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| Vaughan Templeton shows the crowd some freshly scutched flax at the Templeton Flax Mill Heritage Museum open day at Riverton 29 March 2015. |
Trust members and supporters of the Templeton Flax Mill Heritage Charitable Trust opened their working Museum for the public to be able to experience how the process of preparing the flax to be made in to twine happened over the years when the mill operating.
The open day was held in conjunction with the Riverton Harvest festival and was part of Southland Heritage Month programme organised by Heritage South.
The live flax fibre processing demonstration was repeated several times over the afternoon to enable a steady stream of visitors, about 350, to take advantage of the display.
Members of the Templeton family explained the process using a video which involved their father, the late Des Templeton outlining each step in the process of harvesting, stripping, washing, bleaching and drying, scutching and baling.
Supporters and Trust members were on hand to work the machinery which transformed the cut flax in to the raw fibre after the stripping and scutching done by the very noisy machines, with the explanation done by Vaughan Templeton.
" The fibre produced at this mill was sent to Donaghy's in Christchurch to be made in to twine," he said. " In its working life it needed twelve and a half ton of flax a day, producing one and a quarter tons of fibre a day."
The mill was started in 1911 at Waimatuku river mouth, shifting to its present site at Otaitai Bush after a fire in 1943, with the machinery still able to be used but necessitating rebuilding the mill. It was originally powered by steam until 1933 when it changed to electricity, closing down in 1972.
"This farm had 1000 acres of flax which produced about half the mill's requirements," he said." A top worker could cut 3 ton a day."
A group of women, led by harakeke ( flax) weaving tutor Winnie Solomon, were on hand to demonstrate some of the ways it can be turned in to various useful and decorative items such as kits and flowers.
"It was a very busy day for our Trust members and volunteers but people seemed to enjoy seeing the mill operating and asked lots of questions showing a keen interest," Templeton said.
