A veritable romance of colonisation gathers round the name of Riccarton, primarily, that of a private property, secondarily, that of a district, near Christchurch.

In the year 1840, William Deans, of Kirkstyle, Riccarton, Ayrshire, Scotland, arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, by the ship “Aurora,” one of the first four ships which landed there under the auspices of the New Zealand Company, from which, before leaving London, Mr Deans had bought orders entitling him to certain areas of land in the colony. Owing to the uncertain temper of the natives in the North Island, the conflicting claims of various tribes, and the heavily timbered state of the country, Mr Deans, like many other early colonists, could not get the land he had bargained for in the Wellington district. With a view, therefore, to better fortune in the southern parts of the colony, he and others sailed with Captain Daniells along the east coast of the Middle Island as far as the Bluff. From what he was and heard during that trip, Mr Deans decided to make his home on what were then known as the Port Cooper Plains, provided his brother John, then on his way from Scotland to New Zealand, joined him in the venture. That was between 1840 and 1842. On the 25th of October, 1842, Mr John Deans arrived at Nelson by the ship “Thomas Harrison.” He, too, had bought a land order in London, and was disappointed with the section awaiting him at Nelson. Accordingly he resolved to join his brother, in the hope that both would be able later on to apply their orders to land which suited them. It was under these circumstances that the brothers decided to form a settlement on the plains of Canterbury, which has been twice seen by Mr William Deans. On the 11th of February, 1843, the schooner “Richmond,” owned by Messrs Sinclair and Hay, left Wellington with William Deans and his party, live stock, and provisions on board. The party included John Gebbie, with his wife and three children, and Samuel Manson, his wife and three children; the stock was poultry, and the provisions included timber to erect a house. Port Levy was reached in about ten days, and there the women and children, with John Gebbie as their protector, were left for a few weeks near a settlement formed by whalers and Maoris. Mr Robinson, the Magistrate at Akaroa, had been instructed by the Government at Wellington to give that assistance he could to Mr Deans, whose plans were known to and officially promoted by that officer. Mr Deans, with Manson and a few other persons, then sailed up the river Avon in a whaleboat as far as a point which they named The Bricks, because they there landed some bricks intended for chimney-building; thence in a canoe to the pool at the bend where Woods's mill was afterwards built; and from that point they travelled through tall fern along the banks of the river to Potoringamotu (the place of an echo), or Putaringamotu (the severed ear), afterwards named Riccarton, in memory of Mr. Deans' native parish in Ayrshire, Scotland. There the party pitched their tents, and began to build the first house ever erected on the Canterbury Plains. The house was built of wood, and put together with wooden pegs instead of nails, which had been accidentally left behind at Wellington. It had three apartments—one for the Gebbie family, one for the Mansons, and a sitting-room, which served also as a sleeping-room for the Messrs Deans. When it was finished, in the month of May, Manson went to Port Levy for John Gebbie and the women and children, who were brought by the route followed in the first instance.

Shortly after William Deans left Wellington with his party in the “Richmond,” John Deans sailed for New South Wales by the first opportunity, to buy sheep, horses, and cattle, seed wheat, seed oats, barley, lucerne seed, and potatoes. On the 17th of June he arrived from Sydney at Port Cooper by the “Princess Royal,” after a passage of twenty-one days, and brought with him—besides the seeds enumerated—sixty-one head of cattle, three mares, and forty-three sheep. After much trouble all these valuable animals and the goods were landed at Riccarton, where they were used with rare intelligence in the work of forming and building up one of the most noteworthy settlements in the annals of colonisation.

It should be mentioned that in the autumn of 1842 the Canterbury Plains had been, for the second time abandoned by Sydney firms or their agents as a place unfit for colonisation. One of these firms was that of Messrs Cooper and Levy—after whom, respectively, Port Cooper and Port Levy were named—and the other that of Abererombie and Co. In 1840 or 1841 Mr James Heriot, the agent of the last-named firm, with two teams of bullocks, two men servants and the wife of one of these camped at Potoringamotu, and ploughed and cropped about thirty acres of land; but for various reasons more or less incidental to a new settlement, the party remained there only about eight months, and left nothing but a stack of straw and the ploughed land to commemorate their residence. When, however, the Messers Deans settled on the same site in 1843 they remained there, with results known to history and memorable in the romance of colonisation. The name which they gave to their property was afterwards extended to the district, which now (1903) has a population of 6000 persons, 1000 dwellinghouses, 1100 ratepayers, and 1300 ratable properties, with a capital value of £847,784, valued for rating purposes at £825,510.

