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Palmerston North
Centenary
18 71
1971
_ & PALMERSTON NORTH
HAVE COME A LONG -
WAY TOGETHER!!
GARNERS
BORN IN
AND STILL GOING WITH
A BOOM!
Palmerston North was a sleepy town, hardly out of
its pioneer cradle, when Mr H. M. Garner opened
a small Drapery Business in the Square . . . the
date was February 7th, 1906, and the business was
called Garner Bros.
Garner Bros, shop in Cuba St. which will bring back memories to
many of the older residents of the City. In 1922, Garners bought
the freehold of the Square shop, a property which went through to
Cuba Street, then in 1923 they sold their shop and moved to the
Square, first to an upstairs room and later to the ground floor
well. as
REMEMBER THIS?
FEB.
25th
THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT GARNERS MOVED ON TO BROAD-
WAY. ON THE SITE OF WHAT ONCE WAS THE OLD ZEALANDIA
HALL . . . THE BROADWAY OF THOSE TIMES COULD HARDLY
BE CALLED THE SHOPPING HEART OF THE CITY. IT HAD FEW
SHOPS OF ANY KIND ALONG ITS STRETCH . . . I N THAT
RESPECT, GARNERS WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST ON THE SITE.
THAT BROADWAY WAS SO DIFFERENT, IN FACT, THAT PEOPLE
SAID OF THE NEW STORE, "THEY HAVE MOVED TO THE
COUNTRY!"
BUT IT WAS THERE THAT GARNERS FAVOURITE SLOGAN . . .
"THE STORE THAT MADE BROADWAY BOOM!" WAS COINED.
IT STILL BLARES . . . IN SIGNATURE TUNE . . . FROM CITY
RADIO SETS EVERY MORNI NG.
MR K. M. GARNER TOOK OVER THE WHOLE BUSINESS I N 1936.
AND I N THE SAME YEAR GARNERS BECAME TWO PRIVATE
COMPANIES . . . GARNERS DEPARTMENT STORE AND GARNERS
BUILDINGS LTD.. WI TH SHAREHOLDINGS WI THI N THE GARNER
FAMILY.
M W n o w i . . .
Mr J. Hodgens, M.P., about to christen the new Broadway building with a
bottle of dry Monopole Champagne . . . Feb. 25th, 1937.
REMEMBER THIS?
JUNE
21st
THE AMALGAMATI ON OF SMITH AND BROWN'S AND GARNERS
DEPARTMENT STORE HAS BEEN THE HAPPY MARRIAGE OF TWO
DISTINCTIVE AND WELL ESTABLISHED LINES . . . THE DRAPERY,
SOFT GOODS AND MANCHESTER WHI CH PALMERSTONIANS HAVE
BOUGHT FOR 65 YEARS; AND THE ELEGANT, MODERN FURNITURE
AND FURNISHINGS WHI CH SMITH AND BROWN'S HAVE MADE,
ALSO OVER MANY YEARS, THEIR SPECIAL FEATURE.
THE NEW BIG EXTENSION AND SHOWROOM FROM GARNERS INTO
MAI N STREET IN 1965 HAS MADE THIS BLEND COMPLETE, AND
BRINGS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS TO 11, WI TH A
TOTAL OF 33,000 SQUARE FEET AND TWO FRONTAGES.
THANK YOU. PALMERSTON NORTH! . . . IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE!
LET'S MAKE THE 70' s A FURTHER MILESTONE TOGETHER!
Published by the Manawatu Standard
Ltd. at its registered office, 55
The Square, Palmerston North, as
a supplement to the "Evening
Standard", Saturday, March 13
1971.
I The City's Greatest Furniture Store!
YOUR SMITH AND
BROWN STORE Mr W. H. Brown, M.P., about to christen the new extension into Main
Street with a bottle of champagne . . . June 21st, 1965.
EVENING STANDARD
A CENTENARY is an arbitrary date, more so even than the division of
history into the reigns of kings, as used to be the custom at school. While the
death of one monarch and the succession of another might well hare much
altered a kingdom's way of life, or laid the foundations of change, the centenary
of a city will be only what its citizens make of it.
When the City Council announced the dates between which it proposed
to mark the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Palmerston North some
people were immediately confused. They recalled that the 75th jubilee was
held in 1952, which was by no means 25 years ago, and the 50th was celebrated
in 1927. The reason, which was promptly given, was that the previous anniversaries
had been counted from the proclamation of the borough, whereas the Centenary
is calculated from the date of the arrival of the first settlers.
Other cities can mark their foundation on a specific day, such as the arrival
of the first of the immigrant ships, the purchase of the site, the landing of a
party of the armed constabulary to establish an outpost. Palmerston North has
never recognised any single event which would provide a day, and a month, to
commemorate and was not able to discover one to provide a focus for the official
celebrations which are currently the high point of the Centenary.
In the history of nations the development of a caravan route over rarely
traversed and dangerous country, the opening of a new sea passage, the settlement
of a colony, the foundation of the first bank, the invention of the steam engine,
the exploitation of the telegraph, and the establishment of trade unions have
been more significant stages in social development than the rise and fall of all
but a few illustrious monarchs. And so it is with a city.
Some of our early Mayors are well remembered even yet, and their names
are commemorated in our streets. But not their deeds, for these are all but
forgotten as the acts of specific persons. Today's citiiens, asked to nominate
the major stages in the building of this city, would probably choose the first
bridging of the Manawatu River at Fitiherbert Avenue, the clearing of the bush
which stood thickly on many of the early town sections, the laying out of the
Esplanade, the lighting of the main streets with gas, and the formation of the
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, which ensured the town's place
on the Main Trunk Railway.
Later stages have been the gift of land at Fitiherbert to secure the
establishment of the agricultural college which has become Massey University,
the encouragement of flying at Milson aerodrome and the establishment here of
Union Airways, and the diversion of the railway from the Square to the northern
boundary of the city after more than 30 years' agitation.
Most citizens could draw up their own lists and all would differ in details.
But the main points would doubtless be agreed upon. These are the principal
components of our civic heritage, and are acknowledged by all who know and
love this city, however long they may have lived here.' Its prosperity and social
development in the coming century will spring from the vigour and determination
with which we meet the different challenges of the next 100 years. And that
will depend in turn upon the kind of people that Palmerston North can attract
and hold as citizens, and encourage to serve its needs.
Mr I. R. Matheson (l eft), who was commissioned by the "Evening Standard" to
research and compile the text for this historical supplement, is well known as a
local historian. He was born in Palmerston North and educated at Boys High School
and Massey University. His family has been associated with the city since 1880.
Mr Matheson was a secondary school teacher before accepting his present post as
City Archivist at the Public Library.
Cover
The cover depicts the development of Palm-
erston North from the clearing in the thick
totara forest to which the pioneer settlers
came. The clearing of the land is illustrated
by the pioneer with his axe on the back
cover, with the river and hills in the back-
ground beyond. The front cover shows an
early settler explaining to a Maori his vision
of the future a modern, bustling city
rising from the forest clearing. The painting
was commissioned by the "Evening Stan-
dard" from Mr F. W. Davis, senior lecturer
in art at the Palmerston North Teachers
College. Mr Davis is well known as an
artist and his works have been exhibited
overseas as well as in this country. He has
a strong interest in New Zealand history,
and particularly in Maori-European relation-
ships.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1 9 7 1 . O
'A
i
Papa
A clearing in the forest
an isolated expanse of manuka,
fern, and grass, encircled by
majestic stands of totara, matai,
and tawa.
"Papai-oea" the name can
be translated as "here are
beauties indeed" an apt
description of the sunlit clear-
ioea
ing, set in its frame of dark
forest.
Into this clearing came
the Maori food-gatherer and
traveller, followed by the
pakeha surveyor, storekeeper,
and sawmiller. Here was born
the settlement of Palmerston
North.
4EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
. . . . . . . . - - , < , - . . . - - . m : - : ' "
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971. C
THE CONTRAST
1871 1971
O
NE HUNDRED years ago, Manawatu was dominated by dense
native forest, sprawling wild and free over the untamed landscape.
Today, Manawatu is characterised by exotic vegetation, laid down >n
carefully-measured sections and confined by lines of road and fence.
The scrub-covered clearing of Papaioea has been replaced by
an expanse'of asphalt, concrete, timber, and steel. The size of the
clearing in 1871 was about 800 acres. Today, the City of Palmerston
North covers about 10,600 acres.
In March, 1871, the Buildings in the clearing comprised a small
hotel, a store, a survey office, and one or two small huts. Today, there
are more than 16,000 dwelling houses within the boundaries of Palmerston
North.
The number of people living in the clearing in March, 1871,
probably totalled no more than five, while the population within a
six-mile radius of the clearing is estimated to have been less than 200.
Tpday, the City of Palmerston North has an estimated population of
53,000, and about 60,000 people are living within a six-mile radius of
The Square.
In 1871 the newly-surveyed Township of Palmerston was only
a small village, standing at the centre of an isolated and undeveloped
district. Today, the City of Palmerston North is the seventh largest
urban area in New Zealand and stands at the centre of one of the most
important agricultural and commercial regions in the Dominion. The
achievements of one century have been truly remarkable.
with rhe approximate shape and
location of the Papeeoia Clearing
superimposed In black. The picture
graphically illustrates the growth of
the city over the past eentary.
OF A CENTURY
gEWNJ^ WARCrt ,Uwi7K
.
:t

mm
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971
>
T859 Papaioea recommended as a
good site for a township.
1864 Purchase of Papaioea and sur-
rounding land by the Government.
1865-66 Township of "Palmerston" sur-
veyed and named.
1866 First sale of sections in the town-
ship.
1871 Commerce and industry estab-
lished. (First shop and first saw-
mill erected.)
1871 Scandinavian settlements estab-
lished at Awapuni and Whaka-
rongo.
1872 Road opened through Manawatu
Gorge.
1873 First public school opened.
1873 Wooden tramway opened be-
tween Palmerston and Foxton.
1875 First newspaper published. ("The
Manawatu Times".)
1875 Telegraph communication estab-
lished between Palmerston and
c
oxton.
Important Dates
In History Of
North
1876 Town Board formed.
1876 Railway opened between Palmer-
ston and Foxton.
1877 Borough of Palmerston North in-
corporated. (Population, 800.)
1878 Railway opened between Palmer-
ston and Wanganui.
Palmersfox North's first motor car pictured in 1902. Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
The first aeroplane to land at Palmerston North. The historic occasion occurred in 1920.
OEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
1880 First daily newspaper established
("Evening St andard").
1880 Manawatu Racing Club formed.
1883 Volunteer Fire Brigade formed.
1884 First dairy factory opened in
Manawatu.
1886 Railway opened between Long-
burn and Wellington.
1889 First gasworks opened.
I 889 First dam and water reservoir con-
structed at Tiritea.
1890 Freezing works opened at Long-
burn.
1890 Sewerage system constructed.
1891 Railway opened through Mana-
watu Gorge to Napier.
1893 Public hospital opened.
1897 Rating on unimproved value of
property introduced.
1899-1902 Boer War in South Afri ca.
Local volunteers participated.
1902 First motor car arrived.
1902 First public secondary school
opened.
1905 Opera-House opened.
1905 Septic tank and filters constructed
for sewerage system.
1906 Abattoi r at Awapuni opened.
1914-18 First Worl d War. Many Palm-
erstonians participated.
1915 Old People's Home at Awapuni
opened.
1915 Gasworks purchased by Borough
Council.
1917 Awapuni abattoir purchased by
Borough Council.
1920 First aeroplane arrived.
1921 Motor buses purchased by Bor-
ough Council.
1923 New gasworks opened in Napier
Road.
1924 Electric power station opened at
Terrace End.
1924 First radio station opened.
1928 Massey College opened.
1930 City of Palmerston North incor-
porated. (Population, 20,000.)
1931 Milson Aerodrome opened.
1936 Commercial air services estab-
lished by Union Airways Ltd.
1937 Milson Aerodrome purchased by
City Council.
1939-45 Second Worl d War. Many
Palmerstonians parti ci pated.
1949 Milson included within city bound-
ary.
1953 Awapuni included within city
boundary.
1956 Teachers College opened.
1957 New dam and water reservoir
opened at Tiritea.
1959 Railway to Foxton closed and
Milson railway deviation opened.
1959 Palmerston North University Col-
lege opened.
1963 New railway station opened in
Tremaine Avenue.
1963 Massey University established.
1964 Railway through the S q u a r e
closed.
1965 New library building opened.
1966 Lido swimming centre opened.
1967 Aokautere and Kelvin Grove in-
cluded within city boundary.
1968 New sewage treatment plant
opened at Awapuni.
1970 Natural gas introduced.
1971 Centenary of industry and com- ,
merce.
How Manawatu Was Named
T
HE City of Palmerston North stands
at the centre of the Manawatu
a region which takes its name from
the Manawatu River. But what does
"Manawatu" mean, and how did the
name originate?
The aiisweis to. Ilivtif qucMions can lv
found in an ancient song which has heen
preserved try tne Maori people of Wanga
nui, tiang'ii'Kei, and Alauawatu. This song
relates uie legend or Han, a tolmnga
(high priest) WHO came lo JNew Zealand
in tne Aotea canoe about tiOu years . ago.
Hau's wife. Wairaka. eloped with a man
named WeKu, and huu set out to find her.
As he travelled souln from Taranaki he
gave names to the principal rivers that
he crossed, one of these names being
"Manawatu", which can be literally trans
lated as "heart standing still."
This song is said to have been com-
posed by a chief named Te Rangitakoru
as an oriori (lullaby) to his daughter.
Several versions have been recorded in
the Maori language, each version differing
slightly in grammar and spelling. The
following text was published in 1870 by
the Rev. Richard Taylor, one of the early
missionaries of the Wanganui district:
K hine aku, ki to kunenga mai i tawiti,
Ki te whakaringaringa, ki te whaKawae-
wae,
Te wakakanohi-tanga.
Ka manu, e hine, te waka i a Ruatea.
Ko Kurahaupo,
Ka iri mai taua i runga i Aotea
Ko te waka i a Turi.
Ka u mai taua te ngutu Whenua kura,
Hanga iho te whare Rangitawhi;
Tiria mai te kumara,
Ka ruia mai te karaka ki te taiao nei;
Karia iho te pou Tamawahinei,
Ka waiho i Nga tua hine, i a Nonoko-uri,
I a Nonoko-tea, ko te Hererunga,
Ko te Korohunga.
Kapua mai e Hau ko te one ki te ringa,
Ko te tokotoko.
Ka witi i te awa,
Ka nui ia, ko Wanga-nui;
Tiehutia te wai, ko Wangae-hu;
Ka hinga te rakau, ko Turakina;
Tikeitia te waewae, ko Tikei;
Ka tatu, e hine, ko Manawatu;
Ka rorohio nga taringa, ko Hokio;
Waiho te awa iti hei ingoa mona ki Ohau;
Takina te tokotoko, ko Otaki;
Ka mehameha, e hine. ko Waimea;
Ka ngahae nga pi, ko Wai-kanae;
Ka tangi ko te mapu, e hine,
Ka kite koe i a Wai-raka;
Matapoutia.
Poua ki runga, poua ki raro.
Ka rarau, e hine, ka rarapa nga katiohi,
Ko Wai-rarapa.
Te rapapatanga o to tupuna,
E hine ka moiki te ao,
Ko te pai a Waitiri;
Kumea kia warea Kaitangata
Ki waho ki te moana:
Hanga te paepae. poua iho, te pou
Whakamaro te rangi, ko Meremere:
Waiho te Whanau, ko te punga
O tona waka ko te Awhema.
Kati, ka waka mutu, e hine.
The following version of the Hail
legend was given by one of New Zea-
land's most eminent Maori scholars, the
late Mr Kingi Tahiwi, of the Ngati Rau-
kawa tribe. It is not a literal translation
of the ancient song, but is an attempt to
recount the story of Hau's journey in the
style of an old-time Maori storyteller:
Now my darling, hearken to me
While I to thee shall relate the story
Of Hau the High Priest and Navigator
And his erring spouse Wairaka
With the earnest wish that thou will profit
thereby.
Hau the High Priest was sad and bitter
For his spouse Wairaka and he had quar-
relled
And in the quarelling she had been
A principal to her own abduction
By another of lower degree than Hau the
High Priest
And had disappeared from human ken.
It is in the searching by Hau for Wairaka
Is this story concerned.
In his search, Hau with hit. stall in hi.,
hand
Turned southwards.
He crossed a wide expansive river mouth
And named it Whanga-nui.
(Whanga mouth: nui expansive.)
Later he encountered another river
Wuieh he eventually crossed.
This he named Whanga-ehu.
(Whanga mouth; ehu crested foam.)
At the next river he felled a tree to cross
it
And named it Turakina.
(To fell.)
At tlie next liver he rested
And when departing named it Rangi tikei.
(Rangi day; tikei walking.)
From Rangitfkei he arrived at another
river
Which' caused his heart to almost stand
still
Because it was so wide
He feared he would not be able to cross it
And complete his mission
Of seeking for his spouse and applying
The sanction of Maori Law.
Thus he named this river Manawa-tu,
(Manawa heart; tu standing Hill.)
Implying that so great was his apprehen-
sion
As to his ability to cross the river
That, metaphorically speaking,
His heart almost stood still.
Having crossed the Manawatu
He heard a sound like that of a Hokio,
A great big bird, said to be bigger
Than the biggest moa
And known only in traditional chants.
He named that place Hokio.
He travelled on and rested not far" from
Hokio.
In the break of morn he wended on his
way south
But he called that place Ao-o-Hau,
(Daybreak of Hau)
Meaning the break of morn in which Hau
departed.
With priestly premonition he suspected
His foeman abductor to be domiciled
In land just beyond the next river.
Therefore with all preparations complete
He waded the river with his staff to assist
The meanwhile being ever watchful.
Thus he called the river Ao-taki.
(Ao day; taki of crossing with the
assistance of his staff.)
As he trudged along he became weary and
rested
And thus he named the place when' he
rested
Waimea (being weary).
Thus far he had not succeeded in his
search
And so to a river of glittering water
He continued his search.
This river he named Waikanae.
(Wai water; kanae - glittering.)
Not meeting with any success
He transferred his searching to regions
over the ranges.
He searched high, he searched low,
In a river of sparkling water.
Thus he named the river Wairarapa.
(Wai water; rarapa sparkling.)
By the cunning priest beguiled
The traducer and traduced were captured
In a cave Pae-kakariki
(assembly place of parakeets).
Here the great High Priest, your ancestor.
Discovered with dismay that his spouse
Had been unfaithful to him.
Realising his priestly responsibility
To .sanction infidelity with death
He caused Wairaka to wade into the sea
And to save her from experiencing
The punishment of drowning
He chanted so that .-he was petrified
Before the sea had reached her nostrils.
At a point just outside of a knoll
To the south of Pukerua Bay
There rests the petrified form of Waiiaka.
Just a wash of the sea.
Let me conclude here.
By way of a postscript it should be
stated that alternative meanings for some
of the place names mentioned have been
recorded by other Maori scholars, and no
definitive meaning will probably ever lie
established for these names. Most author-
ities agree, however, as to the meaning of
"Manawatu", although some prefer to
translate it as "depressed spirit" rather
than the literal "heart standing still".
Both these translations express the correct
meaning.
The fw carved safe pmtt% tram
tfc* Puherotara Pa. near Roagion..
re reproduced mtrtrispage. They
were carved by file Roagttsaa
people mare riMit TOO yean 09a
cud ore BOW preserved m the
Oemiitia* Museum. Wellin^raa.
Ancient Maori Legend
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1?71
V
ETHER
SERVE
MANAWA
YEARS
^ ah Ttopwoods are-exlr&fdy
proud of our Oily - ihsprogress over tna
past 100 years - and its kobes
jor llu^fuhirc
I 1 a're, proud, too, TO leave been, assoclcied
wvtk~ andkeetdy utter&sied'uv -Uce,
ofraLftersibn, fiortk,
forilie,past 6vyears, and look
forward lo ccnirikuiuuf still furbn&r
' ii 1 i 1
J J
0
IK tha d*welopnuu4t&progress (four
wonderful, Liu/ L
ut uears
u
Utah lie, akecui.
Palmershon Jvortlt
-For aivina us the opportunity to servej/ou over tkesepask
6GueafS- andjvr Uce privilege orconiUvuUta to do SOUL
years
HOPWOODS
Broadway thru to main 5t. Palmerston Hort h,
J 0 - EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
T
HE present Centenary proclaims
that Palmerston North is 100 years
old, but this event is important only
in the history books of the pakeha. To
the Maori people of the Manawatu,
the date 1871 is of no significance,
because history is measured in terms
of ancestry and generations, and not
in years and dates.
Did not the famed Whatonga himself
live in the Manawatu? Was it not his
descendants who lived and died here gen-
eration after generation? And who sold
the land on which Palmerston North was
built? None other than the people of
Rangitane.
To use a Maori expression, the Rangi-
tane people are the tangata whenua of
the City of Palmerston North. They are
the "people of the land", the original
owners, the bestowers of local place names
and tradition. Their history stretches
back immeasurably further than the year
1871.
Where did the Rangitane people come
from? The answer is found in the ancient
lullahy sung by Te Rangitakoru to his
daughter:
. Ka Manu, e hine, te waka i a Ruatea
Ko Kurahaupo,
Ka iri mai taua i runga i Aotea
Ko te waka i a Turi
You floated, o daughter, in the canoe
of Ruatea
The "Kurahaupo"
And you came also in "Aotea"
The canoe of Turi.
The "Kurahaupo" and the "Aotea" are
the canoes which brought the ancestors
of the Rangitane people across the great
ocean of Kiwa to the land now called
New Zealand.
Where did these canoes sail from?
"From Tawhiti (afar), from Hawaiki (the
homeland"), say the songs of old, although
the scientists of today believe that Hawa-
iki was situated in the Cook and Society
Island groups of Eastern Polynesia.
When did the canoes come to New
Zealand? "In the days of your ancestors
Whatonga, Ruatea, and Turi," say the
traditions of old, although some European
scholars have tried to fix precise dates
by counting' the number of generations
appearing on the whakapapa (genealogies)
of the various tribes descended from the
canoes. But whakapapa were not com-
piled as objective records for scientific
research, and they do not readily conform
to a time-scale of history.
Not Surprising
It is not surprising, therefore, that
different scholars reach different conclu-
sions, and while some believe that the
canoes arrived about 600 years ago, others
maintain that they could have landed
800 or more years ago. Archaeological
evidence indicates that Polynesians were
well established in New Zealand more
than 1000 years ago, but whether these
early inhabitants held ancestral traditions
similar to the present-day Maori is not
known. The important fa-ct is that the
ancestors associated with the "Kurahaupo"
and "Aotea" canoes must have arrived at
some period in time, for are not the people
of Rangitane living proof of their arrival?
Let us, t h e r e f o r e , put aside all
thoughts of rational scientific inquiry and
delve briefly into the realm of Rangitana
myth and tradition.
Origin Of Name
The Rangitane tribe takes its namo
from an ancestor who lived in the Hawke's
Bay and Manawatu districts many gener-
ations ago. His full name was Tane-nul'
a-rangl ("the great male of the heavens")
aind Rangl-tane is an abbreviation of this
name.
The origin of the name lies deep m
ancient Maori mythology, for Tane-nui-a-
rangi was named after a famed ancestral
god who separated the earth ("papa")
from the sky ("rangi") during the crea-
tion of the world. This mythological
Tane-nui-a-rangi (who Is also known as
Tane-mahuta to some tribes) was lh
greatest off-spring of the union between
Papa and Rangi and was the male forcd
responsible for the creation of many form*
of plant and animal life including the
creation of the first female, whose nanw
was Hine
u
ahu-one ("earth-formed maid")
The union of Tane and Hine produced the
human line of descent, so the name of
Tane-nui-a-rangl is of great importance
and antiquity and should be a source of
pride to all members of the Rangitana
tribe.
Let us return, however, to the his-
torical Tane-nui-a-rangi of New Zealand
and trace something of his immediate
ancestry. He was a grandson of Wha-
tonga, one of the four chiefs who com-
manded the "Kurahaupo" canoe on its
long voyage from Hawaiki to New Zea-
land. The other three chiefs were Ruatea,
who was steerman, Popoto, who was sta-
tioned in the centre of the canoe, and
Taumauri, who was navigator.
The Rangitane People
I
# Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotu. Chief of the Rangitane Tribe during the late 19th century. This
picture was taken from a portrait by Gottfried Lindauer about 1880. Te Rangiotu was a chief
of the tribe who encouraged the peaceful development of the Manawatu district. He promoted
Christianity, developed Maori trade and agriculture, and assisted the Government to purchase
the large block of land on which the city of Palmerston North now stands. He died in 1898,
aged about 80 years, and was buried at the settlement of Rangiotu. which commemorates his
name.
The "Kurahaupo" landed at a little
bay called Nukutaurua, on Mahia Penin-
sula, and Whatonga moved southward and
settled at Heretaunga, near the present
town of Hastings.
Whatonga had two wives, Hotuwal-
para (the mother of Tara) and Reretua
(the mother of Tautoki). Hotuwaipara
seems to have been a woman of turbu-
lent temper and in order to escape from
her sharp tongue Whatonga set out to
explore the southern portion of the North
Island. In doing so he discovered the
Wairarapa, Wellington, a nd Manawatu
districts and partitioned them between
hia sons.
The eldest son, Tara, was given tho
land around Wellington and this is why
the Maori name for Wellington Harbour
la Te Whanganul-a-Tara ("the great har-
bour of Tara"). The youngest son, Tau-
toki, was given the east coast from Tara-
dale to Masterton and the west coast from
Rangitikei to Waikanae. The boundary
between the two territories extended from
the soiithern tip of Kapiti Island in a
straight line across the mainland of tha
North Island to the east, coast.
Sub Tribes
Tautoki was the father of Tane-nul-a-
rangi, whose descendants gradually spread
throughout the Manawatu, dividing the
land amongst themselves as they grew in
number. The principal hapu (sub-tribes)
of the Manawatu were Ngati Te'Rangl-
tepaia (whose territory extended from the
vicinity of Palmerston North to Rangi-
otu), Ngati Hlneaute (between Palmer-
ston North and the Manawatu Gorge),
Ngati Mairehau (Fitzherbert West), Ngati
Here (Bunnythorpe), Ngati Te Rangiara-
nakl (Kopane), and Hamua (Horowhe-
nua). This tojst-named hapu was later
known aa Muaupoko, but the correct spell-
ing should be Mau-upoko, which means
"head carriers". This na me originated
from an incident when some of the men
from Horowhenua. murdered a chief named
Hanebane, who resided at Kaimatarau.
They placed the head of the old man
In a basket and were returning home
when they met a party of Ngati Hineaute
and Ngati Te Rangltepaia people, who
were fishing for eels.
The Horowhenua men r e f u s e d to
accept an offer of hospitality and started
to run, throwing away the basket con-
twining
1
the head BOas to lighten their
load. The guilty secret was discovered,
the murderers were pursued and several
t>f them were slaughtered. Those who
Tangata Whenua Of
Palmerston North
escaped to safety over tha Manawatu
River heard one of their adversaries hurl
forth the insult "Mau upoko ma" ("head
carriers") and the term soon became a
derisive name for all those people living
in the Horowhenua district.
K/c/ous Fighting
The place where tho murderers mei
the fishing party was near Himatangi, a
pl&cename which ha an interesting origin
and meaning. "Hi" means "to fish" ami
"Matangi" ia the namo of a famous Rangi-
tajw ancestor who journeyed to the Mana-
watu from tho Kast Coast and settled
near the place which now bears his name
Several of his friends and relatives came
from the East Coast to visit, him, but
some were waylaid and devoured by a
ferocious monster known as a taniwha,
who lived in a lake near the Manawatu.
River. Matangi decided that this mon-
ster must be destroyed, so a flax-fibre
noose, attached to stout ropes, was sus-
pended across a gap in the sandhills and
Matangi and 12 of his bravest warriors
set out to lure the monster into the trap.
By performing a war dance on the edge
of the lake and by shouting insults at
the taniwha they provoked tho monster
to chase them to where the trap was laid
When the taniwha entered the noose.
Matangi's warriors heaved on the ropes
and tightened the noose around the mon-
ster's body, holding it secure until it could
be. killed. To commemorate the luring
forth and capture of the taniwha th
locality was named Hi-matangl
Maoridom
To the north of the Rangitane people
there lived the Ngati Apa, a tribe which
traced its descent from Ruatea of the
"Kurahaupo" canoe. These people lived
along the banks of the Rangitikei River,
but they also tried to take possession of
land bordering the Oroua River and many
battles were fought between Ngati Apa
and Rangitane. On one occasion, at a
fight in the Pohangina Valley, Rangitane
were victorious, but they were so keen
on capturing a certain Ngati Apa chief
that they allowed some of his followers
to escape. The prisoners were set to
work preparing ovens in which they were
to be cooked. When at last everything
was ready and the victors had lined up
for their haka of triumph, a Ngati Apa
force summoned by the escapees fell on
them and it was the Rangitane themselves
who were consigned] to the ovens pre-
pared by and for their prisoners.
On another occasion the Ngati Apa
attacked a settlement near the site of the
Awapuni Racecourse and it is claimed that
there were 1000 Rangitane casualties in
this battle. However, the word mano (thou-
sand) is probably used in the sense of
meaning "a great number". This battle took
place when the Rangitane chief Te Awe
Awe (father of Peeti Te Awe Awe) and
many of his finest warriors were visiting
relatives on the east coast, and on their
return they were enraged to discover the
slaughter that had taken place. Reinforce-
ments were therefore summoned from the
east coast and the Rangitane war party
delivered a crushing blow to their
opponents at the battle of "Turaki-awatea",
which was fought near Turakina. The
Ngati Apa were thoroughly defeated and
26 ovens were needed to cook the bodies
of their dead warriors.

