Commercial Fishing on the Eastern Coasts of Coromandel

Hauling the nets early 1980's - slide photo JM Stewart collection

Captain James Cook back in 1869 aboard HMS Endeavour is said to have named the stretch of Coast Bay of Plenty ( Maori Name  Te Moana a Toi) This was as he headed across the Bay and up the coast of  what Is now known as the Coromandel Peninsula,  he noted abundant food supplies in the villages. On 1st November 1869 Cook recorded : - 

"At 8 saw between 40 and 50 Canoes in shore. Several of them came off to the Ship, and being about us some time they ventur’d alongside and sold us some Lobsters, Muscels, and 2 Conger Eales." ( Wharton Ed, 1893 )

 

Captain Cook on arrival at what he later named Mercury Bay ( Maori name Whitianga-o-Kupe) , set about fishing and found that Maori were adept fishers and traders at this place. Cook recorded on the 6th November:-

 

 "The Natives brought to the Ship, and sold to our People, small Cockles, Clams, and Mussels, enough for all hands."  ( Wharton Ed,1893 )

Cook was to record  the attempts by the marines to trawl with the long boat, to haul the Sean and  copious supplies of fish and shellfish seen at Mercury Bay. This was not new knowledge for Maori had long found the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel Coasts plentiful with fish and shellfish. Archaeological diggings in the last forty decades on Middens scattered along the coastline have confirmed this.

 

Coastline early 1980's JM Stewart slide photo collection

Fishing through the years of European Settlement years on the Eastern Seaboard Coast of the Coromandel  continued to add to the staple diet of gum diggers, timber fellers and gold miners. Strikers during the 1912 Strike at Waihi supplemented household food supplies by fishing. During the Depression years fishing helped food supplies. In 1929 the Auckland Star reporting on the Relief workers being taken to the new Forestry Trial Planting project near Whangamata wrote:-

" There is also a fine ocean beach and the place is a noted fishing centre" ( Auckland Star 04/11/1929)

Commercial Fishing off Whangamata 1970's - JM Stewart photo collection

 Commercial Fishing

Back in 1871 New Zealanders were already discussing commercial fishing. The Nelson Evening Mail reporting on a Colonial Industries Report wrote :-

 

" With regard to the establishment of coast fisheries, the committee recommend that these should be encouraged by means of a bonus, for a term of seven years, on cured fish, dry and pickled, exported for consumption abroad, and that suitable sites should be reserved for the purposes of fisheries and for curing stations. They made special mention also of the case of Messrs. M'Leod and Perston, of Whangarei, and recommend that they should have the exclusive right of a block of 500 acres, thirteen miles north of Whangarei, so long as they use it as a fishing and drying station. They further recommend that all articles used in coast fisheries should be admitted free of duty, and that all boats and vessels engaged in the fishing trade be relieved from harbor, wharf, pilotage, and light dues." ( Nelson Evening Mail 30/10/1871 p4)

 

No major fish processing plants developed on the Eastern Seaboard of Coromandel. The advent of  roading  on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula,  after long years of lobbying , along with a railway to Waihi connecting with Thames Railway in 1905  and continuing on to Tauranga in 1828, led to regular calls by steamers fading away. By the late 1920’s  there was a small community of fishermen living near Whangamata Harbour, forming the nucleus of this small settlement.  

 

From newspaper accounts Seine fishing was a hot topic in May 1937 with line and recreational fishermen attending a meeting of  the Waihi Fishing Association to discuss the detriments of this method of fishing to food stocks. Not many weeks after the Evening Post reported that the Fisheries Investigation Committee ( Messrs. J. Thorn, M.P, (chairman), M. Y. Young, assistant chief inspector of fisheries, and E. Seed, of the Department of Industries and Commerce) :-

 

" will be at Thames from June 24 to June 30, but during that period it also intends to investigate the position at Mercury Bay and Whangamata. From Thames the committee will proceed to Auckland. The Wellington sittings will be held last. The North Island investigation is also expected to take three months." ( Evening Post 11/06/1937)

 

Fishing late  1970's - slide photo JM Stewart collection

Seems this was not the first time as back in 1920 fishermen were expressing concerns over trawling to an Inquiry regarding Trawling Limits and Fishing Industry (  Mr L. P. Ayson. Chief Inspector of Fisheries, and Mr A. Petersenson. Chief Inspector of Fisheries)

