Celebration time at Whatipu

A celebration to mark the building of Whatipu Lodge 150 years ago will be held later this month.

At the heart of Auckland’s milling industry from the mid-1860s, the renowned Gibbons family built a mill in Whatipu Valley and in 1870 Nicholas Gibbons built the lodge for mill workers. They lived there during the week, returning to their families – mostly in Huia – on Sundays.

Local historian, 90-year old Bruce Harvey, says he warmly remembers holidays at wild and remote Whatipu as a child. His mother, Laura Gibbons was born there.

“It was a great retreat for our family and as kids we just loved it, fishing and swimming. They were wonderful days.”

Before Laura’s marriage to John/Jack Harvey (Bruce’s father), he would ride from his work as the manager at Rayner’s farm in Piha, to see her, often playing the accordion in the famous giant cave where a dance floor had been built about 1899 for the regular dance parties that attracted crowds from far and wide. “There were no roads. Everything was taken in by boat or bush track,” Bruce says. Today the collection of historic buildings at the lodge continues to attract guests and holidaymakers and the area is renowned for its wild beauty and historic sites. The 150th celebrations were postponed last year due to Covid-19 but are going ahead this month -- Saturday, May 22 at 1pm. They will involve walks and talks led by local identities followed by afternoon tea. It is a dog-free zone. For catering purposes, RSVP to Bruce Harvey on 817 3651 or email him at brutrix@xtra.co.nz

– Moira Kennedy

‘There were no roads. Everything was taken in by boat or bush track.’

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Entries are now open for the 2021 Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards

Keep New Zealand Beautiful has launched the 2021 Beautiful Awards. The Beautiful Awards are run annually by the not-for-profit organisation to provide a benchmark for environmental excellence. The awards acknowledge schools, individuals, communities, towns and cities who are working hard across Aotearoa to keep New Zealand beautiful.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is a charitable organisation that has been encouraging New Zealanders to ‘Be a Tidy Kiwi' and 'Do the Right Thing’ since 1967.

There are 13 different awards across four categories: Individuals, Community, Places and Towns & Cities. They celebrate individuals such as the Young Legends and Tidy Kiwis of New Zealand, as well as the champions of community environmental initiatives, the Most Beautiful Small and Large Town and City, the Most Sustainable School, Best Street and even the Best Loo in New Zealand!

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says the awards are a fantastic opportunity for communities to showcase the beautification and sustainability initiatives being achieved across Aotearoa, and to reward and recognise New Zealand’s champions of environmental excellence.

Nominations and submissions to the Beautiful Awards opened last month and will close on August 4, 2021. Winners will be announced on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at Auckland Zoo.

For more information about the awards and how to enter, please visit knzb.org.nz.

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A Village icon with a history

Back in 1924 the establishment now known as Tobys Restaurant & Bar, on the corner of what is now Park and South Titirangi Roads, first opened its doors. Starting out as Park Drive Kiosk it became the Tea Kiosk, Park Kiosk, Reekies, Ye Olde Toby Jugge, The Toby Jug Restaurant, Arlingtons, Toby Jug, The Jug, Toby’s and then, until 2020, Park Road Kitchen.

Ye Olde Toby Jugge in 1958 c. Ref: WA-46143. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. / records/32054452

located at the site of today’s Lopdell House. Both tearooms profited from the opportunity to cater to the visitors to Mr Peat’s Treasure House (a kauri gum and natural artefacts museum and now housing the Titirangi Theatre wardrobe) and Titirangi’s natural attractions, including Exhibition Drive and Atkinson Park, both of which had opened prior to 1920. Hotel Titirangi, now Lopdell House, would have drawn more visitors to Titirangi, albeit for less than 10 years from opening in 1930 to the start of the Second World War, when the hotel’s days came to an end. In the 1930s the kiosk was taken over by the Reckies and a store was added. The name displayed on the roof was Park Kiosk & Store with Reekies (with an e, not a c – was this a typo?) on the side of the building. The building was L-shaped having a confectionery/ice cream counter in one corner with the remainder as a tea room, and a grocery shop bordering Park Road. During the Second World War and later, Reekies was the monthly meeting and social venue for the RSA, before they secured their own premises, with indoor

In the days before the alignment of the present bowls played weekly on a Monday night and functions Titirangi Road, people approached Titirangi through welcoming and farewelling their members. It was also a Park Road and stopped at the corner before going back stronghold of the National Party in those days and local up South Titirangi Road, then known as School Road. Trevor Pollard recalls a handsome young man called

The construction of the early building was significant Winston Peters in the midst. in that the walls were just one layer of kauri planking Trevor also recalled a builder friend Jock Aitken would thick, with the studs on the outside. There were two ties catch the last bus from town after Home Guard duty in across the roof that held the walls together, not unlike Army Headquarters in Rutland Street to the Titirangi a cardboard box construction, the sides of which were Hotel. After some shared imbibing there Jock would held by two cords. assist Mr Reckie, in an inebriated state, down School