0 Co n t i n u e d on Pa g e 12
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971- j - J
Continued from Page I I
These movements were inter-
preted as meaning that the slain Ngati
A.pa were calling- for revengo and in order
that they should not be heard their bodicTs
were burnt.
The days of military glory for Hangi-
tane were shortlived, however, for during
the 1820s the Manawatu r e g i o n was
invaded by hostile tribes from the north
and both Ngati Apa and Kangitane suf-
fered badly at tho hands of the. new-
comers.
The man moat prominently associated
with this invasion is Te Rauparaha, the
warrior chief of the Ngati Toa tribe. I
r
or
centuries his people had lived round the
shores of Kawhia Harbour, but by 1820
their security was being threatened by
tribes from the South Auckland and Wai
kato districts.
Some of these e ne my tribes had
obtained musketa and gunpowder by trad-
ing tlax fibre with Kuroyean:; and Te Kau-
p;iraba realised that his people must do.
the same if they were to survive. Kawhia
\v:is not favourably situated for close con-
tint with Kurojjcans, so the: Ngati Toa
migrated south to the Manawatu coast,
which possessed abundant supplies of flax
and was adjacent to European whaling
activities in Cook Strait. Thi.H migration
took place about 1822-23 and resulted in
Ngati Toa indicting military defeats on
tho Miiaujioko inhabitants of Horowhenua
anil taking possession of the island strong-
bold irt Kapiti,
In order to secure further allies and
consolidate his conquests. To Ilau paraha
Invited his Ngati Haukawa relatives to
migrate from their home at ATa.ungat.au.
tari, in the Wa.ikato district. This they
nvftttuallv did and between iiju< 182,'>
und 18.W Ngali Uaukawa moved south i"
a series of migrations and settled along
he coast between liangitikei and Otnki
Military Defeat
For ina.ny years unfriendly relations
existed b e t we e n Ngati Kaukawa and
Kangitane and the oH.Hie'r inhabitants suf-
fered military defeat on several occasions
One battle scorns to have licen fought
near Palmerston North, on the riverside
flat now occupied by the Grass-lands Divi-
sion of the DSIK. An account of I hi*
battle was recorded by Mr J. O. Batchelar,
' # Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The late Mr W. K. Te Awe Awe, former Paramount Chief of the Rangitane Tribe, stands proudly beside a treasured tribal heirloom, the
flag presented to the tribe by Queen Victoria in recognition of Rangitane loyalty during the Maori wars of the 1860s. Mr Te Awe Awe is
holding another ancient heirloom, the large greenstone mere known as "Tane-nui-a-rangi". Mr Te Awe Awe died suddenly on January 3
this year, acted 74.
of Palmerston North, who farmed the
riverside flat for many years. During tho
1880s or 1890s he was visited by a Rangi-
tane chief n a me d Hoani Meihana Te
Hangiotu, who narrated the following:
"When I was a suckling, my peoj>l<
lived a mile below the (Fitzherbert/*
bridge at the south side of the river
amid a beautiful grove of karaka, on
the rich flat. Our Rangitane war-
riors were paying a friendly visit t
Heretaunga, when a Ngatiraukawa
messenger crossed the river in a cano
to inquire what day would suit us
to be attacked. In the absence of
our best men, it would have been a
serious breach of the chivalrous rules
of Maori warfare to take advantage,
of the circumstance
1
. So every morn-
ing this emissary of war crossed tha
river for 14 days, and at last, found
us in full strength. We were duly told
that the attack would be at daylight
on the morrow, so worked the night
through at our defences. Two hundred
men, armed with mere and taiaha,
broke the silence as they disembarked
from their canoes before the day.
There was the usual exchange of com-
pliments in the form of the war dance,
accompanied by that strange outburst
of the pliant tongue. The hand-to-
hand conflict lasted six hours, when
but eight of the Rangitane fighting
men were left. They and the women
fled to the bush. More than 200 lay
with cleft skulls. My mother carried
me in a pikau on her back and there
was no pause until all had reached
another r e mn a n t of the tribe at
Rangiotu.
In confirmation of this account, Mr
Batchelar later ploughed up many bones
and several stone tools at the place Hoani
Meihana had pointed out as the site of
the battle. One skull he unearthed had
a clean cut across the back, evidently
the result of a blow with a sharp stone
weapon.
The Ngati Raukawa tribe took posses-
sion of the lower reaches of the Mana-
watu River and the remnant of the Rangi-
tane people were pushed inland to the
heavily-forested land east of the Oroua
River. In this area they kept their flrea
burning and thus retained their right of
ownership to the land. When the first
Europeans explored i n 1 a n d Manawatu
they found the Palmerston North district
still in the possession of the descendants
of Tane-nui-a-rangi.
WiMM
1 REFRIGERATION
W Service and
1 Installation
f ENGINEERS
{ Fitzherbert Ave.
1 Palmerston North
The Al Refrigeration People who are progressing
with our City.
We congratulate Palmerstonians on 100 years of
Progress
and thank our customers for enabling us to
be part of our City's development.
jJwutl ^
mm REFRIGERATION
W Service and
1 Installation
' ENGINEERS
{ Fitzherbert Ave.
1 Palmerston North
REMEMBER. WE ARE A LOCAL CONCERN WITH QUALIFIED STAFF AND THREE
VEHICLES TO BRING PROMPT AND EFFICIENT ATTENTION TO YOU AND YOUR
REFRIGERATION PROBLEMS.
75-279 FOR Al REFRIGERATION SERVICE & INSTALLATION.
Commercial Plants of all types, Cool Rooms, Air Conditioning, Wafer Chillers.
CML
The Chairman, Directors and Management of
THE COLONIAL MUTUAL
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY LTD.
extend greetings and felicitations to
The Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of
PALMERSTON NORTH
on the occasion of their
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
ARE PROUD to have been associated for many years
with the growth and development of this fair city and
the rich farmlands of the Manawatu, by the offering of a
fully integrated insurance service and, as opportunity permits,
the provision of loan money for farms, commercial organ-
isations and home finance.
As Palmerston North moves into its second century of growth
and development, we aim to continue and expand our service
here.
For information and assistance of any kind, including details
of career opportunities in the life assurance field, consult
The Colonial Mutual
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED
5 Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North.
Telephone 89-099, P.O. Box 633
I 9EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 197).
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.j 3
mmmmmaimm
Some senior citizens in the Manawatu may
remember the occasion the Straw Hat
Scramble on October 2, 1902, which mark-
ed the grand opening of Millar & Giorgi's
store in Palmerston North. Maybe a few of
them took part in it as children. Who knows
there might even be one or two of the
original hats still lying around in dusty attics
somewhere!
If you think you may have
one of our 1902 "Scramble" Straw
Hats in your possession, we'd be
delighted to hear front you. Bring
it along to the store (cobwebs and
all!) and have a chat. If it's one of
the original models we'll be glad to
exchange it for a brand new felt
hat. Happy hat hunting!
t_J/c%&&' our store is still on the same site in the
Square, but the actual premises have changed out of all
recognition. Five years ago, due to an ever-increasing
volume of business, we carried out extensive renovations.
Nearly $44,000 worth of improvements have transformed
Millar & Giorgi into one of the most modern menswear
establishments in the country. And in addition to top
ay back in 1902, Palmer-
ston North was already a thriving town.
Cyclopedia of New Zealand described it as
'the largest and most important inland town
in the North Island and the Chicago cf New
Zealand by reason of the large weekly sales
of livestock held there'. The Manawatu
Evening Standard and Pohangina Gazette of
October I that year consisted of just four
pages; three composing a very mixed bag
of local advertising including an announce-
ment about the opening of Millar & Giorgi's
menswear store in the Square, and one page
of local and world cable news.
quality Men's and Boys' Wear from New
Zealand's leading manufacturers we stock
a wide range of Ladies', Men's and Child-
ren's Footwear, including direct imports
of famous name English shoes.
Naturally we're very happy that we can
now offer more convenient shopping facil-
ities and a wider choice of merchandise.
But it also gives us tremendous satisfaction
that we are still able to give our many
customers in the Manawatu District the
same high standard of personal service
which has characterised our store since
that day we gave straw hati away.
The Square, Palmerston North.
T
HE coming of the European opened
a new chapter in the history of
the Manawatu, for the fair-skinned
newcomers from abroad introduced a
culture and technology which made a
tremendous impact upon the Maori
people and the natural landscape.
First to come were the traders and the
missionaries, small in number but mighty
in influence. They introduced European
clothing, tools, money, and religion, and
paved the way for Government officials to
purchase huge blocks of land from the
Maori people. After the land had been
surveyed into townships and farms it was
sold to thousands of land-hungry Euro-
peans, who attacked the bush-covered
landscape with axe, saw, and fire. Pasture
replaced forest, railways and roads
replaced tracks, and the bush clearing of
Papaioea was transformed into the town-
ship of Palmerston North.
Friday, December 6, 1839. "At noon
turned inland over an extensive tract of
sand, the wind high and the sand flying
in all directions. Walked on the bank of the
Manawatu, a large river with vast quan-
tities of driftwood and heavy timber on the
banks. Heavy trees 50 feet underground
standing out in an horizontal position.
The wood was perfectly sound. This river
will doubtless be of importance at some
future day as it appeared deep and the
country round very fine and rich. Crossed
the river in a canoe and brought up
amongst the fern."
This entry in the journal of the Rev.
Henry Williams is the earliest - known
written reference to the name Manawatu,
and is also the first recorded description
of the Manawatu River. Mr Williams was a
missionary of the Church of England and
was returning to his home at the Bay of
Islands, after having assisted the establish-
ment of a new mission station at
Waikanae
A Settlement Is
Not The First
It is interesting to note that many large
logs, similar to those described in Mr
Williams' journal can still be seen protruding
from the southern bank of the Manawatu
River opposite the settlement of Foxton
Beach, so the missionary appears to have
crossed the river in this vicinity. He
camped the night on the north bank and
then proceeded to Rangitikei.
It is unlikely that Mr Williams was the
first European to visit the Manawatu for
whaling stations had been established on
Kapiti Island during the early 1830s and
whalers and traders almost certainly
explored the nearby coast and rivers before
1839. When Mr E. J. Wakefield, of the New
Zealand,Company, visited the Manawatu in
August, 1840, he reported that a Captain
Lewis was building a 30-ton schooner on
the bank of the Manawatu River, about
15 miles upriver from its mouth. Captain
Lewis was a whaler from Kapiti and was
probably not the first person to take
advantage of Manawatu timber for ship-
building purposes.
While staying overnight with Captain
Lewis, Mr Wakefield met an English
trader named Jack Duff, who had recently
returned from an expedition up the Mana-
watu River. Wakefield records that "he
had ascended the river as far as a whale-
boat could go (about fifty miles, according
to his calculations) from the mouth,
through country of the same level and
fertile character, and abounding with the
finest timber.
"Having obtained a canoe and native
guides, he proceeded two or three days'
journey higher up, over numerous rapids
and shallows, and through a gorge where
the river formed a cataract between the
cliffy extremities of the two mountain
ranges. He described a numerous popula-
tion as dwelling below the gorge, and
complained much of their rude and savage
manners. He even attributed his safety
from plunder or outrage to the company
of his native woman, who was related in
some distant way to the tribe."
Jack Duff is the first European known
to have journeyed up the Manawatu River
as far as the site of the present City of
Palmerston North, and he is also the first
pakeha known to have passed through the
Manawatu Gorge. The date of his journey
must have been about July, 1840. The
Maoris with "savage manners" he en-
countered near the Gorge would be
members of the Rangitane tribe, still
deeply suspicious of anyone who came from
the territory occupied by their Ngati
Raukawa enemies.
In the same year that Duff's journey
took place, the Rangitane people were also
visited by their first missionary, the
Reverend Octavius Hadfield, of the Church
of England. He arrived in the Kapiti
district with the Rev. Henry Williams In
1839 and established a mission station near
the mouth of the Waikanae River. Early
in 1840 he paid his first visit to the Mana-
watu, travelling about 40 miles up the
river to a Maori settlement named Te
Rewarewa (in the locality now known a3
Moutoa, upstream from Shannon). Later
the same year he went further inland and
ascended the Oroua River for about 10
miles, probably visiting the settlement of
Awahuri.
Sympathetic
Mr Hadfield found the Maori people very
sympathetic toward Christianity and
anxious to learn more about the "rongo-
pai" ("good news") of the Gospel. Church
buildings were soon erected in ueveral
settlements and the most pious of the new
converts were appointed lay preachers,
with the responsibility of conducting reli-
gious services and teaching their fellow
tribesmen.
Born
One of these lay preachers was a
Rangitane chief named Te Rangibtu, who
lived at the Puketotara pa on the north
bank of the Manawatu River, near the
junction with the Oroua River. His
baptismal name was Hoani Meihana (the
Maori form of John Mason) and this, name
was probably chosen to commemorate the
Rev. John Mason, a close friend .<f Octa-
vius Hadfield, and the first missionary
stationed in the Wanganui district. Mr
Mason was accidentally drowned in the
Turakina River in 1843.
It is interesting to note that the Rangiotu
family has produced four generations of
Anglican lay preachers. Hoani Meihana
was the first to hold the office, followed by
his son-in-law (Hare Rakena Te Awe Awe)
and then his grandson (Manawaroa Te
Awe Awe. Manawaroa's son was the late
Mr Wiremu Te Awe Awe (Bill Larkins).
who was a well-known lay preacher and
church organist for many years.
Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotu was also
associated with the development of com-
merce in the district. During the 1840s and
1850s he encouraged his people to trade
with the pakeha settlers living further
down the river, and quantities of pigs,
potatoes, wheat, and flax fibre were
canoed downstream to trading stations
situated between Moutoa and Foxton. In
exchange for this produce, the Maori people
received European clothing, blankets, orna-
ments, tools, tobacco, pipes, and even the
occasional horse and cow.
By 1850 there were probably about 5C
Europeans living on the banks of the lower
Manawatu River, chiefly employed in
trading, spinning ropes from flax fibre, and
farming sheep and cattle. A steam-driven
flourmill was also in operation and was
kept busy grinding supplies of wheat grown
by the Europeans and the Maoris. Flour,
ropes, timber, pigs, potatoes, and other
produce were shipped to Wellington for
sale, being carried on a number of small
sailing ships which traded regularly with
the settlers scattered between Wanganui
and Wellington.
One of the early settlers on the banks of
the Manawatu River was a man named
Stephen Charles Hartley, who came to the
district about 1846. He went into business
as a trader and ropemaker at Pohuetangi,
on the south bank of the river about a
mile downstream from the present Shannon
bridge, and was a well-known resident of
that locality for about 30 years. He then
moved down river to near Foxton, and
subsequently settled in the Borough of
Palmerston North, where he was in
business as a Maori interpreter from about
1878 until his death in 1897
Mr Hartley is chiefly remembered, how-
ever, as being the first European to visit the
Papaeoia clearing, the site of the present
City of Palmerston North. The date of this
event was probably during the late 1840s,
or early 1850s.
Based On Tradition
Unfprtunately, all the available details
concerning Mr Hartley's visit are based
solely on a family tradition recorded after
his death, and over many years many
imaginative details have been added to the
story. Some writers have described Mr Hart-
ley as "The Founder of Palmerston North",
while others have credited him with
prophetic vision concerning the future of
the clearing, or with a desire to imme-
diately start a settlement on the site.
In reality, Mr Hartley'3 visit was of no
historical significance. At the time of his
visit the Papaeoia clearing was an
isolated, and virtually inaccessible, clearing
in a part of the district where no Govern-
ment or private body was interested in
immediately establishing a European
settlement. There is no evidence that Mr
Hartley reported the location of the clear-
ing to any Government official, and his
visit had no connection whatsoever with
the later surveying and settlement of
Palmerston North.
The "founding" of Palmerston North did
not take place on any one date, or because
of any one event, but occurred gradually
over a period of several years. In the
following pages we will detail how the
settlement was conceived in the mind of a
surveyor in 1859, given life as an embryo
by a Provincial Government during the
1860s, and was finally born with the help
of the Central Government in 1871.
BELOW: The Manawatu River was the gate-
way to the district, and also a highway
leading from the coast to the interior.
European settlement gradually spread from
the sandy aoast to the blue bush-covered
hills of inland Manawatu. This watercolour
of the river at Foxton was painted by R. G.
Palmer in 1879, and the original is now
owned by the Palmerston North Public
Library.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971. EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971 J
V9
m
The Manawatu-Oroua Electric Power Board
has played an important part in the city's expansion and is geared to meet the city and district's ever-growing demands for
the future.
PAST BOARD CHAIRMEN PRESENT BOARD
CHAIRMAN
Mr J. A. Nash. 1921-1931 Mr O. McElroy, 1932-1933 Mr C. G. Dernier. 1933-1936
Mr R. G. Linklater 1965
Mr J. Boyce. 1937-1952 Mr W. McKay. 1953-1958 Mr W. R. Hoperoft, 1959-1964
The M.O.E.P.B. was established in 1921 the first meeting of the board was held in February, 1922.
A loan proposal of $1,000,000 to finance reticulation of the area was put before ratepayers of the dis-
trict on August 21, 1922, and carried by I 144 votes to 96. Power at I l,000v was received from the
Mangahao hydro station in December, 1924, and consumers in the first year of operation numbered 2465
and the revenue was $12,536. Due to the tremendous growth of demand for electric power, the capac-
ity of the board's main feeder lines has been increased to 33,000 volts and consumers now number 13,400
with revenue of $3,450,000. The capital expended on the board's undertaking is now $5,500,000.
We Are Pleased To Have This Connection With You
The board maintains a fully equipped consumer advisory service and is able to give advice on all mat-
ters electrical. Our showroom carries stocks of ranges heaters refrigerators and other appli-
ances to help you live better electrically.
PLUG INTO PLEASURE WITH
Manawatu-Oroua Electric Power Board, 402-404 Church Street, Palmerston North.
7
Board's area: 1301 sq. mis
Miles of line: 990
No. of consumers: 13,481
nAPAEOIA first came to the notice
of Government officials in 1859,
when a 32-year-old Scottish surveyor
realised the importance of the clear-"
ing and conceived the idea of laying
out a township on the site. The sur-
veyor was John Tiffin Stewart, whose
name is commemorated in Mt Stewart
(Manawatu County) and Stewart
Crescent (Palmerston North).
J. T. Stewart was born in Rothesay,
Scotland, in 1827. After qualifying as a
surveyor and civil engineer he emigrated
to Australia in 1852, and came to New
Zealand three years later. In September,
1858, he entered the service of the Central
Government, being appointed an assistant
surveyor in the Native Land Purchase
Department at a salary of 250 a year.
At this time the Government was nego-
tiating with the Ngati Raukawa and
Rangitane Tribes for the purchase of land
in the Manawatu district. The ownership
of the coastal area, near the mouth of the
river, clearly lay with Ngati Raukawa, but
the ownership of the inland area (east
of the Oroua River) was in some doubt.
Did it belong to Ngati Raukawa by right
of recent conquest, or to Rangitane by
right of ancient occupation? The Native
Land Purchase Department feared that
there would be a long argument between
the two tribes over this matter, but in
September, 1858, the chiefs of Ngati Rau-
kawa magnanimously forfeited all claim,
to inland Manawatu and consented to the
people of Rangitane selling the land.
Way Open
The way was now open for Government
action, so the District Land Purchase
Commissioner, Mr W. N. Searancke, met
with the chiefs of Rangitane and an
agreement was reached to purchase about
250,000 acres of land lying between the
Oroua River and the Ruahine-Tararua
ranges. The northern boundary of this
block was in the vicinity of Apiti and the
southern boundary was near the locality
now known as Linton. The name of this
block of land was Te Ahu-a-Turanga ("the
exhuming of Turanga"), in reference to
an ancient Rangitane ancestor named
Turanga-i-mua, who was the son of Turi
of the "Aotea" canoe. Turanga died in the
Manawatu district and was buried on the
Ruahine Range (near the Manawatu
Gorge), but some of his relatives later
exhumed his bones and took them back to
his original home at Patea, in Taranaki.
Survey Of The
Town
In October, 1858, Mr Stewart started
a survey of the boundaries of this block,
proceeding up the Manawatu River to the
Gorge, and then mapping the Oroua and
Pohangina Rivers from their mouths to
the Ruahine Range. The following details
of this survey were recorded by Mr Stew-
art in 1902, and are quoted from a hand-
written manuscript now preserved in the
Palmerston North Public Library:
No Roads
"As the country was nearly all dense
bush, and to cut traverse lines through it
would have taken a very long time, the
surveyor adopted the river margins for
survey purposes, crossing from side to side
as was expedient to get easy lines for
survey. This was especially the case in the
Pohangina River and along the upper
course of the Oroua River, where one side
might give a good line over the shingle
beds and scrubby river bed flats, while on
the opposite side the water washed against
high banks and cliffs.
"Boots and shoes gave way in this water
and gravel travelling and the party, except
the Maoris, whose feet were stoneproof,
were reduced to wearing sandals made of
the dry leaves of the ti (or cabbage) tree,
or to covering their feet with pig skins,
with the hairy side out. laced over the
remains of their shoes.
"There were, of course, no roads, only
winding and narrow half-cleared native
tracks, and a canoe accompanying the sur-
vey was a necessity. Maoris were chiefly
employed on the survey, and they, and
the natives generally, were -most trust-
worthy and favourable in their dealings
No provisions were carried by the
survey party, except the necessities of tea,
sugar, flour, and rice. The meat supply was
got from wild pigs, pigeons, and eels. There
were no wild cattle in the bush then, but
wild pigs were numerous and about one
in five was good for food.
"Native produce and potatoes, etc., could
be got at the several small Maori settle-
ments along the river banks of the Mana-
watu and along the Oroua as far up as
Te Awahuri (a few miles below where
Feilding now isK
"There were then stockaded pus at
Puketotara, near the junction of the Oroua
with the Manawatu, and at Maraetarata,
on the bank of the river near Awapuni,
and at Raukawa, on the south side of the
river between this and the Gorge; also at
Te Awahuri on the Oroua . . . . There were
then no Maori settlements at Pohangina,
nor any on the Oroua on its long course
above Te Awahuri."
Mr Stewart's reminiscences fail to men-
tion the mosquitoes encountered by the
survey party, but his field books (now pre-
served in the offices of the Department of
Lands and Survey, Wellington) contain
graphic evidence of the extent of the mos-
quito nuisance. Many pages of these books
are spotted with the squashed bodies of
the insects, and there are several marginal
comments reading "mosquitoes bad". On
one occasion the party was even forced to
retreat from a bush area near the Oroua
River "on account of mosquitoes".
Earliest Record
These field books also contain the earli-
est record of the Papaeoia clearing. On
November 18, 1858, when the survey party
was on the riverbank about one mile
upstream from the city of the present
Awatapu golf links, Mr Stewart noted that
"there is a large clearing in. fthel bush
some way in, probably half a milt- or so."
On this occasion, however, he had no
opportunity to visit the site, but in Decem-
ber, 1859, he surveyed the boundaries of
the Hokowhitu Maori Reserve and entered
the eastern end of the clearing along the
line of Fitzroy Street. He found himself
in a "large clear space" named "Papaeoia",
covered with fern and grass. He sketched
the location of the clearing in his field
book, noting that it stretched westward
"for over a mile" and that the surround-
ing bush contained "plenty of totara trees".
He then placed a survey peg in the ground
at what is now the corner of East and
John Tiffin Stewart, the surveyor who chose the
site of Palmerston North, and laid out the
original township.
Fitzioy Streets and returned to the river
through the bush-covered Hokowhitu area,
emerging on the riverbank in the vicinity
of the eastern end of the present Jickoll
Street.
Mr Stewart was quick to realise tho
advantages of the clearing for European
settlement. It was a flat, open area, stand-
ing at the centre of a district covered by
valuable stands of timber. It was close
enough to the riverbank to be accessible
:o river traffic, and yet was far enough
inland to be free from flooding. It was
also situated on the western side of the
river, which was the side most suitable
for the construction of a roadway from
coastal to inland Manawatu.
When Mr Stewart described the Te Ahu-
a-Turanga Block to his superiors in 1859
he made special mention of Papaeoia,
stating that it would form "a good site
for a township", and on his detailed sur-
vey map he showed the location of the
clearing and noted that it would be "a
conceived the idea of the settlement now
good site for a village reserve". Thus wast
known as the City of Palmerston North.
1
3E7D
st al l Lta
agraatijaar
Palmerston North's reputation as
a wide-awake city didn't just happen.
After 100 years of progress,
commerce and industry are
constantly expanding.
The surrounding farmlands are
achieving ever higher peaks of
efficiency and production.
Palmerston North is thriving because
its inhabitants want it to thrive.
That same spirit will carry it to even
greater heights in the years ahead.
Union Travel will be in Palmerston
North to celebrate the bi-centenary.
What a great year that will be.
UN/ON TRAVEL
UNION STEAM SHIP CO. OF N.Z. LTD.
154 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North
I
I
*
I.
I
I
L
5
IEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
O
N July 23, 1864, the Rangitane
Tribe formally transferred the
Ahu-a-Turanga block of land to
"Queen Victoria, Her heirs and assigns
as a lasting possession absolutely and
for ever and ever". This block con-
tained about 250,000 acres of the
inland Manawatu district and included
Papaioea, the site of the City of
Palmerston North.
The sale took place at the Raukawa
Pa, on the south bank of the Manawatu
River, about three miles downstream from
the present Ashhurst Bridge. The Deed
of Sale was signed by 143 members of
the Rangitane Tribe and the price re-
ceived for the land was 12,000.
The sale of Te Ahu-a-Turanga opened
the way for European settlement and ir.
1865 the Provincial Government of Wel-
lington decided to lay out a township
on part of the block.
The Chief District Surveyor of the Pro-
vince was asked to select a suitable, site,
and without any hesitation he recom-
mended the Papaioea area. The reason
for this immediate recommendation was
the fact that the Chief District Surveyoi
was none other than John Tiffin Stewart,
the man who had mapped the Papaioea
clearing in 1859 and had first realised
its possibilities as a settlement site.
Layout Plan
Mr Stewart now found himself in a
position to plan the layout of the new
township, for in 1865 he was placed in
charge of surveying and roading the
Manawatu district and in 1866 he was
promoted to the office of Chief Engineer
of the Province. The original streets and
sections of Palmerston were laid out
under Mr Stewart' s direction, and it was
his foresight which provided the town
with its most distinctive feature, the
17-acre public reserve known as the Square.
The township came into official existence
on October 3, 1866, when Isaac Earl
Featherston (Superintendent of the Pro-
vince of Wellington) signed a proclama-
tion defining the boundaries of "The
Township of Palmerston". This name
was chosen by the Provincial Council to
commemorate the third Lord Palmerston
(Henry John Temple), a well-known British
statesman who died in 1865.
The Wellington Provincial Council was
apparently unaware of the fact that a
"Township of Palmerston" already existed
in New Zealand, for in 1864 the Otago
Provincial Government had bestowed this
name on a new settlement midway between
Dunedin and Oamaru. In later years
this duplication of names caused some
Land Sale, Settlement
confusion, and the residents of the Mana-
watu township sent a petition to the
Wellington Provincial Government asking
for a change of name, but no suitable
alternative could be found. In 1871 the
postal authorities added the suffix "North"
to the name and six years later this
version became the official designation
of tho new borough.
Larger Area
It is not surprising, therefore, that the
Wellington Provincial Government failed
to attract many settlers to the new town-
ship. When the-sections were offered for
sale in' 1866 and 1867 most of the pur-
chasers were speculators who lived in
Wellington and only a handful of people
took up land with the intention of settling
on it. Of this handful, the majority
seiecjted farms in the western portion of
The original Township of Palmerston
covered a much larger area than the later
borough and the present city. More than
200 town and suburban sections, ranging
in size from one rood to 40 acres, were
laid out within the Papaioea clearing, but
a large number of rural sections (between
40 and 300 acres in size) were also sur-
veyed in the surrounding bushland. These
rural sections extended eastward to beyond
Whakarongo, westward to beyond Long-
burn, and northward to beyond Newbury.
The total area of the township was about
58,000 acres, compared with the present
city's size of 10,600 acres.
The Wellington Provincial Government
established the Township of Palmerston
with the idea of encouraging farmers to
take up land and bring it into production,
but this idea ended in failure. The Pro-
vincial Treasury had insufficient finance
to construct all-weather roads between
coastal and inland Manawatu, and without
adequate means of communication Palm-
erston was doomed to remain an isolated
and under-developed district.
The only means of transporting heavy
goods into or out of the district was
by canoe on the Manawatu River, an ex-
pensive and rather dangerous method of
transport. The Government constructed
a landing stage at Ngawhakarau (near
the site of the present Opiki Bridge) and
from that point a road (one chain in
width) was cut through the bush to
Papaioea. This track was supposed to
serve as the main access road to Palmer-
ston, but it was unmetalled and poorly
drained and became a sea of mud during
the winter.
One early settler recorded t hat in 1868
he had to abandon his horse on the side
of this road after the animal had exhausted
itself by floundering through mud for
several miles. Another road was cut from
Papaioea to Awahuri, hut this was only
12 feet in width and was completely un-
drained and unmetalled. It was also
virtually impassable in winter.
Mratoorapli courtesy P.N. Public Library.
David and Mary McEwen, pioneers who settled en a bush-covered section at Karere
(now Lonabum) in 1868. The land is still owned by their descendants.
the township, in the locality then known
as Karere and now named Longburn.
Among these stalwart pioneers were
Matthew Hamilton, David McEwen, George
McEwen, Ditlev Monrad, David Rowland,
James Sly, Peter Stewart and David
Watson. Descendants of several of these
men are still living in Manawatu today.
Other settlers took up land between
Whakarongo and Ashhurst, in the locality
then known as Raukawa. They included
John Dalrymple, William Cumming, Alfred
Grammer, George Richardson and William
Waugh.
In the Papaioea clearing only three or
four people took up semi-permanent resi-
dence. One of these was Mr Robert
Menzies, who erected a small hut on his
one-acre section in Rangitikei Street (near
the corner of Featherston Street) and
performed contracting work in the district
He probably assisted the farmers of
Karere and Raukawa with such work as
felling bush, sawing timber, and digging
drains,
Other early residents of Papaioea were
Edwin Cole and Robert Stanley, two
licensees of the Palmerston Hotel. This
hotel was a four or five-roomed wooden
uu.luing situated in Main Street (between
.Domain and Cook Streets) and has the
honour of being the first commercial
building in Palmerston. It was erected
in 1866 and was owned by Mr Amos Burr,
of Foxton. A lack of customers caused
it to close down about 1868, but it was
reopened by Mr Cole two years later.
Mrs Cole is believed to have been the
first European woman to live in Papaioea.
The only other building known to have
been erected in the clearing before 1871
was the survey office, which provided
accommodation and storage facilities for
the surveyors who laid out the township
and triangulated the Manawatu district.
This office appears to have consisted of
a small whare and was probably the first
building of any kind to be erected in
Papaioea. It stood on the western side
of the Square, on a Government reserve
which is now Coleman Place.
SMALLGOODS
BACON * HAM
T
HE year 1871 brought a dramatic
advance in the development of
Palmerston. A wave of new settlers
arrived in the district, metalled roads
began to replace muddy tracks, and
the construction of a wooden tram-
way from the interior, to the coast
was commenced. The first shops and
factories were established in the
Papaioea clearing and the Township
of Palmerston began to take on the
appearance of a vigorous little settle-
ment.
What caused this sudden burst of. pro-
gress? The answer lies in the national
programme of public works and immigra-
tion commenced by the Central Govern-
ment of New Zealand in 1870. Acting on
the recommendations of the Colonial
Treasurer, Mr Julius Vogel, the Central
Government borrowed large sums of
money from overseas and sponsored the
introduction of selected immigrants from
Europe, thereby overcoming the shortage
of finance and manpower which had re-
stricted the development planned by the
provincial governments. The Central Gov-
ernment aimed at opening up new land
for settlement by creating a national
network of roads and railways, and this
policy greatly stimulated the economic
development of many parts of the country.
First To Benefit
Manawatu was one of the first districts
to benefit from this new programme ot
public works, for priority was given to
the construction of a properly formed
and partly metalled road between the
port of Foxton and the port of Napier.
Work began on the western portion of
this road in 1870, the first contracts being
for the formation of a dray road through
the sand country between Foxton and
Oroua Bridge (Rangiotu). In 1871. the
road was extended from Oroua Bridge
to the western end of the Manawatu Gorge
and in 1872 the road through the Gorge
was completed.
The Central Government also realised
the necessity of providing an all-weather
means of heavy transport between inland
and coastal Manawatu, so it was decided
to construct a wooden tramway from
Palmerston to Foxton. This tramway,
started in 1871 and completed two years
later, enabled settlers and goods to ente*
Palmerston and also provided an outlet
for sawn timber, which was the principal
export of the district for many years.
It is interesting to nofo that tho engineer
in charge of these public works \v:is Mr
John Tittin Stewart, tho man who had
earlier boon responsible for tho surveying
and roading of tho Township of Palnior-
ston. In 1870 Mr Stowait ronlpmnl. from
the employ of the Wellington Province
and entered tho service of tho Contra!
Government. being appointed District
Engineer of the Public Works Depart-
ment, with headquarters at Foxton. He
held this position until 18S5. when he was
transferred to Wanganui. Ho retired from
Government service four years later and
died in Wanganui in 1913.
The Progress
Major Figure
Mr Stewart is undoubtedly one of the
major figures in tho history of the
Manawatu, for he not only planned the
layout of most of the early settlements,
but also planned and supervised the con-
struction of the main linos of communi-
cation in tho district. He visited the site
of Palmerston North when it was an
unsurveyed forest clearing, and he played
an important part in the development of
the township from an isolated village into
the centre of a network of road and
railway lines.
Immigration was also a major part of
the Central Government's policy of national
development, and many of the labourers
who constructed the Manawatu roads and
tramway were sponsored immigrants from
Europe. The first of these immigrants
arrived in New Zealand early In 1871 and
were all Scandinavians, mainly from
Denmark and Norway. They were allotted
bush-covered sections at Avvapuni and
Whakarongo and proved to be most in-
dustrious labourers and successful settlers.
By 1874 the Scandinavians comprised
about one-third of the total population
of Palmerston North, and they were active
in all aspects of community life. Many
of their descendants are still living in
the city today.
The start of public works and the
arrival of new settlers did much to
stimulate commerce and industry in the
Manawatu. Early in 1871 an Englishman
named George Matthew Snelson opened
the first shop in Palmerston North and
began supplying groceries, clothing, and
hardware to the road labourers and the
local settlers. Snelson's store was situated
on the western side of the Square (on
the site now occupied by D.I.CLtd.) and
was erected by Messrs J. E. Perrin and
F. Oakley, the first building contractors
in Palmerston North. The store was con-
structed of galvanised iron, nailed to a
wooden frame. The sheets of iron had
boon shipped from Wellington to Foxton
and then slod.uod to I'alir.eiston, while
the wooden framework was probably pit-
JKIWU by the builders at tho edge of the
bush clearing.
Snelson's store soon became tho focal
point of the small bush settlement, and
by tho end of 1871 the iron store had
boon replaced by a largvr wooden build-
ing, which also housed the Post Olliee
and the Kcjftetry of Births, Death*, and
Marriages foi several years. A replica
of this wooden shop has been erected
by the Palmorston Niath Centennial Asso-
ciation and is being used as an informa-
tion centre and historical attraot' on during
the centenary.
First Factory
Of
1871
Tho year 1S71 also saw the establishment
ol l'alnierston Nort hs iiist factory, ilic
steam sawmill owned by Messrs l-Vler
iUanson and Peter Batholoinow. 'i'hi's,-
two Scotsmen supplied the sleepers fur
the wooden tramway constructed between
Falmorston and Foxton, and the election
of their sawmill laid the foundations of
the town's industrial activity.
Other forms ol commerce and industry
established in 1871 wi w;
First cabinetmaker: Mr H, Ames.
First wheelwright: Mr C\ Urigorxon.
First shoemakers: Messrs K. H('Hing
and G. Richardson.
First tailor: Mr T. Uundcraon.
First blacksmith: Mr J. Jensen.
First boarding-house proprietor: Mr .).
Linton.
First butcher: Mr B. Manson.
First carpenters: Messrs F. Meyiick, F.
Oak^y, J. E. Perrin.
First brewer: Mr A. ScisKtnor.
First medical doctor: Mr H. Spratt.
In October, 1871, the Palmerston corres-
pondent of the "Wellington Independent"
newspaper reported that there was "a
bustle and activity amongst our settlers
the pioneers of civilisation in those
primeval forests - that is very pleasing
to witness. 'Go-ahead Palmeiston' will be
our motto, I trust, for some time to come;
and if you could sec the many changes
that have taken place in so slioil a time,
the buildings that have been ('reeled, the
clearings that have (icon effected, and
the roads made, you would admit that
the settlers of this locality aio deserving
of the name, for having accomplished no
much, with such insuperable difllotillftJM
to contend agai nst '
George Matthew Snelson, the first shopkeeper
in Palmerston North (1871), and later the
first auctioneer and land agent. He was
' also the township's first Mayor (1877).
Jn May, 1X72. tho same ooricspon.lent
reported that "the district, which n year
ago only numbered some half-do/.en plod-
ding and almost broken-hearted settlers,
now is peopled by upward of 300 souls.
The township now presents to a stranger
some appearance of civilisation, and
travellers cannot but remark on the differ-
ence in Palmerston now to what it wa.s
only 12 months ago."
18
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
MANAWATU MEAT
&
COLD STORAGE CO. LTD.
Established 1906
Wholesale & Retail Meat Distributors
for 65 years and still progressing
In 35 years we will be
celebrating our Centen-
ary, but today we offer
our congratulations to
Palmerston North on
reaching their 100
years.

EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 19711

The First City Fathers
DALMERSTON North became a
borough on July 12, 1877, and the
man appointed by the Government to
be the first Mayor was George Mat-
thew Snelson, the pioneer shopkeeper
of the town.
The size of the borough was 4595 acres,
and its population was about 800 people.
The first electoral roll, however, contained
only 247 names, because women were
excluded from voting, and so were men
who did not own property in the borough.
Furthermore, a property owner's voting
power increased according to the rateable
value of his property. If a man owned
property valued between 50 and 100 he
received two votes, and if his property was
worth between 100 and 150 he was
entitled to three votes. At the first elections
one man held five votes, because he owned
property valued at 350 or more.
The first borough councillors were elected
to office on Wednesday, August 8, 1877.
Votes were recorded at the Court House in
Main Street east and Mr R. N. Keeling,
who was later to become the borough's first
town clerk, was the returning officer. Those
elected were:
James LINTON, land agent, of Terrace
End, 74 votes.
Frits JENSSEN, sawmiller, of Terrace
End, 72 votes.
Peter MANSON, sawmiller and farmer, of
Terrace End, 70 votes.
William SUMMERHAYS, sawmiller, of
Hokowhitu, 68 votes.
Thomas WALTON, storekeeper, of The
Square. 58 votes.
James GILBERT, proprietor of the Royal
Hotel, The Square, 57 votes.
James OWEN, proprietor of the Clarendon
Hotel, The Square, 53 votes.
Edward MARSH, storekeeper, of Terrace
End, 45 votes.
William DEARDS, proprietor of the Prin-
cess Hotel, Terrace End, 43 votes.
The occupations of these men reveal
something of the character of early Palm-
erston North, while the fact that tho major-
ity of them lived at Terrace End illustrates
the industrial and commercial importance
of that part of the town during the 1870s.
The first borough council meetings were
held in the Town Hall, a large wooden
building situated on the corner of The
Square and Fitzherbert Avenue (on the site
now occupied by Hall Chambers). This
building had been erected by a public com-
pany in 1876 and provided an office for the
Manawatu Highways Board and a home
for the Public Reading Room, an Institu-
tion which later developed Into the first
Public Library.
The borough council entered into negotia-
tion for the purchase of the Town Hall
and a price of 1500 was agreed upon, to
be paid in instalments over a number of
years. Unfortunately, the building was
destroyed by fire (in suspicious circum-.
stances) in 1885, when there was still 500
of the purchase money unpaid. The council
then leased the site to an hotel proprietor
and before very long the debt was removed
and the section became a valuable source
of revenue to the borough.
An illustrated list of the Mayors and
town clerks of Palmerston North can be
found on pages 80-82 of this issue.
kUMITCI
i . . ,-=-
' V " "Y"
361 People
Paid
Palmerston
North's
First Rates
Here is a a list of the 361 property owners who were liable
to pay the first rate levied by the Palmerston North Borough
Council. This rate of one shilling in the pound, made on
June 5, 1878, was for the financial year ending March 31,
1879, and provided a revenue of 704. The names have
been copied from the borough council's first rate book,
which is now preserved in the City Archives at the Public
Library. Some of the property owners were speculators
who lived in Foxton or Wellington, but the majority of the
people listed here were residents of Palmerston North. In
many cases their descendants are still living in the city.
G. H. E. Warburton, Palmerston North's first
lawyer and the first borough solicitor. His
first rate demand in 1878 was for 3 5s l i d .
Photograph courtesy P.M. Public Library.
The first municipal building in Palmerston North was this Town Hal l , erected by a private company and
subsequently sold to the borough council for 1500. The council held its first meeting here in 1877. The
hall was destroyed by fire in suspicious circumstances in 1885, when there was still 500 owing on it.
ABRAHAMS, Solomon
AKERS, Frederick St John
ALDERSON, Cicely (Mrs)
ALLAN, John Alexander
ALLEN, Thomas Paul
ALLEN, William B.
ALLEN, William Rodda
ANDERSON, Frederick
ANDERSON, Peter
ANDERSON, Petter
ASHWIN, Manley
AYRES, John
AX, John
BAIRD, John D.
BAKER, Henry
BAKER, Walter
BAMBER, Thomas
BANBURY, Stephen
BARNES, William
BARROW, Jesse
BARTON, John .
BATT, William John
BERGERSEN, Carl August
BLATCHFORD, William
BOESEN, Martin
BORLASE, Charles Henry
BOX, Alfred Thomas
BRADLEY, Thomas
BRIDGE, Charles
BRIDGES, John
BRIGHT, Robert
BROCKENRIDGE, Marion
BROGDEN, William Francis
BROWN, James Richard
BROWN. William
BROWNLEE, James
BRYCE, John
BUCHANAN, Thomas
BUFE, Max
BUNNY, Arthur
BURNES, Janet
BURNEY, John
BURT, William
CAMERON, Ronald
CANEY
CAPPER, Charles E.
CARLSON, Henry
CAYERHILL, Thomas William
CHRISTENSEN, Jens
CLAYTON, Oliver W.
CLARKE, Adam
CLELAND, James M.
COE, George
COFFEY. Paul
COLEMAN, Sylvester
COLLARD, Edward
COLLINS, Edward
COLLINS, Ralph
COLLINSON, Henry
COLLIS, William
COOPER, James Cowel
COOPER, Thomas
CUDBY, John
CURL, Samuel Matthias
CURTIS, Paul
DALZIEL, Joseph
DAMANT, Henry
DANIELS, Henry
DAVIS, John
* Continued on Page 21
Kerei Te Panau (known as Grey), a Maori
chief of Awapuni, paid 1 16s in rates in
1878. He died fat 1908 aged about 103.
Continued from Page 20
DAVIS, John H.
DAVEY, Samuel
DAWICK, Samuel
DEARDS, William
. DEMMLER, August
DILLON, John
DOBBIE, George
DONNE, George
DONNELLY, James
DRANSFIELD, Frank
DRANSFIELD, Joe
DUNCAN, Henry B. A.
DUNCAN, Richard John
DUNDAS, Alexander
ELDERSHAW, George
EVANS, James
FAFETA, Johan
FARNSWORTH, Charles
FARRADY, Simeon
FERGUSON, Alexander
FIELD, Henry Charles
FINCH, Richard E.
FINNIS, Edward
FISHER, John
FISHER, Henry
FISHER, Thomas
FRANCIS, John
FRASER, Thomas
FREEMAN, Henry
FREETHY, Thomas
FREETHY, William H.
GATTON, Charles Stepney
GIBAUT, John Daniel
GILBERT. James Edward
GILLIES, Robert
GOEBEL, Gottlieb
GOLDER, James
GOLDER, John
GOODING, Charles
GOODISSON. Thomas
GOWER, Alfred
GOWER, William
GRAFF, Hjalmar
GRAHAM, Charles C.
GREEN, George Albert
GREIG, James Merrington
GREY (Kerei Te Panau)
GRIGGS, Thomas
GROPA, Venzel
GULBRANSON, Laurits
HAINES, Basil John
HAINES, Francis
HAINES, William H.
HALCOMBE, Arthur Follett
HALL, Charles
HAMMOND, Thomas
HAMPSON, Arthur
HANLON, John
HANSON. John
HARE, Charles
HARE, Robert
HARRIS, John
HARTLEY, George
HAZEL, William
Continued on Page 22
Joseph Leary, Palmerston North's first printer
and newspaper proprietor. He paid 5 15s in
rates in 1878.
Frederick Oakley, one of the township's first
building contractors. His 1878 rate demand
was for 1 13s 8d.
2QEVENI NG STANDARD, CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library-
Samuel Dawick, a boarding house proprietor
in Main Street west. He was among the first
ratepayers. His 1878 rate demand was tot
19s.
1890 1971
We have
grown with
the City
THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF CONGRATULATE
PALMERSTON NORTH ON ITS CENTENARY AND
LOOK FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE TO THE
FUTURE.
A. F. MARTIN LTD.
648-660 Main Street, Palmerston North. Phone 79-052.

EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.

