Havelock North Celebrating 150 years

HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010   13

HAVELOCK NORTH
Celebrating 150 years

HAVELOCK NORTH, THE PLACE WHERE SIX ROADS MEET, HAS DEVELOPED OVER 150 YEARS INTO A RETAIL, RECREATIONAL AND ARTISTIC HUB THAT IS ONE OF THE JEWELS OF HAWKE’S BAY.

The first steps towards the picturesque village of today occurred when a 4000-acre parcel of land, known as Karanema’s Reserve, was legally acquired by the Hawke’s Bay Provincial Government from Ngati Kahungunu for the sum of £800 on September 29, 1858.

SIMPLY described, the reserve contained all the land lying between the tops of the Havelock Hills and the old course of the Ngaruroro River (then known as the River Plassey), “having a width of approximately two miles and a depth of three-and-a-half.”

But the founding of “The Village” came 150 years ago this week, with the proclamation that the Commissioner of Crown Lands would offer for sale on March 13, 1860, ‘The town and suburban sections within the township of Havelock situate on the south bank of the River Plassey on the Ahuriri Plains’.

A subsequent proclamation offered the remaining town sections for sale on June 19, 1860, and by the end of 1862 all available sections had been sold.

The township was named after British general Sir Henry Havelock to commemorate his role in suppressing a rebellion against British power in India in 1857 and 1858.

In all, there were 74 town sections – nearly all half an acre – which ranged in price from seven pounds 10 shillings to fourteen pounds. An early plan of the Village reveals landowners with surnames that still resonate today, such as Colenso, Russell and Kennedy.

Notably absent from the plan is the surname Chambers – one which was to become synonymous with the area. John Chambers had already started his sheep farming and pastoral dynasty on 6,400 acres of land behind the hills he purchased from local iwi in 1854.

It was a dynasty that would one day consist of nearly 18,000 acres of freehold land, with the Chambers homestead and sheep run. Te Mata – which by 1885 was carrying 35,000 sheep – at its centre.

Sketch caption – Duart House: Allen “Tuki” McLean built Duart House around 1882 for his wife Hannah Chambers – the eldest daughter of John Chambers.

Photo caption – Duart House today

Plan – FIRST EUROPEAN LANDHOLDERS   RESERVE TE AUTE ROAD MIDDLE ROAD TE MATA ROAD

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14   HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010

HAVELOCK NORTH
Celebrating 150 years

CENSUS FIGURES FROM 1878 SHOW 327 PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AREA, BUT BY 1886 THAT FIGURE HAS RISEN TO 500

Back in the Village, John Bray, a enthusiastic landowner who would become the township’s first postmaster, wasted no time in building the Havelock Hotel in 1860 on a site close to where St Columba’s Church is now, facing Te Aute Rd.

MEANWHILE, bullock wagons transport sections of the township’s other hotel, The Exchange, to its site on Middle Rd. Generally known as “Reynolds”, after publicans Mr and Mrs Tommy Reynolds. The Exchange retains its name until 1944.

Blacksmith John Henry Joll joins the list of section owners in 1864 with a house situated, interestingly, not on the road which now bears his family name but instead on Te Aute Rd.

Havelock School opens in 1865 on Te Mata Rd and the first Presbyterian church is built in Havelock in 1871, at the site where the National bank is today.

In 1894, St Columba’s Presbyterian church, designed by Robert Lamb, is erected on donated land adjacent to the domain, where the current church was finished in 1971.

In 1873, the inauguration of the Havelock library – which is housed in the Foresters’ Lodge – is overseen by shareholders of the Mechanics’ Institute.

Three years after the first Presbyterian church is built, tenders are called for the building of St Luke’s. The church’s beginnings can be attributed to the generosity of Thomas Tanner, who – along with Chambers – is the region’s other great landowner and benefactor.

