Kiwiana

We headed down to MOTAT this afternoon for some respite from contract law - the Museum of Transport and Technology in Western Springs. As you might expect, there were plenty of steam engines and Lancashire boilers plus trams and trains and buses.


There was a good selection of vintage vehicles too including this ambulance from Waipa Sawmill - ready for any lost limbs.


There was also an exhibition entitled "Signposts to Godzone" - a display of classic Kiwiana from pavlova, the Buzzy Bee to the quarter acre section. New Zealand is remarkable in the number of kiwi icons everywhere but here it's a sign of national pride rather than the National Front. Everywhere you look there's the curve of a tree fern, a cheeky tiki or kiwi (bird or fruit), the blue of the pukeko or the red of a pohutakawa. There are golden beaches, blue skies and snow-capped volcanoes on buses, billboards and brochures.

Here are a few classic Kiwi brands from our cupboards - vegemite (actually Australian but the locals don't seem to mind), Edmonds flour ("sure to rise"), Lion Breweries' Steinlager (favourite of Willem Defoe) and Mainland butter (from local giant, Fonterra)... It couldn't be easier to buy local here!