Murals at Drury, and celebrating an early tramway

The Farmers' Hotel, Drury, late 1860s to early 1870s, 4-RIC314, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Library

"Drury was selected as a settlement early in the history of Auckland. It is connected by rail with the city, from which it is distant twenty-two miles southward, on the sea coast, and in the county of Manukau. The district is agricultural, and dairying is carried on by the settlers with much advantage. Flaxmilling, too, is successful as a local industry. Game abounds in the district, which has a public school, a post, telegraph and money order office, and a daily mail service." (Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 1902)

My good friends Bill and Barbara Ellis popped along to the 150th anniversary celebration for the Drury Tramway, held on 6 May this year. These are their images.

While there, they took some shots of murals on the Drury Community Library, and nearby.

The tramway was built to service coal mining operations at Drury -- but it was also the first step toward Auckland's rail network.

THE WAIHOIHOI COAL COMPANY. 

OPENING OF THE TRAMWAY. 

 It is our pleasing duty to record in to day's issue the first great step towards developing the coal-field that exists near Drury, in the province of Auckland. In our last we reported the very successful result that attended the operations of the Bank of New Zealand, since its establishment a few months ago, and the notice of the opening of the tramway connecting the Waihoihoi coal mines with the sea at Slippery Creek, following so soon afterwards, shows that at least our fellow-colonists are actively persevering in their endeavours to advance the material prosperity of the province. It is only a few years since the existence of coal was verified in the Drury district ... But owing to the want of roads, and the cost of transit, it was not possible for the directors to continue their operations until something had been done to lessen the cost of production, and accelerate the delivery in Auckland of the produce of the mines ... it was wisely determined to lay down a tramway, thus lessening the charge for carriage to one-sixth its original cost, and ensuring a regular supply of coal to meet the demand of the market ...

Having these objects in view the Waihoihoi tramway was commenced about twelve months ago. For six months the works were suspended owing to the bad state of the roads during the winter and spring seasons, which rendered the carting of timber all but impossible. At length, however, the line was completed and on Thursday last, the 1st of May, it was formally opened by the directors. 

The entire length of the line is 3 1/4 miles. The gauge is 4 feet 8| inches, and the rails are of rimu, which is a timber admirably suited for this purpose. In the construction of this tramway 105,000 feet of sawn timber has been used besides which the following go to make up the total of the materials, and will give some idea of the magnitude of the work:

45,000 sleepers of puriri, rata, and mati 

6,000 puriri trenails 

20,000 feet squared timber for viaducts, &c. 

4,000 split slabs for covering ditto 

200 short and 40 long puriri piles 

2 tons nails and spikes 

2 tons iron fixings. 

There are about 1,000 feet in length of bridges and viaducts, which is occasioned by the swampy nature of the ground. Upwards of 3,000 yards of earth cuttings have been executed, and 10 miles of drains formed. 

At present the rolling stock consists of eight trucks, each carrying 1 ton coal, but these will be increased as he business requires extension. Mr Vickery, of Auckland, did the castings for these trucks, Mr. Young, of Drury, supplying the remaining iron work. The works on the tramway were let in sub-sections, the whole being carried out in a most creditable manner under the direction of Mr. Thomas Hyde, the manager, whose practical talents are well attested by the stability and completeness of the line. This tramway cost the company about £400 a mile and will be worked by horse power. Owing to the incline from the mouth of the pit, which is a drive into the side of the hill, the trucks laden with coal will run half the distance to Slippery Creek 'most easily, so that the horse labour will not be so much as at first sight may appear. The cost of carriage from the pit to the landing at Slippery Creek will not exceed 1s. per ton hitherto it was nearly 6s. The directors have therefore determined on reducing the price of their coal, fixing the rates at the Great South Road, Drury, 15s. per ton at terminus of tramway, 15s at Onehunga, 25s. and in Auckland, at 32s. 6d. If in large quantities for steam purposes the Drury coals will be sold at 30s. per ton in Auckland. The company now possesses facilities for meeting the demand...

Southern Cross, 6 May 1862

From 16 March 1905: "A new coal seam is now being opened up and worked a short distance from Drury. And a railway line is being laid down from the Drury Station to the new mine." Auckland Weekly News, AWNS-1905-0316-12-3, 
Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Library

Stories of Boyd's zoos updated

Animals in J J Boyd's Royal Oak / Onehunga Zoo. Auckland Weekly News, 19 March 1914, AWNS-19140319-51-1, 

Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.