When Mabel Jones was the proprietress of the Road to his home. Mr Reckie would grab tight on Jock’s original Park Drive Kiosk, an advertisement extolled arm on the gravel road. When approaching the front “The Delights of a Cup of Tea at the Park Kiosk and door, Jock would stand him against it, knock on the door the services included Morning Teas, Hot Luncheons, and then take to his heels as he knew Mrs Reckie would Afternoon Teas and Parties Catered for”. have it in for him, throwing stones and abusing him for

A 2003 Western Leader article written by ‘J.J.’ related getting her husband drunk. He knew from experience how, Titirangi school children had to pass the Kiosk to that she was a pretty good shot. and from school. With no money to spend on sweets After the Reckies, Mr and Mrs Kemp, (former hotel from Mabel’s lolly counter, a cunning plan was needed. proprietors from Kent, England) took over and changed J.J. rallied Sunday school friends to combine the pennies the name to Ye Olde Toby Jugge Shoppe. The Kemps given to them for the Sunday school plate at the church, procured a large toby jug that still took pride of place and spend them at Mabel’s. This became a regular some 30 years later. The Kemps became disillusioned Sunday occurrence and although J.J. suspected that with New Zealand’s licensing laws, which prevented Mabel was on to them, she never refused their pennies. them from transforming the kiosk into the type of first

FRINGEADLTD.pdf 1 15/11/16 16:33Through the 1920s and 30s the Park Drive Kiosk class restaurant they were accustomed to in Great was in competition with the Bishop’s tearooms, then Britain, so they sold out to the son of the timber

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merchant, Sam White, who owned it for a short time.

In 1960 The Toby Jug Restaurant was run by Rod and Eileen Campbell and was open from 10am six days a week with dancing every Saturday for a 5/- cover charge. The dance band was the Trixonaires, which also played live on a Sunday night for a family audience. Red McCabe recalls this was his first band in 1959 and was comprised him on lead guitar, Jim McCabe on rhythm guitar, Heather Lawrence on piano and Neil Spackman on drums.

It had taken three years work by the Campbells to change the kiosk into a restaurant and it was one of the first three restaurants in Auckland to gain a wine licence. At this time a restaurant had to prove they were serving at least 350 meals per week, a lot in those days. The Jug was watched by police and health inspectors and despite this, the owners had no alternative but to allow people to bring their own wine illegally, so it is interesting that one of the main reasons they were granted the licence, was due to the good behaviour record of the restaurant.

The restaurant and ballroom were used for private functions, firm socials and wedding receptions. Trevor and Fay Pollard, local residents of Opou Road today, had their wedding reception at the venue and Trevor recalls his mum losing her teeth over the verandah that night! The Pollards recently celebrated their 61st anniversary at the current Tobys.

Trevor recalls Bernard and Elva Barber running the grocery store part of Toby’s up until the late 1960s when the New World opened in the village in a more central location for passing traffic.

In 1969, 25 year old Robert Massey and his wife Sue had taken over and brought back Sunday trading which must have been discontinued during or after the Campbell’s time running the restaurant. Massey appears to have had a grand sense of style and outfitted resident singer Ngaire Wilson to coordinate with the waitresses’ long side-split dresses made in aqua, green and violet printed silk. The waiters sported white, frilled shirts with silk cummerbunds. Massey also implemented a walk-in deep freeze and cool rooms for food and wine. The sound system was upgraded with six new twin speakers and a gold plated D1000 microphone. He was frustrated by the seven month wait for his application to sell spirits, only for it to be turned down.

By 1970 Massey had implemented a full wedding consultancy service including photography, wedding gowns, millinery, flowers, hair styling, wedding cakes and reception. He also promoted it as a conference venue for ‘businessmen’.

Massey had recently employed an Italian chef who came directly from the Intercontinental Hotel and rated the Toby Jug as the best kitchen he had worked in, being “clean, light and well equipped”.

A 1973 Toby Jug menu found on Trade Me had an extensive menu with 12 steak dishes in the grills section, including a Toby Jug Buster (“for Hungry Bachelors and Neglected Husbands”) of fillet steak, wiener schnitzel and grilled ham and egg for a mere $4.25, the second most expensive item on the menu after the $4.95 lobster mornay.

In 1974 the Toby Jug celebrated its 50th birthday by engaging Charlie Browns’ Organised Percussion, a top New Zealand band, to play six nights a week. Advertising at this time showed it was a fully licensed restaurant, open Monday to Friday for lunches and dinners with dine and dance Saturday nights.

Toby’s has had various other owners over the years and most recently Park Road Kitchen was a successful day-time cafe managed by Pien Wise for around five years with Thomas Rapana, Titirangi’s singing barista – who had been at the Village’s Hardware Café for many years – making the coffees.

Continued on page 11 >> Guests enjoying the new Toby’s restaurant © www. thehospoguy.co.nz

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