Riverton Art Sculpture – Buy
My short walk through Riverton took me past the main shops, over the town bridge and to the wharf. After spending some time wondering if a strong wind would blow part of the wooden structure over, I retraced my steps over the bridge. It was then that I past a number of interesting art projects made from all sorts of recycled material.
Riverton – Buy
Leaving Gore I drove through Mataura before continuing on to Edendale, Darce and Rakahouka. From there, I continued on State Highway 99 and travelled through Wallacetown and Wrights Bush, which eventually led me to my destination of Riverton. I parked my car near the town bridge, went for a short walk and realised two things. The first being that Riverton is a charming town, and the second being that it occurred to me, that I didn’t have any particular reason to be there.
Gore Railway Station – Buy
I made my way to Gore, New Zealand’s Country Music capital, the world capital for Brown Trout Fishing, home to Sergeant Dan the Creamoata Man, Hokonui Moonshine and the Eastern Southland Gallery. Earlier, having left Tautuku, I had double headed back to Owaka and taken the Owaka Valley Road to Clinton. From there I passed through the towns of Wairuna, Waipahi, Arthurton, Pukerau and McNab before crossing the Mataura River and arriving in Gore, ready for a bite to eat and wander around the town where there seemed to be lots of hanging baskets and no traffic lights.
Gore Railway Station – Buy
Let’s take a moment to summarise the current situation at the Gore District Council shall we. In October 2022, Ben Bell became mayor of Gore when he defeated incumbent Tracy Hicks by 8 votes. When that happened, he became the youngest mayor in New Zealand at 23 years of age and ended Hick’s six terms as mayor of the town.
Following his election win, the relationship between Bell and chief executive Stephen Parry broke down to the point where they no longer talk. Then, the city council brought forward a motion of no confidence in the mayor. However, at the time of the council meeting, no one would move the motion against the mayor and thus the motion of no confidence was not passed. A clear case of the wheels of local body politics working smoothly as always.
Riverton Wharf – Buy
There really is something intriguing about old fishing boats at a wharf. Maybe it’s because of the stories both the boats and wharf could tell, if they could. When I was in Riverton, after crossing the bridge and talking to some of the locals who were fishing, I went exploring a bit further. I found these boats tied up to a not altogether stable wharf!
Riverton, Southland’s Riviera – Buy
I wasn’t entirely sure if I’d been to Riverton. I couldn’t remember ever going there, however that’s not to say that I hadn’t visited the Southland town some time in my childhood. Riverton is spread out on either side of the Aparima River and lies 38 km west of Invercargill. So, with some spare time on my hands I set off for Southland’s Riviera.