The Auckland “Chinese Markets” controversy, 1930

As New Zealand as a whole experienced the Great Depression, a proposal was announced which inflamed opinion as to race in Auckland for several weeks in late 1930.

The Auckland Harbour Board advertised some of its land for tender (50 year lease) on Customs Street West. The successful tenderer, the NZ Herald announced on 3 October, was a company fronted by a Chinese promoter (later named as Wong Du, or Wong Doo), aiming to set up a “Chinese Market.” At the time, it was reported that about half of all the produce sold through the Auckland City Markets (which was directly opposite the site, and dominated by Turners & Growers, the firm of auctioneers ) came from Chinese growers.

Within days, the letters columns in the newspapers were bombarded with letters decrying such “Chinese competition”.

“Chinese virtually control the fruit and vegetable retail trade as it is; a Chinese market, pure and simple, will tend to stabilise that position … They are industrious and thrifty, but the bulk of their earnings go to China – an economic loss to this country – and English-speaking nations know that the Asiatic adds little or nothing to the moral and material wealth of the State.”

(H. Keary letter, NZ Herald 9 October)

The letters, at least in the Herald, came to be headed “The Asiatic Problem.” Letting a Chinese Market be established in Auckland was the start of a boom in numbers of Chinese in New Zealand, the letter writers said. One or two made the point that Chinese frugality and long work hours meant that their businesses succeeded where those of whites did not, and even the drapery trade was being “taken over.” But getting rid of all the Chinese, it was said, would surely bring the rest of the country back to full employment.

The Herald published a long article on the Chinese community in Auckland (13 October):

“If the proposal by a number of Chinese merchants to establish a Chinese market in Auckland for the sale of their produce is brought into effect, the number of points at which the average Chinese comes in contact with the European will be increased. The Chinese colony is already self-contained to a marked extent, and many of the rank and file of the Chinese have no dealings with Europeans at all.”

The White New Zealand League, established in 1926, stepped into the fray, lobbying against the proposal to the Auckland Harbour Board, Auckland City Council, and borough councils in Devonport, Takapuna and Mt Albert, to name just three. This organisation had its roots in Pukekohe in 1925, formed to protest against Indians and Chinese leasing and buying land there. They called for immigration restrictions, especially as the depression began to bite hard, and were backed by the Returned Soldiers' Associations. The League also promoted "purity of race", accusing Asiatic market gardeners of enticing Maori women into their employment and exploiting them economically and sexually.

The protests against the Chinese market were echoed by the Returned Soldiers’ Association and the Akarana Maori Association, (NZ Herald 15 October) and the brand new NZ Fruit and Produce Auctioneers and Importers Federation called for “compulsory registration of Asiatics in New Zealand as a means of preventing them from trading under assumed names.” (NZ Herald, 22 October)

In the face of protests from municipal authorities (one exception being Auckland City Council, who felt they had no right to comment on the use of land belonging to the Harbour Board), lobbyists, and even the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, the Auckland Harbour Board refused to cancel the lease agreement. The chairman, M H Wynyard, said: “The board had a number of Chinese merchants and shopkeepers among its tenants and it would be in a peculiar position if it always had to ascertain whether its lease would be approved by other tenants and the general public.” (NZ Herald, 15 October)

The lease was confirmed at a meeting of the Harbour Board on 11 November 1930 – and now some of the reality behind the proposal began to emerge. The board’s solicitors advised the board that the lease was in the name of Produce Markets Limited, and supplied a list of the names of the shareholders. It was likely revealed at this time exactly who was really behind Produce Markets, which started trading at Customs Street West from mid 1931.

Harvey Turner had started to hear rumours earlier that year that exporting firm A. B. Donald Ltd, running short of time by which that company would be allowed to hold auctions under license in Auckland, had entered into negotiations with Chinese growers, such as the Ah Chee family, to set up a Chinese market. The Donald family denied the rumours – until the lease was signed, sealed, and irrevocable. According to Ken Stead, in his book on Turners & Growers (1997, p. 47), the shares in the new company, first registered on 15 October 1930, were held in trust. Jack Donald and Thomas Doo junior were joint managers, while Clem Ah Chee, the original proposer of the whole idea, was dropped from the deal. The effect was that Chinese growers strongly supported Produce Markets for the first 20 or so years, sharply reducing Turners’ own intake and making business during the Depression years difficult for the company.

