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Edited by Dawn Smith.
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ISSN 1173-9711
Copyright: Permission to reprint any part of the Journal should be sought from the Committee of the Nelson Historical Society and the source of any such reprint should be acknowledged. We are grateful to the
We are pleased to bring you the second journal in Volume 7. This Journal includes eight articles, six of them produced by Society Members. The article on early transport was written by Connie Vining from Nelson College for Girls who was the recipient of The Jeff Newport Memorial Prize.
The Society continues to have a wide range of interesting guest speakers many of whom go on to produce journal articles and add to the rich tapestry of historical information contained within its pages. We are grateful to our many contributors who enable us to keep this valuable and interesting publication alive.
This year has seen the introduction of another milestone for the Society. On March 17, 2010 we celebrated the completion of the digitisation of all of the previous journal articles since inception and their availability on the world-wide web. These journal articles are accessible through the NZ Electronic Text Centre (NZETC) website nzetc.victoria.ac.nz.
We are extremely grateful to the Microfilming Sub-Committee of the Friends of the Nelson Library who, commencing in 1994 under the leadership of chairperson and Society member Nola Leov, spent some years in fund raising to enable various publications of historical worth to be initially microfilmed and some eventually digitised. As a result of this fundraising, the committee were able to microfilm not only editions of the Nelson Evening Mail from 1911 to 1976 (editions of the Nelson Evening Mail from its inception in 1866 to 1910 were microfilmed by The National Library), the Motueka Star, the Golden Bay Argus and the papers of the Nelson Provincial Council, but also had sufficient funds to digitise our journals. We greatly appreciate the many years of hard work and dedication undertaken by this Sub-Committee, many of whom are members of our Society. Through their work, vital Nelson historical records, many of which had become dilapidated, have been preserved and are now easily accessible to all.
I am delighted to advise that the Society nominated the Microfilm Subcommittee for a community service award and this has been successful, with Nola Leov and her committee being honoured at a civic function in May; a just reward for exceptional effort by all concerned.
Another Society member Margot Haley has been the driving force behind the installation of the History Boards at Alton Street. Much of the information on the boards was sourced from earlier Nelson Historical Society journal articles.
I would like to thank all our contributors, our editor Dawn Smith and Karen Price for design and layup. I hope you enjoy the contents.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the recent death of our Patron, Life Member and Past President Ian Simpson. Ian worked tirelessly for the Society, he had a wealth of knowledge of Nelson history, and was a guiding light for many years on the committee. We will miss his presence at our meetings.
Journal, outlining the history of the Mt Arthur Tablelands since European settlement. Much of the fascination of this interesting area concerns the traces and relics left by the gold miners who, from time to time, visited and lived on the Tablelands, trying their luck. The article identifies and describes some of them.
Two in particular were Billy Lyons and a man now known only as Richards. Lyons had a whare on Balloon Hill, possibly on the summit of the hill where a hut site and fireplace are still in evidence. He is described as the ‘grand old man of Balloon’.
Richards lived about 3km to the southeast of this. His little hut was on the bush edge and close to two spectacular caves on the edge of the Tablelands, above the Leslie Valley. Richards is remembered as the ‘bad man of the Tableland’.
I wonder whether those descriptions are quite accurate?
Denis Brereton is a descendant of pioneers in the Motueka Valley. No doubt C.B. Brereton, whose valuable first hand account of the Tablelands and its inhabitants is included in his book No Roll of Drums,
Relating what he was told by Lyons, Brereton has concluded that Richards was an assailant and a bully. According to Lyons he had “at intervals the habit of making complete rounds of visits to all the diggers, giving each of them a beating up that left them half dead”. Brereton appears to have accepted this unlikely story without question, as he does other more specific incidents, including one in which Lyons himself triumphed over Richards.
Thoughts of fighting seem to have been a preoccupation for Lyons. Brereton describes at some length how interested he was in the fighting ability of people whose names were mentioned during conversation. Lyons showed Brereton a pistol he owned, saying “This is for Richards if he comes again”. Surprisingly, Brereton later comments that Lyons was not a man to boast of his deeds.
The story of Lyons’ fight with Richards was also told by Jim Heath. Heath ran a pack horse service for the miners and other visitors and later had an accommodation house in the Graham Valley. There is no indication of how he came to learn of the fight and, by Lyons’ account to Brereton, there were no witnesses. Surely we can assume that Lyons himself was the source.
Lyons was, Brereton writes, and it would seem accurately, ‘a man who made many friends’ and describes him as ‘a courteous and kindly host’.
Nelson identity, F.G. Gibbs, visited the Tablelands on many occasions to explore and botanise. He has recorded a number of meetings with Lyons, occasionally spelling the name as Lines. Of a trip in January 1895 he wrote: “At Balloon hill came to miners’ hut. Were very hospitably entertained by Lyons & Knowles”, in April 1899: “Went to Lines’s whare & had a yarn”, and in May 1900: “Called on Mr C. Lewis& Lines at Balloon Hill & saw some fine specimens of gold they had got. Lewis has taken up all Balloon Hill & is going to use L Peel next year”.
Lyons had left the Tablelands by Easter 1902 as, when Gibbs went to visit him on his way through, he found Lewis was still occupying the whare.
My grandfather, Fred Kidson, tramped with Gibbs on many occasions and also met Richards. An entry in his diary for April 10, 1898, concerning a trip to the Table- lands they did together, somewhat cryptically notes: “also came across a digger named Ritchards (sic)”.
Gibbs is more expansive in his diary, writing: “On way home went over both caves and had a yarn with a miner named Richards who was very communicative and put us on to track”. Of a trip at Easter a year later Gibbs wrote: “Went down to cave near Richards’ (whare) and spent some hours in photographing by magnesium light... Met Richards outside, photoed him and dog”.
That photo survives (see page 6). It is of a strongly built, fine featured, handsome man with his little dog balanced on his hand. His face seems unmarked, not that of a pugilist. His hand even appears rather delicate which is surprising for a miner.
Lyons told Brereton that he planned to bring water from Lake Peel to his claim near the foot of the ridge leading to Mt Peel. Brereton described it as a colossal job for one man in that country of rock and stone. He writes: ‘His water race wandered from the lake along the mountain side looping round spurs into gullies with a very slight fall; indeed town people often declare it ran up hill. This water project was never completed in Billy’s time or afterwards but he worked happily and hopefully at it, philosopher enough to know that work brings happiness that attainment does not always produce’.
J.N.W. Newport in Footprints Too has written that Lyons spent years attempting to dig a ditch from Lake Peel and states: “This can still be seen from the ridge on the north side of the deep dividing ravine (Deep Creek)”.
Gibbs was told of a plan to ‘use Lake Peel’ when visiting Lewis and Lyons (Lines) in1899, although he attributes it, and the possession of the claim, to Lewis.
