Mantell, Walter Baldock Durrant, 1820-1895 :MotuMotu, Timaru. Oct 20 Friday 1848. - natlib.govt.nz/234057
1848 - Looking south along the beach line near Timaru towards a figure on the beach at a small campsite with a boat drawn up on shore. Mantell's three Maori porters are walking above the beach on flat land studded with cabbage trees towards a low hill - C-103: Mantell, Walter Baldock Durrant, 1820-1895 :Scrapbook. 1840-1872.
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.
The early European settlers in Timaru were a group of interesting and hardy characters, bold enough to tackle a new life in a part of the world unknown and far removed from home.
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. 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 forth, a 25,000 acre block at Otipua.
Whaler Samuel Williams, his wife Ann and daughter Rebecca returned to Timaru in 1856. They moved to the Rhodes cottage, and subsequently Timaru's first European baby William Williams was born. His cradle was a gin case. The first edition of the Timaru Herald was also printed in his kitchen. A plaque comemorates this site at the Timaru Landing Services Building.
In 1855 James ‘Jock’ McKenzie was accused of stealing 1000 sheep from the Levels run. He escaped from jail twice before being eventually pardoned.
Captain Henry Cain arrived in 1857, opening the first store (on behalf of HJ LeCren) and the first landing service. After being on the first council, Cain became Mayor of Timaru from 1870-73. He was poisoned by his son-in-law.
Lieutenant (later Captain) Belfield Wollcombe arrived in 1857 and was the first magistrate and lived in a house in Waimātaitai Lagoon called The Ashbury with his wife, son and five daughters. He had been a naval officer and later joined the harbour board. His eldest daughter Laura Russell Woollcombe is thought to be the first New Zealander to become a qualified nurse. Her certificate was presented to her by Florence Nightingale.
The population continued to grow, and in 1859 120 settlers arrived on the Strathallan directly from the United Kingdom. By 1866 the population was around 1000.
30 years after the first sheep station was established in South Canterbury, the first export of frozen meat left Timaru for the United Kingdom in 1882. It was a huge turning point for the local economy and brought wealth into the area. Learn more here
However, the treacherous sea continued to cause issues for these early settlers, with around 22 ships believed to have been wrecked between 1865-1890.
Eliot, Whately. (1874). Landing place, Timaru, N.Z., October 1874 launching boat to take soundings Retrieved June 5, 2023, from Sketches in New Zealand and other places: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138582675
Section of an 1875 map of Timaru showing the two landing service sites.
Shows coastline from the sea from the north, with houses set near the water both at water's edge and higher up. There is some mist on the water in foreground. Hurt, Theodore Octavius fl 1860-1871 :Timaru, Canterbury N.Z. [1861-1871 - natlib.govt.nz/100087
Photograph of Flockton Well near the corner of George St and the Great North Road (Stafford St), between April and December 1868. It is viewed looking along George St to the west. The original wooden Bank of New Zealand building is visible on the corner (centre of image), with Clarkson and Turnbull across the road (left of centre) and the Club Hotel and Flockton Well in the foreground at the left-hand side of the image. There is a man standing on the well and two boys in front of it. The Russell Ritchie and Co. building is on the right corner. The photograph is mounted on a card backing with the photographers' details and "View Up George St., Timaru." handwritten on lower edge. There are also handwritten labels on the top and lower edges of the mount (with small arrows pointing to the appropriate site) that identify the buildings. - nzmuseums.co.nz/3359/flockton-well-corner-of-george-st-and-the-great-north-road South Canterbury Museum
James Stephen Keith's Sailmaker and Ships Chandler Store in Strathallan St, Timaru, circa 1895. Mr Keith, two other men, and a boy (with dog) are posed standing outside his store. 1890-1900 - South Canterbury Museum
Timaru, 1875, Dunedin, by Burton Brothers, Alfred Burton. Te Papa (C.014371)
Street scene, Timaru, 1900-1903, Timaru, by Muir & Moodie. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (PS.002141) https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/324007
Section of the above postcard. Alfred Budd senior was a pastrycook and confectioner. He ran tearooms at the south end of Stafford Street, the Arcade Cafe, and Budd’s Tea Kiosk at Caroline Bay, as well as providing catering services.