Turners recovered however, and moved to bigger and better markets on more reclaimed harbourside land in the early 1960s (the Donald family lost the tender, and refused to join the other auctioneers). The Donalds eventually sold Produce Markets to the Kember family, who in turn sold the firm as part of their portfolio to Wrightson NMA in 1985. In the late 1980s, Turners purchased Produce Markets, and wound the company up in 1995.

What the Auckland public had been led to believe was an “Asiatic takeover” of the country in late 1930, spearheaded by a perceived fruit and produce monopoly, was actually little more than crafty business maneuvering, mainly by a long-established Kiwi-European firm, against a rival and market leader. Little wonder that after this, the White New Zealand League appears to have fizzled out after 1932.

Sources:
Te Ara
Ken Stead, One Hundred I’m Bid, A centennial history of Turners & Growers (1997)
Jacqueline Leckie, Indian Settlers, The Story of a New Zealand South Asian Community (2007), pp.66-73
NZ Herald
Auckland Star
Companies Office records

In case of fire, grab the hand grenade

Terms for things have a habit of changing from century to century. For example, take this use of "hand grenade", from the years long before World War I:

"During the year the Council supplied a case of Harden's Hand Grenades for fire extinguishing purposes, also additional length of fire hose. In the case of fire breaking out after library hours the hose is fixed ready for use every night, and the gas turned off at the metre. Some short time ago the kitchen chimney caught fire; it was of a trifling nature, the flue being only ten feet high. It was promptly put out by the aid of the baby engine."

(Free Public Library Report to Auckland City Council, 1885)

An explanation comes from this website:

"The late nineteenth century saw other innovations in fire fighting including the chemical fire extinguisher. The first was a glass fire extinguisher, the Harden Hand Grenade Extinguisher. The extinguisher, or grenade, contained carbon tetrachloride, later banned because at high temperatures it emitted a hazardous phosphene gas. The grenade, when tossed into the fire, broke open and released the carbon tetrachloride"

The "baby engine" still has me foxed, at this stage.

Update, 27 June: more on baby engines.

ATTA - an Auckland taxi company

Updated 22 August 2013.

I was invited me around to a friend's place recently. Amongst her family history folders was this: an advertising plate from the ATTA Taxis Ltd (which refers to an Avondale branch).

I have to do more digging sometime into this, and would appreciate help from readers as well. ATTA Taxis was apparently an off-shoot from Wellington. All files on them are at Wellington’s office of Archives New Zealand, but according to a 1939 directory I now have, their Auckland office was at 32 Lorne Street, the Ngapuhi Chambers. Update: the Auckland Archives NZ closed file for Auckland ATTA covers the period 1931-1945, so it looks like the Auckland company merged with someone else.

Auckland Star 13 November 1931

A reader of the Avondale Historical Journal rang me with information that ATTA stands for Any Time, To Anywhere. That may have been what the general public at the time thought, but the firm's advertisements from late 1931 reveal that ATTA stood for Air Transport and Touring Automobiles of NZ, Ltd.

Air Transport and Touring Automobiles of New Zealand, Ltd, Auckland, taxicab proprietors and general carriers, etc. Capital £500, in 100 shares of £5 each. Subscribers: Richard J. Healy, Rowland L. Hill, Charles R. Boler, Raymond A. Irwin, Lyle W. Bonney, William R Sadgrove, Victor A. Christie and Alfred Ramsden, 1 share each.

Auckland Star 30 November 1931

Does this firm spark any memories?

Avondale Historical Journal, Issues 1 to 48

The Avondale Historical Journal is the flagship publication of the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society. I've edited and put it together ever since inception back in September 2001, needing a way to keep in contact with those I'd interviewed for the book Heart of the Whau. Hence why the earliest issues are sub-headed as coming from the Heart of the Whau Project. The Journal, therefore, is older than the Society to which it now belongs.

This will be the first time the complete series to date will be available online via Scribd.