Continued from Page 21
HENDERSON, Robert
HENDERSON, William
HIGGIE, Alexander
HILL. Charles
HODDER, Frederick Walter
HOE, Thomas Samuel
HOSKING, Charles
HUGHES, Michael
HURU
HUTCHISON, George
IGGLESDEN, Selina
IGGULDEN, Edward
IHAKA
INNES, George
JACKSON, Jonathan
JACOBSON, Johan
JAMES, William
JAMESON, William
JANSEN, Christian
JAYNE, Frank John
JENSSEN, Frits
JOHNSON, Robert
JONES, John
JONES, William
JONSON, Andrew
JONSON, Johan Adolf
JOSEPH, Jacob
JURY, Charles
KANE. Catherine (Mrs)
KARAITIANA
KEELING. Robert North
KENNEDY, John
KENT. Robert
KEYS. Samuel L
KING, Thomas
KNORPP. Charles B.
KNOTT. Henry
KRIFFEN, Joseph
KRULL, Frederick Augustus
LANGLEY. William
LAURENSON. James
LEARY. Joseph Poulter
LEARY. Richard
LEE, Robert
LESLIE, George
LEVY, Alfred
LEVY. Solomon (Mrs)
LIDDELL, James
LIDDELL, John Watson
UNDGREN, Christian
LINGARD, William
LINTON. James
LITCHWARK, Charles
LLOYD, Henry John
LONDON, John
LOUDON. Francis
LYNDS, William A.
LYON, Edward
McALINDER, Henry
McCARTHY, George
McCARTHY, Samuel
McCARTHY. Thomas
McDOUALL, Andrew
McEWEN. James
MclLVRIDE, George
McKENZIE. Henry
McKENZIE, James
McKENZIE, John
McKENZIE. Robert Bruce
McNEIL, Henry
MACKIE, Robert
MANSON, John
MANSON. Peter
MANSON, Thomas
MARIBOE, Christian
MARSH, Edward
MARSH. Walter
MARSHALL. George
MASON, Augustus Philip
MASTED, John A.
MAUL, Frits
MEIHANA, Hoani
MERRITT, Thomas Edward
METARD, Etienne Emile
MEYER
MEYRICK, Frederick
MICHALIK, Anton
MIERS, Wilhelm
MILLS, Edward W.
MILLS, Thomas W.
MILLS, William
MILVERTON, Joseph
MITCHELL, Alexander
MITCHELL, James (sen.)
MITCHELL, James (jun.)
MOELLER, Philip
MOFFATT, Thomas
MONTAGUE, Thomas
MORRIS, Joseph
MOULDEN, John
MULLINS, Thomas
MUMFORD Henry
NANNESTAD, Jacob
NATHAN, Joseph Charles
NATHAN, Joseph Edward
NATHAN, Kate Ethel
NEAL, Jane (Mrs)
NIELSEN, Edward (Rev.)
NELSON, Thomas
NEWCOME, Bernard
NEWMAN, Robert
NEWSON, John
OAKLEY, Frederick
OLSEN, Edwart
ORR, John
OWEN, James Nelson
PALMERSON, Annie (Mrs)
PALMERSON, Henry Siegers
PARKER, Christopher
PARKER, Thomas
PARRETT, William
PARTRIDGE, Richard Edward
PATMORE, Jabez
PATTERSON. Thomas
PAWSON, William
PEARSON, Charles
PECK, Richard
PERRIN, John Edmund
PERRY. Walter
PHILLIPS, Henry
PILCHER, Edward
POLLOCK, John
PORT, R.
Continued on Page 23
ARLIDGE BROS. LTD
FRUIT & PRODUCE MERCHANTS & AUCTIONEERS
PALMERSTON NORTH'S
LARGEST MARKET
WHO HAVE PROGRESSED
WITH THE CITY OF
PALMERSTON NORTH, AND
OFFERED A SERVICE
IN FRUIT & PRODUCE
SINCE 1925
fODUCEM
ARLIDGE BROS.
LTD.
P.O. BOX 457.
KING & QUEEN STREETS,
PALMERSTON NORTH.
PHONE 86-144.
PkEMISES IN 1955
CONSIGN &
ABOVE
THE FOUNDER,
MR G. W.
ARLIDGE,
TODAY AT
92
PREMISES TODAY, 1970
BUY WITH CONFIDENCE
& Continued from Page 22
POWELL, Edward
READ, Micaiah
REID, John
RELF, William
RHODES, William Barnard
RICHTER, John Christian
ROBERTS, John
ROBINSON, Francis (jun./
ROBINSON, Joseph
ROE, George Frederick
ROSENTHAL, Charles
RUSH, John George
SAYWELL, William
SCHEIDT, Peter
SCHIRNACK, Carl
SCOTT, John
SETTER, Caspar
SHAW, Alfred Canning
SHORT, Benjamin
SHUTE, George
SIM, Peter L.
SIMPSON, Henry
SING, Quong
SKEET, Thomas G.
SKERMAN, Sydney
SMITH, Benjamin
SMITH, George F.
SMITH, Richard
SMITH, William
SNELSON, John Halford
SOMERVILLE, James R.
SPREAT, William
SQUIRE, William
STANDRIN. John (Rev.)
STANTIAL, Charles
STEWART, John Tiffin
STOREY, Frederick W.
STRATTON, Alfred
SUMMERHAYS, William M.
SUTHERLAND, Archibald
SUTTON, Thomas
SYMONS, Edward
SYMONS, Thomas
TALBOT, George
TASCH, Carl
TAYLOR, Andrew
TAYLOR, W.
TE AWE AWE, Peeti
TELFORD, P. W.
TE PARO, Horomona
THOMPSON, F.
THOMS, Charles
THYNNE, Ernest Stephen
TILLER, Otto
TORINGA, Poitete
TRICKLEBANK, Charles
TRIM, Mrs
TRIMBLE, William
TURNBULL, Walter
TURONGA, Henata
UDY. Hart
VENN, Frederick W.
VIVIAN, William
WAGG, Thomas
WAKELIN, George
WALDEGRAVE, Charles Edward
WALDEGRAVE, John James
WALKER, Charles
WALKER, Malcolm
WALLACE, James
WALTON, Henry
WALTON, Thomas Robert
WARBURTON, George Hartopp Eliot
WARREN, John
WATERS, William Richard
WATT, William H.
WEST, Ludolph George
WHEELAN, William
WHITEHEAD, Caleb
WHYTE, Andrew J.
WILLIAMS, Robert George
WILLSHIRE, James
WILSON, Anthony Dickson
WILSON, Louis H. B.
WIRIHANA
WISCHNEWSKY, Andreas
WOLLERMAN, Herman
WOOLCOCK, William
WRAY, Thomas
WYLDS, Alfred Henry
Roe and Green's general store, which stood on the site of the present City Council Chambers
in the Square. The rates paid on this property in 18"/8 amounted to a mere 2 15s.
zz
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
It's a tar cry from the J870s
when sugar was 3id Ib
and tea was 6d a quarter!
Through boom years
and depression
Through wars, floods,
earthquakes,
and now a
CENTENARY - - -
Interior of Watson Bros, store, 1923.
WATSON BROS
have constantly maintained the excellence of their service,
the unquestionable quality and variety of their goods
and the firivi resolve to continue (and even improve)
during the next 100 years.
;
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
Panorama Of The Square 93 Years Ago
These photographs were taken by Mr W. J. Harding, a pro-
fessional photographer, of Wanganui, who travelled by train
from Wanganui to Foxton shortly after the railway was open-
ed in 1878. He photographed many of the settlements
through which the railway passed, and has left a valuable
record of the appearance of Palmerston North at this time.
Note the close proximity of the native bush, which completely
encircled the town.
Ninety-three years ago the Square looked like this. The left
foreground (Page 24) shows the corner of Firzherbert Avenue,
with the two-storeyed Bank of New Zealand building on the
site of the present bank. This wooden building was removed to
Church Street west in 1901 and is now in use as the Commercial
Travellers' Club. The large wooden building nearby was Richard
Leary's chemist shop, with the residence upstairs. The Grand
Hotel now occupies the site. The dark building (second from
left) in the second frame on Page 24 was the premises of the
blacksmith firm of Woolcock and Hosking. This site is now
occupied by Coles's Building. The white building beside it was
the Post Office, situated on the corner of Main Street west
(where the replica of George Snelson's shop now stands). Mr
Snelson's original store is toward the middle of the frame, and
occupied the site of the present Commercial Building and D.I.C),
while on the far right of the frame can be seen the white,
wooden pyramid in what is now Coleman Place. This was the
original trigonometrical station from which the township of
Palmerston North was surveyed. The first scene on the left of
Page 25 was taken looking toward Rangitikei Street. The dork
objects in the middle distance are railway carriages in front of
the station, which was then situated in the middle of the Square,
teas the present War Memorial site. The white two-storeyed
building immediately behind the station was the Clarendon Hotel
rkotogroph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
(on the site of Goldfinch and Cousins), while on the opposite
side of Rangitikei Street can be seen the single and double-
storeyed buildings of the Royal Hotel. This site is now occupied
by the Bank of New Zealand. The frame on the right of Page
25 is a view looking toward Broadway Avenue and Main Street
east. The corner of Broadway can be seen on the far left, and
the corner of Main Street east is in the middle. The site of the
present Post Office was vacant in 1878, but the site of the
present library was occupied by the stationmaster's house.
Nelson's "Little Wonder" general store (right) stood on the
site now occupied by Watson Brothers Ltd.
e Photograph courtesy Alexander Tiirnbull library
view of the southern portion of the Square In 1878. On the Avenue. The building next to it was the Bank of New Zealand, the present site of All Saints'. On the far right is Leary's chemist
eft ean be seen the Public HoH. erected in 1876. and which erected in 1878. and the church building towards the right of the shop. The Grand Hotel now occupies the site
urnt down in 1885. It stood on the corner of Fitxherbert picture was the first Anglican Church in the town. It stood on
Quality & Value
Cornerstone Of
Collinson & Cunninghame's
Success!
Just as important in the firm's trading policy today as they were when founded in 1904,
Dependable Qualities plus Good Value backed by Capable Service are the secrets of the success
of Collinson & Cunninghame Ltd. Over 20 buyers and assistant buyers ^re alert to bring the
latest fashions and merchandise, the pick of the market as to quality and good value, to the people
not only of Palmerston North and the Manawatu but also to customers from a radius of up to
100 miles. New and modern in lay-out and merchandise, this store operates as an independent unit
without outside control and without any branches.
It is a matter of history that when the store opened for business on August 4, i 904, there
was a slight earthquake and a fall of snow sufficient for a snowman to be built in the Square.
Mr Leo Collinson had the ambition to open a shop and wanted as partner someone who
knew more than he did even though his own experience was excellent. A chance remark
overheard from one of his then bosses that "Mr John Cunninghame was the best draper in New
Zealand" settled the matter of who to approach as partner. Mr Cunninghame's early apprentice-
ship was served in Stravane, Northern Ireland, while Mr Collinson was Palmerston-born, working
in the U.F.C.A. and later in C. Smith's.
Mr H. C. Collinson, sen., joined as a sleeping partner, the three putting in 300 each. Mr
Collinson raised his share by selling a few head of stock which were looked on as his on the
family farm, raising all he could on his insurance and borrowing the rest. The partnership proved
harmonious and prospered.
A letter from Mr H. C. Collinson to his son written on July 18, 1904, while Mr Leo was
in Wellington buying the initial stock contained a message of the caution that has always character-
ised the store: " I think you ought to be very careful and not buy too much at the start or you
will be worried to death when the bills become due Over a span of U years trading, vast changes
JOINT FOUNDER
have been seen. For instance, prices that
are a thing of the past included 72-inch sheeting
1/6 yd; Crewdson's Calico 4d yd; woollen
material 6d yd; and 54 inch serge at 2/6 yd.
Perhaps it is just ai well the day of those prices
has gone the reward for the manufacturers
and their employees must have been pitifully
meagre. I Incidentally a C. 4 C. wages book
still in existence shows for instance some sales
seniors getting 3 or so for a 52 hour week).
There have been various landmarks in the
firm's history. For instance, speaking at the staff
function for the 21st anniversary 11*25) Mr
Collinson mentioned that the advent of the motor-
car had contributed to the marked growth of
Palmerston North, the improved means of trans-
port bringing the towns nearer to the country
people but it had forced the livery stables
out of existence of the eight in existence when
the firm was established very few remained.
A feature of Mr L. H. Collinson's guidance
was the accent on development in areas near
he store. The business itself expanded over several
frontaaes in Broadway and through to King Street
while auction rooms, sample rooms, the Regent
Arcade with its cluster of shops, the right-of-way
from Broadway to Grey Street these and many
other imorovements were initiated or encouraged
by the firm.
A feature of the business right from its in-
ception when Stan Brigh'well was the " boy"
and only assistant besides the two partners
riant through to the present dav has. been the
loyalty, service, and capability of staff members
JOINT FOUNDER
giving long service. It became a tradition with the firm that a gold watch be presented
after 21 years service (a contrast from the old custom of business that such a gift was the
culmination on retirement). Many have received their watches and continued to give Jong service.
No less than 15 of the present staff have received their watches.
An advertisement of 1920 indicates that there was an up-to-date Lam son pneumatic cash
system, and that the store had its own private electricity installation. Thus, display windows and
the shop had passed the era of gaslight before the town itself had electricity. More recent instal-
lations include diesel generator for emergency lighting, an internal staff superannuation scheme,
Grinnell sprinklers for fire protection, the secretary for over 50 years, Mr R. C. Donald, intro-
duced the first of the (then) latest Burroughs' Sensimatic cycle billing machines to come to this
country. Virtually coinciding with the 1945-67 re-building, the firm started decimal currency day with
a complete set of new decimal cash registers. The re-building also brought a modern passenger lift
and a pair of escalators with the newest style of armour-plate glass sides, for the added convenience
of customers.
Many varied experiences include the fact that the firm at on period of expanding property
owned a publican's licence. An early branch, and later the bedding factory, were gutted by fire.
The old strongroom was once blown. On two occasions burglars have sought keys, once by holding
Mr L. Collinson at revolver point at his gate.
In 1921, when prices were tumbling after production resumed after the 1914-18 war, the
firm staged a sensational Half Price SaJe storewide. The right to play music in the tea rooms
without performing right fees was contested unsuccessfully in court. A court conviction that still
stands as a standard case concerning free gifts and their relation to the Gaming Act occurred in
1921 when the firm offered goods to all customers who bought (for cash) on the day nearest
to the average in a 21-day period. Santa Claus
and his Magic Cave has been a traditional
attraction for several generations of children for
the past 50 years. Probably the only time it has
happend In New Zealand, the firm one day issued
about 200 one-dollar coins in change. The Plunket
Society started out in Palmerston North with rooms
made available by the firm prior to building their
own premises in King Street; and the Manawatu
Amateur Radio Club operated station 2ZF as a
pioneer station also In rooms provided by C. &
C.'s.
The founders of the firm remained together
until 1935 when Mr John Cunninghame passed
away, and Mr Leo Collinson passed away in 1954.
Other members of the family have continued to
guide the progress of the firm Mr H. L.
Cunninghame taking over the position of managing
director until succeeded by Mr K. L. Collinson
in August, 1963.
The aim of the firm is still the same as ever
to offer dependable quality, good value, and
service. Continuing its leadership in the fashion
field, the firm this month has featured Fashion
Parades showing the new longer look, compered
by Mrs Iris Burton and including leading fashion
models from Wellington. It's surprising what Inter-
esting merchandise you'll find among the extensive
stocks of Palmerston's alert departmental store
Colllmon & Cunninghame Ltd., af the heart of
Busy Broadway.
Mr L. H. Collinson 1904 1971
24
-EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
Mr J. Cunninghame
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.OE
^ 1 "
Dave Smith popped in to
Some Pioneer Homes
MSD Speirs to buy a packet of screws
The first home of d Manawaru settler was often little
more than a tent and lean-to kitchen ef sacking and
timber slabs. This picture shows a typical example
of such a home in 1885.
A small wooden cottage of 1882. This was the home
of Mrs Augustus Koehler, who is pictured at the gate
with her son, Alfred. The cottage stood in &rey
Street.
and ended up building a playroom
It all started with a packet of screws to fix a
broken cupboard. Dave popped in to M.S.D.
Speirs to pick them up and started chatting
about how he needed a playroom for the kids.
He had seen a plan in a magazine showing how
to build on an additional room. He spent half an
hour talking to M.S.D. and they drew up a list of
what had to be done, the materials needed, and
the cost involved. Dave handled it from there.
It took three weeks to build the playroom, any
bugs he struck on the way were ironed out by
a short visit to M.S.D. Speirs.
With a little professional advice, nothing is im-
possible for any home handyman. All you need
is a little time, and help from M.S.D. Speirs.
1. Napier
2. Hastings
3. Wanganui
4. Marton
5. Feilding
6. Palmerston North
7. Waikanae
8. Wellington
MSD SPEIRS LTD the advice is free
667 TREMAINE AVE, PALMERSTON NORTH. TELEPHONE 79-004
OPEN FRIDAY NIGHTS
A substantial wooden home of 1890. This was the
home of Paimerston North's first Mayor, Mr George
Sneison. It was located in Fitzherbert Avenue.
The large and ornate wooden home of Mr Jacob
Nonnested in Te Awe Awe Street. Erected about
1892, the home still stands and is known today as
Coccio Birch House.
26
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
HM i!f I 111 ; ' M ; 5' M u - -; > j j
I
l i l i l l l ! ! I I IS S \\ I ?XANOARA CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH $, 1971
A typical Victorian family. Mr and Mrs J. E. Perrin and their nine children. From left,
STANDING: Isabel, Ernest, Rachel, John. Ada. SITTING: Ethel, Mr Perrin, Mrs Perrin, Gertrude.
FRONT: Cecil and George. Mr and Mrs Perrin came to Palmerston North in 1871, when Mr
ePrrin was one of the first building contractors in the town. He built the first store in the
Square. This was occupied by Mr G. M. Snelson, who later became the town's first Mayor.
Mr and Mrs Charles Hosking, who came to Palmerston North
in 187S. Mr Hosking was a partner in Woolcock and Hosking,
a blacksmith business with premises in the Square.
Early Portraits
Mrs Emma Isabella Fowler, pictured in 1887 with her daughter, Mabel Elsie.
OOEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
1 0 7 1 Palmerston North 1 Q 7 1
1 0 1 1 CENTENNIAL YEAR 1 9 / 1
D.I.C's 8 STORES
THROUGHOUT
NEW ZEALAND
CONGRATULATE
THE PEOPLE OF
PALMERSTON NTH.
ON 100 YEARS
OF PROGRESS
GQOMT 13V3.
Photographs on this paqe CO( I r t ej y of po| mer j t ol i pMic L) br ar y
The Management and Staff of the D.I.C Ltd. are proud to be associated with
Palmerston North's centennial year celebrations and thank the people for their
support over the years. The Management assure you that D.I.C, as it has in
the past, will continue to give the highest quality, the best values, and complete
satisfaction to every customer. The D.I.C look forward along with Palmerston
North and districts to a second century of progress and far reaching service to
the whole community.
DI.C. is one of Hie largest
retailing organisations in
New Zealand with
AN ANNUAL TURN-
* OVER IN EXCESS OF
$13,000,000
SHAREHOLDERS
* TOTALLING 5000
A TOTAL STAFF OF
*" 1300 EMPLOYEES
AND 8 DEPARTMENT
* STORES
DUNEDIN
WELLINGTON
HAMILTON
INVERCARGILL
LOWER HUTT
PALMERSTON NORTH
CHRISTCHURCH
WANGANUI
D.I.C Customer Services allow
you to shop in the easiest, most
convenient and trouble-free
way. We at D.I.C watch your
money as if it were our own.
We always give the best value
and service in
*
*
*
*
*
*
44 UP-TO-DATE DEPART-
MENTS
A NEW ATTRACTIVE
FRONTAGE AND GROUND
FLOOR
SOFT FURNISHING WORK-
ROOM
SERVICE AND
TION CENTRE
INFORMA-
MAIL ORDER DEPARTMENT
DELIVERY SERVICE
COFFEE GARDEN
PLUS 5 WAYS TO BUY
LAY-BY
BUDGET ACCOUNT
MONTHLY ACCOUNT
HIRE PURCHASE
TERMS
CASH
Remember D.I.C's famous guarantee,
*which means exactly as it says.
Complete satisfaction or your money
cheerfully refunded in full.
D.I.C's plans for the immediate future include continuing the extensive alterations and modernisation already
carried out on the ground floor frontage and furnishing gallery to present Paimerston North with one of New
Zealand's most modern departmental stores. The new image presented on the ground floor has been highly
praised by overseas visitors voted second to none in New Zealand and equal to any seen overseas.
DIC GUARANTEE SATISFACTI Y REFUNDED fN FI N!
Cham
Styles
THE changing styles of wedding dress and wedding
portraiture can be seen from this selection of four pictures,
taken over a period of 93 years, showing four generations
of the one family. The bride ineach case comes from a
different generation of the same family.
The founders of the family were Jens Christensen and
Anna Knudsen, who were engaged in Denmark and came
to New Zealand on the sailing ship "Shakespeare" in 187S.
They were married in 1876 and spent the remainder of
their lives in the Palmerston North district, where many
of their descendants still lire.
Down The
Years
TOP RIGHT: Jens Christensen and Anna Katrine Knudsen pictured on
their wedding day in 1876. BOTTOM RIGHT: Karen Christine Emilie
Christensen, the eldest daughter of Jens and Anna Christensen,
pictured with her husband William Frederick Cutler in 1906. TOP
LEFT: Kathleen Laura Curler, only daughter of William and Karen
Cutler, on her wedding day, with Peter Hansen, whom she married
in 1943. BOTTOM LEFT: Karen Elizabeth Hansen, daughter of
Peter and Kathleen Hansen, with her husband Devon Biggs, whom
she married in 1969.
James Ladd Ltd.
Congratulate Palmerston North
and its Citizens on their
100th BIRTHDAY
T H E M E N - S W E A R S T O R E
B R O A D W A Y
Celebrate 25 years of Business and
thank the discerning people of Palmer-
ston North for their wonderful support
during our 25 years of trading.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO GROW WITH YOU!
Stainless Steel Fittings by
INDUSTRIES LIMITED
700 YEARS OF PROGRESSES HISTORY FOR PALMERSTON NORTH AND IT'S THE
MAJOR MANUFACTURING COMPANIES SUCH AS METALCRAFT INDUSTRIES LTD.
THAT ADD TO ITS GROWING PRESTIGE AS A CITY OF ENTERPRISE
AND ADVANCEMENT.
NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED METALCRAFT PRODUCTS ARE RENOWNED FOR CRAFTSMANSHIP,
STYLE, MAXIMUM ECONOMY, LIFETIME SERVICE, AND THE HIGHEST QUALITY AND DURA-
BILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY.
STAINLESS STEEL PRODUCTS:
I 1 1 L i ,\ ,1 ,t
SINK BENCHES Metalcraft 'Classic'
Metalcraft 'Standard'
Metalcraft 'Lusterline'
Metal craft manufacture a full range
of Standard Units or offer a service
in Special Size or Angle Units to suit
any particular installation require-
ment.
LAUNDRY TUBS: Metalcraft Tubs Single 22" x 18" x IOV deep
Single 26" x 18" x I Oi " deep
Double 43" x 18" x I Oi " deep
Double 51" x 18" x \0" deep
The Durable Easy-Clean Tub that costs so little and lasts
forever.
SHOWER FLOORS: 30" x 30" x 4" wall, 36" x 30" x 4" wall, 36" x 36" x 4
1
wall, 12" wall for shower'bath.
Hygienic, Durable, and Maintenance Free.
GALVANISED STEEL PRODUCTS: Longrun Corrugated Roofing Iron in High Tensile Steel for greater strength,
Longrun Ridging, Longrun Spouting, Flashings, Barge Roll, Valleys.
GALVANISED OR ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS: Longrun Metal Weatherboards Battenboard
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Vertaclad Wall Sheathings Vertaroof M.M. Panelling
Full particulars on any Metalcraft Product will be forwarded on request.
576 TREMAINE
AVE. METALCRAFT INDUSTRIES LTD.
PALMERSTON NTH.
30
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.J-j
;
i B B i ^
Scandinavians Pioneered
The Settlement
T
HE majority of Manawatu's early
settlers were of British birth or
descent, but there was also a signifi-
cant group of settlers who came from
the Scandinavian countries of Europe.
These migrants from Denmark, Nor-
way, and Sweden played an important
part in the history of Palmerston North
and many of their descendants are
present-day residents of the city.
The first Scandinavians to settle in the
Palmerston North district were th'j Mon-
rad family, from Denmark, who took up
land near Longburn in 1866. The head of
this family was 55-year-old Ditlev Gothard
Monrad, one of the most remarkable pion-
eers of early Manawatu.
A man of outstanding intellectual abil-
ity, Monrad was a leader in the religious
and political life of Denmark In addition
to being a bishop of the Lutheran Church,
he was also a member of the Danish
parliament (Rigsdag) for 16 years, and
became Prime Minister on the eve of the
Danish-Prussian war of 1864. When
aggressive Prussia inflicted a humiliating
defeat upon Denmark, Monrad found him-
self in the role of scapegoat, and his
political career came to a suddun end
amid a barrage of unjust criticism from
his fellow countrymen.
Deeply hurt by Denmark's rejection of
hi! efforts, Monrad sought peace of mind
in a new environment. In 1865 he and his
family sailed for New Zealand -ind after'
residing for short periods of time at Nel-
son and Wanganui they settled on 482
acres of bush-covered land in the newly-
surveyed Township of Palmerston. The
property was situated on Karerc Road,
about two miles west of the present vil-
lage of Longburn.
Monrad was accompanied by his wife
Emile, his daughters Louise and Karen,
his sons Viggo and Johannes, and Vino' s
wife Olga. Five young Danes, all ions of
clergymen, also came to New Zealand,
with the family and three of these men
spent the remainder of their lives in the
Manawatu district.
Isolated Farm
For more than two years Bishop Mon-
rad and his family lived on their isolated
Karere farm, dwelling: first of all in a
clay hut roofed with raupo and toe-toe
and then in a large weatherboard house.
An area of bush was cleared tor their
sheep and cows, and vegetables were also
grown for household use. Monrad even
experimented with the cultivation of
tobacco plants and discovered that the
leaves, when burnt, produced a smoke
which effectively killed the troublesome
mosquitoes.
Dr G. C. Petersen, one of Monrad's bio-
graphers, states that "his previous life
and experience seemed to have ill equip-
ped Monrad for the physical toil and
privations of a bush settler, but qualities
of determination, tenacity, and tremen-
dous energy, combined with a ready
adaptability, stood him in good stead . . .
Monrad wrote of the sheer joy I.e got
from swinging an axe and splitting the
heavy logs, of using a spade in ground
that had lain untouched since its creation,
of riding his horse through the forest
listening to the voices of nature in the
manless wilderness."
In November, 1868, a rumour spread
throughout the Manawatu that rebel
Maoris from Taranaki and Hawke's Bay
were about to invade the district. The
Monrad family and the other settlers in
the Palmerston area hastily departed
from their isolated farms and gathered
together for safety in the small village of
Foxton. When the rumour proved to be
false most of the settlers soon returned to
their farms.
Influenced
Bishop Monrad, however, decided not to
reoccupy Karare, for he felt sufficiently
renewed in body and spirit to set sail for
Denmark. He was also pleased to see that
his two ' sons had developed into self-
reliant colonists and was satisfied that
they could make their own way in their
new homeland.
Accompanied by his wife and daugh-
ters, Monrad returned to Denmark in 1869
and soon resumed work in his old bishop-
ric. He also resumed his interest in
politics and was a member of parliament
for four years. He died in 1887 at the age
of 75 years.
The property at Karere remained in
the possession of the Monrad family for
another two generations, for it was farm-
ed by the bishop's eldest son, Viggo, and
then by Viggo's two sons, Ditlev p.nd
Oscar. Descendants of Oscar Monrnd are
still living in the Manawatu district today.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The Monrad form at Karere. This picture, bycourtesy of Dr G. C. Petersen, of Palmerston North, shows the clay hut built by Bishop Monrad,
to the right of the wooden house, when he first settled the property in 1866. Bishop Monrad, a former Danish Prime Minister, returned to Den-
mark toward theend of 1868.
Bishop Monrad's sojourn in the Mana-
watu did not go unnoticed by the New
Zealand authorities, for the -uccessful
way in which he and his party adapted
to pioneering conditions influenced the
Central Government in their choice of
nationalities for their new programme of
sponsored immigration. In 1870 the Gov-
ernment decided to recruit immigrants
from the Scandinavian countries and
agents were sent to Denmark, Norway,
and Sweden to select suitable persons.
Bishop Monrad took no official part in
this selection, but he always spoke of New
Zealand in the most appreciative terms
and undoubtedly recommended it to any
young Danes thinking of emigrating.
The first party of Scandinavians select-
ed by the Government arrived in Welling-
ton on board the sailing ship "Celaeno"
on February 5, 1871. With the oxcoption
of one Swedish family, all these immi-
grants were from Norway and comprised
, 18 married couples, 17 infants, and one
unmarried man (who acted as inter-
preter).
After spending a few days in Wellington
the party travelled to the Manawatu on
the steamer "Luna", arriving at the port
of Foxton on February 14. The next day
the party walked overland to the Town-
ship of Palmerston, an exhausting journey
for the women and children.
Each family was alloted 40 acres of
land on what is now Pioneer Highway,
these sections being situated in the bush
near the western end of the Papaioea
clearing. This land was to be purchased at
the price of fl an acre, payable in instal-
ments over a five-year period. The men
were given partial employment, nt good
wages, on the public works in the district,
their first job being the preparation of
timber for the wooden tramway about to
be constructed between Palmerston and
Foxton.
The Central Government of New Zea-
land paid the full cost of each family's
passage from Norway, but the immigrants
were charged for their maintenance in
Wellington, their transport to Palmerston,
and their supply of tools and provisions.
The initial indebtedness of each family
was about 14, which was paid in instal-
ments deducted from the wages earned on
public works.
A second party of Scandinavians arrived
in Wellington on the ship "England" on
March 21, 1871, and was conveyed to the
Manawatu on the steamer "Go-Ahead",
arriving at Foxton on April 8. This party
consisted of 13 married couples, 11 infants,
35 single men, and three single women,
mostly from Denmark. They were alloted
land on the same terms as the Norweg-
ians, except that only 20 acres was alloted
to each single man These sections were
situated at Whakarongo (then known as
Stony Creek), about two miles east of the
Papaioea clearing.
In July, 1871, a Government official re-
ported that the Scandinavians were mak-
ing good progress with clearing a portion
of their sections and assisting with the
public works. "On their first arrival there
was a great popular prejudice, almost
amounting to indignation, against them;
but this feeling has been changed, by the
example of their steady persevering in-
dustry, into one of entire approbation of
their introduction into the country."
By 1874 a writer in "The Official Hand-
book" of New Zealand" was able to state
that "these Scandinavians and Norweg-
ians make good colonists. With few excep-
tions they are frugal, temperate, and in-
dustrious, the result of those habits being
that most of them have already saved
money, while the instalments of payment
for their land in the majority of cases
have been regularly met The result
is now seen in the cleared fields and
numerous two, and four-roomed slab cot-
tages which dot the side of the voad line."
Settlers
The following list contains the names
of the Scandinavians who settled in Palm-
erston North 100 years ago. Many of their
descendants are believed to be titill living
in the Manawatu district.
PASSENGERS OF THE "CELAENO"
(the Swedish immigrant has an asterisk
by his name. All other immigrants were
from Norway):
ANDERSEN, Carl. With wife Anne
ANDERSON, Frededick Unmarried.
ANDREASEN, Johann. With wife
Helene and two infants.
ARNESEN, Arne. With wife Karen and
. two infants.
BERGERSEN, Carl. With wife Karen
and one infant.
*BERGGOIST, V. J. With wife Johanna
and two infants.
BOSEN, Martin. With wife Martha
CHRISTENSEN, Christian. With wife
and one infant.
CHRISTIANSEN, V. C. With wife
Maria and one infant.
GULBRANDSEN, Lanriss. With wife
Ellen and one infant.
GUNDERSEN, Thorkil. With wife Kari
HANSEN, Gulben. With wife Thore
IHLE, Anders H. With wife Martha and
two infants.
JOHANSEN, Berent. With wife Elisa-
beth and one infant.
OLSEN, Edward. With wife Berfhea and
one infant.
PEDERSEN, Jorgen. With wife Anne
and two infants.
PEDERSEN, Nils. With wife Bertha
REINERTSEN, Peter Hagisbert With
wife Marie.
SORENSEN, Berger With wife Karen
and one infant.
32
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
PASSENGERS OF THE "ENGLAND"
(the Swedish immigrants have asterisks
by their names. All others were from
Denmark):
ANDERSEN, Johan David. With wife
Johanna.
ANDERSEN, Lars. Unmarried.
ANDERSEN, Martin. With wife Jo-
hanna.
ANDERSEN, Peter. Unmarried.
ANDERSEN, Peter John. With wife
Marie and two infants.
APPELTORFF, Carl. Unmarried.
ASELIND, Johan Axel. With wife
Johanna.
BERG, Carl W. With wife and one
infant.
BERTHELLS, Hans C Unmarried.
BLIXT, Lars Peter. With wife Sever-
eine and two infants.
BOCKWITCHZ, Robert. With wife
Christine.
BONDE, Christian. Unmarried.
BRANNSTED, Jorgen Fritz. Unmarried.
CHRISTENSEN, Johan Peter. Unmar-
ried.
CHRISTIANSEN, Christian Jessen. Un-
married.
CLEMENSEN, Caroline Unmarried.
ERICKSEN, Johann P.' Unmarried.
ERICKSEN, Peter A Unmarried.
ERENSTROM, Wilhelm. With wife
Christina and one infant.
GRONWALD, Hermann. Unmarried.
GUSTAFSON, August. Unmarried.
HANSEN, John E. Unmarried.
HANSEN, Niels Christian. Unmarried.
JACOBSON, John Alfred. With wife
Carolina.
JENSEN, Jens Unmarried.
JENSEN, Neils. Unmarried.
JORGENSEN, Carl. With wife Frine
Ida.
JORGENSEN, Hans Unmarried.
KINDBERG, Gustaf. Unmarried.
LARSEN, Anna Margrethe. Unmarried.
LARSEN, Hans Peter. Unmarried.
LARSEN, Jorgen Christian. Unmarried.
LARSEN, Lars. Unmarried
*LINDGREN, Christian. Unmarried
LISNER, Johan. Unmarried.
MARIBER (or MARIBOE), Carl. Un-
married.
MOLLER, Peter. With wife Henriette
and three infants
NEI LS EN J e U n m a r r i e d
NIELSEN, Neils. Unmarried.
OLSEN, Hans. Unmarried.
f^N'
J e n s
-
Wi
t h wife Caroline.
OLSEN, Neils. Unmarried.
OLSEN, Oleef. Unmarried
EHRSON, Pehrs. Unmarried.
'
J e n s
Guttsen Unmarried.
E, Christian. Unmarried.
T M ^ '
Chr i s
t i an. Unmarried.
= . . ? '
J o h a n F Wi t
n wife Maria
and one infant.
THOMSEN, Hans Christian. With wife
Else and one infant
2OM, Carl. Unmarried.
ZEFYRESEN, Magnus. Unmarried.
T
HE only Scandinavian settler known
to have written any reminiscences
of his life in oldManawatu is the late
Mr A. H. Ihle, who arrived with the
party of Norwegians in February,
1871.
Mr Ihle worked on the construction of
the tramway between Palmerston and
Foxton and later became a well-known
bridge builder in the district, one of his
first contracts being the erection of the
original Fitzherbert Bridge across the
Manawatu River at Palmerston North.
His name is commemorated in a Palmer-
ston North street name, and some of his
descendants still live in the city. Here are
Mr Ihle's reminiscences:
"It was between July and September,
1870, that an agent advertised in a Nor-
wegian paper for 18 strong families to
emigrate to New Zealand. But what we
had heard of this country made us doubt-
ful. But the agent said: 'There are no
man-eaters there now. You will find the
Maoris a nice race of people', which prov-
ed to be quite correct.
"And what are the conditions? we ask-
ed.
"He said: 'It will cost you nothing and
you will get 10 acres of land, your own
freehold property.'
"And what sort of work are we to do?
" 'Oh, the same sort as you are doing
1
in
your own land bush-felling, road-mak-
ing, farming, bridge-building, or anything
you can put your hand to. And you will
have to sail from Christiana (Oslo) on.
October 5, 1870, in a steamer called the
North Star for London. When in London
there will be another agent to look after
you and take care of you. Any family can
take two children. An interpreter will be
arranged, for most of you cannot speak or
understand the English language.'
Names Taken
Pfcotoqraphs on this page conrlny of Palmerston Worth Public Library.
Nils and Bertha Pedersen, two of the Nor-
wegian settlers who arrived in Palmerston
North in February, 1871. Some of their
descendants are still living in thecity.
Record
Of 100
Years
Ago
"Our names were taken, including the
children's, and instructions given as to
what clothing would be required for the
journey.
"Well, October 5 came and we were all
ready, many of us strangers to one an-
other. Aboard we went and a lively time
we had for a while, some crying, some
laughing, and some probably with a 'drop'
in before going aboard, as there were
many friends to see us off. As we steamed
down the Christiania fjord everything
looked beautiful and many wondered if
ever we would see the dear Old Land
again.
"But the next day in the North Sea!
Oh, my! What a time! The Norwegians
are noted as great sailors, but apparently
we were not, and we had a great shaking
up. However, we landed in London and
were pleased this little journey was over.
The next day we were called upon to be
ready to go to another dock. We all mus-
tered up and marched to some other part
of the city and went aboard. Our luggage
arrived and our beds were fixed up and
we were ready for the long journey. The
interpreter we now had seemed afraid of
his job and we were lucky in getting Mr
Frederick Anderson, who came over the
North Sea with us and was willing to go
to New Zealand. The appointment was
made and everybody satisfied.
"Our little sailing vessel, the Celaeno,
was then put out into the channel and
anchored. We remained there for a couple
of days and had a pleasant time. Then a
favourable wind sprang up and we said
goodbye to England, and the little ship
soon became home to us.
"We lauded in Wellington Harbour on
February 5, 1871, just four months on the
journey. The following morning we were
told that a gentleman was coming on
board for an inspection. This was Dr
Featherston., We were questioned: 'Have
you any complaints against the captain?'
"We all stood alongside the ship's doc-
tor and answered as one man, No.
" 'Any against the ship's doctor?'
"Again, No.
" 'Any against the mate or sailors?'
"Again, No.
" "Well, Captain Renaut, have these
people behaved well on the voyage?'
" 'Yes,' said the captain. 'The .best immi-
grants I have ever taken across the sea.'
" "Well, Dr Gould (the ship's doctor),
what do you say?'
" 'Just the same as the captain.'
"Dr Featherston then said: 'I am pleas-
ed to hear that you are all satisfied. Thissj
afternoon you will be taken ashore, bag-;
gage and all, to the soldiers' barracks.'J
(This was somewhere near the old ^
lington jail.)
we had to carry our children most of the
way. On our arrival here we stayed at the
Palmerston Hotel, which consisted of only
four or five rooms. The women and child-
ren slept on the floor inside the house ami
the men on the verandah. We hail not
lain there long before the mosquitoes
came to welcome us to New Zealand and
to Palmerston in particular, so there was
mt much sleep for us.
"In the morning we were ordered to go
to Awapuni where the Government had
erected a tent for the 18 families to live
in. As soon as we learnt where our sec-
tions of land were we didn't stop long in
the tent. We built huts on our sections on
the Foxton line, between Palmoiston
North and Longburn. Owing to the heavy
flooding of our lands we agreed to send a
man to Mr Monrad, sen., and ask him to
write to the Government about it. Well,
a man came up and confessed it. was
indeed bad. We agreed to get on to the
flat called the township and we started
to erect huts out of split slabs. There was
plenty of bush somewhere ndr Scandia
Street (now Albert Street).
"Oh yes, Palmerston was a wilderness;
all standing bush where you now see
louses and first-class streets, except a bit
of a clearing along what are new Main,
Church, and Broad Streets (Broadway
Avenue). In this part there was manuka,
flax, and scrub a good place for pig
hunting, duck, and pigeon r>hooting.
First Store
D. G. Monrad, the Lutheran Bishop ond
former Prime Minister of Denmark, who be-
came a farmer in the dense bush of the
Palmerston North district.
"We had quite a lot of visitors to see
what sort of people we were. One of the
visitors was a gentleman who could speak
our language. He asked us where we were
going. We did not know, but had been
promised 10 acres of land; Then he told us
not to leave the place till he saw us
again. Ten acres was not enough so far
up in the country. In the meantime we
had a good look at the hills surrounding
Wellington.
"After three or four days this gentleman
came back and told us he had dons some-
thing for us. He had obtained 40 acres for
each family at fl an acre, to be paid in
five years at the rate of 8 a year with-
out interest. He told us that in a day or
two we would be taken to a place called
Foxton in a little steamer, the Luna. The
journey then would be overland.
"In the evening of February 15, 1871,
we arrived in Palmerston from p'oxton
and a hard day's work for us it was, as
"Then things began to move. The first
store was put up, and also a small build-
ing of galvanised iron. This w?s called an
hotel. A sawmill was erected on the
corner of Church and Cook Streets and
later shifted to Terrace End. A.S we now
could get timber we started to build
better huts, mostly of two rooms.
"It was about 18 weeks before we got
any work, but we felled some of the bush
on our sections. The Government supplied
us with provisions which would be paid
for when we got work. We got work road-
making, with those used to axe work
splitting sleepers for the Palmerston-
Foxton tram Four of us, after splitting
sleepers for a while, started pit-sawing
rails for the tram.
"A contract was let for the laying of
the tramway to a gentleman named
Stewart and we were asked if any of the
immigrants understood the work of lay-
ing a tram. I said I had worked on the
railway in Norway and this was not
worse. I left the pit-sawing and was put
on the tram work as foreman and follow-
ed it to Foxton."
emories Of 187
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
. > v . ^ 1
She's just one of the great things
that are happening
to the Railways
*
Like a whole new way of travel? Take the
Blue Streak daylight railcar, between
Wellington and Auckland for instance.
An attractive hostess will serve you
drinks or light refreshments and take
your order for a meal while you relax
in foam rubber comfort.
And next year, Railways' exciting new
"Silver Star" express will start the overnight run
between Auckland and Wellington. You'll be able
to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal in the
dining car . . . order a nightcap at bedtime.
Best of all, you'll have a good night's sleep and
after a continental style breakfast, will arrive
ready to go.
Road Services Travel by Railways Road Services
luxury coaches you'll see the country's finest
scenery on dozens of different routes. You can relax,
listen to the driver's informed commentary and enjoy
the comfort of first class modern vehicles. For luxury
tours Road Services also operate chauffeur - driven
limousines.
Rail Freight Railways are setting a
new pace as New Zealand's national
carrier. In steel, oil, timber, aluminium
and hundreds of growing, important
industries, Railways are keeping the country
moving, backing its importers and exporters
with low-cost, efficient internal transport.
Rail Ferries The great way to travel
across Cook Strait. Railways' two modern
car and passenger ferries make up to
four sailings daily between Wellington
and Picton. Each ferry has a television
lounge, restaurant and shops. You can
enjoy a drink in the lounge bar, and
watch the magnificent scenery on the
3'A hour trip.
Rail Air The ideal way of transporting fruit,
perishables and valuable livestock quickly
and efficiently. Rail Air gets your consignment
to its destination in top condition without
delay and at a competitive cost.
GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING TOTHE RAILWAYS
Railways
Communications And
Transport
O
NE of the reasons why Palmerston North has developed
to its present size is because of its importance as a
communications centre. From the city there radiates a net-
work of roads, railway lines and air routes and the growth
of these means of communication stimulated the growth of
Palmerston North.
In the following pages of this
supplement we shall take a brief
glimpse in to the history of local
communications and means of
transport.
The first roads in the Palmerston
North district connected the isolat-
ed Papaioea clearing with Awahuri
on the Oroua River and Ngawhaka-
rau (near the present Opiki Bridge)
on the Manawatu River. These
roads were constructed by the Wel-
lington Provincial Government in
1866, but they were of little use in
opening up the district, being poorly
drained and unmetalled. It was not
until the Central Government be-
gan its programme of public works
in the early 1870s that the inland
Manawatu was connected by road
to the coast and opened up for
settlement.
A landmark in the development
of local communications was the
construction of the road through
the Manawatu Gorge in 1871-72.
This road, constructed at a cost
of 5000, was one of the most im-
portant lines of communication in
the lower ; portion of the North
Island, for it provided a route for
rapid transport between the east
and west coasts.
The first bridge over the Mana-
watu River was the bridge at the
Woodville end of the Manawatu
Gorge, completed in 1875. It greatly
facilitated rapid transport between
Manawatu and Hawke's Bay and
resulted in the establishment of a
regular coach service between Pal
merston North and Napier.
The second, bridge over the
Manawatu River was the Fitzher-
bert Bridge at Palmerston North,
erected in 1877. It opened up access
to a large block of land cm the
southern bank of the river and
stimulated settlement in the Ackau-
tere, Tiritea, and Linton areas.
The bridge at the Ashhurst end
of the Manawatu Gorge was not
erected until 1886, a "punt being
used on the river until that date.
The first horse-drawn coach ser-
vice of inland Manawatu was estab-
lished in 1874. The proprietor of
this service was Mr Andrew Young,
of Wellington, whose name is com-
memorated in a Palmerston North
street, and his coaches conveyed
passengers between Foxton, Palm-
erston North, and Awahuri. In
later years other coach services
Cnked Palmerston North with all
the smaller rural settlements of the
district.
The pictures on this page show:
1. The road through the Mana-
watu Gorge, pictured about 1S80.
The lone walker is dwarfed by the
towering rock face of the road cut-
ting, and hemmed in by the thick
bush on the right.
2. The passenger coach which
ran between Ashhurst and Palmer-
ston North is pictured outside the
Club Hotel about 1890.
3. The Fitzherbert Bridge in
1877, pictured from the Palmerston
North side of the river. Note the
heavy bush on the Fitzherbert
Terrace.
J
'5*
Pho'oqrophs on this poqe courtesy o Palmerston North Public Library.
04EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. I f f l ,
I
-1
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
j
' J
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1
The Railway
T
HE most important mode of transport in early Manawatu was undoubtedly
the railway, for it was the construction of railway hnes wh.ch opened up
the district for close settlement and stimulated the development of t.mber and
pastoral industries.
The first railway line in and Manawatu Railway Tokomaru. and Linton. Some
the Manawatu took the Company Limited, which of these townships were
form of a wooden tramway was floated in 1881 with a surveyed and rold by the
between Palmorst.on and capital of {500,000. The railway company.
Foxton It was constructed directors and major share-
between 1871 and 1873 and holders of this company The Wellington-Manawatu
provided the Township of were prominent Wellington line remained in private
Palmerston with its first businessmen, many of whom ownership until 1908, when it
means of all-weather trans- owned property in the Was purchased by the Gov-
port to the coast Manawatu and realised the -eminent and became part of
The completion of the line benefit which the railway the newly-opened Main
gave a considerable stimulus would bring to themselves, Trunk line between Welling-
to the sawmilling industry, to the district and to the ton and Auckland,
and thousands of feet of country as a whole.
sawn timber ware railed On P/ l f W Ut>
T h e
P
e n i n

