As I celebrated my 50th birthday in April 2014, I found myself in Hamilton, living with a hearing partner and our two beloved dogs. The idea of transitioning to a rural lifestyle, away from the city’s rapid growth, began to take shape in our minds during May and June. We embarked on a meticulous exploration of over eight homes in the Waikato area, weighing factors such as travel times to and from Hamilton, property size, and financial feasibility. Our family’s comfort and happiness were always the guiding principles in our discussions.
The last four homes with reasonable properties were Tahuna-Waiti, Glentui, Te Pahu-Pirongia and Eureka. In the end, we revisited Eureka three times and decided that the place with a reasonable-sized property was good for us and the dogs. The nearby towns are Morrinsvaille, Cambridge, Ngāruawāhia and under 45 minutes to Te Aroha and Matamata. We bought a home in July; our moving date was at the end of November 2014. The decision was not easy, but we were guided by our desire for a peaceful and spacious environment close to nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Our new property includes a spare old house, a large barn, a double garage, a water pump hut, and a double carport. It is 3609 m2 (0.36 hectares (ha)). From the start, several fruit trees, native and evergreen trees, and a small garden surround the property.
Our dogs have genuinely found their paradise here, running freely across the property and filling our hearts with warmth and happiness. However, our journey has also been marked by loss. Two of our beloved dogs escaped through the fences, leaving a void in our hearts. Joseph, who had been with us since 2010, is dearly missed. Today, we have three dogs, and Jazz, the oldest, has been a comforting presence since Joseph’s passing.
The stretch of our little garden has flourished significantly, a testament to our unwavering dedication and hard work. I’ve even cultivated a second large vegetable garden, not just for us, but also for the workplace and several Deaf people. It’s a source of immense pride and joy for us all. The process of building the garden was not without its challenges, but it was a labour of love. I planted more native trees and several evergreen shrubs and trees to control the windbreak; even several more fruit trees were gifted by a disabled man – Jacek, and one ex-car dealer. I named each section, such as Five Cherry Trees Field in the first section of the pointed, the Strawberries Garden, the Golden Totara Garden in the middle, the Blueberries Garden, the vegetable garden next to the barn, the opened back plum trees garden, The Oak Tree woodland garden and the old house/apricot trees garden.
From the beginning, it was clear that the old spare house was not suitable for living or working as a studio. The cost of renovating the old house was too high. So, we made the decision to dismantle it and repurpose the wood materials for various projects, from woodwork to household items like door knobs and window latches. This not only saved us the cost of buying new materials but also aligned with our commitment to sustainability. We didn’t dismantle all the pieces of the house at once; we did it gradually over five years, fitting it in around our busy work lives. What remained was the small old front concrete porch with steps.
Here is a piece of history about our current home, built around 1940-1945. The council stated that the current home was built in 1945. Before the 1980s, three houses were on one piece of the property. I am trying to determine what happened and why the third house was pulled down. One of Mama’s ancestors, Yates, married one of the Hinton’s ancestors and came from here; Joy Yates’s uncles and sons lived here as farmhand labourers. Yes, Hinton families are living here today. Thomas and Nelly Hinton bought the most significant section in Eureka in 1907, and they have twelve children. Joy’s father moved away to Ngāruawāhia. In 1949, a business called Eureka Transport Depot was formed here until 1980, and one of the houses here was an ex-army Government cottage, which, my guess, was the old house we pulled down. The third ‘mystery’ house remains a blank answer to us.
Our journey has been going through a learning curve, full of surprises such as a couple piglets in our Five Cherry Trees fields in the early hours of the morning, suspected runners from the Police stopped outside the gate, creating excitement for our dogs and myself to stay inside for approximately 3 hours, prolonged droughts, three cars accidents involved outside our property and my cousin’s property where a mother and a young child under 8 moths old killed at the intersection plus I turned myself to assistance health and safety responder at the accident site for 4 hours and life-changing experiences. We battled with feral rabbits, rats and possums, and our dogs were helpful because Joseph caught rabbits, feral cats, possums and odd creatures – Hedehogs, Judge (2nd) caught possums, Jazz and Nova caught several rabbits. In contrast, Jazz caught a couple of hedgehogs, and Ben caught three rabbits this year. Both of us had surgerys and there is one more surgery which placed me on the waiting list.
Another experience of meeting the local people here turned out to be a newfound cousin – Tracey of the Signal Family, Ace (Robert) Dance and the Middlemiss couple who were related to the three Deaf brothers I assisted and supported for many years, a couple with two children moved back here from UK for I know Rosemary a long time ago and visited them when I was on holidays and lastly, a family who related to another Deaf senior who moved back to Hamilton from Syndey as niece-uncle.
After ten years, we will continue to live here until our health declines, and if we are unable to maintain DIY around the property, we will change our lifestyle as we get older. I will turn sixty-five in five years and live on a retirement benefit like my partner. If we could pay the mortgage, loans, and other essentials such as food and power, The previous owners were over eighty and moved closer to the Waikato Hospital in a Retirement Village. We are prepared for the future and look forward to the next chapter of our lives.
Life in Eureka 
