In a small jute-lined, humidity-controlled garden shed in Waipukurau there is a pressing passion at play.
It's that of Hans Dresel whose penchant for irons has led him to travel the world to amass his collection, now numbering 756 and counting.
Ordered, catalogued and neatly marshalled around the walls of the shed there are irons for every purpose - for leather, button holes, shirt collars, hat irons, sleeves, polishing (for starched garments), billiard tables and travelling.
There are also fluters, of which Hans believes he has the widest variety of any one collection in the country.
These were used for pressing and creating frills, ruffles, crimps _ heated by a rod inserted into the barrel.
Other forms of heating old irons included charcoal, slugs (steel), methylated spirits, gas, and finally power.
Electric irons didn't really take off until thermostats came into being _ in the meantime people around the world used anything from box irons to ox tongue irons, flat irons, and from Asia pan irons (flat bottomed bowls with long handles, heated with charcoal or hot sand or both).
Some pan irons in Hans' collection date back to the 17th century, including two recent acquisitions dated between 1620 and 1672 - Vietnamese silk irons with ornate decorative detailing that tells a story etched round the sides.
He bought his first iron - a late 19th century charcoal iron - in Hong Kong in 1974.
"I have always been into antiques _ I made my first deal when I was about eight," he said.
"When I was in Hong Kong one Sunday morning I went down to a street with antique shops that also had street markets - that's where I found the iron and I paid $1 for it.
"I thought it was a splendid decoration for the table and cleaned and fixed it up and sent it to my parents as a present.''
However, he had caught the bug and next Sunday was back at the market. After living in Hong Kong for nine years, he had amassed 14 irons.
In New Zealand some years later he continued to buy more, then he lived in Montreal for a further three years and boosted that number to 240.
Since returning to Hawke's Bay in 1994 he has kept collecting, buying them on overseas trips, or through the likes of eBay, and other collectors.
His favourite iron is a Scottish box iron (valued at up to $5000 for good ones). The box irons are hollow and heated with steel 'slugs'.
Another rare and interesting item is an Egyptian foot iron, equipped with a long handle to hold it, where a wooden block sits on top of the actual iron surface, which is moved around with the foot.
There are still some he would like to add, but they're rare and pricey, such as the Nuremburg iron.
Nuremburg was well known for its iron manufacturing, but with their brass bottoms they were melted down by the Nazis, leaving few left in the world.
"A mate of mine bought one for 18,000 euros, but that's not the most expensive," he said.
A recent acquisition, however, with a curved base and temperature gauge on it was a bargain at $100, but had him scratching his head as to its purpose.
"I was approached by a dealer in Christchurch and sent photos of the iron to a friend in Switzerland who could not identify it.
"Then I asked an iron dealer in the United States and he also didn't know what it was. I spent two weeks on the internet and finally discovered it was a photo iron, used to press and glue photographs to cardboard."
If you want to see Mr Dresel's collection you can book a time by phoning 858 8011, and he charges a small fee of $2 (which is donated to the CHB Settlers Museum).