Historical Society member receives New Year Honour

Heather at the repaired grave of WW1 soldier Robert Cooper, for which she was responsible as part of her work with WW100 Tauranga committee. Photo supplied by Fiona Kean.

Respected genealogist and Tauranga Historical Society member Heather McLean, has received a Queen’s Service Medal for her services to genealogy and historical research in the 2019 New Year Honours. In October 2018 Heather was the recipient of Tauranga Heritage Award.

Interviewed by the Bay of Plenty Times, Heather said that the QSM came as a “wonderful” surprise and that “Genealogy is a bit like a rash … It’s like an allergy. You start, and that’s it, you keep going.”

 “Heather … was born in Tauranga in 1937 and has lived here most of her life. She is an expert genealogist and researcher, with 46 years experience of collecting useful data and delving into family history. Heather is well known for using her super-sleuth research skills to help others in their quest for genealogical knowledge.” Western Bay Women: Celebrating 125 Years of Women’s Suffrage

White Crosses on the Waterfront

The first of one hundred and nine white crosses were installed on Tauranga's waterfront this morning. The crosses are being progressively installed between October 17 and November 8, each new group representing a month of the four-year war and the soldiers from Tauranga who died during that time. The public is invited to join cadets from the Western Bay of Plenty Cadet Unit in bringing the crosses out at dawn. On November 11, Armistice Day, there will be an 11am centenary service at Memorial Park marking the day and time the war ended in 1918.

All images Copyright and courtesy of Fiona Kean

Raymond John Baker (1890-1915)

Read more: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/2358-ronald-tracey-matheson-1874-1915

Frederick Hugh Dodson (1891-1915)

Read more: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/2321-frederick-hugh-dodson-1891-1915

Ronald Tracey Matheson (1874-1915)

Read more: http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/2224-Raymond-John-Baker-(1890-1915)

Survivors of the Marquette

From Tauranga to the Trenches mobile exhibition space.
Image: Tauranga Heritage Collection

Here at the Tauranga Heritage Collection we are continuing to develop World War One exhibitions for our mobile exhibition space. Past displays have featured the story of local soldier Reginald Watkins and also focused on the Gallipoli campaign.  We are currently working on a nursing story that features Nurse Jeanne Sinclair and the sinking of the Marquette.

Survivors of the Marquette
Image: National Army Museum, 1986.1753

The transport ship Marquette was sunk by a German submarine in the Aegean Sea on 23 October 1915. Of the 741 people on board, 167 were lost, including 10 members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service, 19 male Medical Corps staff and three New Zealand soldiers, making it the blackest day in the history of New Zealand’s military nursing.

Nurse Sinclair
Image: National Army Museum, 1991.587

Nurse Jeanne Sinclair survived the sinking and wrote a remarkable account of what took place. The full account will feature as part of the exhibition which will open in October.

“We walked along the top deck and then stood to look along the forward. We saw a green line coming through the water and remarked about it and Grigor said “I wonder if it is a torpedo” and then “Bang!” It was a torpedo – we raced for our life-belts got in line in our night places – half on each side – no noise – not a single scream and I cannot think how it was that we were so cool and collected.”

Brave McRoberts Brothers

While researching soldiers named on the Tauranga Domain War Memorial Gates the brave deeds of the McRoberts brothers, Evan and Wilfred, came to light.

Second-Lieutenant Evan O. McRoberts of Mt Eden, Auckland, Killed in action
NZ Sport and Dramatic Review 8 Nov 1917 Auckland Museum Cenotaph

Evan McRoberts is named on the gates and his military record states Tauranga as his place of birth. By 1921, when the gates were opened, the McRoberts family had long since moved away from Tauranga, and his mother and wife are both recorded as living in Auckland. So why was Evan remembered?

Welcome Bay, Tauranga, postcard
Image © and courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection

