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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

[Hakataramea]

Hakataramea is the name of a river, a riding and a township. It is the most inland riding of the Waimate county, and had a population of 323 at the census of March, 1901. The township, which is sometimes called Sandhurst, is on the north bank of the Waitaki river, which is crossed at that point by a combined railway and traffic bridge, divided into sections. The river Hakataramea flows into the Waitaki a short distance from the township. On both sides of the Waitaki there are narrow flats, on which stand the townships of Kurow and Hakataramea, the former on the Otago side, the latter on the Canterbury. Hakataramea possesses a public school, hall, hotel, a smithy, and a store, which has a post office and telephone bureau connecting with Oamaru. There are also a number of private residences occupied by sheepfarmers, whose runs are in the neighbouring mountains. The flag station is the terminus of the Oamaru-Duntroon-Hakataramea branch of the New Zealand railways. It stands 615 feet above sea level, is forty-three miles from Oamaru, and a mile from Kurow, and is served by a daily train. About one mile up the Hakataramea page 1100 river from the township there is a Government experimental salmon hatchery. The Hakataramea district is noted as a happy hunting ground for sportsmen; trout swarm in the river, and Paradise ducks and hares are said to abound in thousands.

Hakataramea Post Office was founded in the early eighties, and has always been conducted at the local store. It is in telephonic communication with Oamaru, and mails are received and despatched daily.

Mr. William Barclay, Postmaster at Hakataramea, was born in 1867, in Oamaru, where he was educated. He learned the trade of a stonemason from his father, and followed his calling for three years in his native district, and for two years in Melbourne. In 1887 he settled at Hakataramea, where, in conjunction with a brother, he founded the firm of J. and W. Barclay, general storekeepers. The style of the firm has since been altered, by the admission of another brother, to Barclay Bros., and the head office of the firm was removed to Kurow in 1896. Mr. Barclay has served as a member of the local school committee. He was married, in 1895, to a daughter of the late Mr. William Ross, of Hakataramea.

The Hakataramea Salmon Experimental Station was founded in November, 1900. The site of this station is on the east bank of the Hakataramea river, about a mile from the township. There are twenty-six acres of land enclosed by fencing, and the buildings and hatchery are surrounded by a high boarded fence. There is a convenient residence and office for the manager and his staff, together with a hatching house, meat house, workshop, chaff house, stable, and sundry sheds. Fifteen ponds have been constructed, nine of which are in concrete. The establishment is maintained by the Government for the purpose of introducing the Atlantic and Pacific coast salmon into New Zealand. Regular shipments are received from America and young fish in various stages of development are to be seen in every pool. The stock in 1903 consisted of 30,000 yearlings, 10,000 eighteen-month smolts, and 10,000 two-year olds. In October, 1902, 10,000 two-year olds, and 9,000 yearlings, were liberated in the Hakataramea river.

Mr. Charles Lake Ayson, Manager of the Hakataramea Experimental Station, was born at Warepa, near Balclutha, in 1882. He was educated at Masterton, and gained his experience in fish culture under his father, Mr. L. F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries in New Zealand. For a short time Mr. Ayson had charge of the Masterton fish hatcheries, and was appointed to his present position in January, 1902. He is a member of the Waitaki Mounted Rifles.

The Hakataramea Public School dates from about 1889. It is pleasantly situated on a hill overlooking the valley of the Waitaki, with the township in the immediate foreground. The building is of wood and iron, and has one class room and a porch, with accommodation for forty pupils. The number on the roll is thirty-five, and the average attendance for 1902 was thirty. There is a good playground, with shelter sheds, and a five-roomed residence for the teacher in charge.

Mr. William Renton, Headmaster of Hakataramea Public School, is of Scotch extraction, and was born in 1858. He arrived in the colony with his parents in the beginning of 1863, and was brought up in the Clutha district, where he served four years as pupil-teacher in Balclutha public school, and then as assistant teacher for one year. He was then appointed to the charge of Te Houka school, near Balclutha, and, after nearly six years of service in it, he attended the Normal Training College, Dunedin, for one year. On leaving the Training College, he became an officer on the relieving staff under the Otago Education Board, and after two years of that work, was appointed to the charge of Awamoko public school. In 1894 Mr. Renton entered the service of the South Canterbury Education Board, as master of the Pleasant Valley school, near Geraldine, where he remained three years. He was then transferred to Hakataramea Valley, and continued in charge there till June, 1901, when he entered on the duties of his present position.

Mahan, photo.Mr. W. Renton.

Mahan, photo.
Mr. W. Renton.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Hakataramea, is a small building of wood with an iron roof, and stands on part of a section of one acre of land. The building, which cost £200, has accommodation for sixty worshippers. The Roman Catholic church also owns a section of three acres in another part of the district. Monthly services are held by the clergy resident in Waimate.

Terminus Hotel, (Alfred William Simmons, proprietor), Hakataramea. This hotel was established in 1884. It is a two-storey wood and iron building with a balcony, and has sixteen rooms available for the public. There are eleven bedrooms, three sitting rooms, a large dining room with seats for thirty guests, and a billiard room, which contains a three-quarter table by Alcock. At the back of the building there are stables, with four stalls and two loose boxes. There is also a leasehold paddock of forty-eight acres attached to the hotel. The district has many attractions for sportsmen and tourists.

Mr. Alfred William Simmons, Proprietor of the Terminus Hotel, was born in London, in 1870. He accompanied his parents to Port Chalmers in the ship “Margaret Galbraith,” which arrived in 1874; was educated at the Normal School, Dunedin, and brought up to the drapery trade, which he followed for eight years. He acquired the Terminus Hotel on the 17th of March, 1902. As a volunteer, Mr. Simmons served two years in the Dunedin Navals, and as a Freemason, he is attached to Lodge Oamaru Kilwinning, New Zealand Constitution. Mr. Simmons was married, in 1900, to a daughter of Mr. Alexander Allen, of Dunedin.

Barclay Brothers (John, William, and Hugh Barclay), General Storekeepers, Hakataramea; head office, Kurow. The premises occupied by the firm consist of a wood and from building, with a double-fronted shop, and stand on half an acre of freehold land. Stabling accommodation is provided on a section of two acres not far away from the store, and there is also a commodious residence for the resident partner. The firm dates from 1887, and is further referred to in the Otago volume of this work, under Kurow.