Flashback – The Daily Telegraph’s 125th Anniversary
FLASHBACK
The Daily Telegraph’s
125th
ANNIVERSARY
A look at the newspaper, city, & province since 1871.
Special Number of the Daily Telegraph The New Napier Saturday, Twentyfirst January, 1933
Completion Of New Napier Endeavour Of Two Years
Review Of Restoration Of Municipal Services
Statement By Napier City Commissioner
Work On Public Amenities During The Last Two Years
PROGRESS IN NAPIER during the last two years is reviewed by Mr. J. S. Barton, one of the two Commissioners who have had charge of municipal affairs in the city during the period of rehabilitation, in a statement specially prepared for the Daily Telegraph upon the occasion of the issue of this special number.
Restoration of the public services and amenities of Napier, which forms the subject of Mr Barton’s remarks, has, when viewed in a comprehensive light, been perhaps the most extensive undertaking connected with the rehabilitation of the city, and its performance has been rendered the more intricate and laborious by reason of the fact that, in some branches of the work (such as repairing the drainage and water supply systems), the full extent of the damage done by the earthquake and the magnitude of the difficulties have become apparent only as the reconditioning operations have progressed.
“When the Commissioners took charge, the drainage, sanitary and stormwater systems were shattered and inoperative, the water supply system had been destroyed, and the dwellings of the town had been largely evacuated,” says Mr Barton’s statement. “The foregoing conditions, principally in their relation to public health, contained the most urgent problems for the Commissioners. The reconstruction of the sanitary drainage and the water supply was given attention first. It was found that the sanitary sewers were just about 100 per cent broken.
“As the municipal services were gradually restored, the people began to come back, and they began to settle in Napier South faster than sanitary sewage connections could be given to them. It was necessary, therefore, that a temporary sealed pan system should be installed. This had to be arranged and carried out side by side with the reconstruction of the sewers. The work of relaying the sanitary system is now about completed.
“The restoration of the water supply system is nearly completed.
“Reconstruction of the stormwater system is proceeding, and the restoration of the streets in the devastated area, with the new electric reticulation, is now claiming attention.
TOWN-PLANNING
“The details in the matter of widening the streets have been made known. Arising out of the street-widening, there have been some hundreds of claims for compensation with cross-demands by the council for betterment. The commission adopted the policy of seeking to settle these matters by amicable negotiations, and they have succeeded in over 90 per cent of the cases.
“The engineer of one of the four main centres of the Dominion, on hearing of the work that Napier had done under this heading of a total cost of £30,000, said: “You have made several chains of streets, and splayed 87 corners, at less cost than we frequently have to spend to splay a single corner.”
“It was early realised that Napier’s distinguishing advantages of climate and waterfront could be best utilised and capitalised for town purposes by improvements on the waterfront, and this policy is engaging the attention of the commissioners, with the results that are now apparent.
“Attached is a copy of a report from the borough engineer, showing the results to date under these headings.
“ ‘Sewerage. – 134,112ft. (26 ½ miles) of sewers reconstructed; 2473 service drains relaid and tested; five pumping stations built and equipped with electric pumps.
“ ‘Waterworks. – A new pumping-station, equipped with electric pumps of 130 h.p. has been built; artesian bores, capable of supplying four million gallons daily, have been sunk to a depth of 300 feet; a new high-level reservoir, with a capacity of 1,300,000 gallons, has been provided, to give a pressure in the business area of 126 lbs. per square inch; repairs have been made to 35 miles of mains, and 2044 service connections have been restored.
“ ‘Stormwater. – An electrically-operated pumping station, capable of dealing with 1000 tons of water hourly, has been constructed; six miles of stormwater drains, from 10ft. to 1in[?] diameter, have been reconstructed.
“ ‘Streets. – Eight miles of kerbing and channelling have been reconstructed; 9278 cable yards of road material have been quarried and laid down; the narrow streets in the business area have been widened and service lanes provided along the back section lines.
“ ‘Electric Reticulation. – 12,000 yds. of high and low tension underground electric cables have been laid throughout the business area.
“ ‘Buildings. – Plans have been approved and 534 permits issued to the value of £703,924*; over 400 tests to destruction of concrete samples have been carried out by the borough inspectors.’
“In addition to the details given in the engineer’s report, it should be noted that 57 street corner have been splayed, to give better visibility to traffic.”
*Since this report was prepared, the value of building permits issued has increased to £734,947.
FINAL SPURT
ACTIVITY OF LAST FEW MONTHS
BUILDING IN NAPIER
NAPIER HAS BEEN ON THE CREST of a wave of building activity. Streets which, after the earthquake of last year, were nothing but troughs of debris and broken masonry are today avenues which divide blocks of sections on which stand neat attractive structures.
What has surprised visitors to Napier – and particularly those who have occasion to pass through the town regularly and fairly frequently – has been the constantly changing appearance of the business area, which, only a year or so ago, was a desolation where only a few temporary wood-and-iron “huts” relieved the alternation of the fissured streets, the gaunt shapes of wrecked buildings, and the heaps of ashes, masonry and twisted steel.
The work of the past few months has represented a veritable race in reconstruction, in which each of the three main streets which were not only riven by earthquake but were swept by fire – Hastings, Emerson, and Tennyson streets – have taken part. Practically every section has accommodated either a new block of premises or a building in course of construction – here a block of professional suites of striking design; there a block of attractive shops; on an adjoining section an imposing drapery store growing daily; across the street a new bank or insurance premises rubbing shoulders with a warehouse or a hotel in embryo. Gangs of men have been at work on the surface of the street, laying concrete on a strip of land which has been added to give greater width to the thoroughfare; lorries and vans have found space where they could to unload packing-cases containing the wares with which new shops have been stocked; grinding concrete-mixers, scrap shovels, ringing hammers, pattering trowels, creaking mortar-elevators, coughing power engines and blaring motor horns have contributed to a din which resounded through the streets, ceasing at five o’clock in the evening as abruptly as it started at eight in the morning.
Many unusual features have been combined in the task of building the new town. Harmony in building design gives an original note, and the main streets boast a novel detail in the entire absence of verandah supports and telegraph poles. Temporary poles at present stand in some of the streets, but as sufficient buildings are completed for the work to be done, they are being removed and the lines which they carried placed underground with the gas and water pipes.
Besides the money spent on the erection of new buildings, large sums have been absorbed for other purposes, principally in the restoration of public services and is effecting improvements. Over £140,000 has been spent by the municipal authorities in reinstating the four principal services – sewerage, water supply, stormwater drainage, and roads and streets – and a further £13,000 has been devoted to street-widening, the reconditioning of public buildings and the general improvement of the town.
Records show, therefore, that the community, in watching the growth of the new Napier over the last twenty months, has seen the erection of a shopping area which has cost one million sterling.
Newest City In New Zealand
Week Of Carnival To Celebrate Conclusion Of Huge Task Of Rehabilitation
Two Years Of Enterprise And Co-operation
NAPIER CITIZENS AT LAST HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY to celebrate the completion of their new city. The end of the gigantic task of rehabilitation which the last two years have witnessed has long been awaited with keen anticipation and enthusiasm, and the time has now arrived when they may pause in their work and observe the completion of the task of building a new city to replace that which was swept away by earthquake and fire on February 3, 1931. With them, the citizens of other Hawke’s Bay centres, as well as visitors from other parts of New Zealand, will join in celebrating the building of the New Napier.
The occasion is a suitable one for the citizens of Napier to indulge in a little proud retrospect and recall the experiences which the last two years have held for them. Then may they reflect upon the patient effort of the individual, the splendid co-operation, and the community enterprise and endeavour, which have made possible the accomplishment of the ideal in so short a span of time as is filled by two years. Where once they had a stretch of acres of shambles and ruins, they have to-day a business area splendidly equipped with wide streets lined with up-to-date buildings, accommodating business and professional premises that are surely worthy of any city. A model indeed, this New Napier.
In publishing this special number on the occasion of the completion of the New Napier, the Daily Telegraph has endeavoured to produce, in picture and writing, a record of the events of the last two years. Its pages will be found to contain illustrations of individual buildings in the new city, as well as numerous street scenes and panoramic views, providing a contrast between Napier as it was on February 4, 1931, and Napier as it stands to-day. Special articles give accounts of the various phases of activity connected with the task of rehabilitation. The issue, at the same time, serves to herald the opening of Carnival Week; and the hope may be expressed that citizens of Napier and visitors from other parts will find in the coming festivities not merely a joyous carnival, but a carnival made conspicuous by reason of the fact that it will have marked the successful consummation of the biggest task ever undertaken in a comprehensive way by a New Zealand community.
Napier’s Population Increase
THE CONTENTION that Napier’s population, far from decreasing, has actually increased since the earthquake, is borne out by figures relating to many sections of civic activity which may be taken as a reliable index. The last estimate issued by the Governmental Statistician, on April 30, 1932, gave the population of the urban area of Napier as 19,300, an increase of about 100 on the figure estimated for April 1, 1931. Other figures supporting the contention of an increase appear in the attendance rolls of the schools of Napier and in the number of voters whose names are recorded on the electoral roll. Perhaps more convincing than any are, unfortunately, those relating to unemployment. Even with the abnormal amount of building activity which the city has experience during the last two years, there has been an increase in the number of registered unemployed, due to the influx of large numbers of workmen from other centres hoping to find employment in Napier.
Photo captions –
Mr. J. Vigor Brown MAYOR OF NAPIER.
Mr. W. E. Barnard, M.P. FOR NAPIER.
New Service Lanes
IN ORDER TO KEEP heavy traffic out of the streets of the business area of Napier as much as possible, service lanes have been created giving vehicles access to the rear of business premises. The creation of such lanes has been an important phase of the town-planning work executed since the earthquake.
Concealed Services
Where are the telegraph and electric power poles in the new Napier? The answer is that there are none. Elimination of unsightly poles was one of the first details seized upon by the enthusiasts who have been responsible for the introduction of as many improvements which add to the attractiveness and distinctiveness of the rebuilt city.
Vice-Regal Patronage
THEIR EXCELLENCIES LORD AND LADY BLEDISLOE under whose patronage the week of carnival celebrating the completion of the New Napier is being held.