o f t l l e
rail-
each year to Foxton for ship- \s[Jcnw \j f. w a y thr Ough the Manawatu
ment to" Wellington and T j , e i j n e opened up all the Gorge in 1891 completed the
other parts of the country. heavily forested and swampy network of Hnes radiating
j u land at the foot of the Tara- from Palmerston North and
/ OO neaVy r u a Ra n g e s and resulted in placed the town in the posi-
A steam locomotive was the growth of such settle- tion of a major centre of
placed on this lino in 1872 ments as Levin, Shannon, communications,
and assisted with it.; con-
0 Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company's lina about 1886. This picture looks
north from Shannon and shows some of the heavily forested land opened up for settlement
by the railway.
struction, but the engine
proved too heavy for the
wooden lines and was not
used for commercial service.
From 1873 until 1876 the line
was worked by horses, but in
1876 the wooden rails were
replaced by iron rails and
two new locomotives were
introduced to the service.
The first of these was nam-
ed "Skunk" and the second
"Wallaby".
The railway was extended
to Feilding in 1877, and to
Wanganui the next year.
This greatly stimulated the
development of the northern
portion of the Manawatu
and assisted the ;r)owth of
settlements such as Bunny-
thorpe, Feilding, and Hal-
combe.
A landmark in the develop-
ment of the Manawatu was
reached in 1886, when the
line between Wellington and
Longburn was opened for
service. This line was con-
structed by the Wellington
A locomotive of the Palmerston North-Foxton railway in 1876.
This eng'ne may be the 8^-ton "Wallaby", which was later in
service on the Manawatu County Council's iron tramway between
Himatangi and Sanson.
WE ARE HALF AS OLD AS PALMERSTON NORTH
IN 1919
Mr. H. E. EDMUNDS and Mr. L M. JUSTICE established a motor
garage in the S.E. corner of the Square six years later they
moved their premises to where the garage is now situated.
TODAY
52
YEARS LATER
J&E
is still going strong as a private concern and is being carried
their sons, Mr. E. R. Edmunds and Mr. R. W. Justice.
JUSTICE & EDMUNDS LTD .
LM.V.D.
CHURCH STREET Opposite Grand Hotel
PEUGEOT RENAULT DAIMLER & SINGER CARS
The Palmerston North Railway Station in the Square, as it ed in the centre of the Square, on the site now occupied by west in 1891, and to its present site in Tremaine Avenue in
looked in 1885. The township's first railway station was situat- the War Memorial. The station was moved to Main Street 1963.
# Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
:
* Diesel Fuel Injection Sales and Service
k Automotive Electrical Sales and Service
* Exchange Generators, Starter Motors and
Petrol Pumps
* Service Exchange Diesel Fuel Pumps and
Injectors
FOR PERSONAL ATTENTION
ASK FOR
Mr Neil McKeagg
Spare Parts
Mr Gordon Watkins
Workshop Service
Mr Murray Lindsay
Diesel Fuel Injection
JOSEPH LUCAS (N.Z.) LTD.
64-70 Taonui Street
Palmerston North
PHONE 83-006
TODAY, TOMORROW AND EVERY
DAY. PERHAPS FOR THE NEXT
100 YEARS. LUCAS WILL
CONTINUE TO GIVE GOOD SERVICE
TO PALMERSTON NORTH
MOTORISTS
LUCAS Genuine Spares, Accessories and Batteries
CAV Electrical Spares BUTLER Lamps
ZENITH, SOLEX and STROMBERG Carburettors
GIRLING Brakes and Dampers AC Spark Plugs
SIMMS Diesel and Electrical Spares
HITACHI Automotive Electrical Spares GM Fan
Belts
COLLET Wiring Terminals SU Petrol Pumps
Ignition Keys, Automotive Bulbs and Cable Earth
Straps and Starter Cables
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
, i i ! J i \ '. i I I . . I EVENI NG STANDARD CENT ENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. M A R C H 13. 1 9 7 1
Motor Vehicles And
ri l
t'm * * * "*'
m*m <
t i l l Illfi
Si i ni r i l l l l i
MOTOR comet
The invention of the internal combus-
tion engine revolutionised transport
throughout the world, and in the first
decade of the present century motor cars
and motor cycles began to compete with
the horse as the most economic and reli-
able means of transport.
The first motor car in Palmerston North
arrived in 1902 and seems to have been
owned by George Wilson, a well-known
medical practitioner in the town. The
vehicle was a three horsepower Olds-
mobile (1901 model), with tiller steering
and the engine directly under the driver's
seat. A picture of this car appears on
page 8.
The first woman driver in Palmerston
North is believed to have been the late
Mrs W. L. Fitzherbert, who was also the
first woman to win a driving competition
at the A & P Show.
The first motor cycle in the town was
brought from England by the Warburton
family in 1903. It was owned by 18-year-
old Piers Warburton, who gained con-
siderable pleasure from driving round the
Square at a fast speed a pleasure which
is still experienced today by people of his
age. Piers Warburton was killed at Gal-
lipoli in 1915.
By 1908 several firms in Palmfiraton,
North were acting as motor car agents
and as garages, but the trade was still
in its infancy and was closely associated
with the bicycle business. Among- these
early firms were Adams Limited, in the
Square and Rangitikei Street (C. J.
Adams, manager), The Nonpareil Cycle
and Motor Company in the Square (own-
ed by the Pees Brothers), E. Reynolds
& Company Limited, in the Square (H.
Spiller, manager), and John Bett and
Company Limited (later Bett & Bayly), in
Rangitikei Street.
Taxi services began about 1912, the first
owner-drivers being Messrs Baldwin,
Charlie Blackbourn, Claude Flyger, and
Paul Hansen.
LEFT: A "Modern" Maori family.
ABOVE: The first municipal buses in
1921. The Palmerston North Borough
Council started its passenger service with
four Commer vehicles, capable of a top
speed of 30 miles an hour.
The first aeroplane to visit Palmerston
North landed in a farm paddock at the
corner of Gillespie's Line and Tremaine
Avenue on July 31. 1920. Tt was a 90-
horsepower de Havilland aircraft, owned
by the Walsh brothers of Kohimarama,
Auckland, and piloted by 23-year-old Cap-
tain Richard Russell, who had won the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the Croix
de Guerre during World War One.
Flying was a novelty during the 1920s
and the aircraft was on a "barn-storming"
tour of the North Island, offering (iights
to the public at the price of five guineas
a passenger. The plane remained in Palm-
erston North for more than two weeks
and excited great public interest. A pic-
ture of this aircraft appears on page 8
In 1928 a group of local flying enthusi-
asts formed the Manawatu Aero Club
and set about locating a site suitable for
an airfield. An area of 50 acres on Set-
ter's Line, Milson, was found to be suit-
able and was leased by a society known
as Milson Aerodrome Incorporated. The
sum of 500 was raised, and within a few
months the field had been ploughed,
levelled, and grassed ready for use. Milson
Aerodrome was officially opened on
December 5, 1931, the occasion being
marked by an air pageant.
Four years later the possibilities of
establishing a commercial sir service led
the aerodrome society to laase an addi-
tional 75 acres of land and extensive
improvements were made to the enlarged
airfield.
A landmark in the history of local
aviation was reached in 1936, when Union
Airways Limited made Milson Aerodrome
the headquarters of its inter-island trunk
service and established daily flights to
Dunedin. With the inauguration of an
Auckland-Wellington service and an East
Coast service in 1937, Palmerston North
became established as one of the principal
centres of commercial airways in the
North Island.
The aerodrome at Milson has been
owned by the Palmerston North City
Council since 1937, when it was bought for
9500.
BIGHT: "Manawatu", the Miles Hawk
aeroplane flown by McGregor and Walker
in the England to Australia Air Race of
1934. Squadron Leader M. C. ("Mac")
McGregor, seen in the rear cockpit, was
pilot-instructor of the Manawatu Aero
Club at this time.
BELOW: The inauguration of the Palm-
erston North-Dunedin air service at- Mil-
son Aerodrome on January 15. 1936. The
three planes on the right of the photp
were the fleet of Union Airways Limited
and were named "Karoro", "Kotuku" and
"Korimako".
&
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z*
~A^J

u
Thanks Mr Hartley
Just over one hundred years ago a certain
English pioneer, Mr Hartley, stumbled across a
natural clearing in a forest then known as
Papaeoia. Before long a cluster of huts
appeared. One of t hem-t he Post Office. A year
later, in 1871, the Post Office Savings Bank was
opened. And it's still there-much'bigger, much
better. Continuing to serve the community of
Palmerston North. A bustling rural city. Centre
of one of New Zealand's richest farming lands.
Built up from hard-earned money deposited in
the Post Office Savings Bank Money that
earned interest, fast.
Today, a century of service later, the Post
Office Savings Bank offers you the same
chance and opportunity to increase your
capital. With over seven different ways to save,
Whether you intend to build a city or a house,
the Post Office Savings Bank is the way
to get it
You may not have much, but neither did
Mr Hartley.
^>0 i m
0'
o-
O (3j
*U
^ .
Ofr
-.-..
i
xi
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#
<v
. . . The Aeroplane!
he headauarters of its inter-island trunk >^"
Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
!swii!*-^^r
r*<!
POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK
The Peoples Bank since 1867.
PffSff
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EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.',
Communications
Sf f
The first Post Oflico in thu Pdlrn<:rston North district
was opened in 1870. Tho part-time postmaster was a
farmer named David McEwcn, who operated the office
from his house at Karere, about three miles west of the
present settlement of
In 1R71 the Post Office WJIH transferred to .Snelson's
Kcrmral store; in the Pupaioea clearing, and Mr Oeorcre
Snelson was'pjLrt-timc postmaster and registrar of births,
deaths, ;md marriages until 1875. The Government thr.n
erected ;i post and telegraph office on the <:orn<"r of the
Square smd Main Street west, and ;i full-time postmaster
was appointed.
Telegraphic communication was opened between Pal-
merston and Foxton in 1875, and when the line w:is extend-
ed through the Manawutu ("Jor^c five years lator, Palmer-
ston was placed in contact with towns ns fi r north RS
Russell and as far south as Bluff.
In about 1880 the post and telegraph office was moved
to new premises in the centre of theSquare, alongside
the railway station, and the office stayed on this site
until the erection of a new wooden building on the site
of the present Post Office in 1889. This wooden building
is still standing today, being situated between the Post
Office Savings Bank and Hopwood's shop.
A new two-storey brick building, complete with clock
tower, was erected onthe corner of the Square and Main
Street east in 1905-06 and is still in use as part of tho
present Post Office. The clock tower was removed in 1942.
BKLOW: The Post and Telegraph Office in 1875. It
stood on the corner of the Square and Main Street west,
opposite the Commercial Hotel.
# Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
The first newspaper in Pal-
merston North started publi-
cation on October 23, 1875.
It was a four-page produc-
tion named "The Manawatu
Times", and was printed and
published by Joseph Poulter
Leary and George Bond at
a small printing office in
Main Street west, opposite
the end of George Street.
The paper was published
twice weekly and served a
population of. about 600
people.
Unfortunately, no early
issues of the "Times" are
known to be in existence,
but the Palmerston North
Public Library possesses a
copy of another newspaper-
published by Leary and Bond
in 1875. This is the "Skandia",
a paper published inthe Dan-
ish and Norwegian langu-
ages for sale to the large
Scandinavian population of
the district. It was intend-
ed that the first issue of
"Skandia" should appear at
the same time as the first
issue of the "Times", but a
lack of type containing let-
ters peculiar to the Norse
language prevented its publi-
cation until November 18,
1875. "Skandia" had a very
short life, and the copy own-
ed by the Public Library is
the only one known to be in
existence.
The first daily newspaper
in the Manawatu was estab-
lished in 1880 under the
name of "The Manawatu
Standard". Its founder was
an Irish journalist named
Alexander McMinn, who had
previously been editor of
"The Rangltikei Advocate",
a Marton paper founded by
the two partners^ who also
established "The Manawatu
Times".
In 1880 the population of
Palmerston North was about
1300, and it seems remark-
able that such a small town
was able to support two
newspapers. Business com-
petition between the two
publications was inevitable,
of course, but an unfortun-
ate personal hostility also
developed between Mr Mc-
Minn and the second propri-
etor of the "Times", an Irish-
man named J. B. Dungan.
Personal insults and slan-
derous statements made
their appearance in editorial
columns, and in May, 1881,
Mr McMinn successfully
prosecuted his rival for
criminal libel.
The "Times" ceased publi-
cation in 1963, but tha "Stan-
dard" is still publishing
and is now in its 91st year
of publication. Its present
proprietor, the Na.sh family,
has held an interest in the
newspaper since 1903.
CAent/rl fORllH llOl0f.Sirt> tJJ, 3 J - | - 11
TOTnmranosr- TELEVKKK WMI ST;
What a great pleasure it is for Leader & Watt Ltd.
to congratulate our City of Palmerston North on
attaining its century!
What tremendous achievements have been made in
the City this past 100 years, and we feel pride in
having established an Electrical business in the city,
way back in 193T.
As our City has grown, so have we, and we realise
our growth has been due to the continued patronage
of our customers.
For this reason, we take this opportunity to say
"Thank you" to each and every one of you, past and
present, for your loyalty over the years.
Our fleet of vehicles depicted above is a small mea-
sure of our growth, our Showroom, equipment and
staff numbers have grown also.
We feel confident today we will continue to look
after the electrical needs of our City and we trust,
as your children grow up, there will be a Leader &
Watt Ltd. to maintain an excellent service to their
needs.
It is our constant endeavour to keep our service at
its peak and continue to do our utmost to ensure the
continued support of the residents of this progressive
City.
Thank You Palmerston North.
ARMAGHDOWN MOTORS Ltd
LICENSED MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS
MORRIS
BRANCH:
RANGITIKEI STREET,
PALMERSTON NORTH.
WOLSELEY M.G. LEYLAND
HEAD OFFICE:
PRINCESS STREET,
PALMERSTON NORTH.
BRANCH:
KIMBOLTON ROAD.
FEILDING.
SALES WORKSHOP PARTS LUBRICATION PANEL
ARMAGHDOIN MOTORS LTD
JillMlf
it *
t
BRITISH
MANAGEMENT
Managing Director
founded AML 1956
progressive business man-
agement recognised by
award Fellow New Zea-
land Institute of Man-
agement 14 years
Dominion Counsellor N.Z.
Retail Motor Trade Asso-
ciation.
J. E. GREENSLADE
BRITISH
LEYLAND
VEHICLE SALES PARTS WORKSHOP LUBE PANEL
BASIL DOME
Sales Manager 10
years with AML
English motor trade
technical diploma
certificates from N.Z.
Institute of Manage-
ment leads vehicle
marketing team.
PETER PALMER
Assistant Sales Man-
ager I I years with
AML member P.N.
Retail Motor Trade
Association re-
spected all over Mana-
watu and North Island
as leading used car
personality.
GORDON SUNKEL
Parts Manager 4
years with AML 15
years' experience Brit-
ish Leyland parts
automotive parts cer-
tificate known by
all for his personal
24-hour customer ser-
vice.
MICK WALTERS
Service Manager
N years with AML,
from its inception
37 years in P.N. motor
trade, 27 years on
P.N. Retail Motor
Trade Executive
known throughout the
area for realistic un-
derstanding of motor-
ists' service problems.
OWEN CORNELIUS
Service Forenan I
year with AML 17
years British Leyland
servicing Agrade
and member of the
N.Z. Motor Industry
responsible for the
high technical satisfac-
tion guaranteed by our
workshop.
IAN scon
Lube Manager 14
years with AML
qualifications in per-
sonnel management.
Well known by our
many clients for his
courteous attention to
tSeir lubrication and
tyre requirements at
the Amesbury Street
Service Station.
TONY STEFFERT
Panel Manager I I
years with AML
17 years' experience
in panel and paint
work known for his
fair and sympathetic
attention to clients'
panelbeatinq troubles.
I
AH EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971
Early Shops, Factories
M
ANY older residents of the city will have
memories of these commercial and industrial
premises, all of which played an important part in
the economic life of old Palmerston North.
I Snelson's Auction Mart, the Square, about 1885: This
*- building was owned by Mr GoorffC Matthew Snclson,
the fiist storekeeper, auctioneer, land agent, and Mayor of
Palmerston North, and stood on the site now occupied by
the D.I.C Ltd. Mr Snelson conducted his business on this
site from 1871 until about 1890, when he moved to premises
on the site now owned by I'.D.O. in the Square.
2
Manawatu Flourmill, Broadway Avenue, about 1921:
This building was a landmark on the corner of Bread-
way Avenue and Albert Street from about 1910 until its
demolition in 1968. It was the second flourmill on this site,
the first being a small wooden building (see picture on
page 47). The business was established by Richter, Nanne-
stad and Co. in 1878 and sold to James McGill (the
Manawatu Patent Roller Flour Mill Co.) in 1902. Seventeen
years later it was purchased by John Ireland 'The Mana-
watu Mills Ltd.), who sold to Farm Products Co-operative
(Tararua.) Ltd. in 1965.
3
Wood's Shoeing Forgo, Rangitikei Street, about 1690:
This building was situated on the corner of Rangitikei
Street and Cuba Street, on the site now occupied by the
National Bank. The business was purchased by Mr William
Thomas Wood about 1879 and conducted by him until about
1910. The building in this picture was burnt down in 1894
and was replaced by a larger structure. Mr Wood was
Mayor of Palmerston North on several occasions, and also
represented the town in Parliament for eight years.
4
The "Bon Marche", the Square, about 1896: This drapery
and clothing shop stood on the site now occupied by
the D.I.C Ltd. and was one of the best-known businesses in
old Palmerston North. It was established by Mr Charles
Macintosh Ross in 1882 and was known for many years as
the "Bon Marche". A later trade name was "Rosco", an
abbreviation of the name C. M. Ross Co. Ltd. The wooden
premises seen in this picture were later extended in size to
stretch from the Square to George Street, and were replaced
in 1927 bv the four-storey building now owned by the D.I.C.
The business was sold to Milne and Choyce Ltd. in 1959.
r U.F.C.A. General Store, the Square, about 1900. The
O united Farmers' Co-operative Association was formed
in 1895 and was a co-operative business, with shareholding
customers receiving a rebate on their purchases as well as
interest on their capital invested. The store contained
departments for the sale of hardware, groceries, furnish-
ings, drapery, clothing, footwear, wines and spirits,
insurance, grass seed, farm machinery, and building
materials. A staff of nearly 100 people were employed. The
association also advanced money for farming activities.
In 1907 the drapery and furnishing departments were sold
to W. F. Durward and Co. and the grocery, hardware,
produce, and crockery departments were purchased by
John and Thomas Watson in 1910. The building in this
picture has been modernised in recent years and is now
occupied by Watson Bros. Ltd.
AUCTION MA^T.
i
:
. . . . . '
flifJM
1 ' V '
Congratulations to
PALMERSTON NORTH
from
BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES
7
AOEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
i ' . i " . t . ' . ' i J ! . .
Photograph, . this pa, , courtesy of Polmerston
North Public Library.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
T
ODAY, as we look at the City of
Palmerston North and the surround-
ing farmland, it is difficult to imagine
what the landscape looked like 100
years ago. It seems incredible to think
that giant totara and matai trees once
grew on the site of our houses and
gardens, and that rata, rimu, and kahi-
katea once clothed the land where
sheep and cattle now graze.
Only when we visit a locality such as
Totara Reserve, where we can push our
way through the dense undergrowth and
stand in awe at the foot of a majestic
forest giant, do we begin to appreciate the
remarkable transformation of the land-
scape which has taken place during the
past century.
Palmerston North was born in the midst
of a huge native forest and the timber of
that forest was the lifcblood of the infant
settlement. Sawmilling was the first indus-
try to be established in the town and
dui ing the 1870s and 1880s timber was the
principal source of wealth for the inland
Manawatu district.
First Sawmill
The first sawmill to be erected in Palm-
erston North was owned by two young
Scotsmen, Peter Manson and Peter
Bartholomew. Early in 1871 they secured
a Government contract to supply matai
rails for the wooden tramway about to be
constructed between Palmerston North and
Foxton. This contract was worth 600
a considerable sum of money in those days
so the two partners set about removing
their sawmill from the bank of the Mana-
watu River, near Shannon, to the isolated
Papaioea clearing in the heavily-forested
inland Manawatu.
The steam engine was transported to
Ngawhakarau (near the site of the Opiki
bridge) by river boat, probably in a small
steam launch named the "Pioneer", which
was owned by Captain Henson, of Foxton.
After being unloaded, the engine was
hauled from Ngawhakarau to the site of
Palmerston North by a team of bullocks,
owned by Mr Peter Stewart, of Karere
(Longburn). Mr Stewart's diary (preserved
in the Palmerston North Public Library)
shows that he started hauling the engine
on June 28, 1871, and completed the job on
July 1.
This was the middle of winter and the
bad weather had turned the narrow road
between Ngawhakarau and Palmerston into
a sea of mud. Mr Bartholomew has
recorded that the road was so bad"that no
person could walk upon it without sinking
up to his knees", so the engine was placed
on a sledge "and with 16 bullocks and the
use of a large quantity of forcible language
the engine was got to its site."
Messrs Peter Manson (top) and Peter Bar-
tholomew, partners in Pafmerston North's first
sawmill, 1871.
Timber Meant Big
The sawmill was erected at the western
end of the Papaioea clearing (near the
corner of Main Street and Cook Street^ and
went into operation in July or August, 1871.
During the next year it was moved to
Terrace End and re-erected in Fitzroy
Street, on the land now situated between
Limbrick and Knowles Streets. The mill
worked a large stand of totara in this
vicinity, supplying railway sleepers for the
Government and timber for the construc-
tion of many of the first houses in Palm-
erston North. Mr Manson's own house,
erected about 1875, was named "Totaranui"
(large totara) and has been preserved in
the Square as a memorial to its owner and
other early pioneers of the town.
Export Timber
When the wooden tramway between
Palmerston North and Foxton was opened
in 1873, the mill began exporting totara
timber to other parts of the Wellington
Province. Two of its earliest contracts were
for the supply of piles for the Waitotara
bridge and all the timber for the Whenua-
kura bridge.
In 1874 a visitor to the town observed
that "the inhabitants of Palmerston live
on timber. Of course they don't eat timber,
but the proceeds. The Palmerston North
Steam Saw Mill is distant about a mile on
the east side of the township, and it pro-
duces a large and regular supply of timber
which Is conveyed to Foxton, for export by
steamers to Wellington and elsewhere. The
tramway runs right up to the mill. The
mill is owned by Manson and Co. and is
driven by two engines. It produces about
5000 feet of timber daily."
After this mill was destroyed by fire in
1875, Mr Manson started sheep farming at
Terrace End, but he remained in partner-
ship with Mr Bartholomew and the firm
erected large sawmills at Halcombe (1876)
and Kiwitea (1877). Mr Manson retired
from the business because of ill-health and
died at the age of 38 in 1880, but Mr
Bartholomew continued his interest in saw-
milling and later became the pioneer of
the industry at Levin. He conducted a
large timber business in that district from
1888 until his death in 1919, at the age of 81.
Wooden Tramways
The second sawmill to be erected in
Palmerston North was owned by three-
Norwegians, John Rlchter, Jacob Nanne-
stad and Frits Jenssen. They formed a
partnership under the name of Richter,
Nannestad and Co. and erected a large
sawmill in 1874. I t was situated in Albert
Street, between Grey Street and Broadway
Avenue, and was connected to the Foxton
railway by means of a siding from Main
Street.
This mill had an extensive system of
wooden tramways which ran westward
into the bush beyond Grey Street. Branch
lines were laid into various blocks of bush
and the logs were hauled by horses onto
the main tramline, which rah along the
line of Heretaunga Street. For many years
this street was known as Tram Street, but
the Borough Council changed the name in
1917 and so Palmerston North lost an
interesting link with the early sawmilling
industry.
The firm of Richter, Nannestad and Co.
played an important part in the develop-
ment of local industry, for it owned several
sawmills in the district and also erected
Palmerston North's first flourmill. One
sawmill was situated at Bunnythorpe and
another at Hokowhitu (near the corner of
Albert Street and Stewart Crescent), while
the flourmill stood on the corner of Albert
Street and Broadway Avenue, on the site
occupied until recently by Manawatu Mills
Ltd. The firm also owned sawmills in
Hawke's Bay.
During the 1890s Richter, Nannestad and
Co. experienced financial difficulties and its
sawmill in Albert Street (near Broadway)
passed into the hands of the Palmerston
North Sash, Door and Timber Company
Limited, which was formed in 1892. This
firm rebuilt the mill into a large 3ash and
door factory, which obtained its timber
from sawmills in the Pohangina Valley
and Hawke's Bay. The factory was destroy-
ed by fire in 1910 and was not rebuilt.
Early Mayor
Richter, Nannestad and Co. continued to
operate their sawmills in Hawke's Bay and
their flourmill in Palmerston North until
about 1902, when the partnership was
dissolved and the mills sold. John Richter
died in Palmerston North in 1904 and
Jacob Nannestad and Frits Jenssen both
Business For
District
Mr Jenssen was Mayor of Palmerston
North in 1882-83 and for many years his
name was commemorated in Frits Street
(now known as Russell Street). The name
was changed during the First World War,
when the Borough Council (during a fit
of misguided patriotism) decided to erase
all street names which they believed to be
of German origin. Thus was lost a worthy
tribute to a worthy Norwegian, and today
the names of Richter, Nannestad and
Jenssen are all but forgotten by the resi-
dents of Palmerston North.
Other sawmills erected in Palmerston
North during the 1870s include those of
W. M. Summerhays (possibly situated on
Maori land at Hokowhitu), Charles Nee
(near Brightwater Terrace) and Gillies
and Henderson (at Kelvin Grove).
The opening of the railway between
Palmerston North and Wanganui in 1878
greatly stimulated the growth of the saw-
milling industry and mills sprang up
alongside the railway line, with timber
being railed to both Foxton and Wanganui.
In June, 1879, the Manawatu Times
reported that there were 23 mills operating
in the Manawatu district, 20 of them being
situated adjacent to the railway between
Halcombe and Palmerston North. Another
group of mills sprang up alongside the
Wellington to Longburn railway after it
was opened in 1886.
Less than 20 years later, however, saw-
milling was no longer a major industry
in Manawatu, In 1905 a report by the
Commissioner of Crown Lands revealed
that there were only nine sawmills at work
in the district between Apiti in the north
and Shannon in the south. Most of these
mills were situated in the Pohangina
Valley and along the foot of the Tararua
Ranges, and none were at work in
Palmerston North.
In 1875 "The Official Handbook of New
Zealand" stated that the Manawatu district
contained "an almost inexhaustible supply
of the most valuable sawing timber." Thirty
years later this timber supply was almost
exhausted. It took only one generation of
European settlement to sweep away fore-
ever the majestic forest of 1000 years'
growth.
The removal of the forest was inevitable,
but it is a great pity that so little of the
timber was used for commercial purposes
and so much was destroyed by fire in the
eagerness of settlers to establish farms. It
is also a sad commentary on the foresight
of our pioneers that the present-day resi-
dents of Palmerston North have to travel
many miles to the Pohangina Valley to see
an area of native forest in all its majestii
glory.
A AEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY
* A - - . M ! , . I J W- H ' / , ! I If \l .
SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
l i S H
0 , U b r a r y
WE'VE PUT OUR HEART
IN THE MANAWATU...
Construction of Library Building
With over 90 years experience in the con-
struction field, the growth of J. L. McMillan
& Lockwood has been synonomous with that
of the Manawatu.
Many of the major constructions in Palmerston
North have been executed by our company;
Schools, University Buildings, Commercial,
Industrial, Civic and Government Buildings,
and we feel that by helping build the Mana-
watu, we are part of this progressive com-
munity.
With the development of Palmerston North
we have engineered new developments and
techniques, and have expanded and grown.
With branches in Auckland and Gisbome and
with our subsidiary Lanwood Industries, we
too are keeping our eyes confidently on the
future.
Design and Construction of
Manawatu Co-operative Dairy Factory
Construction of Palmerston North Railway Station
and still building..
LOCKWOOD
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971. 45*
ALEXANDER CLARK LTD
1905-1977
P? DiLXDLDURSGENERALMERCHANTS
Photograph 1923 25 Fitxherbert Avenue
MR ALEXANDER CLARK came from Dunedin to
Palmerston North in 1905 and started the business
known as ALEXANDER CLARK LTD. From humble begin-
nings this firm has matched the progress of the City
and feels proud to have assisted in its development
during these years.
Mr Clark now enjoys his retirement in the city.
The firm hopes to play its part in the next
100 years of this very pleasant City.
Mr Alexander Clark
^ LA S fc- |: L- C ! X 11 sr S
Photograph 1971 (same site) 25 Fitzherbert Avenue
Manawatu's Store for Paint Wallpaper Glass Pictures Drapes Pre-Cut Furniture
I
This was taken from Hie corner of Main Street and Albeit
Street and looks north toward Broad Street (now Broadway
Avenue), which runs across the picture in the middle distance,
but is partially obscured by fences and stacks of timber. The
timber yard was owned by the Palmerston North Sash. Door
and Timber Company Limited and was situated between Main
Street and Broad Street, on the site now portly occupied by
Briscoe's building. The railway line in the photograph is a
siding which ran from the railway in Main Street to the flour-
mil and the sash and door factory. The tall white building in
the middle distance was Palmerston North's first ftourmill,
erected by Richter, Nonnested and Co. in 1878. It stood in
Broad Street, near the corner of Albert Street, on the site now
occupied by the Self Help Supermarket. This wooden flour-
mill was replaced by a much larger structure of concrete and
corrugated iron about 1910, and this second mill was a land-
mark of Terrace End until its demolition in 1968. Beyond the
flourmill, on the far left of the picture, can be seen the factory
of the Palmerston North Sash, Door and Timber Co. Ltd. It
stood in Albert Street, midway between Broad and Grey Streets,
and occupied the site of Richter, Nannestad and Co.'s sawmill,
erected in 1874. The sash and door factory was in existence
from 1892 until 1910.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
ACEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971. . LiU.'<3i
l ^
Since 1930
LONG
LONG & CO
REAL ESTATE AGENTS
Display Centre Building
The Square
The Firm with 40 Years' Experience
LONG
SPECIALISTS IN HOUSE PROPERTIES
SERVICE EXPERIENCE INTEGRITY
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
: . . . . . : . . . : ; . . : ; . . . . ; . . . . . . . : : . . . . - ; . ; . . .
Flax
Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
Mr Alf Yorsron, swamp manager of the Miranui Mill, pictured standing among mature
flax in the Makerua Swamp in 1917.
T
HE majestic green leaves of Nw Zealand flax can be seen in many
gardens in Palmerston North, but few people realise that this humble
plant was once a major source of wealth for the Manawatu district. Sixty
years ago there were more than 20,000 acres of flax plants growing along
the banks of the Manawatu River, and local flaxmills were producing
about 14,000 tons of flax fibre each year, which was about 80 percent of
the total fibre exported annually from New Zealand. Flaxmilling was then
one of the most interest!, 3 and imporfant industries of Manawatu.
The Now Zealand flax plant, known to
the scientists as Phormium tenax, contains
in its long sword-like leaves a strong,
coarse fibre, suitable for the manufacture
of cordage and textiles. In pre-Eurooean
times the Maori people made extensive use
of this fibre, extracting it from the leaves
with the aid of a mussel shell and prepar-
ing it for use by a slow and laborious
process of pounding, scraping, and wash-
ing. This effort produced a very soft and
pliable fibre, which could be twisted,
plaited, or woven into clothing and other
items. It could also be dyed with earths and
vegetable materials.
Europeans were quick to realise the
commercial possibilities of New Zealand
flax, and between about 1830 and 1860
a considerable amount of fibre was pur-
chased from the Maoris and sold to rope-
makers in Australia and Britain. A small
cordage industry was also established in
New Zealand, and by the 1850s there were
five or six rope-makers at work on the
banks of the Manawatu River. They pur-
chased fibre from the Maoris, spun it into
ropes and twines, and then sold this
cordage in Wellington.
Mechanised
The Maori method of extracting fibre
from the leaves of the flax plant was later
replaced by a mechanical process, consist-
ing of a machine known as a "stripper' .
This machine, invented by an Auckland
engineer in 1867, extracted the fibre by
means of percussion, the flax leaves be-
ing fed between a revolving metal drum
and a fixed metal bar. Metal projections
on the surface of the drum struck the leaf
at a great speed and so stripped the non-
fibrous tissue away from the strands of
fibre. This invention revolutionised flax-
dressing, for it enabled large quantities of
fibre to be produced quickly and cheaply,
and thereby made possible the establish-
ment of an extensive export trade.
On the international market, however,
New Zealand flax had to compete against
several high-quality fibres, the most im-
portant of which were manila (from the
The Foxton flaxmills of 1912. This view is looking downstream toward the mills of H. Berry, H. Greig, G. Coley, and A. King.
AQEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
Major
Philippine Islands) and sisal (from Central
America and East Africa). Unfortunately
flax was never able to equal the importance
of these fibres, and so the fluctuations of
supply and demand connected with manila
and sisal greatly influenced the fortunes
of New Zealand flaxmilling.
The first Manawatu flaxmills were
erected in 1869-70, when there was a
shortage of manila fibre on the world
market. This produced a "boom" in the
flax industry and for about three years
there were six flaxmills at work in the
Foxton district. Two of these mills were
powered by water-wheels, two others were
driven by small steam engines, and a
further two were operated by horses walk-
ing round and round in a circle. The
largest and most efficient mill was owned
by Mr. C. J. Pownall, who was the first
person to establish a flaxmill in the town-
ship of Foxton.
The fibre produced by these mills was
shipped to Wellington and then exported
to London, where the highest prices re-
ceived were between 35 and 40 a ton. In
1873, however, the market slumped and
when prices fell below 20 a ton all the
mills closed down.
The market remained depressed until
1888, when a sudden demand for binder-
twine in the United States caused the price
of New Zealand flax to rise to more than
40 a ton. Flaxmills sprang up like mush-
rooms and by December 1889 there were
over fifty mills at work within a 10-mile
radius of Foxton. Most of these mills were
situated on the banks of the Manawatu,
Oroua, and Rangitikei Rivers, but there
were also several mills at work on the
edges of lakes, streams, and drains between
Sanson in the north and Levin in the
south.
Short-lived Boom
This boom was short-lived, however, for
in 1890 the price of flax fibre dropped to
21 and most mills went out of business.
The reasons for this slump were an
increased supply of manila on the
American market, and the poor quality of
much of the fibre exported from NewZea-
land. Many inexperienced men rushed into
flaxmilling when prices were high and
these millers became the industry's worst
enemies, for they made no attempt to
produce fibre of a uniform quality.
Prices remained low for several years
and by 1895 only six flaxmills were at work
in the Manawatu district, all of them
operating on a small margin of profit, and
often having to close for several months of
the year.
In 1898, however, the Spanish-American
War broke out in the Philippine Islands,
resulting in a serious shortage of manila
and a corresponding demand for substitute
fibres. Once again a mushroom growth of
flaxmills occurred in the Manawatu, but
this time there was no sudden slump in the
market. Prices remained high for 10 years
and during this period flax fibre establish-
ed a good reputation on overseas markets.
This was largely due to an improvement
in the quality of the fibre, which was
brought about by the introduction in 1901
of compulsory grading. This grading was
carried out by officers of the Department
of Agriculture, who Inspected each con-
signment of fibre and assigned a grade to
each bale, thus ensuring that overseas
buyers purchased fibre of uniform quality.
Flaxmillers also began to realise the
advantage of large-scale flax cultivation
and manufacture, so companies were form-
ed to purchase swamp land and erect mills.
A more scientific approach was adopted
toward the problems of the industry, with
the result that important improvements
were made in' the efficiency of flax-dressing
machinery and the designing of mill build-
ings.
One of the most significant improve-
ments in mill design was. the replacement
of small one-stripper milts by larger
structures, containing several stripped
under the one roof. The largest of these
new mi l l s w a s t h e s e v e n _s t r . "Miranui"
( the Big Mill") owned by A and L. Sei-
Source Of Wealth
fert's Klaxdressing uo. Ltd. and situated
near Shannon. It was opened in 1907. Other
mills containing three or more strippers
were owned by George Craw (Linton), the
Tane Hemp Co. Ltd. (Opiki). the Opui
Fibre Co. Ltd. (near Opiki), and Whitaunui
Ltd (Moutoa).
All these mills owned large blocks of
flax in the Makerua Swamp, which was
the largest commercial flax-growing swamp
in New Zealand. It was situated on the east
bank of the Manawatu River and stretched
from Linton in the north to Shannon in the
south. At the peak of its production (in
1916-17) it contained more than 14,000 acres
of flax, which supplied green leaf to 43
strippers located in 18 mills.
When the war came to an end. however,
there was another slump in the fibro
market, and during the 1920s the fhixinill-
ing industry declined in importance. This
was partly due to the widespread damage
caused by "yellow leaf", a virus disease
which attacked the flax plants
;
n the
swamps, but it was also a result of increas-
ing competition from the sisal fibre indus-
try of East Africa.
Land owners in the Makerua Swamp
began to convert their properties from fUiX
to pasture, and an extensive programme of
stopbanking and drainage was carried out
by the Makerua Drainage Board. By 1928 a
system of roads had boon constructed
through the area and many of the old
flax blocks had boon subsividod into siiall
farms, which Were gradually developed
into tho productive properties of present-
day Opiki.
Industry Saved
The depression of tho 1930s brought an
end to the export of flax fibro. Pricos drop-
ped to below 15 a ton and even with tin
1
aid of a Government subsidy the flaxmills
of the Manawatu were gradually forced out
of business. By 1934 only four mills were
in operation, all of them situated in tho
Foxton district.
The industry was saved from extinction,
however, by tho development of a. local
market for the production of woolpacks,
used for covering New Zealand's wool clip.
A public company known as New Zealand
Woolpack and Textiles Limited was formed
and a factory for the manufacture of
woolpacks was erected at Foxton in 1934.
Six years later the New Zealand Govern-
ment acquired a controlling interest in this
company, and also purchased the Moutoa
swamp, which was subsequently improved
as a flax-growing area by the work of the
Department of Agriculture.
Today, the flax industry is still an
important part of Foxton's economic life
and in that township can be seen the only
flaxmill now operating in Manawatu. How-
ever, flax woolpacks are being gradually
phased out of production by Now Zealand
Woolpack and Textiles Ltd.. so it appeals
that an interesting Manawatu industry is
now ontoring the final stage of its
existence.
Second Largest
The second-largest swamp in the district
was the Moutoa Swamp, situated >n the
north bank of the Manawatu River be-
tween the Shannon Bridge and Foxton. It
contained about 4000 acres of flax and was
the chief source of supply for the flaxmiUs
of the Foxton district. The swamp was
owned by the firm of Stevens, Easton and
Austin, who sold flax on a royalty basis to
t'.-e Foxton flaxmillers. A fleet of small
steam launches transported the bundles of
flax from the swamp to the mills, six
of which were situated on the riverbank
within the Borough of Foxton.
Market prices fluctuated considerably be-
tween 1908 and 1915, but the reputation of
flax fibre and the increased efficiency of
the industry enabled production to be
maintained. During the First World War
the demand for fibres increased greatly
and prices for New Zealand flax reached
an unprecedented height, with a record
annual average of 58 a 'ton being paid
during 1917-18. All the Manawatu mills
were worked to capacity, and between 1915
and 1918 more than 40,000 bales (8000 tons)
of fibre passed through the port of "J"oxton
each year.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The "Miranui" mill near Shannon was the largest ftaxmill ever built in New Zealand. Established in 1907 by A. and
Company, the mill was sold to Miranui Ltd, in 1928. It closed down about six years later.
Seifert's Flaxdressing
WH4T HAS GONE ON BETWEEN
1870 1970
Plenty of Rain, Sunshine & Wind
Lots & Lots of Houses Built and
Many Many Plants Planted
Think of the difference there would be
today in this fair city if nobody had
Planted Trees, Shrubs, Roses, etc.
Join the Crowd and be a Beautician,
and help with giving this city a face lift.
WE AT
GARDEN (JCENTRE
Will give you all the help and advice
to plan and establish a beautiful garden
as a setting for your home.
LOOK FOR THIS SIGN
ON
PIONEER HIGHWAY
GARDEN ^ C E N T R E
THE HOME OF GOOD PLANTS
OPEN
Mon - Thurs
9 a.m. -
5.30 p.m.
Friday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m
Saturday
8 a.m. - 12 noon
FREE PARKING Helpful & Friendly Service.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
P T ;,
S SS SB SB S BSSSBSSS
III
11' il! 11
ORE,.- T*
EMI ER OEPARTM
shop today
in the store
tomorrow!
Constant planning,
continuous expansion,
employing the latest buying
and selling techniques, make
PJXC the store that's a
step ahead always!
Like all big department stores, P.D.C. has a huge
turnover of goods, which assures you of buying the latest
merchandise at the most competitive prices.
P.D.C. is a quality store and you'll find everything
under the one roof! Buy anything you need for the house. . .
Furniture, Home Appliances, all types of Interior Fittings,
Draperies, Kitchenware, Manchester, Mnswear, etc it's
just a matter of moving from one department to another.
P.D.C/s buyers are expert in their field that's
why you always get quality at the best possible price.
The competitively priced Co-op Grocery Specials are
also available in the up-to-the-minute Grocery department.
The first floor features all aspects of Ladies' Fashion,
including Shoes, Foundation Garments and Underwear.
Take the lift and you are in their bright, airy Tea-
rooms, with a panoramic view of The Square here you
can relax in friendly, comfortable surroundings.
And then, as you leave the P.D.C., there is this one
last service for the busy housewi f e. . . the self-opening
magic doors.
SHOP P.D.C. - PALMERSTON NORTH
THE STORE OF TOMORROW!
^
Why go further than P.D.C.
FREE PARKING
in their
Four Car Parks
P.D.C. can boast that it has more ground level parking
space than any other department store in New Zealand. Do
your shopping in comfort don't worry about parking
meters, just park your car in one of our FOUR FREE CAR
PARKS!
PDC
L THE PREMIER STORE i
50
EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1 9 7 1

