Mrs Ruth Mander (1915–2015)

 

Left to right: Ruth Mander, Ina Bathe, Mary Parker, and Nancy Snodgrass admiring the rose "Remember Me" at the Tauranga Rose Gardens, Robbins Park, 1991

Image: Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 382/4/5

After several years working with the Tauranga Museum collection, I pondered on a number of donations made by Mrs Ruth Mander (née Prescott). Curious to learn more about them, I visited Ruth at her home on Ōtūmoetai Road in June 2011, where she shared memories of her life and the transformation of Ōtūmoetai from a rural district into a suburb of Tauranga. [1]

Ruth’s path to Tauranga began in the late 1930s after her mother became seriously ill with a goitre.[2] As the eldest daughter, she left her job in Hamilton to care for her younger siblings while her mother spent an extended period in hospital.[3] In 1937, seeking a healthier climate, her father, a First World War veteran, sold their Waikato farm and moved the family to a citrus orchard in Ōtūmoetai. 

Ōtūmoetai and Hinewa Roads, looking over Cherrywood and Bureta towards Mauao and Motuotau Island, c1950. 

Image: Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 12-575

At that time, the area was still largely rural. Work on the orchard, along with caring for poultry and a house cow, formed part of everyday life. Social life centred on visiting neighbours, swimming in the harbour below Ōtūmoetai Pā, and attending local dances. It was through these connections that Ruth met the Mander girls, Betty, Dot, and Nola. They would often bike together to attend films in town, taking the long way around as Ngatai Road had not yet been formed. These friendships would ultimately change the course of her life. 

Ray Mander, the older brother, had returned home for a holiday but stayed after meeting Ruth, and the two quickly became engaged. They purchased five acres on the Ōtūmoetai ridge and were among the first in the district to plant Chinese gooseberries, later known as kiwifruit. In a practical move to secure a government loan, they married quietly at the newly opened Tauranga Post Office in December 1938 - the first couple to do so - marking the beginning of their life together. Ruth recalled that afterwards they went to Rendell’s Photography and had a wedding photo taken and then to the only restaurant in town for a meal. 

Te Puke Times, Volume 26, Issue 52, 2 July 1937, Page 3. Papers Past.

With the help of a State Advances loan, they built a Beazley bungalow on their land, designed by Ruth herself. Construction was slow, and they did not move in until September 1939, but the house would remain their home for the rest of their lives. Over the following eight years, they had four children, bringing both busyness and energy to their lives, and it was clear that Ruth took great pride in them. While the orchard developed, Ray took on various jobs, later running a hardware shop in Ōtūmoetai and keeping bees on the property. Ruth managed the household, sewed much of the family’s clothing, and maintained strong connections within many communities.

A wicker pram purchased in the 1940s by the Manders from The Mart in Willow Street.

Image: Tauranga Museum 2005/84

Ruth became involved in numerous organisations, serving for decades as treasurer of both Forest and Bird and Rural Women, and participating in local garden clubs from the 1950s onward. Over time, the landscape around them changed. Ruth recalled that after the Second World War, orchards and farms across Ōtūmoetai were subdivided into residential sections. Roads such as Lemon Grove replaced rows of trees, and the rural district she had first known gradually became the suburb it is today.

 When I met Ruth, she was living alone, Ray having died in 1995. Despite being nearly blind, she was fiercely independent, able to stay in the home she had lived in for more than seventy years with the support of her family and her deep familiarity with every corner of it. She was particularly keen for me to identify some of the objects she had donated to the museum, and I was pleased to do so while hearing the stories connected to them - her memory remaining very sharp.

A 1930s ‘Airzone’ wooden mantle radio purchased for the Mander’s new home.

Image: Tauranga Museum 0038/95

References

 

[1]       At the time of our meeting, it felt only right to address her as Mrs Mander, so I hope she would forgive me for referring to her here as Ruth.

[2]       A goitre is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland in the neck, often visible as a swelling at the base of the throat.

