Riwaka is between two and three miles from the post office at Motueka. The district has a population of about 700 persons, and the land, which is subdivided into small holdings, is of excellent quality, and suitable for farming of all kinds. Riwaka is the head centre of hop-growing in New Zealand. There are about forty growers in the district, and the yield is over 250 bales each season. Being wellsheltered by the hills from prevailing winds, hop cultivation is carried on under the most favourable conditions. The soil is also specially adapted for growing small fruits of all kinds, including currants, raspberries, and strawberries, and a large area is under cultivation for that purpose. Sheep and cattle thrive on the land, too, and root and grain crops yield excellent returns. The climate is good, and the whole place has an air which indicates prosperity, comfort and contentment. There are two large public schools, one at Riwaka, and the other at Brooklyn, and there is also a local Lodge of Oddfellows. The famous lime-stone caves are situated near Riwaka, and attract many visitors to the district.

Lane, William, Photographer, Riwaka. Mr. Lane has built a commodious studio, and is prepared to do all classes of photographic work. He has been most successful with his stereoscopic views of the famous Riwaka limestone caves, and his pictures of coastal scenery are excellent in every detail.

Riwaka Butter Factory (L. P. Jensen, manager), Swamp Road, Riwaka. The factory is carried on in a one-storey building, 24 feet by 36 feet, erected on a five acre section. A six-horse power steam engine, built by Marshall, supplies the motive power to work a De Laval cream separator and box churn butter worker. During the summer months 600 gallons of milk are treated daily, and the butter produced is of a high grade. The bulk of the output, carefully packed in cases and boxes, is shipped to the Old Country. The greatest cleanliness is observed in the manipulation of the butter, and everything connected with the factory indicates that the manager has a thorough and practical knowledge of the business.

Mr. L. P. Jensen , Manager of the Riwaka Butter Factory, took charge on the 1st of June, 1898. He was born in Denmark in 1863, and arrived in New Zealand in 1882. After spending ten years in New Zealand, Mr. Jensen returned to his native place, where he attended the Agricultural High School for some time. Before taking up his present position, Mr. Jensen was for six months at the Eketahuna creamery. He acquired a knowledge of cheese-making while in Denmark.

Mr. Herbert T. Goodwin , Proprietor of the Travellers' Rest Hotel, Riwaka, was born in Nelson, in the year 1862, and is a son of the late Mr. William S. Goodwin. After serving an apprenticeship to the bootmaking trade, he removed to Takaka, and started in business for himself. Mr. Goodwin was afterwards engaged in dairy farming, and removed to Riwaka in August, 1904. For seven years he served as a member of the local school committee; was a provisional director and permanent director of the Golden Bay Dairy Factory Company, and a member of the Racing Club. He is an Oddfellow of many years' standing, and in early life was a jockey of some prominence in the Nelson district. Mr. Goodwin married a daughter of the late Mr. W. Page, of Takaka, in the year 1891, and has two daughters.

Lane photo.
Mr. H. T. Goodwin.

Fry, Edward, Farmer, Riwaka. Mr. Fry has 300 acres, of which he can crop fully 100 acres; he has two or three acres in various small fruits, and an acre in raspberries. The land is good and of a high loamy nature, and hops can be grown to perfection. Mr. Fry was born in the Motueka district in 1843, and has been in occupation of his present homestead since 1874. He married a daughter of the late Mr. C. P. Pattie, of Riwaka.

Mr. E. Fry.

Mickell, James, Farmer, Brooklyn, Riwaka. Of the 300 acres held by this gentleman, three are devoted to the cultivation of hops and about ten to grain and root crops. Sheep are depastured on the balance of the land, Mr. Mickell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1837, and came to Nelson in 1842, in the ship “Lloyds.” He acquired his present holding in 1867, and has always taken a keen and intelligent interest in the welfare of his district.

Pattie, William, Senior , Farmer, Riwaka. Mr. Pattie was born at St. Andrews, Scotland, in July, 1832. He was brought up as a draper, and followed that trade for eight years. In 1855, he came to New Zealand in the ship “Sir Alan McNab,” and eventually settled in the Riwaka district, where he has a very compact and highly cultivated farm.

Mr. W. Pattie.

Pattie, Robert, Junior , Farmer, Riwaka. Mr. Pattie was born in 1856, at Riwaka, and is a son of Mr. Robert Pattie, of Riwaka. He engaged in farming in 1882 at Riwaka and at Ngatimoti, where he owned 400 acres of land. Three years later, he sold out to Mr. Thomas Heath, and went to Otakeho, near Hawera, where he stayed fifteen months, during which he suffered from ill-health owing to the unsuitable climate, page 225 which eventually compelled him to return to Nelson. He then bought his present homestead, and entered into partnership with Mr. George Macmahon. Mr. Pattie is an Oddfellow, and takes great interest in cricket and other out-door sports. He married a daughter of Mr. M. M. Webster, of Nelson.

