APPET I SER
Multiple households... one shared line
Cartoon by Rob Freeman
Careful what you say - you never know who’s listening!
As the early Post and Telegraph Department’s telephone network extended to outlying areas of New Zealand, the Party Line became widespread. Hugh Hickman explores this topic on page 26.
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E D I TORIAL
Dear Readers, This issue welcomes back respected authors with key contributions. Max Cryer gives an account of two of New Zealand’s esteemed female opera singers, Hugh Hickman discusses the telephone ‘party line’, Malcolm Smith remembers growing up in an outlying district of Christchurch and Bruce Collins has contributed an episode of maritime history. This fine array of material highlights the diversity being offered for publication and we are grateful for the continued flow of new stories offered to us by readers. School lunches will bring back memories, although perhaps not as dramatic as Bev Wood’s encounter in her entertaining article. I baked the ‘Betty Boop’ slice recipe mentioned in her story and it is typical of the easy sweet recipes printed in community fundraising cookbooks such as those produced by the Country Women’s Institute. For me, school lunch was a simple affair consisting of a single sandwich made from the loaf dropped off by the bread delivery man on weekday mornings (strawberry jam was my favourite filling), a piece of fruit and a sweet biscuit or small cake. The Saturday Matinee is a subject that pops up periodically. Alan Turley gives his account of ‘going to the pictures’ in Nelson and the various clubs associated with the children’s matinee. Often the highlight of the weekend for mid-twentieth century children, many will have their own stories to tell of regular boisterous outings to the local theatre – mine was to the Delta in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn. As always, I wish our audience ‘happy reading’ and I hope the chosen selection brings you much enjoyment.
Wendy Rhodes, Editor
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Editor Wendy Rhodes Graphic Design Icon Design Administration David Rhodes Distributed by Ovato 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 $79 for six issues (Price includes postage within NZ) For overseas postage: Add $59.00 for Australia Add $79.00 for Rest of the World Contributors Albertland Museum & District Museum and Heritage Centre Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ. Ansin, Pat Body, Ted Bodkin, Peter Brehaut, Loreen Clarke, Olive Collins, Bruce Connell, Sheila Conroy, Bill Coop Family Cryer, Max Defence Department Eddy, Ron Eltham Historical Society Fire Services Historical Society Freeman, Rob Girling-Butcher, Lance Glover, Graham Grant, Jeanette Hay, Annette Hickman, Hugh Hill, David Mallett, Esther Marlborough Historical Society Matthews, Alison Matthews, John Murchison Museum Newsham, John Owen, Alwyn Oxnam, Barbara Picton Historical Society Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries Sloan, Peter Smith, Allan Smith, Barrie Smith, Malcolm Standish, Russell Strong, Roger Tatham, Adrienne Taylor, Mike The Prow Turley, Alan Weavers, Saxon Wood, Bev
C ON T EN TS
Contents The First Wahine
4
8
Poor but Rich
10
From the Regions: Taranaki
16
The Party Line
26
Telephones in Blenheim
31
Olive’s Working Years
32
Centrefold: St Helier’s Bay Hotel
36
An unwelcome surprise for Bev Wood. Suburban boyhood in the 1930s by Malcolm Smith.
Hugh Hickman investigates early telephone communication. Esther Mallett’s phone number was only four digits in 1943. Olive Clarke’s memoirs: contributed by Jeanette Grant.
New Zealanders and the “Golden Age of Operatic Voices”
38
Beyond the Sight of Men
43
Flying Firsts in New Zealand
44
From the Regions: Nelson / Marlborough
48
Road Patrol
59
The Tremain Tapestry
60
Max Cryer discusses the careers of two female front-rank stars. Bill Conroy brings an ANZAC focus. Allan Smith witnessed three unique aviation events.
School memories from Ted Body. The story of the Felicias by Annette Hay.
Mailbox
66
Jockey Y-Fronts Hit New Zealand Shops
68
Index and Genealogy List
70
Editor’s Choice Fireman Strong: In the Line of Duty.
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Issue 137 April /May 2019
Cover image: Daisy Farmer and the bathtub, 11 August 1905. Albertland Museum & District Museum and Heritage Centre. Ref: 2004.2.97.682
Accuracy: While every effort has been made to present accurate information, the publishers take no responsibility for errors or omissions.
ISSN 1173-4159 April / May 2019
The First Wahine
The Party Telephone Line
New Zealand's Operatic Voices
School Lunches in the 1940s
Growing up in Hillmorton - Christchurch
Flying Firsts in New Zealand
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Regions: Taranaki and Nelson / Marlborough $13.90
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School Lunch
Opinions: Expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of New Zealand Memories.
Copyright: All material as presented in New Zealand Memories is copyright to the publishers or the individual contributors as credited.
Bruce E. Collins gives an account of the 1913 triple-screw steamer.
