Flo Chapman's Farm Diaries

Flo's diaries, 1935, 1940, 1957

Farm diaries hardly ever survive. Because – if used as the publishers of these practical tools of farming life intended – they were there at the docking race, the hayshed or the A&P show. They, like their owners, had a hard life. Used to record only the dullest and most quotidian details from year to year they, mostly, were discarded as soon as the farm accounts were beyond the reach of auditors and the taxman.

Notwithstanding their usefulness for farming life, in fifty years of publication the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture makes only four references to the farm diary. These references are, however, very telling. The diary is an essential aspect of prudent husbandry [1] and land management [2]. It supports the farm’s business records [3] and can be used to satisfy an inquiring accountant of just when and why that cheque stub recording “Cash  - Repairs and Maintenance” (often abbreviated to “Cash - R&M”) was written out [4].

Perston Collection plan showing Chapman's farm, n.d.

You can therefore imagine the excitement felt by the archivist of the Te Puna Community Archive when, among the items stashed in a cupboard of the soon-to-be-demolished Te Puna Community Library, were found three battered volumes, each, apparently, recording day-to-day activities on George Chapman’s farm along Wairoa Road in Te Puna. The earliest has the scrawled inscription “1935” on its cover. The next carries an advertisement for boot polish and is from 1940, the first full year of the Second World War. The third, in slightly better nick, is confidently labelled, “Whitcombe’s New Zealand Farmers’ Diary for 1957” and carries the exhortation, below an image of exemplary mixed-country industriousness and prosperity: “This Diary will help you to increase your profit very materially, if you will keep a record of the notable facts and incidents, relating to your farming operations from day to day.”

How wonderful, the community archivist (the present writer) thought, in a landscape so changed and fractured by horticulture and life-style blocks as Te Puna’s, to have even three separate years’ record of day-to-day farming on a single farm before, during and in the decade after, WW II.

Vicinity of Chapmans farm, 2024, riverline in distance

George and Florence (always known as ‘Flo’)  Chapman’s farm was close [5] to those of H J Perston [6] and Arthur Todman [7].  If a conscientious record of ‘notable facts and incidents’ on their  property had been kept, the mid-twentieth century rural economy of quite a large swathe of land above the Wairoa River [8] might, by inference, be available to future researchers.

It turns out, not. The diaries are, each of them, Flo’s brief and unemotive account of the doings on, off and around the farm and within her household. There’s hardly a day missed, except for some blank sequences when she is evidently away from the farm. The weather is invariably reported on, but as often in terms of getting the washing dry as getting the haymaking done – or even, being “too wet to work this afternoon”. There are many references to arable crops – mangolds, onions, lucerne - and very few to animals. Pigs are delivered or sent away and the bobby calves are put out for the truck, which sometimes fails to turn up. (George’s carriage-horse hobby, for which he won prizes in 1927 [9], seems to have faded by 1935.) And his activities in the Farmer’s Union, which had been prodigious through most of the 1930’s [10], were much curtailed for the year of the 1940 diary. On January 26, Flo notes, “Men went to a farmers meeting, I went to the pictures”. After that, although they are sometimes in town on the day of Union meetings, Flo does not record any specific purpose for the trip. Fuel was tight in wartime, costs were rising in the war economy, and labour was in short supply. Their farm worker, Richard (Dick) Flavell was called up in early October [11] – nowhere mentioned in the diary – and was still on-farm for Christmas and Boxing Day, because Flo notes he had both days off.

In the easier economy of 1957, or maybe after some hard-won experience, Flo’s farm diary becomes more like the record idealised in the Journal of Agriculture. She notes the cost of baling 333 bales of hay on January 8: “£25-13-0 paid”. One-and-six a bale would have seemed a lot compared to 1935, when George and helpers built a haystack, but, unlike stacked hay, bales maintain higher nutritional qualities and all of every bale is quick and easy to feed out. The herd tester is there for the afternoon and morning milkings over 24 and 25 March. The dairy season re-starts on 7 July, when the first calf is born on a morning of “very heavy frost”. The first can of cream is sent off on 19 July, presumably still in excellent condition after eight successive days of frost that ended only on the 17^th. As the cows “come in” for the new milking season, arrivals of bobby calves and the first lamb are interspersed with car repairs and Flo’s bowling scores. On the same day she got a £2/7/2d cheque for the bobbies, George got measured for a suit. Flo has hot water piped to her wash house and carpet in her kitchen. Things are looking up on the farm.

