Second World War Memorial -- St Jude's Anglican Church

The names on the stone are as follows:

D. A. Blackman
W. Brothers
P. W. Crees
R. H. Earland
H. H. Earney
J. Johnston
R. G. Lindsay
F. M. Logan
P. J. D. McGeehan
L. C. Porritt
A. E. Shepherd
D. Tucker

A road which isn't -- southern Layard Street

Back in 1863, Thomas Russell's surveyors laid out Greytown in a neat, tidy pattern. He would never have guessed that in 1868, Blake Street would be changed, diverting it to meet with New North Road instead of going straight up to meet Blockhouse Bay Road. In the next decade, other surveyors would mark out a line of railway which would cast a wide swathe across the eastern part of that pattern, cutting off sections of properties. The railway meant that the southern end of Russell's Layard Street from 1863 would never be formed, never metalled. It remains as a road reserve today, a long and wide strip of grass mowed every so often by the Auckland City Council. It is the road which isn't.

It's also, in a way, a piece of 1860s Avondale which hasn't altered all that much from when Russell's surveyors marked out the Greytown sections.

R. F. Bollard (1863-1927)

Richard Bollard, Avondale-born and son of John Bollard, the first chairman of the Whau Highway District, died on 25 August 1927 of pneumonia after contracting influenza. The following is an obituary published that day in the Auckland Sun.

The late Richard Francis Bollard was born in Avondale in 1863, and his mother, Mrs. Bollard, sen., widow of the late Mr. John Bollard, once M.P. for Eden, lives still in the old family home in Rosebank Road, where the late Minister of the Crown was born.

Richard Bollard was educated in the public schools and under private tuition. He became clerk of the Avondale Road Board, of which his father was chairman for about 30 years. He resigned that position after seven years, and established himself in the Waikato, going into a large timber milling business near Taupiri in partnership with Mr. J. W. Bailey.

Taking up farming, he settled at Tamahere, and began his public life as a member of the Kirikiriroa Road Board and the Waikato County Council, of which eventually he became chairman. He was also a member of the Waikato Hospital Board.

When the Raglan electorate was constituted in 1911, Mr. Bollard became its first representative in Parliament, and he has continuously represented that electorate ever since. In politics he soon came to the fore. He was appointed Junior Government Whip in 1918 and Senior Whip in 1919. From that office he was promoted to cabinet rank as Minister of Internal Affairs in 1923.

Mr. Bollard was in his youth a keen sportsman, particularly interested in cricket and rifle shooting, but he was a fine pheasant shot also. Only recently the Otaki Maori Racing Club elected him a patron and the Wellington Trotting Club in his honour recently put the Bollard Handicap on the programme for the spring meeting.

The Bollard family have been closely associated with Anglicanism and the late Minister of Internal Affairs was a lay reader in the Tamahere Anglican Church.

The late Minister leaves a widow, who was formerly Miss Louisa Dakin, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dakin of Avondale. His two sons are Mr. J. R. Billard, of Tamahere, and Mr. Harold Bollard, of Wellington. His daughters are Mrs. Hunter, Mrs. Duncan Bennett, Miss Muriel Bollard and Miss Madge Bollard, all of whom reside in Wellington.

Mrs. John Bollard, mother of the late Mr. Bollard, still lives in Avondale. Other members of Mrs. Bollard’s family are Mr. W. Allen Bollard, artist, Dunedin; Mr. Ben Bollard, Auckland; Mr. A. E. Bollard, of Campbell and Ehrenfried, Ltd., Auckland; and Mr. Harold Bollard, of the Northern Steamship Company, Auckland.

The late Mr. Bollard’s sisters are Mrs. J. W. Bailey, Mrs. Charles Waters, Mrs. John Mills, Mrs. D. V. Russell, all of Auckland; and Miss Bollard, who lives with her mother at Avondale.

When the House resumes to-morrow afternoon formal expressions of regret at the death of the Minister of Internal Affairs will be made by members.

The Prime Minister [Gordon Coates] was just leaving his home this morning to be present when the House in Committee was to resume when he was informed of the serious condition of Mr. Bollard, and hurried to the late Minister’s home, just in time to be present at his passing, which occurred at about 8.51.

On arrival at Parliament Buildings Mr. Coates conferred with all parties, and when the House met at 9.30 am immediate adjournment was unanimously agreed upon.

“Any formal contribution members may feel inclined to make to our late colleague can be better conveyed to-morrow,” said the Prime Minister. “I feel I am expressing their views when I say that none of us are really in a mood to express what we would like at the moment.”

Mr. H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, agreed with Mr. Coates’s suggestion, which was formally adopted, and the House adjourned.

Avondale's Mayors

For a brief time, from 29 April 1922 until 31 August 1927, Avondale was an independent borough. During that time, we had four mayors.

James Watkin Kinniburgh (1922-1923). Born in 1858, he started his public service career in 1873. In 1910, he wrote a paper advocating the decimal system of currency. He died in Auckland in 1941. More on him here. Photo used here by permission of the Kinniburgh family.

William John Tait (1923-1927). Longest serving of Avondale's Mayors, and often erroneously termed the "first Mayor" of the Borough. He served many years on the Avondale Road Board before the Borough period, and in 1937 spearheaded the creation of the Avondale Businessmen's Association (which still continues today, after some changes of name and constitution). He ran a land agent's business, and built the Unity Buildings on the corner of Rosebank and Great North Roads in 1932. Tait Street and Tait Park are named after him.

Herbert Tiarks (1927). Living in Blockhouse Bay, he was an accountant by trade. He was extremely upset by the poll passed in August 1927 to amalgamate Avondale with the city, and resigned forthwith.

Edward E. Copsey, Mayor for little more than a week before the amalgamation. He organised the petition calling for the poll on amalgamation, and was appointed by the Borough council, then in crisis, to replace Tiarks. A farmer and market gardener, Copsey owned an extensive holding on Rosebank Road. Copsey Place is named after him.

A Place Called Opou (Cox's Creek)

Here is the text of a speech I gave earlier this year on Cox's Creek and the activities there. The West End Friendly Circle were a lovely group of people, and this was one of my most enjoyable speaking gigs this year.

Avondale in 1927

These photos were first published by the Auckland Sun in August 1927, just as the poll result for the amalgamation of Avondale with Auckland City was announced (see "Borough's End"). They show Avondale just at the start as a suburb. Top is the Avondale Shopping Centre -- left is the Avondale Hotel, in the distance the manual training blocks for the primary school, at right is the local bootmaker's shop, next to Pages' Store (with the distinctive facade detail) then the local dentist/chemist. Great North Road was recently concreted in 1925, the old trough and lamp has gone, and traffic islands and roundabout are in the future.

The bottom photo is from Blockhouse Bay Road. To the right of the centre pole is the domed shape of the Avondale Town Hall (now the Hollywood Cinema), with the wooden public hall beside it. Just to the right, but across St Georges Road, is Avondale Presbyterian Church (the name St Ninians was to come in the 1930s). Note the empty ground around the church. Most of that is now Memorial Park and the Mobil service station along Great North Road.

Compulsory military training, a hundred years ago

I got this from an undated newspaper clipping in my files. It was also published in the centenary booklet put out by the Avondale Jockey Club in 1989. Apart from where it is inscribed "Avondale Camp 1912" and is fairly obviously a mounted military outfit on the racecourse, little else is known about them.

