Fire Vol 6 no1

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ISSN 2324-2779 Volume 5 Issue 4 Dec 2014– Feb 2015 Established 2010

NEWSLETTER OF THE AUCKLAND AUCKLAND FIRE BRIGADE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ONE OF THE RAREST FIRE ENGINES IN THE WORLD Text: John Walker

Sitting in gentle repose in the MOTAT off site storage facility are two partially complete chassis and a diverse range of parts that go together to make up one of the rarest fire engines in the world. In an effort spanning almost 50 years and from all over the country these parts have been pulled together in an attempt to make the restoration of an iconic Auckland Halley Simonis fire appliance a reality.

The Halley Simonis fire appliances formed the backbone of the Auckland Fire Brigade fleet from the late 1920’s. Of the 6 purchased all but one were hose reel tenders fitted with a small gear pump and relying on mains pressure to supply water for anything other than the smallest fire. The other Halley was fitted with a 300 -350gpm “patent self priming pump of unique design” and it is this vehicle that is in the MOTAT collection.

Beyond this a Halley fire engine is featured on the United Fire Brigades 3 year service certificate from the early 1930’s to almost the present day so it has a connection to generations of New Zealand‘s fire-fighters. The Halley pump arrived in Auckland on the 20th of September 1927 and went into service at the old Central Fire station in Pitt Street. Its first major fire was the spectacular and fatal Winstones petrol storage building on April 1 1928 which saw the death of fireman Rhoda Beuth. The Halley remained at the Central Station until the arrival of the 1935 Ford pump, which too is part of the MOTAT collection, then went to spend the next 12 years at the Mount Albert Fire Station before going off to the Henderson Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1947.

Patron Allan Bruce AFSM, FIFireE Management Superintendent: Roger Callister Dep. Superintendent: (NZFS Liaison) Vacant Secretary/Editor: Colin Prince Treasurer: Kevin Farley (Temp) Committee Peter (Sprats) Doughty Grant Manning David Neil Forbes Neil John (High-rise) Walker Gary (GT) Walker Web Master Brendon Pascoe NZFS Ex Officio Member: Fire Region Manager Kerry Gregory Correspondence To: Auckland Fire Brigade Historical Society P.O Box 68-444 Newton, Auckland 1145, NZ membership@afbhs.co.nz Website: www.afbhs.co.nz Like us on Facebook Membership fees: Full: $15.00 Associate: $10.00 (overseas) Brigade/Corporate: $50.00 Membership year: 1 April—31 March

In 1965 a chance remark by a fellow fireman, knowing of my interest in MOTAT, that “there’s an old fire engine over a bank in HenMembership derson” led me to Border Road, in those days a dead end street Fire Museum Network– USA off Henderson Valley Rd. A traipse across a field did indeed reNZ History Federation Inc. veal the derelict chassis of the Halley pump. The pump had been MOTAT Society—Affiliate removed and supposedly sent to the Emperor Gold Mine in Fiji UFBA—Associate member and the wooden body had totally disintegrated. I might add that I NZ Ex Firefighters Assn—Affiliate was a bit intrigued by the proliferation of tomato plants growing wild in the field especially as they seemed to be in straight lines Registered Charity number: CC45510 and it was sometime later that I discovered that this had been the 1

Henderson “night soil” dump for many years.

somewhat modified was found, as was a genuine Simonis gear pump.

A bit of detective work found the owner who offered not only to donate the chassis to MOTAT but would also deliver it as well.

Our find was featured in an article in either the Herald or the Auckland Star with the world’s greatest optimist predicting that the restoration would “take three years” (Perhaps it might once we start!)

An approach was made to the Museum by the Oranga Boy Scouts who were seeking a project and after some discussion they took on the Halley pump. These youngsters did a sterling job, wire brushing the chassis and wheels and painting them but it became obvious over time that this was an all too ambitious undertaking and the chassis returned to MOTAT but the effort made was certainly not wasted.

A little while later I met up with Forbes Neil, who is widely regarded as the leading historian in the country when it comes to fire appliance matters. Forbes commented that several of the Halleys had been sold to Parkinson the stone masons and were being used in their quarry on Port Jackson Rd almost at the end of the Coromandel peninsular. A visit to the Parkinson premises in Victoria Street confirmed that this was indeed so and permission was gained to go and have a look.

In early 1974 Parkinson’s called the museum and let us know that the Halley gearbox had failed and that the Halley and the parts were ours for removal. With typical enthusiasm Ian Jenner, then a rail section stalwart, arranged with his employers, Service Haulage Ltd, for the loan of a Bedford TK and off we went to pick up the Halley.

