Monday 7 November 2016

Half round barns

With our stock grazing outdoors all year round, we don't have any call for large stock or grain barns.   I think this photo tells the story of why so many barns have fallen into disrepair.  The large plastic wrapped bales of hay don't require the same weather protection that the old fashioned much smaller bales did. 


Other than the old and falling down sheds I see, the majority of the barns around here are half round barns.  I don't think I'd ever seen one until I came to NZ years ago but they are a common sight around New Zealand’s rural landscape.   The half round barns are commonly used for implement and hay storage but are now often being utilised for calf rearing.  They are made from welded mild steel frames with treated timber purlins. 




Linking to The Barn Collective with Tom,The Backroads Traveller.

10 comments:

  1. In the U.S. these are called Quanset Huts. Over 150,000 were built for the U.S. military during W.W. II, and many were sold to the public after the war. The Navy spread them all across the Pacific. The standard size was 48' X 20' with a 10' radius. These look to be about that size. Interesting series. I believe these buildings are still available for sale. They are inexpensive, and do not take skilled labor to construct.

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  2. We had one of those old Quanset Huts at my school -- it was used as the gymnasium for the elementary school students.

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  3. As you first reader noted, these are what we find less romantic in the U.S. I see more of those plastic wrapped harvests here and wonder if that plastic biodegrades fully. We have so much plastic lying around everywhere these days. I remember when I visit your site how lovely N.Z. was when I visited many years ago.

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  4. Wrapped bales of hay have changed to architecture of rural America also! Since I live in the northern US barns are still fixture of the rural landscape, lucky me! Pauline, thanks for sharing part of your green and lovely part of the world. I hope to see you again.

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  5. Interesting!
    Have a great week!

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  6. Lovely views. I like those trees in the background on the second photo.

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  7. That first barn has stories to tell...I like the second shot a lot.

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  8. Lots of people in the UK had half round garden sheds after WW2 made from Nissen Huts which had been family bomb shelters. There are quite a few half round huts on Lewis because they stand up against the wind quite well.

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  9. gotta love those wrapped up haybales seen around NZ, I've seen ones that have been covered in pink too.

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  10. There used to be the half-round sheds around years ago here in Queensland...a left-over from the Second World War, I think.

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