Edward Wall's hulk at Customs Street

These days, such a find would be all over the newspapers, and the location would be covered in archaeologists.

When workmen were excavating for the foundations of Messrs Hipkins and Coutts' new warehouse in Customs Street East, Auckland, near Messrs A. H. Nathan and Co's large warehouse, in one of the trenches the ribs of a vessel were discovered about sixteen feet below the surface. Mr Ed. Bartley, the architect for the work, was informed of the discovery. He states that the ribs were of oak, and were embedded in the mud at about the old beach level. In the early days, before this portion of the city was reclaimed, Edward Wall had a blacksmith's shop near the spot where the ribs of the boat were found. Wall purchased the boat and dragged her up on the beach close to what was known as Jacob's ladder. Subsequently the boat was allowed to be buried in the earth as the reclamation work proceeded. 

Bay of Plenty Times 19 August 1904

Probably, though, in 1904, work simply proceeded, and the last remains of an early enterprise lost forever.

Edward Wall apparently came to Auckland by the late 1840s -- perhaps as a result of the first war with Maori up in Northland, as one of the refugees. He set himself up on the foreshore as it was then (now Fort Street).

 Southern Cross, 9 December 1848

He was in business a fair while, but by 1862, it seems it was all over.

Southern Cross 25 March 1862

This description makes Wall's store look like Auckland's equivalent to Wellington's Noah's Ark. The remains of the latter were fortunately retained, at least in part.

1863. Work was starting on the reclaimation of Commercial Bay, but the hulk was still there.

Southern Cross 26 January 1863

Cochrane tried auctioning the hulk on 16 February, but withdrew it, for lack of bidders.  There was another attempt in October that year.

Southern Cross 7 October 1863

This time -- success.

Yesterday, at his auction mart, Fort street, Mr. S Cochrane disposed of the hulk in Custom-house street, formerly occupied by Mr. Edward Wall, as a boat-building depot. It was disposed of to Mr W. F. Blake, for £37 10s.

Southern Cross 10 October 1863

So were the oak ribs the remains of the hulk which seemed to hard to auction off? And whatever happened to Edward Wall?

Update, 23 May 2011: It seems the old hulk hung around as a Custom Street landmark until at least late 1865. There were finally two auctions by Harris & Turner, one in April (Southern Cross, 5 April 1865), and the second in October:

Harris & Turner auction, the old hulk alongside Custom-house Street “with all the corrugated iron, bricks, etc. etc.

 Southern Cross 6 October 1865

Where was the hulk? Well, if the 1904 excavations did actually find it, then it was probably under 52-54 Customs Street East, corner of Customs Street East and Britomart Place. There'a a large building there now -- I did hear they found bits of old wharf pilings when they dug down for the Britomart train station (just to the north of that site), but I don't recall them finding large boats ...

A blogger on the telly

Further to my earlier post this year, Getting cooked atop Mt Albert ...

The television episode all that was for, My House My Castle, screened last night. I daren't watch it -- but I summoned up the courage to take a look just now, via TVNZ's On Demand service. A good episode -- and kudo to the producers and editors: they made me not look half bad.

Thanks to all who've contacted me about it today. I'll go back to my room, now. :-)

Update: Forgot to add, this is only available to view from NZ. Sorry 'bout that, West Islanders.

Rifles and Targets: the origins of Point Chevalier

The following is mostly an article I pulled together for the latest issue of the Point Chevalier Times and has been something I've chewed over for some time now: the military history of Point Chevalier. I think what I chew over most is that there is no recognition of the main rifle range site at Western Springs. No pamphlets, no signage, no recognition on the Cultural Heritage Index or NZ Archaeological Association register. Well, none that I've found to date, anyway. Readers are most welcome to contact me and show me where someone has taken notice. I'd be thrilled to know.

Oh, and I've agreed to give a talk on this at Pt Chevalier Library on 28 September this year, as part of Heritage Festival. That might help raise awareness ...

This post last revised 23 January 2021.

 SO 1236, Crown copyright, LINZ records

In 1923, when an issue was raised as to whether Point Chevalier district was to retain the name or not, a number of people wrote letters to newspaper editors, defending the old name, and rekindling the meaning behind it from the previous century for that of the 20th.

To quote an old resident of the district who lived there during the Maori War:- “This place was named,” she said, “after Captain Chevalier, who commanded British troops during the Maori War. I myself met him. He was of French descent. I well remember the troops in this district and how Captain Chevalier had plans made of it, and the higher part of the place was known as Chevalier’s Mount.” 

Elspeth Hankin, Pt Chevalier, 14 November 1923, Auckland Star

My childhood was spent at Point Chevalier, and I well remember the 18th Royal Irish regiment being camped on the rocky peninsula between Meola and Motion creeks. When the troops were camped on Dignan’s Point, there was also a large Maori settlement there, with grass and peach trees in the gullies. The old potato pits may still be seen. 

T Smith, 27 November 1923, Auckland Star

Mrs Richard Walker, still living at Point Chevalier, settled there with her husband and young family in 1861. About the same year, Captain Chevalier under General Cameron with 2000 men camped on the plateau just above the beach, since known as Dignans. Mrs Walker, whose memory is very clear, gives a graphic description of what took place 60 odd years ago. She says the Point was a busy place then, with its population of 2000, and Captain Chevalier (whose mother was Irish and father French) was a gallant and popular officer. Chevalier would ride with an orderly to Walker’s homestead for eggs, and milk from the first and only cow in the district.

W.M.F., Whangarei, 22 November 1923, NZ Herald

In 1860-61 the 65th (The 2nd Yorkshire N. Riding Regiment of foot) was stationed in Auckland. George Robert Chevalier was a Lieutenant in that regiment. He was also musketry instructor and established a rifle range on the peninsula, now named Point Chevalier. He was camped there for some months prior to the regiment leaving for Taranaki in 1861 to take part in that war with the natives. The regiment used to march out in companies for rifle practice and the point was named after Lieutenant Chevalier. My uncle, James Barton, was a captain in the same regiment and as a boy I have often met Lieutenant Chevalier at my uncle’s house.