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F E AT U RE
The First Wahine Bruce E. Collins
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F EAT U R E
I
t has been just over 50 years since the interisland ferry T.E.V. (turbo-electric-vessel) Wahine sank in Wellington Harbour with the loss of 51 lives. This shipwreck is familiar to many New Zealanders. Black and white television beamed pictures of the stricken vessel to living rooms across the country. When the 50th anniversary occurred last year New Zealand Memories magazine was there to remind readers of the event and the cyclone that struck Wellington. What is not well known is the existance of an earlier vessel with the MÄ ori name of Wahine. She would also end her days as a total wreck. No two ships are alike; the two Wahines’ had very different careers. The second Wahine had only two years service before hitting Barrett Reef in 1968. The first Wahine had a spectacular career spanning five decades. She was built by Denny Brothers for the Union Steam Ship Company in Scotland in 1913, a triple-screw steamer of 4436 tons. On 19 July 1913 the vessel commenced her first overnight voyage from Lyttelton to Wellington. With accommodation for 404 first class passengers and 188 second class passengers, the first Wahine was a ship to behold. She arrived in Wellington on the 20th to a rousing reception; her career had begun. The service would however be interrupted in 1915 when the Wahine was required for war service. By 13 October 1915 her involvement in the Gallipoli campaign began, operating for eight months as a despatch ship between Malta and Mudros in Greece. The war service then extended to laying mines off the English coast - 11,378 mines were laid. In 1919 the Wahine returned home and resumed her regular inter-island service. A few incidents in her career such as the 1922 maritime strike saw the ship withdrawn from service. She was back on the job in 1924, not as a coal burner but as an oil burning vessel with improved performance and less men employed down in the engine room.
The first Wahine, a splendid looking vessel of her day. Photographed in 1951 at the start of the last voyage. Courtesy: B. Collins
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F E AT U RE
On the 2nd of August 1951, under the command of Captain F. D. Johnson, the Wahine left Wellington bound for Kure, Japan with 575 troops destined for the conflict on the Korean peninsula. She called at Cairns then Darwin to refuel. The short stay at Darwin created quite a sensation with one report stating the troops ‘painted the town red last night’. Hours of drinking in the clubs and pubs resulted in the military police being called in to coax the men back on board the ship. The newspaper report concluded, “But local observers agreed that their exuberance, while temporarily embarrassing, was an unhealthy sign for the Korean Communists”. The Wahine left Darwin on the 14th of August, no doubt with a number of troops the worse for wear. A few hours later in the small hours, approximately 280 miles north of Darwin, disaster struck, Wahine had run aground on a reef at Masela Island in the Arafura Sea. Within a few minutes of striking the reef, SOS messages were transmitted from the radio room. Help was soon on its way; the Panamanian tanker Stanvac Karachi had received the message and was proceeding to the location. At daylight it became clear that the Wahine had taken on water and was effectively doomed. The large contingent of K Force troops (which included two women nurses, Charge Sister D. Griffin from Auckland and Sister J. Rich from Canterbury), officers and crew were transferred without mishap to the tanker and taken back to Darwin. They did manage to grab their kit bags with them and no lives were lost in the process. The troops would later be flown to Japan while the officers and crew returned to New Zealand.
K Force troops relaxing after their ordeal.
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F EAT U R E
The Wahine lay helpless and was starting to break up. Some items were salvaged, such as the mails, and some weaponry but, with unrest in nearby Indonesia, the 25 pounder artillery guns had to have their breech blocks removed. As the Wahine lay only about one and half miles from shore it soon became the target for the surrounding islanders. A Lincoln bomber had flown over the sight the day after the ship was abandoned and reported many native canoes surrounding the ship. The Northern Standard newspaper in Darwin reported, “It is thought likely that the natives had already been aboard but sheered off as the aeroplane approached. There is considered to be little hope of salvaging any of the stores aboard, which includes 20 tons of liquor (beer, wine and spirits), large quantities of meat and vegetables and tinned foods estimated to be enough for the natives to feast on for more than a year. Value of the cargo is estimated at 20,000 and 50,000 (pounds). Masela Island is 10 miles by three and there are many natives in the village of Telalora nearby�. The vessel had been stripped of anything of value in a very short time. The sea would do the rest for this once noble ship. n Footnote: They say in maritime circles that captains never get over losing a ship. Captain Johnson was cleared of all blame in relation to the loss of the first Wahine. He died suddenly only three months after the shipwreck at the age of fifty two. The loss of the second Wahine in 1968 weighed heavily on the mind of Captain Hector Gordon Robertson (he had also served on the first Wahine as Second Officer in 1943 and as Chief Officer from April to August in 1949). Robertson died in December 1973 at the age of sixty two. All illustrations courtesy of the author. For details of Forgotten Ships, a new book by Bruce Collins, turn to page 69 of this issue.
The last days of the first Wahine.
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STO RY
Poor But Rich
Suburban Boyhood in the 1930s
Malcolm Smith
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30s
STORY
“Our house was situated between the extensive Addington Racecourse grounds and, two blocks back, the even more extensive Sunnyside Hospital complex...”
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St Helier’s Bay Hotel
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Situated on the corner of Tamaki Drive and St Helier’s Bay Road, the St Helier’s Bay Hotel opened for business in late 1889. It was a popular destination for daytrippers attracted by the outlying beaches. The grand establishment also housed the first telephone exchange until the building was destroyed by fire in 1913. Sir George Grey Special Collection, Auckland City Libraries. Ref: 734_Album_125_6.
