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Little Earth
Due to recent wind and rain damage to the outdoor Waiuta model village it is now currently closed until further notice.
Indoor village of Reefton is still open by donation.
On Yer Bike! in Greymouth, New Zealand is also home to Little Earth, a truly unique exhibition of indoor and outdoor model villages of real West Coast towns: Reefton and Waiuta, New Zealand’s favourite ghost-town. 1930’s Waiuta is recreated at 1/12th scale with more than 250 buildings on 1 acre. Experience gold-mining history for yourself and meet some of the colourful characters – in miniature of course – that made Waiuta unique!
Waiuta
Waiuta was a booming gold mining town 60km east of Greymouth and is the South Island’s richest known Gold Field. It was quickly deserted in 1951 after the collapse of one of its mine shafts and is now known as a ghost town with only a few buildings left standing.
Alan Hunt
Local man Alan Hunt spent almost 20 years modeling the various public and private buildings that made Waiuta from photographs that still remain. Alan has painstakingly crafted the figures and accessories to bring the little town back to life! Landscaping the site took 12 months and is an excellent representation of the actual layout of Waiuta.
Reefton
An indoor model of the main streets of Reefton during the 1960’s is housed in the “Village Barn”. Reefton is a West Coast town famed for being the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to provide a public electricity supply. The model is complete with street and house lights.
Beckinscot
We also have a really miniature model village of another wonderful model village located in Buckinghamshire, England, called Bekinscot here. (It's a model village of a model village, within a model village!)
“One man’s passion for all things tiny, and intricate and realistic modeling, has brought these West Coast towns back to life…”
For more information contact us here or click here for booking options.
You can visit Alan's blog at www.littleearthmodelvillage.blogspot.com
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