Monmouth Redoubt, Tauranga

At the top of the climb from The Strand and the old Bond Store up to Cliff Road is the Monmouth Redoubt (.pdf info here) dating from 1864. Actually, everything from this point takes you through the site of the most densely populated part of Tauranga in the days before the Treaty of Waitangi, sites of long vanished Maori pa. But also, sites of massacre and death.

MAORI REMAINS.
A recent slip, on the face of the cliff fronting the Government paddock close to the Monmouth redoubt, revealed the presence of some human skulls which projected beyond the broken earth. The police, on being acquainted with the matter, removed the surrounding soil but with the exception of traces of a fire in the immediate vicinity, nothing else was found. The skulls were reinterred close to their old burial place, it being evident that they were the remains of Maoris who had probably perished in some internecine struggle, prior to the days of European settlement in Tauranga.

In reference to the above Mr E G B Moss writes to us as follows : —
For over fifty years after Cook's voyage the Bay of Plenty was but seldom visited by Europeans; and one of the first vessels after Cook's to coast along it was the Mission schooner “Herald "in 1828. In the beginning of April 1828 she arrived at Tauranga having on board several missionaries and laymen. These gentlemen reported Tauranga and its vicinity as very densely populated, and that the inhabitants lived for protection in three very large pas, viz Otumoetai, Maungatapu. and Te Papa, which was on the northern portion of the modern town of Tauranga lying between the Sulphur Works and the Monmouth Redoubt, also that the Tauranga natives could then muster 12,500 fighting men, and that they had counted 1000 canoes on the beach between Te Papa and Otumoetai. I do not wish to impeach their veracity but half a canoe per fighting man is a very good average.

Te Papa pa belonged to the Ngatitapu, one of the sub tribes of the Ngaiterangi or Tauranga natives, of which sub tribe Koraurau was chief. Te Waharoa chief of Ngatihaua tribe whose head quarters were at Matamata had pressed his friendship on the Tauranga natives so as to obtain a passage to the sea, and by so doing brought down on their devoted heads the enmity of Ngatimaru the great Thames tribe whose head chief was Te Rohu. It does not matter whether it was for revenge, or for more civilized reason of preserving the balance of power, but a day or two after the Herald left, Te Rohu and his bloodthirsty horde came over from the Thames, made a night attack on Te Papa, stormed the pa, killed Koraurau, and annihilated the Ngatitapu tribe which comprised nearly one third of the Tauranga natives. Only 25 of he wretched inhabitants of Te Papa escaped. The killed were made into roasts or stews according to the caprice of the victors, and the usual cannibal feed took place on the site of the old pa. Although the Tauranga natives were then constantly being harassed by the Bay of Islands, Thames, and Rotorua natives, and would naturally keep together as much as possible, it seems almost incredible that 2000 natives were killed at the storming of Te Papa.

The Rev. H. Williams writes thus in the Missionary Register for 1829 page 462 under date 14 April 1828. "Mr Mair and I went up to the pa, which within the last fortnight had been subdued by the Ngatimaru, we witnessed every mark of desolation. When last here we anchored abreast of the place, and there were then hundreds or men, women, and children living here ; now all was silent, their houses and fences burnt, dead dogs and pigs on all sides, and human bones in many places, a dreadful evidence of the real temporal situation of this people.

I was present when the skulls were dug out and noticed that they lay as close as possible together, two in a row, and the third between but behind the other two. Although the crowns of the heads all faced the East two were face up, and one face down. They were covered with about a foot of soil, and lay in a depression that looked as if it had once been a half filled up ditch. As the teeth of two of them were to a great extent worn down they must have been middle aged. The lower jaw and teeth of the third skull were missing. No other bones were found in the vicinity but while prospecting for them some ashes were found at the same depth as the heads, and looking almost as fresh as if the fire had only been put out a few days ago. It seems very evident that the fire had been made in a ditch and the heads left alongside it by the victors, and that some of the friends of the vanquished had quietly buried the lot by filling in the ditch with part of the adjoining bank. I think they can be safely considered as relics of the cannibal feast on the taking of Te Papa nearly 60 years ago which was the last orgie [sic] of the kind held in the town of Tauranga but not by scores the last in its vicinity.

