APPET I SER
Time to Contemplate In the late 1960s James K. Baxter formed his commune at Pipiriki, on the Whanganui River, to help young people conquer their addictions. Dorothy Scott writes an eyewitness account on page 54.
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E D I TORIAL
Dear Readers, With valued input from writers around the country, the pages of our six 2016 issues have been filled with memorable stories. Over the years, the choice of irresistible material has been ever-increasing and I am on a constant learning curve as the intricacies of our history unfolds. The achievements of New Zealanders continue to amaze… and amuse: in this new edition we read of Leo White’s astounding aerial photographic contribution; of Charlie Sanders feat to dig a 50-metre lake in the shape of the South Island; and of a boy’s failed attempt to communicate with Hitler by post. It was a rude awakening indeed for new arrivals, fresh off emigrant ships, to board the Main Trunk railway and brave crowded refreshment stops - often compared to a rugby scrum - at Taihape or Frankton. A thick NZR mug of tea and a meat pie was the reward before the whistle blew for passengers to return to their NZR pillow in the vain hope of sleep. John Foley lives to tell the tale in New Chums. In the true Spirit of Christmas, an article on Te Paki Station by Kaye Dragicevich demonstrates the generosity and hospitality of Far North residents, and Dorothy Scott offers an eyewitness account of the work of James K. Baxter with young addicts at the Whanganui River. It is my nineteenth year of sending Christmas greetings to New Zealand Memories’ readers, and my sentiments remain as sincere as ever. God Bless, safe travels and may the joys of the season come your way in many unexpected forms.
Wendy Rhodes, Editor
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C ON T EN TS
Editor Wendy Rhodes Photographic Scanning Anne Coath Administration David Rhodes Distributed by Gordon and Gotch Subscriptions & Enquiries Phone tollfree: 0800 696 366 Mail: Freepost 91641, PO Box 17288, Green Lane, Auckland 1546 email: admin@memories.co.nz www.memories.co.nz Annual Subscription $75 for 6 issues (Price includes postage within NZ) For overseas postage: Add $49.00 for Australia Add $69.00 for Rest of the World Contributors Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ. Alsop, Peter Aotea Utanganui Museum of South Taranaki Bonner, A.J. Brayshaw Heritage Park Cameron, Dave Collingwood Museum Croad, Nancy Croker, Richard Cropp, Bill Fairfax Media NZ Foley, John Goulter, Jeremy Grantham, Dave Hancock, Peter Hart, Janet Heinz, Bill Hill, David Jim Jamieson Collection Kaye Dragicevich Legg, Paul Beauchamp Lesley Mills Collection Marlborough Archives Moor, Christopher Motueka & Districts Historical Association Nelson Provincial Museum Payne, Bruce Picton Historical Museum Picton Historical Society Inc. Puke Ariki Puke Ariki Ridding, Patricia Scott, Dorothy Steam Incorporated Rail Museum, Paekakariki Strang, Ian Tairawhiti Museum, Te Whare Taonga o te Tairawhiti Taylor, Mike Turley, Alan Turner, D.L.A Waipu Museum Ward, Richard Westport Genealogy History Group Opinions: Expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of New Zealand Memories. Accuracy: While every effort has been made to present accurate information, the publishers take no responsibility for errors or omissions. Copyright: All material as presented in New Zealand Memories is copyright to the publishers or the individual contributors as credited.
Contents Whites Aviation: Hand-Coloured New Zealand
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Peter Alsop gives an overview of this insightful company.
The Millerton All Blacks
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Hear the Pennies Dropping
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New Zealand’s First Christmas Stamp
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New Chums
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From the Regions: Nelson / Marlborough
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Centrefold: Jacko Neho’s Bullock Team
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Te Paki Station
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Marie Benge’s Dolls House
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The Extra Passenger
48
Changing Transport
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The Road to Pipiriki
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The Apple Tree
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From the Regions: Taranaki
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A Boy’s Letter to Hitler
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Mailbox Index and Genealogy List
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Editor’s Choice: : Boxing Day Special
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Don’t be fooled by the name; Alan Turley explains all. Patricia Ridding remembers Sunday School at Wesley Church. Christopher Moor investigates the stamp’s introduction in 1960. John Foley arrived in 1953 aboard the T.S.S. Captain Cook.
