Tawhiti: Tangarakau township

The first room in Tawhiti Museum made me stop to rummage in my bag for my cameras, as I knew I, based on what I saw in this room alone, that I'd be taking a lot of photos*. The room had an interesting mix of well-done full-scale models, like this chap:

and this coal miner:

and miniature models, like this scene, set in the 1930s, of the Egmont Collieries train in front of the the buildings of Tangarakau township. 

 Also included were model bush scenes, including discarded train parts,

 a sawmill,

 and a scene of men loading the coal from the train into a waiting ship.

One of the things I loved most about these scenes was the realism of the New Zealand bush in them.

(*In fact, I stopped so often to take a photo that I ran out of time to visit a whole section of displays...)