Description: Looking over Karaka Creek, Thames, showing Bulls Battery (centre foreground); St Georges Church (right rear); miners' tents, raupo huts (left foregound and centre), privies, and cottages.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-RIC134
Description: Shortland, view from Irishtown over Karaka Creek to Karaka Road. Block 27 (up to the right), and over to Sandes Street and Edward Street. Lower right centre is Rolleston Street and Shortland Town in the distance. George Bulls Battery front right.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 536-Album-285-12-1
Take a Second look! Do you sometimes look at an old photograph of Thames, and mentally just say, "Oh yes, I have seen that before - nothing new to see!?"
Stop, have another look at the two photographs above from Auckland Libraries Sir George Grey Collection. While the angles are slightly different, you can see homes of varying construction material. There are tents (large and small), thatched roof huts, timber shops and houses, plus a mining battery in the lower view. Even a tramway track from up the Karaka / Una Hill.
Within a few months you can see how buildings were constructed to line Karaka Road.
If you need to get your bearings, here is a named photograph.
What fascinated me most when I had a second look, was the Thames' first pole houses!!! No time to dig out the site and get a level plot of land...just build and have the front half on piles resembling stilts! Also look for the houses and see if any changed over a couple of years in the early 1870s.
The fenced sections on the south of Karaka Road make it easy to find the houses and what development has taken place. The two houses on the far right proudly standing on their 'stilt' piles. Did you notice that there is a front door? but no steps. Definitely have to use the back door until there is money for a front verandah and steps. Can you make a judgement on the weather in the photo far right? Check out the washing, its blowing and flapping on the long lines, no doubt supported by a good old ti-tree prop.
Lastly, to finish our second look, check out the businesses in Karaka Road. The two-storied one (with the rear entrance visible is almost definitely a hotel. Several up this road had accommodation on the second story, which was actually only tall enough to crawl in for most patrons.
Part of Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 536-Album-285-12-1
