Deals on Wheels visited a South Waikato attraction that should be on the stop-off list for every heavy metal fan
Putararu (Home of the Owl), in the heart of the Central Plateau forests, has always been busy with log and timber trucks and now you can see how it was done in the past with the recent opening of TruckWorld.
The well-established NZ Timber Museum has expanded quietly with a new building to house the start of their classic old logging truck display and nicely compliments the existing and ever-increasing timber milling legacy. Having a purpose-made area for trucks has been part of the long-term plan, celebrating the rich logging, sawmilling and transport in the area.
The New Zealand Timber Museum was born from a vision by the local Putaruru Jaycee’s some 58 years ago. With local support and generous land and building donations to get started, they opened in 1982 and have been working on growing the site and the collections ever since.
There is a perfectly restored old church, classroom, saw doctor’s shop, chainsaw display, machine harvesters, cross-cut saws, along with old manual handling tools in every direction.
Outside is a line hauler, remains of log shunters, carriages, more saws, with additions regularly turning up to continue filling up the six-hectare site.
In a separate building is TrainWorld, said to be New Zealand’s largest permanent and close-to-reality working train display. With great background and realistic model buildings and scenes, it is as close to the real thing as you can get. Many of the rail characters and extra machinery are partially hidden away and only seen by the keener observers. The display is a credit to the volunteers who have set up and run the great site.
The Redwood café is top-notch. Everything is made on site and open for functions, so I’m sure there will be plenty of truck runs stopping off in the future.
Coming back to the TruckWorld display, for truck tragic’s, the collection on display is on loan and will be rotated regularly, so a yearly visit is probably recommended.
Currently on site are a few classic Kenworths including the famous Kenworth V12 GM ‘Concorde’, some basic and tough old KLC Pacifics, a classic Kenworth LW925, GMC’s International R190, an iconic R-Series Mack and a classic 3235 Mercedes logger complete.
The pioneering spirit is evident in the sawmill history displays, and a lot have great photos of the old trucks hauling massive loads into the dozens of sawmills that were once situated in the area.
The classic car collection is also starting to build, so you will need many hours to get around and have a detailed look around at everything.
The great educational and interactive wildlife exhibits all contribute to a great day out for all ages. The sawmill maps and extensive displays focused on the nearby Kinleith mill are a great record of history. Many photos of the crews working and families living in true pioneering spirit show how far we have come in the past century.
The NZ Timber Museum is located on 2331 State Highway One Putaruru. Open 9am to 3pm daily. Trainworld Thursday to Sunday.
For more information, contact nztm.org.nz, phone 07 883 7621 or email office@nztm.org.nz.
Images by Rod Simmonds