i
?
I
Pastoral Industries
T
HE story of Palmerston North is also
the story of the surrounding country-
side, for the two have been interdepend-
ent in their historical development and
are still interdependent today.
Palmerston North owed its existence and growth
to the development of the surrounding countryside,
firstly in the milling of the bush, and then in the
farming of the cleared land.
In 1871 Palmerston North was an isolated saw-
milling township, encircled by thousands of acres of
native bush, but as that bush was gradually replaced
by pasture, so the township flourished in proportion.
Thirty years after its establishment, Palmerston North
was the centre of a prosperous agricultural district
and was encircled by thousands of acres of pasture.
The population of the township rose from about 200
people in 1871 to more than 6500 in 1901.
Grass was, and still is, the basis of Manawatu's
pastoral industries. The district's fertile soil and
kindly climate enables pasture growth to continue
throughour the year, thereby establishing Manawalu
as one of thebest farming areas in New Zealand.
In the following pages of this supplement we
will illustrate the transformation of the countryside
from bush to pasture, andoutline the development of
the grain andseed industries, the dairy industry, the
sheep farming industry and the meat industry.
Breaking In The
B
REAKING-IN was a term used by the early settlers to
describe the process of developing the land from bush
to pasture. It is an appropriate term, because it describes
the physical struggle involved in this process.
Man attacked Nature and
destroyed the forest with axe, saw,
and fire, but Nature did not yield
easily and many a tree broke a
mans' limb, or crushed him to
death. The farms of Manawatu
were born from the sweat and tears
of the pioneers.
There were five stages in the
breaking-in process felling, burn-
ing, sowing, stumping, ploughing
and each of these will now be de-
scribed in turn.
Felling The Bush
Bush felling usually took place
during the winter months and was
carried out by groups of men known
as "bush-whackers". This name
probably arose from the sound of
the axe "whacking" into the tree,
although cross-cut saws were also
used for bush felling.
"Bush-whackers" were sometimes
itinerant labourers who owned no
property in the district, but often
they were local farmers who found
it necessary to earn extra money
by felling bush on a neighbouring
farm. Many of the "bush-whack-
ers" during the 1870s and 1880s
were immigrants from Scandinavia.
The dense undergrowth was cut
with axes and slashers to within
about six inches of the ground (a
job known as "underscrubbing"
and then the trees were felled with
axe and saw. Small trees Were cut
about two or three feet above
ground level, but larger ones were
cut at a height of about seven or
eight feet, because at this height
they were softer, straighter-grainr
ed and easier to fell. In order to
cut at this height the "bush-whack-
ers" stood on "jigger boards",
specially shaped wooden boards
which were inserted into cuts in
the tree trunk (see accompanying
photographs). The height of a
"jigger board" could be easily
adjusted and its springiness en-
abled the axeman to make deeper
cuts.
Another technique used in bush
felling was the "drive". Several
large trees standing close together
in a line were "scarfed" (partly
cut) on one side and then a "driver'
tree was felled so that it crashed
against the nearest of the "scarfed"
trees and set in motion a line of
falling timber.
lush felling at Komako in the Pohangina Volley about 1904. This picture shows a group of Axemen on jigger boards are shown fellina white -!
men employed by Dick Poit and Alex Stewart, who had a contract to fell bush on the property The jigger boards enabled the axemento a e t ! / '" ***
L e v i n d i s t r i c t a b o u t 1 9 0 4
new owned by Mr J. H. Rutherfurd. . -___, ..... Tr sp""9 into their strokes, and allowed for
a
oeeper cut in thetree trunks.
52
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
Photographs on (his pag. courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
URING the summer
months the felled bush
dried out and in the
autumn it was burned.
Spectacular columns of
oke sketched skyward
d flames roared across
the landscape, devouring
the fallen giants of the
forest.
In 1877 the editor of The
Manawatu Times newspaper
recorded that "the smoke that
encircles our township by day
and the lurid flames by night
tell of the advent of March
a month fatal to our sylvan
giants. Huge gaps are being
made in the bush, and from
almost every point of the
compass may be seen arising
columns of smoke, spreading
themselves in fantastic cloud
wreaths and not infrequently
descending on the town itself.
Wit appears that our settlers
are availing themselves of the
privileges of the season, and
although the smoke may in-
convenience us and the
charred avenues offend the
eye, we must accept all thank-
fully as a mark of local
. progress."
Burning the bush was a
relatively easy and inexpen-
sive way of clearing the land,
but it also had its disadvan-
tages. A change in the
strength or direction of the
wind sometimes caused the
fire to spread on to neigh-
bouring properties, destroying
fences, houses, and livestock
and endangering the lives of
settlers.
The accompanying picture
depicts a bush fire in the
Pohangina Valley about 1904.
This burn took place on the
western side of the valley, in
the locality now known as
Mount Richards, and destroy-
ed about 300 acres of bush on
the property owned by the
late Mr F. Roberts. This pic-
ture was awarded the first
prize in an international
photographic competition, the
photograper being the late Mr
C. E. Wildbore, of Pohangina.
The World knows this Kiwi
Just as the Kiwi symbol of the New Zealand
Insurance Company is found all over the world
so, too, you'll see it in the Manawatu.
The branch was opened in 1948, but prior to
that through the office of a representative NZI
has been a partner in the progress of the whole
district. Backed by its experience, financial
strength and international reputation, NZI holds
the "Key to Security" for businessmen, farmers,
industrialists and householders alike.
For advice, practical assistance and experienc-
ed counsel on all insurance matters, see NZI.
CONGRATULATIONS TO PALMERSTON NORTH AS IT CELEBRATES ITS PROUD ANNIVERSARY
First in Insurance
NZI
Manager: R. R. McKay. 32 Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North.
THE NEW ZEALAND INSURANCE CO. LTD.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.'
53
I
A
S soon as the burn was completed the farmer sow-1
ed grass seed amongsr the charred stumps and
logs. The layer of ashmade a Tert.le seed-bed and
the luxurianT growth of grass helped prevent the
establishment ot manuka, tern, bidi-bidi and other
weeds.
The grass seeds usually sown were ryegrass, dogstail
and cocksfoot, and crops of seed were often harvested from
the pastures for a few years before they were grazed (see
the series of pictures on pages 60-61).
In the accompanying picture below Mr Thomas Harrison
can be seen sowing Kentucky Blue Grass seed on his hill
country property near Utuwai, in the Pohangina Valley
This picture illustrates the appearance of the landscape
immediately after the bush had been burned.
An entire farm was not cleared and sown in one season
The usual pattern was to burn and sow only a portion of
the property in the first year, and then to gradually "break-
in" the remaining land over a period of five or 10 years In
this way the property provided the farmer with a means of
subsistence while further clearing was taking place.
The picture (left) provides a good pictorial record of a
I
{
something in common?
Sure have.
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Over a century of service. Meeting new needs.
Welcoming the 'now' generations
The only trading bank owned by New Zealanders!
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Bank of New Zealand
54EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 197T.
A tradition %aorth keeping
partially-developed farm at Umutoi, in the Pohangina Valley,
about 1904. In the background, behind the four-roomed
cottage, can be seen an area of bush still to be cleared, while
, in the left foreground is the cowshed, where about 30 cows
were milked. Note the abundance of charred logs and
stumps. This farm was owned by Mr Alfred Wycherley,
who purchased the 200 acres of standing bush about four
years before this picture was taken.
A good burn destroyed all the undergrowth and many of
the smaller trees, leaving only a charred debris of larger
logs and stumps. There was no need for the farmer to clear
this timber from the land immediately, because sheep and
cattle were able to graze among it and with the passing of
the years many of the logs decayed and rotted away. The
stumps of the larger trees, however, remained intact and
had to be removed before the paddock could be ploughed.
This, process of. removal was termed "stumping" and
required a great deal of physical labour. The smaller stumps
were levered out with an instrument called a "stumping-
jack", which could be operated by one man, but many of the
larger stumps could not be extracted without the use of
horses, bullocks, or traction engines. When the stumps in one
paddock had been hauled out they were grouped together
and burned. Pictured below is Mr Ted Brogden's bullock
team at work on Mr C. N. Rowes farm, Rowes Line
Rongotea, in 1900. RIGHT: Mr Frederick Johansen at work
on his Palmerston North property about 1897.
YEARS FOR
PALMERSTON
NORTH
the Maple congratulate
Palmerston North on its
100th year
j
(Imagine! Only 40 years to
our very own centenary)
YEARS FOR THE
Maple
r
For 100 years, Palmerston North has served theever growing Manawatu, and for 60 years the Maple has
served Palmerston North. With the biggest-ever Selection of top quality furniture, home furnishings and
home appliances in our big three-storeyed store with the most convenient low deposit, easiest credit
terms (established since the pioneer days) with the guarantee of satisfaction on everything you buy
with thefriendly, efficient service the Maple is known for these are the reasons we have grown with a
growing city. Come onin, and see for yourself. In another 200 years we'll still be here serving a bigger
Palmerston North.
GROUND FLOOR
^ Lounge Furniture
f Home Appliances
Carpets
f China and Sifts
FIRST FLOOR
Bedroom Furniture
Soft Furnishings
Bedding
Manchester
SECOND FLOOR
Dining Furniture
f Prams
Nursery Furniture
Linoleums
PHONE 82059
I tut n i ) . : i ! H ? / , nun, t,i us EvgNnto* STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURPAY, MARCH n, w 5 5
v
Congratulations Paimerston North on your 100th Birthday
JACQUARD
Being a progressive Company are proud to be part of
a Progressive City.
We hove /osf completed our latest building programme
of 75,000 square feet which was part of our 30,000 square
feet expansion planned over the past six years.
Our newadministration and sales complex completed in January, 1971.
STAFF
Being one of the largest and most vigorous
Companies in the Manawatu, our staff are
proud to be with us. With the installation
of the latest machines from the U.S.A., U.K.
and Germany we will very soon have a staff
in excess of 200. To make working condi-
tions more pleasant and safe, extensive
alterations have taken place in our mill in-
cluding a new heating and fire sprinkler
system.
PRODUCTS
Our large range of products includes school and leisure
socks for the whole family frocks suits and a
complete range of apparel marketed under several
famous brand names. Fabrics manufactured in our Mill
are sold throughout New Zealand to manufacturers and
garments produced from these fabrics are marketed in
New Zealand and many overseas countries. Our famous
Crimpknit and Ouintessa fabrics made from H-Polyester
are a household word throughout New Zealand and
negotiations are in progress for export to the U.S.A.,
Canada and Australia. Being the largest producer of
children's swimwear in New Zealand we take pride in
making the latest styles and comfortable wearing swim-
suits that last for years.
.
Pictured above are some of the most modern and latest machines recently
installed to produce high quality knitwear.
JACQUARD MILLS LTD.
601 Featherston Street, Palmerston North. Phone 78-034.
Ploughing The
Soil
T
HE fifth stage of breaking in the
land was ploughing, a job carried
out in the early days by horses and
bullocks, and in later years by traction
engines and tractors.
The land was ploughed in winter or
spring and the first crop usually turnips
was sown in December. The turnips were
fed to sheep and cattle during the winter,
and in the following spring the second
crop (usually oats) was planted.
Oats were used as grain or chaff for
feeding the farmer's horses and any
surplus could be sold to local contractors
and carters. The third crop was usually
English grasses and clovers, sown as a
permanent pasture for the grazing of sheep
j and cattle. Sometimes there were varia-
tions in this procedure, with wheat being
sown instead of oats, or with grass seed
being sown with the turnips.
The pictures on this page illustrate the
various forms of ploughing through the
years. TOP LEFT: Now only a lingering
memory, the sight of horses in plough
harness. This picture, taken about 1910,
depicts tilling in the Bunnythorpe district.
The picture is reproduced by courtesy of
Mr R. E. Clevely, of Bunnythorpe.
BOTTOM 1JEFT: A bullock, team pictured
ploughing swampy ground in the Linton
area about 1913. BELOW: Recalling the
days of steam. A traction engine pulling
plough shares in the Feilding district about
1910.
Photographs en this pag* courtesy of Palmerston North Public tlbrary.
Service to the Shopping Public of Manawatu
NEW ZEALAND'S GREETING CARD CENTRE ON BROADWAY
SHOWN BELOW . . . an impressive view of H. L. YOUNGS
GREETING CARD DEPT. featuring ten tier cabinets which show
nearly full face of every card for ease of selection. Also HI-BROW
CARDS, GIFTWRAPS, BOWS & RIBBONS etc.
50 YEARS ON BROADWAY
H. L YOUNG LTD., already established as a leading printing
and stationery business since 1901, shifted from their premises
in Cuba St. to newbuildings on Broadway early in 1921.
H. L YOUNG LTD. Palmerston North
One of the Largest Retail Stationery
Businesses in New Zealand.
Established in 1901
Although this Company has been inbusiness for a considerable period of time it wasn't until 1956
when Mr C. Dry was appointed General Manager and Mr Ray Blair joined the Company as Show-
room Manager that the retail side of the business really started to develop. During 1956 the first card
cabinet was installed and twelve months later a further cabinet. In 1959 H. L. Younj;s installed a furth-
er six cabinets which at the time was the largest Greeting Card display in New Zealand. The present
moderisation of the Showroom took place in 1965 followed in 1968 by the latest card display.
ECEVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.C "7
. ?: , { I M A 4 , ' t H W i i / 111* 1111 H , ' ! : ! : : > i i U M I S-M I-:? v f ? ' j
I
f
Arable Farming
T
HE growing of arable crops has
always been an important feature
of Manawatu farming.
As early as the 1840s crops of wheat,
barley, oats, potatoes, turnips, and hay
were bein^ grown along the banks of the
Manawatu River near its mouth, and in
later years these crops were also planted
on the bushland farms of inland Mana-
watu. In 1876 there were 772 acres of crops
in the Manawatu County and by 1882 this
figure had increased to 6964 acres.
At this time the local market for cash
crops was very small, and most farmers
grew cereals and vegetables only for their
own consumption and for feeding to live-
stock. During the 1880s and 1890s, how-
ever, the development of the district creat-
ed a profitable market for crops and by
1900 cash cropping was an important
aspect of Manawatu' s economy. More than
20,000 acres of land in the Manawatu and
Kairanga Counties were planted in crops
in 1906.
Mechanisation also assisted the develop-
ment of cropping. The first reapers and
binders were introduced during the 1880s,
and mechanical threshers arrived during
the next decade. Steam power then became
an important part of the cropping indus-
try, and from about 1890 to 1930 traction
engines were widely used for transporting
and driving threshing mills and chaff cut-
ters.
Well-known agricultural contractors
during this period included J. Milverton
and Son, of Palr.ier.ston North; W. Eggle-
ton, of Bunnythorpe; Gifford and Henson,
of Awahuri; and the Matthews Brothers,
of Mt Stewart.
The development of cash cropping helped
to stimulate the commercial growth of
Palmerston North and led to the establish-
mejnt of seed and produce firms such as
Barraud and Abraham (1892) and Hodder
and Tolley (1899), while the small flour-
mill established by Richter, Nannestad
and Co. in 1878 has now developed into
the large milling business of Manawatu
Mills Ltd.
The pictures show, BELOW: An early
reaper and binder at work in the Feilding
district about 1900. The crop being har-
vested is wheat. TOP RIGHT: Matthews
Brothers' threshing mill at work on Bris-
coe's farm, Awahuri, in 1899. BOTTOM
RIGHT: A traction engine hauling wagon-
loads of grain along Kawakawa Road,
Feilding, about 1910.
Congratulations to the People of
Palmerston North upon 100 years of Progress
Meet
the panel
at WARD
BROTHERS LTD.
Mrs Vera Ward Ray Ward
Paint, Glass, Wallpaper, Picture
Framing Ward Bros, stock all
you want to decorate your home.
They also offer a skilled Glazing
Service and Expert Advice on
all facets of Home Decorating.
REMEMBER WARD BROS.
WHEN YOU WANT TO DECOR-
ATE YOUR HOME.
BEGAN IN
WASHHOUSE
Fifty-eight years ago Ward Bros, of
Cuba Street, had their humble beginnings
in a washhouse in Bourke Street.
This was at the home of Mr W. E. Ward, the
founder of the business who, with his brother,
Mr E. E. Ward, started out the firm in his wash-
house as paperhangers and decorators. It wasn't
long before they moved to premises in Cuba
Street. And it was then that the two partners
set to work to cater for diverse decorative needs.
And in 1935 they opened up their present build-
ings in Cuba Street. The building is still one
of the most imposing in Cuba Street.
The firm is now engaged on all types of glazing
work. Safety glass work on motor cars, reinstate-
ment of shop fronts, and contract glazing.
The company also numbers picture frame work
among its activities.
The manager of the firm now is Mr M. Howell,
Mr Ray Ward, son of the co-founder, is a director
of the firm. And Mr W. E. Ward's wife, Mrs
V. Ward, is still active In the business.
Also working for the firm are Mr I. Macrae,
Mr W. Bethell, and Mr H. Hughes, apprentice.
Merv Howell Ian Macrae
WARD BROS. LIMITED, Phone 88-280. 217 Cuba St.
Newmans
COACH LINES
New Zealand's largest privately owned passenger transport
commenced operating in 1875.
96 years of progress from the Horse and Coach era to the
luxury Landliner of today.
FROM HORSE SENSE TO HORSE POWER
I
A spanking Newman team sets out from Reefton Post Office.
On the top seat is P. J. O'Regan (l eft), outstanding personality
of the Buller.
One of the early Newman, Mitchell buses which was purchased
1911 with solid tyres, chain drive, and note the absence of
the hood.
in
TODAY TRAVEL NEWMANS TRAVEL IN LUXURY
NEWMANS COACH LINES TRAVEL BETWEEN
PALMERSTON NORTH MAIN ROAD WELLINGTON
" " HUTT VALLEY "
TO HAWKE'S BAY
PICTON CHRISTCHURCH
NELSON
CHRISTCHURCH
TAKAKA
NELSON
Newmans
COACH LINES
GO ALONE GO WITH A FRIEND
GO WITH A PARTY
WEST COAST
Book through any of Newmans Depots
or through any Travel Agency.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
COEVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
The Grass
d Indust
"HE six pictures on this
an
T
HE six pictures on this and the
facing page show aspects of the
Manawatu grass seed industry in the
days before scientific plant breeding
d seed testing had been established.
The pictures were* taken about 19C4 by
the late Mr C. E, Wildbore, qf, Pohangina,
who mounted them" in a series entitled
"Grass Seed Raising in the Manawatu." A
set of these photographs has been made
available to the Palmerston North Public
Library through the generosity of Mr G. A.
Hart, of Ashhurst.
Grass seed growing was not confined to
hill country farms such as the one depicted
in these pictures. In fact the most produc-
tive areas were situated on the lowlands
west of the Oroua River and by 1910 the
Sanson district had become famous for its
quality ryegrass and dogstail. Today Mana-
watu still produces a large quantity of
grass seed, most of it being harvested in
the Kairanga County.
Improved Strains
Since about 1910 farmers and merchants
have become aware of the need for high
quality seed and increasing use has been
made of the improved strainsjie^e^oped by
the Grasslands Division of the Department
of Scientific and Industrial Research at
Palmerston North.
A certification scheme has also been
introduced by the Government, with seeds
being tested for purity and germination at
the Department of Agriculture's Seed Test-
ing Station, also situated in Palmerston
North. About 100,000 samples of seed are
tested at this station each year.
The pictures on Page 61 show; TOP
LEFT: Supplies of grass seed were pur-
chased from local merchants and as soon
as the bush had been buint handfuls of
seed were thrown among the ashes and the
charred logs and stumps. This picture
shows Mr Thomas Hanison sowing Ken-
tucky Blue Grass seed on his property near
Utuwai in the Pohangina Valley. BOTTOM
LEFT: The layer of ash helped to produce
a luxuriant growth of grass and during the
summer . months the. seed was harvested.
Th's picture shows 17 men at work with
iazor-sharp sickles, reaping a fine growth
of Sheep's Fescue on Thomas Harrison's
property near Utuwai. BELOW: The cut
grass was bundled up in sacking and
carried to a flat piece of ground, where a
large sheet of canvas provided a floor for
the threshing process. The two men in the
centre of this picture are rhythmically
boating- the grass with wooden flails, an
action which separated the seed from the
stalks.
The pictures on Page 61 show, BELOW:
The seed was packed into sacks at the
threshing floor and then the sacks wove
strapped to a pack-horse and taken to
the nearest road, where they were loaded
on to wagons for transport to town. This
picture was taken on the Pohangina Valley
West Road, near Utuwai. and shows sacks
of Thomas Harrisons grass seed strapped
on >;ack-horses. stacked on a wagon and
piled on the ground. TOP BIGHT: The
seed was carted from the farm whore it
was grown to the warehouse of a seed
merchant in Palmerston North. This pic-
ture shows two wagonloads of Thomas
Harrison's grass seed arriving at Barnaul
and Abraham's premises in Rangitikei
Street, on the site now occupied by the
large B & A building. BOTTOM RIGHT:
This p'cture shows some of the seed-
cleaning machines. inside Barraud and
Abraham's premises in Palmerston North.
After any impurities had been removed,
the seed was packed into sacks and sold
to farmers both overseas and within New
Zealand.
221-223 CUBA STREET PHONE 87-277
tci U POIl t
cNzxt timz uou nauz a kiivatz function
txu ou% azLicioui. C~ninzz iuhhzr
htzhazza in out moazzn kitcnzn.
^zluotz voitnout ouLiaation
^W
!
z iti/j/i/t/ Cdinzi.z tnzaU
to takz aurau.
* TASTY GRILLS
SEA FOODS
PALMERSTON NORTH'S PREMIER
INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT.
OFFERING FIRST-CLASS CUISINE IN
MODERN FULLY AIR-CONDITIONED
SURROUNDINGS.
* CHINESE MEALS
* SALADS
* CHICKEN
* DESSERTS
OVER 7 0
YEARS
SERVICE TO THE FARMING COMMUNITY
HODDER & TOLLEY LTD.
SEED, GRAIN, STOCK FOOD, PRODUCE, MERCHANDISE AND FERTILISER MERCHANTS
We have been associated with the
farming industry for the past 70 years
and look forward to serving it in
the future.
Hodder & Tc,ley's premises ( 1908)
Hodder & ToSley
Ltd.
PALMERSTON NORTH LEVIN FEILDING MARTON
HAWERA MASTERTON ROTORUA NEW PLYMOUTH
CHRISTCHURCH.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
H o d d e r & Tol l ey' s pr emi ses ( 1 9 7 1
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971 - g ^
n
Congratulations 100 Years Palmerston North Standard 1892 -1970; Lion 1970
iflfl
t
^*w
The Standard Brewerv of yester-year.
Fingsairftwot
they uster be
The brewing trade was first
established in Palmerston
North nearly 80 years ago,
although the brewery on the
present site in Featherston
Street was not opened until
1919.
The first brewing licence
was taken out by Joseph
Kutze in 1892 for premises in
Church Street. The business
flourished under the founder
and his son until 1907, when
Mr Kutze, jun., went into busi-
ness in another district.
From 1907 until 1919 the
brewing licence for Palmer-
ston North was not taken up.
Then the four Baker brothers,
Cyril, Newett, Douglas, and
Wyndham, took it up and
transferred it to their prem-
ises in Featherston Street.
From early in the century
they had operated a bottling
store, which had provided
them with their first connec-
tion with New Zealand Brew-
eries, bottling beers brewed
in Dunedin and Auckland.
On November 30, 1919, a
brewery of five hogshead
capacity was put into opera-
tion. It is interesting to know
that the first brew put
through the plant was Stout,
and that the operations of
the firm did not cover licens-
ed hotels, but was purely a
household delivery trade
using a horse and cart to
make home deliveries.
The popularity of the local
beer caused the trade to
flourish, and it was eventu-
ally introduced to hotels. The
inability of the old plant to
turn out sufficient beer to
meet the demand stopped
the brewing of stout in 1945,
and the bottling of beer three
years later.
The original owners, Baker
Brothers, gave thought to a
new plant with greater capac-
ity, and which would keep
abreast with the rapid ad-
vances in brewing technology.
They joined forces with New
Zealand Breweries in 1953,
but the present brewery was
not opened until five years
later. It was designed and
built to produce draught beer
as good as any in the country.
A recent change, which has
ended local association, has
been the change of name
from Standard to Lion Brew-
ery. This was prompted by
the growth of sales of Lion
bottled beer in the district.
The bottled beer is brewed
in Wellington and Auckland,
and the change in name
allows the marketing of both
draught and botf'rd beer
under the one brand name.
Fings airft wot
they uster be
They're getting better all the time.
Birds are chirpier.
Pubs are brighter,
a tie in your pocket), I
andf^f Brown is mighty
The Lion Brewery today, with the new Lion sign replacing the once familiar Standard sign.
W
HEN the early settlers of Mana-
watu began to graze dairy cows
among the stumps and logs on their
newly-born farms, they laid the
foundations of one of the most import-
ant pastoral industries in the district.
Today, the farms of" the Manawatu low-
lands are among the major producers of
New Zealand's butter, cheese, milk powder,
and other dairy products, and the Mana-
watu Co-operative Dairy Company Limit-
ed is the third largest dairy co-operative
in the country.
The dairy cow has been a Companion of
the farmer from the very earliest days
of the district's settlement, for the first
cows were introduced during the 1840s
by the Europeans who settled along the
banks of the Manawatu River near Fox-
ton. As settlement spread inland, further
herds were established and cows arrived
at Karere . (near Longburn) about 1866-67
and made their appearance on other bush
farms in the Palmerston North area dur-
ing the next decade.
MIWM1MWMM8III1MI
Dairying Important
To District
Statistics concerning these early herds
are not available, but it is certain that
they were very small in size and kept
mainly for domestic use. providing their
owners with a regular supply of milk and
butter. Considerable time and effort was
needed to obtain these products, for not
only were the cows milked by hand, but
the butter was also made by an arduous
manual process, often performed by the
farmer's wife and family.
The milk was poured into largo flat
pans and left to set. Then the cream was
skimmed by hand and placed in a primi-
tive wooden churn, the handle of which
required about 20 minutes of vigorous
turning before the cream was churned into
butter. A pair of wooden paddles known
as "butter pats" were used to work the
butter into shape and the finished product
.vas then cooled by being placed in a
well, a stream or a cellar. About three
gallons of milk were needed to produce
one pound of butter.
During the 1870s and 1880s a small local
market for dairy produce began to develop
and farmers sold some of their butter to
nearby storekeepers. The price received
was about 4d a pound, but often the butter
was bartered for tea, sugar, flour, and
tinned goods. Judging by the following
reminiscences of a "pioneer storekeeper",
published in The Manawatu Daily Times
newspaper of 1909, farmhouse butter was
not very reliable in quality and presented
the storekeeper with more trouble than it
was worth.
"You talk about fourpenny butter! Did
you ever see it? Or smell it? Why, if you
tried to sell the stuff now-a-days you would
be had up for selling fermented liquor
without a licence if the Inspector of
Nuisances didn't get you first. They used
to tie it up in cloth certainly, because they
didn't always have bottles, but the store-
keeper had to put it in a can or a keg
as soon as he got it and the butter-room
wasn' t the sweetest place in the world
even then. It wasn' t three precent moisture
content then 33 percent wouldn't have
covered it sometimes by a very long chalk.
The buttermilk used to run out through
the rag that held it more or less together.
The cows were milked in the mud and
the cream was, as often as not, put to set
under the family bed and butter brought
in once a week. Butter! Whew!
Nightmare
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
A small herd of Shorthorn-Ayrshire-cross dairy cows pictured o,i the Scholes' farm in the Pohangina Valley about 1900.
"The fourpenny butter was the very
nightmare of the storekeeper . . . . . How
he was to turn the fourpenny butter into
good money was a puzzle. Outside of the
very limited local market his only chance
was in Sydney, and I know of one pioneer
storekeeper who, after filling 100 kegs with
the very best of his fourpenny butter and
shipping it off to Sydney, proceeded to sit
down and wait for the cheque he would
get. Instead of a cheque he was called
on to pay 18 pence difference between the
sum realised on the 100 kegs and the
expenses thereon.
"And mind you, a lot of fourpenny butter
that hadn't been considered select enough
to go into those kegs was utilised as cart
grease or turned out to the pigs. And as
often as not the pigs turned up their noses
at it. I can tell you the pioneer store-
keepers thanked God when the creameries
started."
ANDREWS FURNISHERS LTD.
"I N THE BETTER VALUE AREA"
184-190 RANGITIKEI STREET TELEPHONE 87-053 PALMERSTON NORTH
Tke pi oneer furnishing house t hat has stood the test of ti me and flourished with the ci ty. Est abl i shed in 1902 ( by t he gr andf at her of t he present gener at i on
conducting the business) when we furnished the rude huts of the pioneer settlers, we have had great satisfaction in dealing with their descendants. By
attention to their requirements and with the provision of values consistent with quality, we hope to further cement our cordial relationship with the modern
generations of Palmerstonians and we look forward to fulfilling their ever growing exacting requirements in the furnishing of their modern homes. Today,
tomorrow, as in the past, we take pride in backing up our slogan FINE FURNITURE FOR FASTIDIOUS FOLK.
Our Carpet Bay, where we offir a very wide variety of quality floor cover-
ings. 0 Measuring and quoting free. 0 Planning and laying by experts.
" e ^ Traders Society
Member
102-STORE
BUYING
STRENGTH
MEANS
BETTER
BUYING AND
SELLING
VALUES
FOR YOU
Another corner of our very extensive showroom, featuring only a very small number
of the bedroom suites we have on display. Shown in the background are some of
the drapes we are featuring.
DINING SUITES LOUNGE SUITES OCCASIONAL FURNITURE VINYL FLOORING MANCHESTER HOLLAND AND VENETIAN BLINDS!
# CONFIDENTIAL TERMS FREE DELIVERY "BUY AND PAY THE ANDREWS WAY"
F. N. ANDREWS FURNISHERS LTD.
184-190 RANGITIKEI STREET TELEPHONE 87-053 PALMERSTON NORTH
62
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971. EVENI NG ST ANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. M A R C H 13, 1 9 7 1 C O
' Photoqrophs en this poo. courtesy ot Palmcrste* Nortk Public Library
BUCK s
BUTTER
Growt h of the Dairy Industry
I
N the decade between 1880 and . . v, ^ ^
1890 dairying took its first steos ZTtJT* tf^fZLZ'yfvS&JSZ SXZJ"^!
B
.
U
_
tte
L.
Was t he ma i n
After the crean. had boon separated the Tho fust trano namo of this .,
The Black Swo.i butter factory, about 1900. Erected in Fitxherbert Avenue. Palmerston North, in 1893. this factory was later replaced by a
larger building on thesame site. Production ceased about 1945.
the decade between 1880 and
1890 dairying took its first steps
toward becoming a major rural indus-
try of New Zealand. Theadvent of
refrigerated shipping in 1882 opened
up an export market for dairy pro-
ducts, while the introduction of the
centrifugal separator and other mech-
anical inventions made possible the
large-scale production of butter and
cheese.
Throughout the dairying districts of
New Zealand, farmhou-e production gradu-
ally gave way to factory production and
'fourpenny butter" was slowly replaced by
products of a higher quality and improved
marketable value.
The dairy industry of the Manawatu
has not received adequate attention from
local historians, and there is some con-
fusion regarding the ownership and dates
of establishment of the earliest factories.
Research by Dr G. C. Petersen has estab-
lished uiat the first butter factory in the
Manawatu was opened at Longburn in
1884, and it is also on record that this
factory was the first in the district to be
owned on a co-operative basis. However,
there is some doubt as to whether this
establishment was the very first dairy
factory in the Manawatu, for a small
cheese factory seems to have been in
operation near Palmerston North before
1884.
Early Record
The owner of this factory was Mr James
Skerman, who arrived in NewZealand
with his wife and nine children in Janu-
ary, 1877. Two months later the family
came to the Manawatu andsettled on 350
acres of bush-covered land at Newbury,
about four miles north-west of Palmerston
North. The property was situated on the
road now known as Skerman Line. The
following details of Mr Skerman' s early
dairying activities were recorded by his
eldest son, Allan, in the "Evening Stan-
dard" of February 26, 1927:
"The first year we felled and burnt 20
The first dried milk factory. 1904. Situated at Bumythorpe andowned by Joseph Nathan andCompany, this factory was destroyed by fire in
a c r e s ( o f b u s h ) a n d t h e n
commenced
1906. bur was immediately replaced by a new building. The dried milk factory of Glaxo Laboratories now stands onthis site.
dairying with about 10 cows. From the
AXZ
BANK
AUSTRALIA AMD NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP UMTTED
congratulate the city of
Palmerston North upon
a century of progress.
Australia and New Zealand Banking
Group Limited is proud to have been
associated with Palmerston North for
all but the first five of the hundred
years that have passed since Palmerston
North has been established.
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too early to open an
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64
cream from the cows we made butter
and sold it to the stores in Palmerston
North and Feilding. Two years later my
father erected the cheese factory at New-
bury which he named "Silverleys" and the
output was sold in Palmerston North and
Feilding. Naturally, for a time, it was not
very large. In the first year of operations
we received only 3592 gallons of milk. . . .
Seven years after the factory started we
received 45,574 gallons of milk, but there
was not much profit in those days and the
lot of the settler was a hard and difficult
one." '
Unfortunately, Mr Skerman' s reminis-
cences do not' record the exact date of
the factory's establishment, but he seems
to imply that it was erected two or three
years after the family arrived at Newbury
(about 1879-1880). This conclusion is con-
firmed by the Manawatu Daily Times
newspaper of July 29, 1903, which report-
ed that "Mr Skerman's factory was estab-
lished in 1880."
The reminiscences of Allan Skerman
state that his father's factory "was the only
one at that period in the district" and
he further stated that "the first Longburn
about 200 cows. Butter was the main
product, although experiments were also
carried out in manufacturing- cheese from
skim milk. Butter, milk, and cream were
sold in Palmerston North and supplies of
butter were also shipped to Wellington for
export. The manager of the factory was a
young Englishman named Joseph Liggins.
who had learned dairy work at Lord
Vornon's private dairy factory in Derby-
shire before emigrating to New Zealand.
Hot Successful
Unfortunately, the Karere butter factory
was not a financial success. An insufficient
milk supply and unsatisfactory equipment
forced the company into liquidation and
about 1886 the factory was sold to Buick
Messrs David Buick, George Davidson, and
Joseph Liggins. Mr Buick was a Kairanga
farmer who later became a Member of
Parliament for Palmerston North, and Mr
Davidson was a farmer of Longburn. Mr
Liggins continued to manage the factory,
which was converted to the manufacture
of cheese and bacon, but the business did
butter factory was started some years
n o t
P
a va n d
the factory was closed about
later." It was also reported in 1907, when
James Skerman retired from farming, that
he was "the first man in the district to
start a dairy factory."
1890.
Mr Liggins then took up land at Toko-
maru and became a well-known dairy
farmer and flaxmiller in that district. He
A careful search through the early news-
a l s o
took an active part in the establish-
paper files of Palmerston North and Feild-
ing will probably reveal further details of
the "Silverleys" dairy factory, but all the
evidence now available seems to indicate
that James Skerman was the first person
in the Manawatu to start the factory pro-
duction of dairy products.
ment of the Tokomaru Co-operative Dairy
Company Limited. He died in 1929.
The third dairy factory in the Manawatu
seems to have been that of Mr James
Bennett, of Te Arakura (near Feilding),
established about 1885, while the fourth
was probably Mr W. W. Corpe's butter
factory at Makino (between Feilding and
The subsequent history of Mr Skerman' s Cheltenham), erected about 1888. Mr Ben-
factory seems to be as follows: During
the 1890s the factory was moved to a
larger building near the corner of Sker-
man Line and Rangitikei Line, and in "K".
1907 it was sold to the NewZealand
Farmers' Dairy Union, which ran it as a
cheesmaking branch of its large dairying
interests.
nett marketed his butter under the name
of "Reliance" and Mr Corpe's trade names
were "Makino", "Safe". "Tip Top" and
During the 1890s the dairy industry con-
tinued to expand and further factories
were erected throughout the district. Some
of these were proprietary concerns, owned
After the cream had boon separated the
farmers returned homo with skimmod
milk, suitable for feeding to pigs and
calves. In 1896 there were eight skimming
stations supplying cream to the Palmer-
ston North buttor factory, those being
located at Bunnythorpe, Kairanga, Stoney
Clock (nowknown as Whakarongo), Ash-
huist. Pohangina. Rangitikei Lino, Foxton,
aai Sanson. Some of these localities lator
established co-operative dairy factories of
their own.
Milk Powder
For about 10 years the Now Zealand
Farmers' Dairy Union marketed its butter
overseas through Joseph Nathan and Com-
pany Limited, a well-known firm of
meichants in Wellington, but a difference
of opinion arose between these two com-
panies and Nat hans started up a dairy
business of its own. In 1903 tho firm
purchased Mr W. W. Corpe's buttor fac-
tory at Makino and before long it had
developed a network of skimming stations
in competition with those of the Farmers'
Dairy Union. Business was carried on
under the name of the Defiance Dairy
Company Limited and "Defiance" was the
brand name of the factory's butter.
Nathan and Company then became
interested in the production of milk pow-
der and after securing the Australasian
patents for a milk drying process it
obtained the sorvices of an engineer
named John Merrett, who had beon
associated with the construction of drying
machinery in Germany, Franco, and
Britain. This man installed a drying
machine at Nathan' s Makino butter fac-
tory, and in May, 1904, he. produced the
fiist milk powder manufactured in New
Zealand. Later in the same year Nathan
and Company erected a dried milk factory
at Bunnythorpe (on the site of the present
Glaxo factory) and started the commercial
production of milk powder. Tho business
met with great success and within 10
years the company had established a
world-wide reputation for its product.
The first trade name of this milk pow-
der was "Defiance", but in 1906 the name
"Glaxo" was adopted and since then this
name has been synonymous with the dried
milk products of New Zealand. In 1920
Nathan and Company formed the Glaxo
Manufacturing Company Limited, and in
1937 this company was registered into the
present Glaxo Laboratories (New Zealand)
Limited. This company still operates a
dried milk factory at Bunnythorpe, and
since 1951 pharmaceutical products have
also boon manufactured at tho company's
laboratories in Botanical Road, Palmer-
ston North. S
Important Changes
During tho past 20 yearn tho dairy
industry of Manawatu has undergone
many important changes, the most notable
being the introduction of txmker collec-
tion of milk from farms and tho amalga-
mation of many small dairy . companies
into ono largo concern. Tho Manawatu
Co-operative Dairy Company Limited
(established in 1960) is now the third
largest dairy co-operative in Now Zea-
land and is the result of mergers betwoon
the 12 co-operative companies of Awahuri,
Rongot.cn, Kairanga, Mangawhata, Rangi-
tikoi, Rata, Whangaehu, Cheltenham.
Okoia. Wostniere, Shannon-Tokomaru, and
Taihapo. The company's activities are
centralised at Longburn. whore factories
have boon erected for the manufacture of
laetalbumin, casein, milk biscuits, milk
powder, and butter.
The butter factory, opened in 1968, con-
tains a now and revolutionary process of
continuous butter making, and by a
strange, but appropriate, accident of his-
tory it stands within half a mile of the
site of the first buttor factory in Mana-
watu. If tho shareholders of that first
dairy company in 1884 could soo tho dairy
factories of today they would be amazed
at the progress that the industry has
made, and they would also fool justifiably
proud of thoiv part in pioneering this
important local industry.
In 1911 the factory was purchased by the by a private individual, but the majority
newly-formed Newbury Co-operative Dairy
Company Limited, .which continued to
manufacture cheese under the brand name
of "Silverleys" until about 1945. The fac-
tory then ceased production and became
a collecting -depot for the Glaxo dried
milk factory at Bunnythorpe. The New-
bury Co-operative Dairy Company subse-
were co-operative factories, owned and
financed by the producers themselves.
Among the earliest co-operatives were
those situated at Cheltenham (1893),
Rongotea (1895), Apiti (1895), Awahuri
(1897) and Levin (1899).
The largest co-operative, however, was
quentlv went into voluntary liquidation, the New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Union
the factory was sold, and today the old
building is occupied by a firm of fumiga--
tors and pest control specialists.
Cream Separator
Let us now turn to the story of the
Longburn butter factory of 1884, which
seems to be have been the second dairy
factory in the Manawatu. This factory
had its origins in 1883, when Mr Johannes
Monrad (a son of Bishop Monrad, formerly
of Karere) imported from Denmark the
first centrifugal cream separator seen in
the Manawatu district. In June, 1883, he
demonstrated the working of this machine
Limited, established in 1893. The capital
of this company was 50,000 (in 20,000
shares of i2 10s each) and dairying opera-
toins extended throughout the Wellington,
Wairarapa, and Manawatu districts. Two
large butter factories were erected, one
in Davis Street, Wellington, and the other
in Fitzherbert Street (now Fitzherbert
Avenue), Palmerston North.
The Palmerston North factory was situ-
ated between the Square and Ferguson
Street, (on the site now occupied by
Vacuum Products and Stylex Print Ltd.)
and had floor space of about 6000 square
feet. Its separators, churns, butterworker,
and refrigerators were driven by a 12
to a group of farmers and urged them horsepower steam engine, and its butter
to give the newinvention their serious was marketed IocaUy and overseas under
consideration.
t h e t r a d e n a m e o f B l a c k S w a n
'
The Palmerston North and Wellington
factories received their cream from a
network of skimming stations (often called
"creameries") situated throughout the sur-
rounding districts. These skimming sta-
At the same time the NewZealand
Government was advocating the develop-
ment of co-operative dairying, a system
which hadbeen used with much success
in Denmark, and a Government lecturer
named Mr Bowron was touring the coun:
Buick and Company's cheese factory at Longburn, pictured cbout 1888. The factory was built
in 1884 as the first co-operative dairy factor/ inthe Manawaru.
tions were small wooden sheds containing
try urging the establishment of co-operative
a
steam-driven separator and milk was
butter cheese, andbacon factories. delivered to them early each morning by
thcTocal farmed.
The introduction of the separator, and
Mr Bowron's proposals, created consider-
able interest among Manawatu farmers,
especially those of the Karere district
(now known as Longburn). On September
3, 1883, a meeting of settlers was held in
the Karere School and the following reso-
lutions were unanimously adopted:
"Proposed by Mr H. McEwen, seconded
by Mr J. Mowleiri.That a cheese and
butter factory be established at Karere.
Proposed by Mr C. Collis, seconded by Mr
V. Monrad.That a company be formed
with a capital of 3000 in 1000 shares of
3 each, 1500 to be called up. Proposed
by Mr V. Monrad, seconded by Mr T. V.
Hitchings.That the price paid to pro-
ducers shall be only 3id a gallon, to be
increased to 4d when the shareholders
have received 10 percent on their invest-
ment, calculated from the time when the
factory has been started."
A committee was formed to draw up a
prospectus andcanvass for support, with
the' result that a factory was opened at
Karere in November, 1884. It was situ-
ated on the northern side of the Palmerston
North-Foxton road, near the western end
of the present Longburn road bridge
across the railway.
This factory was equipped with three
centrifugal cream separators (imported
from Denmark) and received milk from
\
Photographs os this page courtesy o< almerston North Public Library.
A typical skimming station, or creamery, about 1900. The exact location of this building is unknown, but it supplied cream to the Palmerston
North butter factor/ of the New Zealand Farmers' Dairy Union Ltd. Wlvsn home separation wus introduced about the time of the First World
War, skimming stations went out of existence.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
EVENiNG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
I 5?l I I r t l t V V f n : i | 1 / i , . 1 1 , 3 1 1 1 1 ! f l l V : f r ! : I . I ' M : i
I ....
GlBXO the international
success story that started in
Palmerston North
I:
bBtter health i
From a milk powder plant in Bunnythorpe to an international food and
pharmaceutical group worth over a billion dollars. That's the exciting success
story of Glaxo. It began in New Zealand back in 1873. Today Glaxo, world-wide,
is one of the key manufacturers of specialist food products, Pharmaceuticals,
veterinary vaccines and medicines and laboratory chemicals.
From the time Glaxo introduced their baby food onto the British market in
1908 they've always been in the forefront of product and scientific development.
As the introductory advertisement on the front cover of the London Daily Mail
said: "The Proprietors now offer GLAXO to the public confident that it is as
perfect as science and skill can make it."
"As perfect as science and skill can make it" . . . This could have been a company
motto for Glaxo. It's certainly the key to their international success from small
beginnings in NewZealand.
Success in pharmaceuticals
Glaxo's success has not been limited to foods. The Glaxo name is highly
respected in the pharmaceutical industry and by the medical and allied
professions. Glaxo took part in the early development work on penicillin and
supplied 80% of the British requirements used on the Normandy D-Day
invasion. Among its research achievements in post-war years were the isolation
of the first British vitamin B12, the development of deep fermentation of
antibiotics, the synthesis of cortisone from African sisal waste and the develop-
ment of the first British poliomyelitis vaccine and other vaccines for human and
animal health.
A whole new family of antibiotics
Latest success in the continuing Glaxo story has been the development of a
whole new family of antibiotics. Just as the penicillins were the newantibiotics
of twenty years ago, the cephalosporins are the new antibiotics of the seventies.
Marketed under the names Ceporex and Ceporan they kill awide range of
bacteria including some which resist other antibiotics. Most important they have
a wide margin of safety.
T' le many years of research and development which followed the initial discovery
of cephalosporin illustrates the persistence and foresight of the Glaxo Group.
It \ as these qualities that turned a small milk powder processing factory just
out c
f
Palmerston North into ascientific organisation daily bringing health
and hope to millions of people throughout the world.
Glaxo Laboratories (JVZ) Ltd Palmerston North Ceporex and Ceporan are Glaxo trade marks. They are Restricted Drugs
S
HEEP farming is one of the oldest
rural industries of the Manawatu,
for the first sheep were introduced to
the district during the 1840s. They
were owned by the Europeans who
had settled near the mouth of the
Manawatu River.
The first sheep farmer was probably
Captain Francis Robinson (a retired officer
from the army of the East India Company),
who started grazing sheep near the site
of the present township of Foxton about
1845.
During the 1850s and 1860s large areas
of land between the coast and the Oroua
River were leased by the Maoris to Euro-
pean settlers and large mobs of sheep and
cattle grazed the tussock and scrub country
between Foxton andMount Stewart. In
1870 there were over 49,000 sheep in this
area, the largest flock of 11,100 sheep being
owned byJacob Joseph and Company, a
well-known firm of Wellington merchants.
This flock was grazed in the Himatangi-
Bainesse area.
Bush Farms
During the late 1860s, when the first
settlers took up land in the newly-surveyed
Township of Palmerston, sheep were intro-
duced to the bush farms of inland
Manawatu. The first flocks were owned by
D. G. Monrad, of Karere (near Longburn)
and J. T, Dalrymple of Te Matai (near
Whakarongo). In May, 1867 the sheep
inspector for the Wellington Provincial
Government reported that Bishop Monrad
owned 144 sheep and Mr Dalrymple 250, all
being free from scab disease.
Most of these early sheep seem to have
been merinos, imported from the South
Island This breed was ideal for tussock
land, but was unsuitable for the heavy
and moist pastures of inland Manawatu,
so Lincolns were then introduced and
proved satisfactory during the breaking-in
period of bush farming. One of the first
farmers to introduce Lincolns was Mr
William Akers, of Linton, while other early
breeders included Messrs Randolph and
Walker, of Longburn, Viggo Monrad, of
Karere, Arthur Southey Baker, of Awapuni,
and John Jarvis, of Rongotea.
The breed of sheep that proved most
satisfactory in early Manawatu, however,
was the sturdy Romney Marsh. This breed
>-was introduced about 1878 by Mr Robert
Cobb, who was born at Romney Marsh in
England. He imported pure-bred Romneys
from his father and after establishing a
flock at Moutoa, near Foxton, he moved to
the Raukawa Estate, near Whakarongo,
where he was a well-known stud breeder
for many years. From his flock originated
the well-known Parorangi stud owned by
Mr Ernest Short, of Feilding, while other
Farming In
Area
early Romney breeders included Messrs
David Rowland (Karere), David Buick
(Kairanga), William Akers (Linton), J. O.
Batchelar (Fitzherbert) and Robert Tanner
(Karere).
All these early sheep farmers were
primarily concerned with wool production,
but with the advent of refrigeration and
the establishment of the freezing works at
Longburn in1890 a market was opened up
for fat lamb production. A new breed of
sheep, the Southdown, made its appearance
and one of the first farmers in the district
to establish a flock of this breed was Mr
S. R. Lancaster, of Fitzherbert, who pur-
chased the nucleus of his stud from Mr
James Stuckey, of Masterton, during the
1890s.
Breeding Sheep
The development of fat lamb production
also increased the mutual dependence of
hill and lowland farms. The hill country
farms began to carry large flocks of sheep
for breeding purposes, while the lowland
farms adopted the role of fattening stock.
By 1900 a pattern of stock movements had
developed. During the summer and autumn
months store sheep could be seen moving
from the hill farms to the nearby lowlands,
and at the same time fat stock was moved
from the lowlands to the freezing works.
Today, this stock movement is a charac-
teristic feature of the Manawatu sheep
industry.
The growth of sheep farming during the
1890s brought Palmerston North into
prominence as a centre for the buying and
selling of stock. By1896 two large sale-
yards were in operation in the town, both
situated in Rangitlkei Street (between the
premises now occupied by Dalgety-Loan
and Hodder andTolley) and stretching
through to Taonui Street. The largest of
these saleyards covered 2i acres and could
accommodate 24,000 sheep and from 800 to
1000 head of cattle. It was owned by-
Abraham and Williams Limited. The
smaller yards were the property of Mr
Matthew Henry and could hold some 800
cattle and 10,000 sheep. In about 1900 Mr
Henry sold his business to the New Zea-
land Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd.,
and about five years later another saleyard
was opened in Grey Street by Dalgety
and Co. Ltd.
Stock was driven to these yards from
many parts of the district, and large con-
signments of sheep and cattle also came
from Hawke's Bay, being driven through
the Manawatu Gorge, along Fitzherbert
Road East and over the Fitzherbert Bridge
into Palmerston North. The mobs then
proceeded along Fitzherbert Avenue,
through the Square to Cuba Street and
then along Taonui Street to the rear of the
saleyards.
Old residents of Palmerston North still
recall the days when mobs of sheep and
cattle were a familiar sight in the streets
near the centre of the town and the story
is told of one mob of sheep collapsing In
Broad Street (now Broadway Avenue) on
a hot day and holding up traffic for .several
hours. Another tale relates how a bull
entered the bar of the Phoenix Hotel (on
the corner of Rangitikei and King Streets)
and caused the patrons to scatter wildly in
all ili rift ions, while another bull entered
thv grounds of the Craven School for
i.;iIIH in Queen Street and provided the
teacher*
1
and pupils with considerable
eseiteinent for a few minutes.
Naturally enough, the borough council
imposed restrictions on the movement of
.slock through the streets; but as the town
urew in size the saleyards became an
motea.siiiu nuisance and, in 1912, they were
shifted to Boundary Road (now Tremaine
Avenuei. opposite the end of Wood Street.
These y:irds were never very popular, how-
ever, and after the First World War they
I'aeeil increasing competition from the
yards at Feilding. In 1926 the Boundary
Itokii saleyards were closed and since then
Feilding has been the centre of the stock
sales of the Manawatu district.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The Feilding saleyards in 1902, showing what was at that time a record yarding of sheep at a
North Island sale. A total of 45,000 sheep were yarded for this sale.
AS PERMANENT AS THE PYRAMIDS!
NOLAN
CONCRETE PRODUCTS LTD.
THE CONCRETE SPECIALISTS
PALMERSTON NORTH HASTINGS MASTERTON (Established in 1927)
Extend Cordial Centennial Congratulations to the City and express pleasure in having
played such a concrete part in its development.
Nolan Construction Methods, Modern Plants And The Use Of The Highest Grade Materials
By Thoroughly Experienced Concrete Masons Ensure That
"NOLAN" CONCRETE PRODUCTS are Pre-Eminently Permanent
WHEN ONLY THE BEST IN QUALITY AND VALUE
IS CABLED FOR . . . DEMAND " NOLAN" THE
BRAND NAME THAT IS YOUR WARRANTY OF
SATISFACTION.
Manufacturers of:
Precast Concrete Water Storage Tanks
200 GALLONS TO 5000 GALLONS
Killing Sheds
6ft and 7ft diameter 7ft high 9ft 3in diameter
Sealed and Painted
8ft high
Precast Septic Tanks
400, 500 and 600 GALLONS capacity
"ROTOPAC" CONCRETE CULVERT PIPES
SOLID CONCRETE FIELD TILES
COMPOST BINS. 1. 2 and 3 UNITS
"SUNDOWNER" BARBECUE UNITS
"BEST BURN" HEAVY DUTY INCINERATORS
WASH TUBS BOILERS (fuel type) PUMICE CHIMNEYS
PARALLEL CHIMNEYS RAIL POSTS PAVING SLABS
CABLE COVER SLABS WATER TROUGHS PIG TROUGHS
BES-STONE BLOCKS WELL LINERS SALT PANS, ETC.
Distributors of:
VIBRAPAC MASONRY & PIERCED UNIT
Distributors of:
VIBRAPAC MASONRY & PIERCED DESIGN UNITS
NOLAN CONCRETE PRODUCTS LIMITED
673 Main Street, Railway Read,
PALMERSTON NORTH. HASTINGS.
Telephone 77-033, P.O. Box 97. Telephone 69-681.
Ngaumutawa Road,
MASTERTON.
Telephone 7144.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
CC EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY* SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
m
IV

