Collector finds mystery bottle

Lois Mills, a frequent visitor to Ōpōtiki,­­­­ has put the word out in an effort to identify a classic New Zealand soft drink bottle.

Ms Mills, a former antique shop owner, was on her way from her home near Taumarunui to the Whakatāne Sunday Market when she pulled up in the Rotomas to investigate a likely bottle site.

Having spent many years foraging for bottles, she said she could not go past freshly dug piles of shingle and clay without investigating.

“I consider such places potential goldmines, and when I saw such a site at the roadside, I had to take a look. Sure enough, there glinting at me out of the clay was a bottle. I took it home and soaked it to get the dirt off and it turned out to be a beautifully preserved bottle of something called Kia Ora Kola.”

She had not previously encountered the brand and initial inquiries showed such bottles were rare.

“If anyone has more information I’d love to find out where Kia Ora Kola was made and so forth,” she said.

Meanwhile, she has a tip for would-be collectors – though in this case it has to do with another iconic Kiwi item of memorabilia – NZR cups and saucers.

Ms Mills has long scoured the land beside the Main Trunk Line in search of the sturdy crockery once used on passenger trains and engraved with the NZR logo.

“The thing is many passengers would throw their cups, saucers and plates out the window on train journeys between Auckland and Wellington. Don’t ask me why they did this – it seems quite irresponsible. But the good thing is that if you have the patience, you can well to dig alongside the train tracks. And, depending how they landed, some can be intact, with a few in great condition.”