Betty Gane at her home in Omokoroa.
The old Gane homestead on the hillside near the Omokoroa Fire Station may have been demolished to make way for more housing, but memories will always remain with some.
Betty Gane, who once lived in the house with her late husband, Albert (Albie), still resides in Omokoroa. She turned 87 on February 3, and has no plans for moving anywhere else.
The homestead was originally built by Betty's father-in-law, Norman Gane, when he returned from the First World War.
Norman was in Australia selling milking machine equipment when war broke out, so he enlisted in the Australian Army, going overseas in the communication bike corps. He was captured by the Germans and spent many months in Limberg prison.
Norman and his brother, Cyril, came to Omokoroa from Taranaki in 1921.
Cyril bought 200 acres where the Omokoroa golf course is today, and Norman bought 100 acres on the southern side of the railway line.
He married Lilly Edwards whose family had a farm where the Omokoroa Country Estate retirement village is.
The Edwards family were originally from Wanganui, from where Betty also originates.
They came to Omokoroa in the late 1800s, walking all the way from Wanganui to the Bay of Plenty with five children, two cows and a pig.
They got to Pongakawa and stayed there on a farm for a while before coming to Omokoroa, where they had another six children.
Norman and Lilly Gane also had 11 children, six girls and five boys, originally living in an old shed till the first part of the homestead was built, consisting of large kitchen and small lounge. The house expanded in stages as the family grew.
A cowshed and piggery were built over the paddock on the other hill.
Norman was a hard worker and expected his family to do their share, even the girls were to do manual farm work, as well as household chores.
The family broke in the farm, from bracken and fern by hand and using horses.
A herd of 80 milking cows was a productive dairy unit in its day.
Norman also worked for the Tauranga County Council. He helped form Youngson's and Snodgrass roads with horse-scoop, shovel and barrow.
Norman and Lilly retired to the beach on the Esplanade in Omokoroa in October 1951.
Albie and Betty married, and shifted into the family homestead, taking over the farm work.
No sooner were they in chargethan it was silage making time.
"Out in the paddock by 8.30 for the men, the locals would all help one another.
Cut the grass one day, dry and turn, then it was pushed into a pit in the bank with the horse tramping it down.
Come 10am, hot scones and a billy of tea to be taken to the paddock. Lunchtime - midday on the dot - a hot cooked dinner plus pudding for anywhere between eight and 10 men; 3pm they all trooped in for afternoon tea of buns and cake, all cooked on a coal range. This being hard work if the wood wasn't dry," Betty says.
Albert and Betty's first son, Ian, was born at the homestead. He later attended school at the Omokoroa Settlers Hall/school, which his grandfather and other locals had built.
Fourteen farmers put £10 in each to pay for the hall, voluntarily built in 1929 as a school.
"Ian used to run everywhere. When he was about 18 months I looked over the fence and here he was sitting under Paddy the horse's belly. I dared not call, as Paddy was very unreliable and would kick at anyone. I had to sit and tempt Ian with a toy to come over to me. More fencing required after that."
In 1954, Albie and Betty had a change and went milking at McLarens farm at Kauri Point, north of Katikati, where Betty had to learn to milk over the summer months.
"It wasn't easy at afternoon milkings. Ian had to stand in a cream bucket until Albie rigged up a pen for him."
Their second child, Kathryn was born there. After a season they moved down the road to the Honeyfield's farm where Albie was in charge of the milking shed and piggery, and helped with onion harvesting.
In 1956 they returned to Omokoroa and on a lease purchase agreements with Norman, they bought 60 acres and a part-finished house on the western side of Omokoroa Road, while brother Ron got the homestead and sheds, with 40 acres.
The couple milked on the homestead farm until they built their own four-bail milking shed and piggery.
The house was built using timber from a house that Norman Gane and his son-in-law, Archie Wall demolished, from where the telephone exchange building stands in Cameron Road, Tauranga.
"They drew an oblong on the ground, divided it off - kitchen, lounge, bedrooms - and with saw, axe and hammer, nailed it together."
Their third child, Alan was born here followed by Colin and Michael. All five children went to Omokoroa Point School, and remember walking to the back beach for swimming lessons.
Albie bought a Dexta tractor and went haymaking with Ed Adams doing the bailing. Betty took in sewing to help their finances and also had to milk 56 cows by herself.
Then Albie bought a rotary hoe to cultivate orchards when farmers changed to kiwifruit.
He also did the golf course and bowling greens as their donation to Omokoroa.
In 1980 the couple sold their cows and 20 acres, and bought a bulldozer to contour their remaining land, so they too could plant kiwifruit. It took a year to level it all out.
"The Rural Bank watched us doing the work and said it was the best contouring they had seen, so when we went for financial help it was granted immediately.
"We could never have done it as easily, with today's requirements by council and regional council."
They grew Hayward green kiwifruit from seed, with son Alan, who was doing a horticulture course, helping with planning the kiwifruit blocks.
In 1980 Albie and Betty built a new home at the other end of the property in Prole Road.
Sadly, Albie died in 1987 after they had picked their first reasonable crop of kiwifruit.
Betty continued to manage the orchard up until she was 80, the remaining part now being leased to a pack-house.
In 1991 Betty sold the Prole Road house, and built a new home for her retirement in Vivian Drive. Western Bay of Plenty District Council later bought part of the Omokoroa Road land, where her first house was.
This house having also been demolished, was beside where the pump-shed still stands.
This is where the ground is now being filled and reshaped, for the current road upgrading being done.
Youngest son Michael still lives on part of the old farm in Prole Rd, and helps with the kiwifruit orchard and pine plantation.
Betty's brother-in-law Abel (born in the homestead) and wife Greta, have returned to retire in Omokoroa, after many years in Auckland.
Betty has many treasured memories of the early days in Omokoroa - the friendliness of the people; the Omokoroa Country Women's Institute; presenting a booklet of Omokoroa memories to mark their 60th anniversary; 20 years involvement with the Guides, Brownies Cubs and Scouts; 57 years on the Omokoroa Settlers Hall committee - Betty took the hall bookings for 20 years.
Betty, being a seamstress by training, made dresses and wedding frocks for many women in Omokoroa, and the surrounding area.
While there have been, and still are many changes going on, many happy memories remain of those earlier days.
Lifejacket convert Bas Radcliffe says he pretty much ticked every box on what not to do.