Rowling, Edward, Farmer and Hopgrower, Riwaka. Mr. Rowling was born in Nelson in the year 1842, and is the son of the late Mr. Thomas Rowling, who arrived in Nelson with Captain Wakefield. He was educated in Riwaka, assisted his father in farming, and subsequently started on his own account. Mr. Rowling is the largest hopgrower in New Zealand, as he has twenty-six acres under cultivation, and, in 1904, his crop yielded 130 bales. The farm is a freehold and leasehold property of 170 acres, and is managed and worked by the sons of the proprietor. Mr. Rowling has been a member of the Order of Oddfellows for forty-two years. He married a daughter of the late Mr. William Lodder, in the year 1867, and has a grown-up family of six sons and three daughters.

Tyree, photo.
Mr. E. Rowling.

Mr. William Askew , sometime of Riwaka, came to New Zealand in the year 1843, with his parents, who were amongst the earliest pioneers of the province of Nelson. He decided to settle in the Riwaka district, where he took up a farm, which he worked up to the time of his death. Mr. Askew belonged to the Order of Oddfellows for many years, and had long been a member of the road board and school committee, and an elder of the Presbyterian church. He was married, and had three sons and four daughters. Mr. Askew died on the 9th of June, 1901.

The Late Mr. W. Askew.

Mr. Daniel Bate , sometime of Riwaka, was a native of Devonshire, England, and came to New Zealand in 1862. He was successful as a miner at the Dunstan, in Otago, and was subsequently at Wakamarina, where he met with more or less success. Mr. Bate settled down at Riwaka, in 1874, and became fairly successful as a farmer. In 1899, he was elected a member of the Waimea County Council; became a member of the Nelson Land Board in 1892, and was chairman of the Riwaka Road Board, and a member of the school committee for some years. Mr. Bate was one of the principal hop growers at Riwaka, and had about five acres of hops annually under cultivation. He also had a sheep farm, of about 600 acres, within a few miles of Riwaka. Mr. Bate, who was a Justice of the Peace, died on the 26th of July, 1902.

The Late Mr. D. Bate.

Mr. Henry Fry , sometime of Riwaka, came to Nelson in 1841, by the ship “Will Watch,” which brought out the New Zealand Company's expedition party. He was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1817, and was brought up to farming. As he saw no prospect of bettering his position in the Old Country, he decided to try his fortune in New Zealand. After a short stay in Nelson, Mr. Fry settled down at Riwaka, on the 2nd of May, 1842, and was the second white man to take up land in the district. Originally, he secured sixteen acres, but he added to his area from time to time until he owned 153 acres. During Mr. Fry's long residence in the district, many of the settlers experienced hard times, although he personally had not suffered in the same way. Mr. Fry served on the local school committee and road board, and had been an Oddfellow for nearly sixty years. He survived his wife, and had a grown-up family of six sons and three daughters, seven of whom were settled around him. Mr. Fry died on the 5th of April, 1903.

Mr. William Jenkins , sometime of Riwaka, was born in Cornwall, England, in the year 1832. At the age of twenty-one he decided to try his fortune in the colonies, and landed in Sydney, Australia. After staying there for some months, he came to New Zealand, and arrived in Nelson in the year 1856. Riwaka was chosen by Mr. Jenkins as a place where he might carve out a home for himself, and his farm became second to none in New Zealand. He was one of the first pioneers who undertook the drainage, which has been of lasting benefit to the district. Mr. Jenkins had a large farm of about 600 acres. He was for some time a member of the road board, and of the school committee, and also one of the trustees of the Riwaka cemetery. Mr. Jenkins had been a member of the Riwaka Loyal Good Intention Lodge of Oddfellows from its inception. He died in August, 1900.

The Late Mr. W. Jenkins.

Mr. Bernard Macmahon was born in Ireland about 1810, and came to Nelson in 1841. Soon after landing he settled in Riwaka, where he lived till his death in 1889. Mr. Macmahon always took an active interest in all local matters of a public nature, and watched with special attention the proceedings of the Provincial Council of Nelson, and also those of the County Councils which superseded it.

The Late Mr. B. Mcmahon.

Mrs Charles P. Pattie , of Riwaka, came to New Zealand with her husband, Mr. Charles Patterson Pattie, from Scotland, in the ship “Slains Castle,” in the year 1854, when they landed at Nelson, and proceeded thence to Riwaka. Mr. Pattie took up a farm of sixty acres, and by dint of energy and perseverance, and without the aid of capital, he made a living for his family. Mr. Pattie was esteemed by all who knew him. He was secretary to the road board for many years, and was a member of the school committee, and he always took an active interest in anything likely to be of advantage to his district. He died on the 5th of July, 1890, and left a widow and a family of two sons and one daughter.

Mrs C. P. Pattie.

The Late Mr. C. P. Pattie.