Seaward’s Hand-coloured Postcards of Mt Maunganui

Coastal Scene, Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

Hand-coloured postcards of New Zealand scenic views had been around since the early 1900s, but were overwhelmed by inexpensive collotype-printed cards imported from Bavaria and Saxony. When the supply from Germany dried up on the outbreak of the Great War, hand-coloured real photo postcards were produced in numbers once more, and remained popular for some years after the war had ended.

Ocean Beach, Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

After the Second World War, during which there had been a dearth of postcards available for purchase, the National Publicity Studios became the most significant contributor to the market. Along with the increased demand for postcards, there was a resurgence in the popularity of hand-coloured images. It did not take long for other photographers and publishers to join the fray.

Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

One of these was Neville Stephen Seaward, whose postcards published from his home base in Broad Bay, Dunedin feature widely in institutional and private collections around the country, and presumably overseas. Seaward was born in Christchurch in 1913, and started photographing scenery with his first camera aged seventeen.

Coastal Scene, Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

He married in 1948, moved to Dunedin with his wife Gwen, and three years later they started up a business from their home, printing, publishing and selling postcards of photographic views that he had accumulated.

Coastal Scene, Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Fiona Kean, private collection

At an early stage Neville started making annual trips to Rotorua and elsewhere on the North Island to increase the portfolio of views which were soon in great demand. All of the postcards were printed in black-and-white from their home, and a proportion were hand-coloured with simple watercolour washes. Unfortunately serial numbers were not printed on any of the cards, so there is currently no assessment of the numbers of individual views produced country-wide. 

Mount Maunganui, N.Z., c. 1950s-early 1960s
Hand-coloured postcard published by N.S. Seaward, Broad Bay, Dunedin
Image courtesy of Tauranga City Library’s Pae Korokī, Ref. 99-027

From 1951 onwards he also published several guide books of tourist destinations, illustrated with his own photographs. Colour slide views (probably Kodachrome) were added to the repertoire in 1954, sold loose in the same manner as the postcards, and the business continued to thrive into the 1960s. By the end of that decade, though, production appears to have ceased, probably as a result of increased competition from full colour postcards printed in South-east Asia. After he ceased photography, all of Seaward’s photographic negatives were destroyed.

References

Skinner, Damian (2001) Unpublished notes from interview with Neville Seaward, Modernism Oral History Project, [relates to 3 tapes of oral history interviews at Te Papa Tongarewa, Refs, CA000633/001/0020, 0021, 0022)

Main, William & Jackson, Alan (2005) Wish You Were Here: The Story of New Zealand Postcards, New Zealand Postcard Society Inc., Nelson

Main, William (2007) Send Me a Postcard: New Zealand Postcards and the Stories They Tell, Craig Potton Publishing, Nelson

"Prosperity to this building and to Tauranga"

Property at 30 Monmouth Street in the process of demolition to make way for Court House development, August 2022
Image by Fiona Kean, Private Collection

If you haven’t been to town lately it’s worth a trip to see the Monmouth and McLean Street block. The site has been cleared for a new courthouse development, which was announced this time last year and is expected to be completed by 2026. Estimated to cost 150 million dollars, it will be the third official site for court facilities in Tauranga - the site of the Magistrate’s Court prior to 1874 is currently unknown. 

The first Government Building located on Willow Street between Harington and McLean Streets
Silver gelatin print by T.E. Price, 1900
Image courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0323/08

The first Government Building in Tauranga opened in 1874 and included the Magistrate’s Court, Post Office and Council Chambers. When the foundation stone was laid by Mrs Wrigley, a prominent resident who had been living in Tauranga since 1863, she broke a champagne bottle on it and declared ‘prosperity to this building and to Tauranga’.[i] Unfortunately, the prosperity was short lived, as this fine wooden building burnt to the ground in November 1902 taking all the town’s court records with it. As a side note, it appears that after the fire a free-standing Court House planned for Tauranga did not eventuate.

Proposed Tauranga Court House, No. 1 block plan from elevation and section A.B., No. 2 Two side elevations and outbuildings, Tauranga, J. Campbell
Image courtesy of Archives New Zealand, PWD 20303

The replacement building on the same site, was opened in 1906 and included the magistrate court on the first floor along with a Clerk’s office and two library rooms. A correspondent in the New Zealand Herald had this to say about the building:

“Now that the Tauranga Post Office is outwardly completed, those who believe that again things are not precisely what they should be, have abundant justification for their belief. Without attempting to criticise the weird type of architecture displayed – if it is a type – it will suffice to briefly allude to the position of the new building. One fact immediately strikes the observer, namely, that the back, not, the front, is turned towards the town, and that the most ornamental portion has been made to face a dead, solid wall of brown earth, nearly as high as itself.”[ii] 

