Avondale's Riflemen

In 1890, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Yelverton Goring (1846-1923), a grandson of the 3rd Viscount Avonmore, assumed command of the Permanent Artillery at Auckland. This post was a carry-over from the “Russian scare” period of our history, and Goring was in charge of both the forts established, and the volunteer units. At some point between 1890 and 1894, he instigated the establishment of the Avondale Volunteer Rifles – something which did not fit in with the best suggestions for New Zealand’s defence as described by the government’s inspector, Commandant Lieutenant-Colonel Fox.

Avondale’s rifles unit seems to have been barely formed as at July 1895 – the Observer asked where they were, and why they weren’t on parade. They were still rather scarce in September that year –

“Once again Auckland volunteers fare badly at the hands of Colonel Fox in his annual report on the defence of the colony. He passes some severe criticisms, and characterises the infantry as inefficient and unreliable. This, however, was only to be expected, and the few visits the colonel paid to Auckland must have shown him that volunteering was on the down grade. There are supposed to be three rifle companies in the City of Auckland, but of this number the Avondale Rifles have never yet been inside the Drill Shed. The remaining companies have run down so low that a joint parade is always necessary to make even a muster. For this state of affairs the colonel hasn't far to look for the reason, and whilst the artillery corps have received a little encouragement, those men in the infantry have simply been guyed out of the service. “

With the idea of military volunteerism languishing, Defence Minister (and future Premier) Richard Seddon’s ideas for re-organising the system were welcomed in October 1895. But Avondale seemed to be a non-starter.

“The volunteers of Auckland, and all others who have the interests of our citizen soldiery at heart, are anxious just now to hear that Defence Minister Seddon really intends to redeem his promise to come to Auckland and put the volunteer force, in this part of the colony, on a better footing. Some such action as this is an immediate necessity, if it is desired to prevent volunteering from becoming a mere memory of the past …

“As an antidote to the failing strength of the force in Auckland, the Colonel of the district went considerably out of his way recently to establish a rifle corps at Avondale, quite contrary to the principle already laid down by Colonel Fox that inland infantry corps were quite useless for the purposes of defence. But Colonel
Goring's enthusiasm broke out in the wrong place. Already, the Avondale Rifle Corps is almost as dead as the proverbial door nail.”

Perhaps this spurred the plucky Avondale riflemen on? By January 1896, they were on parade, and about to start a week’s camp. In March 1897 they were parading at the Drill Hall. From then on, however, they faded away, as Colonel Goring was obliged to retire that year and return briefly to England with failing eyesight. Archives New Zealand hold capitation records for the Avondale Volunteer Rifles at Wellington for 1896-1898.

(An update, 22 December 2008: The Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives in 1896, H19 p. 9, has the following information from Fox's report on the Avondale Rifles: 1 officer, 50 non-commisiomed officers and men, 38 qualified for capitation, 13 unqualified, 41 at inspection, "new company; promises fairly well.")

So far, I have one name of a member of the Avondale Volunteer Rifles – a Sergeant Turton who, the Observer said a year after his death in 1903, was the central figure of an inadvertent comedy at the old Drill Hall.

“He was illustrating to a squad of recruits, the method of "porting" arms with the Martini- Enfield rifle and for the purpose of better explaining himself, borrowed a gun from one of his men. He brought it to the "port," but noticing by the indicator (the Martini’s are provided with indicators), that the rifle was cocked, intuitively pressed the trigger. The result was hardly what he expected. There was cartridge in the chamber of the rifle and its explosion diverted the thoughts of the recruits to other channels than those of drill.”

The Observer went on to describe him:

“Belated recollections of Sergeant Turton indicate that he was not understood, and perhaps because of that, not popular with those thrown into touch with him. He was a soldier of the stiff, unbending sort, taciturn; and without great education. Nevertheless he could be trusted to do his duty, and with him duty dominated self. He had gained an active experience of the actualities of military life in the ranks of the British Army, and on settlement in the colony Turton devoted no inconsiderable portion of his declining years to volunteer work, serving as Sergeant of the old Avondale Rifles and later as Provost-Sergeant of the local infantry Battalion.”

Also:

“Sergt.Turton… was a well-known figure in connection with Auckland volunteering. He joined the Gordon Rifles on the formation of that company some five or six years ago, and was shortly afterwards transferred to the Battalion staff, with the rank of provost-Sergt. Before coming to thecolony, Turton had considerable experience in professional soldiering, and he was for many years a member of the Coldstream Guards.”

Could this have been James Turton, who featured rather unfortunately in the Observer in 1897? [Update as at 18 December 2008 -- yes. Link to new post here.]

“James Turton is a cordial manufacturer and hawker, who honours Avondale with his residence. And he has a large experience in the matrimonial line. He has survived two wives, and has quite recently been breaking in the third. But Mrs. Turton No. 3 does not like the breaking-in process. That is why James appeared before the beak at the end of last week, charged at the suit of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children with having on the 27th December, just by way of Xmas diversion, we presume, assaulted his wife by knocking her down, struck her with his hand and dragged her along the ground by her feet.

“The wife's story shows that it is much better to be housekeeper to some men than to be their wives. Mrs. Turton entered the cordial making James's service in February last as housekeeper, but he speedily popped the question, and a month later they were married. He thought so much of her that he insured her life. But that may have been James's provident way of making ready for the contingency of a fourth marriage, for Constable Brown at any rate understands that both the previous wives had been insured. However, the third wife soon found out matrimony was a very serious business in the Turton household. There were continual rows, and several forcible arguments from James’s fists, culminating in the affair which took the parties to Court.

“The magistrate inflicted a fine of 40s, with 29s costs, with the alternative of 21 days hard labour, and as James said he was unable to pay the fine, he is most probably just now taking out the alternative in the cordial factory presided over by Gaoler Reston. His effervescence will have time to cool down inside three weeks.”

The successors of the Avondale Volunteer Rifles, although not directly, was the Akarana Rifle Club. From 1901-1905, there was a piece of ground somewhere in Avondale used by the club for both their rifle shooting, and for meetings of the Auckland Rifle Club once the range at Mt Eden was closed in 1902. So far, I can’t say that anyone in the club was a resident of Avondale, but their lease expired in 1905 and they folded for a time, only to restart at a new range in Penrose from 1906.

From 1911 until World War I, at least, it is said that there was a practice range used by local school cadets at the end of today’s Holly Street, with some telling me of spent cartridges being found there and near the Avondale College grounds. Archives New Zealand appear to hold a record of a “miniature rifle range” at Avondale College, from 1948-1964.