First attempts at loading it where not all In the late 1960s that successful as this was an expewe tried to dition of epic proback it on only to portions, involving find that the rear driving miles on overhang one lane gravel left the front roads and fording wheels floating in streams, one neatthe air over the ly removing the entire exhaust system from my back of the Bedford, so it had to be pushed Austin A35, which then spent the rest of the day back on to the jetty, turned around and loaded half in the back seat and the other half poking out frontwards. As much of the remaining parts of the driver’s window. as possible were stacked on and around the chassis and the long trek back to the It was found that one Halley chassis had been city began. reinforced then fitted with a crane in order to load great hunks of granite on to the barge which In the intervening years another Halley transported the stone off to Auckland. chassis had been found at Eltham having Substantially all of the components of a second been converted into a winch truck for log Halley had been removed from the chassis and hauling and unsuccessful attempts were stored in a shed. made to secure this however it does feature later in this story.

A call was made to Mr Parkinson asking that MOTAT be given consideration once the Halley While all the “hunting and gathering” went on, ceased to be used and the matter was left there. considerable effort went in to gathering every Halley photo possible along with newspaper In the meantime searches were made for as articles, in short anything Halley that could much Halley stuff as we could find. The siren be unearthed. from the Halley pump came from the Henderson Volunteer Fire Brigade, two hose reels were It was found that Halley Motors of Glasgow found as were two copper water tanks and the was a limited producer of high quality motor top of the body of the last Halley to be bought lorries mostly made up of proprietary was also recovered. A set of ladder gallows albeit components (not unlike today’s Kenworth 2

trucks with Cummins engines and Allison transmissions). In the case of our Halley the 6 cylinder engine fitted was a Tylor, reputedly a Renault made under license, and the gearbox, an American made Brown and Lippe. Lighting was by CAV.

handled axes. Always looked very impressive but frustrated any attempts to work out exactly how the Simonis body came together and all the small details that would make it right.

Our luck changed however when the Onehunga Historical Society produced some photographs ( For the AFBHS Archives. Ed) of a Fire Brigade funeral and one could only hope that the “Guest of Honour” would have been pleased with the delight his funeral photos caused some 72 years later.

A report in The Commercial Motor of April 13th 1926 highlighted the advances made in the first of these appliances shipped to the Auckland Fire Board. It was claimed that the 40-55hp engine would see the appliance reach speeds in excess of 40mph and that it was fitted with a modern braking system as well as “36x6” pneumatic tyres.

Thomas Prior was aged 60 when he passed away in early July 1941. He was the Onehunga Borough Turncock and a foundation member of the Onehunga Volunteer Fire Brigade. (Est 1900) The role of the Turncock was extremely important in the days before reliable water supplies were available. His task at a fire was to shut off some water mains and open others so that the area around the fire had the best water supply possible. Given that he was still

By today’s standards it must have been a frightening thing to drive. There were no front wheel brakes, the main brakes were on the rear wheels and operated by the hand brake with the drive shaft brake only used for holding the vehicle on a gradient. The engine was a

Above: I got to drive a Halley!! Ian Jenner in the Above: Finally on the Bedford, Ian Jenner at the Bedford prepares to tow the Halley chassis off to front, John Walker at the rear. the pier while John Walker steers the beast (Lucky an active member at the time of his death he the tyres were still inflated). Photo: Ian Jenner was accorded a ceremonial fire brigade funeral very long stroke 7.5 litres and 40 to 55hp would which records indicate was attended by senior have been considered a powerful motor for officers from all over Auckland. the time. Apparently they had a reputation for being “hard to start, having poor handling and The Onehunga Fire Station Halley Simonis hard to stop particularly in the wet”. was pressed in to service as the hearse and the ladder gantries removed to allow the casket Despite this and the challenge posed by shiny to sit atop the fire engine body. Being wartime tram tracks on a wet day we have only come there was a small cortege and as Japan was across one photo, believed to have been taken not yet in the war the appliance was still its on Jervois Rd that shows a Halley wedged traditional red as opposed to the grey paint it between power pole and front fence. For was shortly to wear. once there were no booted and spurred firemen posed on the fire appliance as would As the fire appliance and its guard of honour have been the case had it been sitting at rest moved away from the Prior residence at 41 outside a Fire Station. For a while there every Selwyn Street towards Princes Street and photo of a Halley we came across seemed to the Waikaraka Cemetery an anonymous be adorned with the entire crew complete with photographer took a series of snapshots brass helmets, leather boots and wooden which are now proving invaluable. These photos 3

show the manner in which the mahogany body was constructed, the way in which the locker doors are recessed and using a known value (such as the wheel rims) we can calculate the height of the body. The seat back went with the removal of the ladder gantries so we now know how it was fastened and we can work out the way in which the foot rests were positioned.

In 2007 I received a message from the MOTAT shop to call a phone number and it came with the notation “has Halley fire engine�.

The phone number belonged to Roy King from

Sohnes, several Fiat 519S, Hispano Suiza and Isotta Fraschini have all been restored by Roy over the last 20 years.