BUILDING AT PORT
WORK INVOLVED OVER £120,000
FINE WOOL STORES
ONE OF THE MOST STRIKING FEATURES of the restoration of the earthquake-stricken area is the manner in which Port Ahuriri has kept pace with Napier itself in the strenuous effort to recover normal conditions. The reconstruction of buildings at the Port has cost a total of £122,851 since the earthquake, the greater part of which was entailed in the reconditioning and replacement of the wool stores, which suffered so severely through the upheaval. This work alone involved an outlay of £69,241.
The first step at reconstruction at the Port was taken by the National Tobacco Company, for which firm a building permit for the sum of £1500[?] was issued shortly after the disaster. Much work was undertaken, however, before the issue of permits was recommended. Almost simultaneously came the reconstruction of the premises of Messrs Murtons Ltd., Messrs J. J. Niven and Co., and Messrs W. Plowman and Sons, while other firms also took every step to hurry forward the reconstruction of their premises. The chief work of construction, that of the wool-stores, commenced in earnest in July and from then onwards Port Ahuriri presented a scene of the greatest activity.
The construction of new wool-stores and reconditioning of damaged wool-stores which was undertaken by Messrs Williams and Kettle, Murray Roberts and Co., Dalgety and Co., the New Zealand Shipping Co. and the Loan and Mercantile Agency cost a total of £49,241, but in addition to this other construction works were undertaken by various business concerns which brought the total expended to £122,831. Many new and bright buildings have appeared and business conditions are once more back to normal.
One of the greatest tasks which faced the authorities following the earthquake was the restoration of the essential services at the Port.
The value of construction works undertaken at the Port since the earthquake have been as follows:-
£
Messrs Williams and Kettle 28,719
Murray, Roberts and Co. 16,859
New Zealand Shipping Coy. (two permits) 23,992
National Tobacco Company (four permits) 11,155
Crown Hotel 7,145
Union Hotel 6,746
Dalgety and Coy. (two permits) 5,367
Ellison and Duncan 5,545
Loan and Mercantile 3,350
Williams and Creagh 2,336
W. Plowman and Sons 2,292
Murtons Ltd. 2,000
F. Bowler 1,450
Warren Smith and Co. 1,274
Richardson and Co. 895
Dalgety and Co. and Williams and Kettle 850
F.G. Smith and Co. 835
Vacuum Oil Co. 793
F. Selby 690
Piper and Co. 650
T. Barry 555
Total £122,851
During the days of reconstruction those working at the Port continued their operations under the most trying conditions but these they faced with the same fortitude which has been such a marked feature of all residents in the stricken area.
Carnival Attractions During Coming Week
Well-Balanced Programme Of Festivities
Committee’s Strenuous Work: Provision For Young And Old
NOT A SINGLE ITEM which might add to the joy of those taking part in the Napier Carnival Week celebrations has been omitted by the large and energetic committee which has worked so hard during the past few months in an effort to ensure the success of what will undoubtedly rank as the greatest event in the history of Napier. The programme prepared provides for all ages, and so many attractions have been crammed into the time available that it will require careful management and faultless organisation to maintain the schedule which has been planned.
A scrutiny of the list of events which will take place shows that both children and adults have been adequately catered for, and will be enabled to spend an exceedingly happy week. There is no doubt that a great deal of care and attention has been put into the task of drawing up the programme, and in this connection the members of the Carnival Committee have cause for very great pride.
The following is a list of Carnival attractions:-
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21
Morning:
9.30. – Procession assembles on Marine Parade and proceeds to McLean Park.
10.00. – Official opening of the New Napier by His Excellency, the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe.
10.15. – Coronation of Queen of Carnival.
10.30. – Band contest (quickstep contest).
11.00. – Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith flies over McLean Park.
Afternoon:
2.30. – Aero pageant at the Napier Aero Club’s grounds, Westshore Embankment; Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith will be present.
Evening:
8.00. – Band contest (own selection), McLean Park.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22
Morning:
11.00. – Church Parade, Salvation Army Citadel, Carlyle street; visiting bands will be in attendance.
Special services in all churches.
Afternoon:
3.00. – Concert, Marine Parade, by Technical Band.
Evening:
7.00. – Services in all churches.
8.15. – Concert on Marine Parade by Napier Citizens’ Band.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23
Afternoon:
2.00. – Lord Bledisloe will officially open the Arts and Crafts exhibition in the Diocesan Hall, Browning street.
2.45. – Lord Bledisloe will officially open the Napier Public Hospital.
3.00. – Naval sports on the Marine Parade in honour of the visit of H.M.S. Laburnum.
Evening:
7.15. – Athletic meeting at McLean Park
8.00. – Red Cross Ball, which Their Excellencies will attend.
8.00. – Concert on Marine Parade by Napier Citizens’ Band.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24
Morning:
9.00. – Bowling tournament on the Napier Bowling Club’s green.
11.30. – Lord Bledisloe will declare open the France Home, Eskdale.
Afternoon:
12.00. – Free community sing at Gaiety Theatre.
2.00. – Children’s day, under the direction of Aunt Winnie and Uncle George, of Station 2ZH, Napier. Fancy dress procession starts from Clive Square at 2 o’clock for Marine Parade.
Evening:
7.45. – Monster swimming gala at the Napier Municipal Baths.
8.00. – Open air concert parties.
10.00. – Fireworks display.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25
Morning:
Arrival from Dannevirke of big combined friendly societies’ excursion.
Afternoon:
12.00. – Free community sing at Gaiety Theatre.
2.30. – Girls’ skipping races, boys’ tyre races.
3.00. – Mothers’ pram race.
4-5.30. – Free picture entertainment at the Gaiety Theatre through the courtesy of Messrs Anderson and Hansen Ltd.
Evening:
8.00. – Monster boxing contest at McLean Park, under the auspices of the Napier Boxing Association.
8.00. – Military masquerade ball in Drill Hall.
8.00. – Concert on Marine Parade by Technical Band.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26
Morning:
9.00. – Continuation of bowling tournament.
9.00. – Golf Tournament at Waiohiki under the auspices of the Napier Golf Club. Both ladies and men will participate and the tournament will be conducted on a handicap basis, the ladies being conceded five extra strokes.
Afternoon:
2.00. – Grand procession to McLean Park, where programme of novelty events will be staged.
2.30. – Athletic, cycling and novelty events at McLean Park.
2.30. – Dog ribbon parade.
Evening:
7.30. – Procession to McLean Park; further novelty events.
8.00. – Napier Frivolity Minstrels Entertainment on McLean Park.
10.00. – Big fireworks display.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
Morning:
9.30. – Carnival shoot, held by Napier and East Coast Gun Club, under the auspices of the New Zealand Gun Club Association. This shoot will take place at the Gun Club’s grounds, on the seaward side of the main highway, about 1 ½ miles south of Napier.
Afternoon:
12.00. – Free community sing in Gaiety Theatre.
Evening. – Sports meeting at McLean Park under the auspices of the Napier Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club.
8.00. – Concert on Marine Parade by Napier Citizens’ Band.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28
Afternoon:
1.00. – The Napier Park Racing Club will hold a special Carnival meeting at the Napier Park Racecourse, Greenmeadows.
Evening:
9.00. – Fancy dress masquerade procession.
9.00. – Bands and concert parties on the Marine Parade.
Midnight. – “Auld Lang Syne.”
2 The Daily Telegraph, Thursday, February 1, 1996
Flashback!
The Daily Telegraph Celebrates 125 Years
Memories
Pictured on the front cover and pages four and five of this supplement are reproductions from a special published by The Daily Telegraph on January 21, 1933, looking at the rebuilt ‘New Napier’ two years after the Napier earthquake.
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Pioneering times for paper
New Zealand was in the throes of rapid population growth and development when The Daily Telegraph was first published on February 1, 1871 – 125 years ago today. Twenty years earlier the European population in New Zealand totalled little more than 26,000; by 1860 it had reached 59,400. They were scattered over the provinces and were served by no fewer than 15 newspapers.
Between 1860 and 1879, and largely as a result of the gold rush, the population not only increased, but so did the number of newspapers. Newspaper pioneering had reached a peak and in that 19-year period 181 newspapers were established. Not surprisingly, 44 of these were set up in Otago where the discovery of gold led to the greatest expansion. In the same period, however, 87 of them ceased publication.
In the ensuing two decades (1880-1899) the enthusiasm to establish newspapers was just as keen. There were 150 new such ventures even though the failure rate remained steady with 85 being forced to close down. Newspapering was clearly not a venture for the faint-hearted.
Nonetheless, newspapers were seen by the early settlers as a vital part in the Government of their new land. Having a voice was seen as so important that New Zealand’s first newspaper was actually printed in England in 1839.
The printing equipment was subsequently shipped to Wellington and on April 18, 1840, the second edition of the New Zealand Gazette and Britannia Spectator was published from a press set up at Petone.
Thereafter a newspaper sprung up in almost every new settlement, the first in Hawke’s Bay being the weekly The Hawke’s Bay Herald and Ahuriri Advocate (forerunner of the Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune) first published in Napier on September 24, 1957. (In view of what happened later with the establishment of the Telegraph, it is interesting to note that Donald McLean had largely instigated the setting up of the Herald to campaign for the separation of the province from Wellington. Once this had been achieved, the Ahuriri connection was dropped from the masthead.)
These early newspapers, most often published weekly, were vibrant affairs. There was no such thing as balance, impartial journalism. They criticised, lobbied and attacked. The law of libel did not exist and often differences were sorted out by withdrawing advertising or, in more extreme circumstances, by fisticuffs. The right of free speech and of having a voice in the affairs of the fledgling communities were seen as paramount.
By the late 1860s, however, a greater sense of responsibility prevailed and, generally speaking, the fairness and balance of daily newspapers gave them an edge over the weekly journals which still relied on political colour.
The Hawke’s Bay Herald published twice a week between 1861 and 1871, the year The Daily Telegraph was founded, it too became a daily. The Herald’s plant was destroyed in the 1931 earthquake and the paper was printed by the Hawke’s Bay Tribune in Hastings and continued as a separate morning publication until 1937 when it was incorporated in the Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune.
The Herald’s change to daily publication in 1871 was no mere coincidence. The Daily Telegraph was floated to combat the dominance of landed interests represented by the Herald.
“The immediate motive of The Daily Telegraph in coming before the public is furnished by the desire of its proprietors to infuse some amount of energy into the journalism of the province,” the newspaper said in its first editorial.