Flo's handwriting, 31 Dec 1957

Such threads and patches are probably insufficient to support any firm historical conclusions about mid-twentieth century farming life in Te Puna. But, lodged safely as they are in the Te Puna Community Archive, the diaries are valuable as representative examples of rural work and local society, only occasionally resonant of the world a long way away [12] and often silent or only hinting at issues that must have had significant impact on the Chapman’s life on their farm [13].  These humble volumes would repay more considered study.

All images by Beth Bowden

References

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[1] Papers Past | Magazines and Journals | New Zealand Journal of Agriculture | 20 June 1914 | WORK FOR THE COMING MONTH.  Author, Primrose McConnell

[2] Papers Past | Magazines and Journals | New Zealand Journal of Agriculture | 16 June 1947 | STUDIES IN FARM MANAGEMENT  Author, J G Richards

[3] Papers Past | Magazines and Journals | New Zealand Journal of Agriculture | 15 August 1945 | SEASONAL NOTES  Farm Records, author E M Bates

[4] Author’s personal recollection, Ettrick Farms Limited records (private archive).

[5] Trespass warning, Papers Past | Newspapers | Bay of Plenty Times | 28 April 1921 | Page 1 Advertisements Column 7

[6] I am indebted to René Swan of Tauranga City Libraries for finding Perston’s survey drawing in their collection of local maps and plans

[7] https://taurangahistorical.blogspot.com/2021/11/after-demobilisation-arthur-weber.html  Author, Beth Bowden

[8] https://taurangahistorical.blogspot.com/2024/05/maihi-te-poria-and-wairoa-road.html  Author, Beth Bowden

[9] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BOPT19270224.2.20 

[10] Papers Past, multiple references; for background to farming politics at the time, see also https://taurangahistorical.blogspot.com/2019/12/putting-matters-right.html  Author, Beth Bowden

[11] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BOPT19401003.2.32

[12] Diary entry, 4 October 1935:  “War started between Italy & Abyssinia.”

[13] Farm labour, for instance.  Not only was Dick Flavell’s departure to be a soldier delayed for months after he was balloted in 1940;  Flo’s 1935 entries between the fortnight beginning 30 September – 13 October tersely describe the strains created by worker Reg’s decision to leave.

Matakana Island

Pilot Bay from above, Mauao and Matakana Island
Colour postcard, photographed by Bob Ricketts, Old Grumpy’s Gallery, Mt Maunganui
Collection of Justine Neal

Matakana Island is a mixture of white, sparkling sand, pine forest, farmland and a peaceful harbour. It is the third largest island by area in the North Island and the 15^thlargest within New Zealand waters. The island’s long, white sandy beach is popular with surfers and is also a nesting place for the New Zealand dotterel/tuturiwhatu, a threatened shorebird.

Matakana Island and the Tauranga Harbour from the Bowentown Heads, June 2023
Photograph by Justine Neal

The island is 24 kilometres long and rarely more than 3 kilometres wide. It is New Zealand’s largest barrier island. Its development, together with that of the tombolo (a narrow strip of land, usually made of sand or gravel, that connects an island to the mainland or another island) adjoining Mauao and Bowentown Heads, formed Te Awanui/Tauranga Harbour, a 200 square kilometre estuarine lagoon.

Matakana Island, northern channel and Mauao from the Bowentown Heads, June 2023
Photograph by Justine Neal

The island has been continuously populated for centuries by iwi who are mostly associated with Ngai Te Rangi.

Nine year-old trees, Matakana Island
Unmounted silver gelatin print by unidentified photographer
Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 12/4/5

The island has two distinct parts, 5,000 acres of farm and orchard land on the inner harbour and 10,000 acres of forest covered coastal land.