C J W Barton, Hamilton, 21 November 1923 (published 23 November, NZ Herald)

I have had a lifelong acquaintance with the district and the following was told to me not only by old residents but by men who had been encamped with the 65th regiment on the Point.

Lieutenant Chevalier paid his first visit to the district in company with the late Hon. Patrick Dignan, MLC. The visit was made for the purpose of selecting a camping ground for the 65th regiment. The site chosen was near the end of the point on the land now partly occupied by the reserve. Other regiments were also encamped in the district at that time. Captain Mercer and a battery of six field guns were stationed just about where Mr Matson’s house now stands. From here firing practice took place, the targets being erected on the cliffs at the western end of the main beach. Rifle ranges were on the reef and on the Melanesian Trust property on the western side of the point at the foot of Target Street, where the old rifle butt is still to be seen.

It was on the latter range that the incident which gave the district its name took place. There was, among the soldiers, a man named either Lieutenant or Captain Tucker, who was a noted marksman. Lieutenant Chevalier had also gained fame as a rifle shot before coming to New Zealand. Accordingly a match was arranged between the two, the firing taking place from what is now Miss Hill’s property [Misses Ivy and May Hill had property bounded by Pt Chevalier Road, Walker Road and Neville Street until 1931]. The match created great interest among the soldiers who were present in large numbers to witness the contest. Lieutenant Chevalier proved the victor and in honour of this victory the district was given the name of Point Chevalier. This is the story as told me by old soldiers who claimed to have witnessed the match, and I think it may be accepted as being correct. I have never heard it being contradicted in any way or any version offered in its place. 

Charles Walker, New Lynn, 30 November 1923, NZ Herald

The rifle match mentioned by your correspondent, Chas. Walker, took place between Lieutenant Chevalier and Lieut. Arthur Branthways Toker (not Tucker), both of the 65th Regiment. Now it is brought to my mind I can remember the incident distinctly. It was the talk of the regiment before the match and after, and a certain amount of the pay of the admirers of Lieut. Toker was transferred to the pockets of the followers of Lieut. Chevalier. 

C J W Barton, Hamilton, 30 November 1923 (published 4 December, NZ Herald)

The story of how the name Point Chevalier came about, and the link with the rifle range down at the end of Target Street, has been passed down, and cemented by Alex Walker’s book published 50 years ago this year, Rangi-Mata-Rau, Pt Chevalier Centennial, in 1961. He wrote, about George Robert Chevalier:

He became a musketry instructor to the troops stationed at Auckland in the Albert Barracks, at the time when the soldiers were marched for rifle practice to a range which had been established on the present site of Selwyn Village in Target Street, hence the name of the street.

Here Chevalier won the rifle championship of the camp defeating Lieutenant Toker also of the 65ths. He obviously became something of a hero to the soldiers who called the place “Chevalier Point” in his honour.

I believe that a number of pieces of the story were passed down from those who were around in the 1860s (Mrs Walker would have been one of them), somewhat muddled in memory, and then became Point’s own legend of origin. There is still quite a bit yet to discover about what was happening at Point Chevalier and Western Springs in the late 1850s and into the 1860s. This is what I’ve been able to deduce so far.

Target Street may not have been the site of the challenge between Chevalier and Toker.

First, Lt. Toker cannot have been the one Ensign Chevalier took on in a shooting match at what was to become Point Chevalier. At the time of the first newspaper advertisement for firewood tenders for the camp there, January 1859 -- Toker was in Melbourne, on his way from England to Wellington. He wouldn't be in Auckland until mid 1861 at the earliest.

While Target Street is one of Pt Chevalier’s oldest streets, shown in a plan from 1898 (DP 1994), it wasn’t around in 1859 when “Point Chevalier” camp was first noted as a name in the newspapers (Southern Cross, 15 January). It would have resulted from the subdivision of Allotment 20 by Joseph Wright, from 1863. From 1867 the land at the end of Target Street, on the right hand side facing toward the harbour, was owned by the Melanesian Mission Trust Board, and the letters from 1923 describe the remains of targets still there amongst the market gardens.

There was apparently some sort of firing ground on land owned by Joseph Wright, and a solicitor named Anderton, the latter part of a partnership named Kenny and Anderton who were dealing with the sale of two five acre allotments which appear to have been close to the line of Target Road today (Southern Cross, 16 May 1865). In December 1865, on Wright's and Anderton's land, Maj Michael Tighe described an "original butt" of a 280 yard range still standing, but a considerable amount of the earth had fallen away from it. (Letter, 18 December 1865). Perhaps this was linked to nearby military barracks said to have been on Dignan's farm.

The main range though was one specially set aside by the government for that purpose, and it was a massive one – a 127-acre chunk of what is now Western Springs, beside the Meola Creek, and stretching out beneath old quarry lands from Old Mill Road out towards the Meola Reef Reserve. (Part can be seen in the survey plan above, from the 1870s). The quarrying, the establishment of the zoo and the rubbish dump, and later works setting up the reef reserve have most likely completely obliterated any remains of where a suburb first gained a name, and where part of Auckland’s early military history was played out. Which is a great shame, but sadly that’s what happens with history all too often.

The camp itself may have been on the Point Chevalier peninsula itself – why else would the main road along it be dubbed Barracks Road until early in the 20th century, when it was renamed Point Chevalier Road?  (There is another possible reason, immigrant barracks set up near the end of Oliver Street for workers in 1864-1865). But that seems a long way for men to have marched. Not to mention the fact that William Edgecombe, taking up an opportunity, set up his Great Northern Hotel immediately across the road from the prrsent-day end of Motions Road (opening in July 1859, which almost immediately became associated with the regiments at the time). I suspect that he wasn’t just providing a service to passing traffic, but to the hundreds of men encamped each year in the middle of virtually nowhere.

T Smith’s and Charles Walker’s recollections (above), making references to the camp on the rocky peninsula between Meola and Motion’s Creeks, backs this up. 

Charles Walker had an intriguing reference to another rifle range “just about where Mr Matson’s house now stands”, which would put it closer to Oakley Creek, involving Captain Mercer (who died in 1863 at the Battle of Rangiriri) and a battery of field artillery. This land, in the late 1850s to 1863, was owned by a Mr Hamilton, and then Alexander Cromwell of Epsom, so it may have been leased by the government for target practice. However, as the land is angled towards Waterview rather than the harbour, a rifle range there is uncertain. Again most traces will have, by now, been well erased.