It then moved on to a scathing, if indirect, attack on The Hawke’s Bay Herald, questioning its “intellectual power” and accusing it of giving the public “more than enough of crude and ill-considered comments”.
The Daily Telegraph set out to be regarded as the advocate of “liberal and independent ideas” and sought to be a “journal worthy of the thoughtful community”.
Just what motivated four prominent Napier businessmen to set up the newspaper is not spelt out in precise terms, but it is clear it opposed the landed interests and especially the voice these interests had in government. It certainly intended as much when it omitted reference to such groups by stating it wished to be a “literary periodical suitable alike to Manufacturer, as to the Artisan, appreciated by the Capitalist and welcomed by the Householder”.
The Herald was viewed as having sectional interests while the Telegraph would be “laying open our columns to expose any grievance or abuse that may from time to time exist in our community, arising either from mis-government or causes over which we may have some control”!
The editorial also indicated its first mission would be to secure education facilities. It declared that “among the foremost benefits of free government” is “education of the intelligence carried down to the very lowest ranks of the people”.
So, with the Telegraph well on its way, three of the original founders retired in 1891 leaving E. W. Knowles the sole proprietor and he continued in control until 1908 when he sold the thriving and expanding business to four well-known Auckland newspapermen, Messrs Henry Brett, T W Leys, W J Geddis and William Blomfield.
Mr Geddis became the first managing director of the new company beginning a family association which continues to this day. Mr Trevor Geddis was to join his father on the board and in 1921 succeeded him as managing director. He in turn was succeeded as managing director in 1956 by his son Brian and in 1981 by his cousin John Geddis. When the family sold its interest in 1982, Mr John Geddis continued to manage the company until his retirement in 1990. A great-grandson of William Geddis, Mr Chris Geddis, is the current company secretary.
Ownership of The Daily Telegraph passed from the family in 1982 by the merger of The Daily Telegraph with the Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune and the formation of Hawke’s Bay News Limited. Two years later Hawke’s Bay News became part of NZ News Limited, a subsidiary of Brierley Investments, which owned a number of newspapers and magazines including the Auckland and Christchurch Stars.
By 1988, NZ News was selling off its publishing interests and The Daily Telegraph became part of Wilson and Horton Ltd, publishers of Auckland’s morning newspaper The New Zealand Herald.
Despite vigorous competition with the Herald, the Telegraph thrived both as a newspaper company and commercial printer, and remained in commercial printing until 1986.
The company’s first major setback was the disastrous fire which destroyed a large section of central Napier in 1886. At that time the premises were situated on the site of the present State Insurance Office in Tennyson Street.
The new premises were built immediately opposite on the present Telegraph site. These were destroyed in the 1931 earthquake. One member of the staff died in that disaster. Again new premises were built, this time on the same site. These were completed in 1933.
Meanwhile, the look and style of the paper remained basically unchanged for the first 102 years, with its classified advertising on the front page. In 1973 the design was changed to front page news. Offset printing was introduced in 1977.
The newspaper design was revised in the early 1980s before becoming the first paper in 1986 to have daily front page process colour. In the past two years the production of the paper has undergone a major re-equipment programme and is now fully computerised in both its typesetting and colour reproduction system.
One hundred and twenty-five years on, it remains the oldest company in Napier still devoted to its core business – newspapers.
Photo captions –
THE Daily Telegraph editor, Ken Hawker, looks back on the paper’s history.
THE first generation of typesetting equipment were these linotypes, pictured in 1914, which transferred newspaper copy into hot lead.
The Daily Telegraph, Thursday, February 1, 1996 3
Discovering the heart of Napier
Ken Hawker, editor of the Daily Telegraph for the past 13 years and whose association with the newspaper extends over three decades, reviews the events and issues of Napier recorded by the Telegraph over the past 25 years.
The present shape and style of Napier in the 1990s was really decided in 1968. That year the former Borough of Taradale became part of the city. It was inevitable – a merger of necessity – but it was not without its tensions and disagreements. In a sense it was both an end and a beginning in Napier’s development.
In the mid-1960s Taradale was very much a self-contained township. Greenmeadows provided a tenuous link with the city proper but even it was joined only by an unsealed road which skirted the former Napier Park Racing Club’s headquarters at Anderson Park arriving at the then westernmost reaches of Napier at Onekawa.
The Taradale jewel
Taradale, despite its pleasant rural character, desperately needed its essential services upgraded. The hope of bringing water, sewerage and roading up to required standards lay in a merger with the City of Napier.
The mayor of Taradale, the late Arthur Miller, was not wholehearted in his support. In a current reference to the expansionist role Indonesian president Surkano was then playing in South-east Asia, Mr Miller described the presence of Napier mayor Peter Tait (later Sir Peter) as a “Surkano on the horizon”. Mr Tait, he maintained, was only interested in the merger because he wanted to add Taradale as a “jewel in the Napier mayoral chain”.
It is still a moot point whether Napier’s involvement was primarily motivated by self-interest. Certainly undertakings regarding the speed of upgrading and rating levels were not fulfilled; on the other hand, some Napier interests felt the demands of Taradale would be a millstone for Napier rather than a mayoral jewel.
But the merger came about bringing to an end the separate entities of Napier and Taradale. While other parts of the district, still part of the then Hawke’s Bay County, were yet to be absorbed into the city, essentially the shape of Napier in the 1990s was framed and a remarkable 25 years of development was under way.
Mayor Tait and Napier City were, in fact, in expansionist mood. The talk at this time was of the need for a satellite city located beyond the Taradale hills for 20,000 to 30,000 residents. That need seemed real, logical and almost inevitable.
Throughout the late 1960s and the early 1970s Napier grew at a staggering rate. First Pirimai, followed by Tamatea and Greenmeadows East. At the same time Taradale and Greenmeadows expanded. The boundaries touched and fused and the shape of Napier was affirmed. A dormitory suburb appeared a necessity. But Mayor Tait was beginning to have second thoughts about growth and expansion for their own sake.
Growing out of control
A feature of his administration was his regular overseas trips. He always returned with a vision for Napier. This one time though he returned with the astonishing notion that rather than growth, Napier needed a fence put round it. It was an about-face which took the city by surprise.
What he had seen overseas of cities growing out of control he wished to avoid for Napier. The focus, he maintained, should be on the quality of a city rather than its size. It was a profound observation.
While it would be an exaggeration to suggest all else followed as a result, the quest, nonetheless, for more land for growth became of secondary importance to the provision of essential services, the upgrading of existing amenities and, indeed, the provision of new facilities.
Emphasis on quality
The platform had been well and truly laid and what ensued was a period of growth with the undoubted emphasis on quality. Having held office from 1956, the late Sir Peter Tait stepped down in 1974 and was succeeded by three mayoral administrations (Messrs Clyde Jeffery, Dave Prebensen and currently Alan Dick) each of which built on that foundation and each in its own way giving unique and added impetus to that pursuit of quality.
Progressively over the past 25 years essential services have been upgraded in the city and environs. Flooding, which had been a recurring problem in earlier years, became virtually non-existent; sewage disposal was relocated at Awatoto and significantly improved over the years; the city’s water supply over the same period has been largely restriction free; and roading networks have been improved.
At the same time, recreational facilities have been provided: Anderson Park has become the city’s major passive recreation area while Park Island has become its most extensive active sports reserve. Similarly, McLean Park has become the focus of the province’s sport with the addition of a new stand replacing the old Harris Stand destroyed by fire in the early 1980s.
And another striking feature has been the gradual but almost total restructuring of features along Marine Parade. The Centennial Gardens, Aquarium, Harris Sunken Gardens, Kiwi House, Marineland, War Memorial Hall, Marine Parade Pool, putt putt golf, Spirit of Napier, bumper boats, can-am cars, Veronica Sun Bay, and the Pacific Surf Life Saving Club pavilion are among the new attractions built in this period or existing facilities which have been remodelled.
The other phenomenon of the past 25 years has been the revival of interest in the city’s post-earthquake architecture – Art Deco. The “demolish-and-build” philosophy of the late 1970s and early 1980s has given way to a highlighting of the architectural past and with it a unique niche in New Zealand tourism.
This, coupled with the remodelling of Emerson Street and the flourishing boulevard atmosphere of its bars and eateries, has given the city an envied lifestyle. Similarly, the quality of that lifestyle has been enhanced with residential and commercial developments at Ahuriri which is no longer the drab part of the city it was 25 years ago.
Elsewhere in this publication we comment on changes in the commercial life of the city and the economic life of the province which have also had a momentous impact.
Aside from this there have been two horrific events during the 1980s which altered the lives of all citizens – the unsolved murders of city youngsters Kirsa Jensen, in 1983, and Teresa Cormack in 1987. The city – indeed the whole country – was stunned that a school holiday romp on horseback along the beach-front could result in the disappearance of a 14-year-old schoolgirl. But there was to be something else. Utter disbelief greeted the news that a five-year-old heading off to school had been abducted and murdered. Kirsa Jensen’s body has not been found. Teresa Cormack’s was discovered several days later on the beach at Whirinaki. A march to reaffirm the community’s care and protection of its children was a deeply moving experience. Thousands walked in combined silence along Emerson Street in united testimony: The quality of life in the city was sacrosanct; woe betide those who dared violate it!
It was a reaffirmation of that intense sense of civic pride which characterises Napier and which has much of its motivation deeply rooted in the 1931 earthquake and its aftermath. That civic pride was to manifest itself again in the citizens’ march protesting the mooted downgrading of Napier Hospital in the move towards a regional hospital. That this spirit has survived so long and so strongly and has so often shown itself during the past 25 years and through successive civic administrations speaks volumes for the unique character that is at the heart of Napier.
Photo captions –
THE late Arthur Miller, pictured in 1986, was wary of a Napier merger.
NAPIER Mayor the late Peter Tait (later Sir Peter) escorts Queen Elizabeth II during the royal visit in 1970.
NAPIER people marched in silence along Emerson Street in united testimony to their shock at the death of Teresa Cormack.
Flashback!’
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4 The Daily Telegraph, Thursday, February 1, 1996
Special Number of the Daily Telegraph The New Napier Saturday, Twentyfirst January, 1933
Business Area On Eve Of Complete Rehabilitation
Napier a Model City After Two Years
Undertaking Of Property-Owners And The Municipal Authorities
MID-JANUARY HAS BEEN THE FINAL OBJECTIVE of municipal authorities and land owners in Napier in timing the rehabilitation of their properties. The week of carnival which has been organised for the celebration of Napier’s regeneration would, it was realised, have lost much of its value and its attractiveness if the city had not been sufficiently rehabilitated to accommodate, serve and entertain the large number of visitors from other centres. Now, after just on two years’ effort, the work which remains to be completed is but a fraction of that which has already been done.
