CPlay-ShippingCrateIcons-240503-EyeSpy.pdf

 

The crates around the ship, acknowledge some of the firsts for the area when the Europeans arrived.

 

Inside the shipwreck, you can find a barrel inspired by the Caroline Whaler Supply ship with "Whale oil 1839 1/560"

A whaling station was established on the bay in the late 1830s. It was generally assumed that the whaling station was situated close to the present tripod on the bay, but Mr. F.G. Hall-Jones, who had studied the Timaru foreshore, considered that the whaling station site would be on the western side of Stafford Street. The whalers used to draw their water from Whales Creek, but because the tide would flow into this creek, they had to go as far as Nelson Terrace to obtain fresh water.

The origin of Caroline Bay's name is not confirmed. The first mention of "Caroline" occurs in memorials concerning the sale of land by the Maoris to the Weller Brothers in 1839, when the bay was apparently described as "Caroline Harbour." An official notice in the Lyttelton Times of October 22, 1851, refers to "land which is to be laid off as a town at Timaru Bay," indicating that the name "Timaru" was applied to the whole bay before the harbor works and the build-up of sand. The name "Caroline" might well have been inspired by Samuel Williams, one of Timaru's earliest settlers.

 

This crate is an acknowledgment of the hard work and tools to establish Timaru as we know today.

Tools: The symbols recognize the tools that had to be brought over by ship. When these tools were not available, the early settlers had to figure out how to make them. This led to all kinds of Kiwi ingenuity and inventions, such as the first motor car built in New Zealand, which was said to have been constructed by Cecil Wood in a small bicycle shop on Stafford Street. "By 1894 Mr Wood was making his own bicycles in Timaru, including tires, tubes, and spokes. Engines, which he made himself from parts cast in Timaru, became the operators of bicycles and wheeled carriages." He was a member to a Masonic Lodge and lived on Beverley Road.

This same shop is where Cecil collaborated with our famous Richard Pearse, an aviator, farmer, and self-taught inventor, who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Pearse patented both a bicycle and a monoplane with innovative features. The American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright flew on 17 December 1903. However, a good deal of eyewitness testimony, able to be dated circumstantially, suggests that 31 March 1903 was the likely date of the first flight attempt by our very own Pearse.

Mr C W Wood, 90 Today, Built First Car in Dominion (28 Mar 1963). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1100

Black Powder: In 1868, Timaru's CBD suffered a devastating fire, fanned by a hot northwest wind, which reduced three-quarters of the wooden buildings to ash within three hours. The town responded by constructing stronger buildings using stone and brick. Local volcanic rock was quarried for buildings, bridges, port construction, and erosion mitigation. The detonation icon acknowledges the blasting and excavation of basalt rock in Timaru's quarries for these construction projects.

 

"The Port. of Timaru is a monument to the pioneers who waged a battle against official and professional discouragement and against the opposition of city and harbour interests in the north. Even the railway system was used to retard its development. Today, it is the outlet for the produce of South Canterbury and for part of Mid-Canterbury and North Otago. Without its harbour the city of Timaru could never have progressed beyond the status of a small borough, and the producers of the district would have paid millions of pounds in railage to Lyttelton."

- The Harbour Story (Jan 1959). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/6203

 

Harbour Board Quarry, Timaru, circa 1904, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (C.014398)

The rock being transported to the Port of Timaru. Here you can see wagons that were operated by the Timaru Harbour Board's Otupua Tramway which ran from the Eastern Extension to the quarries in what is today's Senenic Reserve they date back to 1900. The Tramway closed in 1958. The "six wheeled tipping wagons" are now on display at the Pleasant Point Railway Museum.

 

Breakwater, Timaru, 1885, Timaru, by Burton Brothers. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (O.034095)

 

ABOVE Some of Timaru's special architecture that you can find in the CBD. These are all listed in the New Zealand Historic Places Trust / Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. -Photos Roselyn Fauth

 

Silver Trowel: If you read through Papers Past's newspaper articles, many buildings were celebrated with silver trowels, so we thought it would be fun to include a silver trowel on our crate too.

