A Dutch Experience
Many visitors ask us: “Why is there a Dutch museum in Foxton?” One obvious reason is that this is one of a very few places in the world – outside the Netherlands – were you can find a Dutch Stellingmolen, built to a 17th century design.
De Molen grinds flour, the way it was traditionally done for many hundreds of years. And it’s quite an experience to climb up the narrow stairs and see solid wooden wheels grip each other and turn the mill stones, as the machinery creaks in the wind.
But there were plenty of other reasons to choose Foxton for a national Dutch museum. The town is situated on the Manawatu River Loop, with wetlands and birdlife reminiscent of a Dutch polder landschap. Willows line the river where the eels or paling swim. Friesian cows moo in the grassy paddocks in the distance. And bicycle paths stretch along the roads to Foxton Beach – where the sea, de duinen en de wind, make it easy to imagine you could be at the other side of the world in a flat country on the North Sea.
Plus Foxton has a sizable Dutch population, the Manawatu Dutch Club, a Reformed Church, and a Dutch café: Café De Molen – Daar bij die Molen…
Love a touch of Dutch? Come and check it out!