: t

I
N 1882 a trial shipment of frozen
meat was sent from New Zealand
to tngland in the sailing ship "Dun-
edin". I hat shipment proved an out-
standing success and marked the
beginning of a new era in the pastoral
development of New Zealand.
Uevorul huge companies entered the
slaughtering and fieuzmg business, und
the expoit of frozen meai uecume a major
industry in many parts of the country.
The opening of the Wellington and
Munawatu Kailway Company s line in
utock to the Gear Meat Company s freez-
ing works at Wellington, but there soon
1886 enabled Manawatu funnels to send
arose a desire for a local works, and so
the Longbuin Fiee/.ing Company Limited
was formed and a works erected in 1890.
The builders were Messrs Munro Brothels,
of Palmerston North, and the total cost
was about 136,000.
Killing Capacity
The original killing capacity of the
works was about 500 sheep anu lambs a
day, and in the lirst season moie than
57,000 sheep were slaughtered. Today the
annual killing capacity is more than
600,000 sheep and lambs, as well as 50,000
pigs, 40,000 calves, and 19,000 cattle.
The following description of the works
was recorded in The Cyclopedia of New
Zealand in 1897:
"The land comprises 26 acres of freehold,
and is situated alongside the Wellington-
Manawatu Company's line, from which the
necessary sidings connect with the works.
The buildings are substantially construct-
ed, the engine and boiler looms being of
brick, and the other extensive structures
of wood, the roofs being of coriugated
iron. The chimney stack, 84 feet from the
base, is well built in brick. There are two
line Lancashire boilers, each 30 feet by 8
feet built by Messis Cable and Co. of
Wellington, and one of Haslam's duplex
refrigerating machines, caapble of pr6duc-
ing 120,000 cubic feet of cold air an hour.
The entire works are lighted by electricity
generated by one of the Gulcher Com-
pany's dynamos, which is driven by an
horizontal steam engine. A powerful light
of 300 candle capacity has been fixed out-
side the building so as to provide for
loading the frozen carcasses into the insu-
lated meat vans, of which there are seven,
having accommodation for 300 sheep each.
The four freezing chambers have space
Freezing Works
for 650 freezers each, while the cool cham-
bers, which also number four, have room
for 18,000 carcasses. In the sheep-slaughter-
ing department there is space for 15
butchers and also necessary pens, the
beef-killLng department being large
enough to treat 34 bullocks daily. The
whole of this fine establishment has solid
concrete floors, well drained and supplied
with plenty of fine artesian water."
The first directors of the Longburn
Freezing Company were Messis D. Buick
(chairman), R. S. Abraham, J. O. Batche-
lar, C. Bull, H. Howard, and J. McLennan.
Unfortunately, this company was u
na
bt e
to run the works at a profit and in 1895
the company went into liquidation and
the shareholders lost a considerable
amount of money.
The works were then taken over by the
National Mortgage and Agency Company
of New Zealand Limited, which ran them
successfully for many years before selling
out to the Co-operative Wholesale Society
Limited (registered in Britain) in 1940
The CWS is the present proprietor of the
Longburn freezing works.
The growth of Feilding as an important
stock market led to the establishment of
a second freezing works in Manawatu
In 1916 the Feilding Farmers' Freezing
Company Limited opened its works, situ-
ated on the east bank of the Oroua River
just outside the borough of Feilding. This
company also had difficulty in running at
a profit and, in 1931, the works were sold
to Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Aust-
lalasia) Limited, which still operates them
today.
BELOW: The Longburn Freezing Works
pictured about 1894. The original works
were built by a Palmerston North firm for
36,000.
HL-
k courtesy P.N. Public Libn
45 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE
MANAWATU 1926-1971
The Modern Showroom which carries a
comprehensive range of commercial stationery
office furniture machines and steel
equipment.
Part of the Printing Factory showing some
of the modern up-to-date machinery which
produces all types of high-class printing.
DUDLEY RABONE & CO. LTD.
PRINTERS STATIONERS OFFICE EQUIPMENT.
84 THE SQUARE PALMERSTON NORTH.
68
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
T
HE supply of meat for local con-
sumption has been an important
part of Palmerston North's industry
and commerce for exactly 100 years,
for the first butchery business was
established by Mr Benjamin Manson
in 1871.
Mr Manson was a brother of Peter
Manson, the Hist sawmiller in Palmerston
North, and he seems to have arrived in
the town with his brother about July,
1871. He opened a small butcher's shop
in Main Street west and obtained much
of his meat from Mr Peter Stewart, a
farmer of Karere (now known as Long-
burn).
After conducting the butchery business
for about two or three years, Mr Manson
became a farmer at Awapuni, but when
his brother died in 1880 he moved to
Terrace End and managed a sheep farm
for his brother' s family. He seems to have
left Palmeiston North during the 1890s
and subsequent details about his life are
unknown.
The second butchery business in Palmer-
ston North was established by Mr James
Green, who opened a shop on the north-
ern side of the Square (near the site
of the present Post Office) in 1872. This
business was later purchased by Mr
Joseph Beale, who was the first person
to own a boiling-down works for the
production of' tallow in the Manawatu
Meat For The City
district. These works were erected at
Karere (Longburn) in 1881 and provided
local farmers with a useful market for
livestock in the days before the birth
of the frozen meat industry.
Operated Abattoir
In 1885 Mr Beale sold his butchery
business to Mr Fred Bryant, who in turn
sold to Mr William Reed, and the next
owners were Messrs Carter and Raw-
stron. In 1906 the business was purchased
by the Manawatu Meat and Cold Storage
Company Limited, a firm which operated
the Palmerston North abattoir at Awa-
puni for several years and played an
important part in the meat trade of the
district
The first chairman of this company
was Mr R. S. Abraham, a partner in the
stock and station firm of Abraham and
Williams, while the first manager was
Mr C. F. (Fred) Carter, a member of a
well-known Moutoa family and the founder
of the Shannon Meat Company. In later
years Mr John Carter was managing
director. The company erected several re-
tail shops in Palmerston North, purchased
the Tiki Bacon Company, and built up
an extensive business, which was even-
tually sold to its present owners, Thomas
Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd.
Until the erection of the Palmerston
North abattoir, butchers obtained their
supplies of meat from many small slaugh-
ter-houses situated throughout the sur-
rounding countryside. These slaughter-
houses were owned either by the butchers
themselves, or by local farmers, but be-
cause of the expense of refrigerating
machinery and other equipment most
slaughter-houses consisted of little more
than a rough wooden shed. Meat was
dressed under very insanitary conditions,
with stock being slaughtered on an
earthen or wooden floor and blood and
offal being washed into tin- nearest drain
or stream.
In 1903 Government meat inspectors
drew public attention to this unsatisfac-
tory state of affairs and the Palmerston
North Borough Council decided to erect
a modern abattoir. A site was selected in
Albert Street, but the residents of Hoko-
whitu rose up in protest and successfully
petitioned the Government to withhold
approval of the site.
The council then investigated the pos-
sibilities of having stock slaughtered at
the Longbuin freezing works or the newly-
erected Feilding abattoir, but the butchers
protested that it would be too inconvenient
and expensive to cart * meat such long
distances. Finally, the borough council
delegated its slaughter-house powers to
the Manawatu Meat and Cold Storage
Company, which proceeded to erect a
12,000 abattoir on Maxwell's Line, Awa-
puni.
The works opened in December, 1906.
and were operated by the Manawatu Meat
Company until February, 1917, when they
were purchased by the borough council.
They remained under council control
until their demolition in 1969, and since
then the city's meat has been obtained
from a regional abattoir at Feilding.
BELOW: The Palmerston North Abattoir in
1907. These works were a landmark in
Maxwell's Line for 63 years.
Photograph courteiy P.N. Public Library.
LOT
can often s
with the
knitwear
you choose
ONS
art
for bin
Manawatu
Manufactured by THE MANAWATU KNITTING MILLS LTD., Palmerston North.
for her
Slade
Established 1884
Available from Retailers throughout New Zealand
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
- 69
MT
"0
The Growing Borough
T
HE rise of the pastoral industries was reflected
in the growth OT Palmerston North. As farms
replaced forest, the borough became the centre of
a prosperous agricultural district and grew in size
from an isolated village to one of the largest inland
towns in New Zealand.
This growth is demonstrated by the following figures:
Year of Census Population of Borough
1878 880
1886 2606
1896 5910
1906 10,239
1916 12,829
1926 18,134
By 1930 the population had
reached 20,150 and on August
1 of that year Palmerston
North was declared a City,
the seventh largest in New
Zealand.
The accompanying pictures
illustrate aspects of the
borough's growth.
TOP: The Showgrounds in
1915. The growing prosperity
of Palmerston North and dis-
trict was mirrored in the
development af the liana-
watu and West Coast Agri-
cultural and Pastoral As-
sociation. The first annual A.
and P. Show was held in
1886, when there were 278
entries of livestock and
machinery and an attendance
of about 2000 people.
By 1896 the entries totalled
1596 and the Show attracted
about 13,000 visitors. Grand-
stands, exhibition halls, and
stock pavilions were erected
on the association's property
in Cuba Street and the Show-
grounds became not only a
shop window for the display
of the district's agricultural
wealth, but also a centre for
sporting and other commun-
ity activities. This picture
shows a parade of livestock
and horse-drawn vehicles at
the spring Show of 1915.
RIGHT: The Square about
1895. By this date the Square
had taken on a well-establish-
ed and prosperous appear-
ance. The perimeter was
ringed with substantial com-
mercial buildings (some con-
structed in brick), the rail-
way station had been remov-
ed from the centre of the
Square to Main Street west,
the roads had been metalled
and the garden plots had
been grassed and fenced. Gas,
water, and sewerage had also
been installed in the central
portion of the town.
The wooden building with
the clock tower was the Occi-
dental Hotel, on the corner of
Pitzherbert Avenue, now
occupied by Hall Chambers.
On the far right can be seen
the brick premises of the
Colonial Bank, standing on
the site of the present coun-
cil chambers.
BELOW: Palmerston North
in 1890. This view was taken
from the terrace where the
Hospital now stands and looks
south toward the Square. The
spire in the centre of the
picture belongs to the Catho-
lic Church in Broadway
Avenue (on the site now
occupied by Garners Depart-
ment Store). In the distance,
beyond the town, an expanse
of native bush can be seen,
but ' this was rapidly being
cleared and Palmerston
North was no longer hemmed
in by a wall of forest. In the
foreground can be seen
newly broken-in farm land,
now the site of Florence and
Stanley Avenues.
70