An incident recounted in The Bay of Plenty Times in March 1905 may explain -

Narrow Escape of a Boating Party: A narrow escape from drowning befell a party of picnickers yesterday afternoon in the arm of the harbour behind Matapihi. It appears that Mr G. E. Spooner with his wife and her sister, Miss Garland, and Mr E. Roberts went for a sail up the arm of the harbour between Maungatapu and Matapihi, and when in deep water a squall capsized the boat, from the leeward side, thus throwing all the occupants into the water and under the sail of the boat.   After considerable exertion the whole party extricated themselves, and the ladies having been got on to the keel of the boat, it was decided that McRoberts, being a strong swimmer should try and get help from the shore. Accordingly he struck out and after a long swim only reached the Matapihi shore to find no boat available, and then with rare courage, took to the water again with the intention of crossing the wide and rough channel between Matapihi and Maungatapu. After an exhausting swim against wind and waves, most fortunately he was seen by two Maori who called to Mr F. Chappell, who was working on the new church, and he with one of the Maori at once went to McRoberts’ rescue, picking him up greatly exhausted, but nevertheless able to explain the predicament of his friends. The rescue party immediately pulled with all speed in the direction indicated and succeeded in taking off the other three, who were also in an exhausted state having been in the water over an hour, and the boat having turned over with them several times. The party was landed and helped by the Maori to a house which was placed at their disposal in a most hospitable manner by the Moaris, who did everything they could for the comfort of the unfortunate people and looked after them all night, enabling them to return to their homes this morning little the worse for their trying experience. Too much cannot be said for the courageous conduct of McRoberts, who, by the way, is a member of the local Post Office Staff, for whether or not the other members of the party might possibly have been rescued by the means in his absence, he undoubtedly took his own life in his hands, and narrowly escaped losing it, in carrying out his manly intention to save them at all hazards to himself.

For his brave actions he was awarded a Royal Humane Society Silver Medal and Certificate.

Remarkably Evan’s brother Constable Wilfred McRoberts also received a Royal Humane Society Medal for life saving (Grey River Argus, 4 March 1916).

Case Number 438 Wilfred Gilmore McRoberts, Bronze Medal. On 3 March 1916, Alexander T. Emmis 49, was bathing on the beach at Greymouth, and being caught in a strong backwash was carried out to sea. When the alarm was given the lifeline was procured, and Constable McRoberts, 35, of Greymouth, immediately volunteered to swim with the line in order to affect a rescue, and after a hard struggle against the heavy sea that was running, he managed to rescue Emmis, who was in a very weak and exhausted state.

– Zealandia’s Brave, The Royal Humane Societies in New Zealand 1850 to 1998, John D Wills.

Sadly both McRoberts brothers would have their own lives cut short. Evan was killed in action 4 October 1917 and Wilfred died in November 1918 of influenza. His obituary referred to him as a “fine stamp of a man” and a very popular police officer. Evan left behind a wife and child and Wilfred a wife and 3 children.

Gallipoli - From Tauranga to the Trenches

Gallipoli - From Tauranga to the Trenches mobile exhibition focuses specifically on the Gallipoli campaign and provides information, photographs and objects which capture various daily undertakings of those men that were positioned at Gallipoli.

The exhibition, put together by the Tauranga Heritage Collection and WW100 Tauranga, was initially placed at the Masonic Park site and has now been relocated to Classic Flyers as part of a larger WW1 exhibition created by Metro Marketing. Opened on Anzac Day it is free to the community for a month.

Tauranga Domain Memorial Gates

Gates undergoing conservation treatment, June-August 2014
Image © copyright and courtesy of Fiona Kean

Over the past year the Tauranga Domain Memorial Gates have undergone extensive conservation work. The project, managed by Allan Sizemore of the Tauranga City Council, was guided by Salmond Reed Architects, who completed a Conservation Plan prior to the work commencing. In their report they stated that the “Tauranga War Memorial Gates are a rare example of brick and early concrete memorial entrance gates surviving in New Zealand dating from the First World War. They have high historical and social significance for Tauranga and they provide an important landmark to a domain that has been an historic recreation area since 1881.”

Domain gates at night
Image © copyright and courtesy of Fiona Kean

The Gates have never looked better and the recent work not only ensures that they will be here in another 100 years, it also acknowledges their importance to our community.  To borrow from Michael King, without question the Tauranga Domain Memorial Gates are a physical reminder of who we are and where we come from. They link us to an event that shaped our culture and our communities and they are imbued with our precious stories that need to be retained and retold.

WW100 Headstone Project

Heather McLean and a damaged headstone

This project was started back in April/May 2014.  Heather McLean (a committee member on WW100) raised $1170 towards the cost of three new headstones.  The stones have now been
installed in the Tauranga Catholic and Presbyterian Cemeteries.

Heather and the restored headstone of Tpr R.B.B. Cooper

Heather would like to thank the Tauranga Historical Society members for their kind donations.

Headstone and plaque for Cpl Lewis Jones

These two headstones are new ones in the Tauranga Catholic cemetery for Pte Lewis Jones and Pte.  P. (Barney) Retimana.  Someone had removed the Bronze plaque for Lewis Jones, possibly taken for the scrap metal value.