Bay of Plenty Times, 15 July 1887

EAGER SEARCH FOR BURIED TREASURE.
"Whilst on the subject of these remains of cannibal times, a recollection comes over my mind that is worth recording. At the time the troops were encamped round the Monmouth Redoubt a rumour gained currency, and was widely believed, that a box of treasure containing some six thousand pounds had been planted in the first part of the scare, somewhere in the neighbourhood of the redoubt. How the report first originated I do not recollect, but it was implicitly believed on all hands, and many a hunt was made for the missing treasure.

After the Gate Pa and Te Ranga fights, the Monmouth Redoubt was being enlarged and the trenches deepened and widened, and a drawbridge erected in case of an attack by the natives. It was rumoured that an immense gathering of natives was taking place to make a final and decisive attack on the Tauranga camp. The natives were assembling at Akeake, and so confident were they of success that they were already dividing the spoils. One of the principal chiefs was to get a store, another the hotel, and so on. However that all came to nothing; but it led to the strengthening of the redoubt, and at the time I was engaged deepening the trenches.

It was just at the time we all had the treasure fever on us, and when we had got the trench deepened I determined, as it was in the neighbourhood of the supposed plant of treasure, to have a hunt for it on own account. Waiting till past ten o'clock, when it was as dark as pitch, and a wild, windy, and rainy night, I crept stealthily into the trench, and commenced spearing about with my ramrod. I kept at it for some two hours, having to dodge the sentries all the time, and was in quite a fever of excitement, when all at once, at nearly the full length of the ramrod, I came down on something hard that gave a hollow sort of sound. Quivering with excitement, but with the utmost care that I should not be discovered, I sounded all round the find, and with a feeling of exultation not to be described, I came to the conclusion I had found the long-lost treasure. Stealthily and quietly I crept back to the camp, and imparted the great news to my mate, and with the utmost secrecy we crept back to fie trench armed with shovels apiece. After sounding again, my mate came to the conclusion that we had really struck it, and with every nerve on fire with excitement, we set to work to get it out. For two and a-half long hours we worked away, having pretty often to dodge out of sight and stay proceedings on account of the sentries. At last, however, the shovels struck the great find, and both made a rush to be the first to have it out. A few minutes more of desperate hard shovelling, and the great treasure stood disclosed as a mass of ghastly remains of human bones, evidently the relics of a cannibal feast in the long past ages. There they were, arms, legs, and ribs, all jumbled together, and a pair of fools looking disconsolately at one another across them. Our feelings can well be imagined, but to this day I, for one, never disclosed the result of our great treasure hunt. A singular fact was that amongst all these remains not a single skull was discovered, and what become of them was quite a mystery. — "An old Trooper " in the N.Z. Herald.

Hawkes Bay Herald, 6 April 1889

One thing I noticed was that the Tauranga authorities have made Cliff Road fit around the reboubt's embankments of today, and not just plowed through without care.

From military command post to barracks to police gaol -- over time the redoubt became a clutter of buildings, but also a reserve eyed longingly by the city's fathers.

(Tauranga Borough Council report). From Lands and Survey Department acknowledging receipt of copy of resolution re handing over Monmouth Redoubt reserve with the gaol thereon, said gaol being now closed. In reply stating that the Commissioner of Police objected to handing over the reserve as though the gaol is now closed he does not know how long it may be before he may require to re-open it ; steps will therefore be taken to remove the land referred to out of the list of the Borough reserves.

Bay of Plenty Times 3 November 1897

From the Lands Department re the reserve in which the Monmouth redoubt stands that the land was vested in the Council in ignorance of the fact that it was used by the Police Department. It was now proposed to restore the land to its former occupation and when the matter came up in the House the Member for the district would be able to express his opinions thereon. From W. H. Herries, M.H.R., on the same subject asking for further information and reasons for objecting to transference of redoubt back to Police Department. The Mayor explained what steps had been taken in the matter and said that all information had been sent.

Bay of Plenty Times 8 December 1897

His Worship the Mayor has received a letter from Mr Herries M.H.R., with reference to the vexed question of the ownership of the Monmouth Redoubt, the gaol question, etc; There appear now to be good hopes that the Redoubt may at length be able to be thrown open to the public and a gaol re-established in another spot.