Captain Mercer’s field artillery wasn’t a legend, though: see timeline below.

The G R Chevalier connection with the Point

In late October 1858, Ensign G R Chevalier (not a lieutenant at that stage) arrived in Auckland from Wellington on the Emily Alison. In January 1859, we see the first documented use of the name “Point Chevalier”, in a tender advertisement for cartage to and from the camp. This left very little time during which Ensign Chevalier could have challenged anyone to that notable target competition. So many memories associated Ensign Chevalier, who definitely was a crack marksman in his own right, with the suburb’s name; it is difficult to prise him away from that association. There is simply, at the moment, neither documentation proving the story, nor anything disproving it.

Most of the personal recollections of Ensign, later Lieutenant, Chevalier in connection with the Point come from those who were children at the time of the early 1860s – apart from those recalling what Mrs Walker apparently told them. In her case, the Walker family arrived at the eastern edge of Western Springs in 1861, Richard Walker working initially at the Low & Motion mill, before possibly taking up land on lease at Point Chevalier itself later in the decade. In February 1861, Lieutenant Chevalier was in Taranaki. He arrived back in Auckland in June that year, attended a levee for Governor Sir George Grey in October in the city, and left again in February 1862. From December 1861, troops were leaving both Pt Chevalier and Otahuhu camps to head towards Maungatawhiri. Whether he was ever at Camp Point Chevalier long enough, if at all that year, to “ride with an orderly to Walker’s homestead for eggs, and milk from the first and only cow in the district” remains unknown.

A timeline for Point Chevalier’s rifle ranges and military camps, 1859-1871

1859

January 

First known documented use of the name “Point Chevalier”, in a government tender notice for cartage to the site.

July 

William Edgecombe completes his Great Northern Hotel (site of the Auckland Horticultural Society rooms today).

1861

January 

At this point, the camp at Pt Chevalier appears to be one which remains in place all year. Tender notices for cartage and firewood are issued in January, July and October.

December 

Drafts of men, trained at the Pt Chevalier Camp and other camps, leave for Maungatawhiri.

1862

June & October 

A land advertisement, possibly for the Westmere area (3 miles from Auckland) refers to the encampment at Pt Chevalier, “being the place chosen for the Barracks and Garrison Buildings.”

October 

Around 700 men are gathered at the Pt Chevalier camp for rifle practice.

On Saturday last, a number of officers and soldiers were marched to Point Chevalier, for musketry instruction, and a second body are to be moved thither on the 6th November. The number of officers and men told off for instruction in the various regiments is as follows — 14th Regiment, 4 officers, 250 men ; 40th, 7 officers, 180 men; 60th, 3 officers, 194 men ; and 70th regiment, 7 officers and 141 men ; making a total of 23 officers and 705 men. (Southern Cross, 3 November 1862)

The camp at that stage included a company mess.

December 

A fortnight of practice with shot and shell at Point Chevalier Camp, including practice by the Royal Artillery, under Captain Henry Mercer, using Armstrong guns at a maximum range of 1600 yards. The target were two model pa constructed to determine how much damage the Armstrong guns could do to Maori defences in the Waikato. The distance required for the firing points to Western Springs as the site used.

1863

January 

It was intended that all troops in Auckland at this point, both Imperial regiment and conscripted militia, were to be “under canvas at Point Chevalier for a portion of the year.” Commissariat tenders appear for bread and firewood for the Pt Chevalier camp.

1864-1865

Over this period, tender advertisements for supply to the camp at Point Chevalier cease. It is likely that the summer season of 1865-1866 is the last one for an encampment of troops in the area. The last known advertisement for firewood there is in September 1865.

Target Street is first recorded in an advertisement for subdivided sections, August 1864. Barrack Street is referred to in June 1865. But when the volunteer riflemen had to shift from their Mt Eden range on John Kelly's land near the gaol to Point Chevalier, the old Imperial range was the one chosen, and remained as their main range through to 1872. This may have irritated Valentine Blagrove, inheritor of the Wright estate, who probably hoped for rental income from a rifle range on his property. Instead, the range was oriented north-to-south, facing the Waitemata Harbour, on Meola Reef. In 1867, Blagrove,  complained to the newspapers about stray shots as he passed by in his boat.  (Southern Cross, 11 February 1867)

1867

February 

The old rifle range at Western Springs is offered for lease at public auction. William Motion obtains the lease, at £20 per annum, but would have been sharing use with the volunteers until 1872. The northern-most 75 acres (including Meola Reef) was gazetted in 1874 as a Lunatic Asylum reserve, and would have been leased out to both local farmers and for quarrying (the Auckland Harbour Board quarried there from 1873). In 1941, it became a municipal quarry reserve. From 1875, the dominant land user in the area became Auckland City Council.

1871

November 

After a number of years of use by volunteer corps, complaints about distance, inconvenience, and the weather at Point Chevalier, the rifle range is abandoned, save for one remaining set of targets for a 300-yard range.

Meola Reef Reserve, February 2011

Preparing for war at Western Springs

 Image by Bukvoed, from Wikipedia

In December 1862, the government took advantage of the large, 127-acre rifle range reserve at Western Springs to send a battery of Armstrong guns, some adept model-makers and troopers to test how best to blow up a Maori pa or two, as war clouds gathered at the Waikato. Captain Henry Mercer, as an oddity, died not while commanding his pa-destroying guns at the battle of Rangiriri in 1863, but as a result of being ordered to rush at the pa with his men.

ARTILLERY PRACTICE— CAUTION.

Our readers may not generally know that artillery practice, with shot and shell, commenced at Point Chevalier on Thursday, and will be continued every day during the ensuing fortnight. As there is considerable danger to persons boating or fishing on the Waitemata, from the balls, which are sometimes propelled upwards of a mile beyond the ordinary range, we understand that Captain Mercer, R. A., in command of the C Field Battery of Armstrong guns, will hoist a large white flag with three black bull's eyes in the centre, in addition to the ordinary red danger flag, during the time of practice. Persons on the river, seeing this signal, will in future give the point a wide berth, and so keep out of harm's way.

