Aotea Great Barrier Island Historic Heritage Survey Appendix 1
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Appendix 1 - Historic Context Statement Aotea Great Barrier Island May 2019 Prepared by Megan Walker and Robert Brassey © 2019 Auckland Council This publication is provided strictly subject to Auckland Council’s copyright and other intellectual property rights (if any) in the publication. Users of the publication may only access, reproduce and use the publication, in a secure digital medium or hard copy, for responsible genuine non-commercial purposes relating to personal, public service or educational purposes, provided that the publication is only ever accurately reproduced and proper attribution of its source, publication date and authorship is attached to any use or reproduction. This publication must not be used in any way for any commercial purpose without the prior written consent of Auckland Council. Auckland Council does not give any warranty whatsoever, including without limitation, as to the availability, accuracy, completeness, currency or reliability of the information or data (including third party data) made available via the publication and expressly disclaim (to the maximum extent permitted in law) all liability for any damage or loss resulting from your use of, or reliance on the publication or the information and data provided via the publication. The publication, information, and data contained within it are provided on an "as is" basis. All contemporary images have been created by Auckland Council except where otherwise attributed. Cover image: The Sanderson Dairy in the 1930s with Bill and Phyllis Sanderson posing in the foreground. (Courtesy of Ben Sanderson). 1 Table of Contents 1 CHAPTER ONE – LAND AND PEOPLE ..................................................................... 10 2 CHAPTER TWO – GOVERNANCE............................................................................. 16 3 CHAPTER THREE - INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................. 40 4 CHAPTER FOUR - BUILDING THE PLACE ............................................................... 59 5 CHAPTER FIVE - WORK .......................................................................................... 116 6 CHAPTER SIX - WAYS OF LIFE .............................................................................. 166 References and abbreviations ......................................................................................... 197 Endnotes .......................................................................................................................... 202 Aotea Great Barrier Island Historic Context Statement 2 Table of Figures Figure 1. Weetman’s 1886 map showing the location where he found moa (and seal) bones. Awana pā is also shown. ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 2. The report in the Auckland Star stating the elected members to the first Great Barrier County Council. ...................................................................................................... 17 Figure 3. Local Board offices c.1960s. ............................................................................... 18 Figure 4. Original building used as the Tryphena Post Office c1890s. .............................. 20 Figure 5. The bungalow rebuilt in Tryphena located at the end of Tryphena Harbour Bay Road. ................................................................................................................................. 21 Figure 6 and Figure 7. The former post office at Tryphena still exists attached to the rear of the bungalow. ................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 8. The Sanderson House at Blind Bay. The small post office building is shown in the circle. ........................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 9. Observer ,15 May 1897, p17 .............................................................................. 23 Figure 10. Auckland Star, 13 August 1898, p8 .................................................................. 24 Figure 11. The original pigeon post services loft in Newton Road in c1899. ...................... 24 Figure 12. The Pigeon Post Service Building in Newton as it stands today ....................... 25 Figure 13 Great Barrier Pigeongram Service: Photograph of pigeons with messages attached. ............................................................................................................................ 25 Figure 14. Charles Werner’s home and outbuildings c1900. Photo taken by Henry Winkelmann. One of these buildings housed the store and post office and another housed the pigeons. ....................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 15. The pigeongram sent to Auckland from Okupu to seek help for Charlie Osborne. ............................................................................................................................ 27 Figure 16. The health clinic and nurse’s cottage ................................................................ 29 Figure 17. Two 6inch 26cwt howitzers served on Great Barrier from 1942 to 1944. .......... 30 Figure 18. RNZAF Vickers Vincent patrol bomber. ........................................................... 32 Figure 19. World War Two camps & installations on Great Barrier Island. ........................ 33 Figure 20. World War Two camps and installations at Port Fitzroy. ................................... 34 Figure 21. An anti-submarine boom. Few photographs of these exist due to wartime censorship. ........................................................................................................................ 35 Figure 22. Boom defence buoys at Port Fitzroy, 1978. ...................................................... 36 Figure 23. The Royal New Zealand Navy post war cruiser HMNZS Bellona leaving Port Fitzroy through the Man of War Passage. The controlled mining station buildings can be seen on the headland beyond. ........................................................................................... 37 Figure 24. The conical-roofed observation bunker for the Man of War Passage minefield. ........................................................................................................................................... 37 Aotea Great Barrier Island Historic Context Statement 3 Figure 25. One of the two underground bunkers at the Bradshaw Cove controlled mining station. ............................................................................................................................... 38 Figure 26. Observation post at Bradshaw Cove. ............................................................... 39 Figure 27. Compass rose depicted on the ceiling of the observation post at Bradshaw Cove. ................................................................................................................................. 39 Figure 28. WWII accommodation buildings at Bradshaw Cove. The fig tree on the right is possibly associated with earlier settler occupation. ........................................................... 40 Figure 29. Road made by the Oreville mining company between the mining village and Whangaparapara. Photograph taken by Henry Winkelmann in 1902. ............................... 42 Figure 30. Medland Brothers building road between east coast and Tryphena. Date and photographer unknown. ..................................................................................................... 43 Figure 31. Adam Blackwell’s shelter believed to have been used by men working on the roads. ................................................................................................................................. 44 Figure 32. One of the stone culverts built by stone mason relief workers in the early 1930s. ........................................................................................................................................... 45 Figure 33 . Sea wall along Blind Bay shoreline. ................................................................. 45 Figure 34. The Hauiti owned by the Northern Steamship Company and operated a passenger service to Great Barrier Island until 1940. ........................................................ 49 Figure 35. Ferry Coromel, and passengers, at Port Fitzroy wharf, Great Barrier Island. ... 50 Figure 36. Early wharf in Whangaparapara being used by the Kauri Timber Company Sawmill c1910 .................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 37. Plans for wharf at Port Fitzroy. .......................................................................... 52 Figure 38. Okupu Wharf ..................................................................................................... 53 Figure 39. Puriri Bay Wharf in 1960. ................................................................................. 54 Figure 40. Remains of Tryphena Wharf at Puriri Bay built by the Medland Brothers. ........ 54 Figure 41. The landing of the first aircraft at Oneura Bay in Port Fitzroy. .......................... 55 Figure 42. Claris Airfield not long after it opened. .............................................................. 56 Figure 43. The Grumann G44 Widgeon ZK-CHG flown by Fred Ladd to Great Barrier Island in the 1960s. ...........................................................................................................