New Zealand Memories Issue 149

APPETISER
Pride in the Job
“Painters in my father’s era were trained in glazing, lead lighting, graining, signwriting,
gold lettering, making and tinting wall-paint, wallpapering and painting” writes
Selwyn Dobbinson. Turn to page 18 for a personal insight into the skills of the trade.
1

EDITORIAL
Dear Readers,
It’s always a pleasure to publish Gordon Campbell’s gems, and his leading article
on the Hardwicke settlement, situated on one of the remote Auckland Islands,
reveals the unimaginable hardships of hopeful immigrants who struggled with the
bitter weather and wild conditions in 1849 before moving on to greener pastures.
Locations selected for some of the Crown Colonies planted in New Zealand are
unfathomable.
In the last few issues we have featured stories from various tradesmen: a builder;
a fitter and turner; and now a painter and paperhanger. I was astonished at the
broad range of skills required for this trade during the Victorian era. Selwyn
Dobbinson relates his father’s experiences in this field of expertise.
Jeff Taylor’s story of Hamilton Lake will trigger happy memories for many Waikato readers. In other stories,
David Hill may have delivered your Napier newspaper or you may have contributed a penny to Lofty
Blomfield’s ‘penny pile’.
On a more sombre note the story, There are never any reasons given, will give readers a topic to reflect upon.
This true account by Sam Jaffe occurred during World War II and its relevance, in different contexts, continues
today. The article opens up the ongoing discussion of New Zealand’s refugee criteria and quota and the difficult
decisions it poses.
As we start the journey into the winter months, and hopefully an end to this coronavirus scourge, I wish you
the warmth of love from friends and family.
Wendy Rhodes,
Editor
Phasing out of Cheques
As New Zealand banks will be stopping cheque payment shortly, the last date for receipt of cheques in our
office will be 14 May 2021.
We are aware that this will cause difficulties for some subscribers. You are welcome to top up your
subscription by cheque prior to this date - $79 for one year and $154 for two years – and we will add the
extra copies onto your current balance.
Do phone our office if we can help in any way.
We will continue to welcome Visa, MasterCard and Internet Banking.
For just $79 you receive an annual
subscription to New Zealand Memories.
Six superb issues direct to your letterbox.
A G i f t o f D i s t i n c t i o n
Surprise a friend or relative with a gift subscription.
We will even gift wrap the first issue, include a gift
card with your personal message and post it direct.
Freephone: 0800 696 366 or
Freepost: 91641
PO Box 17288
Green Lane, Auckland 1546
Email: admin@memories.co.nz
Visit our website w w w.memories.co.nz for subscriptions and gift ideas.
Order online securely today and pay via internet banking, cheque or credit card.
2
Subscribe and Save!

Editor
Wendy Rhodes
Graphic Design
Icon Design
Administration
David Rhodes
Distributed by
Ovato
Subscriptions & Enquiries
Phone tollfree: 0800 696 366
Mail: Freepost 91641,
PO Box 17288, Green Lane, Auckland 1546
email: admin@memories.co.nz
www.memories.co.nz
Annual Subscription $79 for six issues
(Price includes postage within NZ)
Contributors
Albertland & Districts Museum
Alexander Turnbull Library
Anderson, Bruce
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection
Boswell, Don
Campbell, Gordon
Central Hawke’s Bay Museum
Christchurch City Libraries
Cooper, Wendy
Couch, Cliff
Coyne, J
Creamer, John
Dingwall, Paul
Dobbinson, Selwyn
Fletcher, Ian
Fischer, Libby
Hamilton Central Library Heritage Dept.
Hawke’s Bay Museum
Hill, David
Jaffe, Sam
Jones, Kevin
Lang Thomas, Miriam
Lowe, G
MacKenzie, Alastair
McLennan, Candice
Norsewood Pioneer Museum
Nelson Provincial Museum,
Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao
Queen’s Redoubt Trust
Relph, David
Robinson, John
Sewell, Don
Shields, Ted
Stewart, Graham
Stone, Alex
Tait, Gordon
Taylor, Jeff
Tingey, Robert
Opinions: Expressed by contributors are not
necessarily those of New Zealand Memories.
Accuracy: While every effort has been made to
present accurate information, the publishers take no
responsibility for errors or omissions.
Copyright: All material as presented in
New Zealand Memories is copyright to the publishers
or the individual contributors as credited.
ISSN 1173-4159
April/ May 2021
Contents
Hardwicke – New Zealand’s Southernmost Settlement 4
Gordon Campbell transports us back to the mid-nineteenth century.
Night Runner 12
David Hill, Napier paper delivery boy.
Country Policing in the 1940s 15
A fishy story recorded by David Relph.
Trade Cards 16
A selection from John Creamer’s card collection.
Pride in the Job 18
The painter and paperhanger’s trade; a story by Selwyn Dobbinson.
Antics at Boarding School 22
Ted Shields was a boarder at Waitaki Boys’ High School.
From the Regions: Whanganui / Manawatu 26
Centrefold: No Shortage of Accommodation at the Lyell 36
“There are never any reasons given” 38
Sam Jaffe records a tragic episode in his family’s history.
Lofty Blomfield and the ‘Penny Pile Fundraiser’ 45
Contributed by Gordon Tait.
Do You Remember the Misses Beresford? 46
By Candice McLennan, a great niece of the music and dance tutors.
Monthly Dances 49
Cliff Couch recalls treading the “light fantastic” in the 1940s.
A Soldier’s Collectibles 50
Written by Don Sewell in conversation with Ian Fletcher.
Colonial Service 54
Wendy Cooper records the Hickling Family’s teaching appointment.
From the Regions: Waikato 56
Mailbox 67
Index and Genealogy List 70
Editor’s Choice 72
Not the one that got away
Cover image:
Hartley Hargreaves with his pet dog.
The Hargreaves Family lived in Oneriri
when this photograph was taken by
Harold Marsh in the early 1900s.
Courtesy: Albertland & Districts Museum
3

