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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]

Tikokino

Tikokino

Tikokino, formerly known as Hampden, is an agricultural and pastoral district, fifty-two miles south-west from Napier, and thirteen miles from the nearest railway station (Waipawa), and was first settled in the year 1863. In the early days sittings of the court were held at Hampden, but were subsequently transferred to Waipawa. The railway line from Napier to Wellington was originally intended to run through the township, and many sttlers availed themselves of the opportunity of the proposed advancement of the district to purchase holdings at Hampden. The railway route was, however, subsequently changed. In the district are several large sheep stations, which run back as far as the foot of the Ruahine Mountains. The land around Tikokino is nearly all flat, rich in quality, and capable of producing large crops and good feed for sheep. Saw-milling is also carried on in the district. In the township there is a combined post and money order office, with a savings bank and telephone bureau, and mails are depatched and received daily by a coach service to Waipawa. The school has an average attendance of ninety-three scholars. There is a church, a lodge of Oddfellows, and several athletic clubs in the township.

The Tikokino Post Office is also a combined money order office, savings bank, telegraph office, and telephone bureau. Mails are received and despatched daily. Mr. E. O. Roach is the officer-in-charge.

Post Office Store (E. O. Roach, proprietor), Tikokino. This store was established by Mr. W. Austin many years ago, and acquired by the present proprietor in September, 1902. The shop i sixty feet by twenty five feet, and there are several large bulk stores in the rear. A large stock of drapery, clothing, hardware, groccries, drugs, boots and shoes, saddlery, stationery, and other general merchandise is kept on hand, and the requirements of the district are well catered for. Country produce is bought and sold on a large scale. Mr. Roach is agent for the New Zealand State Fire Insurance Office, Sun Fire Insurance Company, Horton's Nursery, Hastings Fruitgrowers' Association, Pahiatua Seed Company, and for the “Weekly Press,” Canterbury Times,” “Auckland Weekly News,” “New Zealand Mail,” “Hawke's Bay Herald,” and the “Waipawa Mail.”

Mr. Ernest Oswald Roach, proprietor of the Post Office Store; was born in Christchurch in the year 1871, and is a son of Mr. G. H. Roach of Hastings. He was educated in Wellington and Wanganui, and then joined his father's business in Hastings. Subsequently, in partnership with his brother, he opened a store at Porangahau, where he remained for six years, after which he returned to Hastings and managed the main business for twelve months, while his father was on a trip to England. Mr. Roach is a member of the Ruataniwha Road Board, and the Farmers' Union, is secretary and vice-president of the Tikokino Cricket Club, a member of the Tikokino Tennis Club, and a member of the Order of Oddfellows. He has a small farming property in Argyle. Mr. Roach married a daughter of Mr. W. Ellingham, of Takapau, in 1901, and has two daughters.

Mr. E. O. Roach.

Mr. E. O. Roach.

Manson and Company, Sawmillers and Timber Merchants, Tikokino: Mills at Tikokino and Attic; Yards at Waipawa and Hastings; Head Office, Tikokino. The Gwavas mill was established in November, 1904, and is one of the largest and most up-to-date saw-mills in Hawke's Bay. The timber treated is cut from the Gwavas property, and comprises totara, matai, and white pine. There are over four miles of tramway leading from the mill to the bush, over which a converted traction engine hauls the heavy logs. The mill contains twin circular saws with a forty-five feet bench, a twenty-seven horse power engine, with a thirty-five horse power boiler, a Gamman patent breast bench with cone feed, a fourside planing and moulding machine, and a large turning lathe. Thirty-eight persons are employed, and the average output is 10,000 feet of timber per day. The Attic, or Top Mill, is situated about seven miles from Tikokino, and was established in the year 1901. The machinery, which is driven by a ten horse-power Hornby engine and a 12 horse-power Marshall engine, comprises an Atlas planing and moulding machine, twin circular saws, and fire-wood saws. The latest improvements have been installed, including a ripping bench, feeding gear, and sawdust elevators. Rimu, matai, totara, and white and red pine are the timbers cut, and there is a tramway extending for nearly two miles into the bush. The average output is about 8,000 feet per day, but the mill is capable of working up to 10,000 feet. Sixteen bullocks and a number of horses are kept for haulage purposes. Dressed timber and mouldings are always in stock. This firm, having timber yards in Hastings and Waipawa, finds regular employment for about sixty-three persons.

Mr. Samuel Manson was born in Lyttelton, Canterbury, in the year 1848. His parents, who were among the first colonists of Nelson, subsequently settled on Banks' Peninsula. Mr. Manson, at an early age, evinced an aptitude for machinery, and was for many years engaged in engine driving page 510 on threshing machines in Canterbury. In 1869 he went to the West Coast, and commenced saw-milling at Kaiata. near Greymouth. Mr. Manson removed to the North Island in 1898, and operated mills at Manakau, Otaki, and Eketahuna. As a Freemason he is a member of Lodge St. Andrews (Greymouth), No. 528, S.C. and has been connected with other fraternal lodges. Mr. Manson married a daughter of Mr. R. Kettle, of Greymouth, in 1880, and has eight sons and two daughters.