Ah, the joys of plowing through new online pages from Papers Past whenever National Library upload more on their site. Thank you, to both National Library and our own Auckland Library, for all the work involved with providing the Auckland Star, currently available down to the end of 1926 -- and, hopefully, down to end of 1945 by the end of this year.

There is a lot of content on Timespanner and on Scribd which I've published that now needs updating and revision due to the Auckland Star's availability -- the saga of J J Boyd, his zoos at Aramoho and Auckland and menagerie at Wainoni is a case in point.

So, I've renamed and updated the Zoo Histories collection on Scribd:

• Added Paw Prints into the collection (it attracted some attention on Facebook this week),
• Updated The Aramoho Zoo, and added it to the collection (why I hadn't done that before, I don't know. Must have missed it)
• Updated The Legacy of Boyd's Zoo -- here, I added a 29 December quote from the Auckland Star about the lion cub who got out from the zoo at Royal Oak, only to take fright when menaced by the neighbour's cow (the origin of the myth of the lion rampaging down Queen St Onehunga ...)
• And, most updated of all -- J J Boyd's Royal Oak Zoo. It was 32 pages, and now numbers 46. Some dates corrected (I had July in one case, and it should have read June), info on the animals added, including a grey-coloured seal captured at Waihi Beach which later died, more on the confrontations between Boyd and the Onehunga Borough Council, other venues where Boyd had his travelling zoo on wheels during the summer of 1921-1922, and the earliest of his ads for the zoo once it had opened, from early November 1911.

I'll be giving a talk on Boyd's zoos before the Otahuhu Historical Society on 25 June.

Papatoetoe: 150 years of civic life

From Auckland Weekly News, 6 May 1909. Ref AWNS-19090506-4-6, 

Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Library.

Bruce Ringer, at the Manukau Research Centre for Auckland Libraries, has put together Papatoetoe: 150 years of civic life, an online timeline history for the area. Worth a look.

A postcard from Auckland Girls Grammar

Came upon this postcard the other day -- showing the rear (north facing) side of the 1909 main building at Auckland Girl's Grammar, Howe Street in Ponsonby.

Judging by the King Edward VII stamp, and what can be seen of the postmark, I'd estimate the card to date from c.1910.

Katie, the writer, was in the thick of exams at the time.

Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Howe Street, Auckland, ca 1909 Reference Number: 1/1-002925-G. Exterior view of Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Howe Street, Auckland city, circa 1909. Auckland Star photograph. Alexander Turnbull Library.

The first Auckland Girls’ High School in Auckland began in January 1877, but it was always seen as merely a temporary measure by the Auckland Education Board. In 1886 the Government gave the Education Board the land in Howe Street where the current school is located, along with the then-ramshackle former immigration barracks there. The school however had no land endowments to maintain it, so in 1888 it was closed and amalgamated with the boys’ Grammar School in Symonds Street.

In 1906, plans were made by the Education Board to separate the girls’ school from the boys’ grammar school. Plans were drawn up, designed by architects Goldsbro’ & Wade, and W A Cumming. The foundation stone for the new school at Howe Street was laid by the Hon. George Fowlds, Minister of Education, in December 1907. The project was described at the time as the building of “the most commodious and best-equipped school of the kind in the Dominion.”

Work proceeded over 1908-1909; the school was finally opened in February 1909, and formally opened in April that year. The builder was John Davis. According to Heather Northey in her book on the school’s history, Auckland Girls Grammar School the First Hundred Years 1888-1988, “The move to new, roomy premises came just in time, and the girls revelled in their bright and spacious classrooms after the cramped, cold conditions at St. Paul’s. The red brick building was an imposing sight, even though it was still surrounded by mud and clay. Perhaps most impressive of all was the School Hall, a lofty, beautiful place, large enough to hold the entire School.” 

Auckland Girls' Grammar School, Howe Street, Auckland, [ca 1916-1920] Reference Number: 1/2-001195-G. View of the school and established grounds. Shows an ivy-covered front facade and entranceway. 

Photograph taken by William A Price ca 1916-1920. Alexander Turnbull Library.

Another lady taxidermist in Auckland: Jane Greacen

Quite by chance the other day, I came upon Jane Greacen -- a lady engaged in her trade in the shadow of Partington's Windmill, apparently living in a red brick house from around 1905. Then, engaging in the fur and feather cleaning trade from 1908.