I have visited the area hoping to see traces of the work but there is no sign of it. Nothing can be seen from the ridge Newport describes, and I doubt that there was ever anything to see. The terrain from Lake Peel, above Deep Creek, to where the ridge would have to be crossed is so steep and rocky that such a project would not have been possible. There are visible water races from easily dammed creeks between the ridge beyond Deep Creek and above the gold fields, some of them still carrying water. I am sure the tradition that any canny prospector had of never letting others know just what he was up to was alive and well with Billy Lyons.
The photograph opposite shows Lake Peel and the ridge on the north side of Deep Creek. A powerful pump and a pipeline would be needed to take water to the goldfields.
Denis Brereton also refers to the attempt to bring water from Lake Peel and has produced a map showing the route of ‘Lyons unfinished water race, but in reality no such race exists.
Another Billy Lyons yarn is recorded in an unpublished manuscript by the daughter of Louis Everett, which is held at the Nelson Provincial Museum. Everett was delivering census papers on the Tablelands when he visited Lyons. He stayed over- night with him, and Lyons revealed that his greatest ordeal had been when he was told he had unknowingly teamed up with a murderer.
This man’s modus operandi was to work with another until both had enough gold to return with it to civilization, supposedly to collect more supplies and return to the diggings: ‘However the murderer would make the victim-to-be walk in front, perform his gory deed and throw the body in the dense bush where it might never be found. He would then proceed to cash in and seek his next victim. Mr Lyons said that he gave no indication that he was aware of what was planned for him but the night before leaving, he stayed awake all night and next morning refused to leave camp unless the fellow went in front all the way, which he did, and Mr Lyons lived to tell the tale’.
This story is clearly just a fanciful tale. While we can only speculate, it does seem that Lyons was an entertainer. He and Richards may well have had a dispute, and perhaps even fought, but there does seem to be evidence to doubt that Lyons was always truthful, and Richards may not have been the bad character we have been led to believe.
“There is a communication, without signature, in the New Zealand Gazette of the 18th of May, suggested by the fact, ‘That a Mr. Butler and his family had been suddenly attacked with some alarming symptoms which they, or the medical attendant (we should like to know which), had, it would seem, attributed to the use of the hapuka’s liver as food.’;
We suppose that the writer is acquainted with the subject on which he writes, and therefore give, for the information of our readers, whatever is important. As an extract it would be unnecessarily long. In the first place, the flesh of fishes‘
Is by no means suited to all stomachs, and that, at certain seasons, all fish become positively unwholesome and totally unfit for use.’
Next —
‘Fish, slightly tainted, may be injurious, more especially to those who are not in the habit of its daily use. Thus fish, when hung up and exposed to the influence of moonlight, becomes positively poisonous, arising, as it appears to us, from the rapid decomposition which takes place during such exposure.’
Then we have a rule —
‘A good general rule is to allow the fish to lie a night in salt, which, should the flesh be in the slightest degree tending to putrescence, will not conceal the fact, and the consumer can readily judge by the peculiar softening and livid colour which it presents, that the flesh is not fit for food.’
We call particular attention to what follows, as the principle of gradual accustoming appears to us to be a very important one —
‘Now, it is just possible that, in the course of a few years, the European may acquire the habit of digesting a slice of the whale’s blubber, cooked or not, just as it may happen; but I think few would feel inclined to try his stomach’s powers of digestion, even after a residence of two or three years in New Zealand, upon such questionable fare.”
Second Colony of New Zealand, a group of gentle- men who intended to emigrate to Nelson. From this elevated level of patronage (and despite protests from the New Zealand Company’s emigration commission- ers), the Company’s directors appointed Bush surgeon superintendent of the barque Lloyds. In this position he became responsible not only for the health of the emigrants given free passage to Nelson, but also for their physical, religious and moral care.
The Lloyds sailed from Gravesend on September11, 1841 with the wives and children of the Nelson Expedition men, who had departed on April 27 aboard the first ships. The ship carried 139 children, 73 women and one male servant aged 15.
The voyage was a disaster. The vessel was inadequately victualled, particularly with food suitable for young children and, before she reached Cape Town, the passengers began to suffer from scurvy.
Dr. Bush appears to have been uninterested in their welfare, and eventually 65 children died of whooping cough and gastro-enteritis. Worse, Bush acquiesced when the Master, Captain William Green, got amongst the women and “Eventually about a dozen or so wives lived openly and miscellaneously” with those members
1
After the Lloyds arrived in Nelson on February 15, 1842 and the scandal became known, the colonists were stunned. Wakefield refused to sign the documents releasing payment to the master or the surgeon, whom he publicly called a “prevaricating vaurien”, or to sign the form to release the balance owed to the ship’s owners.2 Indeed, Bush, having lost the bounty of £1 per head for the passengers who arrived safely in Nelson, found himself in debt to the New Zealand Company. The subsequent hearing is described by Allen as “a farcical enquiry, whereat all concerned were whitewashed”.3
Dr. Bush set up in practice in Nelson and in late 1852 built a wooden smock mill on town acre 234, which he had purchased for £15 from the New Zealand Company on July 23 that year. The section, in Trafalgar Street North, was in the salt marsh on the bank of the Maitai River. At that time, Trafalgar Street ran into the estuary just to the north of a line between Wakatu Lane and New Street, and the 20 or so town acres north of that were inundated by the sea at high spring tides.
The windmill was designed by J.W.C. Beauchamp, an architect and civil engineer of Shakespeare Walk, and commenced operation on January 1, 1853. The Nelson Examiner described it as “an ornament to the town”. In competition with the Nelson Flour Mill Company, whose mill at the junction of Tasman and Bridge Streets was powered by water from the Brook, Bush’s windmill was never profitable and appears to have ceased operation in 1862, with its failure blamed on the lack of a strong wind of long duration.4
In 1856 Bush had tried unsuccessfully to float a company to purchase the mill and take over its operations. The proposal included deepening the river and building a jetty on a site just below the Trafalgar Street bridge, to allow ships to berth and service the mill. Dr. George Bush died on December 5, 1865 and his estate sold the mill.
The new owner was John Scott, a builder and contractor of Scottish descent, who came to Nelson in 1857 via Melbourne and Wellington. He set up his timber yard, saw mill, sash and door factory and workshop at the windmill. The woodworking machinery was driven by a steam engine, with the boiler said to be at a distance from the windmill. Despite this precaution, the windmill was destroyed in 1867 by a fire thought to have been caused by a spark from the boiler’s furnace.
