A very independent woman

Yatton Park from above, 2026.  Mansel Street is at extreme top-left corner.  The site of the original homestead, above the bend of the Waimapu Stream, is entirely covered by trees. Image: Google Maps

During the Victorian era, intrepid female explorers defied strict societal expectations of domesticity, travelling the globe for adventure, scientific discovery, and personal freedom. Mary Kingsley explored west African jungles and swamps, Isabella Bird the explorer and travel writer rode 800 miles over the Rocky Mountains, while the artist Marianne North ventured to all of the continents and her collection of botanical art is housed at Kew Gardens in London. Another woman, this one Irish-born, Lucy Mansel travelled to New Zealand prepared to break in the land and farm, accompanied by six of her nephews.

As well as her sense of adventure, the family background may also have led to a desire to leave England as her brother and later her sister did, for their father Robert Mansel, who was the Lieutenant Colonel of the 6^th Inneskilling Dragoons, was the first of several illegitimate children fathered by General Robert Manners and his common-law wife Mary Ann Goodchild. Mary was the daughter of a coachman so not of the same class as her partner. Manners never married and died aged 65 in 1823 in London but had lived at Bloxham Hall in Lincolnshire.

Lucy Mansel heard of George Vesey Stewart’s Katikati settlement in New Zealand from a friend and decided to take a big step and emigrate. She was unmarried and, on the Northumberland in 1884, brought with her six nephews: Charles, Herbert, William and Harold Mansel, sons of her brother Robert, and Clement and Robert Dowell, sons of her sister Mary Dowell [1].  She had been caring for Herbert since he was five years old. On arrival in New Zealand, she decided against settling in Katikati with the other Stewart people and instead bought an established farm on the outskirts of Tauranga. It was Yatton, the 320-acre property formerly owned by John Chadwick [2].

Miss Lucy Mansel (centre, holding a dog) and her young relatives, October 1899. Herbert sits in front.

Image: Te Ao Marama Tauranga City Libraries 09-003

Miss Mansel, as she was known in those more formal days, extended the existing house at Yatton to one with eight bedrooms and also built a large barn that was used for balls and other social occasions.  The domestic buildings were built on a high point overlooking the estuary. She was a very strong supporter of the Anglican Church, helping to fund-raise for the new church of St George’s at Gate Pa, and was the only woman on the building committee. She donated the font for the new church. Lucy made the Methodist Sunday School children welcome each year for their annual picnic at her farm after their short voyage up the estuary from Tauranga to the landing at Yatton.  The barn provided shelter if there was poor weather. 

 Miss Lucy Mantel and her boating party on the Waimapu, October 1889.

Image: Te Ao Marama Tauranga City Libraries Photo 09-004

Lucy Mansel was also a committee member of a group of Tauranga women who organised the gift of a photograph album for Mary, Duchess of Cornwall, later George V’s Queen, on the occasion of the Royal Visit in 1905.  It was an album of Tauranga and district photographs by Tauranga’s leading photographer Mary Humphries.

As well as having her nephews working on the farm, she also accommodated farm cadets from England as G.V. Stewart and some of his Katikati settlers did. She never married and left the farm to her nephew Herbert Benbow Mansel, the five-year-old whom she had brought up. It was this legacy to Herbert that prompted Lucy’s niece, Mary Constance Dowell, to contest the will that Lucy had signed in 1910.  Her claims of her aunt’s fading mental facilities and encroaching blindness were disputed by George Maltby, lawyer; Reverend Eric Rice, vicar; Dr Budenell her doctor; Walter Baigent, accountant; and nephew Herbert Mansel.  In light of the information from these men Mary Constance withdrew her objection to the granting of probate.