Bay of Plenty Times 11 November 1898

Yesterday His Worship the Mayor, C. A. Clarke, Esq., proceeded to the Monmouth Redoubt and received possession of the same on behalf of the Borough from Sergeant Murray. The Redoubt contains a tumble-down old barracks building, almost valueless, the gaol and its offices and the powder magazine. We understand that it is contemplated to utilise one of the buildings as a morgue, if so, we hope it will be removed to a portion of the allotment outside the precincts of the Redoubt itself.

Bay of Plenty Times 7 December 1898

TENDERS will be received at the Council Chambers, TaurangaJNO. H. McCAW, Town Clerk

Bay of Plenty Times 27 February 1899

BOROUGH OF TAURANGA. TENDERS will be received at the Council Chambers, Tauranga, until 7 p.m., on Monday, May 1st., 1899, for the purchase for removal of all the buildings in the Monmouth Redoubt, except the zine magazine, also, separately, for the purchase for removal of the stables outside the Redoubt. Conditions may be seen on application to the undersigned. . JOHN. H. McCAW, Town Clerk

Bay of Plenty Times 26 April 1899

TENDER instructions, as above, the Buildings situate in the Monmouth Redoubt, known as the gaol and the office separately (for removal). W. T. RAYMOND, Auctioneer.

Bay of Plenty Times 10 May 1899

Mr Lundon had claimed for himself the credit of having secured the Monmouth Redoubt for the people of Tauranga. This was, not due to Mr Lundon but to his (the speaker's) predecessor in Parliament, the Hon. W. Kelly and he would be sorry to think his friend Mr Kelly's good deed had been so soon forgotten. He (Mr Herries), had, however, been the means of rescuing it from the Police Department and getting it removed from the Bill wherein it was proposed to take it away from the Borough again. If he had not been in Opposition he would not have been able to block the Bill until this was done, and the town would thus have lost the Redoubt.

Bay of Plenty Times 13 November 1899

It's a lovely sylvan glade -- but I suspect that this has been greatly altered. Apparently part has collapsed over time, to topple down the cliff to the shore below. But still -- grand views up there, if you can make it out through the 20th century's trees.

Memorial Cairn at Tauranga. A memorial cairn on the Monmouth Redoubt at Tauranga will shortly be erected by the Tauranga Borough Council. The memorial, which, it is estimated, will cost £150, is to commemorate the erection of the redoubt in 1864 by British troops, including the 43rd Monmouth Light Infantry. The redoubt was used as a shelter for the European women and children during the Maori Wars of 1864. It is probable that the memorial will take the form of a rock wall with a tablet in the centre and seats at either end. A subscription list has already been opened to defray the cost of building the memorial.

Evening Post 3 June 1937

Monmouth Redoubt.

This redoubt was erected in 1864 by British troops including the 43rd Monmouth Light Infantry after whom it was named.

During these troubled times all european women and children in the settlement were accommodated at the Mission Station with a view to their protection by the military, and had to sleep every night fully dressed and with emergency rations or biscuits and a bottle of water within reach.

This state of affairs continued for six weeks. Then one night the colonel in chargeof the troops told Archdeacon Brown that it was impossible to restrain the natives any longer and that the women and children must take immediate shelter in the redoubt. They were transferred there under heavy military guard and spent the remainder of the night on the floor of the soldiers' blockhouse which stood where this memorial is erected. They remained in these cramped quarters until the arrival of Sellars' cutter, on the deck of which they had, owing to unfavourable weather, to spend another week before reaching safety and shelter in Auckland.

To the memory of these gallant pioneers and the men who protected them, this memorial is dedicated by their grateful successors.

Captain David Sellars apparently operated the schooner Tauranga between Auckland and Tauranga at the time, amongst other craft. The above is an interesting story, but as yet I haven't found a contemporary report backing it up.

Then, there's the cannon. The heritage studies on the redoubt say this is one of the Tapsell (Tapihana) cannons from Maketu. Yet, the Bay of Plenty Times reported on 8 November 1899:

The Mayor moved : —  That this Council tenders its hearty thanks to Mr P F M Burrows, as executor for his brother, the late Mr A W Burrows, for the presentation of a cannon for the Monmouth Redoubt, which this Council accepts with pleasure as a memorial of the deceased and an embellishment to its property. - Seconded by Cr Munro and carried unanimously.

And the 1982 centennial history of Tauranga says much the same.

It's lost its original gun carriage, now just set in concrete.

But this gun is near two hundred years old, dating from 1815. It had some Armstrong guns as companions, but they've gone to Waiouru and other places.

