August Meeting: A Few of My Favourite Things by Stephanie Smith

On Sunday afternoon Stephanie gave us an entertaining and visually delightful introduction to ten of her favourite items from the archives and rare books collections of Tauranga City Libraries.

The items range from the gorgeous and glamorous (Volume I of Buller's lavish History of the Birds of New Zealand, 1888, in gold-stamped green leather) to the deceptively drab (a tiny battered diary that accompanied its owner through the hardships of army life in the Middle East in 1919).

Image © and courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries Ref. 05-294

They are not all books, either. Horatio Gordon Robley's lively watercolour of a waka race on Tauranga Harbour on Boxing Day 1865 shows the people of Tauranga out enjoying themselves, after the tense times of the land wars.

The contents of one box came as a surprise to some in the audience, as you might not expect to find a collection of embroidered tablecloths in an archive which looks after the documentary heritage of the Bay of Plenty. However, it all depends on context: the tablecloths form part of a donation from the Tauranga South Women's Institute, which went into recess a few years ago and recently gave the linen, along with other material, to Research Collections.

August 2013 Newsletter

Marquetry from cupboard in bedroom, Brain Watkins House

Monthly Society Meetings

Unless otherwise stated, all general meetings of the Society are held at 2.p.m. on the first Sunday of the month in the hall at the rear of the Brain Watkins House, followed  by afternoon tea.

4 August 2013 -  Our president Stephanie Smith will talk about “A few of my favourite things” – special items from the archives at the Tauranga Library. On this occasion the meeting will be held at the Okahukura Room on the first floor of the Library.

1 September 2013 -  Brigid Gallagher, late of the History Channel’s Time Team will tell us about her finds from below the Grumpy Mole, the site of three former Tauranga Hotels.

6 October  2013 -  Peter Vickers BDS (Defence Studies)  will speak on ‘Cameron, Grey and the Invasion of the Waikato’

3 November 2013 - to be advised.

New display cabinet in History Room, Brain Watkins House

Thanks to the generosity of a benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous, your Committee has been able to commission a display cabinet for the History Room. Some of the house's smaller treasures can now be displayed safely and attractively. Members are encouraged to come and have a look. Our very grateful thanks to the donor.

Cemetery Activities

The shorter days and colder weather have slowed the wet and forget spraying in Tauranga's historic cemeteries. Heather McLean and Fiona Kean have now completed several sprays of the Avenue's cemeteries and have begun the older section of the Pyes Pa cemetery.  They are happy to report that the 'Wet and Forget' is doing its job, and many of the inscriptions which had previously been obscured are now visible. Spraying will start again when the weather gets warmer.

The graves of Joseph and Kate Brain lie in the 17th Avenue Methodist cemetery. Their daughters Elva and Bessie are also buried in another row there.

Brain Family News

The death occurred in Hamilton in July of Arthur Joseph (Dick) McNaughton at the age of 94. He was the last surviving grandchild of Joseph and Kate Brain.  He served as a sergeant in the 2nd Expeditionary Force in WW2, and is included in the photograph with his brothers on the timeline in the History Room.

Email Newsletter Distribution

If you are continuing to receive your newsletter by snail mail, but have email, please advise the secretary at taurangahistorical@gmail.com, and further contact will be by that medium. 

On this day in 1864

Surrender of the Ngaiterangi at Te Papa, Watercolour by H.G. Robley
Ref: A-033-010. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

On 5th and 6th August 1864, Governor Grey accepted the submission of Ngaiterangi to the authority of Queen Victoria, after the battles of Gate Pa and Te Ranga.  The subsequent confiscation of land marked the opening of the Tauranga district to organised Europen settlement.

Scene at Tauranga, with Ngati Rangi bringing in their arms and the arms of British soldiers captured in battle, after the battle of Gate Pa. The White Ensign is flying on a flagpole. A large group of Maori is seated, with their leader, Hori Ngatai standing in the centre and speaking. The captured British swords are plunged into the ground close to the table where the peace agreement is being signed. A two-storied European house at upper left and another house in the background

The Alexander Turnbull Library has a date of 25th July 1864 for this water colour, so the meeting depicted may have taken place a little earlier than the formal ceremony.

