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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Tuakau

page break

Tuakau.

The first settlement at Tuakau was on the banks of the Waikato river, about a mile and a half from the railway station. A punt has been constructed by the Government, and communication with the opposite side of the river is available by this means, but it is intended to build a traffic bridge at an estimated cost of £10,000. When this is completed it will be the most direct means of communication between Auckland and the county of Raglan, where there are large areas of agricultural land awaiting settlement. Since the opening of the railway line the business portion of Tuakau has gravitated towards it. There are large saleyards in the township, which has important monthly sales. Tuakau railway station is thirty-five miles from Auckland, and the district is in the county of Manukau and part of the East Pukekohe road district. The railway station is 117 feet above the level of the sea.

The Hon. Benjamin Harris is the eldest son of the late Mr. George Harris, an early pioneer, of East Tamaki, Auckland. He was born at Lisburn, Ireland, in 1836. When quite young he went with his people to America, but returned to England a few years later, and resided there till late in 1846, when the family sailed for New Zealand, and arrived in Wellington in the early part of 1847. Four years later they moved to Auckland, where Mr. George Harris commenced farming on land which he took up at East Tamaki. In 1860 Mr. Benjamin Harris started farming on his own account at Pukekohe, which was then so unsettled a district that Mr. Harris's nearest neighbours were the natives at Tuakau. Owing to native disturbances he was obliged to leave the place, and he joined the Otahuhu Cavalry Volunteers under the late Colonel Nixon. In 1862 he returned to his farm, and made another effort to bring it under cultivation, but was again disturbed in the following year. The 60th Regiment arrived and camped one night on his farm, and early next morning were led by Mr. Harris into the native settlement at Tuakau. Mr. Harris then rejoined the Otahuhu Cavalry, and was appointed lieutenant. He volunteered for the front, and received his baptism of fire at Paterangi, and served in several engagements. In 1866 he left the force and returned to his farm, and found it destroyed and his house burnt down. He was appointed to take charge of the newly arrived immigrants, located at Pokeno, Tuakau and Pukekohe. Mr. Harris was elected captain of the Pukekohe Rifles and the Tuakau Rifles, holding both appointments at the same time, and was subsequently appointed major. In 1885 Major Harris raised the first mounted corps in Auckland—the Franklin Mounted Infantry, which he commanded for several years. He holds the New Zealand war medal, the long service medal, and the Victoria decoration medal. Major Harris has received many valuable presents and illuminated addresses from the volunteers, members of Parliament, and his fellow settlers. In 1879 he was returned to Parliament in which he sat for Franklin, off and on, until 1896, Formerly he was a member of the Auckland Provincial Council, and of the Manukau County Council, and has represented Pukekohe as a member of the Church of England Synod. He has also been for several years a member of the Auckland Land Board. Major Harris was called to the Legislative Council in 1897. His only son went as a member of the Fourth New Zealand Contingent, which left in March, 1900, to serve in the war against the South African and Orange Free State republics.

Hon. B. Harris.

Hon. B. Harris.

Tuakau Post Office, Telegraph Office, And Railway Station. This station was opened in 1875. The building is of wood and iron, and contains a ladies' waiting room, and a public and ticket office, as well as the post and telegraph department. There is a large asphalt passenger platform.

Mr. Frank Pullman, Stationmaster and Officer-in-charge of the Post and Telegraph Department at Tuakau, was born in Auckland, in 1865, and entered the railway department there as a cadet in 1879. Ten years later he was appointed to the position he has since held in Tuakau. Mr. Pullman was married, in 1887, to a daughter of Mr. W. Lodder, late of Auckland, but since of Sydney, and has three daughters and one son.

The Tuakau Public School is situated on a section of about an acre in the old township. It is built of wood and shingle, contains one class room and a porch, and was established in 1870. There is accommodation for 120 children; the number on the roll is forty-one, and the average attendance, thirty. There is a covered shelter-shed in the playground, and the schoolhouse has five rooms.

Mr. David Lowson Smart, Headmaster of Tuakau Public School, to which he was appointed in July, 1900, was born in 1868 at Mauku. He
Hanna, photo.Mr. D. L. Smart.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. D. L. Smart.

page 691 was educated in Auckland, joined the Board of Education as a probationer, in 1887, served two years at the Bay of Islands, was then for two years assistant at Nelson Street School, Auckland, and thereafter became sole teacher at Karamu. Two years and a half later he removed to Tamahere, where he had charge for three years, and was afterwards at Tamaki West for a similar period before being appointed to Tuakau. Mr. Smart was married in September, 1891, to a daughter of Mr. W. C. Good, of Auckland, and has two sons and two daughters.

The Tuakau Presbyterian Church is of wood with a shingle roof, and seats 100 persons. The services are conducted by the minister resident at Pukekohe.