Under the headline “About ten minutes before 9 o’clock this morning, the town was aroused by the pealing of the fire bell and also the bell at the Catholic station, and it was speedily discovered that the old mill on the flat, which has so long constituted one of the most distinctive features of the city, was in flames. The alarm was, we believe, given by Mr W. Hargreaves, who immediately ran to the fire bell, and almost as soon as it had been set ringing, the small engine was taken out and brought to the spot. Mr Cooksey was first to arrive at the engine house at the Government Buildings, and immediately harnessed his horse to the large engine, and with the assistance of a large number of the fire brigade, brought it down to the scene of action. The flames by this time had gained such ascendancy that any attempt to subdue them would have been utterly futile; the efforts of the brigade were therefore confined to preventing the destruction of the two sheds adjoining, which contained the steam planing- machine, and a large quantity of cut timber, by playing upon the corner of the workshop which surrounded the mill, and which abutted upon them. In this they were fortunately successful, so that the destruction of property was confined to the mill itself. The wind, too, which was very strong at the time, blew from the east, and thus materially aided their efforts. The old mill, which was speedily enveloped in flames, raging most fiercely, presented a very striking spectacle, which, had the fire taken place at night, would have been magnificent in the extreme. At seven minutes past the whole structure, sails and all, came down with a tremendous crash, leaving only one spectral pole standing in the midst of the ruin. An immense number of people was congregated on the spot, and we are happy to state that every assistance was rendered Mr Scott in removing the timber, &c, by the bystanders. We need hardly add that the Brigade exerted themselves as effectively and energetically as usual, and a plentiful supply of water from the Maitai being at their command, they were thus enabled to confine the destruction of property to the old mill; the loss of which however, as a memorial of the early days of the settlement, will be much regretted, especially by the older inhabitants of the city. No accident, as far as we have been able to learn, occurred, and within an hour after the discovery of the fire he city had resumed its usual tranquility. We believe that no doubt is entertained that the fire was caused by a spark from the steam planing-machine in the adjoining shed, as the fire broke out in the upper story of the mill, and the workmen had time to remove their tools, &c, from the lower part. Mr Scott, who had purchased the mill from the executors of
We cannot conclude this notice without an expression of our thankfulness that this fire occurred in a location where its ravages were necessarily very much restricted; had it broken out in a more central part of the city, with the high wind which prevailed at the time, it is impossible to say what might have been the result.”FIRE AT THE WINDMILL, the Nelson Evening Mail reported its destruction on September 19, 1867:
The report overlooks the obvious: that to operate a steam planing machine a boiler is needed to supply the steam and a fire is necessary to produce steam. No doubt Scott used timber off-cuts to fuel his boiler and it appears that the upper storey of the windmill was ignited by sparks carried from the boiler chimney.
One of Scott’s early contracts was the Port Auxiliary Fire Brigade Hall on the corner of Russell Street and Haven Road, where the Haven Road Store now stands. It was well-utilised, and in June 1876 it was being used by the Central Board of Education as a day school, the Marine Lodge of Good Templars (a temperance lodge), on Thursday evenings, the Naval Brigade on Tuesday and Friday evenings, the Anglican Sunday School each Sunday afternoon, the Wesleyan Church for Sunday evening services and the Port Rowing Club. It was rebuilt by Scott in 1879 as the Port Hall on precisely the same site and was tenanted by exactly the same organisations. The Colonist of January 9, 1891 recorded that “The Port Hall has been purchased by the Bishop of Nelson. Those who built it by means of scrip [debentures] will receive6/- per scrip”. The hall appears to have still been in use in 1911.
During his 40 years in business, Scott constructed most of major buildings of the city and district, including the Provincial Government Buildings in Albion Square, the Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of New South Wales, the Nelson Mental Asylum, the Stoke Orphanage, the Wakatu Boating Club’s boat shed (now The Boat Shed) in Wakefield Quay and the Whakarewa Orphanage at Motueka, as well as the resi- dences of prominent citizens.
Scott also did large business supplying wooden boxes to Nelson companies, including S. Kirkpatrick & Co’s jam factory, and kahikatea boxes for packaging tea. Over a period of years his yard used over 200,000 linear feet of timber just for the tea boxes. He became prominent in Nelson affairs. The Colonist of December 9, 1897 records that he was a City Councillor, a member of the Licensing Bench and Vice President of the Wakatu Boating Club.
John Scott died at the age of 65, on December 8 1897. Flags in the city were flown at half mast and a cortege of 30 carriages followed his hearse to his burial.
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906, Vol. 5 records that Scott’s business had “the most complete woodworking machinery in the province” and that his estate continued the business under the management of William Claydon, who had been in Scott’s employ since 1882. The business continued to do well, with the Colonist of January 21, 1905 recording: “Lowest tender for erecting the Technical School was £1124.10.0 by the builder John Scott”.
The date of 1904 above the entrance to the Technical School building is the year of the Government grant to establish the school. It was disestablished In 1936, with the girls transferring to the Nelson College for Girls and the boys to Nelson College, where a new technical block was built.
The old school was then used mainly for night classes administered by the Nelson College Board of Governors, which managed the three schools. The author remembers, as a third former, cycling from Nelson College to the Technical School for two periods of engineering then returning for a period of physics, and, as an adult, teaching technical engineering subjects there to adults and apprentices three evenings a week.
Until the Nelson Intermediate School opened in 1951, pupils in Forms 1 and2 from the eight Nelson and suburban primary schools also attended the Technical School for Manual Training: the boys for woodwork and the girls for cooking.
Scott’s estate later built the Nelson Rowing Club shed at 326 Wakefield Quay, later owned by the Iron Duke Sea Scouts and now known as The Boathouse. John Scott’s executors sold the business to Andrew Miller who, as a lad, was employed by Scott, probably as an apprentice. He worked as a builder in Motueka for several years before returning to Nelson and purchasing the business, which he ran until his death at the age of 65. He operated his saw mill in a red painted wooden building on the eastern side of the property and lived next door at 41 Halifax Street. The author delivered the newspaper to Miller’s family in 1938/39.
His obituary records that, in his younger days, he had a keen interest in music, being a ‘violinist of no mean order’.5 He was an early member of the Nelson Harmonic Society and later the leader of its orchestra. While in Motueka he was the conductor of the Motueka Brass Band and the Motueka String Band.
It was during Andrew Miller’s ownership of section 234 that the land, empty of buildings and largely vacant for many years, became popularly known to the citizens of Nelson as Miller’s Acre. In 1939 the Nelson City Council raised a loan of £7,250 ($14,500), to purchase Miller’s Acre as a site for a town hall and civic centre6, but neither project ever eventuated.
On the night of Thursday September 14, 1871, between eight and nine o’clock, John responded to the calls for help from someone in trouble at the small boat passage. On arriving at the scene he found a whale boat upside down, with three people clinging to it. One of them, a woman, was holding onto her child who had drowned when the boat capsized. After putting these people in his boat, they went in search of another man who had drifted away towards the entrance, clinging to an oar. They rescued him in the nick of time, but there was no sign of the other two people. While all this was happening, Martha, John’s wife, was firing the signal cannon to try and attract attention at the port.
