So many people called Thames home at the height of the goldrush, and one thing is for sure...is that they never forgot the town and once a Thamesite, always a Thamesite.
While many left the town when their fortunes changed, many kept the link by attending the Thames Old Girls and Thames Old Boys Association meetings that were held at Auckland.
Take this group of ladies in the photo below, labelled as: SUCCESSFUL "AT HOME" HELD YESTERDAY BY THAMES OLD GIRLS' ASSOCIATION. The oldest members who attended. Left to right (standing) Mesdames E. Hicks, H. J. Lowe, E. J. Farquhar, I. Pitkethly, K. Milnes, A. Chappell. Seated: Mesdames W. J. Newby, M. Rowe, R. Smith, J. Peat, M. Porteous, E. M. Hope, A. Newdick.
Take this group of ladies in the photo below, labelled as: SUCCESSFUL "AT HOME" HELD YESTERDAY BY THAMES OLD GIRLS' ASSOCIATION. The oldest members who attended. Left to right (standing) Mesdames E. Hicks, H. J. Lowe, E. J. Farquhar, I. Pitkethly, K. Milnes, A. Chappell. Seated: Mesdames W. J. Newby, M. Rowe, R. Smith, J. Peat, M. Porteous, E. M. Hope, A. Newdick.
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| New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19459, 15 October 1926, Page 13 |
These 'old girls' would have had many memories, tales of hardship and good times. Times walking the muddy streets and tales of the incessant noise of the stampers that echoed around the townships of Shortland and Grahamstown.
Have a look for photos of your relatives...don't narrow your search too much, at first at least.
Go to paperspast and enter your search criteria
This example below: Thames, all newspapers, from 1867, 50 results per page with preview, illustrations only and sorted by date.
Too may results to browse, well add other words eg surnames or events
Change Thames to Parawai, Tararu, Shortland Thames, or Grahamstown etc...
Narrow papers searched: Observer, Auckland Star, NZ Herald, Daily Southern Cross, Thames Star and Advertiser etc...
Adding word combinations such as "THAMES OLD BOYS" and selecting ALL OF YOUR WORDS, comes up with results such as the one below. A TRIO OF "OLD THAMES BOYS." Three neighbours who live in Richmond Street, Thames. Standing is Mr. W. Hieatt (81 years). Sitting (left to right): Messrs. C. J. Brown (83) and W. James (92). All have had a golden wedding and Mr. James a diamond wedding also.
New Zealand Herald, 9 October 1926
Lastly, keep checking back at Paperspast as new editions are to be added in the near future.