“An oasis in the Far North wilderness” writes Kaye Dragicevich A raffle prize is the source of pleasure as Christopher Moor discovers. T.S.S. Remuera stowaway: Dave Grantham discloses his father’s diary. Richard Waugh takes readers back to the 1960s. An unforgettable encounter for Dorothy Scott. A cheeky anecdote from Bill Heinz.
Bruce Payne uncovers a family heirloom with a difference!
Tom Heeney at the Hotel Coronation in Gisborne, 1928.
Cover image: Kuru Love at the wheel of an Overland 1914 79T at the north end of Durham Street, Picton. The motorcar was the first to traverse the Grove Track between Picton and Havelock (3 October 1915). Picton Historical Society Inc. 0977 Neg No 165.
ISSN 1173-4159 December/ January 2017
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PH OTOGR APHY
Whites Aviation: Hand-Coloured New Zealand Peter Alsop, the author of a new book on Whites Aviation and its hand-coloured photography, gives us an overview of the company’s significance; the achievements of its founder, Leo White; and the critical role of Clyde ‘Snow’ Stewart.
Leo White was hooked on aviation and aerial photography; his first aerial photo was taken in 1921. Leo joined the Auckland Aero Club in 1931 and, only five weeks after his first lesson, set a double record for the local club for the time required in learning to fly, both with regard to his first solo flight and gaining the A licence. Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ, WA-68203b-G, 1930
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PH OTOG R APH Y
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n March 1945, an optimistic Leo White, undeterred by the war, opened the doors of Whites Aviation in downtown Auckland. Amongst the company’s offerings were photographs coloured by hand, which they produced for over 50 years; the best known examples – both then and now – of hand-coloured photography in New Zealand. The Whites story is an interesting combination of different threads. The development of aviation and aerial photography set the context, within which an innovative White – with plenty of helpers – could forge his fame. To many his fame was advancing aviation through promotional services, including magazines and books. To others, aerial photos fuelled development and presented a new angle of national pride. The environment was also ripe; identity-hungry New Zealanders, post-war, were keen to display their favourite scene. And they were keen on something more than black-and-white. For some, the company’s initial focus and rationale will surprise. While aerial photography was a service, hand-colouring was nowhere to be seen. And even photography itself was in a back seat. Instead, the primary focus was on publishing; the company being launched through a new magazine, Whites Aviation. This was not just the initial positioning; publicity years later would state that the story behind Whites related “firstly to publish an air travel magazine and secondly to develop various other services as the country again settled down to [post-war] commercial operations”.1 Whites also referred to themselves as ‘The Air Travel Specialists’ and an ‘aeronautical development organisation – a bureau of aeronautics’ – both descriptions that are a far cry from the hand-coloured photography company recognised today. It’s also an interesting fact that Whites was an aviation company that never owned a plane. When it came to hand-coloured photos, for many New Zealanders they were the first taste of art in the home, while many offices were decorated with a commissioned piece of relevance or favourite landscape scene. Altogether, the images struck a chord with mid-century national pride; a symbiotic relationship that proved hard to stop. New Zealand in ‘colour’ was addictive, beautifully composed and coloured, and at breakthrough scale. For a long time, colour photography couldn’t even halt the craze, such was the alluring appeal of Whites’ hand-coloured work. Today, the photos continue their appeal as coveted collectibles, even if more popular for baches than the office or family home. They’re also regular decorations on screen, and still hang in a variety of settings to mark milestone events. The New Zealand Transport Agency, for example, still displays in its Auckland offices a hand-coloured mural of a near-complete Auckland harbour bridge. Whether at home, work or in the community, New Zealanders have enjoyed or subconsciously consumed Whites’ photos for a long time. No other body of photographic work – and potentially New Zealand art more generally – has enjoyed such broad and long-running cultural appeal. Nothing, it seems, can change the appeal of an alluring hand-made craft.
1 ‘The Story Behind Whites’, Whites Aviation, Volume 1 (1), March 1945.