Tanner owned most of the land that Hastings is situated on today. In 1871, Tanner started selling off parcels of his land to farmers at the settlement of Karamu, which by 1873 had grown into Hastings. At this time, Tanner moved to Havelock to live at Endsleigh in Given St.

When the regional railway line is routed through Hastings in 1874. Tanner, as chairman of the Havelock Road Board and still significant land owner in Hastings, calls for tenders for a bridge along the main road to Hastings, which is completed in 1874.

By 1880, 20 years after the first land sales, the Village was well established with two churches, schools and two hotels. Census figures from 1878 show 327 people living in the area, but by 1886 that figure has risen to 500.

Duart House is built in 1882 by Allen ‘Tuki’ McLean for his wife Hannah Chambers – the eldest daughter of John Chambers. Duart was the name of a castle built by the McLeans on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.

Photo captions –

A photo of “where six roads meet” from the turn of the century.

The Joll Family, circa 1897. Standing 9L to R) George Joll, Valentine Joll, William Joll, Alfred Joll. Seated (L to R) Mrs Valentine Joll, Mrs Fanny Joll, John Henry Joll, Stanley Joll (foreground).

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HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010   15

HAVELOCK NORTH
Celebrating 150 years

IN 1892, the first vineyards are planted in Havelock North at Te Mata by Bernard Chambers, the third son of John Chambers, and the first vintage bottled the following year.

Bernard had the original vision for wine production all the north-facing hillside slopes bordering Havelock North after observing similar, successful wine growing conditions in France.

Two of Havelock’s three independent boarding schools begin life just prior to the turn of the century in, of all places, Hastings.

Heretaunga School, a private school for boys, opens in Hastings in 1882 before moving to Havelock in 1913. The school changes its name to Hereworth in 1927.

Woodford House is opened in Hastings in 1894 by Miss M Hodge, an English school mistress from Cheltenham, with 18 day girls and four boarders. Land is purchased on the hills of Havelock North for it to be moved in February 1911.

Encouraged by the success of these first two schools, support for a Presbyterian girls’ college in Havelock North grows and Iona College opens later in 1914.

Around the same time that a Town Board is being mooted in March 1910, the township’s chief postmaster suggests Havelock, Hawke’s Bay, should change its name to avoid confusion with the other Havelock, situated on Pelorus Sound in the South island.

Locals are incensed and 100 of them gather in protest. After a second protest. a newspaper article dated July 21, 1910, proclaims “Havelock still Havelock: The Reverend Name Retained”. But while a name change is not enforced, from this time on Havelock North is used informally.

The debate over the name change holds up the formation of the first Town Board. It is not until 1912 that Mason Chambers is elected as its first chairman, alongside commissioners J.A. Joll, A.H. Bale. L.T. Cooper and J.G. Nimon.

Havelock’s reputation as a spiritual and philosophical centre is paved by the formation of The Havelock Work in 1907, an arts and literary group.

They hold musical and dramatic events, run arts and crafts classes and publish a Journal from a press installed in the chalet of ‘Stadacona’, the home built by T.H.R. Gardiner in 1908. In 1910 the property is bought by Charles Tanner who renames it Keirunga, meaning ‘on high’ in Maori.

Mr George Nelson, a founder of the Hawke’s Bay Herald Tribune, purchases Keirunga in 1929 at the age of 57. His wife Elizabeth provided afternoons for her friends including garden walks and a meeting place for ‘serious talk’.

When Nelson dies aged 93 in 1964, Keirunga Homestead and the remaining 2½ acres not already gifted to the Havelock North Borough Council are purchased to become a park and recreation area.

The growth of Havelock North is stunted by Hastings and its railway line, and in 1911 the population remains at 500. In 1914, the Post Office is built; the Havelock North Volunteer Fire Brigade commences operations in 1920; and in 1921 the Havelock North Public Baths open in the Domain.

In 1927, John Chambers, Bernard Chambers and Mason Chambers give in trust 242 acres of land to be used as a park and recreational area: Te Mata Trust Park.