The boat, a little over 22ft long, had sailed down from French Pass in the charge of William Webber, with seven people on board. Five of them were returning to Nelson, along with some cargo to sell. The passengers were Thomas Hamilton, who was giving William Webber a hand, Mr and Mrs Stephen Leaver and their baby, a Mr Watson and Miss Caroline Reynolds,
They had reached the boat passage at about seven pm and tried to enter, but grounded coming in. The tide was making and, in the attempt to get through, the boat got broadside on to the waves and capsized. Going through the boat passage saved twenty to thirty minutes over going around the end of the bank and coming in what is now the old entrance. The passage was only usable an hour or so either side of high water, which was at nine fifteen pm, so they were a bit early.
After a search for the other two people, William Webber and Miss Reynolds, John took the survivors over to the Ship Hotel, where they were seen to by Dr. Vickerman and Dr. Farelle. Dr. Haynes of H.M.S. Basilisk, which was in port at the time, also offered his assistance.
The Coroner’s Jury at the inquest following the accident expressed the opinion that some recognition should be made to John Kidson for his courageous and humane
The medal is now in the possession of Jack Kidson, Great Grandson of the Light Keeper. The dark blue ribbon on the medal is about half the original length, but is still in reasonable condition.
One man in particular, though he wore only trunks, deliberately stood in full view of a carriage with ladies in it and stared at the party. It was with difficulty that one of the gentlemen in the trap was restrained from getting out and there and then giving the chap a good hiding. The occasion would have been opportune to make his naked skin smart and raise artificially the blush of which he seems to have been born devoid.
It is obvious that unless some better regulations for the costume of bathers in Sunday Hole can be made and insisted upon, swimming there will have to be prohibited within certain hours, for the locality is in full view of a considerable traffic across the adjacent ford.”
Lime (calcium carbonate) in one hundredweight bags (50.8kg), were towed on a trailer up the hill with a McCormick T20 crawler tractor. The bags were emptied onto a steel tray and the lime was thrown onto the pasture with a shovel. The lime was supplied by Jim Newport’s lime works at the end of Pigville Gully Road, West Takaka. This lime was 99% calcium carbonate.
To speed things up, a Munro top-dresser was purchased in 1947 and was fitted onto a two tonne trailer. The top-dresser was 4.2m wide, so it had to be dismantled every time it was to be taken through a gate. A home-made self-feeder was attached to the top-dresser, so 250kg of lime could be sown at a time.
On the hill country, the crawler tractor pulled the trailer, which had a blower fitted to it. With five tonne of lime and with the blower loaded onto a Commer truck, lime was spread downhill from the Takaka Hill Road. During daylight hours a draft blows downhill, so with the initial
About 1952 aerial top-dressing commenced in Upper Takaka with a De Havilland (DH) Tiger Moth. This was the first aerial top-dressing in Golden Bay. The aircraft had a slow flying speed of about 80mph (128.75kph) and they could carry five hundredweight (254kg) of fertilizer at a time. This use of aircraft
totally transformed hill country top- dressing and brought significant gains in pasture growth.
In 1949 Aerial Work Marlborough (AWM) was formed by Lance (Snow) Gatehouse, a former De Havilland aircraft mechanic, RNZAF Pacific fighter pilot and flight instructor at the Marlborough Aero Club. The company was financed by Bluff Station’s owner, James Anderson Chaffey, and Bluff Station’s headman, Les Roberts. The Bluff Station, located up the Clarence River, was inaccessible and aircraft access was the solution. Ex- Battle of Britain pilot Bill Parker was the Company Secretary. They used a DH 83Fox Moth ZK APT to fly food and supplies to Bluff Station.
The most ambitious object airlifted in was a Massey Ferguson tractor, which had been disassembled. The large tyres were folded and bound with No. 8 wire, to fit inside the aircraft.
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AWM commenced commercial flying in 1950 with an ex-RNZAF DH 82 Tiger Moth ZK AJH. Their first top-dressing job in the Nelson province was at Norm Parkes’ farm in 88 Valley during 1951.1 These pioneers of aerial top-dressing relied on progressive farmers to try this new and promising method of applying fertilizer to hill pasture. High wool prices during this period, as a result of demand for woollen materials during the Korean War, meant that farmers had money to use for aerial top-dressing. This windfall from wool returns assisted the develop-
The boss of AWM, Snow Gatehouse, visited us and explained the standard of airstrip required, how to select the best site and what wind conditions were acceptable. After inspecting our proposed airstrip and others in Golden Bay, he said that if his pilots would not fly off those strips, he would fly the job himself. He explained that you could not operate in a gale, but he thought aerial top-dressing would be a piece of cake in Golden Bay.
Jimmy Hayter accompanied Snow on these initial visits as Aerial Work Marlborough’s, Nelson and Golden Bay agent. Jimmy had been a World War II fighter ace for the RAF, with 535 sorties to his credit, and had been awarded the DFC for bravery. Jimmy, who was from Rocklands, knew Golden Bay well and, given his flying background and local knowledge, he was probably invaluable in assessing the airstrip locations.
Superphosphate arrived in 80kg sacks and was stored in sheds on the farm. We made a loading stage on the day at the airstrip by placing heavy timber on top of 44-gallon drums, and the sacks of superphosphate were stacked on top of it. We filled the loader bucket, which was attached to the front of a truck, from the loading stage, or from the Commer and Austin truck decks. We used DDT for Porina grass grub control,
The first time the plane came to fly on our farm, the pilot was Ilario (Larry) Zampese. Larry was originally born in Conco Italy, immigrated as a child with his Italian parents and siblings, to New Zealand.2 His family settled in Greymouth.3 He was educated in Greymouth and during WWII in 1944, he trained as a pilot for the RNZAF. At the end of the War, he served in the occupation force of Japan, where he visited the destruction of Hiroshima.4 After the war he rejoined the Air force. For a while he flew passen- ger planes in Australia. In 1950 he worked as a top dressing pilot for Airwork (NZ) Ltd for a short period, before taking up a Blenheim based job flying for AWM.5 He had also been training to be a Roman Catholic priest. He did not complete his training, as he had taken a natural interest in females.
Larry had phoned us from Nelson and asked if it was windy in Upper Takaka? We believed it was not windy. Sure, we could see the branches of the trees were swaying, but Snow had told us that this was not too windy for aerial top-dressing operations. Larry told us to light a fire when he arrived, so he could see which way the smoke was drifting, as a plane had never used the airstrip and he wanted to get everything right.
We went to the airstrip and prepared a heap of wood for a fire. When the Tiger Moth came over the Takaka Hill we
Next morning the day was calm and Larry landed, and our education about what was a suitable airstrip began. Unlike modern planes, which can cope with quite strong winds, the wind speed acceptable for a Tiger Moth was very low. We also discovered that the airstrip had a few ploughing ridges, which proved very bumpy for takeoffs and landings. Snow had played on our ignorance to secure our aerial top-dressing business.