There has been no fear, however, that Napier might not be rebuilt by Carnival time. Competition among property-owners to have new buildings completed at the earliest possible date, and the co-operation of the municipal authorities in advancing their reconstruction work in step, as it were, with the erection of new business blocks, has ensured that the business area should be rehabilitated.
A MODEL CITY
Napier can claim to be a model city, splendidly equipped to meet the every need of the visitor. Up-to-date, well-appointed hotels ensure comfortable accommodation. Attractive shops, fresh in appearance and stocked with goods of a character calculated to meet the most advanced tastes, serve the buying public. And the visitor who is a tourist pure and simple, who asks nothing more than a city which he may remember as an outstanding spot in his travels, will find in Napier the realisation of his aspiration.
There is a marked contrast between the appearance of the new Napier and that of the old, which was swept away by earthquake and fire on February 3, 1931. Wide streets, capable of accommodating four lines of traffic without a suggestion of congestion, have replaced the narrow thoroughfares which motor drivers previously found so exacting. Business streets are no longer set between rows of heterogeneous buildings – some brick, some wood, some concrete; some large, some small; some possessing a degree of attractiveness is sullied by the presence of a drab, tumbledown neighbour. Instead, they divide rows of fresh, attractive structures, colourful yet tasteful in their ornamentation, each possessing a style which harmonises with that of its neighbour. Within their walls are adequately-lit and modernly-appointed shops, stocked with quality goods of every class, or commodious offices whose fresh walls and ceilings and attractive but sober furnishings invite the transaction of business in the most congenial atmosphere.
NO POLES IN STREETS
Adding a touch of increased attractiveness to the appearance of the streets will be the ultimate elimination of unsightly telephone and power poles. Service lines and wires, hid from view beneath the surface of the pavements, will not disfigure the handsome buildings which have risen in the re-birth of the city. At convenient points, new streets serve as an additional factor to relieving traffic congestion.
Improvement of natural assets has not been overlooked. Enterprising citizens, assisted by energetic authorities, have carried into effect the beautification of a large area of the foreshore on the Marine Parade. Lawns and walks, created in accordance with a preconceived plan, brighten the newly-constructed area of several acres on the seaward side of the present Parade footpath.
“It’s An Ill Wind -”
“IT’S AN ILL WIND that blows no good. Even the crash of hundreds of thousands of tons of spoil from the Bluff Hill has had its compensating features, for the debris left by the avalanches on all parts of the Bluff has provided a copious source of excellent material for roading purposes. A total quantity of nearly 10,000 cubic yards of material has already been removed from the slip, sand and clay being used for footpath surfaces and rock for edging on gardens and beautification plots. In order to treat the material, the municipal authorities put in a stone-crusher and bins beside the slip, on the road to the Breakwater.
Huge Task Involved In Reinstating Services
Restoration Of Public Amenities
Concentration On Four Items:
Total Cost To Date, £143,683
PERHAPS NO PHASE OF THE WORK of rehabilitation which has been carried out in Napier during the last two years has been so extensive or yet so involved as that which has had to do with the re-establishment of municipal services and amenities. The work has commanded the constant attention of engineers and expert staffs, handling the enormous detail in planning and responsibility in supervision, while employment has been has been given to some thousands of workmen, engaged either permanently or under relief schemes sponsored by the Unemployment Board.
In undertaking the work of reinstating public amenities the municipal authorities have concentrated upon the four principal services – sewerage, water supply, stormwater drainage, and roads and streets. That their policy has been a wise one will not be [in] question, for it is clear that living conditions could not have been complete without any one of them. As a result of the work which has been done, Napier is now equipped with the most up-to-date services.
ROADS AND STREETS
Cost Of £24,867
NECESSARILY DELAYED in the reinstatement of Napier’s public services, the task of restoring the roads and streets is one which has extended over many months. In the business area particularly, it was considered inadvisable to restore the streets and pavement surfaces early, for the reason that they would have been extensively damaged by the constant wear from lorries and other heavy vehicles engaged in the building operations.
Since the work was commenced a length of eight and a half miles of kerbing and channelling has been reconstructed. In addition, 16,184 pavement flagstones have been manufactured and the footpaths in the business area paved with them.
A total quantity of 3910 cubic yards of road material has been quarried and laid down, the entire supply having been secured from the Bluff Hill slip, where the municipal authorities have operated a stone-crusher.
Surface-maintenance work has been carried out in many thoroughfares, particularly following excavations for attention to water or sewerage pipes.
New surfacing has also been laid on land which has been added to existing thoroughfares in the work of street widening and corner-splaying. Many of the streets in the business area have been widened, and service lanes have been provided along the back of building sites.
WATER SUPPLY
Cost Of £27,074
ALTHOUGH it has not involved so great a cost as has the reinstatement of the sewerage system, the restoration of Napier’s water supply has in many ways been a bigger task. The supply was damaged at its source, quite apart from the fact that the reticulation was badly damaged by the earthquake.
Several new artesian bores have been sunk in McLean and Nelson Parks, and a number of the wells existing at the time of the earthquake have been repaired. The work required the constant attention of a Dunedin artesian expert, Mr J. Stewart.
The new bores have been sunk to a depth of 200 feet, and, as a result of their functioning, Napier now has an abundant supply of pure water, ensuring 4,000,000 gallons per day, a figure greatly in excess of the output before the earthquake. Moreover, no restrictions are now imposed upon the use of garden hoses, as were in force before February 3, 1931.
Contingent upon the provision of a new and increased supply, there has been the execution of extensive work in other phases. Principal among these has been the construction of a new high-level reservoir on Bluff Hill, with a capacity of 1,300,000 gallons giving a pressure in the business area of 125lbs. per square inch.
To carry the water from the wells to the reservoir new mains have been laid and a new pumping-station built on McLean Park, replacing the old station at the corner of Vautier and Dalton streets. The new McLean Park station is equipped with electric pumps, each of 730[?] h.p.
The work of repairing mains has involved the treatment of 35 miles of piping and the restoration of 2000 service connections.
SEWERAGE SYSTEM
Cost of £71,286
RESTORATION of the city’s sewerage system has been a complicated and necessarily protracted task. The difficulty of the undertaking has been accentuated by reason of the fact that the location of breaks and leaks in the mains and service pipes has often required extensive excavation work. Practically all streets have frequently been opened up for distances of many chains while fractured pipes have been removed and new pipes laid.
Altogether, 25 miles – 137,033 feet to be exact – of sewers have been reconstructed, and a total of 2423 service mains in private properties has been tested and relaid. Five pumping-stations have been built and equipped with electric pumps, constituting the nerve-centres at the network – almost an entirely new sewerage system – with which the city is now efficiently served. The work has cost £71,286.
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
Cost Of £7000
EXECUTION of the scheme by which Napier has contrived to eliminate power and telegraph poles from the streets of its business area has involved extensive work, but none will deny that the ultimate attractive appearance of the streets, unmarred by the presence of either poles or verandah supports, has warranted the endeavour.
The share of the municipal authorities in this undertaking has been a substantial one, and has involved the laying of 22,000 yards of high and low tension electric cables underground in the business area, the cost involved being £7,000.
STORMWATER DRAINAGE
Cost Of £13,456
RESTORATION of Napier’s stormwater drainage system, which was shattered by the earthquake, has involved the reconstruction of six miles of drains from 10ft. to 4in. diameter.
In addition, an electrically-operated pumping-station, capable of dealing with 4000 tons of water an hour, has been erected.
The work has involved extensive excavation operations in the streets, and large gangs of workmen have been constantly engaged upon its execution.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
DAILY TELEGRAPH’S NEW HOME – A sketch of the front elevation of the premises now being built for the Daily Telegraph Co., Ltd., in Tennyson street, Napier. The premises, as they will appear when completed, are described in an article on this page.
A Picturesque Glimpse From The Marine Parade
LOOKING TOWARDS THE BUSINESS AREA from the newly-created area on the Marine Parade, to the south of the Municipal Baths. In the background the new Masonic Hotel can be seen on the left, while to the right is Mr W. Kinross White’s new block of office premises. The foreground is filled with a corner of the area which has been incorporated in a comprehensive beautification scheme on the Parade.
CORDIAL AND SOFT DRINKS MANUFACTURERS
THERE ARE FEW BETTER KNOWN NAPIER products, especially among the children, than orange crush and Rugby dry ginger ale, and each year thousands of bottles are consumed, assisting to quench the thirst and at the same time to keep Napier men in employment. The place where these and other drinks are manufactured is shown in the above illustration of Messrs Gilberd’s premises, where the latest machinery is engaged in the great task of satisfying the public demand. There are no purer drinks than these manufactured by this firm, the water for all drinks being obtained from their own artesian well, 250 feet deep. Other drinks manufactured by the firm include lemon, orange, lime and raspberry fruit extracts, each of which is most popular with the public of Hawke’s Bay.
NEW EMERSON STREET PHARMACY
THIRTY YEARS OF SERVICE stands in the credit of Mr C. L. Thomas, chemist, who has now taken up his permanent position in Emerson street, opposite the section where he conducted the same business before the earthquake. In this position Mr Thomas has arranged a model pharmacy, complete with spacious dispensary, optical department and fitting room. Each department is excellently lighted, there being large windows at the rear of the building, as well as at the frontage. In addition there are a number of sky-lights. The fittings of the premises are carried out in dark mahogany stain and the goods handled by the firm tastefully displayed. Another feature of the firm’s activities is the developing and printing department, while Mr Thomas also specialises in the treatment of dogs and cats, for which special provision has been made.
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Telegraph’s New Home
Building Under Way
Plans Guided by Efficiency
WORK is well under way on the construction of the Daily Telegraph’s new premises, the erection of which is being carried out by the Fletcher Construction Company at a cost of £10,176[?].
Drawings for the work were prepared by Mr E. A. Williams, architect, of Napier, who, in collaboration with the management of the Daily Telegraph, has designed a thoroughly up-to-date newspaper-production and general printing office. The opportunity has been taken, in reinstating the business in permanent premises, to plan the lay-out in such a way that a maximum of speed and efficiency will be ensured in the working of the establishment.