The target practice on Thursday was splendid, after the range had been accurately obtained. The first shot fell a little short. The target was literally riddled at 800 yards, few shots missing. The result of the fast days practice was to demonstrate the immense superiority of the Armstrong guns over the heavy field ordinance, which till recently, were solely in use in our army.

Yesterday practice was resumed, when solid shot was fired at a range of 900 yards, and the whole of the shots with very few exceptions struck the target. Five splendid bull's eyes were made— being one tenth of the number of shots fired. With reference to some half dozen shots which did not strike the target, the furthest from the target could not have passed more than a foot distant, the average being six inches on each side The practice was deeply interesting but we look forward with pleasurable anticipation to the exhibition of a still more exciting test of accuracy next week. We hear Captain Mercer intends to build a section of a pah, both with solid trees and double open rails, and the erection will be proceeded with as soon as the timber can be procured. 

Southern Cross 13 December 1862

The Royal Artillery. — Owing to the wet weather on Saturday, the battery of Royal Artillery, under the command of Captain Mercer, did not continue the practice with Armstrong guns, at the faucets elected at Point Chevalier.

Southern Cross 15 December 1862

Royal Artillery. — The C field-battery of Royal Artillery, under the command of Captain Mercer, continued their practice with the Armstrong guns yesterday, at Point Chevalier. The range was increased by 300 yards over the distance fired on Friday — 900 yards— thus forming a range of 1200 yards. The whole of the shots struck the target, with the exception of some half dozen, which ricocheted over it after striking the ground immediately in front. There were two or three beautiful bull's eyes, and the practice, taken altogether, was most exciting and highly creditable to the proficiency of the gunners of the battery. We must inform our readers that the projectile used by the Armstrong battery for practice is a solid shot, coated with lead to take rifling; and we observed that some of the holes in the target were cut clean away— so distinctly, in fact, as to show the rifling of the shot as it passed through. We look forward with interest to the projected experiments with the Armstrong shell to notice its effects, and to observe its action when used with time and concussion fuses The elongated shell has 49 segments, which on bursting are scattered with the pieces of the shell and iron burster, &c, thus forming a terrible shower — if we may so call them— of angular bullets. We hear that practice will be continued this day at a range of 1,600 yards, and which will be followed up on the succeeding day by firing at a mile's distance.

Southern Cross 16 December 1862

ROYAL ARTILLERY.

This C Field Battery of Armstrong guns, under the command of Captain Mercer, continued their practice on Friday at Point Chevalier. The range was extended by 400 yards from the previous day's practice, making 1,600 yards. The accuracy of aim was surprising: two or three shots penetrating the bull's eye; more than half of the shots fired striking the target; and the remainder passing close over or by the side. The last few rounds discharged were shells filed with concussion fuses, at the distance mentioned above. The practice was in every way most satisfactory — the shells bursting immediately in front of the target, on its face, and in the target itself, which upon near examination practically showed the destructive effect of the missiles. There was a strong W/NW wind blowing during the greater portion of the time whilst the firing was being continued, and which at the long range fired had a sensible effect upon the parabolic course of the projectiles, and consequently making it more difficult to strike the target. We have had the pleasure of examining some of the fragments of shell, after being burst upon the face of the target, and which must prove fearfully destructive when exploded amongst squares or bodies of soldiery.

Southern Cross 22 December 1862

ARTILLERY PRACTICE AT 900 YARDS.

Last Saturday the practice at 900 yards, by the C Reid Battery of Armstrong guns, was resumed on the sections of the north and south pahs, erected at Point Chevalier. Lieutenant-General Cameron, CB, attended by his staff, rode on to the ground about three o'clock, and proceeded to inspect the pahs and targets before practice commenced.

The north pah consisted of two rows of tree palisading, about a yard apart, each row strongly bound together by transverse beams and flax. The timber used was puriri and manuka, the trees being of large growth, and so firmly fixed in the ground that the concussion of the shot and shell did not materially, if at all, affect their stability. Behind this double protection, a white target was placed, of large dimensions. The target rested against the face of the earthwork (which was about nine feet high), at the rear of the palisading. The south pah was divided from the north by the breach, some eight or ten feet wide, which had been affected by the Armstrong gun practice of Thursday. The splinters of the last day's practice had been removed, and the damaged or shaken portions of the pahs carefully repaired in the interval. The section of the south pah was formed of split timber, so closely bound together as to present an unbroken surface to the eye. Behind the second row of the south pah a white wooden target was placed, as in the north section. We should add that the sections of both the north and south pahs appeared to us to be about equally strong, although of somewhat different construction. Their strength was such that, if vigorously defended, no troops in the world could take them by storm unless aided by artillery.

The General and party having examined the pah, retired for shelter, and orders were given by Captain Mercer, R. A., to commence firing. In a few seconds a small cloud of smoke was observed at the battery, and a twelve pound solid shot whistled through the air, instantly passing through the heavy timbers of the north pah and the centre of the target, and lodging in the earthwork behind. A second shot soon followed, striking the pah about a foot from the ground, and passing through the lower section of the target almost in a straight line with the first shot. The third shot plunged through the upper portion of the woodwork of the pah, tearing off a few splinters. It then passed through the target, cutting an oblong piece clean out of the upper section, and rising, sped onwards to the river, with a singing noise. The range was thus satisfactorily obtained, every shot telling. The fourth shot struck the bottom of the target, after passing through the pah. The fifth shot appeared to tell well. It hit the centre of the pah, tearing away large splinters, and doing serious damage to the target. The sixth shot passed through the pah, and struck the top of the target, ploughing through the earthwork at the rear.

The order to cease firing was then sounded, and General Cameron and staff proceeded to examine the effect of the six rounds of solid shot upon the pah. The destructive effect of the projectiles was far greater than appeared to spectators at a short distance. The shots passed through the woodwork of the pah, tearing off large splinters, which were piled against the earthwork, and lying between the lines of defence. The target was very much battered. By this inspection the perfection of the practice was shown, the firing appearing to have been concentrated on a section of about two feet in width of the face of the pah. The toughness of the puriri was also manifest. Although the shots passed through the puriri pales, it was with difficulty that a sharp-pointed wedge of wood could be inserted in the rent. The manuka likewise appeared to offer great resistance. At the same time, the quantity of splinters lying about made it pretty evident that little security to life would be afforded by the pales to a defending party who had not, likewise, the protection of earthworks.

