Ended up at Pureora forest reserve.  Nice DOC campsite in the bush.  The weather wasn’t so good, so we went for a walk in the rain forest, which, after all, is designed to be seen in the rain.

This was the site of a major logging protest in the early ’70s.  NZ had logged most of its old growth forests by then, and this was one of the last stands of old trees.  Amid fierce opposition protesters drew attention to this, and finally won as the government changed its mind and stopped further logging.  Now the area is a beautiful forest, and happily the ranger station doesn’t try to hide the history of the protests on its display boards.  Takes me back to the days of the Franklin protests in Tasmania, and what a victory that was.  However the mood of the politicians is changing, and the present Tasmanian Liberal governments avowed aim to restore the logging industry may well see further destruction of what forests we have left.

I do however see beauty in this old machinery – the shape of the metal, the light and shadows reflect the moment; the wear and tear evokes hard work over many years – especially since this is machinery at the end of its life, bearing all its scars; and the intellectual satisfaction in seeing how the parts fitted together to do the job – comparing what they could do in those days with the evolved machinery of now, seeing ways they harnessed the strengths and circumvented the weaknesses of the long-forgotten technology.  All of this takes time to fully appreciate, which is why I like to spend ages just walking around these displays.  Just as in a museum, it takes a while to absorb them. People sometimes wonder why I like to spend time contemplating these old bits of junk.  Well, that’s why.

But let’s not forget that this is what these machines do: