Thames (NZ): WWI Soldier from the Pacific at Shortland Cemetery

Have you been reading more during the covid-19 lockdown?

One of the books I have out from Thames Library is:
Soldiers from the Pacific: The Story of Pacific Island Soldiers in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War One by Howard Weddell.

Part 2 of the book covers the Nominal Roll of soldiers from the Pacific who served in the NZEF (New Zealand Expeditionary Force).

One of the men listed in this section is Bob Ngapo, who is interred and remembered at Shortland Cemetery in Thames.

Robert Ngapo is recorded as dying at Auckland of pneumonia 27 October 1921, whereas our local newspaper records Bob's death as 28 October 1921 at Thames Hospital.

 

Thames Star 29 October 1921.

Private Robert Ngapo's plot (3PUBL-PLOT-2958) at Shortland Cemetery.

Biography for Private Ngapo

Below is the excerpt from Soldiers from the Pacific page 184 for Bob Ngapo:

"Ngapo, Bob, 16/1227, LCpl, NZ, Cook Is, WIA, 1st Rarotongan Contingent. Born in Aitutaki and living in New Zealand. Enlisted 21/10/1915 at Narrow Neck Camp.  Disembarked at Suez 15/3/1916 and posted to the NZ Pioneer Battalion.  Embarked for France 9/4/1916. WIA [Wounded in Action] 7/6/1917 GSW [Gun Shot Wound] in back.  Admitted to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 7/6/1916 and then the 2nd Canadian General Hospital in Etaples, France. Transferred to the Rarotongan Company 14/1/1918 and embarked for Egypt from Marseille 21/1/1918 and was posted to the NZ Mounted Rifle Bde Training Regiment & Base Depot before being posted the Rarotongan Company 5/3/1918.  Returned to New Zealand on SS Malta. Discharged in New Zealand 7/3/1919. Died in Auckland 27/10/1921 of pneumonia. Buried in Shortland Street Cemetery, Thames New Zealand." Weddell, Howard.

CHALLENGE:

Keep a lookout for other books that make mention of Thamesites!

Thames (NZ): Journal Articles at JSTOR

Day One: LOCKDOWN 26 March 2020.

Take the challenge to read or explore a new source on the internet!

Have You ANY Read Articles at JSTOR?

Thanks to Tom for the alert on articles related to Thames at the JSTOR site.

Due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, an increasing number of articles are free to read / download.

Searching Thames New Zealand, there are hundreds of results, covering a wide range of topics, and of varying relevance.

EXAMPLES:

One of the first articles I looked at was an article that mentioned our astronomer John Grigg: Source Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 11, No. 66 (February 1, 1899), pp. 48-50 (3 pages) Published by: Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Here are some snips of the details of just a handful of interesting topics:

DALMATION SETTLEMENT:

Page link at JSTOR

TEN POUND POMS:

Page link at JSTOR

MAORI on the HAURAKI PLAINS:

Page link at JSTOR

ADDING the term mining to the search terms reduces the number of hits:

Page link at JSTOR

With this one you will see that you can read FREE online, 

if you register you can read SIX articles free a month.

You can also limit your searches to the FREE ACCESS articles.

KAURI:

Mabberley, David J. “THE COMING OF THE KAURIS.” Curtis's Botanical Magazine, vol. 19, no. 4, 2002, pp. 252–264. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/45065558. Accessed 26 Mar. 2020.

NATIVE NURSING: Nurse Dawson gets a mention during her time nursing on the Hauraki Plains.

 Bryder, Linda. “‘They Do What You Wish; They like You; You the Good Nurse!’: Colonialism and Native Health Nursing in New Zealand, 1900–40.” Colonial Caring: A History of Colonial and Post-Colonial Nursing, edited by HELEN SWEET and SUE HAWKINS, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2015, pp. 84–103. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt18dzrdn.10. Accessed 26 Mar. 2020.

See what goodies you can locate, for Thames and other topics - Happy & Safe Reading

Thames (NZ): Bookselling on the Thames Goldfield

What a delight to find a 'new' book that has a section on Thames Booksellers.

The book is Turning the Pages: The Story of Bookselling in New Zealand by Anna Rogers and Max Rogers. Published in 1993 by Reed Books - hardcover, 300 pages. (cover right)

The Thames section is on pages 134-35.

