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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Halkett

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Halkett.

Halkett is an agricultural and pastoral district, between West Melton and Courtenay, and bounded on the north by the Waimakariri river. It is eighteen miles north-west from Christchurch, by road through Riccarton, Yaldhurst, and West Melton. Formerly it was a large sheep run, held by Mr Owen, and afterwards taken over by his manager, Mr Herbert Mathias. The first settlers, amongst whom were Messrs Andrew Cunningham, Arthur E. Davis, Robert Roper, Edward Guiney, J. Lord, Robert Leadley, John Marr, David Thomson, A. McKay, and others, arrived in the early sixties. Some of the land was purchased by Captain Halkett, after whom the place is named, and who made a gift of the ground on which the public school stands. The greater portion of the district has been under crop, and the land yields an average return of from thirty to thirty-five bushels of oats to the acre, and from twenty to twenty-five of wheat. Rape and turnips are cultivated considerably, and large numbers of sheep raised and fattened. About 1864 the old accommodation house, near the boundary of the Courtenay district, was erected by Mr. Charles Watson. It was known as the half-way house between Christchurch and Springfield, and was the stopping place for the line of West Coast coaches. The building is now occupied by Mr. Edward Guiney, as the homestead of his farm. There are two places of worship within the boundaries of Halkett; an Anglican church, the headquarters of the parochial district of Courtenay, and a Presbyterian church. The public school stands in the centre of the district. Halkett has a daily mail service, but the nearest telegraph office is at Kirwee, six miles distant. On the southern banks of the Waimakariri river at Halkett, large protective works, of concrete foundation, have been erected to keep the river to its course. The neighbourhood of the works is well planted with trees, and is a favourite resort with picnic parties. It is also a good shooting ground, as hares and rabbits are there in large numbers.

The Public School at Halkett faces the main road between West Melton and Courtenay, and is in the centre of the Halkett district. It was erected about 1878, on land given by Captain Halkett. The building is of wood, and is surrounded by a large playground, which is protected by rows of shelter trees. A portion of the ground is set apart for the schoolmaster's residence and private garden. The number of scholars on the roll is thirty-six, and the average attendance is thirty. Messrs T. Jeal (chairman), W. A. Davis, G. Davis, W. F. Turner, G. Henderson, and W. Stewart, are (1903) the present members of the school committee. The Halkett school is also the post office for the district, and there is a daily mail service.

Mr. William George Maber, Headmaster of the Halkett Public School, is a native of Dorset, England, where he served as a pupil-teacher. He was afterwards a master in the Walthamstow school, near Epping Forest, and also in other schools in Kent and Surrey. In December, 1887, Mr. Maber arrived in New Zealand, and in the following year was appointed master of the Charing Cross school. A year later he was transferred to View Hill, in a similar capacity, and remained there for seven years. He then removed to Broomfield school, and, in 1899, was appointed to his present position. Mr. Maber married a daughter of Mr. Walter Gee, an old resident of Christchurch, and has a family of five children.

Standish and Preece, photoMr. W. G. Maber.

Standish and Preece, photo
Mr. W. G. Maber.

St. Matthew's Halkett, is the headquarters and parent church of the parochial district of Courtenay. For some time prior to its erection service were held in the public school. The building is of wood, is Gothic in style, has a good organ, and has accommodation for about eight worshippers. In its graveyard lie the ashes of some of the early settlers of the district. The vicarage adjoins the church. St. George's (Kinwee), St. Paul's (West Melton), and St. Andrew's (Darfield), are also in the parochial district. A service is held in each church every Sunday; the vicar officiating in three churches, and a lay reader in the fourth, in rotation.

The Rev. Julius Milles Whitehead, Vicar of the parochiaf district of Courtenay, was born at Maidstone, Kent, in 1861. He was educated at Sherborne school, Dorset, and afterwards at Exeter. In 1880 he gained a scholarship at All Souls', Oxford, where he graduated with honours in classics and modern history. Mr. Whitehead was ordained at Canterbury Cathedral, by Archbishop Benson, in 1886, and was the Archbishop's prize-man. From 1886 to 1838 he was curate of St. Paul's Cliftonville, Margate, and from then until 1892 curate of Margate. He then went to Syria, and for four years was chaplain at Beyrout and Lebanon. On returning to England, he was appointed curate of St. Alphege, Whitslable, for a year. In 1897 he arrived in New Zealand, and for two years filled Archdeacon Harper's place at Timaru, while that gentleman was on a visit to England. Since 1899 he has held his present position. As a Freemanson, Mr. Whitehead was initiated in England, and afterwards affiliated with St. John's Lodge, E.C., Timaru. He is also a member of the Order of Oddfellows. Since the formation of the Waimakariri Mounted Rifles he has acted as chaplain to the corps. Mr. Whitehead was married in England, and has a family of one son and one daughter.

