The Year 3 boys had a taste of life in colonial times when they visited Howick Historical Village this morning as part of their Social Studies programme. With a central idea to their learning that ‘children play games to socialise and interact’, part of their enquiry focussed on how children spent their time over 150 years ago. For boys who have grown up in an era where much is done at the push of a button and there is a comfortable bed to retire to at the end of the day, this visit to yesteryear was a real eye-opener. Dressed in period costume, the boys set off to explore.

Run as a ‘living museum’, the Village is an authentic 19^th century reconstruction of the Fencible settlements built to protect the outlying communities of Auckland. It has the most extensive collection of early colonial buildings in New Zealand including raupo whares, a courthouse, a school, a general store, Fencible soldiers’ cottages, a church, a mill and a forge. The guides, dressed in period costume, took our students on an historical journey to a time when chores consumed the day and there would be few idle hours.

The main aim was to look at the way children played all those years ago. Sadly persistent rain eliminated the outdoor activities and so the focus moved to expending energy indoors. Clearly in the 1800s, no batteries were required! The only source of energy came direct from ‘boy central’ as they got down to games like ‘duck, duck, goose’ and ‘I wrote a letter to my love.’ It was amazing how much fun could be had trying to throw and catch a hanky!

No trip to the Village is complete without the obligatory, ‘scary’ visit to the Victorian classroom. This was the boys’ chance to thank their lucky stars they are no longer required to sit at wooden desks in rows, while a cane-wielding teacher struts the aisles! With hair, hands and nails inspected, it was time to sit up straight and take notice! Writing lessons were conducted on a slate while the abacus – yesteryear’s ‘computer’ – was put into to action to calculate. The teacher may have been ‘firm but fair’ but the cane did not go unnoticed! The boys sat very, very still and were pleased their nails were clean and they had no potatoes growing behind their ears!

We are fortunate to have such a well preserved record of Auckland’s early history so accessible for learning. Despite the constant drizzle, this proved to be a great learning opportunity for our students, giving them a sense of their place in time, and an understanding that they have much to be grateful for in the 21^st century!

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