKinnon family (ex Paeroa) and our Franklin hosts, met us at the Pukekohe East Presbyterian Church built in 1863 and at that time used as a shelter for settlers during warfare. Bullet holes bore witness and we noted graves of both Maori and Pakeha victims in the Churchyard.
At Roose Park we viewed the Pioneer Memorial Cottage, moved and restored by the Pukekohe Borough Council to mark its centennial. Its custodians - the Historical Society - are paid by the Council. There are four rooms - an open fire-place in the kitchen where all utensils are vintage, a typical Victorian sitting room, and a bed-room with its fine old brass bed-stead and much admired "spread", china, etc.
Then our attention was turned to acres of wonderful gardens, from which we were told, ⅓ of N.Z.'s vegetables come. After lunch, the Pres. (Mr. Day) and members of the Waiuku Museum took us to see their fine collection of antiques housed in a building that was originally the Fire Station. It was already too small for its purpose but Service Clubs are making extensions.
A fascinating Stud-farm provided our next interest - beautiful mares and their frisky foals in paddocks fenced with tidy white railings and workers' homes & buildings completing a delightful picture against the green of the landscape. Then the bus climbed to the Alexandra Redoubt and the magnificent view which included boats on the majestic Waikato. Nearer to us the ramparts and other earth-works used by the 65th Regiment in 1863 remained intact and we pondered the early history of the hill. Our outing had proved a wonderful experience! (Abridged, Ed.)