" Mr Alex Leslie said he had been fishing here nine or ten years ago and followed it up till 1914. He knew the Coast from Town Point to Whangamata as well as anyone. Off Whangamata he had got as many as 60 dozen. The average used to be from 25 to 30 dozen. Since he had been back from the war he had been out a fair number of times trying the old grounds but had no luck at all. He was now living retired and was only using his boat for pleasure. All his big catches used to be between Bowentown and Whangamata. When he was fishing before he noticed that the fish always took off about August. The weather conditions affected the fishing. Since he returned he found a big decrease in the fishing. " ( Bay of Plenty Times 10/08/1920,p3)

 

Dealing with a shark original slide photo  JM Stewart late 1970s

With small fishing boats ( mainly wooden hulled vessels) ,various methods of fishing were carried out over the years but largely inshore net fishing and long lining. A wharf now in Whangamata Harbour by the 1970's provided a focal point for loading, unloading, baiting up and to catch up with news on the latest catch and fishing techniques. Whitianga fish floor was also a destination for catch.  1963 saw commercial fishing boats licensing halted. However requirements on fish sizes and fishing methods continued.  

My own memories are of the MacArthur and Jamieson families in the later 1960's who were living in the then small settlement of Whangamata.  Some of the vessels came out of the early days of the 1900s such as the MV Tawa - well known charter and fishing boat, the top sail cutter Clio, built in 1894 which saw a number of Ports and settlements including Tairua during the early 1940's and Whangamata from late 70's until mid-90's years.

 

Clio when first based at Whangamata - photo JM Stewart late 1970's

 

 An attempt at a  mussel farm in the Whangamata Harbour  in the early 1970’s failed when washed away in a storm. Today in 2015 OPC at Whitianga is the major mussel processing factory on the Coromandel Peninsula and " Coromandel Green- lipped mussels " grown and harvested from Coromandel Harbour are a famous addition to restaurant menus on the Peninsula  ( Recommend Mussel Chowder - yum!)
 

A Quota management system was introduced by 1986 with the Government implementation of the Fisheries Act, helping to regulate boats and catch. Main catches on the Eastern Coast - all to quota were schnapper, terakihi, gurnard and hapuka.

  

Wooden hulled vessels gave way to steel hulled and Whangamata as a base for a number of commercial fishermen gave way  to recreation fishing in the main, with but a few now in 2015 fishing commercially out of Whangamata.

 

Commercial Fishing late 1970's - Photo JM Stewart Collection

 

A scallop processing factory at Whangamata in 2015 provides employment for local residents and a business supplying the mainly domestic market with this shellfish. A what, was called  "black skirt disease", in 1999 threatened the scallop industry for a time and staff and boat layoffs.  Annually a popular Scallop Festival is held at Whitianga for those who enjoy gastronomical delights and good music.

 

Reference Source:

This blog is for my Dad who loved the sea and fishing.

• "Clio” – Stewart Family papers ( Jack and Helen ), photos, letters from builder’s family and others too, newspaper articles, etc.
• Williamson, Beverley M, Whangamata – 100 Years of Change, Goldfields Print Ltd, Paeroa, 1988 p 53, 56 fishing settlement at Whangamata
• Captain Cook's Journal during his first voyage round the world made in H.M. Bark “Endeavour” 1768-71 / with notes and introduction edited by Captain W. J. L. Wharton [1893]

  http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/cook/james/c77j/index.html accessed 05/04/2015
• New Zealand Legislation accessed 09/06/2009 relates to registration of commercial boats

  Legislation: Acts Ship Registration Act 1992Public Act 1992 No 89 Date of assent 1 October 1992 http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0089/latest/DLM275027.html search=ts_act_Parole_resel&p=1Z
•  Ministry Fisheries NZ accessed 09/06/2009

  http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Commercial/About+the+Fishing+Industry/default.htm?wbc_purpose=bas
• REPORT ON COLONIAL INDUSTRIES. Nelson Evening Mail,, 30 October 1871, Page 4
• INQUIRY REGARDING TRAWLING LIMITS AID FISHING INDUSTRY IN BAY OF PLENTY Bay of Plenty Times,  10 August 1920, Page 3
• TE TEKO WRECKED OFF SLIPPER ISLAND. Bay of Plenty Times, 10 August 1920, Page 3
• WORK AT WHANGAMATA. Auckland Star, 4 November 1929, Page 8
• FISHERIES INQUIRY Evening Post, 11 June 1937, Page 15
• SEINE NET FISHING New Zealand Herald, 25 May 1937, Page 5

