Iconic in New Zealand is the humble corner dairy, found midst cities and country towns. They are the best place for an icecream, or a bag of ‘lollies’. In yesteryear you would pop in for a loaf and bottle of milk. Kids could buy an ice-block, blackballs, aniseed balls, acid drops or gob stoppers.
Smooth creamy Tip Top icecream is as kiwiana as the dairy, itself. Hokey Pokey being a specialty.
Individually half a dozen of us began with this theme then met to sketch till we dropped.
Iona Dairy, where New Plymouth's largest and best value for money icecreams may be found
Formerly a 'Superette' - the Highlands Dairy with its pretentious step gable facade
Brooklands 4 Square, has been a grocery brand since the 1920's with Mr 4 Square ("Charlie") as a identifiable logo from the 1950's
![Image](http://www.foursquare.co.nz/media/130673/charlie-header-masterpiece_cropMainImage.jpg)
The organic coffee cart by the Millienium kinetic wind wand was doing a roaring trade
A huge crowd gathered on the coastal walkway to attend the auction of the 'Seriously Hard Rock Carving Symposium' carvings. Some of the volcanic andesite works going for $10,000. One of our sketchers was a stone carver successfully selling her piece
Fiddly bits of the Fredrick's pub - front door
The nikau palm grows prolifically in Taranaki. It is the only palm species endemic to mainland New Zealand. The maoris used the leaves to thatch roofs of their whares, also to weave hats, mats, baskets and leggings. Storage containers were made from the outer portions of the trunk. The red berries attract wood pidgeons and kaka. Sometimes it was called 'millionaires salad' - if you ate the heart of the developing leaves, it would kill the tree.
Most recognisable to New Zealanders is the native Cabbage tree (cordyline australis) - typifying our landscape. Its berries are a favourite of the wood pidgeons, tui and bellbirds. It has a corky fissured bark which is soft to the touch. Its fibrous leaves may be woven into strong rope.