Auckland Star 29 February 1908

Then, in 1909, announcing that her maiden name was Yandle, and that she was a taxidermist (dealing with birds as a side to fur and feather preparation). Which intrigued me no end, considering the earlier blog post here on Jane Yandle, one of Auckland's earliest taxidermists.

Auckland Star 3 July 1909

William and Jane Yandle did have a daughter named Jane in 1871, according to the BDMs. Robert Greacen married Jane in 1898 -- however, the BDM transcription has her maiden name as "Gaudle". Perhaps Jane Yandle, by then separated from her husband since 1896, had taken her daughter into the trade, and Jane Greacen then took over her mother's business from 1908? Jane Yandle must have been getting on in years by then -- she died in 1915.

As it happened, Jane Greacen's life seemed to mirror that of her mother, unfortunately. Late April 1910, she shifted her premises to Avon Street, off Symonds Street (now part of St Martin's Lane). In 1911, domestic violence in her household was brought to the public's attention.

Jane Greacen brought a charge of alleged assault on the 16th inst. against her husband, Robert Greacen. She alleged her husband continually struck and kicked her, and she could not stand it any longer. The lady, who cleans feathers, renovates furs, etc., said that she had always kept herself, and could make up to £3 a week. Her husband lived in the same house, but would do little work. He slept half the day, and every two or three days he assaulted her. She wanted defendant bound over to keep the peace, and support her. The lady had no evidence to support her contention that defendant assaulted her, but she wanted to know whether she could get a separation order.

She had lived a terrible life with him for 10 years, she said. Defendant, who described himself as a wharf-labourer, said he came home on the night of the alleged assault, and had to make his own tea. His wife bullied him so much that he could not eat any food, and he went out for a time. He returned and went to bed, and about one o'clock got up, and found his wife with another man. His wife hit him on the head, and then fell down, and that was all the assault.

In dismissing the case his Worship said there was nothing before him on which he could act. He advised the woman to take advice before bringing any further action. Mrs. Greacen: Then are you going to let him come home and murder me?

Court Orderly: Silence! 

Auckland Star 1 July 1911

And later that same month ...

"My husband is continually drunk, and I have never seen him sober for the last month," complained Mrs Jane Greacen, who asked for a separation and maintenance order against her husband. Defendant made no appearance, and Mr Kettle remarked, "He seems to be a fit subject for Rotoroa."

The wife: "Yes, I think it would be a good thing for him."

Mr Kettle: "Well, there is a vacancy down there, I believe." (Laughter)

A separation order was made, and the defendant ordered to contribute £1 a week.

Auckland Star 14 July 1911

And still later that month ...

It was stated against Robt. Greacen, charged with drunkenness, that on Friday night, after his wife had obtained a separation order against him he went to the house and terrified his wife. She was so frightened that she wanted him put away. Accused, who was a second offender, was fined 10/ or 48 hours, and warned against worrying his wife.

Auckland Star 17 July 1911

 Robert Greacen breached a prohibition order in August 1911, and was fined £2.

Jane, meanwhile, had moved back to Mill Street by February 1912, then to Khyber Pass, just below Grafton Road, by March. Robert appeared yet again before the bench in April that year for breaching the prohibition order, saying that he had been drinking because he had "got hurt a day or two ago, and that caused him to go to the hotel to cure a feeling of pessimism." He was fined £4 this time. (Star, 26 April)

Jane appealed to the courts again.

At the Magistrate's Court this morning Mrs. Jane Greacen, who was represented by Mr. F. Stilling, applied for a separation order against her husband, Robert Greacen, on the ground that he had failed to maintain either herself or her children, that on a previous occasion she had obtained an order for separation and maintenance, but there was such difficulty in getting any money from Greacen, and so much scandal among the neighbours through the necessary invocation of police aid in the matter, that she took him back on his assurance that he would reform. Drink was his trouble, and after a brief spell of sobriety he took to it once more, and then left her. He was now earning good money on the wharf, and living at the Salvation Army Workmen's Home, but for two months she had not received a penny from him. From all she could hear, he was drinking again, though there was a prohibition order against him. She asked for no maintenance for herself, but only for the children. Mr. Kettle, S.M., suggested that the police should investigate Greacen's habits, and then made orders for separation and guardianship of the children, with maintenance at the rate of 15/ a week. 