Larry Zampese and truck driver, Tim Archibold, had brought a caravan to sleep in, but they did not need to use it as Mum put them up in our house. One day when the wind was blowing, Larry asked us if we would like to have a look through the caravan. We accepted and he showed us the cooking equipment, how the beds and table folded down, and all the cupboards and drawers.
The whole job took about three to four days of flying. In the evenings we would chat about flying with Larry and Tim, who had learnt to fly after the war. They would recount their flying experiences, including close shaves. I particularly remember Larry as an excitable but likeable Italian, who had a strong faith in religion. One day I saw him get very animated with the truck driver for putting control locks in his tail and wing control surfaces without telling him. The more excited he got, the more high pitched his voice became.
One St Patrick’s Day the local Catholic priest arrived at the airstrip, as Larry had phoned him. Dad started talking with the priest and when Larry landed for another load he yelled out to Dad “Look what St Patrick has bought us, Arthur”!
Larry left AWM and flew for Aer Lingus in Ireland, where he flew pilgrims between Ireland and Rome. He later completed his priest training in Italy and was ordained in his birth place, the Northern Italian town of Conco, on April 25, 1962. Following his ordination he served as a priest in Westport and Palmerston North. Eventually he returned to flying as a missionary pilot in Papua New Guinea, where he was killed, near Sassoia, in a plane crash on June 30, 1967.6 He was aged 42 when he died. It is interesting to observe that there were many agricultural pilots that came to Golden Bay, but Larry was particularly well remembered on account of his personality.
In recent times, with the advent of bulk fertilizer supplies, we have used bulk top-dresser trucks to fertilize the flats. We have also built an airstrip on the schist country on top of the Takaka Hill and constructed super storage bins there. Today, an airstrip high on a ridge between Sugar Loaf and Hailes Knob is used and modern turbo prop aircraft like a Pacific Aerospace P750 XTOL can carry 1,905kg at speeds of 259kph. Incidentally, AWM’s first DH 82 Tiger Moth ZK AJH is now privately owned and is currently being restored at Omaka in Marlborough.
Don’t die in the house. – “Rough on Rats” clears out rats, mice, beetles, roaches, bed-bugs, flies, ants, insects, moles, jackrabbits, gophers, 7d. Moses, Moss & Co., Sydney, General Agents.
So ran an advertisement in the Nelson Evening Mail ofJuly 2, 1883.
Rough on Rats was a poison composed of arsenic, with a little coal added for colouring, was used to kill vermin. Advertisements for its sale began appearing in the 1880s and it became a household name.
It was easily obtainable from chemists. Unfortunately, people started using it to take their own lives, especially those from the lower echelons of colonial society.
In the Nelson area alone the following died from ingesting this poison:
Of the above, the most interesting case is that of Miss Letitia Stoney, because it was not solved. The inquest lasted five days and the verdict of the jury was that ‘Miss Stoney was wilfully poisoned, the evidence not being sufficient to say by whom’.1
The family involved lived in Examiner Street, on the northern side somewhere opposite Nelson College for Girls Hostel, as the house had access from both Examiner Street and South Street. It was next door to Mrs Sarah Jackson’s house. The exact location was not able to be determined as the relevant Rating Rolls are not available.
The household consisted of Mrs Catherine (Kate) Bristow, the widow of Arthur Laurenson (Lawrence) Bristow, former manager of the National Bank, Greymouth, Miss Dorothy Bristow, Kate Bristow’s niece, aged 14, whose father lived in Victoria, Australia, and Miss Letitia Stoney, Mrs Bristow’s elder sister, aged 67. Miss Stoney was a teacher who took in private pupils.
Mr and Mrs Bristow had formerly lived in Waimea (Rutherford) Street after shifting to Nelson from Greymouth in the hope of an improvement to Arthur’s health. Miss Stoney and Dorothy lived with them. Arthur Bristow’s death was reported in the Colonist of April 20, 1891. Mrs Bristow, who was the sole beneficiary under his will, bought the house in Examiner Street soon after probate.
According to Mrs Catherine Totton, a friend of the family and a witness at the inquest, they were all on good terms with each other and Dorothy had a kind disposition.
Letitia Stoney had a happy temperament, was religious and inclined to be quiet. She had recently lost most of her pupils due to a Nelson school opening, and that had deprived her of her income. Mrs Bristow, she said, had an excitable nature and was talkative.
On Saturday June 18, 1898 Dorothy Bristow made the porridge, as she usually did, and took a bowl of it, along with a container of two day old milk, to Miss Stoney in her room. She did not take Mrs Bristow’s porridge to her, as she was still asleep. After eating her porridge and milk, Miss Stoney became violently ill and called out to Mrs Bristow not to eat the porridge. Dorothy had by this time eaten her own helping and taken Mrs Bristow’s to her. She tasted a mouthful and declared that it tasted awful.
Dorothy then made Mrs Bristow a cup of tea using some of the same milk and she was ill after drinking it. Dorothy by this time was vomiting too.
A neighbour was asked to summon medical help. Doctors Mackie, Andrew and Roberts attended during the course of the day, and the Rev. J. P. Kempthorne and his wife Mary and Mrs Sarah Jackson, a neighbour, were also involved, along with Constable Bird. Despite their efforts, Miss Stoney died that afternoon at about 4pm. Mrs Bristow and Dorothy were ill throughout the day but recovered.
When the contents of the three women’s stomachs were analysed, they were found to contain arsenic. Traces of arsenic were also found in the oatmeal and the old milk, but not in the salt, the sugar or the fresh milk. Miss Stoney had a weak heart and the coroner ruled that her death was due to heart failure brought on by the effects of the poison.
Mrs Bristow knew that there was poison in the house, having bought Rough on Rats several years previously, and some of it still remained. She had offered the partly used box to her friend, Catherine Totton, the week previous to the poisonings, to deal with a vermin problem. Mrs Totton had forgotten to take it with her, and the box had been left on the high mantelpiece in the kitchen.
A few days before the poisoning, Mrs Bristow had had workmen at her property. In the evening a woodshed at the rear of the house had caught fire. In those days it was common for people to steal wood. In her evidence she said she suspected that she had been poisoned by whoever had attempted to fire the premises, in this case one of the young workmen, to avoid being found out. The relevant workman was questioned but no conclusion was drawn.
So how did the poison get into the porridge and the milk? That question remains unanswered.
Miss Stoney was buried at Wakapuaka Cemetery on June 22, 1898.
Mrs Bristow, along with Dorothy, appears to have left the district quite soon after the poisonings, as she is not listed in the Stone’s Directory of 1899.
The Inquest can be read in the Colonist beginning on July 5, 1898 and subsequent issues. There was not sufficient evidence for the case to go to trial.1
Some time prior to 1901 Rough on Rats was included within the Sale of PoisonsAct, making it less easily obtainable, and the suicide epidemic slowed.