Australasian Zoo & Circus Animals Historical Journal

I'm still wading through various backlogs, demanding inboxes ("empty me! empty me now!"), piles of received snail mail and other stuff accumulated during the time I was briefly away at Tauranga last weekend. So, that's my excuse for not linking before now to my friend Liz's new venture, the Australasian Zoo & Circus Animals Historical Journal, number 1, a topic that now and then comes inrto my sphere of interest (but Liz ardently researches the fate of the animals in finer detail).

Featured are stories of the escaped cleopards from Auckland Zoo, one in September 1925 and another in 1950; and the life and death of Dumbo, Australia's first bush elephant. Worth a read.

Heading around to the Strand in Tauranga

A bit of a  mix of sites along the Tauranga heritage trail as you head down McLean Street to The Strand.  You see Te Urunga here, the shelter for the waka Te Awanui, carved from a totara log by master carver Tuti Tukaokao in 1973. The shelter was opened in 1975, on the site of the Tauranga Harbour Board office.

Something not in the heritage trail brochure: a memorial plaque to Rod Donald of the Green Party, along with memorial tree.

This is the Bond Store, built in 1883 by James Alexander Mann of Mann & Co, merchants. They moved from their temporary premises from July that year to their new building "under the Fort, north end of the Strand". It was sold in 1908, according to NZHPT, and has been used for various purposes since. Now, it's a local newspaper office.

But, just over the railway tracks ...

... is a stunning piece of street art, what appears to be a memorial to Sir Howard Morrison. Also not on any heritage trail.

From this point, it's a steep climb up to Cliff Road. Back in a bit.

Sad days for Tauranga's old tree

This was probably the paragraph, in the Heritage Trail brochure, that helped me decide what to do with a glorious Saturday last weekend in Tauranga -- go off and find history. Of course, eagle-eyed readers will spot the proofing error, eh?

So -- a tree on an urban heritage trail. Great, I thought. Let's take a look.

Actually -- it ended up having more of a story than I thought.

There have been some sad articles of late in the local papers about this tree.

A bid to save Tauranga's giant 146-year-old aspen tree in Willow St is under way today after a massive branch crashed to the ground yesterday, narrowly missing parked cars.

(Bay of Plenty Times, 18 January 2011)

Tauranga's giant and historic aspen tree is to be reduced to a mere shadow of its former self, once arborists finish chopping 16m from its 34m height ... The 146-year-old American cottonwood dates back to the era of the Battle of Gate Pa and is reputed to be Tauranga's oldest living thing. 

 (Bay of Plenty Times, 19 January 2011)

The death knell has sounded on the stunted remains of Tauranga's once mighty aspen tree. A close 6-5 vote by the Tauranga City Council decided the fate of the 146-year-old landmark tree that dates back to the Battle of Gate Pa.

The future of the formerly magnificent tree, on its own reserve in Willow St, looked in doubt when a massive branch crashed to the ground on January 17, exposing just how far rot had spread. With a mere 10cm wide circumference of live wood supporting the tree, it was going to have to be cut back to a stump in order to survive in safety - a process called pollarding.

Some councillors wanted to give the aspen this last chance and then allow it to regenerate from there. However, parks team manager Steve Webb said that even if the stump grew back into a reasonable canopy, it would still have to be cut back to a pollard every couple of years. Although it was hard to know how long the aspen would survive by pollarding, he was confident it would live for another five years.

 (Bay of Plenty Times, 22 March 2011)

So ... here it is.

It isn't an aspen, apparently: more likely, a Canadian cottonwood. The idea of it stemming from a trooper's piece of tethering post is called into question by the marble plaque at the base of what's left of the tree.

The Tauranga "Aspen" Tree.

Although referred to as the aspen, this tree is in fact populus canadensis (Canadian cottonwood), a name covering many hybrid varieties between P. balsamifera and P. nigra. Therefore in the strict botanical sense it is only a cousin to the true aspen, P. tremula.

Legend places the tree's origins in the hands of a soldier who dismounted from his horse and pushed his switch into the fertile soil. History however tells that the tree originated as part of a shelter belt planted in the 1860s to shelter the gardens of the Church Missionary Society's Maori Boys School that was part of the Mission Station.

You can't stop a good story with facts, though. Apart from the relatively recent heritage brochure's paragraph, there's even a rest home diagonally opposite the tree's site -- named Aspen.