ARTICLE
Hardwicke – New Zealand’s
Southernmost Settlement
Gordon Campbell
An attempt to establish a small, remote Crown Colony
far to the south of New Zealand was a dismal failure.
Peering through a sudden break in the curtain of fog that blanketed the sea, the settlers on board the
Fancy got their first unpromising view of the islands that would be their new home. They had been
sailing in squally weather through the dense, driving mist for the past four days. Unable to take
observations to confirm his position, but knowing he was in the vicinity of the islands, Captain
Davidson knew his situation was extremely dangerous. He was concerned that his ship could carry on blindly,
missing the islands altogether and sailing on into the landless sub-Antarctic Ocean. There was also the added fear
that the ship could be wrecked on the rock-bound cliffs that lined the island’s western shores. For a few minutes
the mist cleared enough to reveal the South Cape of Adams Island, the southernmost point of the group. The
relief on board was palpable as the ship made its way up the eastern coastline towards their new home.
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand ref:MSX-8008, A-093-008
4

ARTICLE
It was December 27, 1849, and the Fancy was the last of the three
ships to arrive at the new settlement at Port Ross, at the northern
end of Auckland Island. This settlement venture was led by Charles
Enderby. He was the grandson of Samuel Enderby who had
established the British Southern Whale Fishery, the most successful
British whaling firm throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s. By
the 1830s the British whaling industry was in decline and Britain
was becoming more dependent on foreign nations, particularly
America, for its supply of whale oils. To remedy this situation Charles
Enderby promoted the idea of setting up a colony in the Southern
Pacific Ocean to specifically support a whaling industry. Having a
fleet of whaling vessels permanently stationed in the heart of the
whaling seas would avoid the need for the long, expensive voyages
from Britain. From this South Pacific base whaling ships could be
sent out to hunt Southern Right whales, whose oil would be stored
at the station before being loaded onto especially equipped ships for
transport to England. In this way there would always be ships in the
whaling grounds, and oil on its way to England. Enderby envisioned
the colony would be entirely self-supporting. Agriculture and market
gardens would supply a surplus of food, and its location on the Great
Circle trade route between Australia and Britain meant it would be a
convenient port of call to refit and resupply merchant ships.
The Auckland Islands were chosen as the site for a new Crown
Colony that would complement this whaling station. The colonisation
of the islands was to be simultaneous with the development of the
whale fishery. The islands had been discovered by Captain Abraham
Bristow, of the Enderby whaler Ocean in 1806, and the company
had been granted a 30 year lease of the islands for a minimal rental
in 1847. A settlement, named Hardwicke after the Governor of the
company, was planned for Port Ross. Charles Enderby was to be the
company’s Chief Commissioner at Hardwicke and was also given
Her Majesty’s commission as Lieutenant-Governor of the Auckland
Islands. This was to be a planned settlement along the lines of the
“balanced” Wakefield settlements in Wellington, Nelson and New
Plymouth. A range of trades and professions were represented in
the colonists selected for the initial settlement. As well as a surveyor
and storekeeper, there were doctors, clerks, boatmen, coopers,
shipwrights, carpenters, blacksmiths, bricklayers, masons, farmers
and labourers, providing the necessary skills to help ensure the success
of the tiny, remote new colony. Young married couples were valued
for the permanence and stability they would provide. Overseeing the
establishment of the colony was the Assistant Commissioner, William
Mackworth. Only 24 years old, he was the colonial administrator
who described himself as, “soldier, sailor, judge, lawyer, engineer and
everything else.” 1 He carried out the day to day management of the
enterprise. His diary records a lot of his energy was spent acting as a
mediator between Lieutenant-Governor Enderby and the colonists.
1 McLaren, Fergus The Auckland Islands: Their Eventful History. p.51
Top: Auckland Islands Diary Volume Two, 20 Feb to 23 April 1852.
Barracks on the beach and the buildings of the Southern Whale
Fishery Company’s settlement at Port Ross, 1850 -1852.
5