“The appearance of two deer swimming in the harbour yesterday morning aroused great interest amongst some hundreds of people. It is believed that the deer came from the vicinity of the Glen, and after travelling along the Boulder Bank for a distance took to the water,
On being caught sight of the deer were pursued by a number of boats and both animals were eventually captured. Mr Tregidga succeeded in getting the larger of the beasts and this was brought ashore at the Gasworks Wharf. Here the deer was liberated, and it bounded away up Beachville, crossing a number of gardens, and leaping numerous fences in great style. Making its way across Russell Street the animal got into Mr A. T. Jones’ paddock, and by this time it was pretty well fagged out, as it was observed to fail to take the fences so neatly as at the earlier stages of the journey. Mr Jones says the deer could easily have been captured on his property. However, it was left alone, and eventually it was seen on Mr Richmond’s run.
The smaller deer gave several boats a good chase. One party in their eagerness to effect a capture, omitted in their excitement to haul up their anchor, and they are not likely to forget in a hurry the hour or so of real honest toil they put in. This deer left the water at the commencement of the Wakapuaka Road (where some hundreds of people had congregated), and attempted to get on to the hill. Before it could effect its purpose however, it was caught by Mr W Bennett, who triumphantly shouted, as he took a seat on the beast, “The thirty bob is mine! ”
Efforts were made to lead and drive the deer into town, but no extent of persuasion could achieve the desired result, and an express had to be obtained.
The deer has been placed in the Acclimatisation Society’s enclosure near the Institute, and will be purchased by the Society, which pays 30s a week (sic) (head*)for the young beasts.”
*Corrected Nelson Evening Mail, October 17, 1905.
Fifeshire and the younger Edward, reached Wellington three weeks later on the February 9, 1842 on board the Brougham. Francis was aged 26 and Edward just turned 17. They left behind a widowed mother and a brother and sister. Let Edward Jollie tell the story of how this came about.
“The NZ Company in 1841 projected a settlement in New Zealand. My eldest brother Francis bought a land order and determined to try his fate as a colonist. About the same time my mother’s relations were debating the question as to what should be my future occupation. I was nearly fixed as an apprentice in the North of England when a letter arrived from Frank saying I might get an appointment under the NZ Company as a cadet attached to the survey staff. I said at once that I would, upon which my mother who was sitting opposite me burst out crying and left the room.” No wonder she was upset for within a month both sons left for New Zealand.
Very often when people talk about their ancestors or even about present day immigrants, the question is asked “Why did they come?” The answer is sometimes economic circumstances. At first glance this would not appear to be the case when Francis Jollie became an immigrant.
He came from Carlisle, Cumbria and his family had had what seems to have been a secure business in book selling and printing for over 50 years. His grandfather Francis had arrived in Carlisle from Montrose in Scotland in the 1780s (Edward says the family had originally been driven out of France by the Edict of Nantes) and had set up in business as a printer, publisher and bookseller. By 1783 he was producing public notices, auction catalogues, chap books, song sheets and election material. Later there were topographical books and a valuable guide and directory in 1811. But perhaps his most lasting achievement was establishing Carlisle’s first weekly paper in 1798. This was the radical Carlisle Journal and Northern Literary Advertiser which lasted about 150 years.
In 1820 Francis died and his son Francis (father of the Nelson Francis) and his brothers took over the business. However Francis died in 1825 aged 35. According to his will he was the sole proprietor of the Carlisle Journal and this was left to his wife, Margaret nee Routledge whom he married in 1813. There were four children of this marriage, Francis, later of Nelson, b. 1815, William b. 1820, Elizabeth b.1822 and Edward, later of New Zealand.
When their father died these children were respectively aged 11, 6, 4 and 1. In his will their father left approximately £700. £20 per annum had to be used for the maintenance and education of the children. At age 22 the children could get their share of the property and afterwards at the discretion of the trustees they could be awarded £30 a year. Their mother Margaret was given copyright of the Carlisle Journal and if she wanted to sell the newspaper the children were to be given first choice. However this did not happen. On the death of her husband Margaret appointed James Steel, a former apprentice to be editor of the newspaper and in 1831 they entered into partnership. In 1836 James Steel evidently bought out Margaret Jollie and he became the sole proprietor. Francis Jollie of Nelson was now21 and it is tempting to wonder if this sale was a factor in turning his thoughts to emigration. Did he want to be a newspaper editor? He must have had some aptitude and/or experience for he became the second editor of the Nelson Examiner. Maybe he really wanted to farm?
The 1841 census was taken on the night of 6/7 June. Margaret Jollie was living with her brother and family in Carlisle. Son William was in a boarding establishment two streets away, whilst the two younger children were with another of Margaret’s brothers. Francis was possibly in a boarding establishment in London.
Once in Nelson, like all other immigrants, Francis set about getting established in this very new town. Nelson Provincial Museum has three letters written by Francis to William Blamire in London during his first year here in 1842. I have not been able
”He mentions the price of bricks as £3 per thousand. The houses are mainly of wood. There are a few mud ones but the season has been unfavourable for mud houses.
The letter of September 17 says that already one or two farms are under cultivation. His house in town was on Brougham Street and his rural section was at Wakapuaka and he had named it Thackwood. The original Thackwood is a farm about six miles from Carlisle and was where the poetess Susannah Blamire (1747-1794) was brought up by her aunt. Francis Jollie would obviously know of the place and possibly had some connection with it.
In the December 20 letter he tells William Blamire that at Thackwood he has employed a father and son by the name of Graham who had come from Renwick (a village in Cumberland). The letter continues with more about the town. He is delighted that Mr Cotterell is away trying to find new land. This has evidently given a much needed boost to morale, He talks about his new house which has cost £400. “I had lived longer in a tent than anybody else. The house is large - if not the largest in the place certainly the best. It is comfortable, somewhat too comfortable.” He then becomes more personal and we see a young man far from home. “Ship after ship has been arriving and I have had no letters. It is now within a twelve month of arriving and I have had no letters”. But in a long postscript he looks ahead and details what he is intending to do at his farm. His 50 acre section has turned out better than he anticipated. “35 or 40 acres can be put to immediate account, (there is) plenty of wood, water and a fine crop of grass ready to mow on the wetter part of the section. If I could get my country land adjoining I would be fortunate”.
He was very fortunate for a few years later he received his rural land of 150 acres added to Thackwood. Francis did not actually live there until 1844. In February1845 his brother Edward visited the farm and stayed about a year. In his memoirs he gives a good description of the farm at that time. “Went to Thackwood (it is) in a beautiful valley eight miles from Nelson.” The hut was in a clump of Kahikatea and Towai. There were mud walls, six feet high. It was thatched, measured 36 feet by 12 feet and had three rooms. There was a housekeeper, a ploughman and a
Within six months of arriving in Nelson, Francis began to take an active part in the affairs of the town. His participation can be charted to some extent by reading the Nelson Examiner. The issue October 1, 1842 mentions a meeting to establish an elementary school. His name was added to the committee on September 19, 1842. He was put on the committee of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society in March1843 and in September became the treasurer of the Literary and Scientific Society.