This bit got me, though. The interior of part of the tree is filled with cement -- apparently in a bid to support the internally-rotted tree, and in the aftermath of fireworks damage. How much is tree and how much is cement, I have no idea.

So, there you have it. They're trying to preserve the old landmark for a few years yet, but -- right now, it is definitely a sad, patched-up sight. Feeling sorry for the tree, I moved on.

Update 3 July 2011: I've received the following email today from historian John Webster.

Lisa,

 

I've been home just over a week now and should have mentioned to you that the elm/pine tree you admired in Tauranga - the one to which settlers hitched their homes - is sprouting new leaves and branches, very high near the crown and a little down one side (I have photos to prove this) - I was stopping at the Strand Motel just in front,which is only one  house section away from the small reserve in which your tree stands...so every day on my way to the Textile Confrence I saw your iconic survivor! Even the bark seemed in good condition for one so old.

 

John W.

Hopefully, this means hope is not completely lost for the old tree.

Tauranga's old Post Office

First in a series of posts to come about my trip to Tauranga this past weekend, attending the conference and AGM for the NZ Federation of Historical Societies (I was delegate for Avondale-Waterview HS, and I'm  on the NZ Fed committee). I didn't attend three out of the four lectures during the conference, though -- I decided to go wandering in the town, following the heritage trail.

Tauranga's second post office (the first burned down in November 1902) was completed in 1906, which would be the year the above postcard shot was taken, as the clock face in the tower is still blank. They finally installed the clock in January 1907.

And here it is today -- extended along Willow Street frontage (left).

It's a bit of a climb up those stairs. This is the first view you see on the walk. For a moment, I wondered if it was the post office.

Six months ago the work of raising a new post office was begun. Assailed because of their indifference to the North, the Government apparently decided to spend money lavishly on this new building, saying, as it were, "Just look what we are doing at Tauranga, and for ever more be silent." But "donors" have more ways than one of making gifts. Now that the Tauranga post office is outwardly completed, those who believe that again things are not precisely what they should be have abundant justification for their belief. Without attempting to criticise the weird type of architecture displayed — if it is a type — it will here suffice to briefly allude to the position of the new building.

One fact immediately strikes the observer, namely, that the back, not the front, is turned towards the town, and that the most ornamented position has been made to face a dead, solid wall of brown earth, nearly as high as itself. To explain: the steep ground which rises behind the business part of the town has been excavated to provide standing room for the post office. On the west and north sides are the straight, red, earthen walls of the hill, varying from about 10ft to 50ft in height.

On the west side of the building, that facing the wall of earth, a handsome porch and doorway now stand revealed to those who care to explore; on the north side, also facing the dull earthen wall and looking away from the town, are decorated windows and doorways, scroll work, dates, monogram, and the legend "Telegraph Office." No stranger will over climb up that particular part of the eminence to look for the telegraph or any other office.

And then the tower and the clock! The tower stands at the faraway end, and the clock cannot possibly be seen from any part of the business portion of the town. Said clock looks down on the top of the decayed Mechanics' Institute, on the top of the so-called Theatre Royal, on several dilapidated and empty houses, and on the butcher's paddock, which, after working hours, contains two horses.

That portion of the building which is most visible to the town, which stands out prominent above the roadway, is the back. The decorations modestly hide themselves— like other good works of the donors -- but the bare black rear, with its unsightly pyramid of red water tanks, faces unabashed the town below.

Poverty Bay Herald, 26 February 1906

Seeing some of the Willow Street facade reassured me I was on the right track.

Tauranga is to have a new Post Office costing £4500.

Thames Star, 28 June 1905

The agitation set on foot in 1897 by means of a competition promoted by this journal, to establish a Town Clock in Tauranga, to be set up in the Post Office, though not dead, has been asleep for now eight years, but is we are glad to say reviving, with the sight of the new Post Office buildings now in course of erection. The cost of such a clock, may of course vary immensely according to the means and wishes of the buyers, but from information handed to us by Messrs Mann and Co, of this town, we gather that a suitable timepiece, with say, a dial 8 feet in diameter, and a bell capable of being heard when striking the hours, at a distance of from half a mile to a mile, according to weather and other conditions, can be purchased in London at a cost of from £58 1 0s to £75.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 25 October 1905