 Auckland Star 22 November 1912

And, again in 1913 ...

Jane Greacen asked for a separation order against her husband, Robert Greacen, wharf labourer. She said she had obtained a similar order twelve months ago but as there was difficulty in getting money through the Court she had decided to take her husband back. The experiment was not a success, however, and for the last five weeks Greacen had been drinking more or less. less. In answer to Mr Kettle, S.M., the complainant admitted that the present would make the third separation she had obtained. His Worship in granting a separation and making an order for the payment of £1 a week expressed the hope that the present arrangement would be more lasting than two previous ones. 

 Auckland Star 13 June 1913

There is a Robert Greacen buried at Waikumete Cemetery in "SOLDIERS BURIAL A Row 3, Plot 2", died 1932 aged 61, a labourer (which would put him as being born c.1871, around Jane's age) but whether this is the same man, I don't know.

Jane Greacen, by the time she died (1940) a widow, is also on Waikumete's records, but with no grave. Her ashes were scattered.

New Zealand's first electric tram

My thanks to Dave Hinman in Christchurch for his kind permission to have these images and the text from his email published here. Also thanks to Andrew of High Riser for the heads up.

The restored body of Roslyn No. 1, dating from 1900 is today on its way back to Dunedin, having been restored for the Otago Settlers museum by the Heritage Tramways Trust, Ferrymead. It will be on static display once the museum reopens on its site which includes the former Art Deco NZ Railways Road Services Depot near the Dunedin Railway Station. Some before and after photos:

1. As new in 1900.

2. As a "crib" near Dunedin in 1968.

3. Body restored, painting under way, March 2012.

4. Just about ready for its trip south, May 2012.

The tram has had a long history between 1968 and now - obtained by the now defunct Dunedin Museum of Transport and Technology, outside storage and vandalism, acquisition by OSM and a partial start made on restoration. Then to Ferrymead and a period of waiting its turn until funding available.

More images here, and here.

A tram bound for Avondale

Purchased via TradeMe -- Tram No. 93 of the Auckland fleet, looks like a DSC, Cousins & Cousins-built (Auckland) tram, c.1909 (compare with No. 89 at MOTAT). I wanted this for two reasons. 1. The tram is heading to Avondale (which is of course the core interest for me and Timespanner). 2. I've identified where this was taken -- outside what is now Pigeon Park in Karangahape Road, with the Caledonian Hotel on the left (built c.1870, demolished 1980), and the tram stop toilets to the right on Symonds Street. So this tram's route was up Queen Street, past the Town Hall to K'Road, then along to Symonds Street, up to New North Road, then along New North through Kingsland, Morningside, Mt Albert to Blockhouse Bay Road, along to Rosebank Road, and down to the terminus just before Great North Road and the shops.

MOTAT apparently also have No. 91 (just two numbers away from this one) -- on the grass beside Cropper House Restaurant.

Auckland’s post-war housing policy

I've been approached by John Fountain who is undertaking research into the topic of post-war housing policy in Auckland. You'll find his own blog post here.

"Here is an open letter to anyone with knowledge of New Zealand’s regulatory policy on self contained accommodation units in residential “zones" ...

"I  would like to find out what special measures – especially at local levels – have been  taken in New Zealand urban areas (esp Auckland, possibly other main centers) during the post-war period in times of housing shortages . I am particularly interested in local community initiatives to help returning servicemen/women and their families obtain housing, either rental or ownership, in the main urban areas in New Zealand.  I don’t mean in State provided housing or  in purpose built camps/compounds, but  in options for self contained accommodation  provided by existing residents in the areas where returning servicemen and their families would have wanted to live – ie in proximity to good  transport,  schools, parks, shopping and other services – but found both rents or house prices  in these places unaffordable. An archivist at the  Alexander Turnbull  pointed me to a Dept of Housing booklet “Buy, Build or Rent: housing assistance for the ex-serviceman” (1946)  . This booklet mentions the existence of many initiatives at local community levels – but has no further information about them.