TENNYSON STREET SITE
The building, a two-storeyed structure, occupies the Tennyson street site on which the Daily Telegraph’s offices stood before the earthquake, the section having a frontage of 66 feet and a depth of 150 feet. The front elevation projects a structure which, while it will be an attractive addition to the many fine buildings now being erected in Tennyson street, will be in no way ornate; rather will it be plain and simple, the planning of efficiency in working having been concentrated upon.
Entrance to the building will be from double glass doors opening from a porch. Inside will be a spacious public office, with private offices on either side, on each floor. An attractive note will be struck by the provision of four tall pillars, running from floor to ceiling, and dividing polished rimu panels set in from the ground level to the floor of the upper storey. Encircling the main office, at the top of the ground floor, will be a balcony, from which will open doors to rooms on a floor designed on the mezzanine principle.
At the far end from the main entrance, the public office will contain a large circular counter, while tables, desks and file-benches will also be available for the convenience of clients. On one side of the public office will be the editorial and reporting rooms, and on the other side will stand private offices for the advertising and clerical staffs. The private and public offices will be covered by a flat ceiling with lighting provided from a central dome-like feature.
CONVENIENCE OF LAYOUT
Careful attention has been paid to the task of planning the layout of the factory portion of the building, and the placing of the various departments and sections of departments has been decided upon in order of processes in production.
Immediately behind the reporting room will be the proof-reading department, and, running towards the rear of the building, a row of linotype machines, with equipment for the composing department adjoining. Behind again, and partitioned off, will be the stereotyping department, with the printing press adjoining, ejecting printed newspapers near the publishing benches and desks, which will be handy to a door opening on to the right-of-way at the rear of the premises.
On the opposite side of the building from the linotype and composing plant will stand the jobbing department machinery. A special counter for receiving job-printing orders will be located near the main counter, and running towards the rear of the building will be rows of presses, each opposite a cabinet to which the motor, tools and other accessories will be kept. Placed alongside the presses will be rows of trolleys and benches.
MOST MODERN PLANT
Throughout the establishment, modern machinery will be installed, a large portion of this having already been established in the firm’s temporary premises. The use of a Ludlow pasting machine (operating in a similar manner to linotypes but with larger type faces) in conjunction with the linotypes, results in almost wholly dispensing with the use of hand-set types. Job printing will be done by the most modern automatic machines, which, when set in motion, may be left for long periods, freeing operatives to attend to other work. The linotypes, which are the most up-to-date, three-magazine machines, will contribute materially to promptly executed work of a high standard. The largest unit in the plant will, of course, be the press used for the production of the daily paper. A 16 h.p.[?] Diesel plant will be installed for the generation of electricity in the event of an emergency.
Flags For Pavements
MANUFACTURE of concrete flags for pavements in the business area of Napier has been quite a little industry in itself. The work has been done at the council yards, and altogether nearly 17,000 flags have been made to date. The flags are made in a truck which has partitions constituting moulds which will turn out stones [?] inches in thickness, three feet in length, and either two feet or one foot in width. Concrete is poured into the truck, which is then vibrated to consolidate the mixture thoroughly. A truck holds 36[?] flags, and, when filled with concrete, weights between four and five tons. The flags are being turned out at the rate of about 150 per day.
‘Quake Brings Good Swimming Conditions
Improvement Effected To Beaches
New Sea-Bed Levels Banish Once Treacherous Undertow
OF ALL THE NATURAL ASSETS which Napier possesses, probably none benefited from the effects of the earthquake to such a degree as the beaches near the city. The raising of the sea-bed levels had a twofold effect – it brought fine stretches of sand into usefulness, and it practically banished the treacherous undertow – and the result is that Napier can now offer its visitors sea-bathing under splendid conditions.
The extent to which the sea-bed was raised by the upheaval can probably be best illustrated by pointing to the reef of rocks which runs out from the beach at the foot of the Bluff, a short distance to the north of the Marine Parade Baths. Before the earthquake, the rocks had never been seen, even at low water.
Where the rollers formerly banked up menacingly on to the Parade beach, to break with a thunderous roar and then swirl back in a dangerous undertow, they now break some distance from the shore. This change is noticeable in all weather, though the improvement is naturally more readily appreciated during spells of boisterous conditions in the bay.
In the fine short stretch of sand now lying at the foot of the Breakwater wharf, there exists an old [?] in a revived form. The spot was a delightful one thirty years ago, and was a favourite locality for the erection of tents during the Summer months. Time and erosion resulted in encroachment by the waves, until there remained prior to the earthquake an uninviting rocky beach. The place, however, still maintained its adherents and every day there could be found members of swimming enthusiasts in the vicinity.
The action of the earthquake, however, was a marked restoration of its attractiveness, and today the spot has a gently-shelving strip of fine sand. Week-ends find it immensely popular with bathers, and its short expanse presents a gay scene any Saturday or Sunday.
A transformation even more marked than that wrought to the Marine Parade and Breakwater beaches is that which has occurred on the ocean side of Westshore. As on the Parade, the waves roll easily up to the beach and offer the finest of bathing facilities. The lifting of the land has also left a very pleasing beach of real sand.
An important circumstance is the fact that the natural resources of these fine assets is not being overlooked by the citizens of Napier. Realising that the new conditions offer unparalleled opportunities for bathers, many enthusiasts have keenly taken up the task of tending and developing the attractiveness of the beaches. Particularly at Westshore is this so.
The new conditions have led to a revival of the activities of the Napier Life Saving Club, the reappearance of whose members now in increasing numbers, is very gratifying.
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The Daily Telegraph, Thursday, February 1, 1996 5
Special Number of the Daily Telegraph The New Napier Saturday, Twentyfirst January, 1933
SPORTS
[…]
Up in the Bright Blue Sky
Aviation News And Doings In Hawke’s Bay
Visit Of The Southern Cross
(Notes by “Aileron”)
At the time when these notes went to press, the finishing touches were being put to the work of preparation for Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith’s visits to the Napier and Hastings aerodromes, which work has been proceeding for some weeks;
The Napier Aero Club was taking no chances with its runway and in addition to the 1100 yards required for the Southern Cross, the numerous holes on the far outskirts of the ground have been filled up and levelled, the whole area having been subjected to a thorough rolling.
The work of preparation of the runway has also been completed at the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Club’s new aerodrome and, in addition, the club’s four machines have all been subjected to a fresh coat of silver dope in honour of the occasion, the De Souttar’s original somewhat glaring colour scheme having been replaced with the conventional club design, of silver body and wings, with blue struts and undercarriage, blue rudder, with diagonal red stripe. The new colour scheme certainly adds materially to the machine’s appearance.
George Bolt the Pioneer.
There has never been any doubt as to who first flew in New Zealand. Flight-Lieutenant George Bolt, of the Wellington Aero Club, who is at the controls of the Waco in Hawke’s Bay this week-end and is about the finest combination of pilot and ground-engineer we have to-day, flew on gliders, which he designed and constructed himself well over 25 years ago, from the Cashmere Hills, Christchurch.
First Powered Machine.
The first man to fly an aeroplane fitted with an engine and airscrew was, absolutely definitely, Vivian C. Walsh, of Auckland. When the Wright Brothers were experimenting in the U.S.A. and Britain between 1904 and 1910, Leo. A. Walsh was an agent for petrol engines, and his brother, Vivian, was with an engineering firm in Auckland.
Working in their spare time at all hours of the day and night, the Walshs finally completed a Howard-Wright biplane. It was named the “Manurewa No. 1.”
Before she reached the limits of the flying ground, Vivian Walsh brought her down to earth again. It was the first power-driven flight ever made in New Zealand and the date was February 3, 1911.
FOOTLIGHT
FLASHES
AND
TALKIE
GOSSIP
[…]
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[…]
Good Finishes Common At Athletic Meeting
Napier and Waimarama Notes
Excellent Programme On McLean Park Last Week
(Notes by “Spike.”)
The usual weekly club night of the Napier Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club, held on Thursday last, attracted a large attendance. Patrons could not help being satisfied with the bill-of-fare offered. A varied programme of no less than 36 events were got off in under one and a-half hours. This speaks volumes for the energy of the club’s officials, and it is indeed fortunate to possess what is now recognised as the most efficient band of officials controlling this sport in the Dominion. Visitors to Napier during the holiday period were loud in their praises in this connection.
Never in my experience have I witnessed such consistently close finishes as are obtained in every one of the ladies’ and men’s sprint events at the Napier meetings.
The men’s 120 yards handicap was no exception. The four heats were all hairbreadth affairs, and the eight finalists raced to the tape almost abreast. The judge’s placings were Bird first, Marriott second, H. Jones third. The runners in this event were assisted by a strong wind, as the time (11 3-5 secs.) indicates.
Among the club’s sprinters, Marriott, D. and H. Jones and Smith, are novices who are all improving with training, and who should be prominent from now on.
The footballers’ relay was another exciting event, in which Pirates notched a victory, mainly on account of a splendidly run 440 yards by H. Jones.
In the 80 yards event it was necessary to divide the field into two divisions. The club is to be commended for this action, as, besides giving the runners – especially the backmarkers – a better chance, smaller fields allow the handicapper and selector a better chance to judge the ability of a runner.
Forme’s win in the A grade section was full of merit, but had Duffy not been so anxious to reach the front in the early stages of the race, he might have extended the winner. The latter, however, is running very well in middle distances, and is perhaps the most promising boy in the club.
Close Finish.
Reid, Chapman and F. Jane – all off the 50 yard mark – filled the places in the B section. Jane displayed rare determination in a close finish – an essential which has been conspicuous by its absence in this competitor’s pole-vaulting efforts this season.
The cyclists were troubled by the strong wind. This upset the handicaps somewhat, but nevertheless Percy Robson and Fleming staged a thrilling final in the six-lap event.
Too many cyclists this season have acquired the habit of retiring from the race long before the distance is completed. They should remember that a race is never won until it is finished.
The annual fixture of the Waimarama Sports Club attracted many competitors on Saturday last, but as the track was of rather a rough nature no outstanding performances were recorded.
Perhaps the best effort was that of Smith, of Elsthorpe, who covered a distance of 33ft [?]in in the hop, step and jump in finished style. This, added to a 3ft 6in handicap, put him far beyond the reach of any of the other competitors.