Interested in finding   out more about Captain Cook. Coromandel Heritage Trust The Treasury at Thames has a great collection - make contact for research assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storms on Coromandel Eastern Coasts

At Tairua Harbour Entrance at the height of the storm - Cyclone Pam  photo CRB March 2015

Saturday, 28 March 2015

12:31 PM

Preparing  for the arrival of Cyclone Pam a couple of weeks ago, memories came back of one year ago when there was flooding and trees down;  ten years ago when we held on to a Pohutukawa tree to save it in the height of that storm at Whangamata. 

Fortunately Cyclone Pam was not as devastating as it was first thought all was going to be. We braced ourselves for the storm, easterlies  and maybe even floods. These all not a new happening but a relevant part of the past NZ history of living on the Coromandel Peninsula.

At the height of Cyclone Pam looking toward Shoe Island - photo CRB March 2015

As we watched with others , the sea tumbling in - thought about those early seamen in their cutters and schooners - making their way up the coast or perhaps having just left Tairua Harbour with a load of timber.

Looking towards Shoe Island from Pauanui Beach - photo CRB March 2015

Such was the case back in July 1907 when the Scow Surprise was wrecked in a storm. The Colonist reporting on the search for the wreck wrote:

" The steamer Onslow visited the scene of the wreck of the scow Surprise yesterday. Constable Brown and party searched the beaches, but could find no bodies. They secured a flag, some broken life buoys, the board with name, and the ship's dog was found lying on the Pawanui beach. As showing the fury of the storm dozens of crayfish and dead fish and tons of seaweed were thrown up on the beaches. "( Colonist 27/07/1907)

Four lives were lost in that wreck - Jersey born Captain John Philip Jalliere, A Stewart, Edward Johansen and Frank Kelly Survivor was Harry ( HW) Jackson who was said to have hailed from Norfolk Island.

Reading the newspapers of 108 years ago it would seem the first few months of 1907 were months of storm. One newspaper - the Ashburton Guardian - carried the headlines   -

" Floods on Land and Storms at Sea "( Ashburton Guardian 16/02/1907)

 The Ashburton Guardian also reported in this article for February 16 that  :

 " The Wanaka had a very stormy passage of 57 hours from Gisborne, arriving' at 3 p.m. Leaving Gisborne at 7 am. on Wednesday, she encountered a' strong northeast gales a high confused sea, and much Heavy rain. The steamer put out to sea, and, having 100 sheep on board from Timaru, every care was taken during the storm by Captain Stevens and the officers of the steamer, the result being that not a sheep was lost. The sheep were six days on board, and were all landed in splendid order."

The Wanaka was number two s.s. Wanaka - owned by the well known Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. - was previously s.s. Liddesdale and renamed S.S. Wanaka .

Storm on Whangamata Main Surf Beach - photo H M Stewart 2001

Just as  the stories of the storms on the eastern coasts of the Coromandel one hundred years ago and the storm of Cyclone Pam two weeks ago there are the stories and my own memories of the storms in 2003, when the Pohutukawa tree was in danger; the storm of 2001 where much of the Whangamata beach was eroded by high seas and the storms in the early 1970's when the sea came up over the dunes and in one place almost to Port Road - a time when sand trap fences were " the buzz " to avoid beach erosion - storms of this era that unlike those of 100 years ago did not endanger lives but did endanger property.

Beach Erosion South Beach near Otahu Whangamata - photo H M Stewart early 1970's

Yes the Coromandel Peninsula storms are certainly a part of past New Zealand History - yesterday, thirty years ago, 100 years ago and no doubt before people lived here - back when there was volcanic upheaval.