Weheka: an example of Whites hand-coloured photography. Collection of Peter Alsop. ATL Negative WA-31003-F
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PH OTOGR APHY
The passage of time has been both kind and unkind to Whites’ hand-coloured work. That it stands today as a defining feature of the company’s legacy is at odds with its initial sideline intent. In contrast, the lack of serious consideration of hand-coloured photography in New Zealand’s art and cultural histories – both Whites and more generally – defies its importance, such as putting a ‘colour’ New Zealand on show; the predominant role of women in the colouring craft; and the long-running appeal of such work in popular culture. In an odd way, that might be Whites’ biggest achievement: a consistent and pervasive presence in peoples’ lives without them being told what to view. On the other hand, it seems wrong – in terms of ensuring robust national histories – that such a marked presence would be near-absent from New Zealand’s art and cultural record. This deficit is not unique to New Zealand; the attention accorded to hand-coloured photography internationally is just as sparse. Sunlight, it is said, is the best disinfectant. The photos remain a regular decorative feature in popular culture and appear – based on Te Papa’s 2015 publication, New Zealand Photography Collected – to be on the cusp of more serious appraisal in the evolution of New Zealand photography (and, one would hope, in the study of New Zealand art as boundaries in the visual arts further subside). Hand-coloured photography has also influenced some aspects of contemporary New Zealand art, and the alluring aesthetic of such photography has been reincarnated globally through digital means. Step by step, pieces of the neglected hand-coloured puzzle are being found and, bit by bit, can fall more easily into place.
Above and right clockwise: The ‘colouring girls’ in company uniforms in 1948 working on large-format handcoloured photos. From left: Joyce Chapman, Pat Poole, Colleen Beaumont (with uncertainty), Jocie Baker (with uncertainty) and Ray (with uncertainty and unknown surname) Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ, WA-16074a-F A set of Winsor & Newton paints for hand-colouring photographs. A bottle of turpentine can be seen on the right of the tray, with cotton wool and sticks in the bottom to be used as ‘brushes’. The instructions noted that ‘this range of high-grade oil colours provides an effective, yet comparatively simple, means of colouring non-glossy photographic prints and enlargements. The series has been intentionally restricted to a small number of colours, but from these a wide range of tones and shades can be obtained without fear of chemical interaction.’ Grace Rawson, Lorraine Sutton and Nola Mann work on colouring a large photographic mural for H & J Smith’s store in Gore in 1955. Nola Mann (right) worked as a colourist at Whites from around 1955 until around 1998, likely making her, given the popularity of Whites’ work, the most extensive hand-colourist in New Zealand’s history. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ, WA-39940
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PH OTOG R APH Y
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PH I L ATE LY
New Zealand’s First Christmas Stamp By Christopher Moor
M
any New Zealanders may remember 1960 better for the country’s first regular television transmissions or runners Peter Snell and Murray Halberg winning their gold medals at the Rome Olympics on September 2nd, than for the issue of the country’s first Christmas stamp. The proposal for the post office to issue a Christmas stamp was put to the Postmaster-General, Michael Moohan, by the Festivals Committee of the National Council of Churches of New Zealand and the Rt. Rev. Alwyn Warren, Bishop of Christchurch, in early 1959. Mr Moohan was the MP for Petone, Minister of Railways and Postmaster-General in the second Labour Government from 1957-1960. He replied that while it would not be feasible to issue a stamp in 1959, he saw the possibility of one for the following Christmas. Mr Moohan’s approval for a Christmas stamp issue in 1960 came on August 6th, 1959. Any concerns he had about the postmark defacing an image of spiritual significance were dispelled after the Festivals Committee had advised him that its constituted member churches did not object to this form of