Caversham is a rapidly growing suburb of Dunedin, and was constituted a borough in 1877. It is situated about two miles from the city, mostly on the flat, and has a population of over 5,000, chiefly engaged in business in Dunedin. The town is supplied with water from the Silverstream, and with gas by a private company. About £15,000 has been spent by the Council in drainage, which will be largely supplemented by the Dunedin Drainage Board, constituted to effectually provide for the proper sanitation of Dunedin and suburbs. The principal business streets of Caversham are the Main South Road, and a part of Hillside Road, while St. Clair and Kew are conspicuous for their beautiful residences, the suburban homes of wealthy Dunedin business men. St. Clair beach is one of the best and most popular seaside resorts around Dunedin, and during the school holidays and on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, hundreds of children and grown-up people may be seen enjoying themselves on the sands, or in the swimming baths in the lee of the rocks at the western end of the beach. Caversham is well supplied with means of access by train and coach and will shortly (April, 1904) have two lines of electric trams, which will, no doubt, be the means of making the beach even more popular as a place of enjoyment. The town is well supplied with schools, there being four in the borough; namely, Kensington, Caversham, St. Clair, and Macandrew Road schools. Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Primitive Methodists, and Seventh Day Adventists have places of worship in the town, which has also a town hall and two fire brigade stations. The Caversham Industrial School, a Maternity Home, a Salvation Army Rescue Home, and a Benevolent Institution connected with the Dunedin Charitable Aid Board, are situated in the borough. The Government Railway Workshops, at Hillside, provide employment for a large number of men. The district has also a match factory, two breweries, quarries, and two steam brick works. The Caversham Brass Band, recently formed, is becoming very popular with the residents, and in order to encourage the military spirit, there are two rifle corps, one of which is a cadet corps.

Morris, photo.
The Cliffs, Caversham, Dunedin.

Caversham is bounded on the north by the borough of Mornington; on the south by the Pacific Ocean and the boroughs of St. Kilda and South Dunedin; on the east by the Dunedin Harbour; and on the west by the county of Taieri.

The Borough Of Caversham has an area of 1,079 acres; a population of 5,500; 1,110 dwellings; 830 ratepayers; and 1,083 rateable properties. Its annual rateable value is £35,671. There is a general rate of 1s 3d in the £, and a charitable aid rate of 3d in the £; a Drainage Board rate of 2d in the £;, struck on the 1st of April, 1902; and a sanitary rate of 4d in the £. The borough's assets on the 31st of March, 1903, amounted to £6,919 19s 9d, and its liabilities, including loan, to £30,126 6s 2d. The Borough Council at present (May, 1904) consists of the Mayor, Mr. John Wilson, and Councillors R. W. Rutherford, George F. Burgess, Robert Wilson, Robert Ewing, Walter S. Bedford, William H. Middleton, Thomas Cole, Thomas F. McPherson, Surrey B. Carpenter, William Bridgman James Ruston, and Edward Puddy. Mr. Martin Pearce is Town Clerk. Mr. Robert Rutherford was the first Mayor of the borough, and the following gentlemen have also occupied the mayoral chair: Messrs William Bridgman, Hugh Calder, R. Wilson, William Bragg, J. F. McLaren, T. Cole, J. H. Hancock, Thomas K. Sidey, James Ruston, H. K. Wilkinson, and John Wilson.

Mr. John Wilson , who was elected Mayor of Caversham in 1902, and was reelected in 1903 and 1904, was born in Dunedin in 1867. He is Provincial Grand Master of the Otago district of the Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows. Mr. Wilson carries on business in partnership with Mr. Thomas Scott, as Scott and Wilson, manufacturers of venetian blinds, etc., St. Andrew Street, Dunedin.

Councillor Robert W. Rutherford , J.P., has been a member of the Caversham Borough Council since 1898. He has been chairman of the Finance Committee for many years, and has always taken a great interest in the welfare of the borough. Mr. Rutherford is elsewhere referred to as manager of the New Zealand Wax Vesta Company, Limited.

