Last week the Year 11 History class took a field trip into the back of nowhere, and discovered something rather special.

High in the hills between Decanter Bay and Menzies Bay land owner Paddy Cotter has built a state of the art museum to house the extraordinary Maori and Scottish carvings of pioneer settler John Henry Menzies. Menzies 1894 home was on the site but in such a state of disrepair that it needed to be pulled down. Paddy did demolish the house, but only after removing all the carvings piece by piece. The new entrance hall is built exactly the same as Menzies, taking the form of a fully carved wharenui.

On the way back to Akaroa the class called into John and Helen Stuarts home, built by Helens Great Great Grandfather. John has been a collector since boyhood, and each piece in his vast collection has a story to tell, and John is a great storyteller. It was a great morning out for the hardworking Year 11 students. Many thanks to John and Helen for providing transport on the day.