I may now know more, however. I'm putting together a paper at the moment on what appears to have been the first military camp on the racecourse, in May 1912. I found the timing of the camp quite by chance -- I was in the city library, looking in a book listing old post offices and postal agencies put out by the NZ Postal History Society, and wondered, "What do they have under Avondale?" Well, there was the usual -- Whau Bridge agency from 1861, then the post office at Avondale station -- and then, a note about two special temporary post offices, set up on the racecourse at two military camps. The first, from 1 May to 8 May 1912, was what I tracked down. The other (also a target for further research) was in August 1914, before the Pioneer Maori camp later that year.

The men in the photo appear to be the 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles, originally constituted as part of the NZ Territorial Force in March 1911. The Avondale camp was their first annual training camp, and the first training camp for mounted forces anywhere in the Auckland area. Two other training camps, one at Papatoetoe and one elsewhere in Auckland, pre-date this one, but were for infantry and artillery units. A band was part of their unit -- the 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles band played at the 1928 at the unveiling of the mounted soldier's memorial at Otahuhu. During World War I, they fought at Gallipoli, the Sinai, and Palestine.

Legislation for compulsory military training, replacing our system of volunteer brigades since the 1860s Land Wars, was passed in December 1909, but after a report by Lord Kitchener suggesting changes, it was held up until an amendment was passed late in 1910. It wasn't until early 1911 that the first territorial armed units were organised and constituted. Military training began in school for all males in New Zealand from age 14, and continued until age 25, with a reserve until age 30 and call-up until age 55.

There was opposition to CMT from the Quakers and trade unionists, but it continued through to World War I.

This is an intriguing find. So far, I have the news reports on the camp from the NZ Herald and Auckland Star, and will do a bit more digging next time I'm in the city around the time the unit formed up, and see if there's any additional information in the Observer and Weekly News. I put the final paper up on Scribd later on. But, here's a taste: this was written by a Herald reporter for the 4 May 1912 issue.

A bag of bran for a pillow, sweet-smelling hay as a mattress, a waterproof sheet and two military overcoats as bedclothes -- and a HERALD reporter settled down for his first night in camp at Avondale on Wednesday. The "last post" had long since sounded, but from different parts of the camp came sounds of revelry. In the horse lines, just outside the tent, all was quiet, save for the "champ, champ" of the horses at their feed, and an occasional sharp rebuke from the guard to a refractory horse. And so to sleep.

At a seemingly unearthly hour in the morning the bugle sounding the reveille awoke the camp. The morning was cold and raw, and it was difficult to leave the warm tent, but coffee, brought by a friendly orderly, made the task easier.

Outside the men were hard at work grooming their horses, and all was bustle and confusion. Horses groomed and fed and accoutrements cleaned, the various squadrons lined up to be fitted for uniforms, and many a laugh was heard as a particularly small man got lost in a particularly large uniform. The regiment clothed, breakfast was the next thing, after which the regiment went through a course of mounted drill prior to being inspected by General Godley in the afternoon.

Update: finished the article on 18 December 2008.

1876 Eden election: a disagreement between two gentlemen at the Whau

The setting: Auckland in 1876, when provincialism was about to receive the axe by central government decree, and the districts found themselves divided in opinion between the idea of provincial government (and some measure of independence) and that from Wellington. Aucklanders had never truly recovered from the wound to their pride when the capital was moved from their fair city to that at former Port Nicholson.

Now, in January 1876, came an election for the seat of Eden, an electorate which covered most of the isthmus of Auckland. What had been a three-horse race before Christmas the preceding year, between Alan Kerr Taylor, Joseph Augustus Tole and Hugh Carleton, was reduced to two with Carleton's bowing out. It became a straight-out choice between provincialism, Sir George Grey who supported the councils (he had after all put them in place back in the 1850s), and Tole; and central government, a path chosen by Taylor to support.

Feelings in the area could be described by the placards which were "posted in conspicuous places" come election day on 6 January. "Vote for Tole and Sir George Grey, or for Taylor and 3s a day wages." "Be true to the interests of Auckland, and vote for Tole and Sir George Grey.

Three days before the election, the Whau Public Hall was double-booked that night. This was not a common occurrence -- usually bookings were handled by the halls' trustees. But as Taylor had arranged to use the hall for a gathering of his supporters (Whau Highway Board chairman John Bollard among them), so Tole had advertised by posters that he would conduct a meeting there that same night. It ended up being a fairly civilised question-and-answer session, chaired by John Bollard -- until local resident Mr. Owen, seconded by a Mr. Cantwell, moved a vote of confidence in Mt Taylor. The Southern Cross reported on the next moments.

"Mr. Buchanan (after a consultation with Messrs. Tole and Dignan) said there had been an understanding that no vote of confidence should be moved in either candidate at that meeting. The electors had now to regard measures, not men. He hoped the electors of the Whau would not be bound neck-and-foot, as they had been hitherto. At the beginning of every election in that district, there were men who went about getting votes in order to carry a certain candidate through before the electors had an opportunity of knowing who the candidates were and judging of their merits. Men had been compelled to go to the poll like so many bullocks. He had witnessed that for many years, until his blood boiled within him. (Cheers.) He had great respect for Mr. Taylor, but considered him a Government man by instinct. He begged to move, as an amendment, "That this meeting thanks both candidates for their expression of their views."

Mr. Owen, saying that he had been unaware that there was any understanding that there was to be no vote of confidence, withdrew his motion, and the amendment was carried unanimously.

Bollard, by now, must have been seething. When Tole moved, seconded by Taylor, a vote of thanks to the Chairman, Bollard bit back at Buchanan.

"The Chairman said that Mr. Buchanan had made an unjustifiable attack upon a person who was not in a position to defend himself.

"Mr. Buchanan: Sir, I rise to --

"The Chairman: Silence, sir. Mr. Buchanan's remarks were entirely out of place. He had made an unjust assertion when he said that the electors of Whau had been driven to the polling booth like bullocks. The fact was, Mr. Buchanan had tried to drive them like bullocks, but had been defeated by a straightforward honest course of conduct. Mr. Buchanan had levelled the insinuations at him (Mr. Bollard) when he was unable, as Chairman, to reply. He now dissolved the meeting.

"Mr. Buchanan: I have a few words --

"The Chairman: I dissolve the meeting.

"Mr. Buchanan: Very well, we can put some one else in the chair and go on.

"The meeting here began to disperse, but before doing so cheers were given for Sir George Grey and for the candidates."

Two days later, John Buchanan wrote to the editor of the Southern Cross:

"Sir, -- The report in the Cross of Messrs. Taylor and Tole's meeting at the Whau escaped my notice on the day of publication. I did not say that "men had been compelled to go to the poll like so many bullocks" but this: "The electors had been sold like bullocks," meaning their promises had been got so early in the day that they did not go to the poll free to vote as they wished on the day of the election. The sapient chairman applied the remarks differently; he would not allow of explanation, nor was there sufficient disinterestedness in him to vacate the chair, and have fair discussion. Abusing the privilege of his chairmanship fits tolerably well in the general course of domination affected in our quiet locality. I am, &c., John Buchanan."

Tole won, by a majority on the day of 51 votes. The Whau vote was tied 22-all.

Two days later, John Bollard replied in the newspaper.