In the sad and anxious times after the Wairau Incident, when so many leaders of the community were killed others had to step forward. Francis now took Richardson’s place as editor of the Examiner. He was a voice about the need for military protection and became a member of the committee which received subscriptions for a memorial. In December he gave an eloquent sketch of Arthur Wakefield’s character. Tucket was now appointed the new Resident Agent of the New Zealand Company in place of Arthur Wakefield and was replaced a year later by William Fox with Francis Jollie as his deputy. In his job he had to deal with and finally dismiss the notorious German agent Beit who had come on the St. Pauli. Then in 1848 Francis succeeded William Fox. He had also become a magistrate in 1846.
However the editorship of the Examiner only lasted about a year for in 1844 this notice appeared in the newspaper
“circumstances which it is needless to explain, have again rendered necessary a change in the editorial management of this paper”.
The reason appears to have been his “peculiar and objectionable editorial on debentures” (Ruth Allan). Jollie’s political aspirations seem to have begun when he became a contender in the election for the first superintendent of the Nelson Provincial Council. It is beyond the scope of this article to comment at length on the political situation in Nelson at that time. A fuller account is given in Nelson, A Regional History by Jim McAloon. The details given here are those which affected Francis Jollie. The election took place in August 1853 and he was nominated by the “Supper Party”, a group which included David Monro, John Wallis Barnicoat and John Danforth Greenwood. The nickname was derived from their habit of discussing and organising town affairs at dinner parties in each other’s homes. The other candidates were Edward Stafford and John Waring Saxton. Of these three Jollie
Carlisle Journal and continued to be so.
By April the election had brought a crop of unsigned, outspoken and sometimes libellous letters in the Examiner. On March 24 “an elector” wrote a reasonable letter about each candidate and finally favoured Stafford. Contrast this with two scurrilous letters printed in April which were aimed at Jollie, one written in mock rustic by A. Hopper and the other signed Clodhopper. When the votes were counted the result was Stafford 251, Saxton 206 and Jollie 130.
Soon after this Jollie left Nelson for South Canterbury and developed Peel Forest Station. Four blocks of land suitable for farms, being part of the Thackwood Estate, lately the property of F. Jollie, Esq. were auctioned on June 21, 1855. Edward Jollie says the land was sold for half its value.
In 1858 Francis left for England and saw his mother and his family. He met his bride on the boat returning to New Zealand. In 1861 he became a member of the House of Representatives standing for Timaru and became the treasurer in Stafford’s Ministry of 1866. He died in 1870 at Peel Forest.
Jollie’s Pass near Hanmer is named for Edward Jollie who along with three other men drove 1000 sheep to Canterbury discovering the pass on the way. Some of the ewes were destined for the Peel Forest Station. The Jollie name survives in Nelson in Jollie Street, Marybank.
When W.G. left his London home he spent eight gruelling weeks battling constant sea sickness in rolling swells, unappetizing food and overwhelming homesickness. He was in search of a land with new and exciting opportunities, as he had been cursed by constant illness through his childhood and adolescent years. Settling on the shores of the Nelson region, W.G. set about expanding his horizons. He had foresight and knew exactly what he could do to earn a living, opening a small business in upper Trafalgar Street, premises today occupied by House of Ales (formerly Chez Eelco).
Outside of business hours, W.G. was the organist for the Nelson Cathedral and his musical background saw him inspire people by selling pianos. These were the equivalent of today’s stereos, as everybody needed one in their homes. He also imported and sold bicycles, as he thought that horses were temperamental and high maintenance, whereas bicycles were an easy and exciting form of transport.
W.G. married Miss Margaret Kebbell of Wellington in 1895, and they had two children together, a daughter, Vera, and a son, Phillip.
Before the turn of the century, W.G. became very interested in early forms of motorized transportation. In 1898 he found himself owning one of the first cars imported to New Zealand, a Benz, which had bicycle wheels with solid rubber tyres. Monitoring the progression and development of the early motor car, he saw a promising opportunity to take his place in the motor industry. Seeing that horses were a thing of the past, W.G. decided to provide the public with a modern means of transportation by changing his business to promote and sell the versatility of the motor car.
On March 26, 1906 W.G. set out to make history. Accompanied by three women, Mrs. Lucy Hunter-Brown, Mrs. W. Sutton and Mrs B. Humphries, he left Nelson to undertake the extremely difficult task of travelling to Christchurch in a motor car on unformed roads. The epic journey took six days in a 1906 10hp single cylinder Cadillac. Rain protec-tion consisted of only waterproofs, wraps and one umbrella! This trip was a daring venture which showed extreme confidence in his vehicle, especially with the three women aboard. W.G. and his passengers overcame sheer bluffs, major un-bridged rivers, rocky coastlines and rutted tracks, before eventually arriving safely in Christchurch. The motor car had won the battle against rugged, untamed terrain.
In the early 1900s, with the increased popularity of the motor car, W.G. expanded his trade even further into the motor industry. He came under pressure to supply the people of Nelson with whatever cars were available. This high demand and a shortage of cars saw him decide to become a direct car importer. In 1908, needing larger premises, W.G. built a very large garage which covered31,500 square feet (2926.5 square metres). It was the largest garage in New Zealand at that time.
The new garage occupied a whole inner city block between Bridge and Hardy Streets, the area now known as Montgomery Car Park. W.G. established a car assembly factory to put together vehicles including Cadillacs, Maxwells, Beans, Haynes, Darracs and Unics, which were imported as bare chassis. By 1908 he was importing Model T Fords and he also owned Nelson’s first bus. He later obtained the franchises for Hudson, Essex, Chevrolet and Rover cars, which expanded his business dramatically.
W.G.’s son, Phillip, was driving cars by the age of ten and was keen to learn his father’s business. At fourteen he was working as a passenger car clerk, which required him to drive his father’s clients to Blenheim. On one expedition to Blenheim the brakes failed going down the Whangamoa hill. Phillip escaped the risk of running himself and his passengers off the side of the cliff by steering the vehicle hard against the side of a bank, letting the car slowly come to a stop without injuring anyone. Phillip
On September 30, 1927 W.G. felt it was time to close his business and go into retirement. He sold his garage to Les Montgomery, a close business associate, who transformed it into Montgomery’s Garage. Phillip was devastated by his father’s decision and, on October 1,1927, he and Charlie Scott, one of W.G’s clerical workers, started a business together. Phillip wanted to carry on his father’s legacy, so they decided to open a similar garage supplying vehicle maintenance and sales.
Under the name of Vining and Scott they moved their business into temporary premises on Bridge Street, known in those days as Bishop’s Garage. One month after moving in they felt the garage was unsatisfactory and moved
In 1928 Phillip married Miss Hannah Taylor, an extremely talented Nelson pianist. Together they had two sons, Richard (Dick) born in 1929, and Peter born in 1932. Little did they know that these boys would grow to be inducted into the family business, much like their father.