[3]       Ruth initially worked as a technician for Glaxo Laboratories and later took a position in the office at the New Zealand Dairy Company while waiting for an opportunity to move into their laboratory.

The Domestic Services Block (The Cottage) at The Elms Te Papa

In colonial times, for safety reasons, settlers often constructed a kitchen separate from the main homestead.  This was certainly the case in the mid-1800s at the Church Missionary Society station (now known as The Elms) on Te Papa peninsula here in Tauranga Moana. The kitchen building and nearby bakehouse were just a few feet from the main house.  In 1877, however, a fire destroyed both, the cause thought to be a candle left burning in the maid’s room when she went over to the house for evening prayers. 

 Due to stupendous efforts of the townsfolk who heard the mission bell ringing urgently and came to assist, putting out the fire and draping wet blankets over the shingles of the house roof, the large wooden home was unscathed. The burnt-out buildings were rebuilt as soon as practical, slightly more distant from the main house.

The replacement bakehouse under construction. Image: John Kinder

There is no way of knowing if the floor plan of the new building was the same as the one it replaced.  Today the domestic services block, as it has sometimes been referred to, consists of four rooms in a row, each with their own exterior door, An internal door connects the first two rooms. One source** quotes the rooms being used as “kitchens, bedrooms and a storeroom.”

 On the death of the second Mrs Brown in 1887 the property passed to her sister Euphemia Maxwell, a widow, and her unmarried daughters Alice and Edith. At this time The Elms consisted of 17 acres of land and most of the dozen or so mission buildings the Browns had purchased from the Church Mission Society over the previous decade. Permanent structures had originally included two houses, two schools, the chapel, Archdeacon Brown’s free-standing library, a storehouse, boathouse, carpenters’ workshop, smithy, and the kitchen building and bakehouse. 

Alice outside the cottage, 14 February 1945.  Image: The Elms Collection

In 1913 subdividing the property created 47 sections.  These were sold over the next few years, reducing the land area around the main house to about 3 acres and providing much needed capital to reroof it and add a kitchenette and bathroom. This enabled Euphemia to live out her days at The Elms in greater convenience until her passing in 1919.  Daughter Edith’s death occurred in 1930. Her sister Alice advertised for live-in help and a couple named Turner came to occupy “the cottage” as the 1877 building had become known. 1945 brought another couple, George and Elsie Lambie, who lived there rent-free in exchange for domestic and gardening help, which included Elsie showing visitors around at times.

When my grandparents Duff and Gertrude Maxwell became life tenants after Alice’s death in July 1949, the Lambies stayed on for a while, but then followed a series of tenants and boarders in the 50s and early 60s. A woman and her 11-year-old son* rented the cottage around 1950 until it was possible to find a home at Mount Maunganui where she had a teaching position. One family did two different stints there a few years apart whilst awaiting the building of their new homes in Ōtūmoetai.

 Gertrude Maxwell’s sister Mildred Huggins was in residence for a few years in the early 60s. A bathroom was added for her in the space between the cottage and the old bakehouse (then in use as a laundry area). Mildred returned to England leaving the cottage free for my uncle, his wife and their first child who spent time there while saving up for their first home.  

Mildred Huggins at home.  Image: julie Green

Finally, in 1971, Auntie Mildred returned from England to ‘retire’.  For the next 20 years she lived in the cottage very happily, mending broken china people brought to her, making marmalade on the old stove set up in the corner of the washhouse and washing her very long white hair in her pink bathroom. Mercifully the place was not burnt down again - she had a habit of placing logs in the fire that were too long and gradually feeding them in as the end burnt away. Six years before her passing she moved into a rest home. Several members of the extended family then lived in the cottage at various times.

 By the early 1990s both the main house and cottage were no longer occupied.  The Elms Foundation, which took over the property, began to use the room nearest to the house as an office.  The infill addition, containing the extra bathroom, was demolished. Thus the two buildings (the first kitchen and the old bakehouse) were separated once more. 

