In New Zealand, there are few high speed, multi-lane highways. The two-lane highways go through towns. Foxton is a town about an hour north which we often pass through on our way to somewhere else. It is a beach town with large estuary and a very good bird watching site.
There is also a large windmill. We always promise ourselves we will stop for a tour but alas, they are usually closed when we drive by. It was a cloudy day, but it was not raining so we decided to drive to Foxton to take a look at the estuary. Lo and behold, the windmill was open when we arrived.
Inside was a Dutch wonderland. The first floor was the gift shop and, of course, I bought delft plates and windmill cookies. On the next floor was an array of old-time games, called Castle Games or Kasteel Spelen, provided by the local Dutch Club. Games with names like bowling billiards and shuffle billiards, each included elements of pool and shuffleboard. They were a lot harder to play then they looked. I immediately vowed I wanted to take one home.
Then we went to the next floor where we discovered the most exciting part of the windmill. It is an actual working grain mill with wheels and gears and sifters. What fun! We bought buckwheat flour and corn meal (impossible to find in New Zealand).
So why is there a working windmill in Foxton? It seems that there is a long history of migration from the Netherlands to New Zealand and they have formed societies to keep up their traditions. There are numerous Netherlands Societies scattered across the country. There is even a Dutch Week, which we missed in 2024, but we are so taking part next year.
We vowed we would be back to visit and maybe play some more Kasteel Spelen.
A Yank Among the Kiwis 