St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church, Tuakau, was erected in 1882. It is built of wood and iron, and stands on two acres of land near the public school. There is accommodation for 120 adults. The church is under the direction of the Rev. Father Ahern, Pukekohe.

The Tuakau Wesleyan Church is a wooden building, with a class room, and has accommodation for 130 persons. The Sunday school has sixty scholars, and six teachers. This church is supplied under the direction of the circuit minister, who resides at Pukekohe.

The Rev. Thomas Fulljames, who is a retired minister of the Congregational Church, was born in 1815, at Portsmouth, England. He was educated privately, studied for the ministry at Newport, Pagnall, Buckinghamshire, and was stationed successively at Leeds and Chelmsford, in Essex, and Maidstone, in Kent, during the ensuing eleven years. In 1862 he came to New Zealand by the ship “William Miles.” He was for eighteen months at Cabbage Bay, for some time in Auckland, three years at Coromandel, and twenty-nine years at the Thames. For fourteen years of that time Mr. Fulljames had charge of the Thames Orphanage, and supplied frequently as a minister at various churches. He settled at Tuakau in 1896.

The Tuakau Creamery is the property of the New Zealand Dairy Association. It was one of the earliest creameries established, and was erected in 1888. The building is of wood and iron, with a concrete floor, and the machinery is driven by a four-horse power Tangye engine. There are two Alpha separators, each capable of treating 260 gallons per hour. The suppliers in the district number thirty-nine, and from 1000 to 1200 gallons of milk are dealt with daily in the season.

Mr. Arthur Oldham, Manager of the Tuakau Creamery, was born at Mangawai, in 1860. For about fifteen years he was engaged in the flax trade as a member of the firm of Oldham and Sons, Tuakau, and became manager of the Tuakau creamery about 1892.

Tuakau Family Hotel (William James Priest, proprietor), Main Road, Tuakau. This hotel, which was established in 1882, has twenty-one rooms, and is within a stone's throw of the railway station.

Brown, George, Butcher, Tuakau. Mr. Brown, who has been a settler in the district for a number of years, was born in New South Wales, in 1842, and was educated at Erlscolne Grammar School, near Colchester, Essex, England. He returned to his native land in 1855, and was brought up to farming. In 1873 he came to Auckland, and shortly afterwards settled in Tuakau, which was then mostly all bush, ti-tree, and fern. He made an experiment in the culture of tobacco, but the climate proved too moist for that plant. In 1877 Mr. Brown established his business as a butcher, and has since conducted it, either solely or in partnership with his brother. About 1876 he commenced to purchase, kill, and clean dairy-fed pork for the Auckland market. In this branch of his business he has been successful in developing a considerable industry, and now sends regular supplies to the city. His premises consist of a two-storey house and shop in a central position in the township, and his slaughterhouse, with a paddock of six acres, is situated on the main road. Mr. Brown was chairman of the local school committee for a good many years. He is a member of the Anglican Church, and holds a license as a lay reader from the Bishop, and in 1899 was lay representative from the Bombay district in the Auckland Diocesan Synod. Mr. Brown was Chief Templar of the Blue Banner Lodge 134, in 1900. He has taken a considerable interest in athletics, and was at one time captain of the local cricket team. Mr. Brown was married, in 1871, to a daughter of Captain Potter, late of her Majesty's 28th Regiment, and grand-daughter of the late Major Lockyer, the first military Governor of West Australia, and has four sons and two daughters.

Franklin Roller Mills (Robert Bycroft, proprietor), Tuakau. These mills are situated alongside the railway station at Tuakau, with which they are connected by tramway. The machinery consists of a full roller plant, is driven by a ten horse-power turbine wheel, and the brand of flour is known as “Pearl.” The proprietor is the fourth son of the late Mr. John Bycroft, senior, who was one of the first millers in Auckland.

Madill And Collier (Adam Madill and Arthur Bertram Collier) Bone Millers, Main Road, Tuakau.

Mr. Adam Madill, Senior Partner, was born in 1845, in County Monaghan, Ireland. He was brought up to farming, which he followed for a number of years. In 1888 he went to Canada, where he was farming and contracting for five years. On coming to Auckland in 1896 he settled in Pukekohe, but removed to Tuakau, three years later. Mr. Madill is known as a successful farmer. He owns 263 acres in the Tuakau district, and all his land is in a high state of cultivation. He was also the proprietor of a threshing and sawing plant, now owned by his son, Mr. Adam Madill, junior, of Tuakau. Mr. Madill was elected a member of the East Pukekohe Road Board in 1900, and has served for a number of years on the Franklin Agricultural Society as one of the outside committee.

Hanna, photo.Mr. A. Madill.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. A. Madill.