"On February 6, 1910, the foun- dation stone of the Church of the Sacred Heart was laid by Bishop Grimes of Christchurch... .Mr John Cas- sidy, of Levels, had given th foundation stone and the beautiful silver trowel used by the Bishop was also a gift." - https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz

 

Masonic Lodge Symbol:  Captain Alexander Mills, (born in Scotland 1833 died in Timaru 1882) was one of the founders of the Timaru Masonic Lodge in 1871. When he died he was Worshipful Master of the Caledonian Lodge S.C. and the Harbour Master of Timaru's Port, and the captain of the Timaru Volunteer Rocket Brigade. He witnessed a majority of Timaru's shipwrecks. He led the lifeboat, rocket brigade sea rescue crews, and the Timaru fire bridge. In 1882 the ships the City of Perth and the Benvenue were washed onto the rocks at the base of the cliffs at the north end of Caroline Bay. Captain Mills and his men attempted to unsuccessfully save The City of Perth. Captain Mills and eight others lost their lives in this event which became known as 'Black Sunday'. The inquest ruled that Captain Mills, who made it back to shore, died of shock (The Timaru Herald 16 May 1882). After the Benvenue Shipwreck disaster, the lodge presented bravery medals to those involved in the lifesaving efforts. - https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD18820516.2.22  & https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/Masonic+Lodge

The shipping disasters and loss of life at Timaru, which occurred on Sunday 14th May, 1882: https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/239

ABOVE: Benvenue and City of Perth disaster in 1882. From the Illustrated Australian News - Melbourne Vic -1876-1889 Saturday 10 June 1882

 

Crowds assembled at the Benvenue Wreck Memorial, Timaru, for the 50th jubilee of the event in May 1932. The crowd appears to be being addressed by dignitaries from on the lifeboat 'Alexandra'. 
Handwritten on verso "14th May Jubilee 1932" - South Canterbury Museum

 

Anvil: The anvil is a nod to Timaru's famous boxer Bob Fitzsimmons, the sport's first three-division world champion. Fitzsimmons had hatched a plan to run away from home, arranging with the captain to set sail the next day, but when he woke up, he discovered that his ride, The Fairy Queen, had caught fire and wrecked overnight. With this turn of events, he stayed in Timaru and eventually worked for his brother in a foundry making horseshoes. Some say the strength he built up in his shoulders from beating the iron and managing horses gave him a competitive advantage in the ring. His nickname was "The Fighting Blacksmith." If the ship hadn't wrecked, perhaps Bob's life would have taken a different path.

 

1873 The schooner "Duke of Edinburgh" (foreground) and the brig "Fairy Queen" (background) aground at Timaru, after being swept ashore in a southerly gale on 27 August 1873. Photograph taken by William Ferrier of Timaru. - natlib.govt.nz/132912

 

 

"The history of the “port” of Timaru seems to begin with the arrival of the 30-ton schooner Henry, which came from Lyttelton about January 1852 with stores for the Levels Station."

- The Harbour Story (Jan 1959). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/6203

 

The first Europeans to settle in Timaru, came to establish a huge sheep station. The icon on this crate is inspired by a branding iron on display at the South Canterbury Museum, which was used at the Levels run to brand sheep and wool bales. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

 

LEFT The home of George and Elizabeth Rhodes, the first European house in Timaru. This photo was taken years later after the surrounding buildings were built, including the Timaru Landing Services Building. RIGHT A branding iron used at the Levels run to brand sheep and wool bales photo taken of it in display at the SC Museum. In 1850s is was compulsory to brand sheep and to build sheep dipping facilities. This is where the area Washdyke gets its European name. Photography courtesy of Roselyn Fauth. 

Some of the earliest Europeans to arrive in the Timaru area were sealers and whalers. It was a tough life and dangerous work. Samuel Williams (Yankie Sam) and his friends, Long John Coffin and Billy the Bull, were some of the whalers in Timaru. Samuel Williams went up to Akaroa to work on the Rhodes brothers' farm and suggested to them that Timaru would make great sheep station country. In 1851, the Rhodes brothers (George, William, and Robert) established the Levels sheep run, becoming the area's first long-term European inhabitants. When George and his wife Elizabeth arrived, they lived in the first European cottage on the shore in Timaru, next door to what is today the Timaru Landing Services Building. They then moved to the Levels, a successful sheep run, and by 1854, they had 13,200 sheep on the three runs and 4,000 on a fourth, a 25,000-acre block at Otipua.