"I suspect  there may have been some significant and interesting local community changes in regulatory policies that either actively encouraged or turned a blind eye to initiatives taken by existing residents to provide secondary suite type self contained accommodation …but am only guessing at this stage. By “secondary suites” I mean self contained accommodation units (could be as small as a studio size apartment these days, or more substantial 2 or 3 bedroom units with separate living areas, bedrooms, kitchen facilities, toilet/shower, etc) , internal  to or external to an existing dwelling- eg  renovations of an existing house/garage/sleepout  to create a second  self contained accommodation unit  . In NZ and OZ these go by the name “granny flats “, but of course their tenants, or owners, could be anyone but granny herself!"

 More at the link.

Street Stories 23: Homage to a business partner

Detail from DP 123, LINZ records, crown copyright reserved.

My friend Margaret Edgcumbe alerted me to an article in the NZ Herald last week, about Logan Terrace in Parnell.

"The Logan Tce section is near the village centre, known for its galleries, cafes, restaurants and boutique stores. Before being subdivided, it was part of the homestead belonging to Auckland founding father Sir John Logan Campbell."

Uh, no. The original name of the street was Campbell Terrace, before a change in 1917 to the current name, and both "Campbell" and "Logan" do stem from a tip of the hat, as it were, to John Logan Campbell, who lived nearby and was a businessman of note in 19th century Auckland (there will be many commemorating the centenary of the death of the "Father of Auckland" this year).

But ... JLC didn't own the property, so it wasn't given his name or part thereof for that reason. The owner at the time of subdivision was one Patrick Comiskey (thanks again, Margaret), an Irishman who had done quite well for himself out here in the colonies. Including a business relationship with JLC.

Patrick Comiskey, son of Joseph Comiskey of Castleblaney, County Monaghan turns up in the early 1860s in the Papers Past records as a partner with Michael Abbott Cassius in the firm of Cassius & Comiskey, storekeepers in Greymouth and Hokitika, selling “Quicksilver, Blasting powder & fuse, Gunpowder, shot and caps, Axes, adzes, drills, hammer.” (West Coast Times, 26 July 1865) By 1867, the partners on Mawhera Quay were also selling Peruvian guano. In 1866, Comiskey was one of the directors of the Hokitika and Greymouth Railway Company. The business closed in Greymouth in December 1867.

Comiskey ran for election representing Greymouth on the County Council in 1868, but pulled out of the contest in December that year. Cassius & Comiskey dissolved in July 1869, leaving Cassius to continue on his own. By November that year, Comiskey was trying his luck on the Thames goldfields.

“The people must surely be mad to keep coming here,” he wrote to Cassius. “I do not know what they are going to do. Nine tenths of the claims on the Thames are not worth a penny. I could name hundreds of claims that have been formed into companies and then … sold at big prices, that are not worth anything to-day. Unless something turns up soon, there will be lots of people glad to return to Hokitika.” (reported in Westport Times, via North Otago Times, 26 November 1869)

He was back on the West Coast by early 1870, but left soon after to go to England (and possibly his hometown in Ireland).

In September 1873, Comiskey while in England married Mary Ann Bamford, daughter of Robert Hanbury of Bole Hall. “The tenantry on the Comiskey estates in Greymouth have reason to congratulate themselves upon the circumstance of their landlord (at second hand) having been elevated to the condition of a married gentleman, and of the probability, according to the Hokitika papers, of his better-half and he visiting them in the course of their, marriage tour. A notice of the matrimonial alliance appears in the usual column. On the authority of the West Coast Times a private letter from England, received in Hokitika, states that Mr Comiskey (formerly of Cassius and Comiskey) has married a lady of wealthy family.” (Grey River Argus, 9 September 1873) Mr & Mrs Comiskey arrived in Auckland as saloon passengers on board the Cyphrenes on 19 April 1874. In Newmarket, they had an accident in June when a horse drawing a buggy they had hired from Crowther’s shied on the Parnell Road, sending the couple over and down an embankment. Patrick Comiskey appears to have been knocked unconscious, and suffered worse injuries than his wife. He returned to Hokitika in September, and resumed his interest in West Coast affairs and politics.

He was back in Auckland by April 1876, now a JP. The whole of his household furniture was up for sale at Remuera in February 1877, and by June he was in Whakatane, assuming the office of coroner there (and running a company called the Whakatane Cattle Company). But, as if he wore a rubber band, he was back in Auckland by November that year. He still maintained his West Coast interests as well, but by 1881 styled himself as a gentleman, from Auckland.