Issue 01 Issue 02 Issue 03 Issue 04 Issue 05 Issue 06

Issue 07 Issue 08 Issue 09 Issue 10 Issue 11 Issue 12

Issue 13 Issue 14 Issue 15 Issue 16 Issue 17 Issue 18

Issue 19 Issue 20 Issue 21 Issue 22 Issue 23 Issue 24

Issue 25 Issue 26 Issue 27 Issue 28 Issue 29 Issue 30

Issue 31 Issue 32 Issue 33 Issue 34 Issue 35 Issue 36

Issue 37 Issue 38 Issue 39 Issue 40 Issue 41 Issue 42

Issue 43 Issue 44 Issue 45 Issue 46 Issue 47 Issue 48

Fatal accident to the Nelson Mail Coach, 19 March 1904

"The Nelson coach, which left Belenheim at seven o'clock on March 19th, without passengers, came to grief near the Wairau Bridge, about six miles from Blenheim. The flood was flowing across the road with great force, and there was deep water, with a strong current, at the foot of a rather steep approach on the Tua Marina side.

"Here, the current overturned the coach and horses, sweeping them against a fence. Two horses and the driver, George Richardson, were drowned. A party of police found Richardson's body hanging to a fence on the Tua Marina roadside, one hundred yards below the scene of the accident. By means of a boat, with great difficulty, they cut free the two horses, which escaped alive, the other two being drowned. The police also picked up the mail.

"The accident to the coach was witnessed by a settler, and Richardson was seen to swim for two hundred yards, and then sink exhausted."

Caption to the photo:

The two horses seen floating near the coach were the polers. The leaders were rescued after being in the water over three hours, but one died afterwards. Our Picton correspondent write: - "Concerning the floods, which were very sudden, unfortunately one poor man lost his life in trying to do his duty by carrying His Majesty's mails to time, in spite of rain or floods -- I speak of Richardson, the driver of the Nelson coach, who started from Blenheim at the usual time on Saturday morning. He always assured his passengers that he never risked the rivers, but went the long way round, through Tua Marina, and up the north bank, if there was any fresh in the rivers on the usual road. He was doing so on this occasion, and had safely crossed the Ferry bridge, when horses, coach, and everything went into a hole, the coach capsized, and the poor driver, encumbered with oilskins, leggings, and gloves, was unable to swim to safety on the higher ridges of land."

Weekly Press, 6 April 1904

"The sad news has cast quite a gloom over the town; for deceased was widely known and greatly respected, being a steady man of very high character, and by his employers was considered as "one in a thousand " He was a son-in-law of Mr John Gay, of this city, and leaves a widow and one child, a girl of nine years of age. He was about thirty seven years of age, and his parents reside in Kimbolton, Feilding district. The greatest sympathy is being manifested towards the widow and relatives."

Colonist, 21 March 1904

Vancouver, Westminster and Yukon Railways sign

(This came from Phil Hanson this afternoon:)

Hi - this is actually just a comment on the old K'Road signs, but I've attached a photo. Geographically, it's a bit beyond Timespanner's normal rounds, so feel free to choose to use it or not. I just thought with your soft spot for things rail ...

It's great when old signage comes back from the past like this. It happened quite a bit during a building boom when I was living in Vancouver. I know this has nothing to do with the Auckland area, but I have to share one of my favourites, the signage of the VW&Y Railway. It reappeared when an old building was demolished, exposing the wall of its neighbour for the first time in over 70 years. The Vancouver, Westminster and Yukon Railways was started by a Vancouver industrialist and laid a number of local tracks before going bankrupt. It never went anywhere near the Yukon; in those days promoters liked to tag grandiose or fanciful "& suffixes" to their railway names to help attract investors!

(Oh yes, that soft spot for rail -- and actually also for old advertising remnants on buildings etc. -- means I'm delighted to include this on Timespanner. Thank you, Phil!)

Old Karangahape Road advertising

Just sorting out some old items from the digital vault this morning, and I came across this shot taken on the north side of Karangahape Road (beside no. 153 but possibly part of the same building) between Pitt and Queen Street, in 2007. That day, I was heading from one appointment to another, when this caught my eye: a shop under renovation, where some original tile had been revealed. Along with what remained of the pasted-on advertising from another era. One of those "now you see 'em, now you don't" moments. I remember asking the guys doing the work if they'd mind me taking photos. They said quite a few passers-by that day had done the same.

How old are these ads? I'm not sure. For the moment, I'd hazard a guess and say somewhere from 1910-1930 or so. If I get a moment, I see what else I can find out via the directories. (If anyone reading this has info they'd like to share on these businesses, feel free to comment or contact me.)

A couple of history databases

Henry James Fletcher's Index of Maori Names, via the University of Waikato.

