“It was a great trip to Ferrymead and I learnt lots of wonderful things about how communication worked. It was interesting and fun to see all the different things and comparing what we have today.”

Elim Zhao

“The printing press was my personal favourite. Russ and Gary, the experienced printers, invited us into their world of ink. Russ showed us how to make our own prints, and we each got the chance to print our own paper of the Gutenberg Press. In the main part of the workshop, we got to see amazing machines that did everything imaginable with paper. I could have stayed there all day.”

Alice Jordan

“The day was great and I had lots of fun. I saw an old record player that ran on a cylinder with very fine grooves that vibrated to make music, and a piano that played music by itself. It worked with a special vacuum mechanism which made noise. I wish I could go back to Ferrymead soon, but without the tight costumes!”

Max Haverland

“My favourite activity was the print shop. Old and rusty machines filled the room, and there was a constant clicking. It was incredibly interesting learning about all the machines. We also learnt some facts about Gutenberg and the printing press. At the end of the day, we sadly trailed back to the bus. No one wanted to leave this fantastic place. Reluctantly, we slowly stepped on the bus to school.”

Annabelle Brownsword

“We were sent sent back in time to the olden days. The girls wore a dress, apron and a bonnet, and the boys wore grey pants, grey shirts and a cap. At the cinema we watched the news about when the first air mail came to New Zealand from Australia, at the print shop we embossed a little notebook with a rose, and at the post office we used some old telephones and did some Morse code. Sadly our fun day at Ferrymead came to an end and we were back in reality.”

Sofia Clerkin

“I will never forget this trip, because this was my first school trip in New Zealand. I loved this trip very much. I hope I can go there with my parents and grandparents, because I want them to know some interesting history.”

Leo Liu

“Cindy, our instructor, made the boys wait for the girls to go first, and that was one of the highlights because it was funny watching the boys having to line up behind us. We walked through a gate and it was like walking through a time machine. Everything looked different. The Morse codes were fun to try. I learnt that Morse code is used to communicate without using words. I loved learning about the olden days and it was an amazing experience.”

Jennifer Trieuana