Maori legend has it that Rongokako, the ancestor of all the iwi of Ngati Kahungunu, falls in love with daughter of a Heretaunga chief and is set a series of difficult tasks to prove his worthiness, including eating his way through the hill that separates the two tribes.

The task kills him and looking towards the Peak from Hastings, the huge bits that choked Rongokako can be seen, while the outline of his body forms the skyline. The Peak was then known as Te Mata O Rongokako meaning “The Face of Rongokako”.

Photo captions –

Mrs and Ms [Mr and Mrs] Bernard Chambers astonished locals with Havelock’s first car – a 1902 Oldsmobile.

Nimon’s Horse Bus on the road to Hastings, probably before 1914. Joe Nimon has the reins. Nimon’s and Sons was established in 1905, taking over a business established in l874.

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16   HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010

HAVELOCK NORTH
Celebrating 150 years

Havelock North fares better than Hastings and Napier in the great Hawke’s Bay earthquake of 1931, with no-one killed. However, the shock destroys the main bridge on the main route to Hastings and all electric power – first mentioned in Havelock in 1915 – is cut off and the water supply disrupted.

St Luke’s Bell Tower is damaged extensively and has to be demolished; the Foster Brooks building is rebuilt as a one-story building, while Iona College is in need of urgent and substantial repairs.

That same year, the Havelock North Cricket club – which had lived a spasmodic existence since 1874 – is reformed following a match between boys and old boys from Havelock North School in 1931.

The Havelock North Rugby Club is mentioned as having played back in the 1890s, but goes into recess around 1910, not returning to the field until 1921. After a further recess in 1925, the club enjoys a resurgence in 1934 and continues to thrive to this day.

The Havelock Domain Pavilion is built in 1938 before the outbreak of WWII and by 1945, Havelock North’s post-war population stands at 1485 people.

This population growth and the increase in house building after 1945 sees the Town Board begin preparations to apply for Borough status, and in April, 1949 a petition is sent to the Minister of Internal Affairs.

After a delay, the status is granted and Havelock North is declared a borough from April 1, 1952, with then chairman of the Town Board, J J Nimon, becoming the first Mayor of Havelock North.

In 1989, the Havelock North Borough Council, Hastings City Council and the Hawke’s Bay County Council amalgamate and Havelock North falls under the governance of the newly-created Hastings District Council.

In the 58 years since becoming a borough, Havelock North has grown to a population of more than 11,000 people, who come for the same reasons they did in 1860: the beautiful landscape, the fertile plains, the rivers, the ocean, and the lifestyle.

A pastoral influence guided Havelock North during its early years and continues to be one of the key business sectors, yet the village continues to attract fresh thinking and corporate businesses which are shaping the future of Hawke’s Bay.

The Village prides itself as the café capital of the Bay and offers locals and visitors a unique retail experience. A strong presence in healthcare and education sectors and a fast growing services industry. including finance and real estate, are helping to develop a broad base of economic prosperity.

The growth in the wine industry, coupled with the climate and abundance of artistic, outdoor and recreational opportunities, are providing significant growth for the district’s tourism industry, enhanced by nationally and internationally recognised businesses.

Photo captions –

Town Centre 1925

The bridge to Hastings was wrecked by the 1931 earthquake and was not rebuilt until just before Christmas, 1931.

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HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010   17

HAVELOCK NORTH
Celebrating 150 years

The future of the Village is exciting. Havelock North is unique and will continue to grow through its distinct identity, strong sense of community and solid economic base, ensuring it remains a glittering jewel of Hawke’s Bay for generations to come.

Source information and historical photographs courtesy of S.W. Grant’s Havelock North, From Village to Borough 1860-1952. (1978).