"This index is from an unpublished manuscript compiled about 1925 by the missionary Rev. Henry James Fletcher (1868-1933). In its original form it was 987 pages long, a vast index of Māori names referred to in books and journals, including the names of boundaries, Māori individuals, canoes, trees, landmarks and geographical locations. It was Fletcher's greatest piece of work, and one that merited improved access."

The Journal of the Polynesian Society, via the University of Auckland.

"The Polynesian Society is a non-profit organization based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Founded in 1892, the Society’s aim was the scholarly study of past and present New Zealand Māori and other Pacific Island peoples and cultures. It has pursued this aim primarily through the Journal of the Polynesian Society, a quarterly publication begun at the Society’s inception and enduring to the present. The early issues of the Journal contain a rich repository of indigenous texts and traditions contributed by Pacific peoples, as well as by missionaries and other sojourners, often published in local languages with English translations. Among the scholars who have long contributed articles to the Journal are social/cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, linguists and physical/biological anthropologists working in Micronesia and Melanesia, as well as Polynesia. "

The Shoe Sheriff of Newmarket

I've seen this corrugated iron verandah and advertising sign for years, each time I visit Newmarket. The other day, I decided that digital camera + blog meant that I should post something about it.

The Shoe Sheriff shoe repairs store is run by Peter Croad. The NZ Herald wrote about him and his store, last man out in a sea of commercial redevelopment, back in 2007:

Four years ago the cobbler's shop - owned by Peter Croad - won a courtroom battle to stay on the premier retail drag opposite Westfield's 277 shopping mall, facing down a rich land owner who wanted him out.

The shop has held its ground as all the neighbouring buildings have vanished, including the Patel family's dairy, a toy store and a bookshop.

Those shops were pulled down to make way for Broadway Junction, a project on the leasehold land by award-winning developers Newcrest Group.

New shops have now been built on both sides of the distinctive rust-coloured shoe repair shop, thought to date from the 1930s.

"I'll be in a bank sandwich," Croad said, noting when ASB moves in his shop will be between that and the BNZ.

He's hung on, though. TVNZ covered the story on Close Up in 2006:

"We often hear stories of the small person trying to resist the big developer, and after putting up a valiant fight, eventually forced to cave in. Some say it's inevitable, that progress will always get its own way. But Rawdon Christie has a story where one man has stood up to the big boys - and won. Peter Croad's better known as the 'Shoe Sheriff' in Newmarket, Auckland. He's been running the cobblers shop for over 25 years - his father ran it before him. The shop's actually been in the same location, on Broadway, since the war. So when the landowners told him it was time to go, he said no."

And in April, there was a blog post about it on Wordpress.

I wonder just how long he can go on. It'd be a pity -- that old-fashioned corrugated verandah is one heck of a cool landmark, in the midst of more anonymous and generic chrome and glass.

Tait Park

I found out that someone painted over the sign for Tait Park, a small reserve at the corner of Community Lane (next to Highbury Flats and the local community centre) and Rosebank Road. I was appalled. Yes, I know, this is a small thing in the greatness of the universe, but dammit ...

I was talking to someone recently, asking them what they meant when they referred to "Highbury Triangle". They described this park. "Tait Park?" they said. "But in slang today, we say Highbury Triangle."

No.

The name is Tait Park. The sign may have been painted by hard-pressed, stretched-for-time anti-graffiti folk, but dammit -- the park is called Tait Park. With a reason. "Highbury Triangle" is a Council-sourced new bit of jargon invented for the latest incarnation of the district plan, to describe the total area including the park, the community centre, the library, and the Peace Gardens up at the corner of Great North Road and Ash Street. (Those date from 1995, the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima, and are formed in the shape of the peace symbol from the anti-nuclear protest days.) And "Highbury Triangle" doesn't make sense, unless they've just used the name of the pensioner flats (which Council no longer own, they're run by Housing NZ these days) -- today, none of Highbury Street is within that "triangle".

This has led to me asking to speak nicely to the Avondale Community Board at their meeting's Public Forum on Tuesday 23 June, to ask them if they wouldn't mind asking Council nicely to arrange to have the letters restored. A few dabs of white or yellow here and there to form the letters so they can be seen would be nice. It's also led to me compiling a brief history of the park, here.

So, here's some views of Tait Park. This is the part added to the park after the Ash Street extension went in behind it. It used to be part of Highbury Street.







What remains of a scoria wall and set of posts which went along two sides of the park.





I'll come back with an update after I've been to see the Community Board.