It is from Herbert’s submission that the family stories are revealed. Robert Mansel and his wife, parents of Herbert and his brothers, retired from the Royal Navy where his rank was Commander, to farm in Africa where he died in 1872. When he married in Tauranga, Herbert built another house on Yatton for his future family, adjacent to Lucy’s. His parents had taken four of his siblings to Africa. Herbert was 17 when he arrived in Tauranga and totally dependent on his aunt. During her lifetime Lucy gave Herbert part of Yatton in trust for his children and helped him financially, including help with the education of his children. Lucy also told him she would leave him the remainder of the Yatton estate. By 1914 she had sold any remaining property in England and brought the money to New Zealand. Lucy’s eyesight did get worse but she lived until 1916. She died in Auckland and is buried in Tauranga’s Anglican cemetery [3].

Subdivisional map of Yatton, May 1919.  Image: Te Ao Marama Tauranga City Libraries Map 20-230

Lucy’s sister Mary Mansel married George Dare Dowell of the Royal Marines.  He won the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War. It was his sons who had travelled to Tauranga in 1884 with their Aunt Lucy. Following Dowell’s retirement, the couple moved to New Zealand until his death in August 1910. His wife died 6 weeks later.

Family military tradition emerged again when the First World War broke out and three sons of Robert Charles Mansel and his wife Beatrix enlisted.  George Victor and Robert Charles Mansel returned home after the war but Herbert Pengelly Mansel died in Palestine from malaria.  Although he is buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery [4], his memorial can be found in St George’s Church, Gate Pa.

Both images: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections.  
At right: AWNS-19160727-45-25; at left, photo by Janes Bruce Ringer, 3003-2914

References

[1] Rorke, Jinty, entry in Dictionary of NZ Biography 1993: Lucy Mansel

[2] Bay of Plenty Times, 4 April 1941: see Papers Past, National Library. Viewed 16/05/2026.

[3] Will of Lucy Mansel, Archives NZ. Auckland Probates IE48341583. Viewed 17/05/2026.

[4] Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database.

 

Hayman’s Hall and Tauranga Jazz

Ken Hayman, c. 1990

Beverly Brasting met her husband-to-be Ken Hayman at Hayman’s Hall when she went there on Anzac Day 1950 to audition as pianist for his band. “It was a large bare open space, but it was a dance hall after all” she reminisced during a recent interview.

She was already the only girl in the seven-member ensemble at college, and her father was so pleased that finally she was able to use her talents after all the lessons he had paid for. However, many years later she heard her husband say to a friend that she actually was the only applicant for the vacant position in the dance band.

Bev and Ken Hayman

The Saturday night dances always finished by midnight and she had to be home by 1 am, or else. After patrons had left, there was cleaning up and meticulous sweeping to be done in preparation for the dance lessons held there during the week.

Hayman’s Hall had been built by Ken’s father Charles. Ken and his talented friend Morrin Cooper played in the Tauranga Municipal Band but were asked to leave by the conductor because they warmed up their trumpets with snatches of popular jazz. George Mockler was an employee of the Tauranga Borough Council, in charge of the Strand gardens, and he often persuaded the band members to help hand weed the floral ship/botanical boat there, a very time-consuming task.

L to R: Alistair Clark, Cyril (Cy) Grigg, Ken Hayman and Tom Morris (Mibs)

Typical of musicians, Ken soon formed his own band and the Hayman’s living room at 21 St John Street became their practice room. When Dad Charles asked when he was likely to get it back for the family, some bright spark suggested they pool resources to create a purpose-built venue for the band members’ talents. The site chosen was right opposite the high school on Cameron Rd between 13th and 14th Ave. Ken, his life-long friend Alistair Clark and Charles were all builders and another band player Keith Bracey was able to supply the concrete blocks. This was in post-war building material shortages.

Hayman’s Hall
Image courtesy of the Rendell family, Tauranga Heritage Collection Ref. 27957

The door to the left (photo above) was a cloakroom, while the main hall was accessed from the entrance to the right, but there was an internal connecting door. Supper was served every dance night after the “supper waltz”. A sought after move for the guys was to ask one of the young girls to join him for the supper. Bev recalled, “I can still see the white saucers set out by Mr and Mrs Graham with one savoury and one sweet cake on each.”