Phillip and Charlie had entered into the business world at a difficult time, when the Great Depression and then the war years were upon them. Throughout the years of the Depression, while many businesses were forced to close, Vining and Scott managed to retain their business share, maintaining their monopoly in the Nelson motor vehicle industry.
Charlie Scott became very sick in 1938, so Phillip decided to purchase his shares in the business, but did not alter the company name.
In 1939, at the dawning of World War II, most of Vining and Scott’s hard working male staff members were called up for military duties. Luckily, because of his increasing age and the fact that his garage was considered a vital service business during war time, Phillip was not called up. During the war years, Vining and Scott noticeably become a family business. Phillip’s sons, Dick and Peter, were introduced into the trade at very early ages. They recall serving petrol from the pumps with one gallon measures, pumping up tyres and balancing petrol rationing coupons against their pump sales.
On October 18, 1948, W.G Vining passed away at the age of 83. His passing was not only a huge loss to the Vining family but also to the wider Nelson community. He had come to New Zealand in hope of achieving a better living environment and spreading his horizons. He had achieved this and had also established a better lifestyle for his son and grand- children.
In 1951 Dick purchased an interest in R.B. Win and Co., the agents for Jowett Javelin and Bradford Utilities. He managed this business successfully until1955, at which time it was sold to Henry Houston, a former employee of Vining and Scott. Dick then returned to his father’s business to take up the position of manager. His younger brother, Peter, entered the motor industry at Vining and
Phillip had expanded the core business by developing a spare parts service, rental car service and a vehicle recovery service and in 1958 they entered into the Nuffield Tractor franchise. They opened a new sales yard on the opposite side of Rutherford Street and erected a workshop, providing the Nelson region with a used car, truck, tractor and rental car service. Over the next few years neighbouring properties were purchased, and eventually the entire block fronting on to Rutherford Street and Nile Street had been secured by Vining and Scott.
A fourth generation of Vinings became incorporated into the motor industry. Dick’s sons, Michael and Phillip, worked in sales, workshop reception and managerial positions, while Peter’s sons, Mark and Tony, were groomers, vehicle distributors, sales assistants and mechanics.
After much discussion, Dick and Peter decided to merge their business with the Bowater family, who were close business associates. They felt that this was a favourable
Four generations of Vinings had played key roles in the growth of the Nelson motor industry. It had all begun with a man who dreamed of broadening his horizons in search of a healthier and more independent lifestyle. Not only did he embrace the potential of the motor vehicle, but he also created a foundation upon which future generations of his family could build rewarding and sustainable lifestyles. When W.G. sailed from London to Nelson he had the determination and foresight to become a success in his adopted country. His entrepreneurship had guaranteed him and his family a prosperous future in New Zealand. As a lone pioneer from London he was remarkably successful, and has provided inspiration for future generations of his family.
Ian was born in Nelson on July 15, 1922 and moved to Wakefield at the age of five, when his father was appointed Postmaster there. He received his primary education at Wakefield School and then attended Nelson College from 1935 to 1938, travelling on the Nelson railway. On leaving college he became a telephonist at the Brightwater exchange.
His position was considered an essential industry when war broke out in 1939 and, although willing to enlist, he was denied the chance to begin war service. This changed in 1941, when a new set of qualifications applied and more men were conscripted to increase manpower for the fighting service.
Ian entered Burnham Military Camp in mid-September 1941 to receive training for overseas service with Divisional Signals. Within a fortnight he was posted to active service on the West Coast, where a man-hunt was underway at Kowhiterangi, near Hokitika.
Stanley Graham, a local farmer under financial stress, ran amok on October 8 and gunned down a total of seven men, both police and civilians. Ian and 11 other signallers were sent to support the police in the search for the gunman. They were quartered with the police in the Kowhiterangi Hall and accompanied them on patrols of the surrounding bush-covered dairy farms. Ian spoke of a heart-stopping incident on night patrol
After Graham had been shot and the emergency was over, Ian returned to Burnham to complete his training and then spent time in Maadi Camp near Cairo, Egypt, before finishing his service in Italy.
On his discharge Ian returned to the Post and Telegraph Service, stationed in Wellington. He married Mollie Freeth in 1949 and resigned on the restructuring of the Service, opening a furniture shop in Collingwood Street. It was near the southern end of the bridge and seems to have specialised in beds. I have the word of two people who had always been satisfied with the quality of their purchase.
Ian and Mollie gave of their service to many organisations in Nelson. They were avid genealogists and also gave considerable time to the Nelson Historical Society. Mollie recounted how, with Ian in charge of distribution of the Journal, all three of their children helped with the cause in some way.
Ian served as a churchwarden for the Cathedral Parish and for many years arranged the nativity scene. He was also custodian of the Sunday School rooms and watched with interest the transfer of these rooms to Founders Park. We even followed the final section to it’s rest between 10 and 11pm one night and watched its precision placement on the waiting foundations.
My association with Ian has mainly been through things historical. In October 2003, following Mollie’s passing away, I incorporated him in a Lash family trip to the Aorere goldfields led by Dennis Gillooly. He took us into Hochstetter Cave where the German scientist it is named for had seen dray loads of moa bones. Dennis had assured us that it was infrequently visited, but there was a fresh hole in the floor making it evident someone else had been there recently.
Early in 2004 I heard that the police planned to unveil a commemorative stone to the victims of the Stanley Graham shootings later that year. I told Ian that I would make sure he got to the ceremony, and on the morning of October 7 we left Nelson in my car, stopping for lunch with Ian’s daughter, Alison, at Warwick Junction. Then on through Reefton to Blackball and a beer at ‘Formerly the Blackball Hilton’. As we cruised along the straight approaching Hokitika a police car with a flashing light appeared from nowhere behind me and I pulled to the side of the road. A very young policeman demanded my driver’s licence and assured me I was exceeding the speed limit. Once the formalities had been attended to, I asked this rookie what time the service was on the following day, but he did not know.
We were booked in at the Kokatahi pub and soon found that the ceremony was to be at 2pm the following day. In the morning we explored the site where the memorial had been erected, with Ian describing their quarters in the hall, and watched the police drilling, before visiting the beautiful Hokitika Gorge. Ian noted that the fields were much more open than previously.
There was a shared lunch at the Kokatahi pub where the Minister of Police, the Hon. George Hawkins, took an inter- est in Ian as the sole remaining service- man from what had occurred 63 years previously. Ian also spent half an hour with a young female reporter from Radio NZ. Once the afternoon ceremony was over and we had had a cup of tea, we left for Warwick Junction to stay with Alison and her family. While we were preparing for bed in the sleep out the 10pm news came over Ian’s small radio and we heard his voice loud and clear, talking about his experiences with the reporter.
I had been out and about with a famous person!
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