Headstone and plaque for Pte P. (Barney) Retimana

Private Retimana never previously had a headstone

Inside the Shakespeare Hut? The Kiwis and the Bard in WWI

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series 

Shakespeare Hut, NZ YMCA Centre, London

Inside the Shakespeare Hut? The Kiwis and the Bard in WWI

Dr Mark Houlahan
Wednesday 5 November, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
The memory of Gallipoli casts a long shadow over our perspective of WWI. Yet if we focus exclusively on grim reports from the front, we settle for an uncomplicated picture of this war. For throughout 1916 New Zealanders round the globe embraced the 300th anniversary commemorations of Shakespeare’s death. In January, 1916, British forces abandoned the Dardanelles after the catastrophic Gallipoli campaign. At home in New Zealand space was found amidst the battle news to celebrate Shakespeare’s anniversary.

About the Presenter
Mark Houlahan is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Waikato and currently President of the Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association (ANZSA). He has published widely on issues of Shakespeare, adaptation and cultural formation.

New Zealand and the Gallipoli Campaign

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series 

Gallipoli Peninsula

New Zealand and the Gallipoli Campaign

Dr Cliff Simons
Wednesday 29 October, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
The outbreak of war in 1914 offered a promise of adventure, and young New Zealand men clamoured to enlist. However, their first taste of battle in the Gallipoli campaign shattered that illusion, and our troops struggled to survive in that harsh peninsular, against a well organised Turkish defence. This presentation examines the Gallipoli Campaign from a New Zealand perspective, highlighting activities of some of our soldiers from Tauranga Moana.

About the Presenter
Works at the New Zealand Defence College, in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and teaches about New Zealand’s colonial wars. Cliff will travel to the 2015 Gallipoli Centennial Commemorations as a Military Historian.

The Last Battle: Perception and Representation of the Liberation of Le Quesnoy 4 November 1918

Stained Glass, St Andrew's, Cambridge, NZ

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series

The Last Battle: Perception and Representation of the Liberation of Le Quesnoy 4 November 1918

Dr Nathalie Philippe
Wednesday 22 October, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
This presentation looks at how New Zealand soldiers were able to liberate the French town of Le Quesnoy in Northern France and also how the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force’s last battle has been depicted using various media: photographs, drawings, paintings and stained glass.

About the Presenter
Dr Nathalie Philippe is a senior lecturer in French at the University of Waikato. Her research focuses on the plight of civilians during World War One and New Zealanders on the Western Front.

All Quiet on the Western Front: the Mundane Realities of Trench Warfare 1914-1918

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series

All Quiet on the Western Front: the Mundane Realities of Trench Warfare 1914-1918

Dr Damien Fenton
Wednesday 15 October, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
One popular myth today about WWI is that life in the frontline trenches was an unmitigated nightmare of mud, blood and madness, which few survived. This is simply not true, and is based on a selective populist memory of a few key battles – the Somme in 1916 and Passchendaele in 1917 – which were the exception, not the norm, when it came to trench warfare realities on the Western Front. Damien Fenton will discuss these realities in this presentation.

About the Presenter
Dr Damien Fenton is Honorary Research Fellow, First World War Centenary History Series, College of Humanities & Social Science, Massey University. His latest publication is New Zealand and the First World War (Penguin NZ, 2013).

Miners in Khaki: New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company (NZETC)

NZ Tunnelling Company

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series 


Miners in Khaki: New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company (NZETC)

Sue Baker Wilson
Wednesday 8 October, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
During WWI miners and employees of Public Works Departments throughout New Zealand were recruited to form the New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company. Their skills were needed on the Western Front where the stalemate on the surface forced parts of the war underground. This talk provides insights into the lives of those who responded to the ‘Empire’s Call’ for miners to serve a hazardous underground war.

About the Presenter
Sue Baker Wilson is a member of Waihi Heritage Vision, and the key driver of the group’s
New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company project.

The Imperial Camel Corps in WWI: from the Diaries of a Bay of Plenty Camelier

A.H. Watson

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series

The Imperial Camel Corps in WWI: from the Diaries of a Bay of Plenty Camelier

Stephanie Smith
Wednesday 1 October, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

Overview
The Imperial Camel Corps, founded in 1916, was a multinational force, including two New Zealand companies, the 15th and 16th. The Corps distinguished itself in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns by helping to protect the Suez Canal from the Ottoman Empire. This presentation reveals the fascinating journey of Arnold Henfrey Watson, a farmer from peaceful Pongakawa, who joined the Corps in 1916.

About the Presenter
Stephanie Smith is a librarian specialising in local history, archives, and the rare book collections at Tauranga City Libraries; she is current president of the Tauranga Historical Society.