The dance floor was “absolutely the best” and had so much use that it had to be replaced in later years. The writer’s mother went to many a dance there and her sister-in-law to the ballet classes with local teacher Undine Clarke. (see previous article)

A quick search on Papers Past gave 502 entries for the phrase “Hayman’s Hall” and scrolling through these gives a much fuller idea of how valuable this venue became during the 1940s, when public amenities of its size were not so prevalent.

Children's Fancy Dress Party, Hayman's Hall, c. 1961
Courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Gifford-Cross/NZME Collection, Pae Korokī Ref. gca-1608

It was used by several bands and orchestras, the Scottish Society for their monthly Inglesides, two Lodges, an Evangelical church, as a meeting hall for local political candidates, a polling booth, display area for several horticultural/flower societies, Young Farmers Club, St John’s training, CWI, Fruit Federation, Pro-Rex Club, Acclimatisation Society, and many sports organisations’ social events, even as the venue for a baby competition and the nurses’ ball.

In addition, it was regularly used to teach different types of dancing, including ballet, tap and national. It became the first introduction place for many a young couple and the reception venue for many local weddings.

Beverly and Ken married in 1955, he built them a home in Greerton, and by 1963 their family consisted of four girls under five, so days were very busy. One of their later homes was in 17th Avenue, so as to be close enough to look after the hall.

L to R: Jim McShane (bass), Tom “Mibs” Morris (drums), Ken Hayman (trumpet), Russell Stevens (trombone), Warren Stevens (clarinet) and Jack Cricket (piano)

Another “muso” Ken White knew a fellow countryman who had conducted a big band in England — Stan Farnsworth — and so in due course the Tauranga Swing Band was formed. When the film “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” was due to open at the Regent Picture Theatre, the manager Pat McBrearty asked them to perform on stage during the movie. After seeing it for themselves, there was much discussion amongst the musicians, including Dave Hall and Dave Proud. They could not see why, since we had the sunny weather, the sea, yachting, the band and a hall in which to have the inaugural get together, that a jazz festival (see previous article) could not be held here. A luncheon was supplied by the wives and girlfriends, the locals kindly lent some flat-bed trucks, so that all the musos were seated on the trays and played all the way into town via Cameron Road. That night was the first Jazz Concert at the 20,000 Club Soundshell in Memorial Park.

The Silencers at Hayman's Hall (publ. 27 April 1967)
Courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Gifford-Cross/NZME Collection, Pae Korokī Ref. gca-15704

Sometime in the early 1960s, Hayman’s Hall was in need of minor repairs and Charles was getting on in years, so the building became the property and temporary premises of local second-hand dealer Don Maclean. The building was demolished in the early 1970s and Hillsdene Wines now occupies part of the site.

Sources and Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the Hayman family especially Bev for information and images. I hope this article fills in some gaps and does justice to the memory of your husband and father Ken.

Thanks to Fiona Kean, co-author of “Rendells Tauranga” where I found the image of Haymans Hall, and to the Rendell family for permission to use it.

Papers Past Bay of Plenty Times 1942 -1947

Art Deco on Edgecumbe Road: Dorothy Willis, an Enterprising Woman

George H.A. Wills
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Library, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-563

While Mr George Wills and his wife Mary were living in Pendarves Street, New Plymouth they had their only child Dorothy Mary on 27 February 1911. George taught at the New Plymouth Boys’ High School at the time. The family moved to Tauranga and he taught at the District High School, then at Greerton Primary School.  George Wills became Head Teacher there from 1921 to 1944. [i]

The first show of enterprise by the seven-year-old Dorothy Wills, later to become a successful architect, was a fundraising effort with her friend Barbara Griffiths in aid of the Patriotic Fund in 1918. The two little girls put on a concert for their mother’s Bridge Club. [ii] During her school days she performed in plays and concerts, encouraged by her father who was himself active in amateur theatre in Tauranga.

Dorothy Willis, from The Free Lance, 30 Mar 1949

Dorothy was educated locally at Tauranga District High School where she successfully obtained the Junior and Senior National Scholarships. After two years at Epsom Girls Grammar School in Auckland she received a bursary, yet was still too young to enrol as a university student.