The roofing of the new Post Office with red Marseilles tiles, crested ridging and terracotta finials, is now completed, and the plasterers are now engaged outside putting on the finishing coats of coloured cement compo, the two colours used in the upper portion being dark red and yellow ochre, the former for the entablature, quoins, mouldings, etc , and the latter for the plane surfaces, which are rough cast with gravel. The whole promises to present a very striking appearance when finished.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 10 January 1906

The new Post Office is to be enclosed with a substantial fence all round on the boundaries of the allotment on which it stands, with double gates at the carriage entrance, and a wicket for pedestrians. If the Department, or the Borough authorities, with its sanction, will utilise the bank in front and below the building for planting small flowering shrubs, it will greatly enhance the appearance of the building and be an ornament to the town. Undoubtedly something will have to be done to keep the grass and weeds down, when the Borough cows are prevented from acting as municipal landscape gardeners, and the expense might as well be directed into ornamental as well as useful channels, instead of merely utilitarian ones.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 14 February 1906

The clock tower is probably the most striking (excuse the pun) part of the building's ornate Edwardian architecture.

During the last two days there has been a general clearing up at the new Post Office, where work is now almost completed except the painting and decorating. The former will take probably another week or two to complete, but some portions of the internal decorating will have to be put off for a few months, to allow the plaster mouldings, etc, time to thoroughly dry.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 9 March 1906

In reply to a question by the Mayor about the opening of the new Post Office, the Minister [William Hall-Jones] said that this could not be done just yet as it was not complete, and in the case of a Post office an essential part of the ceremony was the posting of the first letter, which could not be done till everything was in working order.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 23 March 1906

A final order for a turret clock and three hundred- weight bell for the new Post Office, was cabled Home on Friday last by Messrs Mann and Co., after consultation with the Mayor (Dr Brown), and Mr G. A. Ward, and it is expected that the a clock and bell will be ready for shipment a fortnight hence. The makers, Messrs Dent, of Westminster clock fame, thought it best to refer some matters for consideration, as owing to the great increase of price in metals, especially bell metal, which has gone up 70 per cent since the firm's tender of nine years ago, a suitable clock to strike on a 3cwt bell could not be landed under £112. This cost and the expenses of fixing of the clock in position will probably bring the fund in debt to about £10 or possibly £15; however the Clock Committee above named decided to order, feeling sure that even if the Government will not pay or subsidise the extra amount, the public of Tauranga will loyally support them in getting a really good article, which will reflect credit on the town.

BOP Times and Thames Valley Warden, 2 April 1906

I looked for an official opening, by some Government Minister as is usually the case for these buildings at that period -- but somehow I think the opening was quite low-key. The building today, after a 1999 restoration, is registered category 1 by NZHPT.

The site also includes two time capsules, due to be opened in 2099.

A bricks mystery: St Andrews Church, Mission Bay

I've just received the following email and photos from Peter Jeffs, on behalf of the St Andrews Parish at Mission Bay.

I just happened upon your blog yesterday and discovered that you have a great deal of knowledge on Auckland brick history. So I was wondering if you might be able to help me to identify an old church brick?

The parish is looking to renovate and extend the church, and for the façade we would like to match the existing brickwork as closely as possible. I don’t know any historical facts about the church other than that it was built in 1957, and the hall was added in 1984.

The bricks are quite unusual. They have a wide variety of colour from Russet red and orange to almost black. The face is generally smooth but some of the darker tones have a very rumbled texture. Also and more unusual is the random colour patterning of the brick, in which each brick is often divided into several ‘bands’ of colour at different angles.

So my questions are:

1.  Where were the bricks made?

2.   Are the brickworks still running?

3.    If not, do any of the current NZ (or Australian) brick manufacturers produce a similar-looking  brick?

4.  If not again, is there anyone out there that can produce a small batch of bricks to match these?

Thanks, Peter. If anyone can help, send me an email or add a comment, and I'll forward things on to him.

A Latitude of Libraries

Here's a great new blog: A Latitude of Libraries, whereby blog author Claire has made it her mission to check out all 55 of the Auckland Council area's libraries.(I'd love to do that!)

So far I've found posts there on Avondale, New Lynn, and Pt Chevalier. Check it out, folks.

Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Thames

My friends Bill and Barabara Ellis made it down to the Thames Heritage Festival last month -- and have sent through these images they took of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. Opened 18 May 1886, it was the Maori Anglican Church at Parawai for a number of years.