Councillor George Francis Burgess , J.P., was elected to represent North Ward on the Caversham Borough Council in 1897. He has served on all the committees, and is at present (1904) a member of the Water and Sanitary Committee. He recently manufactured a filtration bed, which has been placed by the council at St. Clair, and has proved a great success in purifying the water used by the borough. Mr. Burgess was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1848, and came out to Melbourne in 1866 by the White Star line ship “Whittington, then on her first page 409 voyage. On his arrival he started work as a builder, and two years later removed to Sydney. He then returned to Ireland, and came out to New Zealand in 1874. After some time spent in Dunedin he was engaged by Mr. David Proudfoot to proceed to Sydney and superintend the building of the railway from Hella to Glen Innes, in New South Wales; and on his return to Dunedin he was appointed foreman at the Orepuki shale works, Southland. Since then Mr. Burgess has helped to construct the electric power house, Dunedin; Seacliff Asylum, the North East Valley Roman Catholic church; Collins' Hotel at Palmerston, and various other large buildings in and around Dunedin. He was for two years Master Workman of the Otago Knights of Labour, and has always taken a great interest in the Liberal politics of Caversham. Mr. Burgess was married in November, 1868, in Kerry, Ireland; and his family of four sons and one daughter are all married, with the exception of one son.

Councillor Robert Wilson , of the Caversham Borough Council, was Mayor of the borough for the years 1895 and 1896. Mr. Wilson was on the old Caversham Road Board, and is now a member of the Charitable Aid Board, and the local school committee, and has been a trustee of the Benevolent Institution for many years. He is also a Justice of the Peace.

Councillor Robert Ewing , J.P., who was elected to the Caversham Borough Council in May, 1902, is a member of the Finance Committee.

Councillor Walter Scott Bedford , of the Caversham Borough Council is also a member of the St. Clair school committee. He formerly served on the Clifton school committee, at Invercargill, where he took an active interest in amateur theatricals. Mr. Bedford carries on business as a merchant tailor in Princes Street, Dunedin, and is more fully referred to in that connection. He was married in 1875, and has four daughters, and one son, who is senior member for Dunedin in the House of Representatives.

Councillor William Henry Middleton was born in Cornwall, England, in 1861, and arrived in New Zealand in 1882. He was elected to the Caversham Borough Council in 1903, and is a member of the Works Committee.

Councillor Thomas Cole , J.P., who has been a member of the Caversham Borough Council since 1884, is a member of the Finance Committee. Mr. Cole was Mayor of the borough for two years.

Councillor Thomas Fraser Mcpherson was elected to the Caversham Borough Council in 1901, and is a member of the Drainage, Water and Sanitary Committees. Mr. McPherson is a native of Dumfries, Scotland, and came to New Zealand in 1871 by the ship “Jessie Readman.”

Councillor Surrey Beauford Carpenter was elected a member of the Caversham Borough Council in 1903, and is at present (1904) on the Works Committee. Mr. Carpenter arrived in New Zealand in 1880.

Councillor William Bridgman , J.P., who represents Kensington Ward on the Caversham Borough Council, was a member of the original Caversham Road Board, and has been on the Council since its inception. For five years he occupied the mayoral chair, and has been chairman of the Finance, Works and Water Committees, and is at present (1904) serving on the Works Committee. He took a very active part in promoting an efficient drainage scheme, and in securing a plentiful and valuable water supply for the borough. It was largely owing to his efforts that Caversham obtained a good gas supply and a convenient tramway service. He is chairman of the Kensington school committee, of which he has been a member since 1874; and at various times he has been a member of the Domain Board, Benevolent Institution, Harbour Board and the old Gas Committee. Mr. Bridgman was born in Earnstaple, Devonshire, England, in 1830, and at an early age arrived in Melbourne, by the “Arabian,” which was the first ship that took tea into Bristol. He came to New Zealand in 1859 in the s.s. “Pirate,” which was afterwards wrecked on the coast of Tasmania. Shortly after his arrival in Dunedin Mr. Bridgman (as junior resident partner) established a branch leather business for Messrs Peardon and Crooks, which he successfully conducted for some time. In 1861 the partnership was dissolved; the senior partner retiring in favour of Mr. Bridgman, who finally gave the business to Mr. G. P. Farquhar. In 1863 he founded a tannery at Caversham, and later on established a business as a leather merchant in Dunedin. This he still carries on. Mr. Bridgman was married, in 1866, to a Tasmanian lady, and has a surviving family of three sons.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.
Councillor W. Bridgman.

Councillor James Ruston , who represents Kensington Ward on the Caversham Borough Council, was elected in 1892. Since 1899 he has held the office of chairman of the Water Committee, and was previously chairman of the Works Committee. He was also elected Mayor in 1896. Mr. Ruston is a native of Victoria, and came to Dunedin in 1862, by the ship “Blue Jacket.” He was educated at the Middle District school, and afterwards served his time as a machinist, in which trade he is still employed. Since 1892 he has been a member for several terms of the Kensington school committee, of which he was twice chairman, and is at present a member. Mr. Ruston is one of the charter members of the No. 1 Otago Lodge of Druids; he has passed through all the chairs, and is now a Past Arch Druid. He was married in 1882 to a daughter of Mr. J. A. Wilson, an old Maori war veteran, and has three sons.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.
Councillor J. Ruston.