Scottish place names in Auckland (but not Avondale)

Ian Kendall from Melbourne in Australia has a page on Rampant Scotland.com on place names in Auckland. I found it by chance while ferreting for stuff about Henderson's Mill. The entry for Avondale, however, isn't correct.

"Avondale (Shetland Islands; also Avondale Castle in South Lanarkshire) but the name is found in England and Ireland as well as in Scotland. According to Dymock (1994, p. 17), this suburb was named in honour of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, eldest son of King Edward VII. Like Albany (see above), Avondale is a Scottish title used by the British Royal Family. As explained in an article on the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, retrieved from Wikipedia in April 2009, this was the last royal dukedom to be created with two territorial designations. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the holders of the (English) title 'Duke of Clarence' were also given titles including Scottish place names, such as St Andrews and Avondale. The title 'Avondale' refers to Avondale Castle in South Lanarkshire, also known as Strathaven Castle - now a ruin and a Scheduled Ancient Monument accessible to the public (Wikipedia article on Strathaven Castle, retrieved in April 2009)."

As I wrote in an email to Mr. Kendall on 2 June:

"Dear Mr. Kendall,

The Auckland suburb of Avondale was not named after the Duke of Clarence and Avondale. Prince Albert Victor was granted those titles nearly a decade (May 1890) after Avondale was gazetted with its name (June 1882, a change from the Whau District). The name Avondale is most likely of Irish origin, not Scottish, as the Chairman of the Road Board at the time, John Bollard, came from County Wicklow, Ireland, near the Avondale Demesne and homestead of Avondale, Charles Parnell's home.

Regards,

Lisa J Truttman
President
Avondale-Waterview Historical Society"

He responded by asking for the reference to this -- and I cited Heart of the Whau (2003). The part where all this is explained is online at Scribd. To date, he hasn't amended his page, but I'm sure he will in time.

It goes to show that while you can make an assumption in terms of history, it always pays to check out whether that assumption is correct. In this case, using tertiary sources wasn't a good idea (checking to see if there was a historical society for the area would have been!) Even if he'd checked the Wiki article on Prince Albert Victor against the early references to Avondale in Papers Past (July 1882), he would have seen the anomaly behind the assumption that Avondale's naming was in any way connected with royalty. But the first reference there is to land sold on an estate once owned by a son of Scotland: Robert Chisholm.

Update (6 July 2009): Ian Kendall has updated his page now, he's advised in an email to me. Looks great! Many thanks, Ian.

Pt Chevalier Times Issue 5

Fifth issue of the Pt Chevalier Times is out (better late than never ...)

The Community Archive

Another link added to the list at the left: The Community Archive, a website collecting together the contact and holdings details of institutions up and down the country, replacing the older National Register site. According to the Wairarapa News, it launched just last week.

A couple of Google research tools

Google News Timeline. Enter a date and other keywords, and watch references come up from online sources which may help with research -- or just to have a bit of fun.

Google News Archive Search. This is very good, and also helps to present items found in chronological order, so that you can sort out the relevant from not so relevant.

Wooden headstones and footstones at St Peter's Cemetery, Onehunga

 Updated 19 December 2013.

LOSS OF H. M S. 'ORPHEUS.'

The Rev. Charles B Haslewood — In the Darlington Telegraph, of April 11th, appeared the following notice of this lamented young clergyman, who was last seen on board his ship, cheering and assisting one of the sick from below to a place of comparative safety:

"Among the families most nearly connected m the loss of H. M. S. 'Orpheus,' is that of our respected townsman, Dr. Haslewood. It is with profound regret that we have to record the death of the eldest son of this gentleman, the Rev. C. B. Haslewood, MA., chaplain, and naval instructor of the ill fated vessel. These are doubtless details in the life of the deceased which, in a merely ordinary acquaintance, many of our townsmen are unaware of. We therefore give them with high satisfaction, though scarcely enhancing the sterling nature of his character to those who understood him best. The rev gentleman was a first class man in the classical, and a fourth in the mathematical tripos in the University of Durham. He also gained several scholarships, as well as the distinction of Latin prose prizeman and Fellow of the University. He served as chaplain in the Royal Navy, in H. M ships ' Pearl,' ' Royal George,' and ' Nile,' and subsequently as chaplain and naval instructor combined, in the ' Cyclops, on particular service in the Red Sea ; and, lastly, in the ' Orpheus,' on the Australian station. As an affecting reminiscence of the love with which he was regarded on board the ' Cyclops,' we may mention that he was presented with a testimonial by the petty officers and seamen on the termination of that ship's commission. For a short time previous to his appointment as chaplain, he fulfilled the parochial ministration of St Cuthbert's, in this town , and it is no slight source of consolation to his afflicted relations to be assured of the grateful esteem in which those ministrations are remembered by the humbler classes of the parishioners The rev. gentleman has left a widow to mourn his loss, and a little girl, of a year old, born, subsequently to his embarkation in the ' Orpheus,' who will, we hope, prove the instrument of an all gracious Providence in soothing and comforting her widowed years."