The bathroom addition in 1999.  Image: Julie Green

Currently the building is used by the management of The Elms Foundation as offices, a reception area and a base for the visitor guides. There is a very educational laundry display in the “Mangle room” and the Dairy is complete with original shelving for the display of milk pans  and butter making equipment. These two rooms are unlined, showing their interesting construction details, including the old wooden shakes, which remain under the corrugated iron roof.

 Acknowledgements

*This informal record was inspired by meeting the widow and daughter of the 11 year old lad. They visited The Elms recently to ascertain if the story they had heard from him was true.  We were able to confirm that it was.

**I referred to Sarah Ell’s book, ‘The Spirit of a Place’ to confirm some details to add to my recollections.

Tauranga in 1934: G. Duncan’s City Centre Plans

From Tauranga City Library’s archives

A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

If you’ve ever wondered what Tauranga’s 'CBD' looked like nearly a century ago, G. Duncan’s 1934 survey drawings are a fascinating window into the past. These two maps - accessible in Pae Korokī as Map 21‑001 and Map 21‑002 - capture a city in transition, balancing its small-town roots with the ambitions of modern planning.

Tauranga properties in the city centre - sheet 1. Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 21-001

We don’t know much about G. Duncan himself, but his work speaks volumes. His detailed survey of Tauranga’s CBD shows a bustling hub concentrated along The Strand, especially between Spring Street and Hamilton Street. This was the commercial core, lined with shops, fruiterers, bootmakers, drapers, clothiers, furniture makers, paint shops, loan and mercantile offices, garages—and, of course, hotels, tea rooms, and billiard rooms.  Even noted is the Gasometer on Grey Street and the banks on the corners of streets.

Tauranga properties in the city centre - sheet 2. Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 21-002

Duncan’s plans captured an extraordinary level of detail, showing not only the footprint of every building, but also sheds, garages and outdoor lavatories. It documented each structure’s size, level of completion and storeys, and the materials used for walls and roofs. Even infrastructure like water reticulation, with pipe diameters, pressure levels, and parapet heights, is noted. This level of precision would have made the maps useful planning tools for the city to respond effectively to fires, to prioritise areas for growth and determine how Tauranga could balance practical needs with new planning laws.

Screenshot showing key to Tauranga properties in the city centre - sheet 2, Map 21-002

Sadly, you have to look very hard to see many of these buildings still standing, although there are a handful, particularly near the lower end of Devonport Road. When used in conjunction with other local resources, we are able to cross-reference and determine where previous owners had their premises.  Following, is an image, outlining names of business owners and their premises in 1934, on the corner of Wharf Street and The Strand:

Screenshot of part Map 21-001

We can only guess why these maps were made, however, the Central Tauranga Heritage Study (April, 2008, p 33-34) mentions that the Town Planning Act 1926 required all boroughs with populations over 1,000 to prepare a planning scheme by 1930. Tauranga’s first operative town plan didn’t arrive until 1969, but Duncan’s 1934 survey was almost certainly part of the groundwork for that process. 

Central Tauranga Heritage Study: part one, April 2008, p16

Next time you need to link a name to a location in central Tauranga, download G. Duncan's maps and you may be surprised at the connections you can make.

Sources

Duncan, G. (1934). Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 21-001 Tauranga properties in the city centre - sheet 1 | Pae Korokī

Duncan, G. (1934). Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 21-002: Tauranga properties in the city centre - sheet 2 | Pae Korokī

 

Gainsford, Jennie, Matthews & Matthews Architects Ltd, R. A. Skidmore & Associates, Rorke, Jean Euphemia Finlayson, Trutman, Lisa. (2008, April). Central Tauranga Heritage Study : part one, April 2008 Tauranga City Council & Bay of Plenty Regional Council. https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/109864