[…]
HAWKE’S BAY JOTTINGS
Heavy Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm passed over Ormondville on Thursday afternoon and very heavy rain fell in the evening which greatly benefited the gardens and pastures.
Green Pastures
A visitor from Napier was very much struck with the greenness of the pastures on the Ormondville side of Takapau, as everything on the other side is burnt up.
Fat Lamb Drafts.
Quite big drafts of fat lambs continue to leave the Tikokino district for the freezing works. Most of the harvesting is over until the third cut of lucerne is ready next month.
Kairakau Beach
The Kairakau beach is in good condition and the weather is ideal. General regret is expressed that the call to school will soon be heard and the beach season for 1932-33 will be a happy memory.
Dannevirke Show.
A final reminder is given that general entries for the Dannevirke A. and P. Association’s show on February 7 and 8 next, close with the secretary, P.O. box 38, on Tuesday, January 24, including those for the home industries and needlework sections, which in the past have been post entry. A reminder is given exhibitors of live stock who will require paddock accommodation that they must notify the secretary in good time before the show of their requirements. Conditions covering the transport of articles for exhibition in the home industries section are contained in the schedule.
Coming-of-age Party.
A large party was held at the home of Mr and Mrs G. Moorcock to celebrate the coming-of-age of their daughter Emily, who attained her majority on January 14. Guests came from Hastings, Havelock North, South Makaretu, and surrounding districts. The supper-table was graced by a host of good things, and a large birthday cake. Congratulatory speeches were made by Mr Bert Cook, of South Makaretu and others, and response on behalf of Miss Moorcock, giving thanks for the large number of handsome and useful presents she received. A very pleasant evening was spent in dancing and games.
BRILLIANT OPENING
NAPIER’S GRAND CARNIVAL
CITY BATHED IN SUNSHINE
UNPRECEDENTED ENTHUSIASM
WEEK OF JUBILATION BEGINS
MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE
Napier to-day, ‘neath the bright blue sky so typical of Hawke’s Bay’s Summer climate, celebrated the opening of the reconstructed city. Two years, all but a few days, have passed since the city which then was, lay in ruins. Two years of ceaseless faith and endeavour have, however, brought their own reward and thousands of visitors from many parts of the Dominion are gathered to join with those who strove as well in recognition of that which has been so well accomplished.
The beauty of the new structures, the modern planning of the streets and the multitude of improvements which exist to-day will stand forever as a monument to the courage and determination of those in the stricken area, while the fine spirit and generosity of those who gave so readily of their hospitality and assistance during the first few dark months will remain evergreen in memory, providing one of the most noble chapters in the history of the Dominion.
The procession took pride of place in the opening festivities. All Napier was there to cheer the seemingly endless line of exhibits on their way to McLean Park. The footpaths en route were thronged while windows and vantage points on the roofs of many of the newly constructed buildings held hundreds of admiring residents and visitors. At McLean Park there was an immense gathering and the sight presented to Their Excellencies, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, must have caused a deep impression.
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Frills and Fashions
Pars And Personals
Masquerade Ball.
In spite of warm weather, Summer-time dances continue to be popular and the masquerade ball held at the Drill Hall on Thursday night of last week proved very enjoyable and successful. It was given by the Orphans’ Club in aid of the Hawke’s Bay Children’s Home and to further the cause of their queen.
The dancing hall was attractively streamered and a refreshing supper was served upon the stage. Delightful dance music was supplied by Mr Les Henry’s Orchestra. A soft drinks stall arranged in an alcove did a brisk trade.
Carnival Spirit.
The long-looked-for Carnival time has now arrived, and those who have worked so patently for its success are at last rewarded by the arrival of the important opening day. The sympathetic interest taken in Napier by the rest of New Zealand is shown by the manner in which so many visitors have flocked to be present.
The earthquake brought Napier into prominence in a most unfortunate manner, but by such happy means as the present carnival the people of this beautiful city mean to keep it in the public eye.
Now, more than ever, is the time to forget cares and join in the fun. It is quite certain that for this week the townspeople will join with the visitors in showing true carnival spirit.
[…]
Social and Personal.
Misses N. and F. Hetley, of Wellington, are visiting Napier, and are the guests of Mr and Mrs F. A. Hetley, Fitzroy road.
Great Heat.
Waipukurau, though it escaped the storm in Central Hawke’s Bay on Thursday night, has been sweltering hot for the past three days. The heat yesterday was very great and night brought but little relief. The country in the vicinity is rapidly drying up, whilst kitchen and flower gardens are wilting under the heat.
Too Much Feed.
Anglers in Waipukurau district are experiencing a lean season. Fish are quite plentiful in the Tukituki, but natural feed is very plentiful, with the result that even the list [best?] of anglers is finding it difficult to lure the rainbow to make acquaintance with the fly. One of the best local fishermen has to date landed 37 fish after fishing for 130 hours.
Electric Storm.
The electric storm which passed over the district on Tuesday afternoon was very severe at Ngamoko. Mr P. Johansen had one of his cows struck by lightning and killed. Another electric disturbancy visited the Norsewood settlement on Thursday and lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. The rain will be beneficial to the pastures and gardens. A light shower fell yesterday, the weather being warm and sultry.
Lovers of old-time dancing are reminded of a dance to be held in the Church Army Hall tonight. A good band, grand supper and a full orchestra will be provided. Also Monte Carlo and lucky numbers. The usual tea dance will be held on Monday.
Napier saw The Southern Cross for the first time at 7 o’clock last evening, when the giant machine flew over the town on her way from Gisborne to Hastings. When the mono-plane arrived over Napier she was met by seven smaller machines, which acted as an escort for the last few miles of the journey.
The Tail-waggers’ Club of New Zealand is making great progress in Napier. On account of the number of dogs controlled by the local representative, Miss K. McKenzie, of Fred Lowe Motors, her dog “Spark,” has been promoted to sergeant and given a gold medallion with sergeant’s stripes in place of the usual one of white metal.
A grass fire which occurred in a section forming part of the Coleman Estate, between Burns and Selwyn roads, was subdued with little difficulty for the Napier Central Fire Brigade about three o’clock yesterday afternoon, but it was undoubtedly the prompt arrival of the brigade which saved neighbouring houses from damage. The members of the brigade are grateful to Mrs McBeath for providing refreshments.
Night was turned into day on McLean Park, Napier, last evening, when a trial was carried out with all four of the flood-lights which have been installed. There are still a number of minor adjustments to be made to the apparatus, but the test proved the excellence of the installations, which is certain to prove a big asset to the town. Attracted by the flare, a large number of residents in the vicinity of the park were present while the test was under way, many strolling round the area until the lights were turned off about 10 o’clock.
A patent ventilating shaft is being fitted to all the Government Railway Department omnibuses on the Napier-Hastings run. By means of this device, which is fitted to the front portion of the bus within easy reach of the driver, a continuous current of fresh air is allowed to flow from one end of the vehicle to the other. The device was thought out by a member of the Napier staff of the department and will be warmly welcomed by passengers on the buses on account of the fact that it will make travelling far more comfortable during the hot weather.
Special services in celebration of the official opening of the new town of Napier will be held in St. Paul’s tomorrow, and will be conducted by the Rev. J. A. Asher, who will preach in the forenoon on, “They rejoiced, so that the joy was heard even afar off,” and at night on, “Napier – Beautiful for Situation, a City of the Great King.” Music in harmony with the festive occasion will be sung, including the anthem, “Break Forth Into Joy,” and the solo, “The Holy City,” rendered by Mrs L. J. South. The evening service will be broadcast by courtesy of 2ZH.
One of the few buildings in Napier which remains at the present time in the same condition as it was left after the earthquake and fire had completed the devastation is the brick structure at the corner of Emerson street and the Marine Parade, which was formerly occupied by Messrs Murray, Roberts and Co. and the Y.M.C.A. Steps have been in train for some time past to have this building demolished and to erect a new structure which would form one of the anchors for a handsome arch over the Marine Parade, on which would be established up-to-date tearooms. It is proposed that this work will be undertaken during the course of the next few months. Another alteration to this section of the Parade will be the removal of the South African War memorial from its present site to a position beyond the Parade wall, thus increasing the open space and allowing better facilities for traffic.
While days and sometimes weeks had been spent in the preparation of the majority of the floats for the Napier Carnival procession, there were quite a number which were left until the last minute, and in some cases the actual construction of the floats was not commenced until late last evening. Even in the cases of those on which a great deal of time had been spent, however, there were very few which were completed until last night, and some exhibitors applied the final touches this morning, just before the start of the procession for McLean Park.
Good reports are coming in hand concerning fishing conditions at Waikaremoana, where the holiday season has been many well-conditioned fish taken. The number of anglers making their way to Waikaremoana is reported to be on the increase, its population having shown a very sharp rise during the past season or two.
On a charge of being found drunk and disorderly in Emerson street, Napier, yesterday Michael Egan aged 58 years was convicted and discharged by Mr […] J.P. at a sitting of the Napier Police Court this morning.
An example of what can be effected in a single day is the section at the foot of Shakespeare road. Yesterday morning the section within the low rock walls was barren, but last night, passing the section on their way home from work, business men were astonished to observe flowers and shrubs flourishing in profusion. Under the supervision of the superintendent of borough reserves, Mr C. W. Corner, some hundreds of plants were placed in the section yesterday, greatly improving the appearance of this entrance to the city. Further plants and shrubs will be planted in the near future and within a short while this scene of ruin and desolation will be transformed into one of Napier’s many beauty spots.
The second reservoir on Bluff Hill, Napier, is now in full working order, and is now assisting the first one erected to supply the hill areas, in place of the old reservoir in Cameron road. A more efficient supply is being obtained, by reason of the fact that the new reservoirs are situated on a higher position than that in Cameron road.
Three donkeys, a goat, a donkey cart, five dogs, camping gear, commercial travellers’ samples, mail and general cargo, formed the load of a transport lorry which arrived in Napier to-day from Gisborne.
PERSONALS
Miss R. Grigran, of Masterton, is visiting Napier.
Miss M. Minnis, of Masterton, is on a visit to Napier.
Miss C. McCracken, of Scotland, is at present in Napier.
Mr and Mrs Williams, of Kaponga, are at present in Napier.
Mrs M. Connor, Sherenden, is spending a few weeks in Hastings.