Firing with solid shot was again resumed, but this time the guns were discharged in salvos. The first intimation those under cover had that the firing had recommenced was the rushing, singing sound of the six conical shots, fired simultaneously by the battery. Their velocity could be measured by the ear, and with care timed, but the eye could not distinguish the shots. In about a second from hearing the sound the six shots struck the pah, dashing splinters in all directions, knocking the light section of the target to pieces, and raising a cloud of dust from the earthwork. A second salvo followed, and again the crash of broken timbers and a cloud of dust at the earthwork. This salvo appeared to have told with wonderful effect. The target was destroyed, and a breach effected in the face of the north pah.

The older to cease filing was sounded, and a minute inspection of the pah took place. It was at once apparent how much more destructive the two salvos had relatively been than the six single shots. The heavy timbers were battered and torn, several pieces were cut off within about eighteen inches of the ground, and splinters were piled up in heaps. The inner row of pales appeared to suffer far more damage than the outer defence.

Firing was. renewed, and three salvos were then fired. The third salvo was well directed, but the fourth did not seem to have been so effective. One of the shots of the fourth salvo rose, and passed over the earthworks to the river. The fifth salvo was decidedly successful. A breach was effected, which British soldiers, properly led, would no doubt look upon as practicable.

Again the order to cease firing was sounded, and General Cameron and a number of military gentlemen who were on the ground went up to the pah to make a further inspection. The damage done to the wooden defences by the last three salvos was easily recognised by the accumulation of splinters, broken pales, and the breach just mentioned. When firing was again resumed, the gunners seemed still to concentrate the fire on that section of the north pah in which the breach had been made. The sixth salvo sent the splinters from the outer and inner row of pales flying about; one or more of the shots rising and flying off river-wards. The seventh salvo widened the breach considerably, a portion of the south section of the pah falling outwards. One of the shots ploughed through the earthwork, and by the sound, fell in deep water. The eighth salvo was fired; and the order to cease firing was again sounded. One of the shots of the last salvo struck the ground about ten yards in front of the pah, and ploughed up a few feet of earth, when it appeared to rise again and strike the pah.

The inspection that followed, by the General and party, must have satisfied them of the superiority of the Armstrong guns over the old field batteries. The section of the north pah on which the fire had been directed was almost destroyed. The order to commence firing was now given, and six salvos were discharged at the pah. Every shot of salvos nine and ten told. The effect of the eleventh salvo was still more apparent by the falling outward of two large pales, which were among the main supports of the work. One of these shots passed over the pah to the river. The twelfth salvo was not as effective. One of the guns hung fire, but a few seconds after the salvo, the single shot struck the top of the broken timber, and rising passed onwards to the river. The thirteenth salvo was marked by the occurrence of a similar incident, which is accounted for, we understand, by the fact that bad fuses are not unfrequently issued. Indeed, it seems to be impossible to prevent this, when the immense quantity of ordnance stores, daily issued by the heads of the department, is taken into account. The fifteenth salvo was most effective.

The order "cease firing," was then sounded, and another inspection made. That a practicable breach was now formed there could be no doubt, and it was quite evident that an Armstrong field battery, such as that which was at practice at Point Chevalier on Saturday, could breach the strongest pah for a storming party in about an hour's continuous and rapid firing. After the inspecting party had again retired, firing was resumed, to demolish the remaining portions of the north pah. Salvos sixteen, seventeen , eighteen, nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one were then fired, the practice being all that could be desired ; and General Cameron and party paid another visit to the pah. The solid shot had done all the execution that was to be expected from them; and it was now determined to try the effect of shell as a demolishing process. Eight salvos of concussion shells, at the range of 900 yards, were then fired, when the breach which the shot had opened was perfectly cleared. The shell practice was beautiful, most of the shells bursting after passing through the first row of pales. The wooden splinters, and fragments of these shells must render the tenure of any pah against which their fire is directed, an undertaking that a very short practice (when the range has been obtained) will suffice to prove perfectly hopeless.

The evening was now tolerably far advanced, as the practice had been purposely slow to give an opportunity for observing the effect of each salvo. But the south, or rail pah remained untouched. As the result of solid shot had been seen on the tree pah, it was deemed expedient to endeavour to effect a breach in the south pah with concussion shells alone. The guns were again fired in salvos, the range being accurate from the first. In all, twelve salvos were fired, at the first of which the target inside the second palisade was dashed to splinters. The shells did great execution, and at the twelfth salvo the face of the pah fell, leaving an easy breach of about fifteen yards.

The practice then terminated, and General Cameron and staff left the ground. The C Field Battery of Armstrong guns is under the command of Captain Mercer, with Lieuts. Hunt and Pickard. Judging from the practice at Point Chevalier for the last fortnight, the most interesting features of which we have reported, it is fair to express the conviction that if the Armstrong guns had been brought to bear upon the various pahs, which gave so much trouble during the Taranaki war, and if they had been as efficiently served as they were on Saturday and at their previous practice, there would have been little difficulty in rendering the pahs untenable, or at least in making adequate breaches for storming parties in a short space of time. As the result of these experiments we look upon the breaching of the strongest pah to be comparatively easy, notwithstanding what has hitherto been said to the contrary. If the practice had been oblique, the result would have been more speedily apparent, but the destructive effect was wonderful with a direct fire at such a distance. We would like very much to see an hour's practice of Captain Mercer's battery at long range, at rifle pits on a hill side, constructed after the most approved Maori model. Although it would not accord with the usage of the British army to take rifle pits from an enemy by assailing them only with the shot and shell of field artillery, yet after the memorable "long sap" of General Pratt, and what it led to, we believe it would give the timid a little more confidence were it demonstrated that rifle pits are not more invulnerable to a well-served Armstrong battery, than a tree or rail pah, however strong. 