Wharf at Matakana Island
Unmounted silver gelatin print by unidentified photographer
Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 12/4/4

The 1920’s saw the development of a pine forest through private plantings. In 1949 the first logging crew went into the forest. The first 30 year old plantings were used for the post and poles market. In 1951 Bunn Brothers Ltd. took up the island’s pine milling rights.

S.S. Ngakuta clearing the Tauranga Heads, View from the Mount, c. 1916-1922
Real photo postcard, photographed by John Welsh, published by Frank Duncan & Co. for A.J. Mirrielees, Tauranga
Collection of Justine Neal

My postcard shows part of Matakana Island as a low-lying sand bar in pre-forestry days. The SS Ngakuta was built in 1913 and owned by the Blackball Coal Co. She was designed and equipped as a collier but carried other cargoes including fruit from Pacific Island ports. From 1922 she was leased to the United Steam Ship Co. and purchased outright by them in 1942. She was sold to ship breakers in 1952.

References

Wikipedia

NZ Ship and Marine Society

National Library of New Zealand

Bay of Plenty Regional Council

The Wreck of the SS Manaia, 1926

Whakahau-Slipper Island lies two miles off the Coromandel Coast, four miles south-east of Tairua and some 100 miles from Auckland.

While carrying passengers and cargo during its regular Tauranga to Auckland run, the SS Manaia (Captain W. F. Norbury), ran aground on the southeastern point of Slipper Island on the night of Thursday 10 June 1926. Reefs in the vicinity had previously claimed The Northern Steamship Company’s auxiliary schooner Te Teko and the timber scow Surprise.

The SS Manaia aground near Slipper Island
Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ms 33/5/159

Built at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1898, the Manaia was a well-known New Zealand coastal steamer of 1,159 tons. Formerly owned by the Union Steam Ship Company and named Rotoiti, it was bought and renamed by the Northern Steamship Company for its Auckland to Tauranga service. The steamer’s dimensions were: length, 220 feet; breadth, 33 feet and depth, 13 feet.

Steaming northwards through rain and mist, the Manaia struck at 11.30 p.m. with an impact described as ‘terrific’. Members of the crew were thrown from their bunks, there was some ‘mild panic’ among the passengers, but there were no injuries nor deaths during the subsequent rescue operation.

Whakahau-Slipper Island
Courtesy of New Zealand Herald, 16 April 2015

Observing the wreck at daylight from the coastal settlement of Tairua, eyewitnesses described the steamer as ‘about one mile off Slipper Island, well up on the reef behind a small rocky island’, and ‘broadside on and down in the stern, in a very exposed position’.

Carrying 55 passengers who had boarded at Tauranga’s Town Wharf at 8 p.m. the Manaia’s cargo was indicative of regions exports during the 1920s: 63 cases of fruit, 21 sacks of maize, 34 bales of flax, 21 bales of tow, 34 bales of sheepskins, four cases of bacon, a quantity of general cargo and a ‘fair-sized’ consignment of mail.

At 11.40 p.m. the Auckland Radio Station received signals from the Manaia’s radio operator, that it was ashore near Slipper Island, and was being held in place by her propellers. Captain Norbury advised that he was all right until morning, before later, asking for assistance when the weather became squally, and the Manaia began to bump heavily.

At 3 a.m. the Auckland authorities radioed the SS Ngapuhi, another Northern Company ship which was passing Kawau Island, on its way from Whangarei to Auckland. The Ngapuhi changed course and after steaming 70 miles in six hours, was standing near the Manaia, which was then ‘making water fairly fast’, through a hole in the bow.

The SS Ngapuhi
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections JTD-19M-04168

A two masted timber scow and the Corey-Wright brothers launch Ellida from Tairua, were also soon on the scene, and at 9 a.m. the SS Rimu was dispatched from Auckland to provide additional assistance.

Captain Dorling kept the Ngapuhi’s lead line going, as he negotiated the foul ground and a line of sunken reefs between his ship and the stricken steamer. He noted that the Manaia was hard and fast on a reef extending out from the southeast point of Slipper Island, with the bow high on the rocks, her stern riding low in the deep water surrounding the reef.

