By guest author Lucy Mullinger
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| Whitty as a child |
Alaric (Whitty) Whitmore only has two more years before he hits the big 100 and, unsurprisingly, has a lot of great stories to tell. When asked how he made it past 95 - still fit and healthy - witty in nature and name, he replies nonchalantly, “I live longer than most.”
Whitty was born on December 24, 1925 and began his life at the railway stationmaster’s house on Marsh Street, where he reminisces watching his mother bartering with Māori women for kumara.
The family would go on to live in Taumarunui for some time, before moving back to a cold reception in Mount Maunganui near his grandparents - who didn't approve of his parents’ marriage (his mother was Catholic and his dad was Anglican). Despite family tensions, Whitty remembers an idyllic childhood, where he caught food for the family, including rabbits, fish and seafood. He recalls the price of food at the local bakers - three pence for a sultana loaf!
One of his earliest memories includes watching famed aviator Charles Kingsford Smith land his famous plane, the Southern Cross, on the beach near Takitimu Drive (where the big roundabout and flag is now). For just 10 shillings he was given the opportunity to sit in between his dad’s legs and fly to White Island (Whakaari), Mayor Island (Tuhua) and Tauranga in the plane.
Another interesting memory that Whitty laughs at now, was meeting the Duke of Edinburgh. Whitty was hanging from a chain fence outside Elizabeth Park, when Prince Philip and his entourage walked past. The Prince, who was known to suffer from foot in mouth, said, “Look at those monkeys hanging from the wire” to which Whitty replies, “I suppose it depends on the side of the fence you’re on''.
By the time he was 13, Whitty was informed his dad had died: “I went to the funeral in the morning and afterwards got ready for school. Mum said, ‘No, you have to work.’” He went on to deliver meat for Dunlop’s Butchery on Cameron Road and deliver 100 papers for the Bay of Plenty Times.
A few years later, Whitty decided to join up with the army. He asked for his mother’s consent but she said no, until he reminded her that she had brothers younger than him in the navy. He was only 16, but like many other boys at the time, he raised his age to 18 and went to camp in Burnham - where he would go on to serve in the 27th Machine Gun Battalion 2nd NZEF. The hardy Kiwi went on to make it for the last day of the battle of monte cassino and sustained a bullet through his stomach later on in the war, which would exit the same hole that had been sewed up many years before thanks to a burst appendix.
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| Paperwork from the war trials in Japan |
Whitty saw a lot during the war that he doesn’t want to talk about but when it ended, he was told he was in the advanced guard to set up the J Force in Japan. Hiroshima had recently been bombed and there was nothing left standing. “I think there was the framework of only two buildings left”. In September 1946, he was a guard on duty at the war crimes trials of Japanese Generals. For the Whitmore family, it seems the war might be in the blood. His father’s cousin, George Stoddart Whitmore served in the Crimean War and would go on to set sail for New Zealand in 1861 as military secretary for General Duncan Cameron. By the time he arrived in the country, a truce had been declared, so he turned his hands to establishing a sheep run in Napier but by 1866, he led the colonial forces including several attacks on Te Kooti and Titokowaru’s forces. He became known as someone who was fiercely disliked, in part, possibly due to his military ability.
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| A recent photo of Whitty holding a picture of him during the war |
Whitty would go on to spend a lot of his time along the beach side where his fearsome ancestor was said to spend some time. He would catch the ferry from the foot of the Mount, to Tauranga District High school and has fond memories of donkeys which were hired out for rides along the beach by the harbour look out at the time - Taffy Davies.
Whitty also used to climb up the Whitmore steps, which were put in by his ancestor to assist the troops during the Gate Pa wars. They can be found just past the surf club, on the left.
From the moment he left school, to recent times, Whitty has always been a hard worker, which he partly attributes to his long life. As the years progressed he got more experience working hard on the land and went on to run a farm which was the largest supplier to the Bay of Plenty Dairy Company as well as the largest producer of tamarillos in the southern hemisphere.
Whitty continued to play a big part in the farming industry, right up to as recently as 2014, when he was project manager for the Ellip dairy farm conversion in Te Puke, an off-grid project that took 36 working days from issue of permits to milking cows. “I like to get things done,” he says simply.
With four children (three of whom are currently getting a pension) and more grandchildren than he can count, Whitty enjoyed three parties for his ninetieth. With only two years to plan his centenarian, it's anyone’s guess how many parties he will enjoy next time.
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| Whitty's Story: The Life and Times of Alaric Davenport Whitmore |
If you would like to read more about Whitty’s life, send him an email at whittymg27@gmail.com to secure his recently published book Whitty’s Story - The Life and Times of Alaric Davenport Whitmore.