The heading is COROMANDEL! The introduction is: "The Coromandel town we know as Thames was originally two settlements called Grahamstown and Shortland." There are some discrepancies, such as stating the amalgamation of towns took place in 1870, please note that it was in fact 1873.

Early Booksellers named in the book are:
Edward Wayte , J Jefferson (Pollen St); J F Carter, T Watters (Brown St).

The highlighted booksellers' in the book are:
Robert BURRA, John NODDER, William COAD, William CARSON, Stan BROWN, Pat MRAVICICH Arnold & Phil BROKENSHIRE.

    

Mr John Nodder & Mr Robert Burra.

ROBERT BURRA, came to New Zealand in 1863, and Thames in 1869. Robert ran a bookshop from 1874 to the 1890s in Brown Street, Grahamstown. [The business then moved to Pollen Street opposite the Salvation Army Barracks.] While it was a bookshop, these early shops were typically much more than the seller of books. For instance the shop sold stationery, fancy goods and music items. [Burra drowned at Devonport June 1910.]

JOHN NODDER, was from England and several years after his arrival settled in Thames in 1869. Nodder's bookshop opened in 1872 and continued until his retirement November 1913.

WILLIAM COAD, started in 1904.. (See W C Gribble below). The business was later run and named  Mrs Coad's; the business was sold to F A Springhall in 1929.

CARSON'S BOOKSHOP, situated north of the Pollen & Mary Street intersect the business was started in 1906 by Mr William Carson. The shop was later run by Carson's children Ross and Beryl. In 1975, Stan Brown bought the business and later it was sold to Pat and Vince Mravicich. The shop moved to the corner site previously occupied by Court's. The business still operates today.

BROKENSHIRE'S BOOKSHOP.  The business was started by Arnold Brokenshire at the north end of town, in a shop by Battson's plumbing premises. The business moved south to the central part of Pollen Street in the late 1930s, and new premises were built in the 1960s. The business was later run by Arnold's son Phil Brokenshire. The premises remain as a bookshop in 2020.

  

Left: The shop at 554 Pollen Street, Thames. Right: Inside the shop 1941.

OTHER BOOKSELLERS Pre 1930 - Not mentioned in the above book:

• ARDERN, Mrs: Pollen Street, was Mrs Jefferson's, then sold to Gribble. Mrs Ardern had the shop around 1885-86.
• DUNNAGE's VARIETY DEPOT: Pollen Street, Established 1913 and continued through to 1925, when W H Richardson took over the business. While a seller of books, Dunnage appears to have specialised in Stationery plus other variety items.
• GRIBBLE, W C: Near the Karaka Bridge Pollen Street, was Mrs Ardern's old shop, operated from 1886 to around 1904 when it was taken over by Mr Coad. It was at that stage located at corner of Pollen and Sealey Streets.

Lots of goodies apart from books at W C Gribble's of Pollen Street, Thames.

THAMES STAR,  6 FEBRUARY 1896 at Paperspast

• MCLIVER, C: Brown Street, a bookseller and tobacconist 1879 to 1886 when he went bankrupt. When the Thames Orphanage and Training School opened in 1879, Mr McLiver supplied maps and schoolbooks for the school.
• OSBORNE, J Miss: Pollen Street, was previously the Manager for Mrs Jefferson before she started her own business in 1885.

THAMES STAR,  29 APRIL 1885 at PapersPast

• WEEKS, Mr: Brown Street, open for business around 1875-76.
• WOOD, H J: Brown Street, was open c1868 to around 1870. Typical of many business owners who came to the goldfield to make their fortune, while the miners hunted for gold! Many lasted but a few years before moving on.

In conclusion, the above names are just a handful of the booksellers of early Thames. As can be seen, many businesses had a wide range of products, if we were to add Stationers, the list would explode!

Thames (NZ): Hetherington Shop advertisement

The business folk of Thames were great entrepreneurs, the successful ones that is! There were hundreds of shops, of all variety on the Thames Goldfield - but you had to be clever to stay open and trading. One of the most iconic was Hetherington's, they sold sell clothes sourced from around the world.