"Sir, - I observe in your Thursday's issue a letter signed "John Buchanan", in which he has thought proper to censure my conduct as chairman of Messrs. Taylor and Tole's meeting. He states that the report of the meeting escaped his notice on the day of publication. This is untrue, as I know his attention was drawn to your report on that date; but it did not suit his purpose to publish his letter sooner. He then goes on to say he did not use the language imputed to him. I say most distinctly that he did, and there are many witnesses to prove it. Again he says that I would not vacate the chair in order to have fair discussion; this also is untrue. The facts are as follows: -- Mr. Buchanan in moving an amendment to the motion, made use of the language reported in your paper, and hurled insinuations at myself when he knew as chairman I could not reply. At the close of the meeting, on the motion of Mr. Tole, a vote of thanks was accorded me for my impartial conduct in the chair; and in returning thanks, I then chastised Mr. Buchanan for his cowardly conduct, perhaps rather too severely, considering his weak nerves. I then vacated the chair, as the business of the meeting was closed. He then tried to appoint another chairman, but the meeting refused to do so. I certainly thought Mr. Buchanan had sense enough not to rush into print over this matter, but now that he has measured swords with me, I advise him to beware, or he may receive some home thrusts. I am, &c., John Bollard."

John Buchanan wanted the last word. Two days later:

"Sir, - I am sorry to occupy your columns with matter very much of a personal nature, but am afraid there is no alternative left me than to reply to a letter in your Saturday's issue, signed "John Bollard." He states it "is untrue, as I know," &c., that your report of the Whau meeting escaped my notice on the day of publication. I reiterate my assertion, and call for his proof. He says I did use the language imputed to me. I say I did not. He says he can call witnesses. I can call witnesses that I did not use the language reported. But, even if I had, and the language used had not conveyed the idea intended, was it not still a chairman's duty to allow of qualification or explanation? I do not see how that helps your correspondent out of his difficulty. Your correspondent works upon such capital as this: -- "A vote of thanks was accorded me for my impartial conduct in the chair." I regret to interfere with the pleasure that fact gives Mr. Bollard, but would simply remind him that the ungentlemanliness complained of occurred after the formal vote of thanks. He says insinuations were hurled at him. I was not aware that insinuations could be hurled. I thought they were generally thrown out in a quiet manner. It was not so in this case. There was a broad and distinct statement made, and that publicly, and it truth is all the more palpable that the principal party concerned put on the the cap that fitted him so well. It is quite competent, Mr. Editor, for a chairman to leave the chair. Was this gentleman ignorant of the fact? If not, why does he -- I repeat the words -- "abuse the privilege of his chairmanship" in making a cowardly attack upon one whom he would not allow to explain? That was the true time for explanation when all parties were present. Why did he not allow it? Was he afraid? Let me now close by saying that it is not necessary to controversy to indulge in calling names, to be free with insinuations, or to make violent threats. Nor is it desirable to the lover of truth to create a great cloud of words, and all the while the would-bee reasoner is escaping from the real issues of the question. This, in my opinion, is what your correspondent has done. I regret not being able to oblige him with newspaper controversy. My business required most of my time, and I trust that the controversy may end here, even at the risk of being supposed to be afraid of Mr. Bollard's home thrusts. I am, &c., John Buchanan."

Buchanan's disagreements with Bollard continued into the disputes over the Northern Omnibus Company in the 1880s. In the end, Buchanan went to live elsewhere.

“Get me out if you can” – William Inskip, 1886

I found the details of the dreadful mishap that happened to William Inskip one January day in 1886 quite by accident. Normally, something like this I’m able to turn into a short, 400-word or so piece for the Spider’s Web. But not this one, there was too much detail I’d have to carve away for the limited space. And I felt poor Mr. Inskip deserved better than that. The following is a summary gleaned from the NZ Herald and Auckland Star at the time, as well as a website on the 65th regiment’s history. It was a dry summer, back in January 1886. Drought had hit Auckland hard, and Avondale back then could only rely on what water was left in the rain tanks and what could be found in deep wells bored into the clay and lined with brick. One Avondale resident, local butcher John Wickham, had a dry well on the property he and his family rented from merchant John Buchanan near the Whau Bridge – so, he asked William Inskip, a 62 year old well-digger, to clean out and deepen the 40 foot well. William John Inskip had formerly been part of the 65th (2nd North Yorkshire Riding) Regiment of Foot. The 65th is known as the regiment with the longest record of service in New Zealand, from 1846 to 1865, known by their official nickname as the “Royal Tigers”, but also by the name given to them by Maori, the “hickety pips”, after the Maori pronunciation of “65th” – “hikete piwhete.” Initially, the regiment served as guards on convict ships bound for Australia in 1845-1846, but were diverted, travelling from Sydney to both the Bay of Islands (location of the first Maori Wars at the time) and Auckland. Much of the time the regiment served in New Zealand, the troops were split up and stationed around the North Island. From 1858, part of the regiment was in Napier, where William Inskip is said to have learned the well-digging trade. The whole regiment was stationed at Albert Barracks in Auckland by 1861, and took part in the invasion of the Waikato in 1863. The 65th were well-known for having an unusually good rapport with their Maori opponents, well-commented upon at the time. From the online history of the regiment:

“There was reportedly a strong respect and chivalrous, almost friendly behaviour between the 65th Regiment and the Maori. No such respect existed for some other units, e.g. the 70th being taunted to "Go back to India". The Forest Rangers were particularly disliked, probably due to their use of guerrilla tactics, which offended the Maori warrior code. “For example, as described in The York and Lancaster Regiment, Vol 1, p 112, when pickets from the 65th went into the bush at night, they would identify themselves to the Maori and ask them if there would be fighting that night. If the reply was something like "Not tonight - too wet and cold; we’d better get some sleep. Good night, Hickety Pip," both sides would honour the agreement. If there was going to be an attack, they would be given warning, then be expected to fight like any other regiment. “On other occasions, during a lull in fighting, there would be a temporary truce and the Maori and men would exchange food and tobacco and the Maori would point out where they had carefully buried and neatly fenced off, the bodies of 65th men. On another occasion, when the 65th led an assault on a pa, a Maori shouted out for the Regiment to lie down, because they wanted to fire at the following regiments. The request was ignored. “The respect of the regiment for their enemies was such that a memorial plaque was placed in St John's Church, Te Awamutu.”