In 1855 James McKenzie was accused of stealing 1000 sheep from the Levels run. He escaped from jail twice before being eventually pardoned. The Mackenzie District was named after him.

 

Mantell, Walter Baldock Durrant, 1820-1895 :MotuMotu, Timaru. Oct 20 Friday 1848. - natlib.govt.nz/234057

 

Shows a coastline from the sea from the north, with houses set near the water both at the water's edge and higher up. There is some mist on the water in the foreground. Hurt, Theodore Octavius fl 1860-1871 :Timaru, Canterbury N.Z. [1861-1871 - natlib.govt.nz/100087

 

Yankie Sam returned to Timaru in 1856 with his wife Ann and daughter Rebecca. They moved into the Rhodes cottage. Timaru's first European baby William Williams was born here, and his cradle was a gin case. The first Timaru Herald newspaper was later printed in their kitchen. 

Captain Henry Cain arrived in 1857, operating the first store (on behalf of HJ LeCren) and the first landing service. Cain was Mayor of Timaru from 1870-73. Captain Belfield Woollcombe arrived in 1857 as the first magistrate. He lived by Waimātaitai Lagoon with his wife Frances, son and five daughters.

 

The Government Landing Service at the foot of Strathallan Street, Timaru. Benvenue Cliffs in the distance. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1691-114

 

The third person in the business triumvirate that gave the National Mortgage and Agency Company (N.M.A.) its footing in New Zealand was Henry John Le Cren of Timaru. He was Russell's partner in the establishment of Russell, Le Cren and Co. in Lombard Street, London, which acted as a clearing house for goods sent to Britain by Russell, Ritchie and Co. of Dunedin and Timaru. Le Cren, the grandson of a French nobleman who fled to England during the Revolution, worked in a merchant banking house before coming to New Zealand to prepare for the arrival of the first four ships at Lyttelton. In 1856, Robert Heaton Rhodes encouraged Le Cren to start a store and landing service at Timaru, where there was no port. Le Cren sent Captain Henry Cain to Timaru to begin operations, and in 1858, he established his store in the little town. Cain engaged skilled boatmen to man his boats, which were propelled along cables secured to buoys about 100 yards offshore. The Government bought the service in 1866 but made a poor fist of running it, and subsequently leased it to various firms, including the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, which began operations in 1875 under the management of Frederic Le Cren. National Mortgage also operated a landing service, which it gave up in 1881. Like Russell and Ritchie, Le Cren had pastoral interests. He was at various times a partner with the Teschemakers at Haldon, with Russell in the Grampians, and with Russell and George Dennistoun in Peel Forest. When the N.M.A. came into being and bought the London business, which Le Cren was running at the time, he returned to New Zealand and, except for short visits to Britain, spent the rest of his days in the colony. He died in 1895 at Craighead, the house he built in Timaru, which he had embellished with beautiful gardens.

 Timaru's First Landing Service / Timaru Branch Today (25 Nov 1964). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/452

 "Wooden surfboats that re- placed the original whaleboats could carry up to 10 tonnes. They were drawn on to skids by a capstan and cable, that enabled the boatmen to achieve a remarkably fast service. although sometimes the boats capsized and the goods were lost or spoiled... . Anyone standing at the foot of Strathallan Street today would find it difficult to be "eve that a grove of cabbage trees once rustled on that spot; the sea washing close to the cliffs on the one side, while of the other a bullock track wound above and along the tussock covered tides seamed here and there with gullies that formed the natural water courses other rolling inland country." - Timaru Herald, Timaru compelled to struggle for exsistence (06 Aug 1985). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/799

 

Captain Henry Cain, Timaru’s Second Mayor (1870-1873)