defacement. During the parliamentary session of September 16th, 1960, Ernest Aderman, the opposition National member for New Plymouth, asked Mr Moohan whether the issue of the special Christmas stamp would lower the prestige of New Zealand in the eyes of philatelists. He said that with this issue there would be five 2d stamps which can be used on Christmas cards. Mr Moohan replied that the issue of the Christmas stamp would not lower the prestige of New Zealand in the philatelic world, and assured him that the current pictorial stamp would be the only other 2d denomination available at post offices when the Christmas stamp was issued on December 1st, 1960. When he later announced the stamp would be on sale from the earlier date of November 7th, 1960, Lance Adams-Schneider, the National MP for Hamilton, asked “whether, despite his intention to issue a Christmas stamp, the Postmaster-General would refrain from penalising the health camp movement by allowing the sale of health stamps to continue until
the usual date of January 31st instead of calling them in on November 30th.” Mr Moohan replied that the health stamps would remain on sale for their usual period of time. With the Christmas, health and pictorial stamps on sale, there would be three different 2d stamps available at post offices for use on Christmas mail, not two as he had earlier told Parliament. Because New Zealanders wished to put the new Christmas stamp on the Christmas mail they posted overseas, the issue date was moved forward again, with November 1st, 1960, becoming the actual date of issue. G.H. Ball and G.R. Smith designed the 30 x 40mm stamp, which was reported as being New Zealand’s largest ever. The stamp depicted the painting The Adoration of the Shepherds, a nativity scene by Rembrandt. This predominantly brown image with touches of red in the central group of figures was used with permission from the Trustees of the National Gallery in London, where the original work is housed. ‘A Philatelist’ wrote to The Evening Post complaining about the large size of the stamp, and the appearance being dismal and morbid instead of uplifting. ‘Stuck’, another Post correspondent, agreed with the post office spokesman who said that people criticising the stamp were criticising Rembrandt. Its design received the appreciation of the Catholic Youth Movement for bringing the true meaning of Christmas to New Zealanders. The stamp was printed in England by Harrison & Sons. Mr H.F..G. Harrison, a director of the company, visited Wellington while the stamp was on sale. He said that one could not lighten an old master, adding that art experts agreed the stamp was a credit to New Zealand after comparing it with the original painting. More than 20 million of the stamps were received from the printer, although the exact number sold appears unrecorded. The stamp was the first of what has since become an annual Christmas stamp issue. In 2010, it was reproduced on the 60c gummed and self-adhesive Christmas stamps to commemorate 50 years of Christmas stamps. n
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Credit: Roy Hewson collection, Heritage Centre, Petone branch, Hutt City Libraries. Local ref. no. 775
Clockwise from top: The 1960 Christmas stamp was the first of what is now an annual Christmas issue; Postmaster-General Michael Moohan who approved the issue of New Zealand’s first Christmas stamp; envelope posted to Sir Walter Broadfoot, a former PostmasterGeneral, on the first day of issue by The Director-General of the New Zealand Post Office; The first Christmas stamp as reproduced in 2010 in a stamp issue to commemorate 50 years of Christmas stamps; First Day Cover for the first New Zealand Christmas stamp.
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Jacko Neho’s Bullock Team
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Jacko Neho’s bullock team and wagon outside the shepherds house at Te Paki c.1910. Charlie Johns is the driver holding the lance wood. Wool bales are loaded on wagon ready to take part of the season’s wool clip to Yates Landing at Paua, on the Parengarenga Harbour. Kaye Dragicevich’s account of life at the Far North station follows. Northwood Brothers
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STO RY
The Road to Pipiriki By Dorothy Scott Pipiriki is a settlement on the east bank of the Whanganui River, due west of the town of Raetihi and 79 kilometres upriver from Wanganui.
