Blame it on the demon drink

A crazy night of lighting fires that led to three years in gaol for George Victor Clark did not discourage Ethel Appleton from marrying him in 1927 [1]. He was the son of Elizabeth and John Angus Clark, a mining agent, of Tauranga. His father died when the boy was fourteen and George became a cabinetmaker, then joined the Wellington Infantry Regiment in 1917 where he became a machine gunner.

Wall of Le Quesnoy, scaled by NZ soldiers in October 1918.
Photo: Barry Arabin, private collection; 2003.

George Clark served in the battle to liberate the French citizens in the town of Le Quesnoy, one of the last engagements by New Zealanders in World War One [2]. The German army occupied Le Quesnoy but the town could not be attacked by artillery as there were so many French civilians living there.  It is a walled town in a star-shaped fortress, one of many that Vauban, Louis XIV of France’s military engineer, had designed and built throughout France over 250 years before the Great War. This stalemate meant that Lieutenant Averell led his New Zealand troops up a ladder and over the town wall to liberate Le Quesnoy.

By 1919 George was back cabinetmaking in Tauranga and living with his mother in Edgecumbe Street.  His brother Harold also lived at the same address. 

Towards the end of November 1922, after a day of drinking in hotels in Tauranga, George Victor Clark lit a fire in Tanner Brothers’ Butchery, that was put out by a passing man before the fire brigade arrived. His second fire was lit in Peter Munro’s premises. He then lit some rubbish at the Opera House and also at Whittaker’s, a café. He gathered up some flammable materials and set a fire under the floor of A E Hammond’s timber yard in Willow Street. This fire was extinguished by the Fire Brigade.

A E Hammond's timber yard, Tauranga 1900s. 

Image: Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 99-1140

Constable Skinner arrested Clark who duly appeared before the Magistrates’ Court on a charge of arson, from where he was remanded to the Supreme Court. He wished to make a clean breast of his offences and make a fresh start.  His explanation was that he had been to the pictures then went to his workshop from where he took a box of paper and rubbish, but did not know why. No one had offered him an inducement and the liquor had affected his head: he had been drinking beer in the Tauranga, the Masonic and the Commercial Hotels all afternoon. Witnesses claimed that he was in a dazed condition watching the fires. The Supreme Court sentenced him to three years reformative detention [3].

Fire engine outside Tauranga Fire Station, Durham Street, c. 1927

Image: Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 99-738

This sentence had been established by the Crimes Amendment Act 1910 and was used heavily through the 1920s. Judges could sentence offenders to indeterminate periods of detention for up to 10 years, rather than a fixed term of punitive hard labour. The aim was rehabilitation and individualised treatment of each prisoner [4].

Although many returned servicemen suffered poor mental health on return home due to injury or illness during the War, no witness at Clark’s trial offered this explanation for his misbehaviour. Shell shock or, as we know it now, PTSD, was not always apparent. Clark had a home and work to return to, in contrast to some of the men who found settling down difficult after such a frightening and disturbing period of their lives. There had been a strong support of temperance at the time of the War. Drinking was seen as the driver of poverty, crime and ill health. At the liquor referendum of 1919 it was expected that prohibition would win but the vote of the returning soldiers for continuance saved the status quo.  However, a decision concerning Clark’s behaviour on that critical November day cannot assume any of these factors to be its cause.

A Half-Century of Progress in Fire Fighting:
Interesting Pictures from Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, North Island [5]
Image: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19280621-44-01

Upon release George Clark returned to his trade as a cabinetmaker, and married, and had four children. Newspapers of the day and the Police Gazette have not recorded any further crimes.  The family had moved to Auckland by 1943 where he worked as a carpenter, and later a caretaker.  He died in 1961.

References

[1] Marriage index, Births, Deaths, Marriages & Citizenship, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

[2] Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database.

[3] Bay of Plenty Times, 21 November 1922.

[4] McLintock, A. H., 1966: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, Early Reforms https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/penal-system/page-2  (accessed 30 July 2026)

[5] Supplement, Auckland Weekly News, 21 June 1928. The full text of the caption reads ”The photographs show the members and equipment of the volunteer fire brigade fifty years ago and at the present time. In the old picture the Captain is Mr D. Asher, who was a member of the Auckland Fire Brigade prior to this. The old engine was used in Auckland before being shipped to Tauranga. It was sent to the scrap heap at Whakatane quite recently.  – R. J. Rendell”

“For the Fallen”

At the end of the war some New Zealand soldiers returned home with brides
Image: Auckland Weekly News, 27 March 1919. Tauranga Museum Collection

As Armistice Day approaches the men and women who served in the First World War are on my mind.  More than five hundred Tauranga men, Māori and Pakeha, enlisted - a staggering number considering the town’s population was just over three thousand souls. Of those local men who served, one hundred and ten would lose their lives.

