Thames (NZ): New articles in 'The Treasury Journal'

Lots to see in the Journal, this week. Four new articles on a wide variety of topics.
THE BIG PUMP SITE by David Wilton
History of the Big Pump at Moanataiari and details on the recent 'pot hole.'

THAMES ORPHANAGE AND TRAINING SCHOOL by David Wilton and Miriam Heberley
Details on the orphanage that was up the Kauaeranga valley and recent site reports.

STORIES OF THAMES by Meghan Hawkes
Meghan is a published Author and writer, this is a collection of stories on the Thames area, taken from the old newspapers.

RICHARD RUFFIN AND HIS FAMILY IN THE COROMANDEL by John E. Ruffin
A history of the Ruffin family at Coromandel, mention of well known places connected to the name.

AJHR's: More years online now

AtoJs Online contains a collection of digitised volumes of the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives. The collection currently covers the years 1861 to 1906. There are some volumes from this period that have yet to be added to the collection.

This is a major resource, that covers a wide range of topics, especially helpful for those of us wanting information on mining related topics for the Hauraki region. There are drownings listed, Boer War info...everything!! Entering THAMES in the search field brings up reports on the Railway to Thames, goldfield info, military news, land ownership..the list goes on. Just found the War Medal lists. Searching by SURNAME seems also to be very successful. Reports on Thames Hospital detailing population and bed numbers, costs etc. These extra years have really given an endless array of information.


At the search page, you can narrow your selection by section and date if required.

Here is an example REPORTING on drownings 1883-4, with names given for Thames County:
11 Sep 1883 C W WILSON, Waihou
16 Dec 1883 J BLACK, Tairua Creek
21 Dec 1883 J HATTON, Ohinemuri
3 Mar 1884 G HILL, Ohio Creek
9 Mar 1884 A PEAT, Waiheki Creek
11 April 1884 W ONYON, Waihou

AJHR 1884 Session II H2

Two new articles at The Treasury Journal

Two new articles have been added to The Treasury online Journal.

BATTERY SITES ON THE LUCKY HIT CREEK By D Wilton
Giving full information on the mining claim, maps and background information

PIONEERS OF KAPANGA by A Barker
This is on my Great, Great Grandfather Clement Augustus Cornes and his family. Specifically a genealogy tale about my hunt for my Great-Grandfather's birth details. Plus a few details on the Kapanga Mine which he owned for many years.

If you have a story to tell about your Thames family
Contact the Journal Editor

(Contact details at the bottom of the Journal page)

Photograph of the Kapanga area, Coromandel, circa 1860s, with Driving Creek in the foreground.
(Alexander Turnbull Library)

New articles at THE TREASURY JOURNAL

Just to alert you to three new articles in THE TREASURY JOURNAL

They are:
Who was the Kennedy of Kennedy Bay?

Thomas Hammond

Rob Roy Hotel (Parawai)

H D DRIVER - early Thames artist

One of the most surprising outcomes from researching early Thames businesses was the number of different types of businesses that were in existence.

For example, there were several people advertising as artists, with pictures for sale and being available for commission work. One of the most famous of the time was H D DRIVER.

H D Driver arrived in Thames late 1870s and appears in street directories up to early 1900s. Numerous advertisements can be found in the Thames newspapers.

One of his most famous paintings was of the Big Kauri Tree, that was later destroyed by fire 4 January 1898.
An article on the tree is online in The Treasury Journal.

H D Driver's painting of THE BIG KAURI TREE, at The Thames Library

Thames Shops & Businesses

Finally getting round to doing a register of early shops and businesses of Thames..or should I say Shortland and Grahamstown.

Over the weeks I'll post some of the names, remembering many are still operational today. Such as A & G Price (Foundry), Read Bros (Hardware) and Battsons (Plumbers).

One of our most treasured shops was PALMERS SWEET SHOP, you can read more about the shop via a recent Journal article.

Other shops that also are featured in the Treasury Journal by other writers are:
WOODS SHOP and HANSEN BROS.

The Treasury JOURNAL

A wide range of articles are available to read online via The Treasury website.
The Journal section has articles for years 2008-2010.

The journal is co-ordinated by Kae Lewis and members and non-members of The Coromandel Heritage Trust are welcome to submit articles.  So if you have a story/article please email the editor

Some topics include: Streets of Thames, Hotels of Thames, The Giant Kauri Tree, Shortland and Tararu Cemeteries. Lots on mining , shops and the old residents of The Thames

Ohinemuri Journal

An excellent source for articles on Thames as well as the Ohinemuri area.

The journal is online and searchable. Search results are not easily narrowed, but well worth a glance at all the results.

The Ohinemuri Regional History Journal (ORHJ) was first published in 1964 by the Historical Section Waihi Arts Centre and Museum Association (Inc.) and Paeroa & District Historical Society District History Museum