Now referred to as the ‘Old Tauranga Post Office’, this was the second Government Building on the site. The men in the photograph are believed to be the Post Office staff around the time of opening
Postcard by unidentified photographer, 1906
Image courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0174/09

Considering the town’s population growth in the following decades it is surprising that this building would serve the judiciary for more than 60 years. In 1965 a new courthouse was erected on the corner of Harington Street and Cameron Road. It was opened in November by the Minister of Justice Mr J. R. Hanan in front of a large crowd. In 1998 an ‘upgrade’ made the building unrecognisable and several leaks since 2016 led to the claim that the ‘original build was incredibly rough’, something the contractors of the day would no doubt dispute. [iii]  Hopefully in the future the facilities to be built on the new site will get better reviews than the courthouses of the past.

Tauranga Courthouse, corner of Harington Street and Cameron Road October 1966
Image courtesy of Gale Collection, Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0005/20/1196

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[i] Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 171, 25 April 1874.

[ii] New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13107, 21 February 1906.

[iii] Bay of Plenty Times, Justice Minister: Leaky Tauranga courthouse needs replacing.

Te Awanui Restoration Project Update

Next time you’re walking past the waka shelter (Te Urunga) at the end of The Strand you’ll notice that it sits empty. This is because the Te Awanui Restoration Project has reached its final phase, with the hull of the waka undergoing conservation treatment.

Repair of split Tauihu and replacement of missing pieces
Image: Dean Flavell, Private Collection

Project co-ordinator Dean Flavell, had this to say about the undertaking:
“It is often acknowledged that the art of carving requires numerous skills, and most carvers will readily recognise the obvious disciplines of sculpting and shaping, drawing and painting, engineering and technical aspects a jack of all trades to coin a phrase. A definite skill not always acknowledged is that of repairman or restorer. Damage and repairs are topics carvers usually don’t like to think about because they denote a setback or at the very least, an interruption in the completion of a carving."

Te Awanui on the water, Tauranga harbour, 10 February 1973
Image: Bay of Plenty Times, Tauranga Heritage Collection

“However, time is the great leveller and wood, a most vulnerable material, does succumb to natural conditions such as temperature, light, water and probably the most unforgiving wear and tear from usage. Te Awanui has undergone several restorative phases throughout its nearly 50 years. Most of these have been to address various accidents or misfortunes around breakage during use. Other restorative attempts have resulted in the removal of protective coatings such as polyurethane and non-marine paint rendering which has over time obscured the detail of the carvings."

A restored piece of Te Awanui
Image: Fiona Kean, Private Collection

"For the past few years restoration efforts have been focussed on the carved Tauihu (bow) and Taurapa (stern) pieces as these are in the greatest need of repair and renovation. Preliminary works were started on the Rauawa (top strakes) in removing paint rendering and coated to protect the wood from possible deterioration. It is now time to finish the job.”

Tauranga Cemetery and the Te Puke Land Drainage Board

From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

What links Tauranga Cemetery and the Te Puke Land Drainage Board? They are both collections in the Archives that have been recently digitised.

The Tauranga Cemetery Trustees collection includes a variety of paperwork, but also a long metal cyclinder containing two rolled maps from 1913 of Tauranga Cemetery. One measures nearly 1 metre by 2 metres, and shows burial areas for Church of England, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, Presbyterians, Hebew.

Tauranga City Libraries Ams 9/27/2

Half the streets shown on the map we now know by different names – Hospital Street is now Seventeenth Avenue, Pitt Street now Eighteenth Avenue, and Simson Street is part of Devonport Road.

Tauranga City Libraries Ams 49

In 1895, the Crown established the Te Puke Land Drainage Board to facilitate drainage and clear lands to the west of the Kaituna River. Their minute book starts with the first meeting on 30 March 1907 and covers discussions through to December 1922.

Page after page provides insight into their focus - settlers requests to the Colonial Secretary for special rating of local areas for the purpose of opening up outlets; making loan applications; cleaning, widening, deepening and removal of timber from creeks and strengthening existing drains; construction of dams for dredging; setting and collection of rates.

Detail from a general meeting of the Te Puke Land Drainage Board, January 1908

One of the clippings tucked in from January 1909 advertises a half acre section fronting Cameron Road for £100 “with a nice lot of young fruit trees”.

Bay of Plenty Times advertisement, 27 January 1909

To return to the original question - what links Tauranga Cemetery and Te Puke Land Drainage Board - they are both collections in Pae Korokī that provide an online glimpse into the varied history of land usage in the Bay of Plenty.

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These archival items have been digitised and added to Pae Korokī. For more information about other items in our collection, visit Pae Korokī or email the Heritage & Research Team: research@tauranga.govt.nz

Written by Kate Charteris, Heritage Specialist at Tauranga City Library.