House at Edgecumbe Road, Tauranga designed by Dorothy for her father George Wills, c. 1936
Photograph by Shirley Arabin, 2023

After a year at home in Tauranga, Dorothy Wills was at last permitted to enrol in the degree of Bachelor of Architecture in 1929, and by 1933 had graduated and taken a position with Mr H L D West, a Tauranga architect. [iii] She was the second woman to graduate with this degree in New Zealand. Her thesis dealt with a modern private hospital of 120 beds. The degree also carried with it the Associate Membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects, [iv] and she became the second woman to register with that professional body.

It was during this period she designed an Art Deco-style house in Edgecumbe Road for her father. It is believed that the house has to date only had three owners, the second being the Mountfort family. Dorothy later worked for the Health Department on hospital projects. [v] In 1936 she left New Zealand to work in Britain, remaining there until 1949. [vi]

Dorothy Wills presented at court
Image from DigitalNZ

Dorothy led a busy social life in London, including being presented at Court in 1937. During the Second World War she worked for the War Office. She evaluated stately homes to assess their suitability to house scientists and other government employees, as they were generally stationed in the country, away from the dangers of the blitz. She also assessed bomb-damaged buildings for the Ministry of Works. She returned to New Zealand in 1949 to care for her aging father. [vii]
 
She moved to the Head Office of the Public Works Department in Wellington. While seconded to the Health Department, she helped Lady Freyberg, wife of the Governor General, to prepare Government House for the proposed visit of King George VI. They started a countrywide project to embroider thirty-eight tapestries of coats of arms of towns for the dining chairs to be used during the event at Government House.

Dorothy Wills married James (Jerry) Coulthard in 1957 and, promoted to Senior Architect, continued to work for the Public Works Department until 1969, after which she moved with her husband to Marlborough. In 1990 she was invited with the architect Michael Fowler to work on the restoration of Saint Mary’s Church, Blenheim. She died in 2007 and bequeathed a large sum to purchase public works of art for Marlborough. [viii]

References

[i] Kennedy, W J. (compiler) Greerton School Centennial Jubilee; souvenir history 1876 -1976.
[ii] Bay of Plenty Times, 23 Apr 1918
[iii] BOPT, 22 Oct 1933
[iv] BOPT, 13 Oct 1934
[v] Cox, Elizabeth (editor) Making Space; a history of New Zealand women in Architecture, 2022, p.50
[vi] Cox, p.60
[vii] Cox, p.103
[viii] Cox, p.104

Henderson Brothers Sawmill, Upper Kaimai (1936-1957) Part Two

 By John and Julie Green

Early single man’s hut

The Henderson Brothers sawmill and village were built in 1936 on what is now known as the Old Kaimai Road. The construction was under the leadership of Harry Christian who lived in the lower Kaimai. One of the first residents was a Finnish national, Eino Kinnunnen (known as Charlie Anderson), who was invited there to help establish and run the operation.  He had a family but left them back in Gisborne and lived in a single man’s hut across from the mill.

Typical mill house

They were promised the first completed house, but after six months they could wait no longer to be a family unit. They came north and the five of them squeezed into the tiny accommodation. Charlie Anderson was a fitter and blacksmith, and had skills as a farrier. He was also responsible for the repair of the second-hand four-sided planer that was purchased from Auckland, and for its operation during his time there.

Cookhouse under construction

Eventually there were half a dozen “huts” and 14 excellent two-bedroom homes for families plus a cookhouse and office. Elsie, wife of Fred Henderson, ran the store and postal agency for the first couple of years, followed by Alf’s wife Laura. Locals thought that school teacher Alan Simcock coped remarkably well with the sudden increase in his roll from 24 to 35.

Fred Henderson

As time went by, a tennis club was formed, using the court at the school. Just prior to the war a meeting was held by locals and a commitment made to build community hall. Timber was donated by the company, hardware by the farmers and labour by the mill staff. It was the centre of the community’s social life including fortnightly dance, with an excellent dance floor made from specially selected matai timber.