Southern Cross 29 December 1862

Captain Henry Mercer, of the Royal Artillery, obtained his captaincy on the 23rd February 1852. In 1855 he served at the siege of Sebastopol, and received a medal and clasps, and a Turkish medal. He arrived in this colony in 1860, in command of the first battery of Armstrong guns sent here, and he rendered good service with them during the last Taranaki war. His more recent services are well known and appreciated; and his loss (at the early age of thirty-eight years) will be deeply regretted by all who knew him, whether in the capacity or an able officer or as an amiable and upright gentleman.

 Southern Cross, 23 November 1863

A view of Mechanics Bay, 1850

Detail from SO 676, crown copyright, LINZ records

A while ago, while looking through Land Information New Zealand's online collection of old survey plans (I think I was searching for old plans for Western Springs at the time), SO 676 came up out of the sequences. Nothing whatsoever to do with Western Springs -- this is a survey plan prepared for the registration of hospital endowment land in the vicinity of Auckland, 1850

Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, 5th September, 1850.
HOSPITAL RESERVED LANDS.
The Trustees of the Hospital Reserves, being empowered to lease the undermentioned allotments or parcels of Land for any term not exceeding twenty-one years, are willing to treat for the disposal of the same on reasonable terms. Persons desirous of renting the said allotments, or any of them, are requested to make application, in writing, addressed to the Trustees of the Hospital Reserved Lands, at this Office. A. Sinclair, Colonial Secretary.

New Zealander, 17 September 1850, p. 4

This particular detail from the plan (above) shows section 31, just over half an acre at "Shipwright's Yard, Mechanic's Bay". Thanks to the hospital reserve leasing, I can fairly confidently date the plan to 1850. It shows, though, much more than a few lines drawn across what was then a muddy beach area.

In 1850, there was a grocers shop at the foot of what is today Parnell Rise, and a large stable building right in the path of the future road. These appear to have been the Government Stables, until at least 1852. This was all, of course, before George Leech's hotel, called variously "Shipwright's Arms" (1856), "Victory of Sebastopol" (1857) and eventually "Swan Hotel" from 1859.

The Strand itself is shown as a narrow carriageway, heading over a small bridge over the Waipapa Stream.

Once it crossed the Waipapa, The Strand began to wend its way up the steep cliffs, skirting the worst of the slope until it met  Parnell Road on the other side of the point.

There is another alteration of a similar kind required at Mechanics Bay immediately adjoining the town. Here there, is a sharp turn at the bottom of an elevated ground — this turn is within a few yards of a cliff of 20 to 30 feet, overhanging the sea beach, and if this alteration is not made, it will cause the death of the first person whose horse happens to run off with him. It is not simply awkward and objectionable, but is, positively, highly dangerous. 

 William Brown, letter to the editor of the Southern Cross dated 9 March 1849, published 10 March

Today, The Strand has been realigned and starts further along, but a fragment, coming off Parnell Rise as it once did, is now called Shipwright Lane.

The shipwright it relates to could have been George Darroch, whose business flourished at Mechanics Bay around 1847, or Henry Niccol (The latter name is an update addition to this post [made 29 June 2011] after information received by Peter Haynes, from the Darroch family of descendants. Henry Niccols appears at Mechanics Bay by March 1849 according to advertisements in the New Zealander. Did Darroch have a brief period at Mechanics Bay, then sell to Niccols?) By the early 1850s, however, Darroch had moved to Mahurangi. Having the hospital endowment land so close to his shed probably didn't help.

Update (30 June 2011): This information from an email from Peter Haynes:

Hi Lisa,

The last advertisements by George Darroch at Mechanics Bay available in paperspast are in mid-1947, whereas Niccol is advertising boats for sale there in the early 1850s, the period covered by the estimate of the plans you found. I've attached an example.

I checked the history written by my cousin (which is very unreliable and full of errors) and it refers to George Darroch plying his trade on what is now Victoria Street at some point.

My own history is not much help. It notes that, "The Darrochs initially settled in Auckland, where George commenced building small craft on the Auckland waterfront, now the central business district. In 1843 the family was listed in the Police Census as living in a wooden house on West Queen St, which was the first street off Queen St below Wyndham Street. In 1844 they were listed as living in a
raupo house in Freemans Bay. George is listed in the 1844 Jury List as Ship Carpenter of Albert Street, presumably his place of business. In 1845 the family are listed in the Police Census as tenants of the Colonial Government, living in a wooden house in Mechanics Bay." (I'll change that I think, as they probably just moved around a lot in 1844. Who knows?)

The Darrochs moved to Mahurangi West in 1852 after purchasing property there, and then to Marriage Bay near Scotts Landing at Mahurangi East, where vestiges of the yard can still be seen in the beach. But some developers bought the property a few years back, and the remaining home mysteriously burnt down, as so many empty houses that stand in the way of developers' profits are wont to do.

Cheers  Peter

The Strand was laid out for wheeled transport up to the developing suburb of Parnell -- but in 1850, Parnell Rise was accessible from Mechanics Bay by a long set of steps (right) cut into the steep slope. That must have been a real gut-buster, before the road was formed. Another road headed south, between the Waipapa and the slope.

I'll stick my neck out and say that the draughtsman for the survey office plan was Charles Heaphy, going by the detail applied to the shading of the topography of the cliff face, and that "by 1847, struggling to make a living, he left for Auckland to take up a job as a draughtsman in the Survey Office of the colonial government. He later became Chief Surveyor." (NZ history online). So, he was there at the right time, in the right position, and at the right place ... there's a sketch of his, showing early Mechanic's Bay, at Sir George Grey Special Collections:

Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, ref.4-5181

This sketch is signed by Heaphy, with the library dating it to the period 1850-1859. I think it's at the earlier end of that range. There's the small wooden bridge on The Strand, before the road veers north and up over a slight rise, past Darroch's shipyard. The top of the shed on the beach can just been seen. The cows graze in that other road which headed south, beside the Waipapa Stream. The timber sawing at the left could well have been for Darroch's timber boats. Out of view, to the right, would have been those steps, and also out of sight, to the left, the future site of Leech's hotel.

In 1855, the bridge was replaced and the start of Parnell Rise, replacing those steps, dates from later that decade.