When the regiment embarked for England in 1865, less than half the regiment were on board the two ships. William Inskip was one of those who chose to stay behind in the colony. By 1886 he was married with a large family, the youngest being nine years old, and living on the Avondale-Manukau Road (likely present-day Blockhouse Bay Road). Starting work at Wickham’s on Monday 25 January at 7.45 am, Inskip brought along William H. Scarlett to assist, and both Wickham and Scarlett lowered Inskip carefully to the well’s muddy bottom using a sling. Then Wickham went off to his shop up in the township, while Inskip and Scarlett set to work scooping the three feet of mud from the bottom of the well. Suddenly, Inskip remarked that “the earth was slipping and running like sand under the lower course of bricks”. Scarlett, alarmed, called down, “Take care of yourself, Bill, whatever you do!” There was a cry of alarm then from Inskip, and he called for the rope. Scarlett hurriedly threw the rope down the well after detaching a bucket – but too late. Just then, the well collapsed, the walls falling inward in tiers, an estimated 1300 bricks toppling down upon the hapless Inskip below, along with earth and clay. The topmost levels remained, but the debris was some 15 feet deep. Scarlett said later he heard groans from the entombed man, as he quickly sought help. A carter passing along the road was hailed, and asked to get assistance. The carter went to fetch a Mr. Goldie nearby in New Lynn, but a carpenter named James Forsyth arrived, joined soon after by Wickham (who had been alerted by his son) and a Mr. Benton. Scarlett and Forsyth removed the last of the bricking still in place in order to make any rescue safer, and then men volunteered to go down in the sling to start removing the bricks entombing Inskip. One report recorded that the last words Inskip was heard to utter at that point were “Get me out if you can.” Wickham headed for the Avondale telephone bureau (most likely, given those early days, the Avondale Railway Station) to send a telegraph to the police all the way out in the city. Superintendent Thomson promptly sent Constable Kelly on horseback out to Avondale. Meantime, the rescue party found the shaft was becoming increasingly unstable, more earth falling in. Local grocer Henry Peck arrived and volunteered to go down and pass up the bricks – but five minutes after he was lowered down in the sling another fall of earth took place, and he was hoisted up. He was said to have been the last one to hear Inskip moaning, at 10 o’clock that morning. From that time on, the unfortunate man made no further sound. Avondale residents gathered at the scene, including Inskip’s eldest son. The rescuers chose not to tell Mrs. Inskip of the tragedy until midday, in the hope that Inskip may have been rescued alive by that time. Mrs. Goldie from New Lynn went up to the Inskip house to break the news to his wife. Devastated, Mrs. Inskip headed straight down to the Wickhams’ to see for herself, but was persuaded to go back home by her friends on finding that nothing could be done. She did so, but returned later in the day to see what progress, if any, had been made. A party of men returned to Avondale to get timber for shoring up the sides of the shaft, and Benton and Forsyth prepared the timber and made sets for slabbing. Henry Peck once again volunteered to go down to fix the timber in unsafe places, relieved by a Mr. Smith. Once the timber was in place, preventing more slippages, gangs of men worked to start bringing the fallen bricks up and off Inskip, with one man down the well in the sling passing the bricks and earth up to the other rescuers. The NZ Herald recorded the names of those involved with the work that day: James Forsyth, Benton, Simpson, Smith, Peck, Scarlett, James Heaphy, Goldie, Taylor, Webb, Ringrose, Bollard “and others whose names we could not ascertain.” Wickham and Peck kept tea and other refreshments going for the workers, and a boy was sent out to the Avondale Hotel for beer for the men in the mid-afternoon. The work continued laboriously on towards dusk, the ground around the shaft still uncertain and described as “being in the nature of quicksand, and treacherous.” Lights were obtained, and by gaslight more helpers arrived as the news rippled out across the communities of both Avondale and New Lynn, including Robert Garrett from the Garrett Tannery in Waterview, and Francis Gittos. Around 10 pm, one of William Inskip’s arms was discovered protruding through the rubbish of bricks and earth. The rescuers redoubled their efforts, desperately trying to reach him. A quarter hour later, they had succeeded in getting his head clear, but by then it was certain he was dead. It was another two hours of painstaking removal of the debris that had entombed him alive before they were able to hoist his body up out of the well shaft. “The task was a dangerous one,” the Herald reported, “as the body was so jammed in the bricks that it was necessary to get a purchase on the windlass to draw it out of the debris. When this was done a rope was fastened round the body and it was hoisted up to the bank amid the hurried whispers of the group standing around the well, Mr. Smith being brought up afterwards.” From what was seen of the position of his body when it was found, Inskip at the time of the brick lining’s collapse on top of him tried to protect his head by raising his arms – hence why an arm was the first part of him found. There were some cuts to his head, a dent in the chest along with some blood, but it appeared that he had suffocated. I don’t know what happened to his family, whether they stayed in Avondale or just simply moved on. But it is worth even just a passing thought as you travel along Great North Road, heading along the sweeping curve that takes you towards the Whau Bridge and on towards New Lynn – that somewhere close to that bridge, either in the vicinity of the pensioner flats up on the rise to the left, or in amongst the houses and their driveways to the right, somewhere there a man died so dreadfully that summer’s morning in 1886. Somewhere there, as well, people in a small rural community rallied around and refused, right to the bitter end and at great personal risk to their own lives, to give up on their friend and their neighbour. That is also part of this sad story that should not be forgotten today.

New links to the Gittos story

Updated from here.

Hopefully, these work. Please advise -- if they don't, I'll have to consider putting the whole thing in the blog direct.

Leather Makers Part 1.

Leather Makers Part 2.

Leather Makers Part 3.

Leather Makers Part 4.

Leather Makers: the story of the Gittos tannery in Avondale

Image: Benjamin Gittos, from Murray Gittos collection.

This has been quite a long time in coming. I began to actively compile information on the Gittos family in 2004 -- now, late in 2008, it's complete enough for me to publish "Leather Makers" on Scribd. There may yet be some tweaks and changes, but what I aimed for here is not a rewrite of Murray Gittos' wonderful family history First There Were Three, going into the story of Rev. William Gittos (the best known of the family) or detail as to Francis Gittos' story in Blockhouse Bay (I understand research is underway now into his life there). I was interested primarily in the Avondale-Mt Albert tannery (it straddled the border) and what impact the family had on our local history here in Avondale. The fact that the old Whau Public Hall is still standing, built in 1867 from fundraising mainly by performances by the Whau Minstrels, workers from the tannery including Francis Gittos -- I'd say that impact has left a positive mark here.

An update: for some reason, Scribd tonight is giving me all manner of strife. It seemed to refuse to load the first page (and probably still does).

Another update (Nov. 24) -- well, I knew this was a large project, but I didn't know it would cause so much grief in Scribd. Perhaps their servers are a little slow over the weekend. I'll do another post, and put up links to a four-part version. Part of that has loaded, part hasn't at time of writing.

New post here.

Auckland Baptist Tabernacle

The Auckland Baptist Tabernacle today (above), and an impression from the 1902 Cyclopedia of NZ (below).

According to the Baptist Tabernacle history page, the first Auckland service was in 1855. Land was bought at the corner of Federal and Wellesley Streets (today's ASB Bank Tower) and a church built there to seat 350 people. By the 1880s, however, even with an extension, the building proved to small. The foundation stone for today's Auckland Baptist Tabernacle was laid at Easter 1884, and the building completed May 1885.

The re-run Waitemata by-election of 1874

In 1874, the Waitemata electorate of the NZ House of Representatives underwent a by-election. Actually, the electorate had two elections, because the loser didn’t feel that the winner of the first election should have won, or even taken part.

Gustav Ludwig Theodore Von der Heyde, born in Bremen, Germany in 1834, was naturalised as a British subject in South Australia in 1857 before travelling to New Zealand in 1866. By 1869, he had married the daughter of shipping and timber magnate Thomas Henderson, by 1871 he was a member of the Auckland Harbour Board, and in 1874 looked to succeed his father-in-law as MHR for Waitemata, an electorate that included North and West Auckland and the North Shore.

The other character in this story is John Sangster Macfarlane, born in Haddington, East Lothian in Scotland in 1818, his father the Presbyterian minister there.He arrived in Sydney in 1837 as an officer in the Commissariat Department, and resigned after some time to study navigation. Purchasing a schooner, he began a trading business between Sydney, Auckland, and the New Zealand east coast. After marrying in Sydney, he joined Captain Salmon in Auckland as a general merchant. Eventually, he operated his own self-named business, and became a major name in the merchant trading circles of his adopted town.