The business had been opened in 1874 and traded until 1971.

At some stage Samuel Hetherington must have decided, why not have a brand that celebrates the Thames!

In the Thames Star newspaper from 1899 to 1926, are advertisements for the GOLD MINE BRAND clothing. The range included: Suits, Trousers, Coats, Denim Pants and Jackets. While the products initially were to do with menswear, in later years, the range expanded to boyswear.

Thames Star 4 September 1905.

Were the Clothes available in other towns?

Yes, the clothing brand "Gold Mine" was also available at the other branches. Hetherington's at Waihi had the range forsale. There was also a store at Te Aroha, which no doubt stocked the range of Men's and Boys' clothing.

Source: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1370-651-03

1937 View of Pollen Street - Hetherington's Shop centre right (opposite the Thames Post Office).

Below 2017 view, thanks to Google Maps

The question now to ponder and research, were there any other brands that celebrated the goldfield in their brand title?

Want to know more about the Hetherington family and business?

The Treasury at Thames have information on the business, plus two family history books.

The Thames Museum, has a display counter from the Hetherington shop at Thames, along with photographs of the shop interior, plus an overhead cash carrier machine.

Thames (NZ): Dr Catherine Bishop's book launch at the Thames

 

Above left: The Thames book launch poster. Right: Dr Bishop holding her new book

I was lucky enough to go to Dr Catherine Bishop's book launch at Carsons Bookshop, in Thames yesterday, Tuesday 12 November 2019.

The title of the book is Women Mean Business Colonial businesswomen in New Zealand, and retails at $45.

"From Kaitaia in Northland to Oban on Stewart Island, New Zealands nineteenth-century towns were full of entrepreneurial women.
Contrary to what we might expect, colonial women were not only wives and mothers or domestic servants. A surprising number ran their own businesses, supporting themselves and their families, sometimes in productive partnership with husbands, but in other cases compensating for a spouses incompetence, intemperance, absence or all three.
The pages of this book overflow with the stories of hard-working milliners and dressmakers, teachers, boarding-house keepers and laundresses, colourful publicans, brothelkeepers and travelling performers, along with the odd taxidermist, bootmaker and butcher and Australasias first woman chemist. Then, as now, there was no typical businesswoman. They were middle and working class; young and old; Māori and Pākehā; single, married, widowed and sometimes bigamists. Their businesses could be wild successes or dismal failures, lasting just a few months or a lifetime.
In this fascinating and entertaining book, award-winning historian Dr Catherine Bishop showcases many of the individual businesswomen whose efforts, collectively, contributed so much to the making of urban life in New Zealand." Source: Carsons Bookshop

 

 Dr Catherine Bishop delivers a presentation on New Zealand Businesswomen.

Why have a book launch stop in Thames?

Dr Bishop is at present travelling around New Zealand promoting the book and the need to recognise, remember and acknowledge the business women of the pre 1880s in New Zealand.

There are several Thames women featured in the book. Women such as Harriet Corston (Miss Reed) who had Newington House in Brown Street. Mrs Simpson aka Mrs Ah Mow who ran several shops at The Thames.

 

While there were many women who were primarily based at home carrying out domestic duties, there were many who were businesswomen on the Thames Goldfield. By choice or by default when their husbands died, many of these women ran successful businesses.

Whether it was running a hotel, a private school, a millinery or dressmaking service. The list went on.

A general business list can be found in some early blogs on this site - see if you can spot some women in business.

Businesses: A-B, C-E, F-H, I-L, M-O, P-R, S-T, U-Z.

This list was done nearly ten years ago, before many newspapers were available online - so please note it probably has missed as many as it found! The list above also does not include SCHOOLS or HOTELS, both areas that women featured on at the Thames Goldfield.

A very good point that Dr Bishop stressed was that you can't rely on the wording Miss or Mrs in the business title or proprietor. Bishop gave several examples where only initials were given in the business name and it turned out the owners were women!

Grab a book from the library or purchase one to read. Maybe you will find a relative among the women discussed in the book Women Mean Business Colonial businesswomen in New Zealand.

Above: Caledonian House in Albert Street. There is one 'Woman' shop assistant. While not all women owned businesses, lets not forget those who were employed - dispelling the myth that all women were at home carrying out domestic chores.