Captain Henry Cain, a seafaring man for many years, arrived in New Zealand aboard his schooner, the Pauline, in 1851. He brought a cargo of Kauri timber from Auckland to Lyttelton for Mr. H. J. LeCren. Unfortunately, the schooner was wrecked twice in Lyttelton, and completely destroyed on the second occasion.
Returning to Auckland, Captain Cain purchased a smaller vessel, the Kaka, which he used for trading from Heathcote.
On March 8, 1857, Captain Cain arrived off Timaru aboard the Royal Bride with livestock for Mr. LeCren, noting that they landed near Stoney or Whale’s Creek, where whalers traditionally processed whale oil. In 1858, Captain Cain partnered with Mr. LeCren to establish and organize Timaru’s first commercial landing and shipping service. This service was later taken over by the Provincial Government in 1864.
Captain Cain was also involved with the landing services on George Street. He owned stores in Cain's Terrace, named in his honor, and for a time, he unofficially operated a public house.
In 1886, Captain Cain passed away in circumstances that later led to the conviction of the husband of his stepdaughter for murder.

- Captain Henry Cain (13 Jul 1968). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1773

 

Open roadsteads were always dangerous. The brig Fairy Queen was driven ashore at Timaru by a gale in August 1873.

 

Taking a snapshot of New Zealand's history, Senior Historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Gavin McLean, has written the just-released book 100 Historic Places in New Zealand (published by Hodder Moa Beckett). Here is an extract from that book, one that is of special interest to Timaru people:

Landing Service Building, Timaru

The sea was colonial New Zealand’s highway, and towns unfortunate enough to lack safe natural harbours had to borrow heavily to build artificial ports on their exposed coasts. Timaru’s port story began in 1851 when George Rhodes used what little natural shelter it offered to land stores and materials for his house. Soon, he was landing goods for others.

In a landing service, boats run down a slipway, are rowed or hauled out to ships anchored offshore, pick up goods, and then return to the shore, where they are hauled up again.

In 1857, Rhodes sold the business to H. J. Le Cren and Captain Henry Cain. Nine years later, the Canterbury Provincial Government stepped in but charged so much and performed so poorly that within a year, an opposition Timaru Landing and Shipping Company had set up further along the beach at George Street.

The company had little capital, so it leased the original (1871) portion of this two-storeyed, hip-roofed bluestone building from publican and entrepreneur Peter McRae. In 1875, McRae sold it to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, which added on at the back. But by now, the landing service was struggling. In 1875, the railway line went through in front of the building, and four years later, it suffered further inconvenience when shingle accumulating behind the advancing breakwater covered its launching ways. The company replaced them, but the opening of the first wharf in 1881 signaled the end of the boating service.

For 99 years, the “Loan and Merc” and then Dalgety Ltd stored goods in the building, now 400 meters from the sea. Its future looked bleak in 1984 when the Timaru City Council bought the land for a car park, but fortunately, local conservationists persuaded city hall to see reason. The Landing Service Building now hosts a bar, microbrewery, and conference facilities. It also shares space with another piece of Timaru’s maritime history, the Timaru Maritime and Transportation Trust’s 1864 lifeboat Alexandra.

 

 

1858-1865: A cased coloured ambrotype portrait of Rebecca & William Williams, children of Samuel Williams, whaler, circa 1860. William Williams was born in Timaru in 1856, after his father returned to New Zealand following a few years in Australia where he married and had their daughter, Rebecca. William is often credited as the first white child in the district, and a gin case was used as his cradle. Courtesy of South Canterbury Museum: CN 3488

 

In 1857, H.J. Le Cren sent Captain Henry Cain from Lyttelton to open a store. Le Cren soon followed, and the first landing service was established in May 1859, with boatmen from the Channel port of Deal being engaged to operate whaleboats. These were later replaced by wooden surf-boats with a 10-ton capacity, modeled on those used in Oamaru. Iron surf-boats capable of carrying up to 30 tons were subsequently procured and were drawn on steel ropes worked by a steam windlass. The landing service, operated in partnership by Le Cren and Cain, was taken over by the Provincial Government in 1864.

Many thousands of pounds were spent on cargo sheds, machinery, and other facilities, but nothing was done to make the roadstead safer for shipping. In 1865, J.M. Balfour, C.E., was commissioned by the Government to report on the possibilities of a screw-pile jetty, and he recommended that a stone groyne or small breakwater 80 feet in length should be built, rising only one foot above high water to allow the seas to pass over it without subjecting it to shocks. This would give shelter to the landing place but not to shipping.