Sources

Bellamy, A C (ed.) (1982) Tauranga 1882-1982, Tauranga: Tauranga City Council [Courtesy of Stephanie Smith].

Stokes, E. (1980) A History of Tauranga County, Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

On this day in 1835

A missionary raupo house at Te Papa Mission Station, Tauranga, March 1839.
Ref: PUBL-0098-01-05-15. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

In August 1835, the first C.M.S. mission at Tauranga was occupied by W.R. Wade, the site on the peninsula at Te Papa having been selected by Alfred Nesbitt Brown and William Williams a year earlier. Between May 1836 and January 1838 the station was cared for by a number of missionaries who were without their families, assisted by Matiu Paratakone Tahu. Rev. Brown and his family only arrived to live at Te Papa permanently in January 1838.

A sketch of the entrance of Tauronga [Tauranga], by Capt Thomas Wing, June 1835.
Ref: MapColl-832.16aj/1835/Acc.423. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

In the same month, Captain Thomas Wing produced the earliest known sketch of Tauranga Harbour.

A hydrographic chart sketching the entrance of the Tauranga Harbour, depicting the path of the British Navy ship 'Fanny', around Mount Maunganui and Waikouwai, with full sounding information. Identifies fortified pa site named 'Tumaitai Pa', the accompanying diagram identifies six whare or houses and two storage huts.

Sources

The Elms History Timeline, on The Elms Misson Station web site

Bellamy, A C (ed.) (1982) Tauranga 1882-1982, Tauranga: Tauranga City Council [Courtesy of Stephanie Smith].

Matheson, A. (2012) Tahu, Matiu Parakatone, from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 30-Oct-2012.

Stokes, E. (1980) A History of Tauranga County, Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

Taylor, Richard (Rev) (1940) Making New Zealand; Pictorial surveys of a century, Wellington, Department of Internal Affairs, Ref: PUBL-0098-01-05-15.

Alf Rendell, photographer

Photo © Fiona Kean

Despite apprenticeship offers, and his father’s encouragement that he take a government job, Alf Rendell chose photography and stuck with it. It was, after all, in his blood. 

Alf’s father, Robert John Rendell was a professional photographer. Trained in Hamilton he travelled the country taking images that were often published in the Auckland Weekly News. Finding work scarce after the First World War he moved his family to Tauranga to become the town’s meter reader working with the electrical pioneer Lloyd Mandeno. In 1926 his desire to return to photography led him to purchase a photographic business from Robert Meers.

This photograph  includes a view of the Cabana Lodge on Adams Ave. It is the two storied building between Mt Maunganui Road and The Mall. Other notable buildings in this image include Adams Cottage to the right of the Lodge, the Oceanside Hotel and the Peter Pan Hall at the base of Mt Drury. Photo © Alf Rendell

Initially working from home in Edgecumbe Road the business grew and a studio was established in the Triangle Building at the bottom of Devonport Road. Downstairs Alf’s mother ran the shop while upstairs his  father took portraits. His sister Marje developed film and colour tinted photographs, something she was very good at. It was Marje who showed Alf how to work in a dark room and he clearly remembers developing his first film. The joy he felt when the image was revealed has always stayed with him.

With his father’s health failing in 1938 Alf, aged 20, took over the business only to find himself closing it in 1941 when army service in the Pacific called. Although the studio was converted into a Chinese Laundry the sympathetic  landlord promised the building would be available on Alf’s return.

On the corner of Spring and Durham Streets was Sam Snowden's Service Station, one of several stations in town. The Austin 10 to the right of the photograph was owned by Alf who took this shot in the 1950s.  Photo © Alf Rendell

After the war Rendell’s Photoservice included a Candid Studio, photo finishing and camera retail. Alf also worked as a freelance photographer trading under the name Renwood Studio. Finding himself pulled in too many directions Alf made the decision to sell, keeping only the retail side of the business which he passed on to his son Graham, also a photographer.

Over his more than 80 years of taking photographs in Tauranga Alf has captured many important moments from smiling babies to happy wedding days. He’s flown in aeroplanes to get panoramic views and recorded buildings and businesses that have long since disappeared. It is Tauranga’s history that Alf captured through his lens and continues to share with others.  

If you would like to purchase a Rendell print call Alf on 07 576 9237