Although it's registered as Category 2 with the NZ Historic Places Trust, they don't have much info online about it. There's a bit more at this other site.

Photos above: the church from the road.

Above: view from the entrance to the rear.

Above: Steel vents in the  floor removed and replaced with this design in wood.

 The organ  - modern day.

 Above: Looking towards the entrance at rear of building.

 More detail of the pitched roof.and the church bell ropes.

The entrance at the rear of the building.

Thanks, Bill & Barbara!

US Ambassador visits Clendon House, Rawene

I caught sight of an article in the NZ Historic Places Trust latest newsletter today:

“There has always been a very high awareness and appreciation of the earliest formal diplomatic and trade connection between the United States and New Zealand by American officials, and we really value that ongoing relationship,” says the Visitor Host of Clendon House, Lindsay Charman.

“We were delighted that Ambassador Huebner was able to take time out of his busy schedule to visit Clendon House and experience first hand some of the history of the relationship between the United States and Colonial New Zealand.”

James Reddy Clendon is an important early figure in New Zealand history. His story is inextricably linked with that of the emergence of New Zealand as a nation state as well as our relationship with the US.

Actually, I wouldn't have thought James Reddy Clendon was a very good example to have of the early diplomatic relationship between the United States and the New Zealand colonial outpost of the British Empire back in those days. Earlier, I posted the following about Clendon:

Captain Clendon was the first diplomatic representative the United States here. Indeed, he was the second foreign representative of any nation here, after James Busby (for the British Empire). On 12 October 1838, the U.S. State Department appointed him as the United States consul at the Bay of Islands. Two years earlier, ten American shipmasters had petitioned their government to provide a representative in order that something could be done about the disorderliness of that country’s whaling crews. Bearing in mind that New Zealand wasn’t a country as such back then, the choice of a resident British merchant who had dealings with both the whalers and local Maori probably wasn’t thought to be a silly one at the time. It did prove somewhat embarrassing later when, in 1840, Clendon was apparently not only involved to some (still debatable) extent with the preparing of the Treaty of Waitangi, he was a signed witness to the document which established British rule in New Zealand, thus potentially acting against the wishes of the nation paying his salary and providing him with the flag flown over his place of business. To Washington, after all, Britain was a trading rival when it came to the whaling and sealing industries, and then there was the matter of trade with China and around the Pacific Rim to consider. A British New Zealand government would also soon impose regulations on foreign shipping – that of the United States included. To add salt to the wound, Clendon went on, still as a U.S. Consul, to accept office as a Justice of the Peace from the new colonial government, and served as a member of the first Legislative Council under Hobson.

Washington found out a year after the Treaty was signed exactly what Clendon had been up to, and on 20 April 1841 the Acting Secretary of State Fletcher Webster reprimanded Clendon and directed him to resign his commission forthwith (I imagine via a memo which began to make its long journey back down towards New Zealand. It crossed with a final despatch dated six days before that from Clendon saying that he was resigning.)

Seeds of doubt and some mistrust as to national and international agendas remained between New Zealand's authorities and the US, through to the 1860s and the coincidence of the American Civil War with our own Land Wars. The Orpheus was down this way more as a bit of sabre-rattling should the Union side in the Civil War think of starting something down here, when Britain supported the Southerners.

Clendon was involved in some dodgy trade deals involving the US, years before the Treaty -- the Cloudy Bay Oil saga a case in point.

This report from the Northern News (16 March), was less committal than the one from NZHPT:

United States ambassador to New Zealand David Huebner was the third ambassador to visit Clendon House in Rawene when he dropped in for afternoon tea on March 9.Mr Huebner, partner Dr Duane McWaine and two embassy staff spent about 90 minutes at the Historic Places Trust property during a low-key tour of Northland.They were greeted by a welcoming party that included Clendon House manager Lindsay Charman, kaumatua Bob Tito and Waimate Mission House manager Mita Harris.Mr Huebner listened attentively while Mr Charman told Clendon's story ...

He had also done his homework on James Clendon who witnessed the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1835 and the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Pictures hung in the house prompted a wry comparison between British colonials and Americans who traded with New Zealand but didn't try to claim it as part of their realm. "The Queen is everywhere. She must have maintained some favour."

 Well done, Mr Huebner. Very diplomatically put.