So where to from here There is no question that restoration of one of Auckland’s Halley Simonis fire engines is achievable. We could restore it as one of the Hose Reel Tenders or perhaps the more correct thing to do would be to faithfully restore the sole pumping appliance. We have determined that a Bedford fire engine deemed not worthy of restoration is fitted with the correct Rees Roturbo pump for the Halley. Given the amount of spare parts and components we have it would be a simple matter for a chassis to be restored to a very high standard but it is beyond the capabilities of our workshop in all sorts of areas and the sensible thing to do would be send it off to the expert at Kaponga.

The locker body is made up of 1 inch thick mahogany with large up-ward opening locker Above: Two Halley Simonis Fire Engines Fire Brigade officers outside Mount Albert doors immediately Fire Station. Photo: Auckland Fire Brigade Historical Society (AFBHS). behind the front seat and an Kaponga and the Halley fire engine, or rather additional smaller locker at the very rear of the the parts of it that he had, came from the body. Locker doors and body panels along the derelict log hauler chassis in Etham. It is in fact side would be recessed about an 1/8th of an inch the former Onehunga Halley, the same vehicle with “Auckland Fire Board� written on the front lockfeatured in the Thomas Prior funeral photos. er and 1927 on the small rear locker at the rear.

There are longitudinal steps at the Most significantly his parts included a complete, foot of the body and the pre-connected but needing work, Brown and Lippe gearbox “squirrel tail� suction hose runs from the low ideal for providing sample gears allowing new mounted suction connection over the rear ones to be machined and the MOTAT vehicle’s mudguards and is retained under these gearbox rebuilt. hinged steps. There are foot lockers running between the front and rear mudguards and a Even more interestingly Roy has an international rear step platform which holds the spare tyre. reputation as a Vintage & Veteran Car restoration All of this could be produced in a competent specialist with an impressive list of high end joinery factory. projects behind him. Cars like a 1910 Benz &

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On top of the locker body is a hose reel and a set of ladder gantries and pride of place in the centre of the front scuttle is one of the earliest electric sirens used in this country. The bonnet is of polished aluminium as is the front radiator and a set of German silver Halley Simonis name plates are affixed to the front. All can be either sourced or replicated.

CREDITS This article was originally printed in the MOTAT Society magazine “ The Driving Wheel” issue 5 Many thanks to the MOTAT Society for allowing us to reprint it.

Photo credits: Two Simonis recovery photos on page 3: Ian Jenner.

Photos on this page: The Simonis being used for Ceremonial Fire Brigade Funeral of Thomas Prior, Onehunga Borough Turncock, July 1941. Onehunga Fencible and Historical Society Inc.

“By today’s standards it must have been a frightening thing to drive”

Thanks to John “Highrise” Walker for writing an interesting article on this historic truck.

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Siren Sparks Memories Firelines Vol.19 May/June 1987

By Wally Thomas Central Leader From now on, when Terry Miller hears a siren he will probably take a deep breath, reminisce for a moment, then get back to whatever he was doing. But it will be hard - because for the past 37 years, fighting fires has been Terry’s life. And on Friday he retired. Now living in Royal Oak the expatriate Scot came to New Zealand in 1950. After a few weeks working for the forestry service in Rotorua, Terry moved to Auckland and joined the fire service.

"I didn’t particularly want to be a fireman," he recalls. "Nobody did." "You worked 112 hours a week, got I paid about $6 a week, and it was , dangerous.

But accommodation came with the job and, being new in the country, that’s what swayed Terry. The saying was that if you stayed a year, you'd stay a lifetime." "That’s what happened to me," he says.

Terry started as a "rookie" and has since worked in almost every station in Auckland. Slowly he rose through the ranks to retire as a divisional commander and deputy chief of the Auckland Brigade.

Over the years he saw his share of dangers but shrugs them off as "just part of the job." "Many times it’s touch and go and you wonder why you do it," says Terry. "But you soon forget those rugged times."

Terry says there are many reasons why he stayed in the job. "The camaraderie was a big thing. It’s just like belonging to one big family." "And it’s like no other job - it’s different every day. Every fire is different, and it’s a challenge." The worst fire Terry ever attended was the 1963 Farmers department store blaze: "It was just so big, and we simply didn’t have the equipment to handle it."

In fact, Terry can remember wearing brass hats and ordinary shoes instead of boots to fires. "You never heard of oxygen (tanks) either. There might have been a bottle or two of the stuff lying around but nobody ever used it."

Several amusing incidents also stand out when Terry recalls his time in the service. Like the time the alarm went off while firemen were having a fancy dress ball at the station. "Most of us had time to get changed some didn’t," he says. "The driver of the first engine was dressed as a fairy and the driver of the third engine was dressed as a clown." "The 'fairy’ got burnt too," chuckled Terry. "But not at the fire.

Because he was only wearing a tutu, he burnt the inside of his legs sliding down the fire pole."

The last major fire Terry attended was in Onehunga last week. Some 19 fire appliances and more than 60 men were involved. He remembers when the Onehunga station was manned by just two. "That goes to show that times sure change," he says. "And l guess you have to move with them."

"Now it’s the turn of some of the younger boys to take over."

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