Thames (NZ): WWI Book with Thamesite names

I have been remiss of late not updating the latest 100 year anniversary deaths from World War One. Although the war had finished in 1918, many men continued to die and were classified as war deaths. An update on that will follow in the near future. For now I want to remind all that we need to keep looking for any names we may have missed - a book at the Thames library contains the name of two new local men who served in the war.

The book is: Living with HIGH EXPLOSIVES, The 1st New Zealand Light Trench Mortar Battery 1916-1918 by Keith Sloane. Sloane Books NZ 2014. Available at the Thames Library shelved at: 940.412 SLO.

The book itself is an easy read and tells the story of the different battles and the men involved. With lots of photographs of the soldiers, that brings their experience to life.

There is a full list of soldiers at the end of the book, with two being identified as from Thames and one from Coromandel. Of course, chances are there will be more who have a Thames connection.

The two names I did not have on the Thames-Hauraki WWI register are: James Richard ALLEN (Serial No 44671) and James Henry BAIN (Serial No 11382).

Allen was born in Coromandel, and was working as a boilermaker in Auckland when he enlisted. His total war service was three years and 60 days.

J H BAIN

Bain was born in Thames, a roman catholic, his sister Delia was named as next-of-kin on his attestation form. Before the war started, James was self-employed as a farm contractor at Kaihere.

In the book mentioned above, Jim Bain gets numerous mention,many related to the sport played by the group. In one particular game of rugby 3 November 1917 (described as the lull before the storm) - the Trench Mortars beat the 1st NZ Infantry Brigade 8 - 0. "Jim Bain played easily the best game on the ground." page 224. Bain served three years 92 days in the war and was awarded the Military Medal.

Another Thamesite is also featured in the book, in a sad series of events that led to him being Killed in Action 28 September 1918. Private William Claude Parsons (Serial No 34425) was born at Thames, the third son of John and Lucy Parsons of Thames (later Waihi). The family lived in Grey Street, and John worked as a miner (1896 Electoral Roll). Parsons was one four brothers who all served in World War One.

The Sloane's book Living with HIGH EXPLOSIVES covers the events that led to Private Parsons death on the battlefield. Along with his war file, there is a sad sequence of events in and out of hospital. Many absences, that ended in an 18 month imprisonment sentence with hard labour. In September 1918, William's "sentence was suspended and he was marched out to the Entrenching Battalion. Within six days of his attachment there, he was killed in action near Trescault on 28 September 1918." page 191.

  

Waihi Daily Telegraph, 15 October 1918

Thames (NZ): Cornes family on the Thames Goldfield

A couple of years back, a cousin of mine (a few times removed) wrote a book on the Cornes family.

Only two lines came to New Zealand in the 1860s, and both settled in and around Thames. This book is about he descendants of Clement Cornes and Barbara Moran (variant spelling).

The book is reduced and available on trade me.

Clement was a mine manager and owner all over the Coromandel Peninsula - in his own words he 'won a fortune and lost a fortune' many times over. Such was the life of anyone with gold fever!

Barbara was a true pioneer, having arrived as a young child, when her father arrived in Auckland as 'Fencible'.

So if you are a descendant of Clement and Barbara Cornes, shout out to Bob and get a copy of his book before they run out.

ALSO AVAILABLE at SCHOOL OF MINES ROCK SHOP Thames

PS. Interestingly the School of Mines has a booklet for sale on the minerals of the Tui Mine, it was Clement Cornes that discovered and started the mine. A special banquet was held in his honour at Te Aroha in 1888.

TE AROHA NEWS, VOLUME V, ISSUE 263, 12 MAY 1888

Thames (NZ): Women Poets of Thames

Women on the goldfield, often used poetry to express their views on current topics and their life in general. These poems in later decades were often seen in print as 'letters to the editor'. Nom de plumes were usually the order of the day, and common to both men and women.

Margaret Ann Sinclair aka Roslyn was one such writer who appeared in the local papers during the 1890s. Many of her poems around the 1900s spoke of the loss of life surrounding New Zealand's involvement in the South African Wars. Margaret's story can be found in a Treasury Journal article and a booklet that she published entitled Huia's Homeland can be read or downloaded online.

