Public Opinion in the Roaring Twenties: Letters to Editor 1920-1925

In total 887 ‘Letters to the Editor’ were submitted to William Gifford, the owner of The Bay of Plenty Times, between January 1920 and December 1925. By far the largest category was complaint-related and accounted for seventy-three percent of all letters written.

Over the five-year period the most frequent complaints were focused on the backward nature of the town. Many letter writers blamed terrible roads, poor leadership and the negative attitudes of residents. It was a battle between those who wished to spend money to improve the town’s infrastructure and facilities and those who saw nothing wrong with Tauranga and certainly didn’t want to spend their money paying for so called improvements.

Looking towards the disputed land at the bottom of Sixth Avenue, circa 1920s. Many years later it would become Memorial Park
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 99-795

There were numerous flash points, including whether to secure land on the foreshore to create a park at the bottom of Sixth Avenue and the construction of a bridge to Otumoetai. On the matter of the bridge, one disappointed land agent wrote: “I was astounded to see in your issue of the 29th instance that it had been decided to drop the bridge across the Waikareao, and this was strongly supported by several of the ratepayers that would have been considerably benefited. Every move has been tried by the ‘Death to Tauranga Crowd’ to stop this bridge and their tactics in forcing the cost of it up has no doubt done the trick.”

The bridge to Otumoetai was eventually opened in December 1959
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 04-434

Connected to these controversies was debate around rate collection and spending, which included factions both for and against Council borrowing. Few seemed to trust Council to spend money wisely and some even accused the Mayor and Councillors of incompetence, or worse, deliberately withholding information. This was particularly heated around borrowing to develop the town’s electricity supply. As one writer put it: “The Mayor is in the dark, Councillors are in the dark and the unfortunate ratepayers know less than nothing, their business apparently being to foot the bill. The Mayor is a happy individual if he imagines that thinking ratepayers will let vital matters go through in such a slipshod manner, without a protest.”

There were other issues which appeared again and again. Animal welfare and the town’s associated animal regulations caused considerable consternation in the early 1920s. Writing under the heading ‘A Nocturnal Menace’ one resident pleaded: “Will the Borough Council take steps to keep the streets clear of wandering horses at night? Some of these horses are evidently vicious. One that was browsing on the footpath of a street the other night lashed out at a pedestrian. Is this breaking of the borough regulations to continue until someone is killed or maimed?”

Letters that discussed sporting concerns were also common. One long thread debated the establishment of a Rugby League team in Tauranga with livid Rugby fans accusing League promoters of luring players away with promises of payment. In return League supporters claimed that Rugby officials threatened to ban those who switched codes.

Te Puna Rugby team, 1920. No doubt some of these players were tempted to switch codes
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 08-073

Finally, how the town looked was important to many. Town beautification was viewed as essential and often fell short of expectations. Litter was particularly bad especially on the town’s beaches: “Here again we find more rubbish, broken glass, old tins, crockery, to say nothing of an occasional dead cat.”  Trees were a constant bone of contention with most wanting to see more planted and existing ones better taken care of. However, this pro-tree attitude was not universal. For example, opinions for and against trees being planted along Cameron Road often appeared in the paper. As one ‘Camerodian’ put it, “I fail to see what Mr Murdoch has to boast of in leading the way in planting trees on a public thoroughfare after the ratepayers and residents had recorded their votes against the planting and decided that no planting should be done on the main street. I would point out that if all were allowed to plant trees at their own sweet will in front of their houses, what a nice hodge podge the streets would become.”

This article was originally part of a longer presentation given by Fiona Kean at a Tauranga Historical Society meeting earlier this year.

Gossip in the Street

Surprising discoveries are often made when circuitous research routes are taken. Recently I learned that the Bay of Plenty Times in its first year of publication had, not one, but two gossip columns!

The first column appeared in the third edition of the paper (11 September 1872) under the heading ‘In the Street.’ The author, writing under the pseudonym ‘Paxillus’ (a poisonous mushroom) established their credentials in the opening paragraph:

"Standing, as I frequently do, at the corner of streets and often in the vicinity of public-houses, there is seldom a discussion either upon matters of public interest or private scandal but what I hear. Having also some status in society, the weak-minded often come to me for support and assistance; and even their stronger brethren, when overcome by heat of argument or the closeness, perhaps of debating room, not infrequently favour me with their company, and demonstrate their opinions to whom all find a patient listener."

Captain Henry Lufkin Skeet N.Z.F., circa 1860
Image courtesy of Te Papa, Ref. O.013509

Published on a regular basis for just over a year, the author was outed in November 1873 as Captain Henry Lufkin Skeet. A summary of Skeet’s surveying career appears in Harold Jenks’ Forgotten Men: The Survey of Tauranga and District 1864-1869 published by the Tauranga Historical Society:

"In November 1866 he was gazetted captain in the Auckland Volunteer Engineers, a unit which he helped to raise, and in November of that year he was appointed surveyor-in-charge at Tauranga to expedite the survey of urban and rural land for military settlement … Skeet remained in charge of surveys until near the end of 1868, perhaps longer. He is recorded as having worked in the parish of Onewhero in mid-1870, but he returned to Tauranga and his name appears in association with community affairs and industry between July 1871 and November 1872." (p.67)

Whether Jenks’ definition of “community affairs” would include Skeet’s side hustle as a gossip columnist, is unclear. But how scandalmongering was it? Disappointingly from a social history perspective, the answer is, not very. Individuals and their failings are rarely mentioned, and never by name. In one column Skeet discusses an ‘old settler’ heading for the ‘lunatic asylum’, detailing the unfortunate circumstances around their decline (BOPT, 25 September 1872). However, Skeet’s intention was to elicit sympathy from readers rather than provide them with entertainment.
Overwhelmingly, Skeet uses the column to express his opinions and vent frustrations. These generally focus on local and national politics and the poor behaviour of fellow residents:

“Whilst the older inhabitants of Tauranga are taking steps from time to time to secure its advancement, it is a pity some effort could not be made to restrain the playful eccentricities of some of the juvenile population. Ropes stretched across a street, old kerosine tins, iron hoops and broken bottles placed in the middle of roads are not of any particular advantage to either foot passengers or horsemen … I trust if one of the delinquents be ever caught, a day or two in the redoubt, with a private whipping to dispel the monotony, might prove advantageous to himself and his associates.” (BOPT, 16 November 1872, p.3)

Taken from the Wharf Street Wharf (built 1870), facing toward The Strand. The Mission Institute (demolished 1874) is visible in the distance at the far right
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 16-011

In November 1873 Skeet left Tauranga to take up a government post in Taranaki. The editor of the Bay of Plenty Times wrote of his contribution to the paper:

“… Captain Skeet has been a constant contributor to our columns, and his various articles, under the title of ‘In the Street’ have afforded, no doubt, much interest to our readers, and at the same time frequently been instrumental in promoting local matters, whilst, by his careful avoidance of personalities, he has not at any time laid himself open to strictures.” (BOPT, 8 November 1873)

So perhaps Skeet wasn’t really a gossip columnist after all?