Reference Source :

•  Family memories and oral stories

• SHIPWRECKED MARINER. Colonist, 27 July 1907, Page 4
• WRECK OF THE SCOW SURPRISE. West Coast Times ,27 July 1907, Page 4
• THE SURPRISE WRECK. New Zealand Herald, 16 August 1907, Page 6
• Floods, slips and washouts. Colonist,, 16 January 1907, Page 2
• GALE AND FLOODS. Auckland Star, 15 February 1907, Page 5
• Floods on Land and Storms at Sea. Ashburton Guardian, 16 February 1907, Page 3
• VESSELS IN PORT. Daily Telegraph ,31 May 1897, Page 2  - renaming of s.s. Liddesdale
•  SHIPPING INTELLINGENCE. Poverty Bay Herald, 21 July 1897, Page 2 - renaming of s.s. Liddesdale
• The Ships List Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand
  

  http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/unionnz.shtml accessed 29/03/2015

Music and Entertainments - Today and Yesterday Year

                                   The Musical All Blacks of Maoriland - Postcard of Unknown Date - private collection

Bought this postcard at one of the many Fairs we have on the Coromandel Peninsula to entertain holiday makers over the Summer Break . Was fascinated with who the " Musical All Blacks of Maoriland were" on this postcard. 

A bit of research  showed it was not our New Zealand All Black Rugby team but a family of musicians who were very popular in the first decade of the 1900s. A letter appearing in the Otago Witness from John Black of the Black Family Musicians shows the degree of popularity that this group held throughout Australasia along with difficulty of travel to rural areas because of weather.

AROUND THE WORLD Otago Witness , Issue 2654, 25 January 1905, Page 61

Courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ

The Black Family Musicians came out of Invercargill and in those early days of 1897 the group consisted of Mr and Mrs Black, three daughters (Misses Nellie, Elsie, and Doris) and a son (Master Bertie). Newspapers of the day reported the concerts they gave in detail, the Mataura Ensign article reporting on the concert at Mataura,  typical of those to follow into the first decade of the 1900s.

\

TOWN EDITION. The Ensign. OCTOBER 28, 1897.Mataura Ensign , 28 October 1897, Page 2
Courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ

 

The Postcard of the Black Family Musicians got me to thinking about the stories passed in our family down of dances, soirees and musicals  - many of them to raise money for a hall, a church, a school, a football team in a town or  rural area. To welcome or farewell someone. In the following advertisement incident a farewell to Mr. Henry Severn who had contributed greatly to the Thames Mechanic Institute with many interesting lectures and to the mining community of Thames as an Assayist with the Bank of New Zealand.

Page 2 Advertisements Column 4 Thames Advertiser, 29 January 1877, Page 2Courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ

Travelling back over the hill after an enjoyable music evening in a private home last night ( 28/02/), having listened to Mark Laurent and Brenda Liddiard  weaving  wonderful music on mandolin, classic guitar and ukelele bought memories of yesterday year.  Julie remarked to fellow passengers that it had been like going to a Soiree. 

A flood of memories came back - to the pre television days -  when there were lots of musical evenings - the "sing songs" on a Saturday night around the piano; the getting together of family and friends after a hard week's work in the "bush" or on the farm playing well known songs and tunes on accordian, banjo, fiddle, guitar. The travel " over the hill" to another valley settlement to make our own fun with music. The travel home singing and chattering about the evening. The rough road home over metal roads - typical of the Coromandel Peninsula.

  Road from Whangamata, Thames- Coromandel District. Whites Aviation Ltd :Photographs. Ref: WA-63220-F.
Courtesy Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22839310

Then, there were the memories and tales shared that had been passed down from our grandparents. The times when for them it was travelling "over the hill " on a Saturday night to the dance in the next valley by horseback or. No cars in those yesterday years. Nor roads - just well-known bridle tracks in rural areas away from the towns. Or the steamer trip carrying the team for  the cricket  game and evening dance such as was reported in the Bay of Plenty Times in March 1888. A return match between Mercury Bay and Tairua ( both "mill towns" in those days). All a part of the past New Zealand history.

Reference Source:

•  THE BLACK FAMILY CONCERTS.  Tuapeka Times, 19 January 1901, Page 3
•  TOWN EDITION. The Ensign. OCTOBER 28, 1897.Mataura Ensign ,28 October 1897,Page 2
• AROUND THE WORLD Otago Witness , 25 January 1905, Page 61
• Page 2 Advertisements Column 4 Thames Advertiser, 29 January 1877, Page 2
• TAIRUA. Bay of Plenty Times, , 23 March 1888, Page 2
• Mark Laurent and Brenda Liddiard Musicians
  http://www.brendaliddiard.co.nz/Site/Mark_and_Brenda_Music.html

Waitomo Caves of Yesterday Year - On the Research Trail.