Mr. George Witty, Member of the House of Representatives for Riccanton, was elected on the 25th of November, 1902, when he defeated his opponent, Mr. G. W. Russell, the previous member, by about 300 votes. Mr. Witty is chairman of the Templeton Road Board and since 1899 has been a member of the Selwyn County Council. He has also served on the North Canterbury Charitable Aid Board, the Riccarton Licensing Committee, the Templeton school committee, and the Templeton Domain Board. Mr. Witty has never taken the initiative in standing for these bodies, but has always been requested to do so, and he has never lost an election. Mr. Witty was born in 1856, at North Ferriby, Yorkshire, England. He preferred work to school life, and at eight years of age he went to scare birds on a farm at two shillings a week. At twelve of age he entered on regular service, receiving £2 10s 6d for the first year. Possessing confidence in himself, and having faith in the resources of New Zealand, he arrived in this colony in 1875, with only two shillings in his pocket. He worked on farms at Riccarton and Papanui, and also in South Canterbury, and in 1879 revisited England. Shortly afterwards he returned to New Zealand, and was shearing for several years. Eventually he took up a farm at Tempeleton, where industry and perseverance have enabled him to add considerably to his property. In working for an employer, or on public bodies, Mr. Witty has always maintained an earnest and straightforward character. In politics, before he entered the arena himself, he was a staunch supporter of Mr. Alfred Saunders and the late Hon. William Rolleston. As a Freemason, Mr. Witty is attached to Lodge Conyers, No. 1916, E.C. He married Miss Drayton, and has a family of five sons and four daughters.

Standish and Prece, photo
Mr. G. Witty.

Riccarton Public School, Upper Riccarton. The Riccarton school, which may claim to be one of the oldest in Canterbury, was opened in the early days of settlement, in connection with the Anglican Church. Mr. Wilson, the first master, conducted the school for many years. The present building was erected in 1873, under the auspices of the English Church, and, apart from the cross on the bell tower and the Scriptural texts on the inside of the walls, it presents an ecclesiastical appearance. Since the school has been under the control of the North Canterbury Board of Education, additions have been made to the building, which now comprises three large, lofty, and well lighted rooms. Mr. Wilson has been succeeded in the headmastership successively by Mr. Williamson, Mr. William Ward, and the present master. The staff of the school now consists of Mr Henry English, headmaster; Mrs. Wilkinson, infant mistress; Miss Sheared, assistant mistress, and two pupil-teachers. The number of scholars on the roll is about 200, with an average attendance of 170. The school grounds comprise nearly four acres. This area includes the gardens and residence of the headmaster; the balance is laid down in grass, and is used as a large playground. In 1898 the school bath was constructed at a cost of over £150, and is now entirely free from debt. It is concreted throughout, provided with dressing room, and measures 25 yards by 25 feet, with a depth ranging from 2 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches. During certain hours it is open to the public at a nominal charge.

Mr. Henry English, Headmaster of the Riccarton school, was born in Essex, England, in 1860. He was educated at the Tillingham village school, where he served as a pupil teacher, and was afterwards an assistant master for over five years at the Kirkdale school, under the London School Board. Mr. English arrived at Port Chalmers by the ship “Westland,” in 1886, came on the Canterbury, and was appointed master of the Pendarves school, near Ashburton, where he remained for two years and a half. He then joined the staff of the Normal School, in Christchurch, and was for two years master of the practising department of the Model School. Mr. English, who holds an E1 certificate was appointed to his present position in 1890. He was married in the Old Country, at Bradwell-on-Sea, to a daughter of the late Mr. John Parker, and has a family of two sons and three daughters.

Riccarton School Residence.

The Harewood Road School, which is situated near the junction of Harewood and Boundary Roads, is a substantial wooden building, lofty, and well ventilated, and surrounded by a large playground. There are 140 names on the roll, and the average attendance is 120. The staff consists of the headmaser and two assistant teachers.