Mr and Mrs R. Pascall, of Kaponga, are visiting Napier at present.
Miss W. Player, of Napier, has returned from a visit to Dunedin.
Miss Winlove, of Waipukurau, is at present on a visit to Taranaki.
Mr and Mrs Tongue, of Auckland, are at present on a visit to Napier.
Mrs C. Connor, Waimarama, is spending a holiday in Wellington.
Miss E. Knight, of East Gresford, New South Wales, is visiting Napier.
Mr and Mrs B. K. Thomson, of Palmerston North, are visiting Napier.
Mrs W. Foulds, of Hastings, and two children are on a holiday visit to Auckland.
Mrs J. T. H. Richards, of Gisborne, is visiting her daughter, Mrs R. R. Northe, Napier.
Miss M. Russell has returned to “Tunanui [Tuna Nui],” Sherenden, after a visit to Christchurch.
Mr and Mrs Edgar Wills, of Mohaka, spent a few days in Ormondville with the former’s mother.
[…]
The Daily Telegraph
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21st, 1933.
A CITY RE-BORN
Two years of strenuous endeavour stand behind the completion of the New Napier, the opening of which is to be celebrated during the coming week. Into those two years the people of Napier have put their most willing effort and co-operation, striving towards the goal of replacing the city which was destroyed with another than shall stand as a model among the centres of New Zealand. Occasional disappointing setbacks, far from thwarting them in the achievement of their goal, have had the effect of spurring them to even greater endeavour, which has in turn inculcated into each and every one a spirit of civic pride which the years ahead will surely prove to have been an asset of inestimable value. The fruits of that effort and enthusiasm have their monument to-day in the splendid appearance of the city, a city in the construction of which due attention has been given to every consideration involved in the attainment of the greatest possible degree of perfection – beauty, but never at the price of lost solidity; solidity, but never at the cost of beauty; dignity, but never at the sacrifice of utility; utility, but never at the expense of dignity.
Emphasis should be given to the point that the completion of the New Napier is not an occasion for festivity on the part of the city alone, but an opportunity for celebration at least by the whole of Hawke’s Bay. Other centres and districts shared with Napier the ordeal of February 3, 1931, and it will be their privilege to share with Napier the observance of the city’s regeneration. As was so with the Hastings carnival of some weeks ago, the festival is by no means one of purely centralised interest; rather must it be regarded as one for the district, deserving the support of the whole province. Every centre and locality which was affected with Napier in the disaster of 1931 owes it to Napier, upon its recovery, to join wholeheartedly in the celebration. To the people of Hastings, in particular does this apply. Napier and Hastings have suffered together in the greatest calamity New Zealand has had to bear, and the occasion is one on which the citizens of the two centres should intermingle, in a recollection of their experiences and mutual congratulation upon the remarkable progress which each has made towards recovery.
That the rehabilitation of Napier should have been accomplished in so short a period as two years is in itself remarkable, especially when thought is given to the necessarily involved and prolonged negotiations that required finalisation before the actual work of reconstruction could be fully joined. As was said of Hastings on the occasion of the completion of its rehabilitation, the coming week will mark for Napier an occasion from which citizens may look back with mixed feelings – jubilation at the fact that the city has so completely recovered from the effects of the earthquake and fire which swept it; pride and congratulation upon the fact that the task of reconstruction has been carried out so thoroughly and successfully, and has been accomplished so expeditiously; and, in a measure, regret at the fact that it should ever have been necessary. With what wonderment and thankfulness the next generation will be able to learn of the initiative, enterprise and co-operation that the citizens of Napier showed in the building, in the space of two years, a city to replace one which had been the product of eighty years of endeavour, only to be crushed to swift destruction. Those who are yet too young to appreciate the significance of the events of the last two years, and those who are yet to be, should find the greatest happiness in the fact that citizenship of so fine a centre as Napier is to be their birthright.
[…]
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[…]
Flashback!
The Daily Telegraph Celebrates 125 Years
Changing face of industry
Technology and Rogernomics have been the most potent forces in Hawke’s Bay over the past 25 years. Both have had a revolutionary impact on the province’s economy. Between them they have changed the face of the province and the profile of its workforce.
While some sectors of the region are benefitting in the aftermath of the economic changes engineered by the Labour Minister of Finance Roger Douglas, during the mid-1980s, the province’s high unemployment rate is a constant and telling reminder of their effect coupled with the introduction of new technologies.
A sweep of the pen saw farm subsidies and agricultural price support schemes vanish. In simple terms, this assault on farm support was the major catalyst in the closure of the Whakatu Freezing Works.
As sheep numbers tumbled, the need for killing chains diminished and finally Whakatu was closed with the loss of more than 2000 jobs. Seven years later, declining sheep numbers claimed another victim with the only other six-chain works, Tomoana, forced to close in 1994 when Weddel New Zealand was placed in receivership.
While there had been earlier large-scale redundancies with the closure of Fire Nymph and Morrison Industries in the early 1980s the closure of Whakatu in 1987 sent shockwaves beyond Hawke’s Bay’s boundaries. Job security and commercial certainty were things of the past.
It was a lesson soon to become apparent in the public service. Restructuring saw the Forest Service, Post Office, Ministry of Works, Electricity Department, Ministry of Mines and New Zealand Railways disappear with the loss of thousands of jobs in the region. Coinciding with these massive upheavals was the change to a greater “casualised” regional labour market.
The downturn which followed the removal of farm subsidies and government restructuring, particularly of the Forest Service, led to a drift away from rural Hawke’s Bay with population declines in Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay districts.
Technology’s revolution
There has not been a sector of the community untouched by technology’s ever extending reach. One of the more dramatic has been computerisation of the region’s telephone exchanges.
Widespread adoption of new technology, the modern day version of Britain’s industrial revolution, has seen white collar workers joining the dole queues in droves.
Besides allowing small enterprises and law firms to streamline their operations, technology has led to centralisation of both government departments and major commercial operations away from Hawke’s Bay. Thus fewer decisions affecting Hawke’s Bay are now being made by Hawke’s Bay people actually working in the province. The sweeping changes have forced the province to sit down and reassess its direction and future.
New markets
Napier city has led the bid to capture part of the growing national and international tourist markets. There has also been a change in emphasis with the province fast becoming an exporter of value-added primary products. The meat, food processing, wine and timber industries are leading the way.
While volumes of meat exports in frozen carcase form are declining there is a rise in exports of more highly specialised chilled cuts. And Hawke’s Bay has in more recent times carved a place for itself in the live sheep trade with regular exports to the Middle East through the Port of Napier.
The port has been one of the successes of local body reform in the late 1980s, which saw the port become a commercial enterprise. In the last seven years the total cargo through the port has risen to more than 2.5 million tonnes. Small boutique works like Hill Country Beef and Progressive Meats are filling the void created by the closure of Tomoana and capitalising on the new export opportunities.
One of the success stories of the past 25 years has been the Pan Pacific Forest Industries Whirinaki pulp and timber mill. Originally a joint venture involving Carter Holt, the mill, which is undertaking a $60 million redevelopment programme, exports more than 200,000 tonnes of paper pulp and more than 100,000 cubic metres of timber annually, mainly to Japan.
Forestry is one of the region’s fastest growing new industries taking over marginal pastoral land throughout the entire region.
The former Tomoana works is being developed jointly by J Wattie Foods and Heinz Japan. Besides sending processed foods to Japan the region exports fresh asparagus and sends more than 20,000 tonnes of squash.
Apples have become the region’s largest cash crop and in 25 years production for the world markets has grown virtually eight fold to more than 8 million cartons annually. Kiwifruit and a burgeoning wine industry have added to the province’s expanding horticultural industry.
The last two-and-a-half decades have seen the introduction of weekend trading, the demise of the corner dairy, many suburban butchers, green grocers and family-run business and the advent of supermarkets, chain and franchised stores. The expansionist mood of national retailers led to the closure of long-established Hawke’s Bay family-owned businesses like Bon Marche, Blythes, McGruers, Christies, FL Bone, Hawke’s Bay Farmers Department Store and Harveys.
The identity of other commercial landmarks such as Robert Holt and Son, East Coast Fertiliser, de Pelichet and McLeod, Stephenson Trading Co and Hawke’s Bay Motor Company were engulfed in mergers, takeovers and closures.
On the plus side, millions of dollars have been spent in the past 25 years on the Napier-Taupo Road, which had previously been a barrier to commercial access between Hawke’s Bay and its largest markets centred on Auckland.
The region’s brain drain, the loss of youth seeking further tertiary education, has been arrested to a degree by the opening of the Hawke’s Bay Polytechnic. In the last decade it has changed its emphasis and was adopting degree-oriented courses.
Hawke’s Bay’s first 100 years, though it went through booms and busts, was built on its wool and meat industries and growing British markets for increased production. But the traditional link was thrown into turmoil with Britain’s entry to the European Common Market leading to ever reducing quota, particularly for sheep meats.
Going into the next 50 years the backbone of the Hawke’s Bay economy will still be firmly land-based with farming, horticulture and forestry providing the raw material for an expanding added value sector.
Photo caption – PRUNING back young vines is Rex Anyan, vineyard manager for Corbans wines. Looking ahead to the future the wine industry along with farming and forestry will remain the backbone of the Hawke’s Bay economy.
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The Daily Telegraph, Thursday, February 1, 1996 7
Making headlines for 125 years
Flashback!
The Daily Telegraph Celebrates 125 Years
Three minutes of shuddering violence wreaked disaster on Napier.
In those long seconds on February 3, 1931, 161 died, buildings collapsed and when the shaking stopped fire razed the city, destroying all that the earthquake did not. The final death toll was to reach 258, making it the worst natural disaster in New Zealand history.
Buildings were flattened, fires raged, all forms of communication were lost and Napier was a city in chaos, with emergency field hospitals set up in Nelson Park.
Though the earthquake stands out as the worst tragedy in the history of the province, other disasters have touched the lives of those in the Bay. Floods were a constant threat and caused havoc in 1897, 1938 and 1963, while fire was a feared hazard in the early communities, destroying almost the entire business sector of Napier in 1886.
Though devastating, the earthquake was to prove a turning point in Napier’s history. From the ashes rose a phoenix, in the form of a new Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand.