The open roadstead proved treacherous to sailing ships, and wrecks (dealt with elsewhere) became frequent. Little encouragement for the desires of South Canterbury for a harbor was given in the provincial capital. One Christchurch paper expressed the view that any money expended on such a project would be thrown into the sea; another said that all Timaru could expect would be facilities for loading and unloading coastal vessels.

 

The First Board A harbour board was created in 1876. "Between 500 and 600 people attended a meeting in Timaru at Riuchard Turnbulls Hall to consider the breakwater question. It appointed a committee of 12 to collect information. The committee collected a great amount of statistics, which showed that in 12 years the trade of the port had increased from 113 vessels to 350, and tonnage from 17,000 tons to 71,000."

Lighthouse: The first port light for the guid- ance of mariners approaching the roadstead was a tar barrel set ablaze on the beach. In 1874 the Provincial Government. allo- cated £1000 for a light at Patiti Point, but a lighthouse ~commis- sion reported that this was not necessary. However, the General Government in 1878. erected a lighthouse and a keeper’s house on the cliff at Le Cren’s Terrace. An oil lantern was installed, but gas was laid on in 1890, and elec- trick current was used from 1920. The Jack’s Point lighthouse, with an oil lantern, was erected in 1904. A fog signal was installed at Patiti Point in 1909, but removed four years later.

A Government engineer, John Blackett who designed Timaru's iconic Blackett Lighthouse and helped design the railway line, recommended that in order to protect the railway the breakwater should be blown up. . Local residents asserted that erosion had been usual before the breakwafer was commenced, and stone breastworks and random rubble were provided to check the erosion.

- The Harbour Story (Jan 1959). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/6203

 

1859 120 settlers arrived on the Strathallan directly from the United Kingdom. By 1866 the population was around 1000. Above: A cargo box themed around the first European immigrant ship to sail direct from UK to Timaru. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

England was a wealthy country, but wealth was unevenly distributed. Bread, potatoes and dried peas were the diet of the working class person. A loaf of bread cost half a worker’s weekly wage. So in the hope of a better life, they sailed to the new colony. This was 18 years after signing of The Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

In 1858, the British government subsidized 50% of the fare for working-class immigrants traveling to New Zealand. The Strathallan, carrying mostly English passengers with some from Scotland, Ireland, and Germany, left with 250 passengers, including 30 children under 10 years old.

Despite some hardships, like the loss of five children and two adults during the voyage, the Strathallan was considered fortunate compared to other immigrant ships. On the way, a severe storm caused a broken top-sail, and passengers feared for their lives. There were no lifeboats.

After 90 days at sea, the Strathallan arrived in Timaru in 1859, but many passengers were disappointed by the barren, treeless coastal landscape. Some thought they would arrive at place the third of the size of London, but arrived to see only five houses in Timaru, including the Cains, Woollcombes and Williams and a small population of Maori. The settlers initially slept in Rhodes' woolshed until their houses were built.

A year later, 200 lived in Timaru raising their families and working as clergy, laborers, shepherds, and craftsmen. By 1866 the population was around 1000.

First Immigrant Ship to sail direct from UK to Timaru. Departed October 12 1858 and arrived January 14 1859. Image: R. Morris (2009). Courtesy South Canterbury Museum 2008/237.01

 

Download: Colourful Facts Strathallan.pdf 

Over 160 years ago, Timaru’s first ship of immigrants from the UK arrived. Ever wondered what they experienced and what they found when they got here?

England was a wealthy country, but wealth was unevenly distributed. Bread, potatoes and dried peas were the diet of the working class person and a loaf of bread cost half a worker’s wage. So in the hope of a better life, they risked it all to sail across the world to the new colony. This was 18 years after signing of The Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

50% Of the fare was subsidised to help the passage of a working class. Officials warned that the greater the assistance, the lower the class of applicant, but in the end the government in London offered half the cost of passage with bills from those already in the colony also gifted toward costs.