(Update 18 May 2011: a correction -- the old Strand met up with the end of Parnell Road, not as far as St Georges Bay. Thanks to David Hirtzell and his adeptness with Google Earth and overlays, who emailed an overlay to me tonight. Cheers! )

Guest post: A visit to Rotoroa Island

The following is an email sent to me by fellow historian, friend of mine for many years, curator of Alberton and leading light for both Mt Albert Historical Society and Parnell Heritage ... Rendell McIntosh. He has very kindly given permission for me to republish it here.

Hello all

Jillian and I were recently invited to the opening of a new sculpture by Chris Booth at Rotoroa Island. 

If NZHPT/anyone ever wants to see how a historical venue/restoration/replanting programme can be instigated with private benefactors for a suitable cause (Salvation Army) then make time for a visit to this place. It is simply outstanding. It was only opened to the public in March. The Plowright family have generously provided millions to ensure the island will stay protected/fund raiser for the Salvation Army for the next 99 years. The Information Centre has been designed to look like an old woolshed. The display/use of modern technology inside, showing what it was like for recovering alcoholics, is wonderful. 

The pathway leading up to the Info centre has iron sheets alongside and the numbers 1-12 on them. Most people would just think it is decorative but in fact it reflects the 12 steps to recover from alcoholism. Some buildings have been retained/restored eg old goal while the main accommodation block was demolished. All pine trees have been cut down/used as mulch for the 400,000 native plants that have been planted by a gang from the SI. The little graveyard with 19 memorials has been carefully looked after. The directional signs are exceptional. The facilities are great for anyone paying a landing fee eg changing shed/free limited time shower at Ladies Bay. 

The new sculpture by Chris is simply amazing – three “fingers” of rocks placed one on top of another and reaching out towards the adjoining sea channel/each finger weighs four tonnes. Some companies have been taking staff over there and they volunteer to assist with the restoration prog. Some houses will be built on a lease basis later on where people can stay but at the moment there is no where to stay. You just have to pay the $66pp on the 360 Discovery ferry for a 45 min trip and have a memorable excursion from downtown Auckland. Its very easy to look around and walk right around the island with enough time before the afternoon ferry returns to downtown.

Uncertain what NZHPT/HD familiarisation/staff meetings/staff volunteering/showing heritage folk from overseas around excursions are planned in the future but keep this destination in mind. It really is a showcase in showing that with suitable funds/imagination/artistic flair/enthusiasm/cause they can all be combined for a remarkable outcome. Many people in NZHPT/DOC will love what has been achieved by private individuals in helping a heritage site promote its past and plan for the future. And of course there is a McIntosh connection – Charles Hunter McIntosh owned the island in 1841. (No relation)   He sold it to William Ruthe who sold it to the Salvation Army in 1911. There was a pic of the Parnell Rescue Home Officers there in 1912.    

Try and visit – it is very inspiring and a wonderful outcome for the Salvation Army.

Rendell 

A change of mural

Back in September last year, I posted pictures of a mural at MOTAT (above). Well, now it's changed.

A wall of photos and text about general technology and transport stuff has replaced the cartoons.

Queen Street Wharf. Imagine this as effectively "party central" for the Rugby World Cup ...

When the electric trams came to Auckland.

I think the captions said that these were of King's Wharf power station, on the Auckland waterfront.

Arapuni Dam.

Horahora hydro-electric station.

The last of the series.

Tractors in the rain

Image: John Deere tractor ad, from MOTAT sign

Well, it was a wet day, and I was standing in the rain at MOTAT when I spotted these, but -- don't worry, the tractors are sheltered. I was the one dripping, and juggling to keep the camera relatively dry.

John Deere Model B tractor. According to MOTAT's sign, this was the best selling 2-cylinder tractor produced by that company, designed for smaller farms. This one was imported here by Brown and Dureau in 1937, used in Coatesville, then went to Glenbrook where it worked for 15 years before reaching MOTAT in 1967.

Image:  "Holt 75 model gasoline-powered Caterpillar tractor used early in World War I as an artillery tractor ", from Wikipedia.

The Caterpillar Company, according to the signs, "was formed in 1925 by a merger of the Holt Manufacturing Company and C L Best Tractor Company." In turn, the Holt Manufacturing Company, Wiki says, stemmed from a company called Stockton Wheel Service, dating from the 1880s, which fabricated wheels, as in carts and wagons, while C L Best came from Daniel Best's manufacturing company in the 1870s, initially turning out grain cleaners and combine harvesters. The trademark name Caterpillar came from Holt, in 1911. The company Caterpillar Inc. is still going strong.

Above is a Caterpillar 22 tractor, originally purchased by a Urenui farmer in Taranaki in 1935. It pulled a set of giant discs over 7000 acres during its working life, preparing the land for planting in pasture, along with general farm work, and dragging logs from a forest. Over 15,000 of these machines were manufactured between 1934 and 1939.

Caterpillar Thirty tractor.  The colour scheme for the Holt Manufacturing Company, according to MOTAT, was grey and red, but this was replaced (too drab) to the "Caterpillar yellow" associated with work done by the machines on highways worldwide. This one, although it was originally the Best 30, has been restored by MOTAT to the grey and red livery. Only 18 Caterpillar Thirties were imported into the country between 1925 and 1928.

The Caterpillar Thirty after restoration, 1979, from the MOTAT sign.

The 1863 Parnell tornado

 

An Oklahoma, USA, tornado. Image from Wikipedia.

My thanks to everyone who contacted me last week, expressing some concern at the coincidence of a silence of posts here on the blog, at the same time as a tornado struck parts of the Auckland region. Fortunately, the winds stayed clear both of where I was that day (central city) and where I live (Avondale).

But, finding again the reports of an earlier tornado which gave a hard time to the settlers in 1863, I thought it timely to put them up here.

PARNELL TAKEN BY STORM.

A most extraordinary whirlwind swept through Parnell yesterday, rooting up and destroying everything in its course; and it is indeed wonderful and providential that we have not to record fatal or other accidents of a more serious nature than have occurred.

Up to three o'clock in the afternoon the weather was fine, when the wind suddenly changed to about north-west, and brought both wind and rain. A few minutes before 4 o'clock a very heavy shower fell, during which there were some flashes of lightning and a slight clap of thunder. The heavy rain had driven everyone almost within doors; and to this providential circumstance must be attributed the absence of further personal casualties than we shall presently record. The approach of the whirlwind, which came from the direction of Shoal Bay, was so sudden that it was hardly noticed until its destroying force was felt in the main thoroughfare of Parnell.

