Thames (NZ): Thames Santa Parade 11 December 2020

Photographs from the Thames Parade held 6pm Friday, 11 December 2020. Preceding the parade was a "Santa dash" the length of Pollen Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thames (NZ): Garden of Memories at Totara

 Many towns and cities have public gardens, and its something I have been asked by tourists passing through the town.  We do of course have the Hall Arboretum, but in terms of flowers there is not a dedicated garden space.

Sites like the Thames Museum have well kept gardens on the reserve in front of the museum building. There are plots of gardens along Queen Street that the TCDC maintain, but you couldn't honestly say we have a public garden - most of our reserves are bare apart from pohutakawa trees.

But, all is not lost! For the fans of roses, I suggest you head to Totara Memorial Park Cemetery and venture down to the Garden of Memories (adjacent to the RSA lawn cemetery). Here at present, you will discover a spectacular display of roses.

Garden of Memories (GOM) location circled above - entrance as you drive up the cemetery road, past the main gates.

Roses on the Goldfield
In 1872 Thames folk were able to buy rose bushes from Sydney. 150 varieties of rosses were up for auction at Messrs Gudgeon & Co.

THAMES GUARDIAN AND MINING RECORD, 2 JULY 1872

An auction appears to have been the popular way to buy roses and other trees. In 1874 auctioneer Mr Craig also had rose bushes for sale.

THAMES ADVERTISER,  15 JULY 1874

Thames gardeners soon began breeding their own varieties, one such man was Mr Manton of Hape Creek. In 1874, the Manton's named two of their two new roses after the Thames Volunteers.

THAMES STAR, 23 OCTOBER 1874

The local nurseries, soon also began cultivating roses for sale - the roses at Stilwell's Parawai nursery were on sale by 1874.

THAMES ADVERTISER, 13 NOVEMBER 1874

It wasn't long before Horticultural shows became major events at The Thames. These were run by charitable groups and churches; and proved to be an excellent way of fundraising. The advert below is for a show that was run by the Hauraki Ladies' Benevolent Society in November 1874, one of the classes was for 'best variety of cut roses'. Messrs Litchfield, Stillwell and Clymo were reported as having exhibited near perfect collection of roses.

THAMES ADVERTISER,17 NOVEMBER 1874

Roses would have provided a colourful display on the Thames Goldfield. Maybe some of these old varieties still exist around the town?

Thames (NZ): Armistice Day 11 November 2020

 Did you remember the significance of the day?

11 November? We call it Armistice Day, while in England it is called Remembrance Day.

In 2018, a large number of Thamesites gathered at the Peace Memorial to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the ending of World War One.

Above: Armistice Day 11 November 2018

How did the town remember the Armistice Day 2020?

While the facebook community posted endless "Lest We Forget' messages, the gathering at the Peace Memorial this year was small. Maybe next year, people may find the time to remember in person, and not just on the internet.

Armistice Day Commemorations at Thames 11 November 2020

 

Previous blog articles relating to Armistice Day / WWI ROH.

• Armistice Day 2013
• Armistice Day 2014
• Armistice Day 2017
• Armistice Day 1918 & 2018
• Armistice Day in the Thames Star 2018
• Armistice Day 2019
• WWI ROH names
• WWI ROH slideshow

Thames (NZ): Shortland Cemetery Burial Register November-December 1918

      By chance I was checking a burial entry at the Thames Library, when I noticed the long pages for November and December 1918. It was only then that I realised it was for deaths during the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. While the cause of death for all my not have been influenza, it brings home the reality of the lives the town lost during those hard months 102 years ago. Remembering there would have been others at Tararu and surrounding local district cemeteries. 

The images from the pages are below, with a summary transcription at the end.