Forty-two Tauranga soldiers died in 1918, more than twice the number of any other year of the war. While the influenza pandemic had a significant bearing on this figure, the German Spring Offensive and the Allies ‘Advance to Victory’ were devastating factors. New Zealand troops participated in several major offensives including the Battles of Second Marne and Bapaume and the liberation of Le Quesnoy.

New Zealand troops’ last major action of the First World War was the capture of Le Quesnoy, a week before the armistice
Image: George Edmund Butler, ‘The scaling of the walls of Le Quesnoy’. Wikimedia Commons

Every soldier’s death is tragic regardless of when and how they died. However, like many, I have a personal reason for feeling a great sadness about those who during those final few months, so close to the end, lost their lives in battle. My Great-Uncle, Charles Raymond Carter, survived four years of war, including Gallipoli, only to be killed on 18 September 1918 aged 23. Here are a few of our town’s young soldiers who died so close to Armistice.

Lest We Forget

Thomas Lochead  (1890-1918)

William Lochead (1895-1918)

Lance Corporal Thomas Lochhead was killed in action in France on 26 August 1918, aged 27. As part of the 2^nd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, he died at the Second Battle of Bapaume, one of the first engagements of the Hundred Days Offensive. Prior to enlistment Thomas was an active member of the community belonging to several Tauranga clubs. Originally from Canterbury, Thomas farmed in Te Puna with his father and brothers. His younger brother William died of wounds in Palestine in May 1918.

John Salt (1899-1918)

Lance Corporal John Salt was killed in action in France on 12 September 1918, aged 19. As a member of the 1^st Battalion of the 3^rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade, he died at the Battle of Havrincourt, the first time the German frontline was pierced. Born in Tauranga to Joseph and Sarah, John was a labourer for the New Zealand Railways prior to enlisting on the 7 March 1916. The Army was either unaware or turned a blind eye to John being just 17.

Thomas Bullick (1882-1918)

Lance Corporal Thomas Bullick was killed in action in France on 29 September 1918, aged 36. His Battalion, which was part of the Wellington Infantry Regiment, took part in the breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line – the main German defence system. Prior to enlisting Thomas worked as an electrician for the Tauranga Borough Council, which was at the forefront of the burgeoning electrical industry. Born in Canterbury, Thomas had strong family connections to Hastings and his name appears on the Hastings Cenotaph in Civic Square.

Charles Lilley (1896-1918)

John Ellison (1881-1918)

Lance Corporal Charles Lilley was killed in action in France on 1 October 1918, aged 21. Part of the 1^st Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment, he was killed on the final day of the Battle of Canal du Nord. He died two years to the day of enlistment. Charles had lived with his parents, Walter and Jane, at Omanawa Falls and worked as a Mill Hand for Tauranga Sawmilling Company. His death was the second tragedy for the Lilley family, who in March received the news that their daughter’s husband, John Ellison, had been killed in action. John and Florence were married three weeks before he embarked.

SS Ngapuhi

SS Ngapuhi berthing at wharf, Tauranga, c. 1920
Real photo postcard, photographed by Henry Winkelmann, published as ‘Tourist Series. 1000’
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-517

The people of Tauranga were delighted to hear that the Northern Steamship Company’s steamer SS Ngapuhi would be replacing the Aupouri on the Tauranga-Auckland service. Even more pleasing was the fact that Captain Haultain would be in command. A letter to the Bay of Plenty Times on 1 July 1912 asked the Northern Steamship Company to accede to the travelling public’s wish that Captain Haultain be appointed. The letter goes on to say that he is a careful and experienced navigator and practically knows every inch of the ocean between Tauranga and Auckland. More importantly he is always considerate to the public, who have complete confidence in him.

Before starting her service, the Town Wharf needed to be extended by about 40 feet so she would be able to work both her hatches simultaneously, as only working one hatch would mean more expense and loss of time. Since a Harbour Board had not yet been formed the cost would be the Council’s responsibility.

SS Ngapuhi (left) and Faulkner’s ferry Ruru (right) at Tauranga Wharf, c. 1920s
Black-and-white print by unidentified photographer
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-515

At 7:00 am on October 12 1912 the Ngapuhi arrived in Tauranga on her maiden trip for the Tauranga-Auckland run.

Her length is 190 feet, beam 30 feet, depth of hold 13 feet and her registered tonnage 691. She has excellent passenger accommodation with thirteen two berth and three four berth cabins. Extra berths can be made up in the saloon, social hall and smoking room. The ladies cabin is an airy, well situated apartment and has berths for fourteen so that all passengers can be accommodated in the first class. There are two bathrooms with hot and cold water. She generally travels at about 12 knots per hour but her 1200 h.p engines are capable of 16 knots if needed. The steerage has comfortable quarters for thirty passengers and there is a separate apartment for 10 ladies. Overall she has a deserved reputation for speed, comfort and sea going qualities, especially in bad weather.

During the morning notable members of the public visited the ship and she left that evening with about forty passengers aboard. Several hundred people assembled on the wharf to watch her departure and cheer her on her way.