Mr. Arthur Bertram Collier, Junior, was born in London in 1876, and was educated at Mill Hill school. He was brought up to mercantile life in England, and came out to New Zealand in 1895, when he settled in Tuakau, and purchased land, which he farmed for several years. He became associated with Mr. Madill in connection with the Tuakau Bone Mills. Mr. Collier is a member of the Pukekohe Mounted Rifles. He was married in March, 1900, to the eldest daughter of Mr. A. Madill, of Tuakau.

Hanna, photo.Mr. A. B. Collier.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. A. B. Collier.

Booker, William, Farmer and Fruit Grower, “Alma Cottage,” Tuakau. Mr. Booker was born in Geelong, Victoria, in 1846, and page 692 was brought up as a gardener and farmer. He arrived in Auckland in 1863, and after a short stay at Drury removed to Tuakau, which was then a dense bush. Mr. Booker
Hanna, photo.Mr. and Mrs W. Booker.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. Booker.

subsequently purchased land, which he has increased to sixty-six acres, including his five acres of orchard. For some years he served on the Tuakau school committee. He has been a member of the Good Templar Order since 1883, and as a member of the Blue Banner Lodge, 134, has been several times through the chairs, and holds the position of Lodge Deputy. He was married, in 1870, to a daughter of the late Mr. W. Murray, of Tuakau, and has three sons and four daughters.

Cole Brothers (Walter Reginald Cole and Herbert Eden Cole), Farmers and Orchardists, Tuakau. The property owned and worked by this firm consists of 120 acres of freehold land. The Messrs Cole have an orchard of twenty acres, and they annually produce a large quantity of fruit, some of which they send ripe into the markets of the colony, besides preserving a considerable quantity in tins.

Messrs Walter Reginald And Herbert Eden Cole were born at Mount Eden, Auckland, in 1877, and 1879 respectively. Mr. W. Cole gained his experience as an orchardist and nurseryman with the firm of D [gap — reason: illegible]ay and Son, Hobson Bay Nursery, Auckland, and Mr. H. Cole has been engaged in farming since leaving school. As a volunteer he is a member of the Pukekohe Mounted Rifles.

Mr. H. E. Cole. Mr. W. R. Cole. Mr. W. Cole.

Mr. H. E. Cole. Mr. W. R. Cole. Mr. W. Cole.

Lapwood, Alfred Octavius, Farmer, Tuakau. Mr. Lapwood was born at Newington Green, Stoke Newington, England, in 1844. In 1858 he entered the Royal Navy and went to sea. After serving four years and three months he bought his discharge, and came out to Auckland in 1864, as a seaman in the ship “Ganges.” On leaving that ship he served for a few mouths on the s.s. “Ladybird,” and became a settler in the Waikato in 1865. He was engaged for a good many years in the bush, and purchased a section in the Tuakau South township, where he now holds 131 acres of freehold. Mr. Lapwood was in a volunteer corps, and received his land scrip for the full term of service. He was married, in 1870, to a daughter of the late Mr. H. Holland, of Raglan, and has eight sons and three daughters.

Hanna, photo.Mr. and Mrs A. O. Lapwood.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. and Mrs A. O. Lapwood.

Madill, David Henry, Farmer, “Valdon,” Tuakau. The property owned by Mr. Madill consists of 115 acres of freehold, all in good cultivation, with the exception of about fifteen acres of puriri bush. Besides carrying on his business as a farmer, Mr. Madill has become an importer of American patent portable folding bath cabinets. These baths are invaluable, and have been proved most useful for the relief of many ailments. A hot air or steam bath can be obtained by their use in any private house, at an infinitesimal expense, and their enterprising importer has introduced them into the country
Botteley, photo.Mr. D. H. Madill.

Botteley, photo.
Mr. D. H. Madill.

page 693 districts of Auckland with considerable success. Mr. Madill was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1867, and went out to Canada with his parents in 1881. Four years and a half later the family removed to New Zealand, and settled in Pukekohe. Mr. Madill bought his land at Tuakau in 1896, and works it as a cropping and grazing farm.

Walker, Thomas, Farmer, Tuakau. Mr. Walker has served for several years on the Pukekohe East Road Board, and was for some time its secretary and collector. He was born near Bristol, England, in 1840, and brought up as a carpenter and builder. In 1862 he landed in Otago, and followed his trade at Queenstown and Invercargill till 1864, when he took up 130 acres at Tuakau, which has since become the site of the railway station, and the older portion of the business township. He was one of the earliest to start flax milling in the district, and the site of his mill is now occupied by a flour mill. Mr. Walker was the principal storekeeper in Tuakau for about twenty years. He disposed of his business in 1895, and has since engaged in farming. Mr. Walker has 510 acres of land.