ESOL Immersion Students Experience Howick Historical Village

On 27 March 71 ESOL Immersion junior students and their teachers visited the local Howick Historical Village as part of their classroom studies on the Early Settlers of New Zealand. 

The Village is a re-creation of a New Zealand colonial village and prior to the visit students have been studying early migration to New Zealand in their ESOL Social Studies class.

The students were able to play traditional outdoor games that children played in that period of time. The skill to walk on wooden stilts, bowl a steel hoop or walk in teams of three on a slalom board were some of the games enjoyed by all. 

The boys also worked in teams to assemble a wooden trolley which they then used to race against each other. During this time the girls worked in groups to design a period costume to model to their peers. 

Additionally all students listened to one of the staff volunteers tell the story of the gruelling journey the settlers experienced travelling from England to New Zealand by sailing ship. They were shown a traditional trunk used to bring the family’s items to their new country. Each family was only allowed to bring one trunk containing all their necessities, for example in addition to their clothing, some of the items were a heavy cast iron pot for cooking, a flint and striker to light a fire, a wooden bucket to fetch water from the river, an axe to chop wood and two irons. 

After lunch the students walked around the Village and viewed the various buildings and their contents: a sod cottage, two schools, a blacksmiths business, a church, a post office and several cottages.