Like a huge irregular column of smoke varying in its density and diameter, it entered Parnell near the bottom of the main road leading to Auckland, and the first house it struck was that of Mr. Gilbert, the carpenter, a small cottage on the west side of the road, the chimney of which was instantly demolished, level with the roof, beside other damage being done. It then crossed to the other side of the road, and struck Mr George's butcher's shop, and the Rutland store, doing great damage to both buildings. Part of the verhandah of the latter was blown away, and subsequently found in the Domain ; and the front of the shop was knocked in, and the bottles, usually exhibited in a grocer's shop, and the window-glass, fell in one complete state of smash into the road-way.

The course taken by the whirlwind seemed to be a zig-zag one; for at one time it covered the buildings abutting on the street, and at another it flew along at the rear of them, carrying destruction with it. In the neighbourhood of it the air was literally filled with broken pieces of timber, planks and portions of roofs bodily raised up and carried a great distance. Mr. Johnson of the Windsor Castle is one of the greatest sufferers. The whirlwind passed close at the rear of his Hotel, unroofing a large building used for kitchens and bedrooms, and destroying property both inside and outside of considerable value. Five barrels of beer were stove in, and of course destroyed, and the contents of the yard, and the out-buildings all suffered more or less. Still keeping at the rear of the shops it swept over the back premises of Mr. Canning, baker, and Mr Eley, butcher, destroying the bakehouse of the former and the back premises of the latter, and making havoc with everything it passed over. These and other buildings in tho neighbourhood are the property of Mr. Johnson, of the Windsor Castle, who estimates his loss at about £800. It would be impossible to particularise all the damage that was done by the whirlwind as it swept onwards; chimneys, closets, and fowl-houses were here and there lifted up and carried away in pieces, or bodily, no one knew where; gates were lifted off their hinges, or driven in by stray masses of timber, with the force of a battering ram; and here and there the roofs of dwelling-houses fell into the rooms, and smashing all beneath them.

The verandah of Mr. George, butcher's shop, was carriod 300 or 400 yards up the street, and obligingly left at the gate of Major Matson's ; and a policeman who was standing under it at the time was lifted up, and thrown down, and rolled about on the ground, and bruised, and otherwise most unmercifully treated. The next place where the damage was most perceptible was where two dwelling houses stood, one on each side of Mr. Dillon Bell's, the farthest of which is owned by Mr. Craig. The damage to the roofs and other portions of both these buildings was very great; but singularly enough the whirlwind left Mr. Bell's house intact, excepting that the gate was lifted from its hinges and a portion of the verandah blown down.

On reaching the site of Mr. Hunter's building establishment, which consisted of a very large wooden building on the top of Parnell road, a scene of destruction was presented which almost beggars description. One mass of broken timbers extending over an area of perhaps a quarter of an acre, was all that remained to the view of the casual observer. The way in which this building was demolished was peculiar, the destroying element having, it would appear, entered through the doors, and exploded inside, blowing the building to pieces, levelling the greater portion to the ground, and carrying numerous large and small fragments of the timber in every direction with an irresistible force. One large piece of timber was hurled against the entrance gate of Mr. Lusk's house, which it smashed in, and the roof of one of the apartments fell through; there being fortunately no one in it at the time. Another large mass of timber fell through the roof of the Bishop's library. The galvanised iron blockhouse recently erected on the top of the hill was swept bodily, the greater portion of it being deposited in Mr. Hay's paddock a quarter of a mile off, and sheets of the galvanised iron were found near at hand, twisted in all conceivable shapes, and even torn to shreds in some instances. When the storm first came on, a number of little children, who had been playing about in the neighbourhood, took shelter under the lee of the block-house, and when it was carried away, a piece of the timber or other material struck one of the children, a little girl, and broke her arm. Luckily, all the churches escaped, with the exception of some slight damage done to the Roman Catholic place of worship, close at the back of which the whirlwind passed.

After sweeping the blockhouse clean away, it took the direction of the Tamaki; and there is no knowing, at present, what damage it may not have done after leaving Auckland. There were several persons who received wounds and bruises, but fortunately no lives were lost. A young lad had his leg broken; a Mr. Soales was very seriously cut about the face by some falling timber; and another person received a scalp wound ; but no doubt there have been other casualties though not very serious, or we should have heard of them. All the above occurred within the space of a few minutes, and the people then began to look about to see the extent of the damage, many thinking, no doubt, that theirs had been the most severe. The street was strewed with timbers, and the broken shop fronts and unroofed and demolished buildings presented a pitiable appearance, considering the loss that must fall upon the sufferers.

Mr. Hunter's (the builder) loss must amount to as much as £1000; although a portion of the machinery was got out without much injury; and the total value of property destroyed during the brief space of five minutes is, it is said, about £5,000. In the evening large numbers of persons from Auckland visited Parnell to see the ruins, and it was a general subject of wonder that so few persons had been injured. But the effects of the whirlwind were not confined to the land.

Two or three vessels in the harbor narrowly escaped being sunk. The captain of the Tyburnia happened to be standing on the poop deck of his vessel at the time, and saw the whirlwind approaching. It struck the vessel on the broadside, and passed between the fore and main masts, shaking them violently. The whirlwind then passed on between the stern of the Ganges and the bows of the Owen Glendower, upsetting the punt belonging to the former, and giving the latter a severe shaking. It afterwards came in contact with the Derwent Hunter, and for a moment that vessel was in imminent danger of being capsized as she was struck with great force on the broadside. The cutter Petrel, from Wangarei, had just dropped her anchor, when the whirlwind struck her, tearing away her sails, and knocking overboard one of the men on deck, named Henry Smith. A boat was immediately put out and the man who held on to a cask, which was also knocked overboard, was saved. There were other casualties in the harbour, but none of them, we believe, were of a serious nature.

It is not at all improbable that the whirlwind, which was in the shape of a circling cloud, and was seen clearly by many persons in Auckland, was highly charged with electricity, and that this may have increased the extraordinary force and destructiveness of it.

Southern Cross 5 November 1863