ARTICLE
A sketch of Lord Auckland’s Groupe, discovered by Abrm. Bristow, 1806 [cartographic material].
Ref: 100aj 1774-1823. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/20437592
On arrival the colonists were unexpectedly met by a group of Te Atiawa Māori. Led by a chief called Matioro,
seven years earlier they had established several pa around the Port Ross harbour. Matioro was part of the Ngati
Mutunga and Ngati Tama hapū who conquered and enslaved the Moriori inhabitants on the Chatham Islands
in 1835. In 1842 he was part of an expedition of about 40 Ngati Mutunga and 25 Moriori slaves who left
the Chathams on a chartered ship to settle the islands they called Maungahuka. Marooned, with no way of
returning to New Zealand, they lived a very marginal existence, enduring deprivation and hardship in the sub-
Antarctic climate. The arrival of a hundred European colonists, with their materials and goods, meant that their
lives would be somewhat easier. Although the unexpected presence of Māori initially caused some nervousness
amongst the settlers, relations were generally very positive. Many Māori were employed in road making, as well
as crew on the company’s ships. Matioro, and another chief, Ngatere, were appointed as company constables,
and were instrumental in promoting friendly relations between the two races.
The first few weeks after the arrival were taken up clearing land along the foreshore of Erebus Cove, for gardens
and building sites. Within a few days of arrival, Mackworth identified a major issue that would contribute to
6

ARTICLE
the eventual failure of the settlement when he wrote, “Our greatest enemy in this difficult undertaking is the
weather.” 2 Despite it being mid-summer, gales and perpetual rain slowed down the unloading of building
materials and supplies. Mackworth’s diary is peppered with references to the appalling weather. He constantly
refers to the incessant rain, interspersed with hail and snow, accompanied by ferocious winds that would plague
the islands day after day. One settler, George Crane, said that it rained for six days and blew a hurricane on the
seventh. 3 The colonists lived in damp conditions on board their ships while the prefabricated buildings were
being assembled. Many got sick and complained bitterly during these first weeks before the bachelors’ quarters
and married couples’ cottages were ready to occupy. As Lieutenant-Governor, Enderby moved into Government
House once it was ready. Meanwhile, a cooperage and other workshops were built, and a warehouse erected to
store supplies. A flagpole was erected and a battery of four guns set up to defend the settlement.
Right from the beginning, food supplies were a problem for the settlers. During the first few weeks, the limited
initial supplies of food brought out were strictly rationed. This issue held up the unloading of ships and building
work during the first weeks when a group of colonists went on strike, demanding an increase in their rations. A
few acres of land were surrounded by a shelter fence of stakes and cleared for gardens. The short growing season
and inclement weather weren’t the only hinderance for a continuing food supply. The island’s swampy, acidic
peat soil couldn’t be improved and produced pitiful vegetables. The settlers had to rely on the limited amount
of potatoes and cabbages provided by the Māori community, complemented by irregular supplies of items such
as flour, fresh fruit jam and pickles from the Australasian settlements. Meat was also in short supply. A shipload
of sheep, beef cattle, two cows and three horses (which were never used), had been landed in early 1850, and
were released on Enderby and Rose Islands, the only places with grazable land. Stockyards and a farm cottage
were built on Enderby Island, but the stock became wild and mustering them proved challenging. Mackworth
recorded one attempt to try and kill stock, during a period when settlers had run out of meat. One party on
Enderby Island “passed the whole day endeavouring to get within gun shot of the sheep but without success”. 4
Another group returned empty handed after spending five days trying to kill a cattle beast. On one occasion
2 Mackworth, William & Munce, William Enderby Settlement Diaries. Records of a British Colony at the Auckland Islands 1849 - 1852.
p 22, 10 January.
3 Fraser, Conon The Enderby Settlement. Britain’s Whaling Venture on the Sub-Antarctic Islands 1849 - 52. p66
4 Mackworth Diaries 3 October 1851 p.90
The Astrolabe and Zelee anchored off Shoe Island, a small island of basalt, during Dumont d’Urville’s visit to the Auckland
Islands in March 1840. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand ref: B-052-014
7