Palmer, Kenneth, Waitangi Tribunal: Te Rōpu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi (2006). Legislation governing town and country planning in Tauranga Moana 1953-1990. Wai 215 - Waitangi Tribunal Tauranga Moana Claims https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/27713

 

New Zealand Legislation: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/

 

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 24-371. (1963). City of Tauranga – District Planning Scheme https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/115677

---

 

Written by Jody Smart, Heritage Specialist at Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries

 

A History of the Old Tauranga Post Office

 From Tauranga City Library’s archives

A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

That old-timey feel the ‘Old Post Office’ carries has a name, Edwardian Baroque, a style designed to declare "empire" with all its permanence. Government Architect John Campbell gave it form in 1905–06 with stone walls and a clock tower meant to outlast us all. By 1987 however, it was empty, nearly felled by that decade’s scythe to all things unprofitable. Yet here it remains, long after many others have gone, a survivor with stories to tell. 

What follows is a brief history of the ‘Old Post Office’ building.

The corner of Willow and Wharf Streets was in the 1830s, part of the Church Missionary Society reserve, where Rev. Alfred Brown established a mission school. During the New Zealand Wars the building was pressed into service as a mission hospital, caring for both Māori and Pākehā. Later it passed into Crown control and became part of Tauranga’s government reserve, already a focus of administration and defence.

In 1874 the Crown erected a vast timber Government Buildings block on the site, an Italianate design by Bennett and Kaye of Auckland that was, at the time, the second-largest wooden building in New Zealand. For nearly 30 years it housed Tauranga’s administration, post and telegraph, and the Resident Magistrate’s Court. Despite its size, maybe because of it, it was not universally admired. Then in November 1902 it was destroyed by fire, along with decades of official records, forcing departments into scattered temporary lodgings.

It was on this layered site that Government Architect John Campbell designed Tauranga’s new Government Buildings in 1904, built over 1905–06. Conceived to house multiple state departments under one roof, the structure placed the Post and Telegraph Department on the ground floor, with the court, Lands and Survey, and other offices upstairs. Its Edwardian Baroque style gave Tauranga a sense of permanence and civic pride, expressed through a prominent clock tower, ornamented façades, and its commanding position overlooking the harbour. Inside, the walls carried the government’s standard scheme: light green upper wall, a darker lower section.

The building was completed in April 1906, with government departments moving in that June. Despite years of public campaigning for such a facility, its opening passed quietly, without ceremony.

Post Office, Tauranga, with staff in front, c. 1906, Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 02-348

In 1907 the town clock was installed after a subscription fund raised by the Bay of Plenty Times, with the mechanism manufactured by Dent & Co. of London. By 1916 the building had already been extended to accommodate Tauranga’s growing administrative needs. Local rimu was used for the interiors, and with the arrival of electricity from the Ōmanawa Falls power scheme in 1915, electric lighting soon replaced the original gas fittings.

For decades the building remained Tauranga’s civic centre, housing postal services, the courts, and a range of government departments.

By the mid-20th century, Tauranga’s growth and rising expectations for modern facilities led departments to move elsewhere. The Post Office relocated to Grey Street in 1938, and a new courthouse opened in 1965. When the last government tenants, the Ministry of Works, vacated in 1987, the Old Post Office stood empty and earthquake-prone. Its future looked bleak. The Tauranga Community Arts Council convened a public meeting that revealed strong community will to save the landmark. A steering committee was formed under chair Grant Aislabie, drawing in architects, engineers, historians, and iwi representatives.

Government Property Services initially set an asking price of $1.2 million, later reduced to $530,000, but insisted on cash purchase. With professional fundraisers warning that public appeals could only follow ownership, the project fell into a catch-22. Structural reports confirmed the risks, but also pointed to possible solutions such as base isolation techniques.

Ideas for new uses reflected both community and tangata whenua aspirations. Proposals included a community resource centre, a bi-cultural gallery for local and touring exhibitions, and space for the Ngāti Ranginui Iwi Authority. Discussions were shaped by the concurrent Ngāi Tamarāwaho claim (WAI 42) over the land, which added weight to the iwi’s call for cultural facilities.