Looking down Stafford Street to George St intersection, Club Hotel and Bank of New Zealand on the Corner, Timaru, New Zealand, by Muir & Moodie. Te Papa (C.014724)
Token, 1865, Timaru, by Clarkson & Turnbull. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The reverse of the token shows a view of a ship in harbour, behind a breakwater, underneath the title 'Timaru.' The harbour at Timaru was unsafe for vessels in high winds until the construction of a breakwater, a project that did not begin until 1879. Te Papa (NU005401)
The firm of Clarkson and Turnbull was founded in 1863 at Timaru. The Principals were David Clarkson and Richard Turnbull. David Clarkson had previously been associated with two Christchurch businesses that issued trade tokens. His brother, Samuel Clarkson, issued tokens in 1857, advertising his business as an importer of building materials. The business David and his wife Elizabeth Clarkson had run in Christchurch before moving to Timaru, a drapery business known as Dunstable House, was bought by William Pratt in 1864. Pratt issued trade tokens promoting his store in the period between 1864 and 1872. The other partner, Richard Turnbull, was a farmer for eleven years before he entered into partnership with Clarkson. 'Richard Turnbull was born at Oxford, England in 1826, and arrived in New Zealand by the Fatima in 1851. He was farming at Riccarton for eleven years prior to his engagement in partnership in a general store at Timaru.' Timaru was only declared a Port of Entry in 1861, so it was still quite a young settlement when Clarkson and Turnbull opened their store. The business was the first to export flour from Timaru 'which since then has been continuous.' The partnership was disrupted on 9 December 1868 by a fire that consumed their premises, among a total of 30 buildings destroyed. - https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/1898
Richard’s impact on Timaru is still with us today. In 1876 six hundred people attended a meeting which appointed a committee of twelve to investigate the building of a harbour breakwater. The meeting was held in the stone store that is today's Timaru Theatre Royal. Richard later served on the Timaru Harbour Board during some of its formative years. Two of Richard’s son’s also established a significant presence in the town. James Turnbull became a local architect. David Clarkson Turnbull founded the long-running grain and shipping agency, D C Turnbull & Company that still operates in Timaru today.
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
Sextant DC Turnbulls Timaru. Phy By Roselyn Fauth 2023
'Advancement' was built in 1868 and renamed in 1905 as 'Selwyn Craig' and later 'Prince John'. In the latter of its career served as a hulk at Auckland until it sank with a load of coal at Chelsea. - DC Turnbulls Timaru. Phy By Roselyn Fauth 2023
A view on the beach, Timaru 1893-12-09 taken by William Ferrier - View this issue on Papers Past: paperspast/1893/12/09 - Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections NZG-18931209-0481-01
"A VIEW ON TIMARU BEACH. A PICTURE in black and white can never do absolute justice to a scene like the beach at Timaru, which derives so much of its beauty from its brilliant colouring. But so far as photography and engraving may go, our reproduction goes, and it really gives a very admirable idea of the beach of one of our pleasantest watering places. The climate of Timaru is famous even in New Zealand, and on a bright day it would be very hard to find in the colony a brighter or more beautiful scene than Timaru Beach. Our picture is a reproduction of one of Mr Ferrier’s excellent photographs." - paperspast/NZGRAP18931209.2.2
“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. - natlib.govt.nz/338563
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
Timaru Herald, Timaru compelled to struggle for exsistence (06 Aug 1985). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 23/06/2023, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/799
Mr William Vance Traces History of Caroline Bay (12 Mar 1957). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 23/06/2023, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/358
From Whaling Station to Holiday Resort - Caroline Bay (07 Jan 1978). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 23/06/2023, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/314
Ever noticed that the intersecting roads along North Street don't line up? That's because early Timaru was divided. Rhodes town was on the North of North St, and Government down was on the south. Both areas were laid out by different surveyors and planners. The first recorded plan of the townshpi of Timaru is B.M.306 signed by Cass in 1860. Cass instructed Hewlings to carry out the survey in 1856.
Timaru Roll 71 / TR71, with notes on the history of TR 71 and Black Map 306. Aperture card available. Town of Timaru. NZ Heritage Maps Platform, accessed 19/07/2023. Held by: Archives New Zealand/Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Christchurch Regional Office. Archway Record CodeR22668789 https://maps.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/331