(SC, 23 July 1863)

"H.M. steam corvette Niger, 13 guns, Captain Cracroft, has received orders to proceed from Manukau to New Plymouth forthwith, for which place she is to embark 250 officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the 57th Regt., under the command of Major Logan. This will leave about 40 of this gallant corps behind. The 57th Regt. will parade this morning, in the Albert Barrack Square, at 8 o'clock, from whence they will march across to Onehunga, there to embark in the Niger, which will sail about 2 p.m. Commodore Seymour returns, by the same opportunity, to the seat of war. It is probable that the Niger will remain for some time off the Taranaki coast. Last week, a melancholy death by drowning took place in the person of one of the seamen of this ship named Griffith, a fine young man and a general favourite. He was assisting to anchor one of the ship's boats when he unfortunately fell overboard : it was at first supposed that he had been dragged over, and the anchor was subsequently weighed, but without effect. The body was recovered in about an hour, and interred in the Churchyard of Onehunga on Sunday last, amidst the general regrets, and followed by a large concourse of his sorrowing shipmates."

(SC, 23 February 1861)

The A.B. after his name could stand for "able seaman".

As for George Perry ... Nothing on the BDM database at all. A farmer named George Perry arrived in Auckland on the African, 1864 (SC, 6 September 1862) That's all I have to date. As a Captain of the Forecastle, George Perry, whoever he was, would have been the equivalent of a chief petty officer. But, he's "late" of the HMS Niger. Did he ceased to serve on her, and died in retirement?

NEGLECTED GRAVES.
(To the Editor.)
Sir, I noticed when in the Church of England cemetery, Queen Street, Onehunga, yesterday afternoon, three headstones (or headboards, I should say, perhaps, for I think they are made of kauri), erected by the men of H.M.S. Ringarooma to the memory of Rev. C. Haslewood, HMS Orpheus, drowned Manukau Heads, 7th February, 1863. This board has fallen down, rotted through at the base. James Griffiths, able seaman, HMS. Niger, drowned Manukau Harbour, 16th February, 1861, and George Perry, captain of the forecastle, HMS. Niger, 31st December, 1860.

As an old Navy man, I felt sorry that a more permanent memorial had not been erected to these men who, we feel sure, were faithful and zealous in the service of their country and Queen. These few lines I trust will catch the eye of some of the members of the Navy League and the Victoria League, which is doing such good work in looking after the old soldiers' graves, and I trust that they will be interested enough to try and raise enough money (about £15 would do it) to erect a permanent memorial to these men.

We bear a lot of talk about patriotism, and it is well to foster the true spirit of patriotism, and one way to do it is to honour the last resting place of those who have done their part to keep the dear old Union Jack flying over this part of our great Empire. —I am, etc., ANDREW MILLER. 

Auckland Star,  8 August 1913, p. 9

This bit was found by Liz Clark:

Some men of H. M.S. Ringarooma, under chief carpenter's mate, Mackenzie, paid an official visit to St. Peter's Cemetery, Onehunga, yesterday. Their object was a most commendable one., viz., to clear away bush and undergrowth from the graves of sailors who lay buried there. After removing an immense amount of rubbish, the following inscriptions were visible on the tombstones, which should be interesting: —(1) "To the memory of George Perry," late captain forecastle of H.M.s. Niger, December 31st, 1860,, aged 44. Weep not for me my comrades dear, I am not dead,' but sleeping hero; My soul lies here beneath the sod, My spirit enters rest' with God."—(2) "To James Griffiths, an able seaman, who was drowned in the Manukau Harbour, February 16th, 1861, aged 20. I was duty-called thus to attend, Which brought me to thisa sudden end, Dear friends, grieve not, but trust that I May live with God eternally." (3) "To Chaplin Hazeworth, of H.M.s. Orpheus, February 7th, 1863."

