Author Archives: Jemdeafhistory

When I was young and spent my childhood times with my late grandparents – Bibby and Shorty with their sons who raised farming, butchery, carpentry and possum culling. My uncle and aunty were one of them who used possums something useful ways such as to keep the orphan young possums until they are big enough to released, or to skin them out as hides and all the furs into clothes. My uncle was a possum culler through the council even he was a butcher as a homekill (cows and other animals). His wife threaded furs into thread of possum thread that spun on the spinning wheel. How I remember that when I saw her doing it every time I visited her. She turned thread of fur into wool, then into clothes such as jerseys.That was a long time ago where people did not think about using possum furs into clothes or gloves. Today there are many clothes even gloves made from possum furs. As well, possum pies!

Recently in the early hour of this morning, our dogs caught one young possum who entered the sunroom of our house. We have not see any possums around here since we moved but we saw hit and run possums on the road side along State Highway 26. Our dogs had been really exciting to have close encounter possum..They did not mean to attacked or to kill them.  We have no problem with this one and we often get annoying with pest possums becoming destructing in anyone’s garden, native trees and among other things.

Our neighbour – C Duncan who runs the petrol station laughed when Rusty told him while filling up the petrol. Duncan said there are plenty of possums around where people likes us to hate it or to love it.

I thought about rats or mice too and they are also pests. They are becoming the habits of chewing and wreaking everything when they try to get inside the house, barn, garages carports, rubbish bins, water pump house and the list so on.

Well, looking back in my childhood with duck shooting, encountered with possums, rats/mice during the school holidays with my grandparents did not faze me as all. I have had a wonderful times and does not put me off when coming to see possums, rats or mice again in the present times. Life goes on……… We learn to live with it – to love it or to hate it.

Here is one of the book about Eureka, Waikato.. There were a wide range of families living in Eureka back to 1860’s. Hinton family were one of the family came out to live here. This photo showed Thomas and Nelly Hinton were the longest residents in Eureka. Geoff Hinton who related to Thomas and Nelly, and another female family members who married to Tims’s family are the only family still here. My descendent – Joy Yates nee Hinton and her parents were James Hinton and Ada Henwood. James was related to Thomas Hinton as a brother of the large family. James and Ada moved away to Ngaruawhia and raised a new life there. Ada’s twin sister and her husband joined with them because they were very close knit family. So Joy was my great grand aunty who married Fredrick Yates. My father’s mother – Hilda Watkinson’s parents were Henry Watkinson and Alice Yates. I often spent times with Fred and Joy along with my grandmother Hilda (Biddy) during the school holiday and we talked about farming, old days and gardening. Joy often spoke of her father and other families of Eureka especially Tom (Geoff’s father?) These families were not close to James and Ada and the twin sister and the husband since James and the family moved away. there is an old homestead up the road and the second old homestead further out was burnt down. To me in here, it made me feel like a connection to this home here again.

Life in Eureka is full of surprise here.. Each days passing and somethings little or big throws us. Today we are half way through winter season and in the garden there are many flowers blooming. It is only winter flowers which I love seeing and smelling throughout bare winter season. Imaging pictures of flowers blooming sooner or later,  I better get to work on my garden projects here.

Learning more about my ancestors who lived here back to 1860’s. Hinton family was one of the first family got the land from Gordon family after the Maori War in Waikato. Gordon family subdivided the largest properties including Gordonton section into smaller section such as farming.

Farming, butchery, carpentering and labouring life has been in our bloods for many years and I was one of them. But I grew up in the city of Hamilton. Being deaf does not stop me from doing anything and I alway go out and do exploring, learning, problem solving and helping other people.

Today the weather is changeable – windy, cold and some small sunshine over Eureka. Our home is facing north where winds blows this way. Sunshine in the north facing, are brilliants and for our gardening. Over the last few weeks, Eureka received frosts. That goodness, my vegetable garden has been almost finish and paving for new vegetables in the coming of Spring. Mustard and other seeds had been planted in the gardens and it will be ready for turning over the old soils into fresh fertiliser soils. But not today or next week….

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HI

I am deaf lady who living in Eureka and it is in the Waikato area. Life can be rewarding by daily to daily since I moved to here from the big city of Hamilton, New Zealand.. From time to time, I noticed there had been so many interesting life since November 2014. I would like to share my experience or thoughts of Eureka and surrounding Waikato.