From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection:
Next time you find yourself sipping a glass of wine or port, spare a thought for an individual who, by all accounts, established the first commercial vineyard in Tauranga, Air Commodore Francis Esme Theodore Hewlett.
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| Ms 67/15 - Photograph of Totara Casks |
Hewletts – Mother and Son:
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| Hilda Hewlett interpretation panel - Fourth Avenue, Tauranga |
Much has been written previously in the Journals of the Tauranga Historical Society about the aviation exploits of Hilda Beatrice Hewlett (HR 41:Vol 2, p76-82 by HL Whitehead) and her son F.E.T. Hewlett (Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society No. 8:1957 and No. 35:1968). This blog will, therefore, focus on a recently digitised collection in Tauranga Library’s archive: Ms 67 - Papers relating to Maungatapu Vineyard and their creator, Air Commodore Francis Hewlett.
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| Hilda Hewlett, 1911 flying licence and picture, with awesome hat - Women Who Meant Business |
In 1926, Hilda, the first English woman to gain a pilot's licence, relocated to Tauranga, as did her daughter Pia Richards and Pia’s family. Hilda bought various sections, including property on the corner of Eleventh Avenue and Edgecumbe Road - as well as a section at Devonport Road in Tauranga. Tauranga rate book, 1937-1938 shows us Hilda owned property at Lots 231/2 Sec. 1 and 485/7 & 489 Sec. 2.
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| Map 24-047 - Section 2 - Tauranga |
It must have been an idyllic location, overlooking the Waikareao tidal estuary, which had served as the town's flying field for eight years.
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| Air Commodore F.E.T. Hewlett - Auckland War Memorial Museum |
F.E.T. (Francis) Hewlett, following in his mother’s footsteps as a pilot, had a distinguished military career. During WWI he earned a Distinguished Service Order in 1915 and rose to the rank of Group Captain. He retired from the Royal Air Force in 1934 and followed his mother and sister to live in Tauranga.
The rate books show Hilda Hewlett owning lot 231/2 on Devonport road and this is where Francis Hewlett first set up business with a motor garage.
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| Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13056, 26 January 1943, Page 3 Papers Past |
The rate book 1937-1938 also shows that Francis Hewlett owned a section next to Hilda’s, on the edge of the Waikareao Estuary, lot 874, Section 2. (See above image: Map 24-047).
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| Ams 463/1/38 - Rate book, 1937-1938 |
In an address to the THS years later (1957) he talks of having “…a small house overlooking the Waikareao Estuary, we had a bank and half an acre of swampy land covered with gorse, blackberry and weeds. This was such an eyesore that we determined to tame it and drain the swamp; but we should have to cultivate it and plant something more interesting than the existing rubbish. Someone suggested grapes, so we set about finding how and why and where grapes were grown in New Zealand."
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| Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries - 2025 |
We do not have any images of this property, however, a present-day photograph has been taken of the area, above the current archery field, that gives a very good idea of where the first vines were cultivated. The work involved to continuously clear the weeds eventually became too much and the Hewletts searched for a site more suitable for grape growing commercially.
The Hewletts moved to Maungatapu, where they bought 12 acres of land and transported the vines from Waikareao to the new site. Current day Vine Street in Maungatapu is one of the streets originally part of this farm and was named after the Hewletts' vineyard.
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| Ms 67/18 - Maungatapu Vineyard - looking south-east towards Welcome Bay |
When WWII broke out, Francis (F.E.T.) Hewlett enlisted as Wing Commander in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). He progressed his military career and became Air Commodore, January 1945. Whilst he was away, not much progress was made with the winemaking, however, Francis Hewlett picked up from where he left off when he returned.
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| F.E.T. (Francis) Hewlett on his spraying tractor - Ms 67/18 |
The Papers relating to the Maungatapu Vineyard (Ms 67) contain the original speech delivered to the THS in 1957, photographs, wine labels, prize certificates and an essay titled "The suitability of Tauranga for outdoor grapes for wine making". This must have been like a vintner's handbook back in 1957, but still provides interesting insight for today. Some interesting points he makes are:
- Henderson and Hawkes Bay identified as specialty grape-growing regions
- The "American Invasion" during the war influenced the market for selling cheap, inferior wines where the main factor was the “kick” it gave
- When men and women returned from WWII they had more of a discerning taste for quality wine and this in turn increased the demand for higher quality winemaking
- Tauranga has the same climate as the northern Germany region of “Rotor Traminer”, and can grow exact replica Moselle vines
- Some of the preferred winemaking grapes for Tauranga are Siebel varieties, which produce dry wines, sherries, port and Rosē.
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| Wine Bottle Label - Ms 67/7 |
Further reading...
For those interested in delving deeper into their stories, the Pae Korokī collection offers a treasure trove of resources, including the Papers relating to Maungatapu Vineyard (Ms 67) and the Journals of the Tauranga Historical Society The reference section as a biography of Hilda Hewlett, written by F.E.T. Hewlett’s daughter-in-law, Gail Hewlett: "Old Bird: the irrepressible Mrs Hewlett".
Sources
Hewlett, Gail. (c.2010). Old Bird - The irrepressible Mrs Hewlett. Leicester : Matador.
Women Who Mean Business website: https://womenwhomeantbusiness.com/2021/05/27/hilda-hewlett-1864-1943/
Auckland War Memorial Museum - Online Cenotaph
Ms 67 - Papers relating to Maungatapu Vineyard, Pae Korokī
Ams 463 - Tauranga Borough Council rate books, valuation rolls and related material
Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13056, 26 January 1943, Page 3 - Papers Past - https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