Shortland Cemetery Burial Register: 3 Nov 1918 to 30 Dec 1918

The following data has been selected: Date interred / Surname / Firstname / age / Plot

Key: **The link is to the Findagrave Memorial** Correct info in [ ]

Nov 3, BROKENSHIRE, Ethel A, 40yrs, Plot 3669

Nov 10, RADOVANOVICH, Frank, 29yrs, Plot 3829

Nov 12, TWOHILL, John Francis, 36yrs, Plot 2110

Nov 12, MAHER, Patrick, 49yrs, Plot 2937

Nov 12, MAHER, Thomas, Age not recorded, Plot 2939

Nov 12, MCKINNON, Emily Cadelia, 36yrs, Plot 2968

Nov 13, KEOGHAN, Lily Maud, 47yrs, Plot 3422

Nov 13, BRIEN, Edith Lavinia, 41yrs, Plot 516

Nov 13, READ, Margaret R, 35yrs, Plot 3658

Nov 14, TAFFINDER, Robert, 66yrs, Plot 3425

Nov 14, HARRIS, Peter, 82yrs, Plot 3592

Nov 14, NORRIES, Adam, 63yrs, Plot 3891

Nov 14, PETERS, Henry S, 47yrs, Plot 2203

Nov 15, WALKER, Mary, 86yrs, Plot 1194

Nov 15, WILTON, Charles Edwin, 43yrs, Plot 3297

Nov 15, MAHER, John, 38yrs, Plot 2940

Nov 15, DABB, Edward, 63yrs, Plot 139

Nov 16, BULFORD, Francis H, 39yrs, Plot 3677

Nov 16, RIPIKOI, Jane, 12months, Plot 3271

Nov 16, WILTON, Elizabeth H, 44yrs, Plot 3297

Nov 18, WILSON, Daniel, 40yrs, Plot 882

Nov 19, RADICH, Joe, 26yrs, Plot 3832

Nov 19, TAYLOR, Angelina, 37yrs, Plot 3807

Nov 19, BRIEN, Ada Lucy, 16yrs, Plot 516

Nov 19, JOHNSTON[E], Mildred A, 32yrs, Plot 3801

Nov 19, HART, John Edwin, 37yrs, Plot 3804

Nov 20, LINTON, Jessie Emma, 30yrs, Plot 3465

Nov 20, ANTONIA, Abraham, 77yrs, Plot 3461

Nov 21, RAVLICH, Jack, 23yrs, Plot 3828

Nov 21, BOYLE, John Edward, 44yrs, Plot 3675

Nov 22, LIDGARD, Annie M, 49yrs, Plot 3679

Nov 22, BUCKLAND, Charlotte A, 36yrs, Plot 3111

Nov 22, SENIOR, Thomas H, 1yr, Plot 3274

Nov 24, JOHNSTON[E], John H, 40yrs, Plot 3802

Nov 24, GRIFFIN, Patrick J, 38yrs, Plot 3334

Nov 24, LAW, Robert Alex, 49yrs, Plot 3654

Nov 27, HALL, Walter Ernest, 35yrs, Plot 3672

Nov 27, MARTIN, John, 40yrs, Plot 3517 [3870]

Nov 27, KENNY, Alice J, 2yrs, Plot 174

Nov 27, DUNLOP, Matilda J, 51yrs, Plot 3895

Oct [Dec] 1, HOYLE, Edith Ellen, 38yrs, Plot 3590 [3890]