Photo captions –

Te Mata Peak

Havelock North Town Centre

Old is new: The Rose and Shamrock Village Inn

Havelock North
heart of the Wine country
“Our Village is not ordinary – it is quite unique” Eleanor Adkins

150th CELEBRATION

Monday 8th March, 10 am
Blessing Service at the Havelock North Domain

Monday 8th-Saturday 13th March During Opening Hours
Historical archives & DVD history 1860-2010 at the Havelock North Library

Tuesday 9th March, 10 am & 1 pm
Garden and History Tour of Keirunga Gardens and Homestead
Gold coin on arrival

Thursday 11th & Friday 12th March, 10 am & 3 pm
Teas & Tours at Duart House – bookings essential on 8776334
$10pp no eftpos available

Thursday 11th & Friday 12th March, 1 pm
Havelock North Cemetery Tour with Lily Baker
Gold coin on arrival

Saturday 13th March, 11.30-3 pm
Civic Luncheon at Black Barn
Speaker – Michael Fowler – ‘Where the six roads meet’
Address by Mayor Lawrence Yule and Tukituki MP Craig Foss
Tickets $49 pp bookings essential on 873 7129

Sunday 21st March, 5 pm
Choral Evensong at St Lukes Church, Te Mata Road
Celebrating the history of Havelock North with a service dating back to 1662

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18   HASTINGS MAIL, MARCH 10, 2010

Farewell to summer

Sunday’s cool conditions saw plenty of people in faux furs and playing games of croquet to keep warm at the last deco event of the summer, When the Dust has Settled, the art deco picnic at Stoneycroft House in Hastings.

Photo captions –

Double skills: Four-year old twins, Robbie and Grace Sayer of Hastings, play croquet on the lawns of Stoneycroft House.

Finessed: Dave Jensen and daughter Laura, 8, of Napier, play croquet on the lawns of historic Stoneycroft House.

Rugby union’s still profitable

Hawke’s Bay rugby continues to be the success story of the provincial game, posting yet another financial profit in a year when most New Zealand unions struggled to keep their heads above water.

The Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union revealed an $18,000 profit for the 2009 financial year at its annual meeting in Napier recently, on the back of a 25 per cent increase in gate takings during the Air New Zealand Cup.

The result represented a fall on the previous year’s $27,000 profit but the union increased sponsorship revenue year on year by $500,000 despite battling through tough economic times.

HBRU chief executive Mike Bishop said the result was ongoing evidence of the huge support for rugby in the local community.

“We’ve been making profits since Adam was a cowboy,” Bishop said.

“We just concentrate on going about our own business.

“It’s the popularity of the Magpies and keeping tabs on the expense side of things.

“We don’t overspend on anything, including the team We don’t want to sound arrogant, but we believe we have a model that’s as good as, or better, than some of the big provincial unions.”

Hawke’s Bay has attracted big crowds to McLean Park in Napier during the past two years, but Bishop is concerned the union’s success will be jeopardised if it is not included more in the professional game in coming years.

The team is going well and the brand of rugby they play gives a good base for the sponsors and the fans. We think we have something special. We would hate to it gets damaged by forces out of our control,” he said.

“The NPC is an incredibly important part of the rugby landscape, but if there was any way to be involved in a Super franchise, or become a franchise in the future, we would welcome it with open arms.”

Hawke’s Bay showed initial interest in bidding to be the 15th side in next year’s Super 15, but was not supported by the NZRU.

Bishop said the HBRU still believed there was enough support and sponsorship for another New Zealand franchise, and hoped successful unions would not become further marginalised in the professional era.

“We are told there is only room for five franchises in New Zealand, but we believe up to eight New Zealand entities can be sustained either in a trans-Tasman competition or one also involving South Africa,” he said.

“But I’m a strong supporter of the NPC and we believe it has reignited rugby for a lot of fans who can go down the road and see quality rugby.

“It is the base point for Super players and where the All Blacks are bred. You cannot let the gap between the NPC and Super rugby get too great or you will damage the quality of the players who make it through to the All Blacks.”

Fairfax

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