Along with the fire and destruction, the quake “gifted” almost 4000 hectares of land, lifted from the sea. This provided room for a community previously nestled tightly against the side of a hilly island and surrounded by swamps to expand. Without that land, Napier may never have developed – or certainly not in such a positive fashion as it has done.
Communication and transport were vital to the city and perhaps one of the most controversial issues of The Daily Telegraph’s first century in business – 1871 to 1971 – was the argument concerning where the Port of Napier should be established.
The port of new Napier
In what The Daily Telegraph has documented as the most heated local body poll in Hawke’s Bay history, an almost unanimous result was achieved in favour of a £300,000 loan proposal to build a breakwater harbour. However, proponents for a port being sited in the inner harbour continued to fight what became a bitter battle during which time the Telegraph was known as the “Breakwater paper.”
The verbal war waged for 60 years, until finally the choice was taken from the hands of man and decided by nature, in the form of the earthquake. It lifted the seabed of the inner harbour and the Napier Harbour Board finally began directing its entire attention and resources to developing a deep sea port inside the breakwater. It is now the fastest growing provincial port in New Zealand, handling more than two million tonnes of cargo annually.
Getting on track
Railways also had a great impact in Hawke’s Bay’s early years. Railway track openings were gala affairs, with 100 people celebrating the region’s first railway between Napier and Hastings in 1874. Two years later the track to Waipukurau was opened and a train of festival cricket-goers travelled on it to mark the occasion. Many people “full of beer and joy”, The Daily Telegraph reported, missed the return trip to Napier.
Pushing the railway northwards, however, was not so warmly welcomed. Work on the East Coast railway from Napier to Waihi via Gisborne and Rotorua got under way in 1912 but progress was hampered, locally and nationally, by arguments about the route to be followed. By the time it reached Waikokopu, near Mahia, in 1939, £3,275,000 had been spent on it. War further hindered progress and the line finally reached Gisborne in 1943.
Before the development of road and rail, the early settlers were forced to trek into the region or to come by sea. They were led by visionaries and leaders such as the missionary William Colenso, politicians John Davies Ormond and Sir Donald McLean, and farming and industry pioneers such as William Nelson and Sir James Wattie.
Colenso’s impact on the district is unquestioned. An authority on Maoridom and New Zealand natural history, he was involved in both local and national politics, representing Napier in parliament in 1861, and was the inspector of schools in Hawke’s Bay for many years.
Instrumental in the settlement of Hawke’s Bay was Sir Donald McLean. He was appointed by Governor George Grey in 1850 to visit the Ngati Kahungunu to negotiate the purchase of large blocks of land from Maori chiefs, particularly Te Hapuku. Sir Donald’s negotiations led to the peaceful European settlement of Hawke’s Bay, and on November 1, 1858, Hawke’s Bay was proclaimed a province with Napier as its capital.
Sir Donald’s friend and contemporary, Ormond, became the leader of almost every important political and social body in the region. One of Hawke’s Bay’s first settlers, he was a pioneer industrialist, a successful stock breeder who dominated the region’s early development.
With the settlers and land purchases came the sheep. The first sheep station in Hawke’s Bay was established in 1849 with a flock of 3000 merino ewes from Australia which were driven up the coast from the Wairarapa to Pourerere.
The first consignment of export frozen lamb which left Dunedin’s Port Chalmers in 1882 was to change the face of farming in Hawke’s Bay. One of the Bay’s farming pioneers was William Nelson who watched that first ship leave and later became a prime mover for the establishment in 1883-84 of the original freezing works at Tomoana.
But pastoral farming soon had a strong industry partner sharing the Hawke’s Bay landscape. Sir James Wattie spearheaded the development of the horticultural industry with J Wattie Canneries Ltd forming in 1934.
The expansion of Hawke’s Bay’s pipfruit industry through the 1930s and 1940s had been at the expense of a viable dairy industry in the immediate Napier-Hastings area.
Grape success
More recently, the wine industry has built on the early success of the Mission vineyards, which planted its first vines 100 years ago, and the work of Tom McDonald, recognised as the father of the industry in Hawke’s Bay.
Post-war years provided the region with the opportunity to diversify from a purely agricultural base into manufacturing. Napier city developed the Onekawa industrial area to concentrate this new industry into a single area.
In 1964 the region took another step forward with the opening of the $800,000 Hawke’s Bay Airport, bringing Napier within just an hour’s reach of the capital and the nation’s major market, Auckland.
The new airport also provided the impetus for new horticultural export industries – cut flowers and fresh asparagus. As The Daily Telegraph’s centennial issue noted, few other developments illustrate so spectacularly the extent of the region’s giant strides during the paper’s first 100 years.
Photo captions –
PRELIMINARY work being done by Fletchers for the construction of the new premises of The Daily Telegraph, post-quake.
MARIST brothers pick grapes by hand at the Mission Vineyard before the days of mechanisation.
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The Hawke’s Bay Telephone Co Ltd were proud to provide and install the telephone system for The Daily Telegraph and are pleased to be providing the continuing maintenance of their system in the future.
Phone 843-3096
Fax 843-4088
30 Austin St, Onekawa Napier
Up to 4 tonnes of newsprint a day to produce your Daily Telegraph!
If there’s anything left over, The Daily Telegraph chooses to recycle with a local company, All Brite Industries Limited.
We value their support and congratulate them on 125 years production!
Save the environment – and your dumping fees!
Call 843 3103 to recycle all paper & cardboard from your business
ALL BRITE
Recycling for a Brite Future
You recycle it.
We sort it out.
Q-TOL
TOOTH PASTE
ECONOMY TUBE 1/3
Lane’s
EMULSION
makes you strong
DAGS
With ever increasing costs and decreasing returns it’s time to change your thinking and look towards the best possible market.
At W Tucker Ltd we have the ability to manufacture your dags into the best possible product. Because of this our company has a strong demand from the wool exporters for scoured dagwool and on your behalf we can meet this demand and fetch the TOP MARKET PRICE!
SO DON’T DELAY!
TURN YOUR DAGS INTO DOLLARS!
CONSIGN THEM TO:
W. TUCKER LTD.
MAIN ROAD, CLIVE
Proud to celebrate 101 Years in Business and congratulate the Daily Telegraph on their 125 Years
Bulk Green Dags are now no problem. We can dry them at no extra cost to clients. For any enquiries phone
06-870-0421
ASK FOR BERNIE FREEMAN
We are also registered private buyers of wool specialising in small lots, bin bales etc. Larger lots by arrangement. So let us turn your wool into dollars as well.
AFTER HOURS: STEWART TUCKER, PHONE 06 870-0596
DENT ROBERTSON & PARTNERS
Chartered Accountants
Congratulations
The Daily Telegraph on reaching 125 years of successful publication.
We look forward to working with the company towards 2000 and beyond.
We could also work with you. Call us for a free no obligation interview.
PARTNERS – Bill Dent
Ian Robertson
David Sawers
Stuart Signal
David Cormack
Alan Berry
Phone (06) 878-7004
Westpac congratulates
The Daily Telegraph
on its 125th anniversary.
Westpac is pleased to have been associated with The Daily Telegraph and looks forward to many more years of prosperous business together.
Westpac
Westpac Banking Corporation is incorporated in New South Wales, Australia.
The rise, rise and rise of The Daily Telegraph
Anticlockwise from top right
The Daily Telegraph office was destroyed by fire on Saturday, December 18, 1884, when 26 buildings in Tennyson and Emerson Streets were razed. The Telegraph was insured for £2000. The paper was printed as usual on Monday from a Hastings Street office.
View from Marine Parade watching demolition in Tennyson Street after the earthquake of February 3, 1931.
The remains of the newsroom. A news bulletin was produced on February 4, 1931 and for the next 9 days until a return to larger editions was possible.
Although twisted by fire, the “Victory” Rotary press was reconditioned by the Vulcan Foundry, Napier.
Sub-editor and son of the immediate past-editor, Mr H. H. McDougall carries a drawer from the Telegraph ruins.
The temporary premises in Vaultier [Vautier] Street where the Telegraph carried on its business after the quake and made alterations to the value of £238.4s.6d. A fire swept through the premises at 2am on March 24, 1934, causing approximately £800 in damages, with paper to the value of £112 destroyed.
Centre: The Daily Telegraph as it stands today. Twenty-one years after the quake, it was described as “a stunning example of new Napier architecture”.
– from The Daily Telegraph Company files
[Advertisements]
Happy 125th Birthday
interVOICE is proud to have been associated with The Daily Telegraph since 1980. Not quite 125 years but long enough to know that excellence in product and service is the key to building a long term business relationship. We look forward to “patting you on the back” again in the 21st century when you attain your next milestone … probably then we’ll celebrate with an interactive holographic ad beamed into your readers homes by satellite!
[…]
Marsh & McLennan are proud to be associated with The Daily Telegraph as Insurance Brokers and Risk Management Advisers. We congratulate them on their 125th Anniversary.
MARSH & McLENNAN
The World’s Leading Risk Consultant and Insurance Broker
Contact Graeme Reid at our Napier Office on (06) 835-3249
[…]
Original digital file
RobertsonNR1737_Flashback125thAnniversary.pdf
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Description
Some sections of this newspaper not relating to Hawke’s Bay have not been transcribed – these are indicated by […]
Surnames in this newspaper supplement –
Anyan, Asher, Barnard, Barry, Barton, Berry, Bird, Bledisloe, Blomfield, Bone, Bowler, Brett, Chapman, Colenso, Conner, Cook, Cormack, Corner, Dent, Dick, Duffy, Eagan, Fleming, Forme, Foulds, Freeman, Geddis, Hawker, Henry, Hetley, Jane, Jeffrey, Jensen, Johansen, Jones, Kingsford-Smith, Kinross White, Knowles, Leys, Maidens, Marriott, McBeath, McDonald, McDougall, McKenzie, McLean, Miller, Moorcock, Nelson, Niven, Northe, Ormond, Player, Plowman, Prebensen, Reid, Robertson, Robson, Russell, Sawers, Selby, Signal, South, Stewart, Tait, Thomas, Tucker, Vigor Brown, Wattie, Williams, Wills, Winlove
Tags
Business / Organisation
The Daily TelepgraphFormat of the original
Newspaper supplementDate published
1 February 1996Publisher
The Daily TelegraphAcknowledgements
Published with permission of Hawke's Bay Today
Accession number
569151Supporters and sponsors
We sincerely thank the following businesses and organisations for their support.
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