Otorohanga Railway Station near Waitomo Caves - photo CRB February 2014

Recently we did a trip down Otorohanga way. Was interested to see that September 2014 marked 125 years of tourism for Waitomo Caves - from 125 years ago not long the Caves were explored by English Surveyor Fred Mace with Maori Chief Tane Tinorau. In part of the past New Zealand History the two men ( according to the Ashburton Guardian ) constructed a slender raft of logs and used this to enter the caves. That was said to be back in December 1887 and that before that despite many knowing about the caves few had ventured into them.

 

This bought back memories of the stories,  I had been told of the expedition Great Grandfather went on to the  caves. Of the beauty he had seen. The memory of back in 2008 doing some research at Paeroa Museum with the then Museum Curator Graham Watton on the Thames Waikato and Waihi Railways. 

As I was leaving for the day, my eyes lighted on an article with photo in a display  -  the newspaper heading " Discovery of the Glow-worm Grotto." This was proof of the story I had been told about Great Grandfather. I took notes - meaning to write these up some day. Two years later in 2010 we were at a flea market and there amongst a pile of newspapers and books was the same publication with the article " Discovery of the Glow-worm Grotto." Along with the photo. This photo I discovered recently, also appeared in the Sydney Illustrated News (Saturday 25 October 1890 page 15.)

 

Photo clipping from The New Zealand Herald Centennial Record, November 13, 1963

Still meaning to write the story up - one day - got busy on other research and writing - shipping and railways.  Now it is time to write it up - so words to blog - to add a part of the past New Zealand History.

 

Following the exploring of the caves by Mace and Tinorau, the then Government instructed Thomas Humphries, Chief Surveyor and Commissioner of Crown Lands to visit  the Waitomo Caves near Tauranga and to make a report to the Government. (  Humphries was appointed Surveyor General In 1906  and retired from this position in 1909. During his life his work in both  astronomical and geodetic fields was recognised by  his election as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.)

 

courtesy NZETC in

Louis E. Ward Early Wellington Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1928, Auckland

 

Humphries took with him a party with skills in their respective fields. Albert George Allom a surveyor( son of Albert James Allom who moved to Thames in 1867 and is said to have held a number of appointments until 1886, including that of receiver gold revenue and mining Registrar at both Thames and Mackaytown) ; well- known  photographer John Robert Hanna ( who was said to have been commissioned by the Government to take the photographs ) ; Hanna's assistant  Bain;  James Stewart Civil Engineer & Surveyor ( well- known as in charge various projects Railway Construction and Survey in the Auckland Province including 1873 - 1880 The Thames Waikato Railway ) ;  Major William Gilbert Mair Native Court Judge; Henry Dunbar Johnson native interpreter( formerly in Ohinemuri area )   and William Cussen ( brother of Laurence - both brothers had carried out Triangulation work in the King Country).



             John Robert Hanna                              James Stewart Minst. CE

in Cyclopaedia NZ Auckland Province

  Major William Gilbert Mair                    Henry Dunbar Johnson courtesy NZETC

                                                               The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] The Cyclopedia     Company, Limited, 1897, Wellington

 

According to Thomas Humphries' report to Government ( AJHR 1889 H H18 ) and articles across a number of newspapers, both  John Robert Hanna and Humphries took extensive photographs. The Taranaki Herald reported the following  on the photos which had been presented to the Government: -

 

Article Courtesy Papers Past , National Library NZ

Humphries' report to Government also included photos and maps.



Courtesy ATOLS Online National Library NZ In Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1889 Session I H-18 THE WAITOMO CAVES, KING COUNTRY (REPORT ON).

James Stewart did not say much officially  on the Expedition to the caves as Thomas Humphries was in charge of and making the Report to the Government . However newspapers did report on Stewart saying  :

" It will be a wonderful attraction in fact, I have never seen anything I have enjoyed more since the destruction of the White Terrace." ( NZ Herald 07/06/1889)

Passed down was this story from Stewart along with the Expedition during the Tarawera Eruption. It must have been a special occasion for him to see something just as beautiful as the White Terraces he had also seen prior to the eruption of Tarawera. The photos for us today are a reminder of what both the Waitomo Caves and the terraces looked like in that part of the past.

 



Courtesy ATOLS Online National Library NZ In Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1889 Session I H-18 THE WAITOMO CAVES, KING COUNTRY (REPORT ON).