Auckland Star 1 October 1892

Ken Maunder Park, by Phil Hanson

My thanks to guest contributor Phil Hanson for the following piece he put together on Ken Maunder Park in New Lynn, and the story behind the name.

One of my dog’s preferred walks is around Ken Maunder Park on the eastern edge of New Lynn where it meets Avondale, and surrounded on three sides by the Whau River. The park has for years been a well-known sports ground but lately, as Georgie sniffs from tree to tree, I’ve become curious about its history.


And what an interesting past this unremarkable-looking park turns out to have. It’s also had something of an identity crisis; Ken Maunder Park is its third name. Originally Binsted Road Reserve, it later became Rewa Park before assuming the present name in 1970.


The park enjoys a small connection to New Zealand’s early aviation history. In 1911 the syndicate backing the brothers Leo and Vivian Walsh and their American Howard Wright biplane Manurewa handed the aircraft after a disagreement to Australian pilot Frederick Sandford and his kiwi “business manager” Billy Miller. The pair substantially modified the aircraft and began trials at Avondale racecourse, where it promptly hit a fence on Feb 29, 1913. The book, The History of New Zealand Aviation (Ewing and MacPherson, 1986) reports, “ The second [flight] several weeks later, was even more short lived when a dog leapt into the propeller blades.”

The Sandford-Miller biplane above Avondale Racecourse. Photo from Weekly News, 6 November 1913,
p. 40, via Special Collections, Auckland City Libraries (N.Z.)

A number of successful flights were made, as covered in the Timespanner post of Sept 29, 2008. On August 31 (but said by the History of NZ Aviation to be August 20), with Miller on board as passenger, the engine failed at about 250 feet and the biplane made a forced landing at the paddock “against Binsted’s slaughterhouse”. (This from The New Lynn Reserves Management Plan 2004, pp.71-73) I’m not sure of the exact location of the slaughterhouse but it seems likely to have been on or very near the land that now comprises the park. After repairing the motor, Sandford successfully took off. Although this has been credited as the first “cross-country” flight in New Zealand, research in more recent times has cast doubt on the claim, according to The History of NZ Aviation.

There was another brush with aviation 54 years later when the park was considered as a possible heliport location. The proposal was rejected because, as the Western Leader reported in May 1967, “sports activities would have to be adjourned to allow landings and takeoffs.” Life was so much simpler in the days before OSH!

Not all of the park’s history has been as glamorous. In 1927, the trustees of the Binsted Estate were complaining to the council about the continued use of the site as a nightsoil dump. From at least the 1940s it was a council rubbish tip. In October 1951, the Binsted estate sold land to the council that allowed the area’s gradual transformation into a recreational reserve. The trustees wrote: “As the property has been in the Binsted family for over 60 years they would be pleased if your council could see their way to call the property Binsted Park.”

However, in October 1956 for a reason I have not been able to uncover, the name changed to Rewa Park. By then, the transformation to reserve was well underway, the New Lynn Municipal Election Supplement 1956 reporting levelling was being done for two football fields, and a mangrove gully was being reclaimed by dumping rubbish into it. By 1963, the now-closed bridge to Queen Mary Avenue was built. The bridge is due for replacement this year.



A three-stage development was proposed in 1968; construction of a soccer field; alternations to the main playing area and extra soccer fields; and roading and drainage. Two years later, the name was changed for the third time to Ken Maunder Park.

Photo: Ken Maunder – from the Western Leader via Waitakere Libraries.

So who was Ken Maunder? An obituary in the Western Leader 18.11.69 said he was a member of New Lynn Borough Council from 1955 to 1962 and from 1955 until his death in Middlemore Hospital, aged 57. He was president of the Auckland Local Bodies Association 1960-62 and the borough’s deputy mayor from 1959 to 1962. In addition to membership of the New Lynn branch of the Labour Party, he was widely active in the community, particularly sport and especially rugby and bowls. Mr Maunder was a president of the New Lynn Bowling Club, a supporter of the Suburbs Rugby Club, a rugby coach and a member of the New Lynn primary school.

A surprise mural on the Newmarket Line

My apologies for the blurriness of the image -- I was able to take one shot from inside a moving suburban train heading back out west to Avondale this afternoon. I'll try to get a better shot if I can over the next few days.