Mr. Richard James Twose, Headmaster of the Harwood Road school, is a page 650 native of Devonshire, England. He arrived in New Zealand by the ship “Eastern Monarch,” and served a pupil-teachership at the East Oxford school, and afterwards studied at the Normal School. Mr. Twose was stationed at the West Eyreton school, and in 1899 received his present appointment.

Racecorse Hotel (Murray Hobbs, proprietor), Upper Riccarton. This hotel, which faces the Riccarton racecourse, is a handsome two-storied brick building, faced entirely over with cement. It contains twenty rooms, exclusive of those used by the family, and is elaborately furnsihed throughout. The main hall entrance leads to the dining room, sitting rooms, private bar, and billiard room, where a full-size exhibition billiard table is fitted up. There is a separate front entrance to the public bar. A view of the racecourse is obtainable from the upstairs balcony. The hotel is connected by telephone with Christchurch, and is fitted up with every modern convenience. Its ornamental gardens, with tennis and croquet lawns, are adorned with flowers, shrubs, and playing fountains. The land comprises ten acres, part of which is divided into paddocks for the use of the dairy cows of the establishment. Away to the rear of the buildings, there are large double-walled brick stables, which are scrupulously clean throughout, and heavily floored with concrete. The hotel was built, and the grounds laid out, in 1883, by the late Mr. William Seabright, at a cost of £11,000. It was taken over by the present proprietor in 1896.

Mr. Murray Hobbs, Proprietor of the Racecourse Hotel, is a well-known sportsman and horse owner. He was born at Bristol, England, in 1862, and came out with his parents in the ship “Ivanhoe.” His father died on the voyage out, and the family settled in Christchurch, where, after receiving his education, Mr. Hobbs studied as an architect and surveyor. His fondness for horses developed at an early age, and during the past twenty years he has owned a large number of racing thoroughbreds, such as “Nilo,” “Swindler,” “Jack,” “Moody,” and others, but, above all, “Prime Warden,” and “Lady Zetland.” Both the latter won the Canterbury Cup and Autumn Handicap, and “Lady Zetland” also won the New Zealand Cup and Easter Handicap. At the present time Mr. Hobbs's best horse is “Dundas”’ who won the Dunedin Cup and Midsummer Handicap in 1902. “Cerisian Blue” is the only horse Mr. Hobbs has bred. Of late years he has taken less interest in horse racing, and has devoted more time to the business of the hotel. Mr. Hobbs is a director of the Midland Saleyards Company, and also of the Victoria Brewery Company. He is married to a daughter of the late Mr. Matthew Singleton, of Christchurch.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. M. Hobbs.

Sleeman, William John, Farmer Riccarton. Mr. Sleeman's farm is in the northern part of Riccarton, near Belfast. It fronts Tisch's Road, extends back towards Styx, and is fifty acres in extent. The whole area has been cropped, and has returned an average yield of forty bushels of wheat, and from fifty to seventy bushels of oats. For grazing purposes, Mr. Sleeman leases an additional twenty-two acres of adjoining river reserve, on the banks of the Waimakariri. Mr. Sleeman, who is a son of Mr. John Sleeman, an old colonist of Darfield, was born in Christchurch, in 1875, and brought up to farming on his father's farm at Darfield. He subsequently gained additional experience in other places, and took up his present property in 1902.

Mr. John Edward Hanson has been settled in the Riccarton district since 1865. He was born at Leeds, Yorkshire. England, in 1840, and came to New Zealand by the ship “Brother's Pride,” which arrived at Lyttelton in December, 1863. On the voyage Mr. Hanson had been employed as a butcher, and soon after his arrival he leased ten acres of land at Riccarton from Mr. C. C. Bowen, and started a store and butchery, the foundation of his present business. Success attended his efforts, the premises were afterwards enlarged, a bakery was added, and Mr. Hanson developed a large was added, and Mr. Hanson developed a large export business in shipping bacon to Sydney. He also owned page 651 the Upper Riccarton flour mill. Mr. Hanson has been a member of the Riccarton Road Board for several years; and he was chairman, and for over twenty consecutive years a member of the Riccarton school committee. He was one of the first members of the choir of the Riccarton church in the days when they sang from the New Zealand Hymnal, and he also became synodsman, vestryman, and parishioners' and clergyman's churchwarden. Mr. Hanson was present at the consecration of Halswell church, with Bishop Harper and Mr C. C. Bowen. He was married in New Zealand to Miss Mary Hare, who came out in the ship “Canterbury.” Mrs Hanson died in 1902, leaving a family of three sons and two daughters. Two of the sons served with the New Zealand forces in South Africa; one as a sergeant in the Fifth Contingent, and the other as a farrier-sergeant in the Ninth Contingent.