 

Major William Mair and Henry Dunbar Johnson who had also witnessed the Tarawera eruption and its aftermath also were said to feel the same. Mair had written a paper on the Tarawera Eruption for the New Zealand Institute ( Art. XLV.—Notes on the Eruption of Tarawera Mountain and Rotomahana, 10th June, 1886, as seen from Taheke, Lake Rotoiti.) Mair intended to write one on the Waitomo Caves. A review of the Institute papers does not show one from Mair on the caves . However Thomas Humphries was reported on giving an account with photo presentation to the Auckland Institute in 1889 and 1892.

Tinorau opened the caves to tourists in 1889. Now 125 years later Waitomo Caves over the years has been a very relevant Part of  past New Zealand history for tourism and the memories for many of a trip  to the caves. Memories that are not forgotten.

 

Reference Source:

•  Lawn, C.A. F.N.Z.I.S. The Pioneer Land Surveyors of New Zealand Part IV. Auckland: N.Z.I.S., 14 October,1977.
• The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] The Cyclopedia     Company, Limited, 1897, Wellington
• The New Zealand Herald Centennial Record, November 13, 1963
• Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1889 Session I H-18 THE WAITOMO CAVES, KING COUNTRY (REPORT ON).
• Sydney Illustrated News Saturday 25 October 1890 page 15
• THE OFFICIAL INSPECTION OF RAILWAYS. New Zealand Herald, , 3 May 1889, Page 5
• THE OTOROHANGA CAVES. New Zealand Herald, 7 June 1889, Page 5
• THE OTOROHANGA CAVES AT WAIKATO. Taranaki Herald, , 12 June 1889, Page 3
• THE OTOROHANGA CAVES. Timaru Herald, , 21 June 1889, Page 3
• THE OTOROIIANGA CAVES. New Zealand Herald, 12 August 1889, Page 11
•  RANDOM SHOTS Auckland Star, 28 September 1889, Page

Acknowledgement

Our family first met Graham Watton when my mother Helen Stewart was writing for the local and national newspapers. When I retired and began the history research on great grandfather and those early railways, it was once more contact with Graham Watton in his role as Curator Paeroa Museum. In 2012 Graham Watton passed away and tis was a great loss to historians and researchers such as myself. His knowledge and help were vast - I miss it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Waihi Gold Mining Company Limited - " Tis Gold A Plenty"

A Heritage Icon -Pumphouse Waihi - Photo CRB 2010

The last two months have been one of travel backwards and forwards to Waihi and beyond - time spent with family and friends. Driving past the Pumphouse at Waihi has been a constant reminder as past photos and information  is sorted over the holiday break. Recording family history has threaded the story once more of the early days of the one of the giant mining companies of all - Waihi Gold Mining Company.

The remains of the Pumphouse seen today and the concrete relics of Victoria Battery at Waikino are reminders of that early era 1887 to 1905. A period  when the Directors and heads of a Mining Company dared to dream, plan and implement those plans into something that became one of the biggest Industrial Plants in Australasia. 



Concrete Relics Victoria Battery Waikino - Photo CRB 2010

Much has been written about the Waihi Strike in 1912, the lives of those working in the mine, Thomas Russell as Chairman of Directors of the Waihi Goldmining Company. However for some of the others also involved, their names and stories are scattered and some almost forgotten.

Exploration, Acquisition, Flotation and Company Beginnings:

Back in 1887 the Waikato times reported a visit to Waihi Mines by those connected with the Union Mine Waihi - including Hon Thomas Russell,  Messrs J. B. Russell, Henry Russell, Thomas Morrin, and J. W. Walker.

Thomas Russell In The New Zealand Insurance Company Limited. Bold Century. Auckland:
The New Zealand Insurance Company Limited, 1959

The intention was to float the Union Mine on the English Market as soon as possible.    By the end of 1887 it was reported that Union and Rosemont Mines were floated under names  of Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd. Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd was  registered in London in December, 1887, with  capital of £100,000 in £1 shares.  The New Zealand Herald ( 25/01/1888 )reported that the following were Directors of this newly floated Company: -

" Directors in London Thomas Russell, Esq., C.M.G., director, Bank of New Zealand, chairman; John Boustead, Esq. Director, Lambeth Waterworks Company, Limited; Henry Joseph Bristow, Esq. (Messrs Bowley and Bristow), director, New Zealand Land Mortgage Company, Limited Richard B. Huth, Esq., director, City of London Fire Insurance Company, Limited Sir Edward W. Stafford, G.C.M.G., Chairman Manitoba Mortgage and Investment Company. Limited. Directors in New Zealand David Hean, Esq., inspector of the National Bank of New Zealand, Limited, Auckland; James Russell, Esq. (Messrs Jackson and Russell), Auckland; Thomas Morrin, Esq. (Messrs T. and S. Morrin and Co., Limited), Auckland, director of the South British Insurance Company Seymour Thorne George, Esq., J. P. Auckland."