Farmers.

Berry, Walter, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. Berry was born on the 16th of October, 1856, in Clifton House, Sheply, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. When he was three years of age his parents went to Cranston, Derbyshire, where they remained for nine years, and then removed to Sutton Hills, on the Sutton-Scarsdale estate. He was page 733 educated at the Sutton Academy and at Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and when he was fifteen years and nine months old he joined the Fifth Dragoon Guards. Subsequently he bought his discharge and joined the Queen's Royal Lancers, but again purchased his discharge and settled down to farming. This he afterwards left to enter a butchering business, which he carried on successfully for eight years. Then he took to breaking in and training horses, and he remained in this business till he left for New Zealand in the s s. “Aorangi,” on the 28th of April, 1893. He landed on the 16th of June, and after a good deal of travelling he took up his present farm at Halkett in November, the same year. Mr. Berry was married, in 1880, to Miss Fisher, youngest daughter of Mr. Jonathan Fisher, of South Cove, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and has family of two.

Davis, Arthur Ephraim, Lyppiatt Farm, Halkett. Mr. Davis settled at Halkett in the early sixties, and was one of the pioneers of the district. He was born at Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England, came to New Zealand by the ship “William Miles,” and landed at Lyttelton in 1860. He bought a small property at Riccarton, and resided there for two years, after which he went to Eyreton. Eighteen months later he removed to Halkett, and took up eighty acres of Government land, with a purchasing clauses. This holding he has since increased to 373 acres of freehold, and recently bought an additional 479 acres of the Aylesbury estate. The crops give good extensively carried on, Mr. Davis helped to promote the establishment of the public school at Courtenay, and served on the committee for three years, and he was also a member of the Courtenay Road Board. He was a member of the Halkett school committee for about twenty years, and was chairman part of the time. He has served as churchwarden in connection with the local Anglican church. Mr. Davis is the oldest member of the Courtenay Agricultural and Pastoral Association, of which he is now an honorary member, and he attended its first meeting. He is the agent at Halkett for the Commercial Union Assurance Company. Mr. Davis was married in the Old Country to Miss Amelia Kite, of Stroud, and they had nine daughters and seven sons, of whom six sons and seven daughters survive; and there are thirty grandchildren.

Standish and Preece, photo.Mr. and Mrs A. E. Davis.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. and Mrs A. E. Davis.

Davis, William Arthur, Longfield Farm, Halkett. Mr. Davis is the eldest son of Mr. A. E. Davis, an old resident of the district.
Standish and Preece, photo.Mr. and Mrs W. A. Davis.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. A. Davis.

He was born at Riccarton in 1863, and was brought up on his father's farm at Halkett. Longfield Farm is a good agricultural property of 213 acres, and has all been successfully cultivated. Mr. Davis has served on the committee of the Halkett school for about ten years, and he is a trooper in the Waimakariri Mounted Rifles. He married a daughter of Mr. Robert Finley, of Halkett, and has one son.

McKay, George, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. McKay is a son of Mr. Alexander McKay, formerly of Halkett, but now (1903) of Spreydon. He was born in the colony, in 1862, and was brought up to farming under his father. Subsequently he took charge of his father's property at Halkett, where he has since resided. Mr. McKett, where he has since resided. Mr. McKay now owns the adjoining farm, a property of 150 acres, which average returns. As a rule he carries on mixed farming. He has served as a member of the Halkett school committee. Mr. McKay married a daughter of Mr. John Thompson, of Halkett, and has a family of four sons and three daughters.

Roper, Robert Spencer, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. Roper is the youngest son of the late Mr. Roper is the youngest son of the late Mr. Robert Roper, and was born at Halkett in 1880. Since his father's death he has had the management of Pine Grove Farm, where he carries on mixed farming. The property has all been under cultivation, and has produced some of the best average yields in the district.

Standish and Preece, photo.Mr. R. S. Roper.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. R. S. Roper.

Turner, William Frederick, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. Turner is the only son of the late Mr. William Turner, of Halkett, and was born in Christchurch in 1869. He Black and white photograph of a river gorge page 734 was brought up at Halkett, and trained to agriculture on his father's farm. Mr. Turner owns a farm of 295 acres, all good agricultural land, which he has successfully cultivated. For several years he has been a member of the Halkett school committee, and has been a churchwarden, and is now a vestryman in connection with the English church. Mr. Turner is a member of the Courtenay Court of Foresters, and has held the office of Chief Ranger. He is also a trooper in the Wairied a daughter of Mr. John Watson, an old settler of Halkett, and has two sons and two daughters.

Standish and Preece, photo.Mr. and Mrs W. F. Turner and Family.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. F. Turner and Family.