• 1858 12th October, The Strathallan left with mostly English passengers, some were from Scotland, Ireland and one family was from Germany.
• 110 In total 250 total passengers left on the Strathallan with about 20 crew. 110 of these were destined for Timaru including 30 children under 10 years old.
• 2 Children were born. Five children and two adults died. As a sign of the hardships of the times the Strathallan was considered fairly fortunate compared to some other immigration ships that suffered terribly from disease and illness.
• 6x2ft Cubicles were for single passengers and married couples had 6x3.5 feet. The space was not just for sleeping but for storing possessions which were not in the hold.
• 12-13 Were the ages of the children accommodated as single men or women. Singles were segregated from married couples and single women were supervised, and not allowed contact with males. Families were housed together.
• 1 Broken top-sail during a severe storm after passing by South Africa. "The water every now and then dashed down the hatchways and the deck leaked in every direction, so there was not a dry place to be found - even the beds were soaked”. With few lifeboats, passengers feared for their lives.
• 4 Crew members (aside from the Captain) were fit for duty after Christmas celebrations got somewhat out of hand.
• 1859 13th January, New Zealand was finally sighted after passengers had spent days looking. The Strathallan anchored offshore at Timaru by 1pm on the 14th.
• 90 Days at sea. The voyagers had left their homes and followed advertisements to this "thriving" town. Some were "bitterly disappointed" with what they found - a barren, treeless coastal Timaru.
• 3 Men (Captain Cain, Mr Woollcombe and Samuel Williams.) rowed to meet the Strathallan. Woollcombe wore "a blue serge jumper, moleskin trousers tied at the knee and turned up at the bottom and heavy boots, yellow to the top with clay. I thought if this is the Resident Magistrate we have come to a queer place”. Sam was described as "old" despite being only 40.
• 4-5 Houses in sight included William’s cottage which was having a lean-to added to serve as Timaru's first licenced pub. With no permanent housing ready, most voyagers slept in Rhodes woolshed.
• 1/4 Of the size of London, was the expectation for one lady. She had been told the district was one of the most thriving in New Zealand. Imagine her surprise when she arrived. At the time Canterbury was populated by several hundred Maori and a just a small number of early European settlers and overstayers from the whaling days.
• 40-60 Houses had sprung up in Timaru by Jan 1860 (one year after arrival). The population was 200.
• 1861 There was 1 clergyman, 1 tinsmith, 1 milliner and 1 cordwainer in Timaru. There were also 187 labourers, 151 servants, 99 shepherds, 59 bushmen, 47 bullock drivers, 25 gentlemen, 19 publicans, 5 blacksmiths, 5 bricklayers, 5 medical practitioners, and a few bakers, gardeners, carters, drapers, police, saddlers and stonemasons.

For many years Timaru celebrated the anniversary of the Strathallan's arrival with a picnic at Otipua Lagoon. Cricket, quoits, watching horse racing and athletics, and chasing a pig with a greased tail, were favourite activities on the day.

- https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nzlscant/Strathallan.htm

 

What people brought with them on the Strathallan: 

LADIES 2 Gowns, 2 Petticoats, 2 Night Gowns, 6 Pairs of Bloomers, 6 Handkerchiefs, 2 Pairs of Shoes, 6 Pairs of Stockings, 6 Aprons, and 1 Bonnet.

GENTLEMEN 2 Jackets, 2 Pairs of Fustian Trousers, 2 Pairs of Duck Trousers, 12 Cotton Shirts, 6 Pairs of Socks, 6 Handkerchiefs, 6 Pairs of Underpants, 1 Pair of Boots With Hobnails, and 1 Pair of Shoes.

FURNITURE 1 Bed, 2 Blankets, 1 Bedspread, 2 Pillows, 1 Chamber Pot, 2 Drinking Mugs, 2 Spoons, 1 Looking Glass, 6 Pounds of Soap, 1 Brush and Shovel, and 1 Pint of Brandy (Medical Purposes).

OTHER Family Bible, Wooden Cradle, Sewing Boxes, Tea Service, Camp Oven, Butter Churn, and Tin Bath.

