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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Kirikiriroa

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Kirikiriroa.

Kirikiriroa consists of that portion of the borough of Hamilton which lies on the east side of the Waikato river and the surrounding district extending for several miles to the northward. The South Auckland Club and the Waikato Agricultural and Pastoral Association hold their meetings in Kirikiriroa district at Claudelands, not far from the railway station, which is a flag station, eighty-seven miles south of Auckland, and stands at an elevation of 128 feet above sea level. The local post office at Kirikiriroa is at Mr. W. Dey's store, and there is a creamery in the district.

The Kirikiriroa Road District includes the district on the east side of the Waikato river from Tamahere in the south to Taupiri in the north. The rate is £1/2d in the £, but varies, and yields, at £1/2d, with the Government subsidy, £663 a year. Present members: Mr. John Gordon, chairman, and Messrs M. G. Farrer, John Primrose, T. Paterson, and F. R. Seddon; Captain McPherson, clerk and treasurer.

Mr. John Gordon, who has been Chairman of the Kirikiriroa Road Board since 1894, and has, during the same period, occupied a seat on the Waikato County Council, on which he represents the Kirikiriroa riding, is the well known manager of Woodlands Estate. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in June, 1846, educated at a private school in Gamire, and was brought up to country pursuits. In 1878 he came to Lyttelton by the ship “Piako,” and was for three years at Oamaru. Four years afterwards he managed a property at Hakataramea, and subsequently managed the Newlands Estate near Timaru for two years. Mr. Gordon was appointed to the management of Woodlands Estate on the 18th of March, 1885. He has been actively connected with the Waikato Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and has been continuously on the committee. At each yearly show he has had from fifty to sixty entries, and has consequently gained a large number of prizes. Mr. Gordon was married, in 1882, to a daughter of the late Mr. A. Houston, of Busby, Glasgow. This lady died in 1892, leaving two sons. In 1898, Mr. Gordon was married to a daughter of Dr. Elmsly, of Otahuhu.

Mr. and Mrs J. Gordon.

Mr. and Mrs J. Gordon.

Mr. Thomas Paterson, who is a Member of the Kirikiriroa Road Board, is referred to in another article as a member of the Ngaruawahia Town Board.

Mr. J. Primrose, who is a Member of the Kirikiriroa Road Board, is a son of Mr. Andrew Primrose, a prominent settler in the district.

Mr. Frederick Richard Seddon, who has been a Member of the Kirikiriroa Road Board since 1898, was born at Howick in 1869. He was brought up to agriculture by his father in the Waikato, and has managed his father's farm since 1890.

Hay, James Cameron, Baker and Confectioner, Kirikiriroa. This business was established in 1897. The premises include a shop, a dwellinghouse, and stable, and are centrally situated at Hamilton East. Mr. Hamilton was born in Dumbartonshire, Scotland in 1851. For some time he was employed in railway work, and afterwards served an apprenticeship as a baker in Glasgow. After arriving in Wellington in 1875, by the ship “Cartvale,” he spent a short time in Wanganui. He then removed to Bulls, in the Rangitikei district, where he was farming for a few years, and was afterwards engaged at his trade at Shannon and Turakina. In Bell Block, Taranaki, he was in business as a general storekeeper and baker, but was burnt out after carrying on the business for twelve months. For three years subsequently he was in Waiuku, and settled in Hamilton in 1897. Mr. Hay was married, in 1879, to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Fergusson, of
Botteley, photo.Mr. and Mrs J. C. Hay.

Botteley, photo.
Mr. and Mrs J. C. Hay.

Halcombe, and has five daughters and four sons.

The Kirikiriroa Creamery (New Zealand Dairy Association, proprietors) is close to the railway station. It contains two 300-gallon Alpha-Laval separators, driven by a portable engine of eight horse power. The creamery, which was started in August, 1900, daily puts through about 1000 gallons of milk, sent in by twenty-eight suppliers, who milk about 300 cows.

Mr. James May Jones, Manager of the Kirikiriroa Creamery, was born in Monmouth, Wales, England, and came to New Zealand when he was a child. He was employed at Newstead creamery for two years, and became manager of the Hamilton creamery in 1891.

Davies, John, Dairyfarmer, Kirikiriroa. Mr. Davies is one of the earliest settlers in the district. He was born in Birmingham England, in 1843, and came out to Victoria in 1858. Five years later he was gold-mining at Gabriel's Gully in Otago. He joined the 4th Waikato Militia at the time of the Maori disturbances, served about two years, and obtained a military land grant in Kirikiriroa, where he has been settled since 1865. Mr. Davies holds 100 acres of freehold, which he works as a dairy farm. He was married, in 1871, to a daughter of the late Mr. page 755 R. Henry, and sister of Mr. D. Henry, and has two sons and seven daughters.

Botteley, photo.Mr. and Mrs J. Davies.

Botteley, photo.
Mr. and Mrs J. Davies.

Henry, David, Farmer, Dryfield Farm, Kirikiriroa. Mr. Henry's property consists of 100 acres of freehold land, which is in an excellent state of cultivation, and is worked as a dairy farm, on which twenty milking cows and a considerable number of young stock are depastured. Mr. Henry was born in 1854, in Glasgow, Scotland, and arrived in New Zealand with his father, the late Mr. Robert Henry, in 1863. Mr. Henry, senior, served with the militia during the Maori disturbances, and received a fifty-acre military grant. He died in 1898 at the age of seventy-nine. Mr. David Henry was married on the 25th of April, 1879, to a daughter of the late Mr. E. O'Neill, of Kirikiriroa, and has five sons and one daughter.

Botteley, photo.Mr. and Mrs D. Henry.

Botteley, photo.
Mr. and Mrs D. Henry.

McInnes, Malcolm, General Farmer, Hukanui Road, Kirikiriroa. Mr McInnes farms 250 acres, of which 150 acres are freehold, and he milks about thirty cows during the season. He was born in Inverness-shire, Scotland, in 1846, and having been brought up to agriculture, he was engaged in farming on his own account prior to leaving his native land in 1873. Mr. McInnes arrived in Auckland by the ship “St. Leonards,” and settled in the Waikato. After being for several years at Alexandra he removed to Tauwhare, and settled in the Kirikiriroa district in 1896.

Botteley, photo.Mr. M. McInnes.

Botteley, photo.
Mr. M. McInnes.

Mr. John Crosby, Old Colonist, was born at Drumgoon, County Cavan, Ireland, in 1825. He enlisted in the 99th Regiment stationed at Hobart, Tasmania, where he served for over seven years. Having volunteered for the 65th Regiment, Mr. Crosby came to New Zealand and served in Wellington, Taranaki, and Auckland, taking his discharge at the latter place as sergeant. He received a grant of eighty acres for his military services, and has long been settled at Mount Pleasant, Kirikiriroa, where he has about 140 acres of freehold land.

Mr. Edward Gyles Hobbs, Old Colonist, is the second son of the late Rev. John Hobbs, one of the first Wesleyan ministers to settle in New Zealand. He was born in 1839 near Hokianga Heads, and was educated in Auckland. For some time Mr. Hobbs was in the soft goods trade in Whangarei, and then became a settler in the Pokeno district, where he remained for twenty-six years. In 1892 he removed to Hamilton, Waikato, and has settled on a fine section of fourteen acres on the east side of the river near Kirikiriroa railway station. Mr. Hobbs was for some time a member of the Pokeno Road Board, and acted as honorary secretary for some years.