James Russell of Jackson and Russell



Thomas Morrin
In Chadwick, J. 1906. Men of Mark In the World of Sport in New Zealand. Brett Publishing Company Ltd.

 

Edinburgh born Sir Edward Stafford had also formerly been the third  premier and on three occasions between 1856 and 1872, of what was known in those days , the Colony of New Zealand.



Sir Edward Stafford - photo courtesy NZETC

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1897, Wellington

 Thomas Russell in the chair at a meeting of the Waihi Gold Mining Company in May 1888 reported  that  shares allotted were 84,818 out of 100,000, and the remainder being gradually taken up.  By 1889 Thomas Henry Russell ( son of Thomas Russell) based at Waihi  was Superintendent of the Waihi Gold Mining Company, J.W. Walker ( John Watson Walker more well  known as "Long Drive Walker") the Mine Manager and Seymour Thorne George as the company's first General Manager based in Auckland.

The year  1890  marked a significant addition for the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd.   Thomas Henry Russell purchased mine and battery, the property of the Martha Extended Gold Mining Co. Ltd (The Martha Lode) for £3000. Later it was acquired by the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd.

Also in 1890 Robert Rose was appointed second General Manager of Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd. In addition to being part of the era of capital growth and development for the Waihi Goldmining Company,  Rose was also a Director of NZI ( New Zealand Insurance Company ) from 1889 until his death in 1900; Director of the growing Northern Steam Ship Company 1999 to 1900 - a company Rose had been involved with since its formation in 1881 and Secretary of the NZ Mines Trust. His sudden death was a shock to many including those in Waihi and a loss to the company of who was someone known for level headed decision-making. 

 

Robert Rose - Photo Courtesy of
“Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries. AWNS-18990609-1-3”



Capital Growth and Development

This era saw increase of capital, major construction - the outcome of adoption of a new process , and changes in personnel at the helm of the company because of deaths.

Henry Dale was appointed second Superintendent and Manager  of Mine and Plant in the place of T.H. Russell in 1890, following the purchase and sale of the Martha Mine.

The year 1891 marked another significant  Waihi Gold Mining Co. Ltd increase their capital by the issue of 50,000 new shares, raising the total to £150,000.

Also in this year Mr. Hubert Percy Barry was bought into the Company and by 1892 had become Superintendent - replacing Henry Dale and Mr. Thomas Gilmour also bought into the Company in 1891, was appointed Mine Manager of the Waihi Mine. Both were active in  community affairs, including establishment of Waihi Hospital and Waihi School of Mines. 

Barry was Chairman of the Ohinemuri District Council for a number of years and Gilmour, Mayor of Waihi for a term from 1904, just after his retirement from Waihi Gold Mining Company.

 

Hubert Percy Barry
Courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ

Photo Mr J. H. Barry, MANAGER WAIHI GOLD MINE. Observer, Volume XV, Issue 880, 2 November 1895, Page 17

 

July 1894 marked another significant milestone for the Waihi Gold Mining Company when they adopted the cyanide process for gold extraction. By 1896 plans for major works were being outlined at the statutory meeting and in 1898  Victoria Battery construction had begun at Waikino.



Relics of Brickwork Victoria Battery Waikino - photo CRB 2010



 During this decade those who were at the helm of the Company and died were :

• March 1891  David Kean Former Inspector of the National Bank and New Zealand Director died suddenly.

• July 1892 Mr. Henry Dale, Superintendent and Manager died suddenly.

• February 1894  John Benjamin Russell - brother of  Thomas Russell and James Russell died  after a long illness. J.B. Russell as two of his brothers was also a lawyer - a practicing Senor Member with the legal firm Russell and Campbell of Auckland.

• September 1895 Richard Spratt died. Spratt was inspecting engineer  on a regular basis  for the Waihi, Waitekauri, and Crown Mines, and New Zealand Mines Trust, Limited. Spratt was  also a Director of Woodstock.