The other principal shareholder of the Whakatane Cattle Company with Comiskey was John Logan Campbell (Bay of Plenty Times, 16 August 1881) – hence, quite likely, the reason why Comiskey named the street through his 1881 Parnell subdivision Campbell Terrace. (He was also a co-director, along with Campbell, of the NZ Frozen Meart and Storage Company in 1883, so the two men knew each other at least reasonably well. From 1878, Campbell was a fellow Parnell landowner).

Meanwhile, the Comiskeys had a residence somewhere along St Georges Bay Road (Auckland Star 19 October 1881). He was involved with development along part of Rutland Street East (now bounded by Cleveland and St Georges Bay Roads) in 1882 (Star, 14.3.1882).

 

 Star, 17 June 1884

 

His business career here in New Zealand was quite detailed, beyond the scope of this summary. He travelled again to England in the late 1880s, to secure additional finance for his enterprises in the South Island. While in Brighton, Mrs Comiskey fell, bruised her leg, and it had to be amputated. Sadly, she later died there in May 1888. Comiskey sold up any remaining effects in Auckland, and from that point on resided in England. He died in December 1906.

Patrick Comiskey, news of whose death was received by last week's English mail, was a prominent man in Auckland twenty years ago. At that period he was one of the largest investors in mining and business enterprises in the city. In the earlier days of the colony Mr Comiskey had been a member of the mercantile firm of Cassius and Comiskey, on the West Coast goldfields, and had laid the foundations of his fortune in mining and commercial enterprises there. And when he transferred himself to Auckland, there were not many speculation schemes of importance with which he was not in one way or other associated. Merely to mention a few of them involves a glance at historic concerns that were of the first importance in their day, but have long since passed out of existence.

For example, Mr Comiskey was one of the directors of the Thames Valley- Rotorua Railway Company, which commenced the construction of the railway from Morrinsville towards Rotorua, and eventually disposed of its interests to the Government. Then, he was for some time chairman of directors of the old Union Sash and Door Company, now absorbed in the Kauri Timber Company. Another venture in which he held a directorship was the New Zealand Frozen Meat Storage Company, which took over the meat business carried on by Fisher and Company, and engaged in export trade, sending away the first big cargo of frozen meat that was loaded in Auckland. During the booms at the Thames in the early eighties the time of the Prince Imperial and Cambria patches Mr Comiskey was an extensive and successful speculator. Before he left Auckland to take up his residence in England, New Zealand fell upon bad times, and Mr Comiskey suffered in common with others who had risked their money in business enterprises. It is understood, however, that he subsequently prospered in South African mining speculations, and that he died in affluent circumstances.

Observer, 9 February 1907

By the way, Comiskey’s old partner Michael Cassius, who had amassed a considerable fortune from his West Coast dealings and retired to Europe in 1874, died in November 1891.

Some moments with the Loafers

"Loafers", by Francis Upritchard, is a brand new art installation on Symonds Street's overbridge with Wellesley Street.  You can read more about it here and here.

(And, by Blogger's reckoning, this is post 1500 since Timespanner began in September 2008. Cheers to all the readers, contributors and commenters over the years. Couldn't have got this far without you.)

War, water and birds at Western Springs

Seeing as I was in the vicinity on Saturday, heading for MOTAT, I took a detour in search of a plaque in the park.

The Council put this plaque up, actually next to the main area which had been a motor camp from 1933, an American rest base 1942-44, and an emergency house transit camp from 1944-1961. A pity only the rest base is commemorated -- the Western Springs transit camp was the first of the areas set up from 1944 by the Council to address the chronic need for emergency, intermediate shelter for the city's citizens (the one at Titoki Street at the Domain started later).

Anyway, here's a plaque at least. A bit sad for the wear, corroded in places, and right next to a loo.

There are still patrols here, in a way. These days, a black rooster strolls past, utterly unconcerned by either people of proximity to a children's playground. Nice bird -- I wondered where he came from. An escapee from the zoo?

Motion's Creek Weir, at the edge of Western Springs lake. No fishing.

Peering out from the green ...

... a pair of painted pukekos on the back of another loo.

The men's have cormorants ...

... while the ladies have another pukeko and black swans.

The day's weather wasn't all that clement, the feathered residents going to ground just before the showers broke. I thus headed off, back to my route to MOTAT.