Oct [Dec] 3, BUCKLAND, Alfred J, 45yrs, Plot 3111

Oct [Dec] 4, DOVELL, Dorothy A, 19yrs, Plot 3340

Oct [Dec] 5, MACK, Dallis [Dallas] Lewis, 1yr, Plot 3275

Dec 5, GUBB, Harry Alfred, 46yrs, Plot 3686

Dec 8, TREBILCOCK, Mary, 41yrs, Plot 3470

Dec 8, RICHARDSON, Alexander, 40yrs, Plot 3427

Dec 12, GRAHAM, Samuel, 38yrs, Plot 4002

Dec 13, GAHAGAN, Henry James, 54yrs, Plot 3662

Dec 13, JACKSON, Flora Annie, 37yrs, Plot 3879

Dec 15, RICHARDSON, MaryAnn, 46yrs, Plot 3428

Dec 15, HARDMAN, Elizabeth, 52yrs, Plot 3945

Dec 15, RITCHIE, Amy Edith, 30yrs, Plot 3464

Dec 18, LUDWIG, Dudley, 8yrs, Plot 3379

Dec 20, HOUGHTON, Melbro M, 45yrs, Plot 2139

Dec 21, JONES, Blanche, 37yrs, Plot 4003

Dec 23, COLLINS, Ernest, 34yrs, Plot 1575

Dec 25, DOIDGE, Clara E, 60yrs, Plot 3691

Dec 30, KEATING, George R, 45yrs, Plot 3382

During November - December 1918, there were 59 interments at Shortland Cemetery, Thames. Forty of those were in November!

During these months at Tararu cemetery there were two interments:

George [James] GLASGOW buried 19 November, 73yrs Plot 725A and Richard MURDOCH buried 26 November, 38yrs Plot 292.

This brings the total interments in the two public cemeteries November / December 1918 -  during the Influenza Epidemic to 61. The following months may also have deaths that could be attributed to complications. Also there were Thamesites who passed away during the epidemic who were on holiday / in residence in other parts of New Zealand, who may have been interred out of Thames.

Reference:

Shortland Burial & Sexton Registers, Archives Section, Thames Library.

Thames (NZ): Bowen Street at the Parawai end of Thames

      Bowen Street ran from the Hape Creek in the north, to the Kauaeranga River in the south. Known now as Rolleston Street, this street was named after Sir George Bowen an early Governor of the colony. Banks Street ended at the intersection with Bowen Street, there was no need for it to run further west until the new Kauaeranga Road Bridge opened in 1924. 

Part of: Cleave's Streets Maps - of the Thames and Suburbs c1910.

Map 3577 Auckland Libraries

Photograph of Bowen Street area early 1900s.
     Imagine you are standing at the west end of Mount Pleasant, and look down over Heale, Fenton and Bowen Streets - look at the photograph below, this is the view c1900s.

View over Parawai end of Thames c1900s.

     A closer look at the left (southern) side of the photograph and the Kauaeranga Rail Bridge is open, which postdates the photo past 1898. The land beyond where Rhodes park is today is low lying and possibly covered by water in parts. Next to the river is Causley's Garden Nursery.

     The houses under the word 'Bridge' are at the southern end of Bowen Street. Note the closeness of the river - today there is the stop-bank structure. The land to the right of the houses is where the motels and garage are today, and further right the reclaimed land where Toyota car plant is sited.

     

     Moving further right (north) across the main photo, the shop is visible that for decades was at the corner of Heale and Fenton Streets. Next time you drive along Fenton and Rolleston Streets, look out for the houses that are in the photograph - with the exception of the large one in the centre (more on that soon).

     Mrs Grubb had the Fenton Street shop for many years. Out of view far right was the site of the Maori Meeting (Hotunui) house that now holds pride of place at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

     

Now to the large house at the centre of the 1900s photo. The house was located at the corner of Fenton and Bowen (Rolleston ) Streets, on the south-east intersect. 

     There are numerous outbuildings one of which housed the wash-house,  plus there was separate servants' quarters. Built in classic villa style with the large verandah, full length windows plus several bay-windows.

     While researching the house , it was suggested that it may have belonged to the Miller family. It was occupied in the mid 1940s onwards by Mr Rutherfurd who was Mine Manager at the Sylvia Mine at Tararu.  During the home's history it was a boardinghouse and later divided into flats. The ceiling height described by a past resident as 'exceptionally high'!

     

     In the 1923 Street Directory, the property is the residence of Mr Ernest Napier Miller, Solicitor. This confirms the recollections of later owners. Mr Miller was a partner in the law firm Miller & Poulgrain. Ernest joined his father's firm in 1900, it was then known as Miller & Son. Ernest's brother Selwyn lied in the same block on the corner of Banks and Heale Street.     