I spotted this mural along the rail line between Newmarket and the Parnell Rail Tunnel yesterday. At least today, I've got something to show you.

We need more little treasures like this along the rail line. I do hope it's graffiti-guarded ...

A gift from an unknown draughtsman

In my work, I deal with early survey and subdivision plans a lot. I have a deep love of maps, and these types are no exception. Having downloaded a plan today from the Landonline site, I never noticed some of the finer detail until just now, when I had a breather, and could take a closer look.

The above detail comes from Deed S 26 (Crown copyright, Land Information NZ), the subdivision of J. C. Hill's estate in 1859, called Hillsboro and Queenstown (part of today's Hillsborough and Onehunga suburbs). "The Bluff" is today called White Bluff, between Granny's Bay and Hillsborough Bay, along the northern coast of the Manukau Harbour.

Some Lands and Survey draughtsman, perhaps thinking the plan needed that extra little bit of detail, added the sketch of a steamer with sails, puffing away from the bluff out across the harbour. Sorry, I couldn't find any reference as to who the artist was.

Matariki

Saw this interesting article by Paul Moon in the Herald today, on Matariki and just what it may be supposed to mean. I'm still not quite convinced, personally, that the modern incarnation isn't just some marketing mob's idea to take a Maori tradition and turn it into the counter-balance for the Western New Year and the Chinese Lunar one -- thereby creating another event to spend our money on. For me, it suddenly seemed to leap up into the calendar out of nowhere -- around the same time I was told by local Ngati Whatua that the tip or near to the tip of Rosebank Peninsula was once Rangi Matatariki, a late 18th century battleground as well as seasonal settlement. (Since then, I've seen the plan for our Matariki Settlement as well.)

It may indeed raise public awareness of our dual cultural heritage here. On the other hand, as Moon writes:

"Hopefully Matariki will endure, if for no other reason than because it is an instructive part of our heritage, and is something unique to our country. But without greater attention to issues of historical and cultural accuracy, it could become yet another state-sponsored Trojan Horse for the Maori renaissance that never quite got through the gates."

Coronation Bridge, Henderson

I think that this could be a "Beware of the taniwha" sign.

This is Coronation Bridge, Henderson, the pedestrian accessway from Henderson Valley Road up the southern side of Great North Road towards the Corban Arts Centre and beyond. With the frosty mornings we've had this last week, the surface iced up.

Why am I posting this? Well, it seems that the date when it opened has been incorrectly noted for posterity by various histories of the district. Easy enough to do -- given that all they had to go on was the bottom plaque. No date of opening -- just when King George V was coronated (hence, the established name of the bridge.)

But, because I am an Avondale history collector, and John Bollard (father of Avondale's name) was our most influential resident for most of the 19th century history of settlement here -- when I saw an article one time in the library about him, as MP, opening the Henderson bridge, I grabbed it and filed it. Only a chance comment by a West Auckland historian over the weekend dredged it back out again.

The bridge was actually opened by Bollard, as MP for Eden (where the site of the bridge was c.1909, when they first started thinking it was a good idea) on 14 November 1912. By then, the bridge was no longer in Eden, due to boundary changes, but that didn't seem to matter much; the other bloke, A. Harris the MP for Waitemata, was there as well, but Bollard did the formalities.

"The township of Henderson presented a very gay appearence on Saturday, when the new ferro-concrete Coronation Bridge was opened by Mr. J. Bollard, M.P. The bridge was prettily decorated with greenery and bunting, and a number of decorated carts and waggons filled with school children added to the gaiety of the scene. Practically the whole population of the township, and a large number of visitors from other districts, including the majority of the members of the Waitemata County Council, attended the ceremony." (NZ Herald, 16 December 1912)

The Great North Road was realigned to lead to and from the new bridge, and everyone went away quite happy.

I have but one, non-historical, bugbear: the bridge, you see, was designed for primarily wheeled traffic. Yes, pedestrians used it too, but it was to provide an access for drays -- and situated so the horses weren't alarmed too much by the trains. Today, it's just for pedestrians , the road has deviated again, and passes alongside. All well and good -- until you see what passes as a pedestrian access along Great North Road above the bridge today:

Yes, this is a carpark. It is also a footpath, of sorts. Walking up here in winter to meetings of the local historical society is a bit worrying.

The footpath starts up again at the end of the carpark. From here, you've got a clear path up to Lincoln Road and beyond. But -- why can't we have a footpath below??