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AV I ATION
Gloucester Meteor twin-engine jet, the first jet plane to fly over Dunedin. Based at Wigram 1946-1947.
Flying Firsts in New Zealand Allan Smith
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Gloucester Meteor n 1946 a new type of aircraft, a British Gloucester Meteor twin-engine jet, was flown out from Britain and, for a year or so, was based at the RNZAF base at Wigram in Christchurch. The base commander at the time was Wing Commander Johnny Checketts, recently returned from about five years service flying fighter aircraft in Britain. Although the plane was a familiar sight flying over Christchurch, most of the population further south hadn’t actually seen a jet plane in the air. So it was decided to hold a flying display south of Christchurch. The event was advertised and eagerly anticipated by those of us who had even the slightest interest in aircraft. On the appointed day Johnny Checketts left Christchurch and headed south, his main aim, no doubt, was to fly the twin-engine jet over his hometown of lnvercargill, doing a circuit over east coast towns and cities on the way. The scheduled time of arrival over Dunedin was about 1.15 p.m. All the boys of our school, Otago Boys High, were lined up in front of the main block overlooking the city centre, waiting in keen anticipation. Pretty much on time someone yelled,
“Here he comes’’ and pointed in a northerly direction. We watched the twin-engine plane get closer. There were all sorts of comments about the strange sound of the two engines as the plane raced past just above eye level with us, rapidly disappearing to the south of town and sweeping around and heading to the north end once more, before opening up to about twice the speed of the first bypass. It was mind blowing. Checketts must have been doing about 400-mph as he headed south over the city and, to our amazement, the plane went past in silence with the jet engines screaming about half a mile behind, almost as if they were being left behind! That was the last we saw of the Gloucester Meteor; it disappeared south to lnvercargill before returning to Wigram. The plane was stationed at Wigram for about a year before being sold for scrap. To those of us who cherish old aircraft this now seems to be no more than official vandalism. But back then anything redundant was eagerly pushed aside for a new model with no thought of preserving the old for the interest of future generations. It was a day to remember, a Flying First, probably forging a career choice in the minds of a few lads.
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AVI AT I ON
Sikorski Helicopter The next first was in February the following year, Sunday the 23rd to be precise, when the first helicopter ever to fly in New Zealand flew from Port Chalmers (on Otago Harbour) to do a fly over the centre of Dunedin. I had this historic fact verified by the archive section of the RNZAF Museum in Christchurch; it was indeed the first of hundreds of helicopters that followed later, both militarily and commercially. As was usual on a Sunday, we gathered outside the local church on this particular day to decide how we would fill in the afternoon. Someone suggested that we bike down to Port Chalmers to see a US Navy icebreaker that was moored there. An hour or so later Bruce, Kevin, Neil, Sid, Jill, Claire and I headed down the hill and around the harbour (the side road to the port). We were about half way there when we heard a strange sound, common nowadays perhaps but totally unfamiliar to us back then. It was a Sikorski helicopter making its way back to the ship after a trip to the centre of Dunedin. Jill and Claire were pretty girls, and the chopper crew no doubt decided that, after being down at the ice for some time, a closer inspection was justified. The helicopter hovered above us for a few seconds, before waving cheerfully and heading back
to the ship. As it turned out this was the last we saw of the helicopter, or indeed the USS North Wind. With every intention of walking further along the wharf to where the icebreaker was moored, we were interrupted by a number of crew members of the USS Yancey who were off duty but confined to ship. They were busy watching passing locals from their vantage point leaning over the ship’s rail. In typical youthful fashion there were a few wolf whistles aimed at the girls and we stopped to chat to these lads who were not much older than us. The afternoon wore on and before heading home we invited these sailor boys to come visit. On the following Tuesday evening when three of the sailors arrived at Opoho, we entertained them in the church hall; they had asked for some fresh milk and in return we were presented with an overnight bag full of sweets and American cigarettes. During the week the boys came back to visit us and had a meal in local homes. Forty-nine years later my wife and I actually visited one of these American sailors in his Tennessee home and were shown hospitality the like of which would be hard to beat.
Crew members of the USS Yancey, Port Chalmers 23 February 1947.
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E D I TOR’ S
CHOICE
In the Line of Duty This 1932 photograph is captioned “Dennis Light Trailer Pump, the first trailer pump in Christchurch” and shows fireman William Howard Otautahi Strong minus his helmet. His son Roger writes, “My dad was a driver and keen on motors so the expression on his face seems to fit with that!” The identity of the boy holding the helmet and of the policeman is unknown (Roger is keen for identification); the location is probably on the banks of the Avon River. Fireman Strong responded on the Sockburn Appliance to a well-involved fire in a joinery factory in Christchurch on 9 July 1957. During fire fighting operations he collapsed in the street, apparently to exposure to the considerable radiated heat generated by the fire. Fireman Strong died before reaching hospital. Photograph courtesy of the Fire Services Historical Society (Inc).
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