The Historic Places Trust recognised the building’s significance, upgrading its classification from Category C to Category B. Even so, by 1990 the Arts Council concluded that only a community-based solution was realistic, since commercial development was unlikely to succeed. Without the resources to purchase, the campaign faltered. But the effort ensured that the building’s value was now firmly stamped on the public consciousness.

In 1998 Grasshopper Properties acquired the property from Tauranga District Council for $200,000 and undertook a $1.5 million restoration. Historic Places Trust guidelines required the 1905 exterior to be precisely replicated, while the interior was adapted to modern use. New foundations, steel-mesh linings, and a ductile frame system provided earthquake strength, and original features such as the staircase and courtroom fittings were retained.

The restored building reopened in 1999 as modern office space, with Grasshopper Properties among its tenants. A History Room, gardens, and the restored clock reaffirmed its civic role. Mayor Noel Pope praised the project as a “marvellous” legacy for Tauranga.

Opening of the refurbished building 1999, Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 04-670

In 2001 the Smythe Family Trust purchased the building and used it for office space, including leases to iwi organisations. By 2018, new seismic requirements and commercial pressures prompted another transformation. Tauranga City Council approved a $4.9 million conversion into a boutique hotel and restaurant, with careful strengthening and refurbishment. Later that year the building reopened as Clarence Hotel, offering ten suites upstairs and hospitality venues below.

Today the old stone heavyweight that once stamped empire onto this landscape is dwarfed by modern buildings that seem largely agnostic to the history of our city, while down the hill two new structures emerge that, one hopes, will tell a better story.

Sources:

Newspaper Articles in a 1999 Special Edition

• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Tricky task, but it was worth it.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Clear guidelines helped restoration project.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “If these walls could speak, they’d say...thank you.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “First Government architect.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Original building much more than a post office.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Proud to be part of a project.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Top example of baroque style.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Marvellous says mayor.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Final postmaster started job in 1942.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Outside looks deceptive.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Last gasp of the Empire.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “A passion for old buildings.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Newspaper fund helped pay for new town clock.”
• BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Building extended after just 10 years.”

Other Sources

• Rorke, J. (1988). Draft and notes to article in the Historical Review – Bay of Plenty Journal of History, 36(2), 104–110.
• Tauranga Community Arts Council. (1990). Report.

Written by Harley Couper, Heritage Specialist at Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries

Changing Tauranga Part 5: 108 Devonport Road

Buildings which have been part of our cityscape for many years continue to disappear without fanfare. A prime example is 108 Devonport Road, an unremarkable structure without any architectural merit that most Tauranga residents are likely to have forgotten already.[i] Regardless, its departure in January-February of this year (2024) is worth noting and, at the eleventh hour, perhaps it has an interesting story or two left to tell?

108 Devonport Road in the process of being demolished, late January 2024
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

While 108 Devonport Road is listed in the 2008 Central Tauranga Heritage Study, frustratingly the document gives no further details. In the hopes of narrowing down the building’s age, I consulted G. Duncan’s CBD plan completed in April 1934 and immediately found a candidate – circled below.[ii] However, on closer inspection, these two shops with dwellings upstairs appear too far from the corner of Devonport Road and Elizabeth Street and too close to the Tauranga Club.[iii]

Plan of Tauranga CBD completed by G. Duncan, April 1934
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. tcl-map-21-002

A photograph taken of roadworks at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Devonport Road, published in the Bay of Plenty Times in November 1963, offers a glimpse of 108. At the time, the building was occupied by Camerons Appliances who, according to their sign, sold ‘Electrical’, ‘Prams’, ‘Toys’ and ‘TV’. A second image reveals that the property was auctioned by Dalgety Real Estate in 1969. The owner, Charles Cameron, was a qualified electrician operating in Tauranga in the early 1940s.[iv] On his return from the war, Charles established Camerons Appliances and in the early 1950s, as his business grew, the building was extended.[v]