During the rescue of the passengers, the seas were moderate and the weather clearing. A message at 10.22 from the Manaia, announced that the Ngapuhi had arrived and was taking the passengers off, and that two lifeboats had got away safely. A wireless message at noon stated that all passengers had been transferred to the Ngapuhi which reached Auckland shortly before 11p.m.

At Auckland, the male passengers praised the conduct of the women and children, as well as Captain Norbury and his officers - particularly the children, who were said to have ‘just stood by without a murmur.’

During salvage operations, which began after the Manaia had been written off by the Northern Company, all portable equipment and fixtures were removed, along with machine fittings. The only cargo not put aboard the Motu, one of the salvage vessels, was a few cases of fruit in the fore hold. When the Manaia’s stokehold and engine-room flooded, the crew of 36 left the wreck on the Motu. The SS Manaia gradually slipped off the reef and into deep water.

‘My mother, Shirley Abrahams, was the girl with the bantam rooster.’ – Kim White, 2022
Courtesy of Maritime Radio

Among the Manaia’s passengers were 24 members of the Stanley M’Kay Pantomime Company, which included a girl named Shirley Abrahams and her pet rooster Becky – the gift of an admirer in one of the towns visited by the company.  According to one report:

When the Manaia struck, the first thoughts of the young actress were of her pet. Forgetting her other treasures, she flew to Becky. He had been with her for over a year … He snuggled in the crook of her arm on board while awaiting the arrival of the Ngapuhi. Becky accompanied his owner in the lifeboat and was with her all the time on the Ngapuhi. Now he is on his way to Sydney with her on the Marama.

SS Manaia listing, before slipping into deep water
Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ms 33/5/206

On 29 June, the Auckland Marine Court of Inquiry into the wreck found that the course set by Captain Norbury was a safe one - used without mishap by other steamer captains for many years. It found that like the steamer City of Winchester, which was crossing the Bay of Plenty at the time, the Manaia ‘had been carried inshore and off her course an abnormal distance … owing to a strong set inshore’. Norbury was held blameless, and his master’s certificate was returned.

In 1961 part of the steamer’s propeller was recovered by divers, by which time the ship had broken up and been under water for over 35 years. Today, the Manaia’s boiler and other equipment left behind on the reef and seabed make Manaia Reef a playground for snorkelers and scuba divers.

References

Bay of Plenty Times, 12 June 1926: 3, 14 June 1926: 3, 29 June 1926: 3.

Evening Post (Wellington), 11 June 1926: 8. 12 June 1926: 8, 14 June 1926: 10.

1926: SS Manaia strands on slipper Island, maritimeradio.org, https://maritimeradio.org › Distress

S.S. Manaia Ohimnemuri Regional History Journal. 40, September 2000, https://www.ohinemuri.org.nz › journals › s-s-manaia

Images

Sladden, Bernard, View of Northern Steamship Company SS Manaia on rocks, Slipper Island, wrecked on 10-Jun-1926. Ms 33/5/159. Te Ao Mārama, Tauranga City Libraries.

Slipper Island, New Zealand Herald. Privately owned island sells for more than $7m. NZME. 16 April 2015, nzherald.co.nz/business

Photographer unknown, SS Ngapuhi on Manukau Harbour. Ref. 4168. Auckland Council Libraries.

Photographer unknown. Wrecked on the New Zealand Coast, 1926: SS Manaia strands on slipper Island, maritimeradio.org, https://maritimeradio.org › Distress

Sladden, Bernard. View of SS Manaia wrecked off Slipper Island, 10 June 1926, Ms 33/5/206. Te Ao Marama, Tauranga City Libraries

The Fascinating Journey of Tauranga’s Wurlitzer Theatre Organ

From Tauranga City Library’s archives

A monthly blog about interesting items in our collections.

Programme from Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 504/1/16

The invention of the theatre organ can be traced back to Scotsman Robert Hope-Jones in the early 1890s. Hope-Jones revolutionised organ construction with his invention of the electro-pneumatic action, a technology that became the foundation for future organ-building. By 1910, he had sold his patents to the Rudolph Wurlitzer Music Corporation, enabling the production of the legendary "Mighty Wurlitzer." These intricate instruments, built to accompany silent films, became iconic, with one organ completed every day at the height of their production.