Mr. James Jackson was born in Cheshire, England, in 1834. He arrived at Lyttelton by the ship “Bangalore,” in 1851, and soon afterwards took up his present property, Four Ash Farm, Harewood Road, Riccarton. Later on he went to Wellington, and, on returning from that town, he left for the Collingwood goldfields, where he spent seven months. He had not long returned to Canterbury, when he heard that goldfields had started at Buller, and he, with twenty others, chartered a boat to take them to that place, with six months' provision. While there they met Mr. James Mackay, Government surveyor, who was buying land from the Maoris for the Nelson Government, and as the party had no luck at the digginges, Mr. Mackay advised them to return with him, as he said, that, after their provisions were finished, they would not be able to obtain more. The party, therefore, returned with Mr. Mackay, but five of the number took the sea coast, with their swags and provisions. It took the others fifteen days to reach Collingwood, while the five who went by the coast were twenty-five days on the road, and were almost exhausted when the search party, who had been sent to look for them, discovered them. Mr. Jackson also went to the Otago goldfields, but returned to Canterbury. In 1866 he opened the Seven Oaks butchery, at Papanui, which he carried on most profitably until 1895, when he retired to his farm. Mr. Jackson has been a member of both the Avon and Riccarton Road Boards, and he served twelve years on the Riccarton Licensing Committee. He was married in New Zealand, and has a surviving family of five sons and four daughters, and a great number of grandchildren.

A Pioneer's Carriage (Mr. J. Stanley, Riccarton), taken in Cathedral, Square Nearly Forty Years ago.

Mr. Henry Nunweek, Harewood Road, Riccarton, was for thirty-two years a member of the Riccarton Road Board, and for twenty-six of these he never missed a meeting. He also served on the Riccarton Licensing Committee for ten years, and was a member of the Harewood Road school committee for eighteen years. Mr. Nunweek, who was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1830, arrived at Lyttelton by the ship “Joseph Fletcher, in 1856. He worked at road-making for the Government, and, in 1861, went to the Otago goldfields, where he and his party took up a claim, which, for the first day's work, yielded the five partners about £40 per man. The leader, an old Australian digger, attempted to frighten Mr. Nunweek and his mate away, so that the rich claim might be shared by the others. Thereupon Mr. Nunweek offered to settle the matter by physical force, and then the others wisely decided to let “Ginger” alone, lest he should “hammer the lot of them.” Thereafter the claim was amicably worked until it “petered out.” On returning to Canterbury Mr. Nunweek invested his capital in his present fruit farm, twenty acres of which he bought from the Government; afterwards he increased the area to 105 acres. This farm has prospered wonderfully. With the assistance of his three sons and a number of labourers, Mr. Nunweek harvests some large crops, for which he finds a ready market, although there was a time when he had to wheel his peaches by the ton to the pig-troughs, because there was no demand for them. In 1902 Mr. Nunweek visited the Old Country; and, while there, he journeyed into Kent to see what improvements on the colony's fruit-growing methods were there in vogue. After much consideration he came to the conclusion that the New Zealander has not much to learn from the English fruit-grower, and he states that he can grow more fruit on one acre of his land, than they were growing on three acres in Kent. Mr. Nunweek was married at Macclesfield, Cheshrie, before leaving England the first time, and has a family of three sons and two daughters.

Mr. John Stanley was born in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, in 1827, and arrived in New Zealand in 1850, by the ship “Radolph.” For five years he obtained employment in Lyttelton, and then took up a small holding on the Harewood Road, where he established himself in a cob-whare, and carried on dairy farming and nursery gardening. He soon laid the foundation of a fine orchard of about thirty-three acres, and Mr. Stanley did much for the establishment of a church at Harewood Road, as a branch of the Papanui church, and he was connected with the management throughout. He also interested himself in the building of the Harewood Road public school, which was erected on his property, and he served on the committee. As long as his health permitted he was a member of the Riccarton Road Board. Mr. Stanley died in June, 1891, leaving a widow, and a family of five sons and five daughters. Mrs Stanley died in December, 1901.