By 1896 the Organisational Structure of the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd looked like this:-

    

Charles Rhodes was appointed replacement  to  the position held by Robert Rose in 1900 . This was to be a long tenure with the Company until Rhodes died in 1932. 

Rhodes was as with several others at the helm of Waihi Gold Mining Company, on the Directorship of NZI ( New Zealand Insurance Company), Northern Steam Ship Company, NZ Mines Trust , NZ Portland Cement Company.

 and Auckland Electric Tramways Company Ltd. Rhodes took a keen and active  interest in the introduction of Rotary Clubs to New Zealand and along with Fowlds is known as one of the Founders of this movement.

Charles Rhodes photo courtesy Papers Past

N.Z. INSURANCE COMPANY. Mr. Charles Rhodes, who has been elected chairman of the New Zealand Insuran... [truncated] New Zealand Herald, , 8 August 1928, Page 8

In April 1904   - New directors to Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd were appointed  - Messrs Beddington, Brutton ( AKA Button )  and Owen  making seven directors instead of five  - Thomas Russell CMG  Chairman , Arthur M Mitchison,  J Boustead  Henry J Bristow,  H. E. Beddington,  P. Berry Owen, E J Brutton. 

Less than six months later the  Chairman of Directors died 2 September 1904 - ending a significant influence and era for this company. His brother James Russell ( formerly  of the legal firm, Jackson and Russell ) was at the helm as Chairman  for but a few short months when he too died. Arthur Mitchison - son- in-law of Thomas Russell was voted to the chair and so started a new era of management.

In 1905 the Organisational Structure of the Waihi Gold Mining Company Ltd looked like this - back to a Directorship of five :-

Reference Source:

•  Chadwick, J. 1906. Men of Mark In the World of Sport in New Zealand. Brett Publishing Company Ltd.
• The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand, Vol 2, Auckland Province.  Christchurch: Cyclopaedia Company Limited, 1902
• The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1897, Wellington
• New Zealand Mines Dept; Galvin,  The New Zealand mining handbook (with maps and illustrations) (1906) P J. Mackay, Government Printer Wellington, 1906 https://archive.org/details/newzealandminin00galvgoog
• Downey, J.F., Gold Mines of the Hauraki District, originally published 1935, this edition Cadsonbury Publications, Christchurch, 2002
• McLintock, A.H. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Volume 3. Wellington, New Zealand: R.E. Owen, Government Printer, 1966
• The New Zealand Insurance Company Limited. Bold Century. Auckland: The New Zealand Insurance Company Limited, 1959. (Shareholders Copy)
• Scheidel, A The cyanide process, its practical application and economical results (1894) Sacramento, A.J. Johnston, supt. State printing https://archive.org/details/cyanideprocessit00scherich
• Stone, R.C.J., Makers of Fortune, A Colonial Business Community and its Fall, Auckland University Press, 1973
• In Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 21, June 1977 AUTHOR’S COMMENT: GOLD MINING AT WAIHI 1878 – 1952 J.B. McARA.
• Edmund Bohan. 'Stafford, Edward William', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 19-Feb-2014 URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/1s22/stafford-edward-William
• Newspapers

         OHINEMURI NEWS. Waikato Times,  31 May 1887, P 2

         CABLEGRAMS. Otago Witness , 16 December 1887, P 13

         The Union Mine, Waihi. Thames Advertiser, 17 December 1887, Page 2

          NEW ZEALAND AFFAIRS IN LONDON. New Zealand Herald, 25 January 1888, P 5

          THE LATE MR. DAVID HEAN. New Zealand Herald, 25 April 1891, Page 5

           DEATH OF MR. HENRY DALE New Zealand Herald, 28 June 1892, P 5

          DEATH OF MR J. B. RUSSELL. Auckland Star, 28 February 1894, Page 8

          OBITUARY. New Zealand Herald, 4 October 1895, P 3

          DEATH OF MR. ROBERT ROSE. New Zealand Herald, 25 April 1900, P 5

          DEATH OF MR. THOMAS RUSSELL. Auckland Star, 5 September 1904, Page 5

          DEATH OF MR. JAMES RUSSELL. New Zealand Herald, 20 February 1905, P 4

Thanks to Auckland Libraries for the wonderful Heritage Images

Also The Treasury Thames and Waihi Arts Centre & Museum are great places to visit if doing early Family History or about early  Coromandel Peninsula.