Councillor Edward Puddy , who was elected to represent Kensington Ward on the Caversham Borough Council, in 1900, has since that time served on the Finance Committee. He has been a member of the Kensington school committee since 1891, and was for six years on the Licensing Bench of Caversham. Mr. Puddy was born in Somersetshire, England, in 1851, and came to the colony in 1864, by the ship “Aldinga.”

Mr. Martin Pearce , Clerk, Treasurer, Returning Officer, and Valuator to the Caversham Borough Council since 1879, was born in Woolwich, England, in 1844, and came to New Zealand in 1863 by the ship “Aloe.” Mr. Pearce served through the Maori war, page 410 and has since taken an interest in all volunteer matters.

Cowie and Co. (Alexander Cowle). Brewers, Maltsters and Bottlers, Coversham Brewery, Main Street, Caversham. Telephone 700; Bankers, National Bank of New Zealand, Ltd. The Caversham Brewery was established by Mr. E. Cochrane in 1878, and was purchased by the present proprietor in 1890. With the exception of the malthouse, the whole buildings were removed and the present new brick brewery erected and newest appliances introduced; the plant has a capacity of fourteen hogsheads. The machinery is driven by a five horse-power Otto gas-engine; the malting-floor consists of a twenty-five-bag steep; and the product of the brewery is known by the “Bull's Head” brand. The bottling department is situated at another part of the main road, in Caversham. A considerable trade is done with the southern part of Otago and throughout Southland.

Mr. Alexander Cowie , the proprietor, was born in Baffshire, Scotland, in 1854; he accompanied his parents to America and Canada, and afterwards, in the early sixties, to Dunedin, where he was educated. He was in the hotel business for upwards of ten years before purchasing the brewery; for eight years of this period he was at Makikihi, Canterbury, and afterwards for about eighteen months at a hotel at Outram. Mr. Cowie is well known as an enthusiastic member of the Dunedin gun club, of which he has been vice-president since its inception. He is also a member of the Dunedin jockey club, and of the Otago cycling club. His services are frequently called into requisition as a starter at cycling sports, foot, and other races. As a pigeon shot he has won dozens of matches and holds the championship of Southland. Mr. Cowie was married in 1876 to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Smith, of Dunedin, and has one son and six daughters.

Mr. A. Cowie.

New Zealand Wax Vesta Company, Limited , David Street, Caversham, Dunedin. This industry, which is the only one of its kind in the South Island, and was the first to start in New Zealand, was established in 1895, in the Government building originally erected for Immigration Barracks; but in 1901, on account of the large increase of business, the present premises were acquired. The buildings, which occupy the greater part of an acre of ground, are of brick, and the floors are composed mainly of asphalt; thus they are as nearly fire-proof as possible. The premises are airy, well lighted, and free from the odour of the ingredients used in the manufacture of wax vestas. Some of the machinery has been made in the colony and some has been imported from Britain, and is of the most modern make obtainable. To make vestas a number of extremely long lengths of cotton, each containing about twenty strands, are passed from a reel on which it is packed, through a trough containing melted stearine and other materials, to a drum. During this time the stearine sets, and the process is repeated a number of times till the requisite condition is acquired. The made taper is then passed to another machine, which cuts it to size and clamps the pieces in frames. They are then dipped in the material which forms the heading, and placed to dry in a drying room. The boxes, both tin and strawboard are made on the premises. About sixty-five hands are employed in the works, and make good wages. Much of the material has, necessarily, to be imported from Europe and Britain, but in every case possible the company gets what it can, such as brown paper, of which a great deal is used, in the colony. The registered office of the company is in Wellington.

Mr. Robert W. Rutherford , J.P., Manager of the New Zealand Wax Vesta Company, Limited, is a son of Mr. Robert Rutherford, J.P., the first mayor of Caversham, and was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1858. He came out to New Zealand with his parents, in 1864, and was educated at the Dunedin High School. Subsequently he engaged in business as a photographer, but retired from that occupation on account of ill-haalth, and entered into business with his father as wax vesta manufacturers, later on turning the business into a limited liability company. Mr. Rutherford has been a member of the Caversham Borough Council since 1898, and is furtner referred to in that connection. He married a daughter of Mr W. Baskett, an old colonist, and has three daughters and one son.