Many of the poems have Thames as a backdrop, and then there are some that are named specifically after the town Margaret loved. The Thames, New Zealand, and the Traveller - is below, and the focus is the Caledonian Mine and the impact that it had on the town.

 

Today, another group of Thames women are telling their tales, and they will recite some of their poems during Thames' Heritage Festival 16-18 March 2018. Sunday, 18th March at the School of Mines, Margaret Reid and Althea Loveday will share some poems along with the story of Janet Waddell (midwife and founder of the Sperry Maternity Home in Thames).

Thames (NZ): Women on the Goldfield - Polly Plum

It is a common misconception that the women on the Thames Goldfield were merely beavering away in the home, the servants of their hard working husbands. Without doubt life was hard, and keeping the house would have been a major activity, but the women in general were anything but quiet. An excellent book covers the lives of women at the Thames - To Find a Fortune, Women of the Thames Goldfield, 1867-1893 by Rosemary Killip. (Victoria University of Wellington 1995)

Women on the goldfield were busy in community activities, connected with the churches and schools, along with the many charitable groups that existed to help those less fortunate than themselves. Many fought for their rights, whether it be the vote, limiting the sale of alcohol, or better conditions for their families. The newspaper provided an avenue for many to have their say, through letters to the editor. One of Thames' best known names who advocated for change was 'Polly Plum' aka Mrs Mary Ann Colclough.

A book has been published by Jenny Coleman that covers the exceptional life of this lady, known to us as a school teacher at one of the first goldfield schools.

The opening passage in Coleman's book reads:
"'I am well known and everywhere known as a firm and earnest woman's advocate, and I am content and grateful to be so considered' - so declared Polly Plum in 1871. The women behind the pseudonym was Mary Ann Colclough (pronounced 'Cokely'), described by a major Auckland newspaper in the early 1870s as the 'best abused woman in New Zealand of the present day'."

Mary Ann Colclough nee Barnes was born in Middlesex, England in 1836. Mary Ann immigrated to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland in December 1857. The following year, Barnes sat her teacher's examination with the Auckland Education Board and received a first class first grade teaching certificate. She ceased teaching at the St Barnabus School following her marriage 9 May 1860 to Thomas Colclough. The life of Mrs Colclough is covered in Coleman's book, let us leap forward to her time at Thames.

School Life at The Thames:
In August 1873 Mrs Colclough came to Thames and took over as headmistress of the Kauaeranga Girls' School that was in the old Presbyterian church - at the corner of Rolleston and Richmond Streets, Shortland Town. The school had been started in 1868 by Mr McKee, then later became known as Kauaeranga Girls' School, although boys were also on the school roll.

Above: The first Presbyterian Church (x) far right, that was used by the Shortland School during the week. Later used as Kauaeranga Girls School before a new building was constructed on corner of Sandes and Richmond Street.

Mrs Colclough was well received by the people of Thames. The Daily Southern Cross 14 August 1873, reported that children and parents alike were taken with their new headmistress. While attendance dropped from 250 to 150 of late, this was due to several epidemics, rather than a reflection of the education on offer. (report below)

Colclough appears as a hard worker, willing to travel to support her family and unfortunately not unfamiliar with money problems as a result of her moves, bankruptcy was an ongoing threat. Sadly new payment schedules for country teachers coincided with Colclough's move to the new school, not helped by the sudden drop in attendance. So the amount of money she was promised by the board never eventuated, and she was lowly paid compared to her counterparts in larger urban schools.

The Kauaeranga School and Mrs Colclough made the headlines in December 1873, when there was discussion over her stance of sending a pupil home because they did not have shoes. It was apparently a Board of Education ruling, but not always strictly adhered to if the child was otherwise cleanly dressed. Headmistress Colclough argued that the child was ashamed to come to school and that all parents in Shortland should be able to afford suitable shoes for their children.

In the Thames Advertiser 3 April 1874, Colclough advertised night classes for young ladies, particularly aimed at those who wanted to become teachers. This may have been an act to try and earn some extra money, for at the end of the month she had been forced to file for insolvency.