The Tauranga Wurlitzer, known as "Opus 1482," left the Wurlitzer factory in Tonawanda, New York, on October 21, 1926. A Model H, it featured nearly 1,000 pipes and 47 kilometres of wiring. It boasted a range of sound effects, including cathedral chimes, sleigh bells, and theatrical effects like surf and train whistles, which allowed organists to craft a dynamic musical experience for silent movies. Shipped to Wellington, it debuted in early 1927 at the De Luxe Theatre on Courtenay Place (later renamed the Embassy).

Wurlitzer keys - Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 504/1/16

In 1958, Eddie Aikin, captivated by the sound of a Wurlitzer since his youth, purchased Opus 1482 when the Embassy Theatre transitioned to a widescreen format. Aikin and his team dismantled the organ over seven weekends and transported it to a honey-packing shed in Tokoroa. There, after a twelve-month overhaul, it hosted a series of “Workshop” concerts, with notable performances by Australian organist Ann Holmes. Known for her expertise, Holmes had played in various leading theatres and became a familiar figure in New Zealand's organ scene.

Tokoroa High School 1960's - Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 504/1/16

In 1967, Opus 1482 found a new home in Tokoroa High School’s Assembly Hall, with Ann Holmes headlining the opening concert. The organ remained there until 1971, when Aikin, facing health issues, put it up for sale. Tauranga City Council, with funding from the 20,000 Club, acquired the organ, envisioning its use for the community. Initially stored at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, it was later decided that the organ would be installed in Tauranga Town Hall. The installation required removing concrete panels—a challenging task, as the concrete, made with metal sourced from Tūhua (Mayor Island), was particularly tough.

Tauranga Town Hall - Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 504/1/16

Ten months of dedicated volunteer labour led to the organ’s reinstallation in 1972. The opening concert featured Ann Holmes, joined by local resident Len Hockly. There was an initial technical glitch when the elevator mechanism stalled, with Ann Holmes waiting to be elevated, however the organ crew quickly resolved the issue, and the concert was a success. Later, renowned organist Reginald Porter-Brown performed at Tauranga Town Hall, and the Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre hold an autographed programme from him.

Ann Holmes waiting to be elevated to stage - Photo gca-21038

In 1986, when the Tauranga Town Hall faced demolition, the City Council proposed relocating the organ to the newly built Baycourt Community and Arts Centre. The complex task of dismantling and reinstalling Opus 1482 began, and by 1988, the organ was once again in operation. Rex White was a person dedicated to many fields of public service in Tauranga and had legendary skill throughout the theatre organ world. He headed the team responsible for installing the organ in the Town Hall in 1972 and again into Baycourt in the 1980's. American organist Dennis James inaugurated its new home with a premier concert in December of that year.

Wurlitzer technical plans - Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 405/1/16

Today, the Tauranga Wurlitzer remains a treasured musical asset. Regular maintenance ensures its near-century-old components function flawlessly, allowing audiences to enjoy its distinctive sound. Recent concerts, like “Swingin’ With The Mighty Wurli” featuring Australian virtuoso Scott Harrison and the Katikatz Jazz Band, highlight its ongoing cultural significance and the dedication to preserving this remarkable piece of history.

eventfinda nz

There is a wealth of information that can be found about Opus 1482 in the Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Baycourt archives (Ams 405) and on the Baycourt youtube website - Enjoy!

Sources:

• Baycourt, Tauranga N.Z. (1988). Wurlitzer Inaugural Season.
• Tauranga 20,000 Club. (1972). Introducing Tauranga City's Wurlitzer organ : 16th September 1972. Tauranga, N.Z. 20,000 Club.
• Tokoroa High School (1967). Opening of the WurliTzer Organ in the Assembly Hall Tokoroa High School.
• Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī ref photo-gca-21038
• Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī ref Records of Baycourt Community and Arts Centre - Ams 405/1/16.