Locums for a Small World Blog

Locum doc spots Elvis in New Zealand

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Written by Steve Vilter, MD

A couple of weekends ago the weather prediction was for rain, so I thought that rather than bike in the rain I would do some museum viewing. A nearby town has two I wanted to see.

Tawhiti Museum is the vision of single individual who bought a defunct dairy and has filled the multiple buildings with miniature dioramas and full-sized recreations of the local history, using living individuals as models for their relatives.

This region of New Zealand features in the musket wars that pitted Maori tribes against each other in the 1840s, and the land wars that pitted Maori against British over land acquisition or theft (depending on which side of the argument you found yourself on) in the 1860s. There is now a rather astounding collection of farm machinery and almost all of it, including this Harley, is still in operating order. I was especially impressed with the 5-metre blades on an improvised brush cutter, which was to defeat the boxthorn - an unmanageable hedge shrub that was imported at one time.

Ah, but this is what I really wanted to see: the Elvis Presley Memorial Record Room, owned and operated by KD. A retired painter and wallpaper hanging contractor, KD found Elvis at 14 and started collecting. He has since converted his garage for his museum and as he puts it, "I don't have a single thing from Elvis in the house. My wife understands." Good woman. KD and his young family lived in Burbank in the sixties, but he never got to see The King. He couldn't afford the tickets at the time. His museum is open by appointment, freely given. If you are ever in New Zealand you need to give KD a call. Until then, you can find him at http://www.digitalus.co.nz/elvis.

Right about now it started to rain, so a spot of tea back at the Tawhiti museum seemed in order (the fellow by the window is a 'manikin'). If you are ever in this neck of the woods have a look around. If you make it here in time, I'll show you what I know and together we'll find something new.

Dr. Steve Vilter, a GP from Alaska, USA, is an avid bike rider who makes the 49 km commute to his clinic on two wheels every day. He's also ridden in several races since he arrived in the land down under. Watch for more updates, which are usually about his biking, right here.