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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Te Kopuru

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Te Kopuru.

Te Kopuru, on the west side of the Wairoa river, ninety-six miles from Auckland, is one of the early sawmilling settlements founded by Mr. Walton, afterwards owned by Dr. J. Logan Campbell, and now the property of the Kauri Timber Company. There are three jetties belonging to the company, and the residence of the manager, Mr. H. L. P. Tucker, and the cottages of the workmen, stand on the mill property. There is also a county wharf, which is the best loading berth on the river, as there are 24 feet of water at low tides. The town of Te Kopuru surrounds the mill property, and possesses a post and telegraph office with a savings bank, Customs, and registration departments. The township has a public school, a Roman Catholic church, a public hall, a library, stores, a boardinghouse, and the recently-established shipbuilding yards of Messrs Brown and Son. Te Kopuru is situated on high ground, commanding a fine view of the river and the surrounding country, and ranks as one of the best residential sites in the county. There is a good road to Dargaville and other centres, also to Red Hill, about seven miles distant, all passengers for which land at Te Kopuru.

Te Kopuru Post And Telegraph And Customs Office. A post office was established in 1881, but was then carried on in private business premises. The public departments are now domiciled in a Government building.

Mr. Charles Archer Wells, Postmaster and Telegraphist of the Te Kopuru Post Office, has been in the public service for over twenty years. Born in Taranaki in 1853, where his father, Mr. Benjamin Wells, resided, the subject of this notice was educated at the Nelson College and the Auckland High School. After spending about a year in a solicitor's office, Mr. Wells entered the Telegraph Department in Wellington in 1875, and was soon transferred to Greytown North, subsequently being promoted to the charge of the Southbridge Post Office in Canterbury. He then spent some years at Helensville, New Plymouth, and Palmerston North, being transferred from the latter town to Auckland, where he was stationed for six years. He was then placed in charge at Warkworth, whence he was transferred to Te Kopuru. In his youth Mr. Wells was a member of the Taranaki Militia, and at a later date of the Egmont Rifles. During his residence in Southbridge he was organist of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Wells spends his leisure hours in literary pursuits, and has contributed several articles to colonial journals, and also to the “Boy's Own Annual.” He is a master Mason, his mother lodge being Mount Egmont, New Plymouth, E. C. In 1883 Mr. Wells married a daughter of the Rev. Joseph Long, of New Plymouth, and has four sons and two daughters.

Te Kopuru Public School was founded in 1882 and at the present time has a roll call of 140 with an average attendance of 125. The staff consists of the headmaster, Mr. J. E. Elliott, a lady assistant, and two pupil teachers.

Lindley, John, Aerated Water Manufacturer, Te Kopuru. Mr. Lindley was born in Shropshire, England, in 1828, and educated at Doncaster and York. In 1858 he went to India, and was employed in the office of the traffic manager for the East India Railway Company in Calcutta. He was afterwards for some years manager of the School-book Society of Calcutta, and also a bill and sharebroker in that city. In 1878 he came to New Zealand in the s.s. “Hero,” and was appointed master of Te Kopuru school, where he remained for fourteen years, when he retired and established his present business in 1892, it being the only one of the kind on the North Wairoa river. Mr. Lindley is a past master in Masonry of the Lodge of “True Friendship” in Calcutta, also past principal of “Royal Arch” chapter in the same city, and was second master of Lodge St. George at Dargaville. He has acted as Lay Reader for the Church of England at Te Kopuru for over twenty-two years.

Mr. J. Lindley.

Mr. J. Lindley.

Seymour, Joseph, General Store-keeper, Te Kopuru. Mr. Seymour was born in London in 1845, and educated there. He came to New Zealand in 1860 by the “Phœnix,” and followed a seafaring life for twenty years, during which time he was page 640 master of the cutters “Alarui” and “Three Brothers,” Mangawai being his headquarters. He eventually purchased a small steamer, which was built at Mangawai, and traded with her on the Wairoa river for a considerable time, being first in partnership with the late Mr. J. M. Dargaville, and then with Mr. E. Mitchelson in rafting operations, afterwards joining Mr. Weymouth in a store at Scarrott's. He next took charge of the s.s. “Osprey” for about a year, and in 1894 started his present business on the main road. Mr. Seymour has been a member of the Te Kopuru School Committee, and was junior deacon of Lodge St. George. He is married to a daughter of Mr. Keddy, of Wicklow, and has two sons and two daughters living, one daughter having died.

Mr. J. Seymour.

Mr. J. Seymour.

Andrew, Alexander, Farmer, Marybank, Te Kopuru. Mr. Andrew was born in Lanarkshire in 1835, and was brought up to farming. In 1862 he came to New Zealand by the ship “Indian Empire,” landing in Auckland, where he remained some three years. In 1866 he removed to Te Kopuru, and immediately started farming in up-to-date style and with the most modern machinery. His property consists of about 700 acres of land of a good quality for cultivation. He is married to a daughter of Mr. Boyd, of Scotland, and has four daughters and six sons.

Mr. A. Andrew.

Mr. A. Andrew.

Wordsworth, William, Farmer, “Lilac Villa,” Te Kopuru. Mr. Wordsworth was born in Yorkshire in 1852, and learned the trade of plate-rolling under Sir John Brown and Co., iron-workers of Sheffield. In 1877, he came to New Zealand by the ship “Horrah,” landing in Wellington, where he stayed only a short time, and then went to the Kaipara, accepting a situation as sawyer at the Aratapu Mills, where he remained for fourteen years. On leaving this, he started farming in the district and now owns a property of about 325 acres of good land. Mr. Wordsworth is an advocate of temperance, and is treasurer of the Rechabites' lodge. He has three daughters and eight sons living, two of the latter being by his first wife; the present Mrs. Wordsworth was a Miss West.

Mr. W. Wordsworth's Residence.

Mr. W. Wordsworth's Residence.