     Mr E N Miller was Mayor of Thames 1919 to 1923, both he and his wife were active members of the community. During the 1918 influenza epidemic, Mrs Miller was in-charge of the convalescent hospital in Queen Street. Mr Miller also helped staff Thames Hospital during the epidemic.

THAMES STAR, ISSUE 13836, 30 NOVEMBER 1918

THAMES STAR, VOLUME LII, ISSUE 13854, 14 NOVEMBER 1918

What became of the house at the corner of Rolleston and Fenton Street?

     The good news is that while it did not remain in Thames, it was sold in 1996, and moved north to the Wellsford area. 

Hauraki Herald 23 March 1996

Mr Ernest James Napier Miller's Death Notice & Obituary. Thames Star 15 Oct 1947

 

Thames (NZ): Finding Photographs of Thames

 Where can you find 'online' Photographs of Thames?

     The aim is to collect and list the internet sites that have photographs of Thames. In the majority of cases you will be able to download the images, while in some cases it may be necessary to pay for higher resolution images. If you download any photographs - Please remember to give the appropriate photo credit.

• DigitalNZ Use desired 'search word' and thumbnails will appear for available photographs from all around New Zealand. If the results need refining, you can start by clicking on 'CONTENT PROVIDER' and restrict to selected content providers.

Screenshot of DigitalNZ and the Images available for "Thames'.

If preferred, search directly at a site that provides online images. My favourites are:

• Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand. A collection of high resolution images for download (free and for purchase).
• Archives New Zealand. Use search terms such as 'Thames photographs' and results will show for images and maps.
• Auckland Council Libraries.  Sir George Grey Collection, plus family contributions related to Thames.
• Auckland Council Libraries Kura Collection.
• Auckland War Memorial Museum. Online Collections. Narrow the search to Images and Downloadable images if desired - yes you will also get Thames England!
• Google Images - Always worth a try and great for picking up images (past and present) from websites.
• Kete Hauraki Coromandel - collection of images.
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. A selection of search words reveals a wide variety of Thames photographs.

Screenshot of search results for 'Thames' at Museum of New Zealand.

• Papers Past - While the images are not always clear, there are a large number of illustrations / photographs of Thames / Thamesites.

The following blog posts will concentrate on photographers who have captured the history of Thames.

A permanent database will be maintained for easy access. Photographers / Companies to be examined include: 

AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO; BARTLETT, Robert Henry; BISHOP, G W; BURTON BROS: Alfred and Walter Burton; CAUSLEY, Frederick John; CHESTER, W A; CHESTER’S STUDIO; CLARKE, Clifton; COAD, William; DOD, Charles E; DUNNAGE, Edward Askham; FOY, James Joseph; FOY, Joseph Michael; FOY Bros, FRITH, Henry Albert; GRIGG, John; HAMMOND, Thomas William George Howard; HASSELT, Van; HEWIN Messrs; ILES ART STUDIO: Arthur James Isles; LONDON PORTRAIT STUDIOS; LOVEWELLS, WING & CO; LOW, John; LOW & MANDER; MARIBOE, P; MOUNTAIN, P; MUIR & MOODIE; NEAL, William Henry; REDFERN, George; REED, William Henry; RICHARDSON, James D; SCOTT, Thomas Sydney; SEVERN, Henry A; STEWART, F E; STEWART Bros; SWALES, Charles Edward; VEITCH, James; WEBSTER, Arthur James; WELLS, Ernest Edward; WESTON, Mr; and YEREX, John Henry.

In Closing - Take a Second Look in Colour:

The view north along Brown Street from the Albert Street intersect transports the reader back to the goldmining days. Two storied buildings lined the block, the Bank of New Zealand a symbol of success in the Grahamstown business district.

Take a few steps closer. Rickit's Stables and office are on the left, the Royal Hotel (corner Williamson & Brown Streets) in the centre, and the Lady Bowen Hotel on the right.