EDUCATION
Antics at Boarding School
Ted Shields
Waitaki Boys’ High School is situated a few kilometres north of Oamaru, immediately between
the sea-coast and the Main Trunk Railway Line. There were approximately 260 boarders in
attendance during the early 1950s and, in addition, the school was responsible for the education
of day boys from an extensive area of North Otago. Whilst many past pupils have achieved long
standing responsibilities in society, whether it be with sport or academic positions, this narrative is more about the
mischief which some of the boys, more especially myself and my three mates, would get up to outside of school
hours.
I spent almost two years at Waitaki Boys’ High School as a boarder (1951-1952), which in some ways was an
unique experience, but I would not enjoy repeating it. I was nicknamed ‘Jock’ because, initially, I did not know
any names of the older boys and always responded to an order to ‘fag’ 1 with “OK Jock” – hence the nickname. We
had plenty of fun outside school hours; much being a lot plain mischief by breaking the rules and testing authority.
1 ‘Fag’ definition: a junior pupil at school who does minor chores for a senior pupil.
Author Ted Shields is seated in the second row, fourth from the right, in this 1951 Waitaki Boys High School class photograph.
22

EDUCATION
“Broken biscuits were plentiful; in
those days retailers purchased the
product loose in large square tins.”
Prior to going to Waitaki, motorcycle speedway racing was a popular spectator sport in the
main centres and was carried out on quarter mile cinder circuit tracks. Young boys would form
ad hoc cycle clubs and imitate the speedways by using bicycles. Accordingly, a club was set up
at Waitaki and became extremely popular as a lot of the country boys had never experienced
such an activity.
I took my old bike with ‘apehanger’ handlebars and a box of spares to Waitaki and it was not
long before I obtained permission from the rector to form a track at the back of the school. This
was done on what was known as ‘The Mansions’, a few acres of waste land adjoining the school
property. With a few trees, a bit of scrub and a narrow creek, this was the ideal set up and several
of my mates formed the track with me by using the necessary tools from the gardening shed.
As soon as the track was completed, it was all on. The popularity was phenomenal. After
the evening meal a lot of the boarders would head for ‘Jock’s Speedway’ and race their bikes
on the new track. My bike was stripped bare and it was not long before many others followed.
Within a short time, many previously good bikes were virtually wrecked due to the crashes and
reconstructions.
Military training was part of the school curriculum and we had a double period of military
drill every Wednesday afternoon. Whatever we did was done mainly on the eastern playing
fields where we were exposed to the cold easterly wind that blew constantly in the summer. It
was so cold that we often wore two jerseys. This military drill did not appeal to me. My mates
and I would usually bunk and head for the farm next door and hide amongst the box thorn
whilst sitting out the time on fruit boxes. It was there that we would indulge in smoking until
the time came one day when we were caught. This was followed by three strokes of the cane
from the rector for bunking military drill and then four more straight after from the head
prefect for smoking.
There was an old apple orchard adjacent to the school and from here we would pick apples
and make apple cider. Sugar was accumulated by sneaking leftover sugar from the dining room
tables, The brew was made in beer bottles, which after bottling were buried in the ground in
the native bush so as to be hidden from other ‘brewers’. It was common practice to have your
cider stolen.
Food was always an issue; we were always hungry. On a Thursday boarders were issued with
one shilling (10 cents) pocket money, sometimes more if a ‘reserve account’ was funded by
our parents. It was usual to bike into town on Friday after school and buy food. Often broken
biscuits from Woolworths or else a trip to one of the Tea Rooms to buy some hot buttered
toast. Broken biscuits were plentiful; in those days retailers purchased the product loose in
large square tins. They were not packed, as they are today, leading to breakages which were sold
cheaply. The pieces of broken chocolate biscuits were eaten first of course.
23