Watson, John, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. Watson was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1837, and was brought up to a farming life. In 1867 he arrived at Lyttelton, by the ship “Blue Jacket.” In the same year he went to Halkett, where, two years later, he bought land. Mr. Watson now owns a farm of 160 acres, and carries on mixed farming. He has served as a vestryman in the Anglican church, and has been a member of the local school committee. Mr. Watson was married in the Old Country, and has a family of six sons and two daughters.

Whyte, William, Farmer, Halkett. Mr. Whyte was born in Perthshire, Scotland in 1840. He came to New Zealand, with his father, in the ship “Sebastopol,” and arrived at Lyttelton in 1863. Mr. Whyte worked in various parts of the country, and was for some time on Mr. William Boag's farm at Fendalton. In 1868 he removed to Halkett, where he took up fifty acres of land, and afterwards increased his holding to 180 acres The land has been successfully cultivated, and sheep and cattle are kept with success. Mr. Whyte was a member of the Halkett school committee for some years, and he has been connected with the local Presbyterian church. He married Miss Mary Ann Pigram, of Surrey, England, and has a surviving family of six sons and two daughters.

Whyte, Peter, Fairview Farm, Halkett, Mr. Whyte was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1842, and came to New Zealand with his parents by the ship “Sebastopol,” which landed at Lyttelton in 1863. For a year the family were settled at Yaldhurst, when they removed to Halkett, where Mr. Peter Whyte has since resided. Fariview Farm is 200 acres in extent, but Mr. Whyte owns another farm of 225 acres near Aylesbury, and works the two in conjunction. The oat crops average from thirty to thirty-five bushels per acre, and wheat about forty bushels. Turnips and rape are also grown extensively for fattening sheep. Mr. Whyte is married, and has a family of four sons and four daughters. Mrs Whyte is a daughter of the late John Butler, of Dunsandel.

Old Colonists.

Mr. Robert Finley was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1830. He was brought up to agriculture, and in 1864 sailed in the ship “Royal Standard,” for Melbourne. Two years later he came to New Zealand, and landed at Lyttelton. After spending a few months at Scuthbridge, he went to Lincoln, where he remained for six years. He then went to Halkett, and bought Longfield Farm, which he worked until 1896, when he sold out his implements and stock, and let the property to his son-in-law, Mr. W. A. Davis, with whom he has since resided. Mr. Finley has been actively connected with the Halkett Presbyterian church, and has served as a committeeman. He was married in the Old Country, and has a family of one son and four daughters.

Wrigglesworth and Binns photo.Mr. R. Finley.

Wrigglesworth and Binns photo.
Mr. R. Finley.

Mr. Alexander McKay was born in Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in 1825, and was brought up to pastoral pursuits. In 1861 he came to New Zealand by the ship “Royal Stuart,” and landed at Lyttelton. Soon afterwards he commenced shepherding for Mr. G. A. E. Ross, on Waireka station. Mr. McKay subsequently went to West Melton, where he was a shepherd on another property owned by Mr. Ross. In the later sixties he bought a farm at Halkett, but let it to a tenant and went to Southbridge shepherding for Mr. Samuel Bealey. Later on he returned to Halkett, and worked his property till 1894, when he removed to Spreydon, where he has since resided. Mr. McKay served on the Halkett school committee, and was also connected with the Presbyterian church. He was married in the Old Country, and has a family of one son and two daughters.

Mr. Robert Roper, sometime of Pine Grove Farm, Halkett, was born in Suffolk, England, in 1834, and brought up to farming. In 1860 he came to New Zealand, in the ship “William Miles,” and landed at Lyttelton. After remaining in Christchurch for a few weeks, he went to the Ashburton Forks, and two years later to the Prebbleton and Lincoln districts, where he remained three years. Mr. Roper then removd to Halkett, and took up 100 acres of agricultural land, and afterwards increased his holding to 200 acres. It was named Pine Grove Farm. He was a member of the Halkett school committee, and was also connected with the Anglican church. He died at Halkett, in 1899, leaving a widow and a family of five sons and six daughters.

The Late Mr. R. Roper.

The Late Mr. R. Roper.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.Mrs R. Roper.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.
Mrs R. Roper.

Mr. William Turner was an Englishman by birth, and a sailor by profession. He served in Her Majesty's Navy, and first visited New Zealand in a man-of-war in the early fifties. Some years later he left the sea, returned to New Zealand and settled in the colony. His first colonial experience was bullock-driving in North Canterbury, and he afterwards took over the accommodation house at Hanmer. In 1868 he married a daughter of page 735 the late Mr. Frederick King, an old Canterbury colonist, who came out in the ship “Joseph Fletcher,” in 1854. In the same year Mr. Turner gave up the accommodation house, and twelve months later he went to Halkett, where he bought land, and resided there up to the time of his death. He died on the 24th of March. 1892, aged fifty-five years, and left a widow and one son.

The late Mr. W. Turner.

The late Mr. W. Turner.