Road works – Eastern corner Elizabeth Street & Devonport Road. Published BOPT 20 November 1963
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. gcc-5114

Premises to be auctioned by Dalgety Real Estate. Published BOPT 8 December 1969
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. gca-18838

Happily, this information narrows the building’s construction date to between April 1934 and 1946. A search of the Bay of Plenty Times was now manageable. Using the terms ‘Devonport Road’ and ‘Lot 244’ approximately two thousand results were generated in PapersPast.[vi] In June 1936 the subdivision of Lot 244, Section 1 was debated by Borough Councillors, the issue being what, if anything, should be built on the ‘nice corner section’.[vii] The owner of the section was Miss Ruby Norris - a member of the well-known Tauranga family who were in the land trade. In June 1938 Norris & Bell advertised they had a corner section in Devonport Road available for sale which was ‘ideal for shops or flats.’[viii] Sadly, having scrolled through the results, this was the only information possibly relating to 108 Devonport Road that I could find. Perhaps a future researcher will have better luck, or this blog will inspire a knowledgeable resident to come forward and share that hoped-for story.

Lot 244 (circled) was subdivided, and 106-108 Devonport Road is identified with a star
Image courtesy of the Tauranga Heritage Collection

References

---

[i] The address is 106-108 Devonport Road. For simplicity I will refer to it as 108 in this article.

[ii] Tauranga City Libraries Map 21-002. https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/58684?keywords=Duncan+plan

[iii] Currently the site of Devonport Towers – January 2024.

[iv] His war record states his enlistment address as Devonport Road, Tauranga. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/search?n=charles+cameron&plc=tauranga

[v] Bay of Plenty Times, 11 July 1946, p.5.

[vi] PapersPast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers

[vii] Bay of Plenty Times, 12 June 1936, p.3.

[viii] Bay of Plenty Times, 25 June 1938, p.2.

Changing Tauranga Part 4: Devonport Road Supermarket

Demolition of 176 Devonport Road underway January 2024
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

Another 20^th Century Tauranga CBD building met its end over the past few weeks (January 2024). Fortunately, thanks to a post on Tauranga History Online, memories of 176 Devonport Road have been shared, particularly about its time as a supermarket [i]:

“… it was a Shoprite Food Store, not Four Square (that was halfway up Devonport Rd). I got my first retail job at sixteen filling shelves and as a checkout operator.”

“I remember going there when it was a supermarket and my mum buying me a drink, and the bottle was in the shape of an astronaut. I thought it was so cool and always wanted to go back there.”

“It was a grocery wholesaler in one of its earlier reincarnations. I worked there in 1970. There was a small section at the front that sold damaged grocery items and the back was a warehouse. An order world come in from the smaller shops in Tauranga and The Mount and we would gather the items from the shelves and put them on a truck for delivery. I do remember the Christmas period was very busy and one time doing a lap of Bay Park Raceway to deliver to the kiosk there!”

“In the late 70s I used to call there with the Anchor cheese truck to sort an order for butter and cheese, I think it was Shop Right, there were three shops, that one, another on Cameron Road just past Chadwick Road and one near Banks Ave at The Mount.”

I have my own recollections of it as a supermarket, including walking on patinaed floorboards as mum filled her cane basket with groceries. There was a wide ramp and a loading bay at the back that always seemed a hive of activity. And, like the person who recalled going there with their mum, it was a treat if I got to tag along. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any photographs of the building as a supermarket, later when it was Scallywags Toy Shop, or even when it was the first Warehouse in Tauranga. At least we have our memories.

A 1950s aerial view of the CBD looking north
The Devonport Road, First Avenue and Second Avenue block is at the bottom of the image with the roof of 176 Devonport Road visible in the bottom left corner
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 03-226

References

---

[i] https://www.facebook.com/groups/Tauranga.history.online