COOKS SUPPLIES FOR INTERNATIONAL VOYAGE: Preserved Meats, Salted Beef, Biscuits, Flour, Butter, Cheese, Suet, Raisins, Molasses (west India), Potatoes, and Fresh Carrots.

 

1959 Strathallan landing was re-enacted yesterday upwards of 15,000 watched from the sands, stadium seating, and vantage points all around Caroline Bay. In this image is a reinactment with the resident magistrate, Captain Woollcombe (John Clarke, shirt sleeves), introducing the Hornbrook family from Temuka to the new arrivals. Included in the party is the first white child born William Williams in South Canterbury. Highlights of Strathallan Landing (13 Jan 1959). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 10/07/2024, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/5258

 

By Archives New Zealand from New Zealand - Stamp of NZ Company settlers arriving in Pito-one (Petone), 1840, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51249713

Grain became a major export for Timaru and South Canterbury. The first export of flour from Timaru to the UK was in 1867, organised by Richard Turnbull and his business partner David Clarkson. They owned a drapery and merchant store on the corner of George and was is now Stafford Street on the site of the Oxford Building.

 

View of Timaru Harbour 1877. View looking north along the waterfront, with sailing ships, men beaching a boat, and a large building, probably Belford Steam Flour Mill near the waterfront, alongside other wharf or factory buildings. From a sketch books held by Hocken Library. By Fanny Wright Brunton  - https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.59362 

 

 The foot of Strathallan Street, the D.C Turnbull buliding on the left, and the customs house on the right. Both buildings are heritage buildings. Photographers are Muir & Moodie. Courtsey, Te Papa Registration Number C.014801

 

Miles (Archer) and Co Ltd, Seed, Grain & General Merchants, Timaru. A traction engine with four wagons loaded with wool bales posed outside Miles & Co Limited, Strathallan Street, Timaru, post 1895. Several men are standing along the front of the engine and wagons, while the driver sits on the engine. Another horse and cart, with a sign that reads "John Mee Coal Merchant" and also loaded with wool bales, appears at the rear of the wagons. A house also appears on the hill in the background, Terrace, The, Timaru. 

DC Turnbull & Co. purchased the former Miles Archer & Co stores in Strathallan Street in 1901 and proceeded to erect new offices on the site. Previously Miles Archer had occupied the site since the mid-1860s; John Mee (died 1916) ran the business for many years before taking it over in 1895 after Miles Archer & Co went into liquidation. The large site, over three acres in extent at the turn of the 20th century, spanned The Terrace and included brick stores and a private railway siding. The company traded in wool, grain and coal, as well as general produce. New brick buildings were erected by Miles Archer in 1877-78 and 1880-81; the former a two-storey structure likely on the west side of The Terrace and, it is assumed, the latter of three storeys on the subject site. In May 1881 it was reported that a tramway to connect the company’s buildings was created by tunnelling under The Terrace. David Clarkson Turnbull (1868-1951) founded the merchant and export company DC Turnbull & Co. in 1894; the business had previously been located beside the Royal Hotel in Cain’s Terrace. Turnbull was also a director of the Timaru Harbour Board. The eastern part of the tramway tunnel is said to have been used as an air raid shelter during World War II; the tramway turntable immediately to the east of the building site appears to have survived at least until the 1980s. The property is still held by DC Turnbull & Co., with the offices in use although the stores are largely vacant. In recent years conservation work has been undertaken on the site. - timaru.govt.nz/Miles-Archer-and-Co-DC-Turnbull-and-Co.-stores

Stencils used by DC Turnbulls Timaru. Phy By Roselyn Fauth 2023

 

ABOVE: The first Flour Mill in South Canterbury was built by John Hayhurst at Milford in 1864. Timaru Herald 11 June 1934 19822. RIGHT Advert taken out in the Oamaru Mail to sell by auction 5000 sacks of prime milling wheat in good order and condition ex City of Perth June 2nd 1882.

