Harry and Emma Hunt with daughter Maude
Joseph Henry (aka Harry or “Puki”) and Emma Hunt and their only daughter Maude came to farm in the district in 1911. As time went by, their home, of modest proportions, became known as Hunt’s Halfway House. Tea and hot meals could be obtained and overnight accommodation was provided for stranded motorists on many an occasion. The service car drivers made good use of the refreshments provided by Emma and Maude.
Hunt’s Halfway House
In the early 1920s the Hunts, together with their neighbours the Scotts and Stephens, provided metal from their own local rhyolite quarry and fixed the roads in the area, including seven miles up Omanawa, at a rate of one mile a day. They also held Farmers’ Union meetings at their home.
Another service provided was rescuing stranded vehicles from the mud, often at the expense of time used to run the farms. Motorists, if they were well prepared, carried a variety of tools in addition to tyre chains, including spades, axes, slashers, wire strainers, timber blocks and timber jacks.
Maude Hunt in front of the halfway house
Maude married James Scott who purchased land from his father-in-law in 1928 and in 1938 the Ministry of Works purchased, for 50 pounds, two of those acres for a quarry. The tramline into the bush for the nearby Henderson’s Sawmill was built across James and Maude’s land.
“Puki” helping children with the pony
In May 1937 the Hunts retired to Gate Pa in the Borough of Tauranga and were given a farewell by people of the Kaimai district. Much appreciation was expressed for 25 years of serving their community in so many ways, including their wonderful hospitality to all and sundry.
Sources
Kaimai
Revisited — 75th Jubilee of Kaimai School, edited by Betty Coubrough
Papers Past, BOP Times, 1920- 1940
Linda Fairgray (one of the 22 grandchildren of James and Maude Scott)
All images are courtesy of Linda Fairgray