MANAWATU RACING CLUB'
SATURDAY, 20th MARCH, 1971
PALMERSTON NORTH CENTENNIAL CUP
CENTURY STAKES
$6,000
$3,000
SATURDAY, 27th MARCH, 1971
63rd MANAWATU SIRES PRODUCE STAKES
AWAPUNI GOLD CUP
$12,500
$5,000
NECK AND NECK WITH THE TIMES
POUNDING INTO THE NEXT CENTURY
It's happening at Awapuni...
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1771
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.7-j
mi l
- , . . : ; . .
1 '
l ^
1
or rne square, in l?06, provides a striking contrast with the pictures of 1878 repro-
duced an pages 24 and 25. On the left is the comer of Fitzherbert Avenue, with the Occidental
Hotel on one side of the street and the Bank of New Zealand en the other. Further to the
right can be seen the wooden All Saints' Church, and the newly-erected Grand Hotel, still
enclosed with scaffolding. Further right again is Main Street west, the railway yards and the
wooden Commercial Hotel, while on the far right can be seen Coleman Place.
Flags a' Flying!
On with the
Celebrations
THANK YOU
Palmerston
North.
It's been a
pleasure to
serve you.
Congratulations!
PALMERSTON NORTH
on attaining your I OOth year.
We've come a long way too
YEARS OF SEOTICE
to the Manawatu
We look for-
ward to many
more years
of, service.
i WATCH & CLOCK SALES &.
SERVICE
i ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE RE-
PAIRS
SPORTS EQUIPMENT REPAIRS
ADVICE ON PAINTING PROB-
LEMS
ASSEMBLY OF PRE-CUT FUR-
NITURE
GARDEN TOOL & AXE HAN-
DLES FITTED
WHILE YOU WAIT SERVICE
BAR for key cutting, engraving,
shoe repairs, scissor sharpen-
ing, name tags, etc.
PLUS super selection of
CUTLERY SILVERWARE
CHI NA CRYSTAL
CLOCKS & WATCHES
TRAVEL BAGS STAINLESS
STEEL
KITCHENWARE
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES
SPORTS EQUIPMENT
HARDWARE PAINTS
GARDEN TOOLS
HOME HANDYMAN SUPPLIES
TOYS
COL
FRIENDLY CREDIT TERMS
Free Credit for 12 weeks
(Cash Price Only)
or
A small deposit of 15c in the
$1 and small weekly payments
over a period of up to 24
months.
LAY-BY
A small deposit secures your
purchase. Balance by instal-
ments over 6 months.
GIFT VOUCHERS
Redeemable at any dept. in
our store or at Collinson *
Cunninghame Ltd.
FREE DELIVERY
within city boundary.
LTD
The friendly family store right in the heart of Broadway, Palmerston North.
.* tt *av vou very Jyou
(IBs
nextcenw--
70EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971. EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
MHMMMHMHHHMMMHRM
I
IV,.
1
i
local E3u$hies
Fifty years ago we decorated our truck, loaded up our products and went to the
show. Our products won a gold medal, acclaim for their excellence, and a great
reputation for our company, which we proudly maintain.
We were tops fifty years ago, and we've stayed at the top.
E
WIRE PRODUCTS
Palmerston North Hamilton
N a
P'
e r
New Plymouth
The Square about 1907. The photographer was standing en the
site now occupied by the P.D.C. and was looking north toward
Broadway. The Port Office, with its attractive clock tower, can
be seen in the centre of the picture, OH the comer of Main Street
east. The United Farmers' Co-operative Association Ltd. (to
the right of the clock tower) occupied the building new owned
by Wafson Brothers Ltd.
perfect reproduction
doesn't come easily
we can't print your advertisement,
but we can guarantee material
which will give excellent -
reproductioaWe offer a complete
& speedy service in every
aspect of block.peg. and
bromide production
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
40
YEARS
OF
SPECIALISED
SERVICE
TO PRINTERS
and ADVERTISERS
PHOTO ENGRAVING the Art of reproduction of
Drawings, Illustrations and Photos for printing in News-
papers, Magazines, Pamphlets, Labels, Cartons, etc.
For 40 years we have served Palmerston North Advertisers
and Printers, and many of the illustrations and pictures
that have appeared in the Standard tell the story of what
the city stores and producers have to offer By a special-
ised Service to a growing city, we continue to grow
78013
P.O. BOX
92 PRINCESS STREET PALMERSTON NORTH * 89
PHOTO ENGRAVERS LIP
74
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971. \\111 \\ | hI H M E Ir i13 i 111f IiIi{111
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1 9 7 1 7 5
II.
' l
si
% ' '
Ivi
',.-.
11
IANAWATU&""WEST COAST 'AGRICULTURAL
The corner of Rangitikei andCuba Streets in 1904. The two- Bank. One of the tenants of this building was the Manawatu building factory. In the foreground is a wagon driven by Mr
storeyed white wooden building was a block of shops and and West Coasr Agricultural and Pastoral Association. In Harry Brougham, a well-known carrier of old Palmerston North,
offices which stood on the site now occupied by the National Rangitikei Street (right) can be seen Bert and Company's coach-
s> Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
Broadway Avenue about 1910. In those days it was a quiet
street of houses and churches. This view is looking west toward Duke Street (now Princess Street) and for many years was Catholic Church, which stood on the site now occupied by
the Square. The large house on theleft stood on the corner of owned by theDurward family. The central spire belongs to the Garners Department Store.
FASHION FOLLOWS
MELBOURNE
Lautrec Sports Coats in
fashion colours camel
gold rust. Panelled
front, half belt.
Suits, 3-piece. Fashion
colours and styles latest
herringbone and vertical
look.
THE MEN'S STORE
T
HE first election meeting held in
Palmerston North took place on
the afternoon of Wednesday, Novem-
ber 23, 1870, at Mr Edwin Cole's
hotel, Main Street west.
Three of the four candidates for the
newly-created Man&watu electorate addres-
sed the residents of the Palmerston North
district, but the gathering could not have
been a very large one, for there were no
more than 40 Europeans living in inland
Manawatu at that time.
The candidates were Messrs W. 'V. John-
ston (a merchant, of Wellington), E. S.
Thynee (a shipping and commission agent,
of Foxton), W. Osborne (a storekeeper, of
Foxton), and H. Engels (a farmer, of Fitz-
herbert).
Here are some extracts from a -report of
the meeting published in the Wellington
Independent newspaper on December 8,
1870:
Wandered Off
"Three candidates, viz., Messrs Johnston,
Thynne, and Osborne, rode up together and
arrived at Palmerston about one o'clock.
There they met the surrounding settlers,
with whom, they sat down to a very good
dinner provided by the host.
"After a delay of half an hour, which
vvas occasioned by the absence of the
distinguished foreigner who is :he ether
candidate, but who, by the bye, never
appeared, they assembled in the long-room
of the building and commenced the busi-
ness of the day by calling upon Mr Mc-
Ewcn to fill the chair.
"After reading the notice convening the
meeting, he said that it was the custom to
call upon the gentleman who had first
started as a candidate to address them,
which was responded to by Mr Thynne,
who began by declaring himself a sup-
porter of the Fox Ministry, and then wan-
dered off into details of what he considered
ta be the particular lines of railway which
ought to be primarily undertaken by the
Government.
"He said he regretted to see the Govern-
ment were taking measures to place on the
first schedule that line of railway which is
to run from Wellington through the Waira-
Four Sought Seat In
House
rapa as far as the Manawatu Gorge* then
to traverse the Manawatu district and fin-
ally run northward as far as Taramki.
"He thought it would be the iilty of the
member for Manawatu to strenuously
oppose this scheme and advocate, in lieu
thereof, a railway to be commenced at
Foxton, and year by year to be continued
backward toward the Manawatu Gorge in
proportion to the yearly increase of the
population. He quite omitted to say what
the Rangitikei and the rest of the province
would say to his amendment, and what the
possibilities were of its being carried His
suggestion was plainly disliked by the elec-
tors. He was asked if he would vote either
a property or an income tax. He replied
that he would not vote for either.
Great Cheering
"He was asked as to his views of native
policy and replied that he thought the
wisest course to secure peace was to
employ the natives on public wqrka. He
was asked if, in the construction of public
works, he would give the natives prefer-
ence over Europeans, and he replied that
he would not; and so apparently yielded
up under cross-questioning the very key-
stone of his native policy. He then sat
down, apparently satisfied and pleased that
he had done, although that satisfaction and
pleasure rested with himself, not a cheer
being given him.
"It became Mr Johnston's turn next. He
drew the attention of the electors to tho
fact that now, more than it had evor boon
at any previous juncture, it was incumbent
upon them to return a member not only
competent to judge of the prudence and
value of tho various measures which tho
Government would submit to tho House,
but also a. man of independence, whom no
proffer of personal advantage JOUld induce
to vote contrary to his convictions (loud
cheers). For if the money borrowed should
be wasted upon unproductive works tho
colony would assuredly suffer under a
frightful depression, if it were .lot reduced
to absolute bankruptcy (loud applause). He
was asked if he would resign if called upon.
He pledged himself to resign if asked to do
do so by two-thirds of the electors. After
thank:ng them for their patience he sat
down amidst great cheering-.
"The next called upon was Mr Osborne,
who asked the indulgence of the mooting
as this was the first time he had ever
addressed a public assembly, and it
evidently must have been so, as tho gentle-
man exhibited strong signs of hesitation
and a total forgetfulness what he intended
to say.
"After a few minutes he sat down, though
the chairman assured him that th-jy would
give him plenty of time.
"Votes of thanks to the chairman and
candidates having been passed, the mooting
broke up."
The election was held on February 4,
1871, and resulted in an overwhelming
victory for Mr Johnston.
The First Hustings
Photograph courtesy P.M. Public Library.
W. W. Johnston, the first member of Parlia-
ment for Manawatu. Heserved as Postmaster-
General and Commissioner of Telegraphs in
the Hall Ministry from March, 1881, to April,
1882. He also served as Minister of Works
and was a member of the Executive Council.
7g,EVE(JNG(
pNTEgARYvVWMiNT- SATURDAY, MARfiH 13..1.97K
BUT IN 1926 WE BEGAN
OUR I NNI NGS-WE' RE
STILL IN
We stand behind our sales and
service to maintain a tradition
started up, built on and still
expanding.
We will continue to electrify and
grow with this great city of Palmer-
ston North.
Great moments in sport. Wicket-keeper Grout holds a great catch to dismiss
Trueman off Davidson's bowling, Adelaide, 1959, to give Australia the Ashes.
E. P. WIX LTD.
PHONE 78-583 ELECTRICIANS 93 BROADWAY
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH \% 'ftH.
X
i
k
(
Members of Parliament
Palmerston North
Speaker of Hie House of Representatives for several years.
E
LEVEN men have represented Palmerston North in
the House of Representatives since the establish-
ment of the Palmerston seat in 1890. Before that
date the township was included in the Manawatu
electorate.
When the electorate was first established it was much
larger than it is today, and included much of the area now
covered by the Manawatu and Otaki electoral districts. It
was reduced in size in 1893 and again in 1896. The name of
the seat was changed from Palmerston to Palmerston North
in 193S.
The longest sitting member has been Mr James A. Nash,
who held the seat from 1918 to 1935 a period of 17 years.
He was Chairman of Committees and Chairman of the
Public Accounts Committee of the House. Apart from his
Parliamentary service, Mr Nash also served the city as
Mayor between 1908 and 1923.
He wa a member of the Palmerston North Hospital
Board for more than 40 years, and its chairman for 12. He
was an original member of the Manawatu-Oroua Electric Sir Matthew Oram, member of Parliament for Manawatu and
Power Board, formed in 1922, and its chairman for 10 years
between 1922 and 1932. He was instrumental in founding the
New Zealand Power Boards' and Supply Authorities' Associa-
tion in 1925, and served as its chairman for 27 years.
Mr Nash also served for more than 40 years on the
Foxton Harbour Board, and was chairman from 1941 to 1950.
He was an original member of the board in 1909.
He also had more than 25 years' service on the Palmerston
North High Schools' Board of Governors, three of them as
chairman. He was associated with the A. and P. Associa-
tion as a vice-president and president for 17 years, and was
five years chairman of the Palmerston North-Kairanga River
Board.
Mr Nash served on the Palmerston North Fir.; Board
for 15 years,- and also served as chairman during that time.
He received the C.B.E. from King George VT for his
public service. He died in July, 1952, aged 81.
A list of Palmerston North' s members of Parliament is
published here:
James Glenny WILSON 1890-1893
Frederick PIRANI 1893-1902
William Thomas WOOD 1902-1908
David BUICK 1908-1918
James Alfred NASH 1918-1935
Joseph HODGENS 1935-1946
George Hamish Ormond WILSON 1946-1949
William Blair TENNENT " 1949-1954
Philip Oscar Selwyn SKOGLUND 1954-1960
William Henry BROWN 1960-1967
Joseph Albert WALDING 1967-
Manawatu
E
LEVEN men have represented Manawatu in the
House of Representatives since this electorate
was established 100 years ago.
The electorate originally contained much of the area
now included in the Palmerston North and Otaki electoral
districts, but with the growth of new electorates and the
alteration of boundaries the name "Manawatu" was tem-
porarily lost (1890-96 and 1911-1919) and the electorate was
divided between Otaki and Palmerston.
Longest-serving member of the electorate was the late
Sir Matthew Oram, who served as Speaker of the House
of Representatives from 1950 until his retirement in 1957.
Born in Christchurch in 1885, Sir Matthew attended
Wellington College and Victoria University, from which he
graduated B.A., M.A. (with honours in mathematics), LL.B.
Moving to Palmerston North in 1912, Sir Matthew
entered the legal profession in partnership with Mr J. Mason.
He soon became interested in civic affairs and served a
seven-year term on the City Council.
Education always held a high interest for him, and he
was a member of the Wanganui Education Board for 11
years. He also served on the High School Board of Governors
2or 29 years. 14 of which he was chairman.
His first venture into the world of politics was in 1931,
when he stood for the Palmerston North electorate as a
candidate representing the United Party. Later he stood
for the Manawatu electorate as a Democrat. Though un-
successful on both occasions, he was approached by the
National Party to stand for the Manawatu electorate in
1941.
His plans to enter Parliament in that year were
thwarted, however, when the then Government decided to
extend its term. He was, however, elected to Parliament in
1943, representing the Manawatu electorate, and held that
seat until he retired in 1957.
Here is a list of the members of this electorate:
Mr Joseph Hodgens, the first Labour member of Parliament for
Palmerston North. He served between 1935 and 1946.
Walter Woods JOHNSTON
Douglas Hastings MACARTHUR
John STEVENS
Job VILE
John STEVENS
Edward NEWMAN
Edward NEWMAN
Joseph LINKLATER
Clifford Lorrie HUNTER
John George COBBE
Matthew Henry ORAM
William Blair TENNENT
Leslie Walter GANDAR
1871-1884
1884-1890
1896-1902
1902-1905
1905-1908
1908-1911
1919-1922
1922-1935
1935-1938
1938-1943
1943-1957
1957-1966
1966-
Erland Wr i ght no* studio
193 The Square, Near Post Office.
Drive-in Studio 269 Broadway Avenue.
We offer you a complete
floral service
Floral Tributes
Wedding Bouquets
Hospital Flowers ,
Church Decoration
Reception Decoration
Flowers by Wire
FROM LEFT, standing: Raewyn Webb, Caryll Bond, Erland Wright,
Raewyn Winiata, Mr T. L Wright (office staff), Mrs P. Hansen (office
staff), Margaret Stack. Seated: Lynley Prichard (Diploma Florist),
Lorraine Hutchinson (Diploma Florist).
Members of
Interilora
Flowers in N.Z.
today, anywhere
in the world tomorrow.
When you care but can't be
there,
Send flowers by Interflora.
Great cities
can only be built
by people
i
Every city is built by people, all
ages, all sizes, all colours, all
different. People from 8 to 80,
each with their own ideas on
how a young city should move
into the seventies.
1870 saw the birth of this city, in
the first century Paimerston became
established and started growing.
Wi th your help the second century
will see rapid change and aggressive
progress.
The Palmerston North City
Council cannot build a city
without the involvement of
the community. And the
community is you. Your
interest, ideas and
participation in the
development of Palmerston
North will help build
opportunity for the young and
security for the elderly.
Long-term planning has resulted in modern schools, hospitals,
doctors, housing, shopping facilities.
palmerston north city council
;
with your help we can build an even greater city
ADVERTISEMENT CREATED BY THE PALMERSTON NORTH BRANCH OF WOOD & MITCHELL ADVERTISING LTD
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DRAYTON-WOODS & ASSOCIATES.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.JQ
78
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
m
1
I
'S
I. ,
hi
\
f
jfi
GEORGE MATTHEW SNELSON, 1877-1879,
1883-1884, 1889-1892. 1901. Auctioneer and
land agent.
FRITS JENSSEN, 1882-1883. Sawmiller.
SOLOMON ABRAHAMS, 1887-1889. Pawn-
broker.
The City's 22 Mayors
T
N
sii
ENTY-TWO Mayors have been elected to office
since the format.on of the Borough of Palmerston
North in 1877.
In the early years elections were held annually,
but in 1914 a system of biennial elections v/as bagun.
The present system of an election every three years
was established in 1935.
The two Mayors who have held office for the
longest periods are the late Messrs A. E. ("Gus")
Mansford and J. A. ("Jimmy") Nash. Mr Mansford
was in office for 16 years, and Mr Nash for 15 years.
The youngest Mayor ever elected to office was
Mr Robert Edwards, who was 35 years of age when
he won the election of 1892. The oldest Mc.yor to
be elected was Mr Gilbert Rennie, who was 69 years
of age when returned to office in 1965.
JAMES LINTON, 1879-1882, 1884-1885. Land
and commission agent.
ALEXANDER FERGUSON, 1885-1886. Store-
keeper.
LUDOLPH GEORGE WEST, 1886-1887. Archi-
tect.
ROBERT EDWARDS. 1892-1893. Architect. WILLIAM PARK, 1893-1895. Bookseller.
WILLIAM THOMAS WOOD, 1895-1899, 1901
1903. Blacksmith.
CHARLES DUNK, 1903-1904. Farmer. HENRY HAYDON, 1899-1901. Grocer.
On - EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.
RICHARD ESSEX. 1907-1908. Bookseller
ARCHIBALD JAMES GRAHAM. 1927-1931.
Pharmacist.
WILLIAM BLAIR TENNENT, 1956-1959. Dentist.
EDWARD ORR HURLEY. 1904-1905. Lawyer.
JAMES ALFRED NASH, 1908-1923. Store-
keeper and commission agent.
AUGUSTUS EDWARD MANSFORD, 1931-1947.
Accountant.
'
GILBERT MURRAY RENNIE, 1959-1968. Printer.
MAURICE COHEN, 1905-1907. Storekeeper
and commission agent.
FREDERICK JOSEPH NATHAN. 1923-1927
Company director.
GEOFFREY TREMAINE. 1947-1956. Lawyer.
DESMOND BARRY BLACK. 1968-. Company
director.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971.Q-t
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Four Town Clerks
In 93 Years
IT is a remarkable fact that in more than
90 years of municipal government
Palmerston North has been served by
only four town clerks.
W. H. COLLINGWOOD
The second town clerk
The first was Mr Robert
North Keeling, who was born
in Liverpool and came to New
Zealand in the ship "Minerva"
in 1859. He was appointed the
first teacher of the first pub-
lic school in Palmerston
North in 1873 and three years
later started business as a
land and commission agent
in the township.
When the Borough Council
was established in 1877 he
was appointed town clerk,
holding the office in a part-
time capacity until 1879,
when he became a full-time
employee. He died in 1910,
three years after his retire-
ment.
The second town clerk was
Mr William Henry Colling-
wood, who came to Palmer-
ston North from Wanganui
during the 1880s and joined
the borough council staff in
1895. He became the rate col-
1907-1917 lector and chief assistant to
Mr Keeling and was subse-
quently appointed town clerk
on Mr Keeling's retirement.
He held the office for 10 years
and then died suddenly in
1917 at the age of 55.
His successor was Mr
James Robert Hardie, who
had joined the council staff
in 1904 at the age of 14. Mr
Hardie graduated through
the ranks of the staff to be-
come assistant town clerk
and was subsequently ap-
pointed town clerk after Mr
Collingwood's death. He re-
mained in office for 37 years
and saw the growth of Pal-
merston North from a small
borough to a major city. He
retired in 1954 and is still
living in Palmerston North.
The present town clerk, Mr
Arnold Matthew Peter Hall,
became assistant town clerk
in 1945 and was appointed as
Mr Hardie's successor nine
years later.
The third town clerk
FUNERAL DIRECTORS EMBALMERS
are pleased to have been associated with the progress of the City over the
last 92 years.
1879
Built in 1898 and now occupied by D. R. Thomas Ltd. 479 Main Street.
A. M. P. HALL
The present town clerk
1954-
LEARY'S PHARMACIES LTD.
As the oldest established
chemists in Palmerston ^iorth
we thank the people of
Manawatu for the opportunity
to serve you.
WILTON
LEMNS
16
BROADWAY
YEAR5
OF SERVICE
I INGREDIEKT
,noti>!ec!6e
9
2nd Motor Hearse in N.Z., purchased by Thos. Sriggs in
1914 and built by Cousins & Cousins, Auckland, at a cost
of 1000. Son of Thos. Griggs, Mr H. H. Sriggs, is at
the wheel.
1971
"THE LYCHWAY"
Thos. Griggs, founder of the firm and grandfather of the
present Directors, Jack R. and Geoffrey T. Griggs.
Built in 1956 on properties formerly owned by old Palmerstonians, the late Messrs T. T. Kerslake and W. C. Brophy.
82
EVENING STANDAHO CENTENAUT SUPPLEMENT. SATUHDAY. MARCH I t , 1171. ' ' I' M I i M 11111\ 1
EVENING
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STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13. 1971
Bswm
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Community Facilities
O
NE hundred years ago the com-
munity of Palmerston North did
not exist. People were few in number
and separated from one another by
environment and culture. Bush and mud
separated the settlers of the Papaeoia
clearing from the settlers of the sur-
rounding forest. Language and custom
separated the Maori from the European
and the Scandinavian from the Briton.
But gradually a community began to grow. As
the population increased and as roads and railways
were constructed, people came into closer contact
with oneanother and barriers of location, language,
and custom were broken down. People banded
together to obtain facilities for themselves and for
their neighbours. Buildings for worship, education,
and entertainment were erected; medical services
were obtained; a fire brigade was organised; sup.
plies of water and gas were instaleld; parks and
gardens were developed.
In the final section of this supplement the begin-
nings of these community facilities are described and
an attempt is made to establish the correct date of
their commencement.
The First Churches
O
N February 18 last the Rev.
James McWilliam, of Otaki,
held the first public divine service
here, in the Survey Office, and on the
following Sunday the Rev. Mr Honore,
of Marion, preached to both English
and Scandinavian congregations."
So wiote the Palmerston North corres-
pondent of the Wellington Independent
newspaper in March, 1872. This lepoit
settles some long-standing doubts concern-
ing the identity cf the first minister to
hold a religious service in Palmerston
Noith, and the building in which it was
held.
Mr T. L. Buick's book "Old Manawatu"
(published in 1903), states that the first
.service was held in Manson and Bartholo-
mew's sawmill, and that the minister was
the Rev. John Elmslie (Presbyterian), of
Wanganui. but this statement is obviously
incorrect.
The reports of the Wellington Independ-
ent clearly show that the first service
was conducted by the Rev. James Mc-
William (an Anglican missionary, of
Otaki) on February 18, 1872, and that it
was held in the Survey Office, near the
corner of the Squaie and Coleman Place.
The second service was held one week
later by the Rev. Abraham Honore (a
Lutheran-Presbyterian missionary from
Rangitikei) and this service probably took-
place in the Survey Office, too. Three
weeks later, on March 10, 1872, two ser-
vices were held at the same time, one
taking place in the engine shed of Manson
and Bartholomew's sawmill (the Rev. Mr
Elmslie, of Wanganui) and the other be-
ing conducted in the Survey Office by
Father Moreau, a Catholic priest, from
Otaki.
It is interesting to note that many of
the early Scandinavian settlers of Palmer-
ston North were Methodists, not Luth-
erans, owing to the fact that Methodism
had spread to Denmark during the 1860s
and had produced a significant religious
revival in that country. The Weslyan
Church of New Zealand took a special
interest in the newly-arrived Scandinavians
and appointed a Dane named Edward
Neilsen to minister to them. He took up
his residence in Palmerston North in 1874.
In the following year the Scandinavian
and British Wesleyans combined forces
and funds and erected a building for their
joint use. This was the first church build-
ing to be erected in Palmerston North and
it stood in Broad Street (now Broadway
Avenue) on the site at present occupied
by St Paul's Methodist Church.
The first secretary of the church trustees
was a Scotsman named James Linton
who later became the second Mayor of
Palmerston North and the first treasurer
was a Norwegian named Frits Jenssen
who later succeeded Mr Linton as
Mayor.
The Rev. James McWilliam, an Anglican
missionary from Ol aki , who conducted the
first religious service in Palmerston North in
March, 1872.
Later in the same year the first Meth-
odist service was held by a Weslyan
m'nistor from Marton, the Rev. W. S.
Harper, and after the first public school
was completed in October, 1872, services
of all denominations were held in that
building.
\
Broad Street in 1875 and erected a sma
wooden church shortly afterward. It stood
on the site now occupied by Garners
^Department Store.
The Presbyterians purchased a site in
Church Street, where the present St
Andrew's Church now stands, and their
first church building was opened in 1877.
The first minister in charge of this parish
was the Rev. R. McGregor.
First Service
Anglican Parish
In September, 1875, construction work
began on the first Anglican Church, situ-
ated on the section now occupied by All
Saints' Church. The prime movers in the
establishment of this church were Mr and
Mrs George Snelson, who were later to
become the first Mayor and Mayoress of
the town.
Mrs Snelson had the honour of laying
the foundation stone of the church, and
Mr Snelson was chairman of the building
committee and the first churchwarden of
the parish. The first Anglican priest to
take charge of the parish was the Rev.
Henry Bevis.
The third church building to be erected
seems to have been that of the Catholic
community, which purchased a site in
Residents
1
Anqlicans in the settlement's pioneer days attended services in this building for the denomina-
tion. It wasbuilt in 1875.
g4 _ EVENI NG STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
The first Methodist Church building in Palmerston North, which was .reefed in 1875.
Ph.togrophs onthis page courtesy of Palm.rston N o r t h pub,|e Library.
T
HE long arm of the law reached
Palmerston North in 1872, when
Constable W. C. Wilson was appointed
the first policeman in the town. His
office and residence was a small
wooden building in Main Street east,
near the site of the present Court
House.
Constable Wilson probably had a difficult
job in enforcing law and order, for a large
proportion of the town's population con-
sisted of unmarried labourers, who spent
much of their spare time at Heaton's
Palmerston Hotel in Main Street west, and
Waldegrave's Royal Hotel in The Square.
In January, 1872, a newspaper corres-
pondent reported that "disgusting scenes
of drunkenness" had been exhibited in
Palmerston North. "During a dull day I
counted five men lying hopelessly drunk on
the verandah of Heaton's house and saw
one man dead drunk carried by his head
and heels from the bar into the only sitting
room and two or three .supporting them-
selves as upright as they could against
the fence. Waldegrave's windows were all
smashed and he had himself, so I was told,
been pitched out of the door."
The presence of a police constable must
have brought some improvement to this
Law, Order Comes
District
situation, but a lack cf sobriety remained
a feature of the township for many years.
In 1875 the New Zealand Times reported
that "Palmerston has come prominently
into notice latterly in a way that is
extremely undesirable. Deaths from exces-
sive drinking are far too frequent. W:thin
the last fornight inquests have been held
on two victims of intemperance, and I hear
that on Friday morning two more bodies
those of a white man and native woman
were found huddled together by the
roadside, about a quarter of a mile below
the Palmerston Hotel. This shows that a
highly objectionable tone of morality
obtains in Palmerston."
Constable Wilson was succeeded by Con-
stable W. Gwynne (1873-74), Constable
Donnelly (1874-78) and Constable John
Gillespie (1878-1884). Then came Constable
William Manning, who remained in charge
for several years and was promoted to the
rank of sergeant in 1889. At the same time
Palmerston North was tjrekted a sub-
In 1872
For
Palmerston ] 1872
North
district within the New Plymouth Police
District and the staff of the station was
increased to one sergeant :md two con-
stables.
By 1895 a third constable had been added
to the force and there was an urgent need
for increased accommodation, so <he old
wooden Court House in Main Street east
was moved to Church Street east and
equipped as a police station. This building
was in use until 1938, when it was demolish-
ed to make way for the present two-
storeyed police station.
The Palmerston North Police District
was created in 1918 and was placed under
the control of Inspector J. K. Simpson, who
was promoted to Superintendent in 1930.
He was the first officer of that rank to
have charge of the district.
Before 1874 the residents of Palmerston
North had to travel to Foxton to attend
Court sittings, but in that year a small
Court House was opened in Main Street,
on the site of the present Court House.
Major Willis, the Resident Magistrate of
Foxton, then called periodically on circuit
until the town received a resident magi-
strate of its own in 1879.
Two years later a new Court House was
erected and this building was in use until
1895, when it was moved to Church Street
to serve as the new Police Station. The
large wooden building-erected in its place
was destroyed by fire in 1897 and was
replaced by the concrete and brick Court
House which, with alterations and addi-
tions, is still in use today.
The eld police station in Church Street which was in as* from 1895 until 1938 when the) present Destroyed by fire in1897. this picture shows Palmerston North's old Court House in Main Street
station was erected.
. Photographs onthis page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
1971
WE TOO ARE PROUD TO BE
PART OF PALMERSTON NORTH
AND JOIN WITH THEM
IN THE CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
BRANCHES THROUGHOUT NEW ZEALAND
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1971.
The gutted remains of W. Pegdens furniture workshop andfactory after the lire of April 5. A third outbreak occurred
same night in the premises of Millar and Giorgj.
-.r
The remains of the High School in Featherston Street after the fire of April 5. 1910.
A Night To
Remember
T
HE most sensational series of conflagrations yet
recorded in the history of the town." That is
how the "Evening Standard" of the time described
the triple outbreak of fire which occurred on the
evening of Tuesday, April 5, 1910.
"The first and worst occur-
red at 8 o'clock and it almost
f 1 completely destroyed the Pal-
ly*"! \ \ I -* merston High School, one of
JL JL Xl^J'JL\_y the largest and most up-to-
date institutions of its kind
in the Dominion. The second
broke out at the rear of Mr
W. Pegden's premises while
the High School was still
blazing fiercely, and the re-
sult was the destruction of
Mr Pegden's storing, packing
and upholstering rooms, and
the gutting of Messrs Porte-
ous and Co.'s stables. And to
crown the evening's sensa-
tions, just as the brigades-
men were responding to the
roll call in front of Mr Peg-
den's, one of their number
saw smoke issuing from Mil-
lar and Giorgi's premises not
a hundred yards off, and in
a few moments a great body
of smoke and flame issuing
from back and front of the
building confirmed the start-
ling news."
Pegden's fire probably started accidentally, but tne
fires at the High School and Millar and Giorgi's were
definitely the work of an arsonist A 25-year-old butcher
named Joseph John Powelka, who had escaped from jail
shortly before the fires, was subsequently found guilty of
setting fire to the High School. For this, and various
other crimes, he was sentenced to 21 years' imprisonment,
but he escaped from the Wellington jail in 1911 and was
never recaptured.
Fire Service For
The City
Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library
Fire
In
The
Borough
I
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35 YEARS' SERVICE TO THE
PEOPLE OF PALMERSTON NORTH
AND SURROUNDING DISTRICTS
FOOTE'S PREMISES at 35 The Square,
From 1938 to 1965
STOCKISTS OF -
MEN'S CLOTHING
MERCERY
SHOES
LADIES' FASHIONS
SPORTSWEAR
UNDERWEAR
LINGERIE
CHILDREN'S WEAR
FOOTWEAR
HABERDASHERY
LINEN, etc.
WEAR AS
YOU
PAY
$60 $3 per week
$40 $2 per week
$20 $1 per week
174 BROADWAY AYE.
FREE PARKING
FOOTE'S DRAPERY LTD
Faltering Start For
Fire
Brigade
r
4E history of organised fire-fight-
ing in Palmerston North dates from
1877, when a volunteer fire brigade
was formed and thefollowing officers
elected: Captain, Mr T. King; first
lieutenant, Mr P. E. Warburton; sub-
lieutenant, Mr McMahon; secretary,
Mr B. L. Pirani; treasurer, Mr G. M.
Snelson.
This brigade received its baptism in
March, 1878, when a fire broke out in the
stables behind the Clarendon Hotel, on the
corner of the Square and Rangitikei
Street. A newspaper report stated that
"the fire brigade, assisted by volunteers,
soon showed what combination and dis-
cipline caln do. Some were on the shingled
rcof, with a chain of men parsing buckets
of water to them, while others devoted
themselves to the stack of firewocd and to
the fire itself. For more than an hour it
was extremely doubtful if the main build-
ings could possibly be saved, but by extra-
ordinary exertions the fire was eventually
got under."
Disbanded
The brigade attempted to obtain a
horse-drawn fire engine and other equip-
ment from the insurance companies of
Wellington, but this attempt was unsuc-
cessful and the brigade was soon dis-
banded.
Five years later, on July 18, 1883, an-
other volunteer brigade was formed. The
first captain to
1
be elected was Mr A. G.
Bentley, who was followed in office by Mr
L. G. West. The first full-time superin-
tendent was Mr Albert Tingey, who held
office from about 1887 until 1908.
This brigade obtained financial sup-
port from the Borough Council and was
soon able to buy firofighting equipment. In
1884 it purchased a hook-and-laic'deir car-
riage, a four-wheeled vehicle which was
12 feet in length and could be pushed
from either end. On each side of the
wooden body were rests for ladders and
the open part of the vehicle was used for
carrying hooks and buckets. This primi-
tive fire engine had to be pushed through
the streeits of the town and on at least
one occasion the firemen arrived at their
destination too exhausted to man the
buckets.
A great advance was made in 1888.
when the brigade purchased a horse-
drawn engine with a manual pump. This
enabled water to be pumped from wells,
drafeis or tanks and hosed onto the lire.
The engine, which was named "Rescue",
was housed in a wooden fire station in
Coleman Place and the horses nseded to
pull the vehicle were kept in Mr H. .!.
Woodfield's Manawatu Stables in George
Street, on the site of the present Odeon
Theatre.
The fire brigade remained under the
.control of the Borough Council until 1E07,
when the Palmerston North Fire District
was proclaimed and an independent Fire
Board was elected. The board erected a
new fire station in Cuba Street in 1910
and this building was in use until the
opening of the present statioln in 1926.
Major Blazes
The folowing is a list of the major
fires which have occurred in Palmerston
North: Town Hall and library (1885);
shops on south side of the Square (1891);
shops on east side of the Square (1891);
stables and blacksmith's shop on the
corner of Rangitikei Street (1894);
Theatre Royal in the Square (1895);
Empire Hotel in Main Street east (1895);
Courthouse in Malin Street east (1897);
Commercial Hctel and Standard news-
paper office in the Square (190C); Claren-
don Hotel in tha Square (1904); Provin-
cial Hotel in, the Square (1906); High
School in Featherston Street (1910); shops
on west side of the Square (1924); Occi-
dental Hotel in the Square (1927); Post
Office Hotel in Broadway (1929); Hangar
at Milson areoirome (1939); Plant Re-
search building at Grasslands (1940);
buildings at the Showgrounds (1946).
gg
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
I i
view of Palmerston North's first fire station. ABOVE: The first horse-drawn fire engine
of the Volunteer Brigade. It was purchased in 1888.
TIFFANYS
The Perfect Way To Say
I Love You
Is With A Diamond Engagement
Ring From The Specialists
TIFFANYS
For Your Comfort, Convenience
Private Ring Salons
The City's Largest Selection
TIFFANYS
131 THE SQUARE PHONES 83-440 Pte., 85-780 Bus.
PALMERSTON NORTH
Photograph, othis poo. courtesy of Pa.n.ent.n North Pub.lc library. EVENING STANDARD CENTENIAL SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1 9 7 1 8 7
f .
' ' ,

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A H
S
EPTEMBER 2, 1871 A sad acci -
dent has just occurred to a Dane
named Braunsted. It appears that the
unfortunate man was engaged in falling
a tree and accidentally got his leg cut
clean off a little below the knee. The
poor fellow has just been brought
home, having been carried a distance
of two miles and is in a very exhausted
state.
"The doctor, unfortunately, is away
down the tramroad, some eigrht miles from
here. A messenger has been despatched
with all haste for him and it is to be
hoped the bad state of the road will not
delay him too long."
^ *J
h i s n
,
e ws
P
a
P
e r
report gives an idea
of the working conditions which faced the
first medical man to practise in Palmer-
ston North His name was H. Spratt, and
his official designation was "resident
surgeon' to the men employed on public
works in the inland Manawatu district
The Central Government deducted two
shillings and sixpence a month from the
wages of men working on Government
contracts in the district and used this to
subsidise medical services. A salary of
200 a year was also paid.
First Hospital
Dr Spratt' s contract with the Govern-
ment expired in June, 1872, and he seems
to have left the district on this date. For
the next three years the Palmerston North
settlera were without a resident doctor,
although Dr Rockstrow, of Poxton, made
periodic visits to the township. In .1875
Dr F. St John Akers started practise in
Palmerston North and a few years later
he was joined by Dr Hugh Marriner.
Until 1878 there was no form of
hospital in Palmerston North, but in that
year the borough council obtained control
of a small wooden building on the corner
of Ruahine and Main Streets and attempt-
ed to administer it as a hospital. A matron
was engaged on a part-time basis, but was
employed only when there was a patient
in the building. Serious cases of illness
and injury were sent to the hospital in
Wanganui, the journey being made by
train.
By 1887 the population of Palmerston
North had reached 2600 an4 the town was
still without adequate hospital facilities.
However, public-minded citizens wore
beginning to take action. Mr James Grace,
a railway guard, observed the suffering
undergone by hospital patients during the
slow and jolting journey to Wanganui and
decided to try to arouse public sympathy
for the establishment of a local hospital.
He approached Mr W. H. Smith, proprietor
and editor of the Manawatu Daily Times
newspaper, and awoke his interests, with
the result that public meetings were held
and fund-raising activities were started.
First Chairman
Steps were also taken to create a
separate hospital district, and in 1891 the
Member of Parliament for Palmerston
North, Mr J. G. Wilson, piloted through
the House of Representatives a Bill that
established the Palmerston North Hospital
and Charitable Aid Board. Mr Wilson la(or
became Sir James Wilson and served as
chairman of the hospital board for many
years, MIS namo is commemorated in the
Wilson Ward.
The first chairman of the hospital
board was Mr G. M. Snelson. who im-
mediately threw his energy into fund-
raising for the erection of a building. The
district was canvassed for donations, a
public ball nnd a children's fancy dress
ball were held, and a bazaar was organis-
ed in a large, temporary building erected
in the centre of the Square.
By these means more than 1900 was'
raised, and this sum was doublet! by a
Government subsidy and grant. Ten acres
of land were purchased In Terrace Street -
now known as Ruahine Street and a
large wooden hospital building was erected
on this site and officially opened in
November. 1893.
The first matron was Miss Kllen
Dougherty and the first surgeon (part-
time) was Dr J. H. I. Macintire. During
the first, year of its existence 188 patients
were admitted to the hospital and there
were more than 3200 visitors.
0 Photographs on this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
A picture of the Public Hospital soon after its erection in 1893.
An interior view of the men's ward at the hospital. This picture was token about !8?5.
statement from Mr L H. I. Watson, Managing Director of the Northern Building Society
The above statement is based on the current
weekly increase in membership of the Northern
Building Society for the Palmerston North District.
By 1981 local subscriptions should exceed $1.5
million, and the Northern Building Society's policy
has always been to re-invest in Palmerston North
and District almost the total amount collected
locally.
(At present this is approaching one million dollars
annually.)
WILL YOU BE ELIGIBLE FOR SOME OF
THIS I f MILLION DOLLARS?
Every member of the Northern Building Society is
eligible for an interest-free loan of $2000 per SO
cent shareor $500 cash tax free. This is allocated
according to the ballot system, and BALLOTS
ARE HELD EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR!
If a 'NORTHERN' member requires a loan before
winning a ballot, each share entitles the member
to tender for a loan of $2000 every month. And
remember at present nearly $1,000,000 is made
available each year in your area. By 1981 this
should reach $1.5 million, per year.
WHAT WILL YOUR SHARE BE?
Within the lifetime of a 'NORTHERN' savings
group, which is approximately 25 years, every
continuing cluster of 10 shares will provide a
$20,000 interest-free ballot loan or a cash gain of
$5000 TAX FREE. In addition, your accumulated
savings are refundable, plus profits. Of course
you can invest as little as 50 cents a week but your
ballot winnings will be proportionately smaller.
Anytime after ten years if you do not wish to
continue you can withdraw from the 'NORTHERN'
the total amount of your savings, plus your share
of the Group profits.
This graph compares the
savings invested by the people
of Palmerston North in the
Northern Building Society since
1941 with the re-investment
by the Society in financing
the district's home building.
It includes a projection to 1981.
Savings Invested
Mortgage Advances
~&"
-fAV*-
- CMu- >-
6 *
1941
l
in
1951 1961 1971 1981
WSl
NORTHERN BUILDING SOCIETY
For further information, without obligation, on how the
Northern Building Society can help you, phone 86-199 Palmerston North,
or cut out and post this coupon.
THE NORTHERN BUILDING SOCIETY
PO BOX 299, PALMERSTON NORTH
Please forward more details of your savings groups
NAME
ADDRESS
We look
down on
Palmerston
North,
and we're
impressed!
We're convinced that the great way to see
Palmerston North is from the air. When you're
coming in or going out with NAC. It's impressive.
Today Palmerston North is a key link in our
national network, joining 24 cities, towns and
pleasure resorts. We make a lot of bookings in
Palmerston North throughout New Zealand and
overseas. Complete World Travel booking facilities.
Fast and frequent air freight services. For business
or pleasure travel, at home or abroad, Phone 77-169
(internal reservations) or 77-149 (overseas travel and
all other services) or call at the NAC AIRCENTRE,
corner Princess and Main Streets.
NAC
NEW ZEALAND'S NA
88-
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
i ________:_ J
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971
89
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t i t
W
HEN was the first school opened
in Palmerston North ? For many
years it has been believed that the
dote was April I, 1872, but recent
research indicates that the first school
actually opened almost one year later,
in March, 1873.
The source of the date 1872, is found
In Mr T. L. Buick's book "Old Manawatu",
published in 1903. Referring to the
establishment of the first public school
in Palmerston North, Mr Buick states
quite emphatically that "this scholastic
institution was opened _pn the auspicious
day of April 1, 1872, "with the modest
attendance of eight scholars".
From where did Mr Buick obtain this
Information? It almost certainly came
from the school's first teacher, Mr R. N.
Keeling, who was the Town Clerk of
Palmerston North at the time Mr Buick
wrote his book. Mr Keeling should have
known the date when he opened the
school, but we must remember that errors
of memory can easily occur when an event
Is recalled 30 years later.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
Palmerston North's first school, which opened in March. 1873. Originally it was thought the school opened in April, 1872, bi t recent
evidence refutes this.
A CITY OF
What evidence is there for believing
that the date 1872 is incorrect? The first
comes from the files of the "Wellington
Independent" newspaper, which published
items of Palmerston North news received
"from our own correspondent". On March
21, 1872 it is reported that "tenders are
called for the erection of a schoolhouse"
in Palmerston North, and on May 23 of
the same year it is stated that the school
was "in course of erection". Three months
later, on August 15, came the news that
although the school was nearly completed
"the required sum has not yet been sub-
scribed. The committee, I hear, intend to
appeaTto the generosity of the Wellington
merchants to make up the deficit"
This appeal evidently met with suc-
cess, for by October, 1872, the school had
been completed and the first function held
In it was a church service, conducted by
the Rev. J. Patterson of Wellington.
There is no evidence that any school
classes were held in the building during
1872, and the first newspaper reference
to a schoolteacher is dated February 17,
1873: "The Education Board have sent us
a schoolmaster who commences his duties
in a fortnight".
The minutes of the Wellington Educa-
tion Board also indicate that although the
school building was erected in 1872, no
classes were held until 1873. On January
25, 1873, the Education Board received a
letter from Mr G. M. Snelson, of Palmer-
ston North, "forwarding particulars of new
school and stating that the trustees were
prepared to hand it over to the board".
On February 1, 1873 the board notified
Mr R. N. Keeling (who was then at
Marton) that he had been provisionally
appointed to the school at Palmerston
and that his salary was to be 80 a year,
plus a boarding allowance of 20. In the
same month the board forwarded a supply
of books and other equipment to Palmer-
ston North.
From this evidence it is apparent that
the school building
1
was
1
erected in 1872
at the expense of the Palmerston North
settlers. Early in 1873 the trustees of the
school placed it under the control of the
Education Board of the Wellington Pro-
vincial Government, and the first teacher
started his duties at the end of February
or the beginning of March, 1873.
Mr Keeling resigned in 1878 and his
place was taken by Mr H. W. Waite, who
died in office in November, 1877. The next
#ittorian ouquet
- WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT US MANY YEARS
AGO
This business was established in 1889 by Mr. John
Watt, lately of Masterton, but for many years a thriv-
ing bookseller of Wellington. As a branch establish-
ment, however, it was not a great success, and not-
withstanding its exceptional site quite close to the
Post Office it cannot be said to have gone ahead at
all until it came into the hands of the present proprie-
tors in 1891. It is a neat and pretty shop, splendidly
kept in the matters of quality, quantity, and arrange-
ment of stock. The depth of the shop is 40 feet by a
width downstairs of some 16 or 18 feet. The show-
room upstairs is about five feet wider. The establish-
ment of Messrs. G. H. Bennett & Co. is one to be
commended in every way. Prompt and pleasant, but
not fussy, attention is paid to customers, and the
business generally is thoroughly well looked after.
Mr. Bennett is a native of Auckland, and well-known
throughout the Colony.
FROM THE CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW ZEALAND'
Published in 1897.
!Htasss5
!
*s
-P
G. H. BENNETT
& CO. LTD.
Booksellers and Stationers
BROADWAY, P.N.
T >W'^-Ws
90
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
LEARNING
headmaster was a Mr Locke and he was
succeeded by Mr F. E. Watson, who was
in charge of the school from 1879 to 1918.
Hotel Site
This first school was situated on the
corner of Main Street east and Princess
Street, on the site now occupied by the
I Empire Hotel. This site seems to have
I been selected by Mrs G. M. Snelson, who
pointed
1
out the need for a school to Mr
William Fitzherbert (Superintendent of
the Wellington Province) on one of his
visits to Palmerston North.
The Government reserved the section
for educational purposes, but it left the
expense of erecting a school to the settlers
themselves. Mr Snelson seems to have
been very active in obtaining the neces-
sary money and was apparently the
chairman of the board of trustees.
The original site proved too small and,
In 1890 when the roll had reached more
, ihan 400 classes were transferred to a
new building in Campbell Street. In 1922
the school was moved to its present site
in Featherston Street, where it is now
known as Central Normal School.
Secondary school education in Palm-
erston North began in 1891, when Mr
Kenneth Wilson a graduate from Cam-
j bridge University opened a private
High School in Featherstpn Street. This
j school catered for boys only and was
I quite inadequate to meet the growing
[public demand for free secondary educa-
[ tioto.
In 1902 the Wanganui Education
[Board raised College Street School to the
[status of a District High School and on
[February 17 high school classes- began.
[There were 84 pupils on the roll (40 boys
[and 44 girls) and classes were held in the
[Sunday School hail of St Andrews Presby-
erian Church until 1903, when a large
rooden high school was opened in
?eatherston Street. This building was
Jestroyed by fire In 1910 and was replaced
1
y the brick structure which now forms
irt of the Boys' High School. The school
as a co-educational one until 1920, when
separate girls' high school was estab-
shed in Fitzherbert Avenue.
Education
ivr T
e
^!
ar y