Esme Henderson on the “skids”

One of Charlie’s sons wrote an extensive memoir of their time there for a “bush” reunion held in 1988, portraying an idyllic life of playing in the bush and the stream that ran nearby. It was not without tragedy though as their beloved dog was killed by one of the bush trams, and they took many a risk around the water. Fred’s daughter Esme, now 96, was there for two years as a ten- and eleven-year-old. She felt she was extremely well educated at the school, and when they moved to Matamata she was way ahead of her new school mates. She speaks very fondly of her time “up the Kaimai.”

Two single men’s huts (note concrete chimneys and timber stack)

Jean Cole (daughter of Roy and Dorothy Henderson, who were in residence for about nine years) remembers:

“Life at Kaimai was happy and carefree. There was a block of bush behind the mill houses, bordered by the new through road, which was our playground. We were free to roam between meals - the sound of a whistle being blown was the signal for the Simcock children to go home, and for the Roy Henderson family it was a cowbell. There was always someone to remind us that they could hear the cowbell and Mum wanted us home. When we heard we were to move to Tauranga there were many tears from the children, but our mother was very happy as she had struggled for years to dry the many nappies on the clothesline … blown about dreadfully and often rained on. Life by the beach in Tauranga was far easier for her.”

The village across the road from Henderson’s Mill

After the mill ceased operation in 1957, some of the homes were removed to Greerton and refurbished. The community hall was moved twice, eventually finding a new home at the Lower Kaimai School, where it is still in use. Only one house remains near the old mill site. The Henderson’s Tramline walking track nearby is nowadays managed by the Department of Conservation.

Sources

Memories of the time we lived at Upper Kaimai, 1936-1945, by Eddy Anderson
Henderson Mill, a Landmark, by Ron Lipinski, Bay of Plenty Times, 25/10/2006
Sawmilling Days in the King Country and Kaimai Range from 1933-1945, by Dorothy Henderson
Recollections of the Henderson Timber Company’s Mill, by Dorothy Henderson
More Recollections of Mill Operations, by Bob Henderson (appeared in a 1988 booklet, Kaimai Revisited - 75th Jubilee of the Kaimai School)
The Era of the Bush Tram in New Zealand, by Paul Mahoney, Transpress, 2004
Personal recollections of Jean Cole (daughter of Roy Henderson) and Esme Crawford (daughter of Fred Henderson)
Help with initial images Bill Coster, long time Kaimai Resident
Images courtesy of the Cole family
All images provided by Jean Cole and Esme MacDonald

Patrick Freeburn Keenan and His Family - Book Review

Patrick Freeburn Keenan and His Family by Patricia Brooks
Edited by Sophie Levestam, Design by Donella Jones
ISBN 978-0-473-45792-1, Kale Print, Tauranga
Softcover, 84 pages

Review by Lee Switzer

The author is clear. The book is about her grandfather, whose biography is only printed here in great detail because so many family members from the past collected stories, newspaper reports and photos.

The book is filled with family photos and multiple quotes from original letters describing family members and their activities. Patrick Freeburn Keenan (1872-1955) is the grandfather of author Patricia Brooks. She is named after him, and like Patrick, nicknamed ‘Paddy.’

The book is generally well referenced. However, no source is given for this statement: “By 1915 Tauranga was the first town in the world to have electric street lights and an all-electric home.” p41.

Keenan Road, Freeburn Rd and Molloy Rise are named after families who lived in the area off  Pyes Pa Rd.

The organisational layout of the book must have been a mind swirling jigsaw of placing families, individuals and events into a coherent whole. In large part, the author has succeeded well in providing lineages backward and forward within the contexts of distant relatives, their 1800s activities in Ireland, and voyages to Australia and New Zealand.

As expected, New Zealand history is an integral part of the family history. Patrick Keenan was born to Francis and Sarah Keenan in Greenstone, New Zealand, a town  across the river from Kumara, midway between Greymouth and Hokitika.