 

This photo of Timaru in 1882 was taken after the Benvenue shipping disaster (you can see it wrecked on the cliffs). You can see a hotel (now known as the Domion Hotel) over looking the bay, at a time when the sea could reach the cliffs, and Ashbury Park had a eel weir, known as Waimataitai. Courtesy Te Papa, Registration NumberO.034179

This photograph shows the Ben Venue wreck in the distance wrecked on the basalt rock apron below the cliff c1880s. Curtosey of Te Papa; Timaru, 1880s, Timaru, by Burton Brothers studio. Purchased 1991. Te Papa (O.034179)

 

This photo of early Timaru 1880s, shows a hotel (now known as the Dominion Hotel) overlooking the bay, at a time when the sea could reach the cliffs, and Ashbury Park had an eel weir, known as Waimataitai. Photo by Burton Bros, Courtesy of Canterbury Museum, Accession number 2018.74.33.

 

Wool, grain, and frozen meat were some of the areas key exports that relied on a safe and efficient harbour. - Photo Roselyn Fauth

1900 Grain merchant and miller, William Evans persuaded the rate payers to loan £100,000 to what is now known as the Eastern extension. This was to combat the shingle that was filling the shipping channel. It was completed in 1915 with 432,207 tons of blue stone that was quarried from Centennial Park. The moody wharf was built in 1908, and a wharf for fishermen was built 1911. The Port provided huge opportunity to Timaru and South Canterbury.  It also impacted the way sediment moved up the coast.  From 1880s sand built out from these Caroline Bay cliffs and created a new sandy Caroline Bay.

 

Published In Auckland Weekly News, 14 April 1904, p.12. - Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19040414-12-04

"The new freezing works at Pareora, near Timaru, erected by the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company. These works are designed for treating 5500 sheep per day, and the stores will hold 120,000 sheep. The works when completed are expected to cost close on £100,000."

 

Smithfield Freezing Works, Timaru, William Ferrier; photography studio; circa 1909; Timaru. Te Papa RN: O.051451

Timaru from Post Office Tower, looking seaward, circa 1904, Dunedin, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (C.014399)

 

 Traffic Bridge, Temuka, 1912, Temuka, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (O.001799)

 

“New Zealand Shipping Company” (NZSCo) operated passenger and cargo services between Great Britain and New Zealand between from 1873 to 1973. The company was founded in 1873, by a group of Christchurch businessmen, and these were; Hugh Murray-Aynsley and John Coster. There were seven initial directors, including George Gould Snr, Coster, John Thomas Peacock, William Reeves, and John Anderson. The company gradually established a fleet of vessels, with each ship having been given a Maori name. As of 1875 the NZSCo ships new livery had black hulls, a white superstructure and slender tall yellow funnels. Then in 1882, the company’s ships were equipped with refrigeration and a frozen meat service commenced from New Zealand to England, which was a huge financial success.

 

South Canterbury Jubilee dinner at Timaru, 1909. Shows guests at a dinner held in the Drill Hall, with men and women seated at long tables. Flags hang along a wall. A banner compares import, export, mutton, and wool statistics of 1859 and 1909. Photographer unidentified. Toned silver gelatin print. - Courtesy National Library CN: 338563 natlib.govt.nz/338563

 

Above: Looking up Stafford Street across the George Street intersection. Photo by Muir & Moodie; 1904. Courtosey of Te Papa, RN: 001032, Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds

By 1904 the town had established itself, and was growing a reputation as the food bowl for the country. The establishment and development of the Port had provided opportunity to the community to import and export. 

 

Issued one shilling 'Timaru' Canterbury Centennial stamp. Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd.; printer; 1950; London. The New Zealand Post Museum Collection, Gift of New Zealand Post Ltd. 1992

 

Caroline Bay, Timaru, New Zealand. circa 1900, Melbourne, by George Rose. Taken from the railway embankment, the band routunda, tea rooms and caretakers house and showing a portion of the harbour. Melbourne, by George Rose. Purchased 1991. Te Papa (O.004821)

 

1936 - Shows a woman in a bathing costume leaping across in front of a background scene of Caroline Bay beach, Timaru. The beach is crowded with swimmers and sunbathers. In the right distance some ships are docked at the port. New Zealand Railways. Publicity Branch: Timaru by the sea / Railways Studios [1936-1937]. Tiaki IRN: 377328. Tiaki Reference Number: Eph-E-TOURISM-1937-01377328. Tiaki Reference Number: Eph-E-TOURISM-1937-01