Reginald Watkins

Reginald Watkins in his Salvation Army Uniform
Image courtesy of the Tauranga Heritage Collection Watkins Archive

The exhibition ‘From Tauranga to the Trenches’ tells the story of Reginald Watkins (Reg), a Salvation Army Officer who enlisted from Tauranga during the First World War. A few years ago I was lucky enough to meet Val Watkins the nephew of Reg and I was struck by the pride and love that Val felt for his uncle, despite having never met him. Val told me with passion that Reg had never been forgotten and over the last year I have been fortunate to meet many more members of the Watkins family who carry on that remembrance.

Reg was a son and a brother. He was a Captain in the Salvation Army, a farmer and a fisherman. He was a fine sailor and owned a launch. He loved photography, taking and developing his own photographs and turning them into postcards for his collection. He spoke fluent Maori and lived and worked on Rangiwaea Island, his home was often a tent at Rangiwaea Pa. When war was declared Reg had been living in Tauranga since 1911, the second of two spells assisting Captain Moore with Salvation Army Work.   

For Reg the decision to enlist was a difficult one. He wrote to Commissioner Hodder of the Salvation Army, “I am the only one free in our family who is able to volunteer for the war, and my people regard it as a stigma upon the family that they are not represented”. He put forward the case that “all single young men are strongly urged to go and his St John’s Ambulance Certificate would make him useful.

‘From Tauranga to the Trenches’ exhibition

He embarked from Wellington, January 1916, with the Ninth Reinforcements on HMNZ Transport “Maunganui”. On arriving in Egypt there was little action and when an appeal for stretcher bearers was made Private Watkins stepped forward. On 12 July he wrote a few lines in the trenches “to let you know that I am safe and sound here in France… My work consists in dressing and carrying the wounded from the firing line to the first field dressing station where the Red Cross men deal with them afterwards. We need all the nerve and moral courage we possess at the task and we hope and pray that our services will soon be not required… I hope I may soon be privileged to return to New Zealand to continue the work that I relinquished”.

His dream to return to Tauranga and the people of Rangiwaea was not to be. On Thursday 20 July Reg went to the aid of a wounded soldier and while attending to him was hit by shell shrapnel. As he was rescued and taken to the Casualty Clearing Station he sang hymns in both English and Maori. A Chaplain at his beside scribbled a note to Reg’s father ‘He is badly wounded and anxious for me to send word. He sends his love to you and all”. Reginald Watkins died of wounds at 1.30pm Sunday 23 July 1916. He was 30 years old.

The Public’s Opinion: Letters to the BOP Times 1914-1918

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series 

Opening of the Tauranga Domain Memorial Gates, 11 December 1921

The Public’s Opinion: Tauranga’s Wartime Concerns Expressed through Letters to the Editor of the Bay of Plenty Times 1914-1918

Fiona Kean
Wednesday 24 September, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential. Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454.

Overview
Religious disharmony, accusations of sedition, politicking and personality clashes sprinkled with fear, encouraged by war, were publically aired in letters to the editor of the Bay of Plenty Times during WWI. Fiona Kean shares some of these letters as she summarises what was worrying Tauranga during WWI.

About the Presenter
Fiona Kean is the Cultural Heritage Co-ordinator of the Tauranga Heritage Collection; she is a member of the Tauranga Historical Society, editor of the Bay of Plenty Historical Review Journal, and secretary of WW100 Tauranga.

The Monstrous Anger of the Guns: Poetry, Protest and WWI

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series
 

Under Fire on the Western Front

The Monstrous Anger of the Guns: Poetry, Protest and WWI

Dr Kirstine Moffat
Wednesday 17 September, 6.30pm
Venue: Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104
Bookings essential Email nyree@waikato.ac.nz or phone 027 286 7454

The launch of this eight-part series includes a brief introduction by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato Professor Alister Jones, along with the President of the Tauranga Historical Society, Stephanie Smith.

Overview
In Anthem for Doomed Youth Wilfred Owen evokes the horror of the World War One trenches in which the Monstrous Anger of the Guns are the constant reality. This talk explores how English poets such as Owen, and his Canadian, Australian and New Zealand contemporaries, praise the courage of soldiers, nurses, and doctors, but increasingly protest against the cost of war.

About the Presenter
Dr Kirstine Moffat is a Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Waikato where her research and publications focus primarily on nineteenth and early 20th century New Zealand settlement writing and culture.

Sons of Empire, Tauranga Public Lecture Series

From the utmost end of the Earth: New Zealand and World War One.

Sons of Empire is an eight-part public lecture series commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War One. Each weekly presentation focuses on delivering a unique New Zealand perspective of WWI: the voices of our soldiers, from the battles and the trenches to their legacy of literature; the diaries, the images and the poetry that remain.