e d u c a t i o n i n
Palmerston
North began in 1928, when Massey Agri-
cultural College was opened in the building
which is now the Batchelar Hostel of
Massey University. This college resulted
from the union between the schools of
agriculture at Auckland University College
and Victoria University College, Welling-
ton, and the first principal Sf the new
college was Professor G. S. Peren.
The college commenced its activities
on a property purchased from the Estate
of Mr J. O. Batchelar, but in order to
ensure the permanency and expansion of
(.he institution, the Palmerston North
Borough Council purchased the adjacent
McHardy property and gifted it to the
Government. This is now the site of the
present Massey campus.
Massey remained a residential agri-
cultural college until 1963, when it was
amalgamated with the general-studies
branch of the Victoria University of
Wellington, which had been established in
Palmerston North three years earlier On
January 1, 1964, by virtue of the Massey
University of Manawatu Act 1963 the
university became a fully autonomous and
degree-conferring institution and is now
a multi-faculty university with one of the
most modern and impresaive collections
ot university buildings in New Zealand.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
Mosse, Aaricu.tura. Colleae. from which grew the present Massey University campus, pictured about 1928. the yeor it accepted its rsr
scholars.
. GERRAND & SONS LTD.
1904-1971
JEWELLERS TO THE PUBLIC OF
PALMERSTON NORTH FOR
THREE GENERATIONS
J. B. Gerrand premises from 1905-1915.
GROWN WITH THE CITY
Messrs J. B. Gerrand And Sons Ltd.
A little history that will be of interest to Palmerstonians. In 1904, Mr J. B. Gerrand
came to Palmerston North from Wellington and bought out the late Mr Murray, who was
then carrying on business in the eld Theatre Royal buildings as watchmaker and jeweller.
Mr Gerrand received his training under the late Mr Wilson Littlejohn, founder of W.
Littlejohn and Son, and with which firm he had served 17 years before coming to Palmer-
ston North.
With the growth and development of the business, it was necessary in the following, year
11905) to secure more commodious premises, which were found in Waldegrave's Build-
ings, where he introduced an optical and sight-testing department, and also opened a
large workshop for watch and clock repairing and a manufacturing jewellery factory.
In the year 1906, Mr Gerrand secured the contract and erected the town clock and
chimes, which he kept wound and in repair for 20 years.
With the further development of Palmerston North and district the business had also
grown, and in 1915 Mr Gerrand moved into still larger and more suitable premises in the
Bank of Australasia buildings. Here he had been able to separate each branch of the
business into departments, each under skilled specialists.
The watch and clock repairing room is a large, well-lighted room fitted with the best of
appliances for the repairing and overhauling of watches and clocks, which work is in the
hands of skilful and experienced workmen only.
In the jewellery department, the manufacture, repair, and remodelling of all classes of
jewellery is carried on, special attention being given to the manufacture of rings,
brooches, medals, diamond and stone setting, also engraving.
In 1924 Messrs Ivan and Victor Gerrand joined their father in the business which was
tormed into a limited company under the title of J. B. Gerrand and Sons Ltd. Large
stocks of rings, watches, clocks, silverware and general jewellery are carried, and
customers can depend on getting satisfaction at this progressive store. .
In 1928 the firm opened a branch at Hawera.
The founder of the firm passed away 20 years ago. Mr Victor Gerrand was accidentally
killed nine years ago, and yet another tragic blow was suffered when Mr Ivan Gerrand
passed away a year later.
Today the business is carrying on as a limited company still under the name of J. B.
Gerrand and Sons.
JEWELLERS
J. B. Gerrand and Sons Limited's present premises to which they moved in 1915.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.Q1
*i
H
I
I
>
t
k
km
I
Water
And
Sewers
T
HE first residents of Palmerston
North obtained a supply of water
by erecting tanks to collect rainwater
and by sinking private artesian wells.
In 1882, when the population of Palm-
erston North had risen to more than
1300, the borough council decided it
was time to investigate ways and
means of securing a water supply for
the whole of the town.
The sinking of artesian wells seemed
an obvious answer. In August, 1882, the
borough engineer was instructed to visit.
Marton and examine well-sinking methods
in use there, and a Napier well-borer was
later invited to came to Palmerston North
courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The filter beds beside the septic tank at Awapuni. This picture was taken in 1907, two
years after the tanks and beds had been brought into use. The system served the city
until 1968, when the new sewage treatment plant was commissioned.
and supervise the sinking of a well. Bores
were sunk In each corner of the Square,
but proved unsuccessful.
Two years later a further attempt was
made to utilise artesian water and the
council proposed to raise a loan of 5000
for the construction of a reservoir on top
of the terrace at Terrace End. Water was
to be pumped to this reservoir from ar-
tesian wells and then piped throughout
the town. The loan proposal was placed
before the ratepayers and was rejected, so
the council was back to where it started.
50,000 Loan
In 1885 it was proposed to raise a loan
of 50,000 for public works in. the borough
20,000 of this amount being for the
provision of a water supply. The proposal
was overwhelmingly approved by the rate-
payers and the money was raised in Lon-
don at an interest rate of 5 percent.
Now t hat the problem of finance had
been overcome, the council had to decide
on which water supply scheme the money
should be spent. A bonus of 100 was
offered for the best water and sewerage
systems and two winners were chosen,
but befdre the prize money was paid the
council changed its mind and called for
new schemes. Under threat of legal action
the council paid the prize money, but no
decision was madei to implement any par-
ticular scheme.
Some councillors were still in favour
of artesian wells, so well-boring equipment
was purchased and in 1887 a bore was
sunk in the centre of the Square, some-
where near the site of the present War
Memorial. The result was disappointing.
Not even a stick of dynamite dropped
down the pipe was able to induce a suf-
ficient flow of water.
Furt her schemes were considered and
further arguments took place, but even-
tually the borough council reached a de-
cision. In July, 1888, it accepted a gravi-
tation scheme to bring water from the
Tiritea Stream. The cost of this scheme
was 18,350. The contractors were Messrs
Coates and Metcalfe, of Hamilton.
The scheme involved erecting a small
dam on the- Tiritea Stream, about seven
miles east of Palmerston North, and
piping water through a seven-inch pipe
to a concrete reservoir situated on top of
the Tiritea hill, at the junction of the
Tiritea and Aokautere roads. This reser-
voir had a capacity of about 300,000 gal-
Our present premises in Church Street, P.N.
lons of water and was situated at a height
of 195 feet above Palmerston North
Water was piped from the reservoir to
the borough in a nine-inch underground
pipe, which crossed the Manawatu River
on the side of the Fitzherbert Bridge. The
scheme was completed i n 1889 and proved
a great success.
Sewage Disposal
A second dam was erected on the
Tiritea Stream in 1904 and the original
dam was submerged beneath the waters
of the new reservoir. The second dam
was raised in height in 1913 and remained
in use until 1957, when the present 100-
feet-high dam was completed.
The history of sewage disposal in
Palmerston North began in 1879, when
the borough council calje<j tenders for the
collection and disposal of nightsoil. The
successful tenderer was a Mr Moffatt,
who has the honour of being the first of
a long line of unheralded and unseen
public servants.
The first area set aside for the dis-
posal of nightsoil was a borough reserve
on the east side of Fitzherbert Avenue
probably in the vicinity of Palm Avenue.
The nightsoil was apparently just thrown
on the ground and left uncovered, because
this area is referred to in borough council
record's as the "nuisance pit".
The introduction of a high-pressure
water supply in 1889 enabled the council
to install a water-carriage system of
sewage disposal. A tender for 2767 was
accepted in March, 1890, and the system
seems to have been in operation by Sep-
tember of the same year. Raw sewage
was discharged by gravitation into the
Manawatu River, the outfall sewer being
laid on the south side of Fitzherbert
.Avenue through the Esplanade. Nightsoil
was dropped into the sewer on the site
where Manawaroa Street now. runs.
A great advance was made in the
sewerage system in 1905, when a new out-
fall sewer was laid and septic tanks ard
filter beds were constructed at Awapuni.
These septic tanks were in use until
the present sewage treatment plant was
opened in 1968.
Nightsoil collection continued until
about 1922, when the sewerage system
was extended throughout most of the
borough and a pumping station, was
erected in t hat portion of the town which
was too low-lying to drain by gravitation.
A. &T. BURT LTD
PALMERSTON NORTH
Congratulations Palmerston North on achieving a
Hundred Years of Progress. After 20 years of
activity we demonstrate to the Citizens of Palmerston
North our confidence in the future of the City by
erecting in Tremaine Ave. our modern Office, Ware-
housing and Manufacturing complex.
A. & T. Burt Limited, Plumbing and Electrical Suppliers, Palmerston North. MANUFACTURERS of Plumbing Requisites, Sheet Metal Machinery, Hospital
Equipment, Copperad and Calotherm Heating and Ventilating Equipment, D. & S. Switchgear Components and Switchboards. CONTRACTORS in:
Plumbing. Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Complete Mechanical Services.
v*
1
*
^ S f c v
i
Our modern new complex designed by Callander & Brogden, architects, and built by J. L McMillan & Loclcwood Limited, in Tremaine Avenue (next to
Railway Station), where our workshop is already situated and our office and warehouse is to be opened in the near future.
DLINS
THE CITY MODERN IN RESKCT TOITS BUDDINGS.
T& K K X P X ? !
F

E C
'
TY AND DI$TRICT<S BUILDERS
-
HOME
DINGS. PROUD OF THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS IN HELPING TO HAVE MADE
WE HAvf
R
F
A
M
T
, ovJn
N
^
E
f r i
T Y U P

N A T T A I N I N G
" CENTENN.AL AND OF EXPRESSING OUR
WE HAVE ENJOYED FROM OUR MANY HUNDREDS OF CLIENTS. BOTH WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
You Are Cordially Invited to Visit Our Showrooms - the most modern in the City
^ ^ ^
H

U S E H O L D
ACCESSORIES EXTREMELY USEFUL TO THOSE WHO TAKE PRIDE IN KEEPING
Our Spacious Showroom is in the Free Parking
Area
Incorporating Modern Display Features:
* All Types of Decorative Wallboards and Pinex Products
* Plywoods
* Doors
* Coreboards
* Tools
* Fibreglass Insulation
* Hilti Concrete Fasteners
* Brass Foundry
* Hardiflex
* Panelfold Doors
* Particle Boards
* Formica
* Scott-Webb Beams
* Roofing Iron
OPEN ON FRIDAY EVENINGS AND ALSO ON SATURDAY
MORNINGS FOR THE Skit OF EXEMPTED HARDWARE
1 * - ODUNS TIMBER DIVISION OFFERS: f n I I
THE LARGEST STOCKS IN THE MANAWATU
NATIVE EXOTIC IMPORTED TIMBERS
FULLY SEASONED TIMBERS & SCANTLINGS
MOULDI NGS & DRESSED TIMBERS
FARMERS' LINES
HEAVY DUTY LOADI NG EQUIPMENT
DELIVERY ARRANGED
OPEN ON SATURDAY MORNINGS
BUILDERS JOINERS HOME HANDYMEN!
MAKE FULL USE OF OUR COMPLETE SERVICE
Over Sixty Years of Service to the Building Industry
DLINS
THE C. & A. ODLIN TIMBER AND HARDWARE COMPANY LIMITED
192 RANGITIKEI STREET, PALMERSTON NORTH TELEPHONE 84-039 Branches and Subsidiaries throughout New Zealand
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13, 1 9 7 1 -
93
!

100 YEARS AGO

Our pioneers had to makeshift
with candles and firewood . . .
BUT IN THIS NEW
CENTURY
TODAY'S PREMIUM FUEL
NATURAL
Now Gas
gels a great
new look!
The beautiful
Beauforts are here!
symbolically ushers in a new era, fittingly marking
the commencement of the city's
SECOND CENTURY OF ADVANCEMENT
NATURAL GAS IS ALREADY NOTED FOR ITS VERSATILITY OF USE
FOR ALL HOME. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES
NATURAL GAS I S . . .
QUICK
CLEAN
ECONOMICAL
If you would like to know more about Natural
see the modern gas appliances at the
GAS CENTRE
THE SQUARE, PALMERSTON NORTH,
or write in (or phone) for a FREE BOOKLET
"Welcome to the new age of Natural Gas"
Gas
The Chelsea Fire
New tariffs introduced
by the Gas Department
make NATURAL GAS
the most economical
form of home heating
Inquire how you can use GAS for . .
DOMESTIC OR COMMERCIAL
CENTRAL HEATING
DOMESTIC OR COMMERCIAL
- WATER HEATING
COOKING
INDUSTRIAL HEATING AND
PROCESSING
GAS FIRES
SWIMMING POOL HEATING
IT WILL PAY YOU TO CONSULT the . . .
PALMERSTON NORTH GAS DEPARTMENT
Telephone 82-039. Palmerston North.
mm
94
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1971.
G
AS came to Palmers+on North in
1889 but not as a Borough
Council undertaking. The first gas-
'works to manufacture gas from coal
were owned and operated by a private
iompany, J. B. Coates and Co., Ltd.,
Af Melbourne.
In 1887-88 they laid gas mains
hrooighout the town and erected retorts
land gas-holders on the corner of Main
St reet west and Cook Street, on the site
now used as a carpark by the N.Z.
^Electricity Department. The works were
brought into operation on February 26
1889.
During the next year Coates and. Co'
offered to sell the gasworks to the Borough
Council, but the council could not afford
to buy, so the undertaking was sold to a
aocal company named the Palmersto i
/North Gas Company Limited. It placed
Mr F. W. Dunderdale in charge of the
jworks and he was succeeded by Mr M. J.
Kennedy, who was manager for 17 years.
By 18% there were 11 retorts and two
gas-holders in operation and about 1000
Ttons of coal were used annually. Coal was
obtained from the West Coast of the
^South Island, being shipped to the port of
"oxtor. and then railed to Palmerston
JNorth. A railway siding ran into the gas-
Pworks from the Foxton line.
The company continued to extend gas
Jmains throughout the town and the oiit-
iput of the works increased from three
^million cubic feet of gas in 1892 to (38
^fcillion cubic feet a year in 1915.
In 1914 the Borough Council decided it
tras time to purchase the works, so a
can o>f 100,000 was raised and the sale
as concluded in August, 1915. The price
lid was 68,524 13s 3d.
Contracts were immediately entered
ito for a new gas holder and a system
vertical retorts, but there was difficulty
obtaining equipment during World War
e and the extensions were held over.
1922, however, it was decided to pro-
,_?d with the erection of an entirely new
rorks, on a site in Napier Road adjacent
o the railway. The new works were put
ato operation in December, 1923, and were
use until the introduction of natural
from Taranaki in 1970.
The first building to be lit by elec-
frc l i g h t s in Palmerston North was
| fcchter, Nannestad and Co's flourmil',
situated on the corner of Broadway
Avenue and Albert Street. A generator
was installed in this building in May,
1892, and the "Manawatu Daily Times"
ommg Of Gas And
newspaper reported that "-
m
-nni ^l n: t , ^ _ _ _
evening, when the mill was in full work-
ing order and the electric light was show-
ing in all its brilliancy, was an exceedingly
attractive one, an'd it is small wonder that
the head miller, Mr Erenstrom. took pride
in bringing the spectacle under the notice
of visitors."
There were 71 lights in the building,
each of 20 candle-power, and in the front
of the mill there was a large light of
50 candle-power. The dynamo was driven
by a six horse-power engine.
During the next 20 years other large
commercial buildings also installed their
own generating plants, and the Borough
Council began to take an interest in
electric power. In 1916 a loan of 86,000
was authorised for the electrification of
the borough and this was to include the
introduction of electric trams. However.
World War One delayed the work and
increases in the cost of materials anil
labour led to the raising of a further loan
of fllO.000. But in 1920, when this loan
was placed before the ratepayers, it was
rejected mainly because of opposition
to the proposed, e l e c t r i c trams. The
Borough Council, therefore raised a loan
of 100,000 for lighting and power purposes
only, with the result that a power station
was erected at Terrace End, adjacent to
the gasworks. It went into operation on
April 1, 1924.
Latei in the s anu^var the Mangahao
Hydro-electric Power Station, near Shan-
non, was brought into operation and
electric power was supplied to the newly-
formed Manawatu-Oroua Power Board,
which in turn sold bulk power to the
Borough Council. This bulk power was
delivered to the Terrace End Power
Station at 11,000 volts and stepped down
to 3300 volts. The council's generating
plant was then used only to supply the
peak demand.
Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
Palmerston North's first electricity station at Terrace End, wfcieh was commissioned on April 1, 1*24.
1894-1971
KEELING AND MUNDY- LIMITED
Few businesses hare been identified with Rongitikei Street at long as Keeling and Mundy Limited, Printers. It was in 1894 the original
company, Hart and Keeling Limited, set up in Rongitikei Street. Fourteen years earlier Mr Robert N. Keeling had travelled from New
Plymouth down to the infant Palmerston North to become town clert.
Mr Wyvern A. Keeling
Managing Director
Mr W. H. J. Sweetman, who has
been with the firm for orer 30
years, is the factory manager.
Keeling and Mundy's first premises in Rangitikei Street
built in 1894.
He was the second town eleri in Palmerston
North's history. Since hit so, Ur G. W. </-
mf, sef up this business if has enjoyed orer 70
years of prosperity on Rmnaitfai Strett.
Now it is managed by Mr Wyrern
A. Keeling, the grandson of Mr
Robert N. Keeling.
Mr Keeling manages a factory
with 6000 square feet of floor
space and a staff of 20.
His modern machinery includes
both letterpress and offset mach-
inery and the firm has specialised
in high quality catalogues lor
many years.
CPAIW HtDtPBOPUCE MERCHANTS
.
This present building was built in 1932 on the same site as the original building, which was
demolished.
EVENING ^TA SUPPLEMENT. WSATURDAY, MARCH 13, 197,1.Qg
iiipii^
t
>I 1 ' 1
I
I
I (
I
THE EARLY THEATRES
H
OW many old residents of Palmer-
ston North can recall the Theatre
Royal and the Lyceum Theatre? For
many years these two buildings were
the centres of social activity in the
town, and in them were held countless
public meetings, dances, flower shows,
and concerts, as well as innumerable
stage performances by visiting enter-
tainers.
The Theatre Royal stood on the
western, side of the Square, on the site
now occupied by the Para Rubber Co. Ltd.
It was erected about 1875 by the Foresters
Lodge and was used as a lodgeroom and
public hall until 1884, when it was pur-
chased, by Mr Frederick Mcwlem, a local
land agent. He and his partner, Mr Ja-res
Linton, made alterations and additions to
the building and named it the Theatre
Royal. It was destroyed by fire in 1895. but
was immediately rebuilt.
The Lyceum Theatre was erected dur-
ing the 1890s and appears to have been
owned by Mr Sol Abrahams, a well-known
Jewish pawnbroker of Palmerston North.
It was situated in Main Street west, near
the corner of Princess Street, and part of
the building is now used by Keith Nicodl
Floorings Ltd.
Some interesting memories of the old
Theatre Royal were recorded by Mr F.
Mowlem in 1924: "Every other night we
had dances and other entertainments, and
occasionally the Pollard Opera Company
visited the town and played in the theatre.
The first band contest ever held im Palm-
erston North took place in the old Royal,
and one night we had 1100 people present.
"In those days things were moving
apace and quite a number of theatrical
companies were roaming about the
country. The theatre was engaged almost
nightly. There was the Dobsori-Kennedy
Company, Bland Halt, Robert Brough
and several other theatrical companies,
and a number of miscellaneous travelling
shows.
"On one occasion a show came along
with trained cats and canaries, the per-
formances being to show that cats could
be trained so that they would not touch
canaries. Of course the cats did not touch
them, because just before the curtain
went up they had been gorged with rump
steak and had no appetite for anything
else.
"On another occasion there was
trouble with the Dobson-Kennedy Com-
pany, which came about in this way: Mrs
Kennedy had paid an afternoon call on
a lady living in Cuba Street and it was
arranged that the lady's daughters should
visit the show and present a couple of
bouquets to Mrs Kennedy. The girls went
to the show, but unfortunately threw the
bouquets at the wrong- moment. They fell
at the feet of Mrs Dobson who, of course,
picked them up. Words followed between
the parties and so ended the Dobsin-
Kennedy Dramatic Company.
By 1900 moving pictures were becom-
ing a popular form of entertainment, and
the Royal and the Lyceum were often
hired by touring companies of projection-
ists. In October, 1900, the British Biograph,
"direct from the Palace Theatre, London,"
screened a series of moving pictures of
war scenes from South Africa (the Boer
War was then in progress) and the
Palmerston North newspapers repo. ted
that the pictures were "remarkable for
their steadiness and life-like appearance."
The report added that "the manage-
ment work their machines by means of
an electric light plant. An eight-horsepower
engine is used, and the wires from the
dynamo are conveyed along the outside
of the building, through a window, and
into the dress circle, where the projecting
machine is located."
The Royal and the Lyceum were
the venue of many political meetings,
and judging by the reports published in
the local newspapers these meetings were
usually lively and entertaining. The
"Manawatu Evening Standard" of October
28, 1902, reported that "proceedings at the
Theatre Royal last evening were decidedly
uproarious at times, practically the'who'a
audience on more than one occasion
standing on seats and watching with
evident interest the ejection of someone
from the pit. Four members of the police
fore were in attendance, and it was a
wise precaution. One individual, who
appeared to have a strong feeling against
co>operative labour, quickly had the
meeting in an uproar, but he departed
before any damage was done under the
wing of Constable Minogue, to whose
winning and persuasive tones he turned
a somewhat reluctant ear."
The opening of the Opera House in
1906 resulted in the closure of the Theatre
Royal and the Lyceum. The older theatres
could not equal the large and modern
stage facilities of the new imposing Opera
House, which had a seating capacity of
1030 persons and was erected at a cost
of over 19000. The old theatres were can-
verted Into shops and. an era In the social
history erf Palmerston North came to an
end*
Photographs OR this page courtesy of Palmerston North Public Library.
TOP: The eld Opera House pictured shortly after its opening In l05. l construction meant
the end for theTheatre Royal and Lyceum Theatre which provided the venues for much of the
early entertainment for the townspeople. ABOVE: Aninterior view of the Theatre Royal in the
Square. The picture was taken about 1900.
P&O congratulates
Palmerston North
one
and
tury of progress
ng achievemen
m m +
From its earliest beginnings Palmerston North
was considered to be the Tiub'of the
North Island to which the traveller and the
trader would come and then to disperse,
practically equi-distant from here, to
anywhere on the island. Therefore the greatest
single factor contributing to the prosperity
and progress of Palmerston North over the
past century lies in its strategic geographic
position.
P&O, too, has made good use of its history
and today offers the modern sea traveller the
ultimate in comfort with a fleet of eight
fully ai (-conditioned and stabilised liners
and a service that's second-to-none, with every
facility available on board to satisfy his
needs. These big, white P&O ships bring tourists,
businessmen afnd immigrants to New Zealand,
some of whom finally settle in Palmerston North to
live and prosper with the community.
Equally as exciting and rewarding is to run
away to sea with P&O. To revel in the sun,
the fun, while meeting newfaces and
seeing new places. Did you knowthat P&Ocalls
at over 45 ports throughout the world. Many
of them, like Suva, have duty-free shopping.
And on board your floating hotel' you can also
shop duty-free which includes drinks and
cigarettes. And when you travel P&O's First
Class it means just thai-and more!
Whether you go First, Tourist or One Class
you'll never forget the wonderful thrill
and anticipation when you step aboard a P&O
liner for your holiday of a lifetime.
Why not ask about cruising the Pacific to
North America or a line voyage to Europe and
the ILK. For further details and reservations
see your P&OTravel Agent or Union S.S, Company
(General Passenger Agents) today.
P
ALMERSTON North is fortunate in
possessing many fine parks, gar-
dens and playgrounds, but it has taken
many years of effort to develop these
areas from bush and scrub covered
wilderness to places of beauty and
utility-
The Square was the first public re-
rve to be beautified. In September, 1878.
\ public meeting was held and it was
^solved that something must be done to
invert the dreary, muddy paddock in
centre of the town into something
More pleasing to the eye. The Mayor, Mr
M. Snelson, explained that borough
Mbentures would be issued, and if pro-
Xrt y owners took these up it would be
mssible to plough and grass the Square,
ant some trees and shrubs, and <;rect
chain fence.
The townspeople s u p p o r t e d this
Iheme and within a few hours of the
leeting Mr Snelson had secured promises
, take up 525 worth of debentures. The
juare was ploughed in December, 1878.
a post and chain fence was eroded
ring 1879. Unfortunately, many citizens
pented their earlier enthusiasm and
jkiled to take up the debentures and it
not until 1881 that trees and shrubs
ere planted.
Beautifying Society
Dittle more was done to beautify the
u a r e until 1904, when a group of local
Kizens formed a beautifying society.
Business premises on the perimeter of
He Square were canvassed for donations
] id plants were purchased for planting.
I n Augusts, 1904, Mrs W. T. Wood, wife
j the town's member of Parliament,
I Lnted the first shrub in this beautifying
1 bgramme and it is interesting to note
K t this plant a red camellia is still
growing.
I Flower beds were allotted to members
^Bthe society and several citizens donated
| e. s and shrubs. Mr John. Rogers, an
t
hitect, drew up a plan for the orna-
ntation of the Square and, gradually,
fcrovements were made. A small foun-
tain was erected in the western corner
near Coleman Place about 1S0S, the
Rangitane Tribe erected the statue of
Peeti Te Awe Awe in the eastern corner
in 1907, amd a lakelet with a wooden
bridge was constructed in the southern
corner in 1909.
Gardens, Reserves Of
The Philosophical Society erected its
observatory in the lakelet portion of the
gardens and the borough council obtained
two old guns from the Defence Depart-
ment in Wellington and installed one in
the northern portion of the Square and
the other in the southern portion. By
1910 the gardens in the Square had been
laid out in the pattern which lasted until
1970, when the closing of the central roads
enabled further garden plots to be estab-
lished.
The Esplanade
The Esplanade was the second public
reserve to receive attention. In 1890 the
361 acres adjacent to the Manawatu River
had been vested in the borough council as
a park and botanical gardens, but little
was done to improve the area until 3897,
when it was officially opened and named
the Victoria Esplanade. This name wan
chosen because 1897 was the diamond
jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign.
The next major development in the
history of the Esplanade was the con-
struction of a driveway from Fitzherocrt
Avenue to Cook Street. This took place
in 1917 and was the first step in opening
up the Esplanade as one of the scenic
attractions of Palmerston North. Under
the supervision of Mr Peteir Black, who
was curator of reserves from 1908 to 194(5,
more native bush was established and
cherry trees were planted the length of
the driveway. For many years Palmerston
North was famous for its lovely cherry
blossom drive.
Bowling, Croquet
The first sportsground in Palmerston
North was developed by a private com-
pany, the Manawatu Sports Association
Limited, formed in 1895. This company
was responsible for developing the Sports-
ground in Fitzherbert Avenue, adjoining
the Esplanade, and it erected a grand-
stand, constructed a cycle track, and laid
down a cricket pitch. The borough coun-
cil purchased the property in 19D0 and
since that date the Sportsground has been
under the control of the council.
City
In 1918-19 the council laid out bowling
and croquet greens on the corner of Park
Road and Fitzherbert Avenue and then
leased the property to the Manawatu
Croquet and Bowling Club.
One of the. most interesting park de-
velopments carried out by the Council
was the transformation of the old -neta'
pit at Terrace End. This pit was used ^y
the Railways Department for obtaining
ballast from about 1876 until about 1S37.
The City Council purchased the 21-aere
site in 1939 and gradually developed it into
a fine recreational and sporting area. It
wais named Memorial Park when the
memorial to those, citizens killed in World
Wai II was erected then-.
9 Photograph courtesy P.N. Public Library.
The Mayor, Mr J. A. Nash, officiates at the opening of the lakelet in the southern corner
of the Square. The lakelet was opened in 1909 as part of the Square development, which
started in 1878 with the ploughing and grassing of the area.
THE SIGN YOUR
W
_ _ E V E N | N G STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.
RELIANCE
TYRE SPECIALISTS
Perhaps "Reliance Blacksmiths" would be the more appropriate
shingle for those days when horsepower wore shoes and
wheels went tyreless! But though unknown to Palmerston's
pioneers, the name Reliance Tyre Specialists certainly moves
Manawatu's moderns.
For everything that moves on wheels, from mini cars to
massive machinery. Reliance Tyre Specialists provide vital and
specialised services. Did you know for instance, that the
Reliance factory here is the only one in N.Z. able to fully retread
the whole range of giant earthmover tyresThe largest tyres
in N.Z.
We don't claim to be pioneers at Reliance, but we do feel we're
making a worthwhile contribution to this city's progress. Not
only do we keep a great many vehicles moving safely and
efficiently on Manawatu roads and farms; in addition, our large
retreading plant provides considerable employment
opportunities for Palmerston North's citizens.
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, SATURDAY. MARCH 13. l 7 1 . _
97
v
Id
<
(I:
By 2071 The City's Population Could Exceed 500,000
N
OT the most enlightened of those
pioneers who began the com-
munity whose Centenary we now cele-
brate could have foreseen the progress
which was to make Palmorston North
the city it is today.
Failing a gift of clairvoyance, the note
of technological innovation which trans-
formed the world would have made a
mockery of any pioneer prophet however
talented. The commercial exploitation of
the motor vehicle, electricity, and the
telephone to name three such techno-
logical devices has wrought such a
tremendous change as would have been
unthinkable a century ago.
Poised on the brink of a second century
in the history of the city, the present
writer, lacking the talent of a prophet,
hesitates to make too sweeping a prediction
of what our successors at the next celebra-
tion might enjoy in the way of progress.
Some observation, however, on trends
which HI'C currently appearing, might be
made which m;iy prove of v;ilu<'. though
of little aocurncv.
Half Million
One century apo the settled population
of the P;ip;ieoi;i clearing was, to nil intents
and purposes, nil.
KYom such a start the city h.is grown
until today the population is about 54,000.
In 100 years time our population could have
increased five, six, or evjn.10 times. By the
year 2000 we might confidently expect a
population of 100.000. What would Palmer-
ston North look like in 2070 A.D with a
population of half a million? And what
problems would face :i city of this
population. At the current residential
density the city would need to be 10 times
as large. Ashhurst, Bunnythorpe, and
Lanton would, in this event, be suburbs of
the city. Unthinkable? .Just look north!
Such a physical size would be a waste
of fine agricultural land. Or do we, in 2070
A.D.. manufacture daily products wilh
machines more efficient and less wasteful
of area than the dairy-cow?
Surely such a population indicates fill
increase In residential densities, but have
we taken sufficient heed that we do no'
produce a kind of 21st century Coronation
Street, as closely settled and as equally
depressing (to New Zea'.ar.ders in any
event)!
In any case our much beloved and
traditional quarter-acre section t which
incidentally is closer to one-fifth) will have
gone by the board.
Housing such a population presents its
problems. but problems have been
encountered in the past. One solution of
the past was the state house, which, in
the words of one writer, was a stolid
"compromise of architecTurnl aspirations
and taxation exigencies"
We have, it is to be hoped, learnt, and
already the concept of the "town house", a
high-density residential form, has been
accepted in principle in the city. The older
state house, depr essi ng' uniform, in-
expertly planned, has lxvn superseded.
Maoris
A currently emergent trend in the
population of Palmerston North, is the
increase in the proportion of Maoris. The
indications are that in the future we might
expect an increasing proportion of Maoris
in the population, since the increase in the
Maori population is outstripping by far the
increase in its European countorpait. Here
is a potential future problem, and no
European can afford to V>e complacent.
Already in New Zealand there are
indications that Maori youth is dissatisfied
with its role and gangs of frustrated
youths have already appeared in the larger
centres. Palmerston North is expected to he
a larger centre within the next century, and
it will be ripe for the appearance of such
groups. Our society cannot afford socially-
dislocated groups - groups which have
been pushed into an inferior position by
the ignorance of the European majority.
For by Ignoring the problem and not
actively promoting Maori participation in
educative and social processes which
European New Zealandsrs enjoy as a right,
and to which Maori New Zealandors have
an equal right, we condemn the Maori to
a kind of second-class citizenship. No Maori
can be expected to allow himself to be
pushed into such an inferior position.
We must wake up, or be woken up,
so that the society of the future will ba
composed of a race of.real New Zealanders
Maori and European whosj culture is
distinctive, but whose origins and tradi-
tions are jealously preserved.
Metropolit
Each should understand the others
culture; each should be equal. God preserve
us from a hybrid race of nonentities who
have no pride in their origins and whose
blood is as muddy as their minds.
Education
Today, Palmerston North' s biggest
industry is education. Massey University,
founded in 1928 with 42 students, now has
more than 2600 students unrolled internally
and almost as many taking extra-mural
studies. Within the next 20 years the roll
eould exceed 10,000 students and by 2070
a greater number even than this
perhaps 50,000 students enrolled annually
That means a university population
comparable with the present city popula-
tion! Massey has adequate land on which
to expand and in this respect is more
fortunate than most New Zealand
universities. It is quite conceivable, if not
probable, that Massey, and, therefore,
Palmerston North, could well be the
education centre of New Zealand.
But what of education itself? Presently
the emphasis in tertiary education is upon
the applied disciplines particularly the
sciences. Technology is the watchword.
Admittedly science and technology, which
have played so vast a part in confounding
our pioneer prophet, will play a far greater
role in the next century. But all work and
no play makes Jack a dull boy and there
is a future role of some magnitude for the
liberal and fine arts. Without these, future
society could be so utilitarian as to be
quite sterile.
The coming century might well see a
veritable explosion in the use of computers
and electronic and mechanical gadgetry,
All of which implies, perhaps, a shorter
working week or unemployment but
inevitably a great deal more leisure time.
It is probable that education will
experience a double revolution and while
the sciences and technologies develop with
breathtaking speed, and the production of
specialists in science ind technology i3
geared to the needs of the 21st century,
there will be a kindred revolution in the
liberal and fine arts.
Already there is a reaction in society
against the computer and mass production.
This may yet develop enormously. While
more and more consumer goods are mass
produced to satisfy society's apparently
insatiable demands, there has risen up a
yearning after the custom-made product.
It Is now a status symbol of some order
to own a collection of hand-made goods or
antiques. Homespun woollens and hand-
made pottery may be seen side by side
with the antique chair and table. While the
mass-produced may be less costly, the
charm, aesthetic appeal and craftsmanship
of the hand-made or antique holds its own
fascination.
As life becomes more computerised and
mechanised, so the demand for hand-
crafted articles rises. The beginnings of the
trend are apparent in the upsurge in
pottery, spinning, and weaving and the
interest in antiques. We might well expect
the trend to continue throughout the next
century.
Revolution
In the past century there has been a
revolution in the type of product and the
standard of workmanship in industry.
While the city was young, industry was
geared to the needs of the day. Saw-milling
and blacksmithing played a large part in
early city enterprise, but with changes in
the environment came changes in industiy.
Today industry is geared to the
consumer market and produces consumer
goods as much given to luxury as to
practicality. While this is likely to continue
into the future, the emergent trend is for
higher standards of workmanship.
The increasingly-skilled labour force
should produce industrial products with a
high standard of workmanship.
Together with the increase in industiy,
and resulting from it, is the increase in
pollution in all forms.
Statu
FOR OVER 35 YEARS THE CENTENNIAL
CITY'S LEADING CATERERS
Catering Contractors to the Wellington,
Manawatu and Wairarapa Racing Clubs
I OFFER IN PALMERSTON NORTH THE FOLLOWING UNEXCELLED DINING, DINE & DANCE, WEDDING, AND
CONFERENCE ROOM FACILITIES.
SOUTHERN CROSS Licensed Restaurant
DISPLAY CENTRE BUILDING (ABOVE GAS SHOWROOMS), THE SQUARE, P.N. PHONE 74-686.
In
Centur
MONDAYS to FRIDAYS:
LUNCHEONS and DINNERS
EVENINGS: SMORGASBORD ami LATE DINING
(6 p.m. HII 10 p.m.) Mondays to Thursdays
inclusive
FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS: CABARET NIGHTS
6 p.m. HII midnight featuring NX' s top
artists frequent change of guest stars.
One of bhe greatest problems of the
future will be the threatened destruction of
the environment by industrial wastes. New
industrial raw materials have brought their
own problems and these are not likely to
diminish in the future without careful
management.
The use of plastics as an industrial
raw material poses a problem. While
plastics are made valuable by their qualities
of durability and versatility, it is their
indestructible quality which poses a
problt n of disposal for outworn plastic
products.
One of the most far reaching inventions
of the past, and the one which perhaps,
has played havoc with our urban environ-
ment to the greatest extent, is the motor
vehicle. The modern car i; no longer a
family affair, it is an essential item of
personal property, bestowing a measure of
prestige upon its owner. No reduction in
motor vehicle ownership is likely in the
future, and the one-car family will be as
outmoded as the pennyfarthing. But the
motor car, which has choked our towns
and cities, is likely to be relegated to its
proper role a means of transport
rather than its present status as a bogey.
Jealous
Already our city has shown its
determination to quell the monster by
accepting a plan for central area develop-
ment which tends to put the motor car in
its proper perspective. It is the task of
the future to implement the provisions of
the plan, and this can only be done by an
educated citizenry which understands the
principles involved.
The plan itself will not make the
centre of our city a living and vital place
but the citizens of the next century have
the task of seeing that it works. It will be
our task to lay the foundation upon which
a re-vitalised city may be built by out
successors. Such a re-vitalisation will
convert Palmerston North from a provin-
cial town Into a real regional centre.
Today each municipality, from village
to metropolis, is jealous of its own
existence. There was some justification for
such an attitude in an age when communi-
cations were in an early stage
evolution, and when a 20-mile journey
a major expedition to be carefully plann!
and executed. Now there are indicati
that such an attitude is dying, and it sea
certain that the community of the full
will enjoy a regional sensibility
than the narrow, parochial attitude of l)|
past.
One of the disasters of our presa
age, and one which could do irreparab
harm in the future, is the cult of the qull
shilling. While all Palmerstonians woii
like to think they stood behind the lot
member of Parliament in his attempt!
stand against tipping there are, unfo
tunately, those whose desire for the quit
shilling is' all too prominent: the restaiw
teur who charges double for a bottle i
wine because the purchaser is virtual
captive; the taxi driver who takes ti
circuitous route because his passengi
knowns no better, are unlikely to diminii
in the future without strong pressun
from the public.
A current trend, and one which tl
future will have to understand, is the td
of youth. Today the fashion is for demoj
strations against this, arid marches
that. This kind of thing is unlikely
diminish in the future. Youth today
bursting out of its century-oM coconn,
since it has the affluence, has also
yoice. Today's youth is well infornii
tomorrow's will be bettor so. But wh
youth must understand now, and in tl
future, is that demonstrations and march
can only begin to be effeclivo if publ
sympathy can be rallied in support. Thi
ultimate effectiveness lies in the objectivi
to.be achieved. If these \re not well evidei
the cause is lost. Tomorrow's bet'
informed youth will know just that.
Bright Future
Ours is a bright future. The pion
of the past century might be proud *(
of the heritage they passed on to us. Ea
citizen now has a role to play in shapw
the future for his successors. We have a
advantage over our predecessors in that
have a century of experience to dW
upon. Will the revellers at the next celeb
tions look upon our enterprise
wl
thankfulness or wtth regret?
P.D.C. Tea Rooms
THE SQUARE Telephone 80-124
SOUTHERN CROSS CONFERENCE ROOM
available for hire. IF YOU WANT TO
KNOW MORE ask someone who's been
there.
LUNCHEONS, MORNING and AFTERNOON TEAS
WEDDINGS AND ALL SOCIAL FUNCTIONS A SPECIALTY
ark View Reception & Conference Rooms
ONGLEY PARK. PARK ROAD Telephone 80-219.
*
: > * '
'V.
hfel
I od'
100 Years On
AVAILABLE FOR WEDDINGS. 21st BIRTHDAY PARTIES. SPORTING FUNCTIONS AND AS CONFERENCE ROOM
If you are arranging a function, any place, any time, and are interested in superior catering at
>mpetitive prices . . . contact
MITH & WALDING LIMITED.
* P. OTBOX 576, Telephone 80-124, PALMERSTON NORTH.
98
EVENING STANDARD CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT. SATURDAY. MARCH 13. 1971.