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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Adair

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Adair.

Adair is said to have been named by a lover of the old song of “Robin Adair.” It was the first village settlement in New Zealand, and was established in October, 1883, while the late Hon. William Rolleston was Minister of Lands. The settlement is 510 acres in extent, including roads. It was surveyed into sections of from five to twenty-five acres, and sold on deferred payments, extending over ten years. The land was taken up by working men, and, after some hard struggling, the settlement has become prosperous. Adair is about five miles and a half from Timaru, and is bounded on the north by Fairview, on the south by Otipua, on the west by Claremont, and on the east by Kingsdown. It has a public school and a post office. Religious services are held in the school building.

The Adair Post Office dates from 1890, and is conducted at the residence of Mr. William Shephard. Mails are received and despatched on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Mr. William Shephard, Postmaster at Adair, was born at Glossop, Derbyshire, England, and was brought up to the grocery trade. He arrived at Lyttelton in 1863, in the ship “Captain Cook,” and found employment at his trade for some time. After some experience at the Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast diggings, he settled at Timaru, where he began as a gardener and seed grower, and he has since supplied seeds and plants throughout the district. On the foundation of the Adair settlement, Mr. Shephard became one of the earliest selectors. He secured a fine section of over twenty-two acres, which he has since cultivated, and on a part of which his residence stands. He has taken a prominent interest in the welfare, of his district, and it was mainly due to his efforts that the local school was established, on the committee of which he served for five years, and acted also as its secretary. Mr. Shephard was married, in 1868, to a daughter of the late Mr. John Dillon, of Ireland, and has two daughters.

The Adair Public School was established in 1888. The building is of wood and iron, and contains a class room and two porches, with accommodation for eighty pupils. There are thirty names on the roll, and the average attendance is twenty-eight. The land attached to the school is five acres in extent, and contains a good playground.

Mr. Charles Glen Roskruge, Teacher in charge of the Adair School, was born in Cornwall, England, in 1859. He served his pupil-teachership in Christchurch, and had charge of several schools in Canterbury before taking up his duties at Adair in 1900.

Sadler, Henry George, Farmer, Adair. Mr. Sadler was born in 1854 in Suffolk, England, and came to Lyttelton by the ship “Clontari,” with his parents, in the year 1859. He was brought up on his father's farm at Templeton. Later on he removed to South Canterbury, and started farming on a small scale near Timaru. In 1882 he selected twenty-four acres on the Adair settlement, and has since increased his area to forty-five acres, which he works as a dairy and mixed farm. For several years Mr. Sadler has been a member of the local school committee. He is also connected with the Order of Oddfellows in Timaru, and is a director of the Timaru Dairy Factory. Mr. Sadler was married, on the 23rd of July, 1879, to a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Kelk, of Rockwellgreen, Wellington, Somersetshire, England, and has five adopted children—three sons and two daughters.