After working in several different gold dredging operations and marrying Mary Jane Walsh  (1872-1944) in 1904, Greymouth, they moved to North Island towns. The couple and 4 childrern; Thomas, Ellen Sarah (Nell), Pat, and Alice eventually landed, fully, and finally in Tauranga, 1918. With farms in Pyes Pa, various other family members worked the land, took children to school first in Greerton and later to other schools.

The authors’ parents, Ellen Sarah Keenan (1910-1970) and Brian Patrick Molloy (1911-1979) were married in 1936. Six siblings arrived from this union: Mary Elizabeth, Margaret Winifred  Patricia Alice, Marc, Terence Michael (currently a Tauranga City Councillor) and John Joseph.

Patricia Keenan married Norman Brooks in 1961. Brooks provides details about living on the farm, Greerton School history and other aspects of Grandfather and Grandmother Keenan and Mother Molloy’s life with animals, town and country organisations, friendships, kinships.

There are many anecdotes in the book and several little-mentioned events in New Zealand history such as the Battle of Addisons Flat, 1868 one of the first riots on the West Coast, and the “Douglas Movement” referring to the Douglas Credit Party in the 1930s.

The book is loaded with individual facts, dates of birth and death, often burial locations. On a final note, near the end of the biography there is an unsuspected puzzle piece with twists to finding relatives. It has to do with DNA, a photograph, an unwed mother who gave her twins up for adoption, and who would not tell the adult women who their father was. The answer is in the book. (Hint: their new brother was very happy to discover his sisters.)

Closing the Keenan saga are numerous pages with diagrammed genealogical branches.

Book Review: Greerton Township and Surrounding Farms, by Robert Craig Scott

Greerton Township and Surrounding Farms: Early Settlement on Confiscated Land
Written and published by Robert Craig Scott, 303p, 2017
Reviewed by Lee Switzer

Greerton Township and Surrounding Farms is thoroughly researched, despite lapses, covering a huge number of families and individuals in the district. Numerous streets are named after local farm owners who nurtured the land. Other land owners developed businesses in Tauranga and elsewhere. This is not just a list of names, however. Scott provides genealogical backgrounds of residents. They came from other parts of New Zealand, Australia, the Greater Empire and other countries.

Scott makes great use of land survey and lot maps highlighting various sections in multiple colours with good explanatory text. As expected, families were involved in businesses throughout the region, not just Greerton.

There is a Table of Contents, an index but no dedication, acknowledgements or bibliography. Photos generally are not attributed to any source. There is very little information about the village’s namesake: Col Greer who fought in the NZ Wars. And on whose property Maori signed documents accepting the Crown’s dominance. Greer had one of the two Pakehas, who spoke te reo Maori, jailed because he was not collaborating with the Government’s line of seizure and bequest (Stokes, Evelyn, 1980, A History of Tauranga County, p80.)

Scott uses NZ Government online data for some of his research. He notes errors in the site when dates are listed. He too makes errors with dates and misspells names from time to time. Sentence structure is a little awkward in places.

On page 138 is a photo of a headstone, again not attributed, with the appellation Peter Allan Grant. Beneath the name is Patrick Allan Bannerman on the headstone.  Scott says "I am not sure what the significance of Patrick Allan Bannerman is."  A quick internet search established that Mr Grant's full name was Peter Patrick Allan Bannerman Grant. It is his baptism name. References can be found on the Tauranga Memories page and a genealogy web page.

Of the Kerr family, John Andrew Bathurst Kerr, member of the Camel Corps died in battle 19 April 1917. Scott says the forces "lost 6,444 men in battle." The figure may have come from this wiki summary, "509 killed, 4,359 wounded, 1534 missing."

It is apparent Scott spent a huge amount of time and diligence writing the many short bios of numerous people who often began their lives in England, Scotland or elsewhere. Some who joined the 1st Waikato Militia in Australia were shipped to NZ with the promise of land when the NZ Wars ended. Greerton being part of the lands given after hostilities ended.

Greerton Township and Surrounding Farms is a comprehensive, very useful addition to the expanding shelf of local history monographs.