“I have always been glad that I had the opportunity to spend the best two and a half hours of my life talking to this humble man, made famous through his poetry.�
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STORY
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oe eased his elderly bones into the seat beside me and sat, contentedly puffing away at his ancient pipe and chatting about the last few days we’d spent at a photographic convention in Wanganui. The yearly conventions held by the Photographic Society of New Zealand, were always eagerly anticipated by all of us as a time to catch up with old friends, rehash old memories and gain new skills. All sorts of expeditions were planned for these occasions, one of which was a plan to spend the day with the rest of the group, jet boating on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River. The thought of tackling the winding road to Pipiriki proved too much for Joe and he commandeered me for the job. As we drove along the River Road in his old Ford Prefect, the river was serene beside us and the willows along its edge huddled in friendly groups, enjoying the sun. We turned east and began the climb through the hills towards Raetihi. The country here was steep and the ground hungry for fertilizer, with little creeks running through the clay. It was also very unstable and rows of poplars and willows were scattered over the scarred hillsides in an effort to hold them together. A sign appeared, pointing along the valley towards Jerusalem. “Turn off here,” said Joe. “I’ve always wanted to talk to Baxter.” We bumped and twisted our way along a track leading through long grass and straggly Kanuka bushes to where James K. Baxter formed his commune in the late 1960s to help kids, dragged from the streets of Auckland, to conquer their addictions. This was the perfect place for the venture, no drugs or chemist’s shops for forty miles – and they had his experience and wisdom to guide them. There was a small church, looked after by the few nuns living in the settlement, several ramshackle houses and a very amateurish vegetable garden tended by the inhabitants of the commune. I think the commune as such is gone now, but at the time James Baxter had given up his former life and put every cent he owned towards the project. Any social welfare handouts received by those living there were pooled and used to buy groceries and other necessities. As we arrived, another car pulled up and friends of mine from the convention emerged so we all strolled towards the cluster of houses together. James, in his shabby old coat, welcomed us in and took us into the communal kitchen with its stacked rows of tinned food and mismatched crockery and introduced us to a couple of teen-aged boys, long-haired and unshaven, but very clean. They offered us a cup of tea and it would have been ungracious and rude to refuse. We were handed the milky tea in a chipped, much-used
blue enamel mug to share among us and one of our group was a doctor. I can still see his carefully blank face when it was his turn as he surreptitiously wiped the edge before drinking. We sat out in the sun talking, beside us an open door to a room with battered interior walls. James explained that sometimes when drug withdrawal symptoms became too tough to handle, a sufferer would need the chance to lash out, hurt themselves, anything, to release the tension. They could voluntarily go into that room, rave and shout, kick in walls, whatever would help at the time. While we were sitting there a boy, obviously distressed, came up to James and he excused himself, took the lad a small distance away and sat down with his arm across the youngster’s shoulders, talking quietly. You try not to watch in these circumstances, but as the soothing voice continued, so the tension gradually left the thin shoulders of the boy and eventually he stood up and moved off. I wandered away from the others across the long grass to the little church, drawn by the contrast between the unkempt surroundings and beautifully maintained building. Inside, the peace enfolded me and I sat, enjoying its tranquillity. It wasn’t long before two or three young ones slipped quietly into the pews behind me and knelt, saying not a word. I went back to the others and James re-joined us, taking us away up the hill to the house they called the ‘Big House’ and as we left the kitchen and turned up the path, we stopped to talk to a group sitting on a seat they’d carved out of the clay bank. Behind them hung a line of washing, ragged jeans and patched sheets, fluttering on a primitive line. The ‘Big House’ had once been a typical New Zealand homestead, surrounded on three sides by a veranda, with a central front door and a window each side of it. Seated on the edge of the veranda by the steps was a long-haired girl; behind her, her swain was carefully combing the shining locks. It was too much for the photographer side of me. The light was perfect and I spent some time photographing them from various angles, only to find once I was home again and had developed the film ready to print off, that these two were part of the same four I had photographed sitting on the bank below the washing. They must have taken a short cut, run up the hill and posed on the veranda, waiting for me to arrive. On the southern end of the veranda a slightly crooked and jerry-built room had been constructed and James told us with pride that the kids had built this for him from odds and ends gathered around the 55
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E D I TOR’ S
CHOICE
Boxing Day Special
On 26 July 1928 in the midst of the golden age of boxing, Gisborneborn Tom Heeney took on Gene Tunney for the world heavyweight title in front of 46,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium, New York. Although he was defeated, his title bid aroused tremendous interest in both New Zealand and the USA. The New Zealand champion visited his home town in 1928 presenting himself to the Gisborne public from the balcony of the Coronation Hotel. Tairawhiti Museum, Te Whare Taonga o te Tairawhiti Ref: 045-72
Tom Heeney photograph courtesy: Dave Cameron
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