In July 1874, Von der Heyde ran against Macfarlane for the Waitemata seat, and won by 60 votes. The polling places at the time were Devonport (Von der Heyde), Stokes’ Point (Macfarlane), Riverhead (Macfarlane), Huia (Macfarlane), Whau (Von der Heyde), Henderson’s Mill (Von der Heyde), Wade (Macfarlane), Lucas’ Creek (Von der Heyde), and Helensville (Macfarlane). Gustav Von der Heyde, leaseholder from Emily Place, was duly elected on 3 August 1874 to serve as the representative of Waitemata. The voting may also have been associated with broader issues: Von der Heyde was an opponent of the break-up of the Provincial Council system, while Macfarlane supported the system’s end.

The announcement of Von der Heyde’s win was, according to the Evening Star, “hailed with repeated cheers. At the conclusion Mr. Von der Heyde advanced to the front and made a short speech of thanks. It was exceedingly gratifying for him to stand there and return their thanks for his election, more particularly because he felt convinced that the contest had been a fair stand-up one throughout. It had been carried on with an utter absence of unfriendly feeling on either side, and he felt proud to think he had come victoriously out of a competition in which such honourable dealing had been conspicuous. He would not trouble them with a speech, but would merely say he would do his best to carry out the promises he had made to protect the interests of Waitemata. (Cheers).

“Mr. Atkin returned thanks on behalf of the defeated candidate, Mr. J. S. Macfarlane. He corroborated Mr. Von der Heyde’s statement as to the fairness and good feeling evinced on both sides.”

Unfortunately, the matter was not yet over, and questions would soon be raised as to how “fair” the election had really been.

On August 5, the Star published reports of rumours circulating around Auckland that the Premier, Julius Vogel, was an un-naturalised alien. The Herald slammed the Star for this, but the evening paper remained adamant that this was something that needed to be looked into, and if true, remedied, even by special act of Parliament if need be. “To sleep in this manner on a slumbering volcano is not nice,” the Star asserted on 6 August. “… if Mr. Vogel has his letter of naturalisation … let him show them. If it is not so, and the unnatural proposal for naturalising him in one sitting is necessary to save us from national and commercial ruin we think that when he is passing through Mr. Von der Heyde will be hitched on behind.”

Did the doubt as to Von der Heyde’s naturalisation precede the Star’s comment, or was the comment the cause of the stir which was to erupt in Auckland for the next month? That remains unclear. In Vogel’s case, he was born in London; the kafuffle concerning him soon died down. Von der Heyde was not so fortunate.

Another MHR, Mr. Carrington, presented a petition to the House on 8 August on behalf of Macfarlane against Von der Heyde’s election on the grounds that the latter was an alien. The problem was that Von der Heyde’s naturalisation in South Australia did not, as he had thought and been advised, automatically grant him British subject status in the New Zealand colony under an 1870 Imperial Act relating to aliens. “What a pity,” the Southern Cross sympathised, “Von der Heyde did not at once make things secure by petitioning to be naturalised when he announced his candidature! It could have been effected without the slightest difficulty, and in the course of a week or ten days, by a simple order of the Governor and a Gazette notice.”

Macfarlane’s petition didn’t go through, but another by John Leck, an elector in Waitemata, did on 14 August. The Waitemata Election Petition Committee met in Wellington on 20 August. They recognised that Von der Heyde had successfully gazetted his naturalisation on the 11th of that month. Von der Heyde, in his testimony, stated that his father had been born in Hanover in 1805, at a time when that part of Germany was ruled by the King of Great Britain, and he only knew of any objection to him as being an alien four days after the poll result was declared. His South Australia papers had always been accepted by Customs officials before then. The following day, the Waitemata Election Committee declared the election void, and the seat vacant.

“Another election for Waitemata,” the Star announced. “We trust that the nomination and re-election of Mr Von der Heyde will be but a formal affair … He has now conformed to our law on the subject of his naturalisation gazetted in New Zealand, and we are confident that with not a score exceptions, every opponent, as well as every supporter in the late struggle, will be pleased at the unopposed return of Mr. Von der Heyde.”

But, there was indeed opposition: from J. S. Macfarlane, who announced his candidature in late August. A match race of an election was therefore on the cards. Nominations were made in Devonport on 1 September. Von der Heyde was nominated by D. Burns and seconded by the Whau District’s John Bollard. Macfarlane was nominated by John Lamb from Riverhead, seconded by M. Roe.

Questions about Von der Heyde’s status were raised yet again, this time as to his eligibility to be on the roll and to vote. This was sorted by T. B. Gillies, who wrote to the Attorney-General on Von der Heyde’s behalf and received the opinion that as he had now legally registered his naturalisation, he was indeed eligible.

The new election took place on 8 September. Von der Heyde won by an increased majority, 62. Rumours of protest petitions began to go around the town yet again, one of which involved the Whau polling place, at the public hall, where at noon on the day of the election, the returning officer ran out of ballots. He decided to shut the hall, and have a messenger ride into the city for more papers. Once they arrived, the officer kept the hall open for voting until 5pm, an hour later than legally stipulated, in order that those who may have missed out due to the delay got their chance. The Star felt that they couldn’t believe anyone would have the audacity “to defeat the wishes of the constituency on a legal quibble.” The editor was right, but Macfarlane was still making threatening noises in that direction two days later.

On 11 September, the Star published a wonderfully arch letter, signed simply “Antwerp”:

“To the Editor: Sir, -- Sympathising deeply as I do with that large hearted patriot, J. S. Macfarlane, in his latest and most thorough defeat, I am naturally anxious to help him as far as possible in his commendable efforts to nullify the verdict of a benighted electorate. If the voters of Waitemata are so obstinate (not to say ungrateful) as to reject that self-sacrificing candidate, they must be lost to all feelings of regard for – for – for his best interests. Therefore I desire to point out a most cogent reason for upsetting the recent election – one which, strange to say, has escaped the notice of J.S. and his lynx-eyed henchmen. It is this: The pigeons which conveyed the returns from the various polling-places were not licensed carriers under the Act in that case made and provided. I do not like to mention this to J. S. personally, as he has such a lofty scorn of employing any means whatever to upset an election which has been decided on the actual merits of the candidates, but, nevertheless, I think it only right to call public attention to the circumstances … P.S. – I am grieved to learn that some of J.S.’s agents proved guilty of a flagrant dereliction of duty, but such is electioneering life.”

Another correspondent to the paper that day wrote:

“At the election of a member for Waitemata a cabman was inspired with a bright idea. He somehow possessed himself of an electoral roll, selected five names, went with them to J. S. Macfarlane stating they were electors, offering to drive them out to the Whau (they objecting to going to the North Shore the water being rough). The bait took, he received his demands for cab hire, and had in addition a handsome sum placed in his hands to stand treat to the voters. Of course when they arrived at the Whau they recorded their votes – but it was over Palmer’s counter [at the Whau Hotel].”

