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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Bombay

Bombay.

The Bombay district was taken up originally about the year 1865, by special settlers under the ten-acre grant system, and was named after the vessel which brought them out to New Zealand. It is, however, not a suitable name for an inland district with extensive hills, like Razorback. The district is devoted to farming and dairying, and is twenty-five miles south of Auckland, on the main South Road, which was used in the early days as a coach road to the Waikato. There is daily coach communication with Drury railway station, seven miles distant. Bombay is in the county of Manukau, and is connected by telephone from the local post office with Pukekohe. The settlement has a public hall and library, a public school, and three churches.

The Bombay Post And Telephone Office is conducted at the store of Mr. J. Evans, at the corner of the Great South Road and Paparata Road. There are daily mails by coach to Drury. Mr James Evans, page 688 Postmaster and Telephonist at Bombay, is the proprietor of a general store, which is centrally situated in the township.

The Bombay Public School is situated on a section of five acres, and stands in a high position on the Paparata Road. The original schoolhouse, which is still standing on a portion of the property, was erected in 1870 at the expense of the settlers, and is now used as a public hall. The new school, which is of wood with a shingle roof, was erected in 1884. It contains two class-rooms and has accommodation for about 150 children. There are eighty-six on the roll, and the average attendance is sixty-five. There is a capital playground, with a large shelter shed. The schoolhouse is a commodious residence of eight rooms, with a verandah. Mr. H. Hockin, the headmaster of the Bombay public school, is the holder of a D1 certificate.

St. Peter's Church, Bombay, is situated on the Great South Road on a site of ten acres. It is a wooden building with an iron roof, and has accommodation for nearly 200 worshippers. The Sunday school in connection with the church is managed by five teachers, and there are thirty scholars. There is a glebe of twenty-five acres. The minister in charge has supervision over the Pukekohe district, and also Buckland and Harrisville, where services are held in a mission hall.

The Rev. Frank Barker Dobson, Vicar of Bombay and Pukekohe, was born in Picton, Marlborough, in 1861. He was educated in the colony, studied for the church at Bishopdale, Nelson, and was ordained deacon in Wellington in 1891, and priest at Nelson in 1893. Mr. Dobson was stationed for one year at Grey Valley, West Coast, and after serving four years at Waimangaroa, was stationed at Bombay in February, 1897. He was married, in 1894, to a daughter of Mr. J. W. Easson, of Greymouth, merchant, and has four daughters.

The Bombay Presbyterian Church, which is under the control of the minister residing at Pukekohe, is of wood and iron, and has accommodation for 100 worshippers.

The Bombay Wesleyan Church, which was erected in 1881, has seat accommodation for 150 persons. This is a portion of the Franklin Circuit, and is under the charge of the minister who resides at Pukekohe.

Flay, William, Farmer, Bombay, Mr. Flay is a son of Mr. Charles Flay, of Bombay settlement, and was born in 1874. He was trained to farm work on his father's farm at Bombay, but entered the employment of Messrs Rutherford Bros., in 1887, and was appointed manager of their estate in 1895. Under his skilful care the estate reached its present high-class condition. Mr. Flay is married and has two children.

Rutherford, James Gilling, Sheepfarmer, “Pukewhau,” Bombay. Mr. Rutherford is a prominent settler in the Bombay district, which is about thirty miles to the south of Auckland. He was born in Auckland in 1819, and was educated at Wesley College under Mr. J. Fletcher, and at Mr. McCrae's High School. After leaving school he engaged in farming, and has resided since 1865 at “Pukewhau,” a splendid farm of 1000 acres lying between the Great South Road at Bombay, and the East Pukekohe road district. Mr. Rutherford keeps a flock of stud Lincoln sheep, besides cattle and horses. He has always taken a great interest in agricultural associations, and has long been a member of the Franklin and Auckland societies. In February, 1900, he was elected president of the Auckland Provincial Agricultural Association, and he has been several times president of the Franklin Agricultural Society. As a volunteer Mr. Rutherford served in the Otahuhu and Te Awamutu Cavalry troops altogether for about ten years. He is a member of the Maungatawhiri Road Board, and also holds a seat on the Bombay school committee. Mr. Rutherford married in 1882 a daughter of the late Mr. N. Simms, who was one of the very early settlers of Auckland.

Pukewhau Homestead, Bombay. Mr. Rutherford's Property.

Pukewhau Homestead, Bombay. Mr. Rutherford's Property.