36

No Shortage of Accommodation
The township of Lyell, built on a hillside near the Buller River, gradually emerged after the region’s
significant gold discoveries of the 1860s. During the town’s heyday in the latter part of the nineteenth
century, numerous hotels sprung up; a collection can be seen in this c.1890 Tyree Bros. photograph.
In Cliff Street, taken from the Anglican Church at the top of the hill, five hotels can be identified:
The Welcome Inn (foreground), the Post Office Hotel (on the bend, left of Cliff Street), the Criterion
and the Empire (right of Cliff Street - in line with centre of the Welcome Inn’s rooftop) and the large
building (nestled in the hillside at centre) is Sloan’s Alhambra Hotel.
Courtesy: Nelson Provincial Museum | Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao Reference: C1076
The 1910 photograph at left shows a clear view of the Welcome Inn Hotel and Cliff Street.
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ. Ref: 1/2-001206-G.
Reference: Darrell Latham, The Golden Reefs: An Account of the Great Days of Quartz-Mining at Reefton, Waiuta and the Lyell.
37

DANCE
Do You Remember the
Misses Beresford?
Candice McLennan
Some years ago, while travelling in a bus along Auckland’s Symonds Street, I overheard a snippet of
conversation from the seat in front of me. As we passed where Number 106 once proudly stood, I heard
“Do you remember the Misses Beresford, I wonder what happened to them?” In an unusual moment
of serendipity I was able to tap them on the shoulder and provide some answers. Coincidentally, I am
one of the Misses Beresfords’ great nieces.
So who were these two talented ladies? The Misses Beresford were among the leading figures in Auckland
entertainment during the first fifty years of last century. Miss May Beresford taught piano and singing and
Miss Aileen taught dance and violin. Mary Bridget (known as ‘May’) and Aileen Kathleen were born in 1876
and 1884 respectively, sisters to John Benson, Percy James, Bertie Cecil and Leslie Charles. Initially they lived
in Normanby, Taranaki. The family then settled in Whangarei in the mid 1880s where their father, Charles
Henry Beresford, set up and ran a general store along with their mother, Marie Therese. Whangarei is where
May and Aileen received their musical and dance education. They were well-respected performers with their
own orchestra, which toured the North Island giving concerts. Aileen was often asked to judge local dancing
May Beresford in costume in the early the 1900s.
46

DANCE
competitions. In June 1952, May told The Weekly News, “We used to tour everywhere together in a buggy and
the roads were shocking. Sometimes there would be mud up to the axles”. May began to teach music at the age
of 14 to pay for her own lessons.
In the early 1890s the family moved to Auckland. This enabled May to play in orchestras and concert parties
and Aileen to dance and teach. Aileen would dance at the Princess Theatre (later the Plaza Theatre) in the short
ballets that preceded the main film. Often on Sunday afternoons both May and Aileen would entertain patrons
in the Tea Kiosk on the summit of Mount Eden. They lived variously at 106 Symonds Street, 2 Constitution
Hill and 9 Rewi Road in Epsom. Both May and Aileen took in students for piano, violin, ballet and ballroom
dancing in the Old Scots Hall in Symonds Street. After May died in 1954, Miss Aileen continued teaching
in the crypt of Old St Paul’s Church in Symonds Street. Later she taught from her home in Rewi Road. I well
remember her studio in which I would take a secret twirl. It was crammed with mementoes - cards of greeting
and thanks from ex-pupils adorned every available surface. Feathers and faded artificial flowers were tucked
behind framed religious texts. Newspaper cuttings of past-pupil’s achievements were proudly displayed along
with prominent photos of Michael Joseph Savage, past and current Popes, and various members of the Royal
Family. The odd silver-framed photo of May or Aileen on stage in glamorous costumes showed how stylish and
elegant they were.
As teachers and performers they were involved in a prodigious amount of charity work. They dedicated
themselves to raising money during both wars for welfare relief by organising many concerts, often in the
The cast photograph from a Whangarei production. May is third from left (top row) and a younger brother is in
the bottom right corner.
47

EDITOR’S CHOICE
Not the one
that got away...
This shark was caught at Matakohe by Ken Weber c. 1965.
According to contributor Bruce Anderson, to catch the
1456 lb shark, a chain was put around a 44-gallon drum
and a huge hook was baited with half a sheep. The shark
took the bait and held the drum underwater for a half an
hour before tiring. The contents of the stomach revealed
seven 15lb snapper, an octopus and a stingray. Fishermen
were relieved as the shark had been devastating the nets of
local fishermen for some time.
72