As an aside, the carrier pigeons used by the Star were a highlight of both elections. Both the NZ Herald and Southern Cross relied heavily on information relayed from the Star’s reporters out in the field at each polling station, via carrier pigeon. In the first of the 1874 Waitemata elections, the only thing that held up the news from Huia was that the reporter, becoming somewhat lost in the same bush that hadt spelled doom for the Whau’s Reverend Hamilton the year before, was late in releasing his bird. Mist and darkness were attributed as causes for the lateness of the Helensville bird, but that arrived the following day.

In the end, Von der Heyde served as MHR for Waitemata for less than a year. In 1875, he chose not run for re-election, and Macfarlane finally got his seat in the House. Von der Heyde left New Zealand a few months after the death of his partner Thomas Henderson in 1886, and returned briefly in 1889 en route to Sydney to take up a new position as the colonial manager and general agent for the Australasian branch of the German-Australian Steam Shipping Company of Hamburg. The German-Australian line or Deutsche-Australische Dampfschiffs Gesellschaft formed in 1888 and commenced operations in July 1889 with seven steamers – the Elbertfeldt, Essen, Barmen, Chemnitz, Sommerfeldt, Erlangen and Solingen -- and £400,000 capital. Within two years however passenger services were discontinued and it became merely a cargo service to Australia, the Dutch East Indies and South America. It was taken over by the Hamburg Line in 1926.

Gustav L. T. Von der Heyde died in Sydney in June, 1891, suffering from cancer of the stomach. John Sangster Macfarlane died after a short but painful illness in Auckland, 2 February 1880.

Urban gatepost

I'm just including this here because I think this is quite an old gatepost or something along those lines (on Blockhouse Bay Road, between Methuen and New North, but opposite the fire station). It's fascinated me for quite a while. I have no idea how long it will last -- it looks fairly solid, and that might put off demolition for a while.

Any ideas about it -- just let me know.

Charles Ranken Vickerman (1855-1940)

C. R. Vickerman, Engineer-in-charge of the Public Works Department for the Auckland district at the height of his career in 1902 (photo from the Cyclopedia), was born on the Marlborough Plains, son of Dr. Francis Longbourne Vickerman, a surgeon, government health officer, J.P. and public figure in the Nelson area. F. L. Vickerman died quite suddenly on 9 April 1873, after sitting on the side of his bed, putting on his slippers, when he fell back across the bed, dead from apoplexy, according to the ensuing inquest. Three months later Charles Vickerman passed his civil service exam, and began his career in the service of the Crown as an engineer.

He worked on the Picton-Blenheim railway line from 1874, then he was assigned to the Auckland District, to be connected with the construction and survey of the Rangiriri-Te Awamutu and Auckland-Helensville lines. In 1878, he was based at Whangarei, and worked on the Kamo-Whangarei line, also making further surveys to Kawakawa. Vickerman returned to Auckland in 1883, occupied with the area's defence works, as well as railway lines northwards. He was the superintendent for the building of the Queen Street railway Station (see Cyclopedia Photos post 2), the railway workshops at Newmarket, and other public buildings until c.1913 when he shifted to Gisborne.

On 1 May 1940, the NZ Herald reported his death:

"Mr. Vickerman was in the habit of taking long walks. He set out for one on Friday and apparently at dusk lost his way. Search parties were sent out, but no trace was found of him until Sunday afternoon, when his body was discovered at Ohiro Bay [Wellington]. He had died of exhaustion and exposure."

Charles Ranken Vickerman was the supervising engineer for the design and construction of Avondale's first purpose-built police station on Great North Road, in 1906.

Image from "Avondale Heritage Walks" brochure.

A stabbing case: 1863

ANOTHER STABBING CASE


(From NZ Herald, 3 December 1863.)

John Hayes was then placed at the bar charged with stabbing Nathaniel Sadlier in the right hip, on the 12th October last, at the Whau Blockhouse.

Prisoner pleaded not guilty. Mr. Merriman withdrew the charge of intent to murder.

Nathaniel Sadlier, deposed:- On the 12th October last, I was sergeant in charge at the Whau Blockhouse. Prisoner belongs to the same regiment, and was also there. At noon that day I left the blockhouse in company with the prisoner and went to the public house, about a mile and three quarters distant. We [remained?] there about a quarter off six hour, and then went to the Whau Store, where prisoner bought goods to the amount of 15s 6d. The store is on the town side of the public house. We then went back to the public house, and remained there about 2 hours and a half. I was out on leave. Prisoner then asked me to go back to the blockhouse, when I replied that I had leave, but he might go, and take the things himself. About 8 o’clock that night he started for the blockhouse, and took the things in a bag on his shoulder. I accompanied him about 30 or 40 yards towards the blockhouse, when he flung the bag off his shoulder. I ordered him to take the bag up again and he refused, stating that he wanted to go back to the public house. I told him he should not go, but he insisted on it, and I used sufficient force to prevent him, but no more. Prisoner in the tussle drew his bayonet and stabbed me. Henry Denyer came up immediately afterwards, when I returned to the hotel, and was examined by Dr. Aitkin. The wound he found was the one inflicted by prisoner. I was 21 days confined to hospital.

Cross-examined by prisoner: You asked me several times to go home with you, and I also kicked you after I thought I had received my death wound. I pulled you about to try to get you home. I was sober that day; I had four or five half glasses and one whole glass in four hours; it was ardent spirits. You were under the influence of liquor. I had verbal leave from the officer that day. We had an argument about drill in the public house; but you did not use insulting language. You asked me first to go back to the public house.

Henry Denyer, deposed:- On the 12th October last I had charge of the Whau Hotel. I saw the last witness and prisoner there that day, and upon their leaving prisoner was carrying a bag. Sadlier called out to me to bring him two bottles of brandy which he had left on the counter. Sadlier then came back and prisoner followed. Prosecutor told prisoner not to come, but he threw down the bag and insisted on coming. Sadlier took hold of him and pushed him on and said he should not return. Sadlier used no unnecessary violence. Prisoner then drew his bayonet and stabbed him in the hip. When I saw the stab I ran out and took both bayonets away from them. I took Sadlier’s out of his scabbard. I then took Sadlier and laid him on the counter, when Dr Aitkin came and examined him. The wound that the doctor examined was the same one the prisoner inflicted. They were neither of them drunk.
Cross-examined by prisoner:- I do not know how many times you asked Sadlier to go home. I think once or twice. I did not see him strike you before he was stabbed. Sadlier had one glass and 3 half glasses that day. I was sober.

Dr. Thomas Aitkin [sic], deposed:- I am a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin. On the 12th October last I went to the Whau Hotel about 6pm. I examined Sadlier and found a punctured wound on the right hip, evidently caused by a bayonet. I did not probe it, as it had just recently stopped bleeding. Next morning I advised his removal to the hospital. I do not know whether he had bled much. The instrument had glanced off through coming in contact with the hip bone.

Dr. John Wood, examined:- I am Licentiate of the Royal College of Edinburgh. I was in charge of the Colonial Hospital when prosecutor was brought in. He had received a wound just above the hip joint, which was about 2 inches in depth. He was in hospital more than a week.

The prosecutor Sadlier then stepped forward and spoke to the previous good conduct of the prisoner. Prisoner said that he never knew anything about committing the deed, but if he did it, it was not with intent; he had never had a word with anyone in his life before.

His Honor having summed up, the jury brought up a verdict of “Guilty of unlawful wounding”. Sentence deferred until 3 December, Thursday morning at Supreme Court.

(Hayes was duly sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for a period of 12 calendar months.)