Buchanan, John Jauncey, J.P., “Glencoss,” Tikokino, was born in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland, in the year 1834, and is one of the original Canterbury pilgrims, as is also his wife, Mr. Buchanan came to New Zealand in the year 1850, in the ship “Castle Eden,” and landed in Lyttelton. For a short period he farmed the section he had acquired before leaving England, and ws the original owner of the Triangle, Christchurch, which he let to the first Superintendent of Canterbury for the modest rental of £5 a year. Subsequently Mr. Buchanan went to Australia on the outbreak of the gold “rush,” but not meeting with much success he returned to farming in Canterbury. In 1865 he took horses and cattle overland from Christchurch to Hokitika, West Coast. In 1866 he again visited Australia, but in the following year returned to the colony, and after spending a few months in Napier, settled at Tikokino, where he has since resided. Mr. Buchanan, who took an active part in the Maori war, has interested himself largely in public affairs, and has done a great deal for the welfare and advancement of the district. He is chairman of the Domain Board and Cemetery Committee, and has been a member of the Waipawa Licensing Committee, the Ruataniwha Road Board, and the Anglican Synod, and was chairman of the local branch of the Farmers' Union. He married, in 1859, the only daughter of the late Mr. George Allen (a Canterbury pilgrim, who came out to New Zealand in the ship “Charlotte Jane”), and has, surviving, four sons and five daughters. Mr. Buchanan has a sheep farm at Blackburn, of 500 acres, freehold property, on which he depastures about 1,750 Romney Marsh-Lincoln cross-bred sheep, and over 100 head of cattle. His family also hold, on a lease in perpetuity, two of the Argyle sections. One of the sons has a property at Mangatera, and another son has a farm in the Lindsay setttlement.

Bunting, photo.Mr. and Mrs. I. I. Buchanan.

Bunting, photo.
Mr. and Mrs. I. I. Buchanan.

Gwavas Station, Tikokino, the property of Mr. A. S. G. Carlyon, is one of the most important sheep runs in Hawke's Bay, and is noted for its stock. It is a freehold property of 25,000 acres of hilly and undulating country. “Gwavas” carries a winter stock of 21,800 Romney Marsh crossbreds, 11,000 of which are breeding ewes, and the lambing averages about eighty per cent. Some of the first polled Angus cattle bred in Hawke's Bay were raised on this sation. The present herd numbers 800, including a stud herd of fifty-eight. Upwards of fifty horses are in constant use, and permanent employment is provided for twenty-five persons, this number being augmented to about sixty-five during the shearing season. The wool-shed, which has recently been enlarged, contains an hydraulic wool-press, and is fitted with twenty stands of Burgon and Wolseley sheep-shearing machines, the whole being driven by a six horse-power Marshall traction engine. Adjacent to the wool sheds are large circular sheep yards, capable of holding upwards of 3000 sheep. These yards are up to date in every respect, and are fitted with patent gates and other conveniences. There are about twenty buildings on the property, including several dwelling houses. A small portion of the land covered with native bush, is being carefully preserved, while upwards of 20,000 trees have been planted in order to provide shelter for stock. The main homestead is a magnificent two-storeyed wooden building, with a high tower or cupola in the centre, and is furnished with a degree of elegance and comfort rarely to be found in a residence outside a metropolis. The surrounding grounds, hot houses, and flower beds are stocked with choice blooms, rare plants, and shrubs, the whole being carefully attended to by experienced gardeners.

Mr. Arthur Spry Gwavas Carlyon, J.P., was born at the Lower Hutt, Wellington, on the 31st of page 511 March, 1860, and is the eldest surviving son of the late Major G. G. Carlyon, who is referred to elsewhere in this volume. He was educated at Christ's College, Canterbury, and, later, entered the Napier branch of the Bank of New Zealand, where he remained for nine months. Mr. Carlyon has travelled nearly all over the world, and his beautiful home contains many curios from distant lands. He is an enthusiastic motorist, and owns a thirty-horse power Darracq motor car, capable of seating seven people. To facilitate driving he has built three bridges over streams between his property and Tikokino. Mr. Carlyon is a member of the Hawke's Bay Hunt Club. He married a daughter of Captain K. Hill, of Fernhill, Hawke's Bay, and has one son and one daughter.

Spring Vale,” Tikokino, the property of Mr. Jonathan Holden, is a freehold estate of 7,000 acres, with 3,000 acres of leasehold native land. The property is hilly, and contains considerable native bush, which is being cleared. The winter stock comprises 11,000 Lincoln-Romney Marsh cross-bred sheep, of which 5,000 are breeding ewes, and the lambing averages eighty-five per cent. In the summer season upwards of 14,000 sheep and lambs are depastured, and there are also 350 head of short-horn cattle on the property. A fine two-storeyed modern dwelling house has been erected, from which a good view of the surrounding country is obtained. The wool-shed has twelve shearing stands, and provides accommodation for 500 sheep in the night pens.

Bunting, photo.Mr. J. Holden.

Bunting, photo.
Mr. J. Holden.

Mr.Jonathan Holden was born in Manchester, England, and is a son of an old colonist. He arrived in New Zealand in the year 1859, in the ship “Kinnaird,” was educated at Marshall's Grammar School, Napier, and then assisted his father on the Spring Vale station, where he has since resided. Mr. Holden is chairman of the North Ruataniwha Road Board, a director of the Onga Onga Butter Factory, and a member of the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Society, and the Farmers' Union.

Wharetoka.” Tikokino, the property of Mr. Thomas Nestor, is a freehold estate of 2,200 acres, of which about 1,800 acres are ploughable. The land is chiefly undulating, and free from native bush. In the winter months about 3,700 Romney Marsh-Lincoln cross-bred sheep are stocked, of which 1,600 are breeding ewes: and in the summer season over 4,000 sheep and lambs are depastured. Lambing averages between eighty-seven and ninety per cent. Only a small quantity of wool is sold in the Napier market, the bulk of it being shipped to the English market. About 194 head of polled Angus cattle are depastured on the property. “Wharetoka” is bounded on one side by the Manganuka river, which affords excellent facilities for the watering of stock. The homestead is pleasantly situated on a rise, and is sheltered by huge trees. There are also several commodious out-buildings. Mr. Thomas Nestor, formerly of Pahiatua, took up his present property on the 1st of November, 1905.