McKenzie's: variety store of my memory

THE GIFT PROBLEM 

Wide Range of Articles From Which To Choose 

"WHAT to give?" is the puzzling problem of the moment, but for the wise shopper, all worry is eliminated by a visit to any store of J. R. McKenzie. There the problem is solved and the search ends! ALL tastes and all ages are catered for, and there are a thousand and one gifts, designed to please, from which a choice can be made. Whether it be for father, for mother, for sister or brother, or somebody else's sister or brother, at McKenzie's will be found the very thing that is wanted. Established throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion, J. R. McKenzie's have been able through mass buying to land in New Zealand probably a more comprehensive range of toys, general fancy goods, and other suitable gifts, than has ever been imported into this country, and these represent the very latest from the overseas markets. Value and genuine bargains, together with prompt and smiling service, are the features for which the J. R. McKenzie Stores have gained a reputation.

NZ Truth 11 December 1930

Leigh Kennaway sent the above image the other day, a photo he took of a piece of the past of Auckland's retail history, this one in Takapuna. Instant nostlagia for me, as I remember being entranced by the variety on the shelves at the Queen Street store, with the barker rallying up the customers to buy-buy-buy this or that special item. To me as a wee nipper at my mum's side, the place just seemed wonderful. A smaller version of the giant multi-storey Farmers. All just memories, now, lost to corporate takeover and changing times.

The stores began with one man: Sir John Robert MacKenzie, knighted in 1949. Born in Victoria, Australia 5 August 1876, he began his business career in Melbourne, after serving in the 2nd Boer War with the Third Victorian Bushmen's Contingent. In 1910, he moved to New Zealand after being impressed by the country while taking a cycling holiday in 1909. He started a shop in Dunedin which was to be the first of a chain of 75 stores nationwide by 1980.

In 1910 Mr. McKenzie opened the first McKenzie fancy goods shop in George Street, Dunedin, to be followed shortly afterwards by a similar shop in Christchurch. The first Wellington store opened in Willis Street in 1913, Wanganui branch being next in 1915. By 1929 the [firm] had 18 fancy goods shops in the various towns of New Zealand, from Auckland to Invercargill. During 1929 Mr. McKenzie decided to adopt the more modern trend of retail business by converting the business into the modern self-serving department stores. Today there are 21 McKenzie department stores in every large town, from Whangarei to Invercargill, and a total staff of over 650 is employed by the company throughout the Dominion. To commemorate the occasion of the firm's silver jubilee, Mr. J. E. McKenzie has authorised that one extra week's salary be paid to every member of the staff, this gift involving payment of approximately £1400. Last year the company donated £500 to charity, and this year the directors have allocated £1600 to this cause. 

Evening Post 24 October 1933

Evening Post 12 December 1913

Always on the lookout for improvements and developments, Si John's observations during a trip overseas led him to the revolutionary decision to change his fancy goods stores to the department type of store which was proving so successful overseas, and which would provide the average family with many of their main needs at reasonable prices.

The first experimental department store was initiated shortly afterwards in Cuba Street, Wellington. The change was completed in three years ...

Auckland Star 3 November 1962

In 1938, the business was registered as a public company. Sir John died in 1955, renowned as a philanthropist (the name living on in the J R McKenzie Trust) and a successful businessman.

View of High Street Lower Hutt, November 1956, from the footpath beside Hill Brothers grocery store. Three women can be seen on the pavement, one of whom wheels a baby pram towards the camera. Photographed by Morrie Hill. Ref 1/2-177164-F, Alexander Turnbull Library.

By 1979, however, the business came to be controlled by a company called Rangatira Ltd, holding 52% of the shares. In July that year, Rangatira accepted a takeover bid by L D Nathan & Co, Ltd, owners of the Woolworths brand of variety stores in the country.  With "an air of quiet acceptance", although with unfavourable comments nonetheless from a shareholder and former McKenzies employee, the final meeting of McKenzies (NZ) Ltd was held on 20 July 1979. The stores all became part of Woolworths (a chain established here in 1929) -- I remember them as well, but they didn't hold the same magic for me. "Woolies" drifted away during the late 1980s-early 1990s.

I took this photo in June last year, the upper Symonds Street branch of McKenzies, which opened in late 1938.

If anyone else has any images or memories of the stores they'd like to share, feel free to contact me.

White elephant at the culvert

A quirky bit of street art down at the Oakley Creek culvert alongside Bollard Road between Mt Albert and Avondale.