Avondale's postal history

Since the first days of European settlement in Auckland, the postal system has been a vital connection between what was once one of the furthest corners of the British Empire, and the outside world beyond the waters of the Waitemata and Manukau Harbours.

Prior to 1863, the postal service was represented in the Whau District by a landing place beside the first of the Whau River bridges, approximately where the present-day crossing of the river by the Great North Road. Here, mail for West Auckland was brought in by boat, off-loaded, then taken by track into the bush-clad wilderness.

1863 is the first recorded date for a postal agency in the Whau Township, in a small store and butcher’s shop situated near the corner of the present Rosebank Road and Elm Street, run by a Mrs Myers. The only other buildings of note in the township in those days were at opposite ends of the moral spectrum to the settlers: the Presbyterian Church (now St Ninians) and the Whau Hotel at the corner of Rosebank Road and the Great North Road.

According to researcher Mike Butler, there were four Whau district postmasters in the period from 1865 to 1871: Charles Cooper, L H Holloway, J Holloway, and S McCallum. It is likely that these were also the succeeding proprietors of the general store.

Mail was despatched from the Whau Bridge on a weekly basis by 1866, the river still the main transport route despite a daily run from town and back by the horse bus service of the time. In 1871 the post office was transferred to George Thomas' store at the northern corner of Great North  Road and St Jude Street, with William Morris serving as postmaster there from 1872 to 1877.

Some years later George Thomas (owner of the store) took over the postal duties again from 1877 to 1881. The transport of mails from the city was maintained by a daily wagonette along the still unmetalled Great North Road. Mails for Henderson were made up at Avondale and taken on by a four-wheeler, driven by Miss Jenny Hassell, (later married as Mrs Osborne, of Freemans Bay).

According to M.P. Mr. H.G.R. Mason in his speech at the opening of the Avondale Post Office in August 1938, the two first post office stores were later removed to Elm and Ash Streets, and were converted into dwellings that were still in use in 1938. In 1880, following the completion of the railway to Avondale, the post office was combined with the railway station, and the dual duties were undertaken by Mr. J Leach (1881-1884). From that date onwards the mails were transported by rail.

Eight years later, on May 15, 1888, the first letter carriers’ delivery was made on horseback by Ben Bollard, son of then Chairman of the Avondale Road Board District John Bollard. The delivery extended to the Mental Hospital, to Mount Albert, to the end of Rosebank Road, to a quarter of a mile beyond the Whau Bridge, and to Blockhouse Bay and New Lynn. For some reason, this service was suspended to Blockhouse Bay (Avondale South) and New Lynn from 12th July that year, until settlers had a fairly heated meeting in Avondale on 4 September and petitioned the Chief Postmaster, a Mr. Biss, to resume deliveries.

“The postman received £15 a year,” Mr Mason said, “and had to provide and keep two horses! He was also required to deliver telegrams as a part of his ordinary duties.”

The next postman had been Mr Sam Astley, and shortly afterwards Mr Leach was succeeded as combined stationmaster and postmaster by H F Howard (1884–1885), H Bell (1885–1889), Amos Eyes (1889–1900), and W A Ridgeley (1900–1906). In 1902 Mr Duncan Ingram took over the duties as postman. “In the summer and autumn the inward telegram traffic was heavy,” Mr Mason said “as the local growers received the normal advices as to the trend of priced for their produce. At this time the population consisted mainly of market gardeners, fruit growers and employees of the brick works. There were comparatively few city workers living there, but when workers’ fares were inaugurated on the trains shortly afterwards at a rate of 2/- a week the residential development became more rapid, and the horse bus service was discontinued.”

The last two men who combined the duties of stationmaster and postmaster were Mr Joshua Hutchinson (1906-1907) and Mr Charles Moon (1907-1912). On February 13, 1912 the post office relocated from Avondale railway station to the Avondale Hotel building at the Five-Roads intersection (modern-day Avondale Roundabout).

Telephones were another addition to the services provided by the Post Office in the early 20th century. The manual exchange was housed in the Post office itself from 1912 until 1938. (In 1940, a purpose-built telephone exchange was completed on the corner of Geddes Terrace and St Judes Street. Telecommunication services were split from the Post Office in 1987 as an State Owned Enterprise (SOE), and privatised as Telecom New Zealand in 1990.)

“A remarkable expansion had been recorded in the postal business from 1912 to 1938”, said Mr Mason. The postmaster had been Mr Ernest D Thompson, appointed February 1912. Mr Charles B McIsaac, appointed December 10, 1921, Mr John Brookes, appointed June 10 1924, and Mr John G McGregor, the then postmaster in 1938, who was appointed April 29, 1929.

On the day of general elections, the results as they came through to the post office would be posted up on a sheet hung from the former hotel’s verandah, to be seen by crowds congregating beneath the verandah of the Page’s Building just across the road. The first public toilet was available at the post office (in 1916 the Road Board tried to take this convenience over, but were unsuccessful).

The postal service in May 1926 was “inadequate”, according to the Avondale Borough Council, as box clearance was not completed in time for dispatch to the city. The council urged a clearance by 6.30 a.m. in time for the 7 a.m. train. The next month the postmaster replied, saying that clearances were by 8.30 pm, in time for dispatch on the evening trains.

The moves to get a new, purpose-built post office for Avondale began on September 25, 1935, when Mr C H Speakman started a petition which was signed by 500 Avondale residents, pointing out that the building then in use, was not centrally situated, and that inconvenience was caused to business firms and residents. It was felt, in view of the development of the district, that a new building was necessary. The petition was sent to the then Postmaster-General, the Hon. F Jones, stating that a decision had been made to erect a modern building. The building was completed and opened on 19th August 1938, the architect Mr. S. L. Piper. builder J A Penman & Sons, at a cost of £4295 plus £112 for the tiled roof.

In 1974, the Government recognised the limited space available at the old Post Office Building, taking the land owned by local real estate agent John Stackpole on a site between Crayford Street and St Judes Street under the Public Works Act. In 1977, and again in 1980, the planned closing of the old Post Office for a new one at the other end of the town sparked some controversy, the Avondale Business Association at the time concerned over the competition of one side of Avondale’s shopping centre with the other.

The new building was completed in 1984, with a function for 200 guests entertained by pupils at Avondale Primary School before walking from the school sport’s field along to the new Post Office. This was originally designed to house both the postal and Post Bank branches. But, during the 1990s, the Post Bank branch was moved out and into other premises elsewhere in Avondale, leaving the postal counters for some time a lonely sight in the vastness of the interior until a more recent redesign into the form of the current PostShop format. With the introduction of KiwiBank in mid 2002, the limited space has once more had to be shared with the new operation.

In these times of Internet access and the ease of email over that of the letter, the postal service still remains part of the landscape of Avondale, the current PostShop still a meeting place of sorts for the community, whether stopping for a chat outside the post boxes, or running into your neighbour in the one feature that hasn’t changed over the years: the queue.

Jan Grefstad : Fascinated by Movies

Originally written as an obituary in 2002.
Image from Waitakere News, 11 March 1993.

At 6 am, 9 August 2002, in Auckland Hospital, local resident Jan Grefstad passed away after suffering a heart attack the night before.

