On the drive from Napier to Tauranga on Friday I stopped, as is my want, at the small town of Tirau. It has a population of just over 700 and is an attraction for tourists and motorists traveling on the three State Highways that go by it. It is an important junction on the state highway network.
It is famous for having lots of things made out of corrugated iron. Such as the Information Centre in the shape of a dog and the church's Good Shepherd:
The building shaped like a sheep"
Many shop signs of which these are a couple:
The school sign (which I've blogged about before for Heather):
I was, however puzzled by this sign:
...but then it was 2.55 in the afternoon.
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Great photos GB.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite family home was a Blackburn semi (built with surplus plane parts in the aftermath of WW2). It had a corrugated tin roof. I used to lie in bed on a morning, listening to the scritch-scratching of the crows as they pattered and scuttled across the tin. Or the noise (thundering sometimes!) of rain falling on the tin. Or of the booming wind as it found a way in underneath the tin.
I don't know why we've such a prejudice against it as a home-building material.
I'm not sure why we don't use profiled steel either Yvonne. I intend to use it with a slope when I replace the flat roof extension to the house on Lewis. It's so common in Australia and New Zealand that it is the rule rather than the exception.
DeleteI suppose the shepherd may need the help of a giant dog to look after the giant sheep... :D
ReplyDeleteSo funny and appropriate Monica. I hadn't thought of it.
DeleteI'm not sure I could cope with living here but it is certainly different......Crackers they are!
ReplyDeleteYou'd not like the number of people for a start Adrian. It's a small place but an exceptionally busy one.
DeleteI love the whimsy of it all! I think my favorite is the school bus!
ReplyDeleteWhimsy is exactly right Lisa. I'm not sure about a favourite but the school bus is certainly distinctive.
DeleteHmmm... makes for good pictures but I think I prefer traditional buildings in my area :-)
ReplyDeleteYes Meike. I'd find it a bit hard to live with but great for a blog post!
DeleteI love love love those corrugated metal signs and statues.
ReplyDeleteMakes good use of scrap metal in an "artsy fartsy" kind of way, but I love them all...especially the bird lady in her high heels and pearls...priceless.
I'm impressed with how clean and tidy the town looks as well.
It's a great little place Virginia....for the tourist and passer-through. I'm not sure I would live there though.
DeleteTirau certainly has changed since I was last there. Mind you, that was so long ago I can't remember when it was, in the 80s sometime is as close as I can get. Love the school bus!
ReplyDeleteI can well imagine that the main street of Tirau has changed a lot in some ways and not at all in other Pauline. It's a strange place.
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