Following the bankruptcy proceedings things turned from bad to worse for Mary Ann, and the School Board sought to dismiss her - she in return felt they had discredited her name.  In the Thames Advertiser 31 August 1874, barely a year since this talented lady/teacher came to the school, she was dismissed from her position. The paper quoted Colclough's version of events and her sad financial state. The next replacement teacher would be Miss Frances Haselden, who went onto have a long association with the Kauaeranga Girls aka Sandes Street School. (Further background in the Thames Advertiser 2 September 1874 on Colclough)

Mrs Colclough aka Polly Plum:

The women's right activist side of Mrs Colclough is fully documented in the book by Jenny Coleman, it appears that she really was a trendsetter, that was ahead of her time - laying the groundwork for later women such as the suffragettes. Mary Ann spoke/lectured at venues around New Zealand and in Australia.While the papers are full of letters to the editor and other correspondence from 'Polly Plum' on the rights of women and their standing within the family and community.

How was Polly viewed by the locals? Feedback to the papers was often very unfavourable. Tommy wrote to the editor of the Thames Advertiser 2 September 1874, and reminded Polly Plum to not be so proud and remember she was a woman! The Thames Star kept up to date with Mrs Colclough's lectures and reported fairly the content she had presented. For instance in Melbourne her lectures on women's status were seemingly well received. (Thames Star 25 November 1874)

  

The Final years:

The Thames Advertiser 10 March 1885, announced the death of Mrs Colclough at Picton, aged just 49 years of age. Mary Ann had two children, Willie and Lulu.

PRESS, VOLUME XLI, ISSUE 6081, 13 MARCH 1885

The book by Jenny Coleman "Polly Plum A Firm and Earnest Woman's Advocate, Mary Ann Colclough 1836-1885" is available at the Thames District Libraries and libraries throughout New Zealand.

Thames (NZ): Thames Goldfield Schools & Miss Millington

Finally a reprint of the booklet Thames Goldfield Schools is available.

The cover has been altered to include a photograph that was found after the publication of the first edition last year.

Not long after the goldfield opened in August 1867, families started descending to The Thames. The families on the whole were poor, but schooling while not yet compulsory, was a priority for most families. Private schools proliferated alongside those receiving special state funding.

A list of known schools has been collected, and a summary of each school is given in the Thames Goldfield Schools booklet.

There are few photographs of these early schools in action, so it was one of those special moments to find online Miss Millington's 1907 cooking class at the Thames Technical School. (photo below)

Cookery Class with Miss Millington 1907.
Hammond, Thomas William George Howard, 1868-1967,ca. 1907,PH-1991-12-A1041.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Library Collection 

The opening of the new technical school building took place 4th August 1905, the land had been donated by past Thamesite Mr Arthur M Myers, a framed photograph was revealed in his honour. An accompanying inscription read: “A very kind benefactor to whom those who attend this school are deeply indebted.” Prior to this, Technical and Continuation Classes had been held in the Kauaeranga School during 1902-1904 (at least).130 A glimpse of the cooking classroom 1907, can be seen on the front cover of the Thames Goldfield Schools booklet. The school was located right on the corner of Sealey and Rolleston Street, where the Thames High School Gymnasium is located today.

A closer look: Miss Millington (3rd from left) and the girls in the cookery class c1907. Rolling pins, crockery bowls and utensils ready for the days recipes lesson. 

Miss Millington left the Thames Technical School in June 1907, at which time the students presented her several gifts including photographs of the school and cookery class. It is assumed that this photo is one of the gifts that Miss Millington received a copy of. The Thames Star 13 June 1907 reported that another gift was a set of silver serviette rings. Some of the pupils mentioned were Misses Lizzie Bulling and Violet George; and the headmaster was Mr Marsdon.

    

The photograph above will bring back memories of manual cooking classes for many. The days of no cooking unless you had an apron! The style of apron varies, and a couple of pupils even have bands/covers on their lower arms.  

The room must have been used for sewing classes as well, as a stern warning is written on the blackboard. "Sewing Class - Care must be taken to leave no needle lying about. The Caretaker last week, when scrubbing, ran a needle into their thumb..."

The Thames Technical School, the new building was opened in 1905.

Source: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19050824-11-1