For over 36 years, he was an integral part of the life and times of Avondale, as the manager/owner of the world-famed Hollywood Cinema on St Georges Road. Thanks to Jan we have still been able to go down to the local “flicks”, to laugh and cry or simply have a wonderful time watching our very own silver screen, despite the ravages of television, videos and other more-modern entertainment. He had a passion for the cinema, and he shared that passion with us all.

Jan told the Western Leader in 1975 that at the age of nine, living in Green
Bay, he used to supplement his pocket money by making “films” from cartoon figures stuck on rolls of paper, showing them to his friends for a penny a time.

“I’ve always loved going to the pictures,” he said. “When I was a kid, going to the Saturday matinee was my big treat. I got so involved that I began making my own versions of movies. I had a toy projector made from cardboard called a kinescope. It was really for showing postcards, but I wrote scripts, used pictures from magazines and comics to illustrate them, and made my own entertainment. A couple of friends started making films as well and we used to swap them. We copied the movies we had seen and gave ours credits, titles – the works.”

The young Jan Grefstad made himself well-known to the manager of Blockhouse Bay’s own cinema, the Kosy (now the site of Foodtown supermarket), begging for posters or anything else he could make use of. Jack Ofsoke allowed him to help sell tickets on a Saturday, in return for which he got to see the film for free. Later on, he was paid $1 as well.

At 18, while the Kosy’s new manager was in Australia, Jan was in charge for a time. However, he entered Teacher’s Training College, then on graduation taught at Arahoe School in New Lynn, becoming one of the first teachers to have his class making films.

Then, in early 1966 Jan heard that the old Grosvenor Theatre in Avondale was available for anyone to take over the lease with Auckland City Council. In those days, the Grosvenor had a reputation as “a bit of a dive”, and faring poorly against the competition from television which kept the public at home rather than go out to the movies.

“One day,” according to Jan from his history of the Avondale cinema (2001), “Ray (Melrose) asked me if I would like to run the Grosvenor in partnership with himself, as he knew Bruce (Anderson) wanted to give up the business. I agreed and we entered an agreement with Selwyn Hayward to take over on a managerial agreement.”

He took over on 1st March 1966, painted it inside, put carpet in the foyer, lights in the toilets, renamed the cinema “Hollywood”, and ran the cinema until his death. His opening film on March 11 1966 was 55 Days in Peking, a blockbuster to highlight a gala charity event for the Lynndale Athletic Club raising money for young athletes.

In 1969, he equipped the Hollywood with central heating, the local press calling the cinema “Avondale’s Newest Hotspot.” From 1971 to 1974, Jan Grefstad was the president of the Avondale Businessmen’s Association, and campaigned with Charles Funnell for Council to make improvements to Avondale. He was also involved with the Avondale Community Committee and Avondale Citizens Advice Bureau.

In 1974, deciding that there was a market for “golden oldie” movies, Jan transformed a disused warehouse on Queen Street into the Classic Cinema. Difficulties with the Film Licensing Authority regarding special film licences (it was felt that there were enough cinemas in Auckland) led to him forming a cinema club which people flocked to join. Auckland’s first independent cinema in four decades opened in October of that year with a charity premiere of Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer organised by the Kiwanis Club of Avondale.

The Mighty Wurlitzer was restored and came to be installed at the Hollywood between 1979 and 1981 with Jan Grefstad’s help, and members of the Wurlitzer Organ Trust of Auckland have conducted concerts there ever since.

In 1980 Jan started showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show, fixing the Hollywood as a firm favourite with all Aucklanders, and making the Hollywood famous.

On October 31 1999 the Hollywood celebrated 75 years of showing movies to the public of Avondale, West Auckland and beyond. Jan celebrated his own anniversary there of 35 years in March last year.

For some time, he had been researching for an intended history on the picture theatres of Auckland. Jan Grefstad was a man who had a keen eye for history and how precious heritage is, whether it was concerning his beloved cinema and movies in general, or the wider field of local history. He was a keen supporter of both the Avondale Historical Journal, the new Avondale-Waterview Historical Society, and offered me much encouragement regarding my own research into the history of Avondale Central, the forthcoming Heart of the Whau.

His enthusiasm, drive and infectious passion for Auckland’s cinematic history, and his cheerful optimism regarding Avondale’s future, will be greatly and sadly missed.

Image from Western Leader, 25 February 1992.

S. Vaile land agent photo

Does anyone out there recognise this?

I was given this photo by good friends who weren't exactly sure why they had it. The window advertises "Farms for Sale" in Auckland, Pukekohe, Hamilton, and Te Kuiti. The name above Samuel Vaile's name on the side-sign is, I think, E. C. Phillipps. One thing: it isn't Avondale (darn it!)

Any ideas -- I'd love to hear them.

When Our Racecourse Went to the Dogs

It’s interesting how unusual enquiries can lead to new information on an area’s history. One day in 2005, I received an email from Shirley Rolfe, a member of a South Auckland whippet club, asking about an “Avondale Cup” a member of her club had been given by a relative. The top of the cup has the figure of man with two dogs, both dogs caught at the moment of full stretch at a run. Near the bottom of the cup is a plate reading: “Avondale Cup 1894, won by J. Appleby’s Rambler”. Shirley wondered if the cup was to do with racing whippets.

I was aware at the time of a well-known photograph in the Auckland Central Library’s collection showing racing dogs and their owners outside the Avondale Hotel during Mr. Stych’s time (so, mid-to-late 1890s), but Shirley advised that the photo wasn’t of whippets, but their larger cousins the greyhounds. And that’s where it ended – a photo of an intriguing cup, a name, and some mystery.

Late last year, while I was looking for something else entirely in newspapers from the 1890s, I found this from 1897:

“Auckland Coursing Club. Nominations for the May Meeting Close at the Club’s Office, Vulcan Lane, To-Night (Friday) at 9 o’clock. Harry H. Hayr, Secretary.”

The name Harry Hayr made me sit up and take notice. He was the first secretary of the Avondale Jockey Club, an office he held for 23 years. Suddenly, there was a likely connection between dog racing and our racecourse. I dug further, and found that the Auckland Coursing Club had started sometime during the 1880s, their first meetings held in places like Papatoetoe – farming, rural districts. Coursing itself is an ancient sport, dating back to Egyptian times, and from the 19th century took on new popularity in English-speaking countries. It involved having dogs chase hares in races, but the hares mainly survived. The start of the Auckland season was in May of each year, and it was in May 1894 that I found the earliest report I have so far as to the Avondale dog races, held at the racecourse (an 1897 article confirmed the site):

“The first events of the coursing season were opened at the Avondale Plumpton Park on Saturday afternoon, and although the morning was cloudy and threatening, the weather held up fine during the afternoon … The dogs seemed to be well trained, and gave interesting sport, and the hares were for the most part strong and fast, the result being that in the majority of instances they made good their escape, while in the cases of any hares which were manifestly weak or young, the dogs were not slipped at them, and they were allowed to get away.”

Amongst the list of dogs who ran that day in May 1894 was one Rambler, owned by J. Appleby. A little later that year, he must have won the Avondale Cup with “Rambler” – the next year he raced “Evening Star”, and the year after that “Starlight”.

So, now we know we once we had a “Plumpton Park” on the racecourse, just off Wingate Street, where the hares ran and the dogs chased. All because a cup won 111 years before emerged from out of obscurity, and sparked a hunt of its own.

As for the cup -- as far as I'm aware, it was donated to the Greyhound Association, as part of that organisation's history.