New Zealand, Auckland (Devonport)

To reach Devonport, we took a ferry across the bay. We ferried over to Devonport twice. Residents make excellent use of the ferries. They run from early morning through fairly late into the evening. The trip over to Devonport is short, but you can catch ferries over to islands off the coast as well.

Devonport is a nice, quaint town. They have a mini hop on/hop off sort of thing here as well. One driver shared the story of murders and attempted murder while parked in front of the house where the murders occurred and the execution of the murderer took place. Confused?

Back in 1847, a man murdered a naval officer, his wife and daughter for a small amount of navy pay kept at the house.  The house was burned to suggest the crime had been committed by local Maori.  Next, the man did a pretty dumb thing- he confessed to his girlfriend. Later, afraid she would inform on him, he attacked and tried to kill her. He was eventually tried for the murders and sentenced to be hanged.He even tried to get the women he had attempted to kill to lie for him which she did for a while (hard to believe after he tried to kill her!). In June of 1848, he was taken to the site of the murders and the sentence was carried out. He was the first European executed for a capital crime in New Zealand. The girlfriend was later convicted of perjury.

We really enjoyed the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum. It explained a lot about New Zealand's role in the world wars. There was a model of the HMS Explorer, the ship that carried James Cook, the first member of the Royal Navy to reach New Zealand. They also had a huge chunk of armor plating blown out of the luckiest ship in WWI- the HMS New Zealand. I guess when the ship was hit, the piece of armor fell onto the ship and they kept it and it eventually ended up in this museum. There were also displays of medals, equipment, charts and even a boatshed full of small boats. Included there was a small whaling boat that seemed way too small for the task.

We learned about a guy named Jim Macdonald, a Lt. Commander. He was the most decorated New Zealander to serve in the Royal Navy in WWII. He also devised a torpedo sight which calculated speed and direction when firing torpedoes from motor boats. This torpedo sight became standard for all motor torpedo boats.

Cute sign!

Back on the hop-on/hop-off tour we stopped at volcanic cones North Head and Mt. Victoria. The driver explained technically he was not permitted to give a walking  tour of  the fort at North Head. But he further explained that he was going to take a walk around the site and if we happened to be nearby and he happened to discuss anything that would be ok. North Head held strategic value for Auckland. Between 1870 and 1996, the New Zealand Army and navy stationed here in preparation for an attack by the Russians that never came. 

At Mt. Victoria, they let you off at the bottom and you walk up to the top for some great views- height is 283 feet above sea level. In 1885, a fort was built here as well. Four 64 pounder muzzle loading guns were placed. The guns were downgraded to a "saluting battery" in 1893 and declared obsolete in 1904. In 1899, an 8" gun was placed. In 1922 all of the "disappearing" guns were classed as redundant.

In 1842 the first signal tower was built on North Head. It was used mostly for shipping but would have signaled if the Russians had invaded.

Some views

 Looking back towards Auckland.

Rangitoto (youngest volcano in New Zealand having erupted some 600 years ago- considered a dormant volcano) can be seen off in the distance.

 Wide angle shot back towards Auckland.

Red and white"mushrooms" on the hillside are popular for photos. At one point they were removed, but there was an outcry so the mushrooms were re-installed.

We found an Irish pub for lunch, and a local coffee spot for coffee and the Devonport Chocolates shop. Also in Devonport, we found Cushlas Patchwork shop. They also had some yarn. A very friendly place. We picked up a couple of small pieces of fabric of "fern" print but also a small, but expensive skein of yarn composed of merino wool, possum and mulberry silk. The one skein is enough to make a pair of fingerless gloves. We also bought a book with the glove pattern.

We also spent a bit of time perusing a real hardware store- something we've missed lately. They had all sorts of interesting stuff!