This series is brought to you by the University of Waikato in collaboration with the Tauranga Historical Society.

Sons of Empire will be launched at the Tauranga Bongard Centre with a brief introduction by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato Alister Jones along with the President of the Tauranga Historical Society, Stephanie Smith. The audience will have an opportunity for questions which will be followed by light refreshments.

All series will be held at the Tauranga Bongard Centre, Lecture Theatre 104. Each lecture will occur on a Wednesday evening from 6.30pm onwards.

17 Sept - Dr Kirstine Moffat – “Poetry, Protest, and WW1”
24 Sept - Fiona Kean – “Public Opinion in Tauranga from ‘Letters to the Editor’”
1 Oct - Stephanie Smith – “The diary of a BOP Camelier”
8 Oct - Sue Baker Wilson – “NZ Engineers Tunnelling Company”
15 Oct - Dr Damien Fenton – “The Mundane Realities of Trench Warfare”
22 Oct - Dr Nathalie Philippe – “The Liberation of Le Quesnoy”
29 Oct - Dr Cliff Simons – “The Gallipoli Campaign”
5 Nov - Dr Mark Houlahan – “Kiwis and the Shakespeare Hut, London”

Registration: Bookings are essential for this free series so please register by emailing nyree@waikato.ac.nz.  For any enquiries please phone 027 286 7454.

From Tauranga to the Trenches

 

A well illustrated book, From Tauranga to the Trenches accompanies the exhibition and is available for sale. Compiled by Fiona Kean, Tauranga Heritage Collection coordinator, the publication is a fascinating social history of the effect WW1 had on those serving in the war and their loved ones at home. Alongside photographs and memorabilia there are excerpts from letters and diaries written by men serving overseas which give an insight into their thoughts and experiences. The Tauranga community joined together to provide parcels containing food, knitted socks and scarves for troops, while many innovative fundraising ventures were held to support both the servicemen and provide for the welfare of their families. From Tauranga to the Trenches vividly shows the impact the war had on the servicemen and women, their families and the Tauranga community.

It is for sale at Books A Plenty for $25. All proceeds go towards further exhibitions.

Katikati's World War One Soldier

This solar-operated moving diorama was made by Kate and Bob MacIntyre of Pahioa in 2009, for a sculpture competition at Katikati, and later purchased for the museum after achieving a second placing.  They collaborated in the design and construction, Kate with her wonderful artistic skills, Bob with his incredibly varied engineering expertise, and called it a "Kinetic Sculpture" for entry purposes.  It has a small motor in the panel underneath the soldier, and when connected to the solar photovoltaic panel (later situated below a skylight in the roof of the museum), the Katikati soldier “marches” to war, or home from war, and the scenes behind him turn to indicate his going or coming.  There’s an “On” switch on the side to activate the motion.

Bob MacIntyre sadly passed away last year, so posting this short video is a small tribute to Bob's irrepressible enthusiasm for any number of projects.  Many thanks to his widow Jocelyn and daughter Kate for sharing their memories.

John Ellison

A photograph of Jack Ellison from the Auckland Weekly News

John Ellison, known as Jack to his friends in Tauranga, had been resident in New Zealand for 10 years having emigrated from England in 1906, when 25 years of age. In 1913 he found work as a bushman at Gamman’s Mill operating at Omanawa Falls and quickly became part of that community. Jack enlisted in October of 1916, as part of the 22nd Reinforcements with friends Charles and Bert Lilley. Before departing for Trentham a social at the Omanawa school house was held in their honour. A large crowd gathered and enjoyed music and dancing until midnight. Presentations were made at supper with each man receiving a watch and hearty applause.

Jack’s Memorial Plaque. These are also known as a ‘Dead Man’s Penny.’
Made of bronze, the soldier’s rank is not recorded, thus acknowledging that in death all men are equal.

On 3 January 1917 during Jack’s final leave in Tauranga he married Florence Lilley. A month later he sailed for England. After a brief period at Sling Camp he joined the 1st Battalion of the Auckland Regiment in the field in France and was killed in action on 26-27 March 1918. The sad news was delivered to Florence a few weeks later. Tragically for Florence her brother, Charles Lilley, was also killed later that year.  As Jack’s wife at the time of his death Florence was entitled to receive his medals, scroll and plaque and they were sent to her in 1921 and 1922. However, having remarried in 1920 their arrival must have been a sad and perhaps even awkward reminder of Jack. No doubt this led to the decision to send the items to Jack’s mother in England. This is where they surfaced several years ago and have now been returned to Tauranga. As part of Tauranga’s museum collection they will remain as a memorial to Jack and a reminder of the sacrifices of Tauranga’s men.