SS Ngapuhi at Tauranga Wharf, c. 1910s
 Real photo postcard, unidentified photographer, published by Frank Duncan & Co. as ‘Tourist Series. 266’
Collection of Justine Neal

The Ngapuhi transported livestock as well as passengers and on 22 January 1916 the Close Brothers of Te Puna shipped twenty three light artillery and remount horses to Auckland. The horses had all been bred in the Bay of Plenty and had been purchased by the Defence Department.

From the Bay of Plenty Times 25 July 1917:

“The nearer to tragedy the greater the comedy” was exemplified on the Wharf last evening as the Ngapuhi was leaving. A young lady rushed on board as the gangway was being lowered, but her companion just missed. He hesitated to throw a “considerable” dress basket aboard, but the distress plainly to be seen on the young lady’s face was too much for a gallant who stood nearby. He pounced on the offending luggage and with a mighty heave landed it on the ship’s rail, where it was secured. The assembled and admiring crowd watched with breathless silence and as it saw the basket secured, turned its eyes on the “sport,” who b this time was balancing in mid-air. He had lost his balance and with arms waving plunged headlong into the harbour. A splash, a short silence, then a shout from the dark waters announced his reappearance. A rope and a little exertion landed him on the Wharf, where he was promptly offered a match, for he still held in his teeth the pipe he had been smoking before immersion.

In March 1929 the Ngapuhi’s timetable was, “Leave Tauranga Tuesday and Friday 7.00pm. Leave Auckland Monday and Thursday 6.30pm. Single fare 17/6   Return 32/6.”

The SS Ngapuhi served Tauranga faithfully for 17 years and on Wednesday 3 April 1929 she made her final trip in the Auckland-Tauranga service. A large crowd gathered on the wharf to bid the ship farewell. As the moorings were cast off at 7.00pm a cheer went up from the crowd which was returned by the crew and passengers. Several blasts of the ship’s whistle were blown as the Ngapuhi pulled away on her last trip much to the regret of the public.

References

Papers Past, Bay of Plenty Times

'Poor Tauranga'

Horace Annesley Vachell
The New York Public Library Digital Collections, Ref. 5154783

I’m probably showing my literary ignorance, but I doubt many Tauranga residents have heard of 20th century English writer Horace A. Vachell. However, it appears that he had heard of us when he wrote his short story 'Civility Pays' and had it published in the August 1930 edition of Windsor Magazine. And while Tauranga receiving a mention in an overseas magazine hardly seems noteworthy, the reaction to it in New Zealand certainly was.

Miss Inez Isabel Maud Cluett née Peacocke
Courtesy of Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

No doubt Varchell’s story would have gone without notice if it wasn’t for the New Zealand author and journalist Isabel M. Cluett (née Peacocke). Cluett’s article, ‘Through English Eyes’, which first appeared in Auckland Star in October 1930, expressed consternation at the negative portrayal of a New Zealander. She writes:

“Only recently I read a story by a well-known English author, Horace A. Vachell, in which he represents a New Zealander in London as dressed in "rough tweeds, red tie, white spats with brown boots, billycock hat jammed on the back of his head, and hands like a leg of mutton," the very image, as I conceive it, of some "flashy" racecourse tout at Epsom, but without the slightest resemblance to any New Zealander of my acquaintance. The author makes this worthy, who is "doing" England—which he fatuously refers to as "My England"—force his way into an exclusive London club, assault an elderly gentleman and the silver-haired hall porter, both of whom he knocks down by "well-directed" kicks and generally maltreats, and all because he does not agree with an article on food, which he believes the elderly gentleman to have written—mistakenly, by the way. This bounder and "bruiser" comes from Tauranga, New Zealand! Poor Tauranga, with its rather exclusive and conservative population, many of them, by the way, retired English people; what has it done to be singled out by this author as the hometown of his barbarous creation?”[i]

Cluett’s patriotic response to the ignorance of the English towards New Zealanders who, in her opinion, had earned a place in the Commonwealth following the sacrifices of the Great War, was picked up by newspapers throughout the country. The phrase ‘Poor Tauranga’ was repeated multiple times, including in the Evening Post – our plight having reached the capital! “The well-known author Mr Horace A. Vachell has displayed lamentable ignorance of New Zealand and New Zealanders in a story called 'Civility Pays.' His portrait of a New Zealander is such a gross caricature that it has moved Miss I. M. Cluett to pillory him.”

“Average Tauranga men?” – Group of unidentified young men, possibly surfers, Tauranga, c. 1940s
Vernacular photograph by unidentified photographer
Collection of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī, Ref. 09-153

And what did our very own Bay of Plenty Times make of ‘Poor Tauranga’ and the picture painted of our character? Beyond reprinting Cluett’s defence of the town it would seem we were prepared to rise above it or simply had nothing else to say.

Reference

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[i] Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 241, 11 October 1930.