Daily Photo – Winton (2)

In the morning, I was awake early and sprang out of bed in an enthusiastic mood. After all, it’s not every day you go to the grave site of the first and only woman to be hanged in New Zealand.

I completed my morning ablutions without incident, ate breakfast, and quietly slipped out into the chilly morning air to take in the town of Winton. Immediately across the road stood the old post office.

The previous evening, the old post office building had looked quite splendid bathed in harsh light. A bright orange streetlamp had thrown its starburst glare squarely across the façade, giving the white walls a lovely glow, while a colder blue light hovered to the left like some disinterested moon. Against the inky black sky, the building’s details of arched doorway and windows seemed exaggerated, as though trying to remind passersby of the importance it once held. But now, in the morning light, it had taken on a different complexion. It looked softer, almost apologetic, as though the bravado of the night had drained away and left behind a tired old building simply trying to mind its own business while it nursed a hangover!

I walked up one side of the street and back down the other, taking in the morning. It was only 7:30 a.m., but trucks were already rattling past. I made my way to my car, and soon after I too was on the road, heading for a place called ‘The Larches’ and later the grave of Minnie Dean.