YESTERDAY’S NEWS TODAY VOL. I. No. 1 March 2015

A free publication of The Post Newspaper, Waiuku www.thepostnewspaper.co.nz, Ph 09 235 7835

This portion of the Waiuku district, like many other of our country settlements, is pushing its way prosperously. The settlers are all in fair circumstances, and appar-ently contented. The establishment of Mr. Keleher’s flax mill has given employment for many of the neighbours, and the article sent by this gentlemen to Auckland, I believe, re-alises the highest market price. A very neat church has been erected by the settlers, and regular visits are paid by the Very Rev. Dr. McDonald, their pastor, who is a great favourite with all the residents. The settlers are lucky in having a district school estab-lished, which is under the management of Mr. Horan. The average daily attendance is about thirty-two, but for some reason or other no grant is given by the Central Board of Education. I regret, however, to notice the numerous reports of cattle-killing; many’ of these report;* may not have much foundation, and it is to be hoped, for the credit of the entire district, there will be no occasion for further allusion to the matter. — [Correspondent.] Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4260, 10 April 1871, Page 2

Pictured above: Flax mill, Waipipi, 1908. Workers pause for the camera in front of the flax mill at Maraero-hia, Waipipi, 1908.

(15 September 1969) - New Zealand Steel Limited was incorporated in 1965 and first began producing steel at its Glenbrook mill in 1968. NZ Steel pioneered new techniques in the production of iron and steel. It has also endured a number of changes as a result of passing from public to private ownership. The constant factor has been the mill’s use of rich North Island black sands.

First steel produced from local ironsand

6 Feb 19701969

In 1864 the Government proposed a scheme by which migrants would be granted a section of lands and given a free passage to New Zea-land. The social and economic planning of the scheme seems to have been quite sound, but carried within it the class structure of the old world.Families brought out by the scheme would be granted a subsistence farmlet for their dwell-ing and food growing, while road building and other Government works would provide a cash income. The settlement of small hold-ings was also to be surrounded with larger farms to be sold to more wealthy people who could afford to employ labour.In the case of Waipipi, the migrants would come from South Africa and be granted five acres. For Kohekohe, the settlers would come from England to be granted ten acres. Agen-cies were established to select the future population. In Cape Town the agent had to call the police to stop a riot among the 1000 applicants, some of whom broke windows in their attempt to secure selection.Many applicants were from Irish families ea-ger to a second migration after the first, from Irish potato famine, and disappointment

with the dry conditions in South Africa.Those chosen for Waipipi were included in the first shipment of 200 passengers in the Steinwarder which left Cape Town on August 17, 1864, arriving at Auckland on October 14, 1864.These people were taken to an unsatisfac-tory barracks on the North Shore where they stayed in dreadful conditions for three months until January 6, 1865, when 12 fami-lies were sent out to Waipipi, and a further 63 families were sent out to Whiriwhiri on Feb-ruary 2, 1865.The friendships formed on the voyage, in the barracks, and perhaps earlier, explain why there was so much contact between these two districts in the initial settlement years.Other’s chosen for Waipipi were put aboard the Alfred on September 27, 1864, and ar-rived in Auckland on November 16, 1864. Af-ter spending time in Auckland barracks they were sent to Waipipi on February 2, 1865, to their five acre sections which were still being surveyed.Government delays had resulted in surveyors being sent out to begin work a day before the first settlers waded ashore.

Settlers arrive at Waipipi

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The Observer, Sat Sep 7, 1889

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I see that R D has got GH the ring. I wonder when they are going to tie the fatal knot..H H won’t frac-ture any more pet bunions, now that he has the dancing shoes.. L H says she has got a boy now. I think they will soon run in double harness. She looks so nice on W’s arm...H C looked very happy riding along the beach with EC the other week. What did MR think about it ? Never mind, M. .I suppose the mails come in more regularly now, since we have had our new postmistress.. J McN looks quite forlorn since LG has gone away. Poor boy. The Observer, March 1897, Page 22

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VOL. I. No. 1 March 2015A free publication of The Post Newspaper, Waiuku

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New beginningsEdward Constable operated three flax mills in the Waiuku area, one of which was at Taurangatira. Work offered in the mill was sought after by settlers especially during the depression in 1868. Kauri gum deposits also provided an income, from £25 to £30 per ton in Auckland and a man could make up to 5/- a day.

Colonist > 23 June 1868 > Page 4

The CreameryOn the farms cheese making was a principle industry, until the creamery was established. Farmers took their milk to the creamery where it was put through a separator and then they returned home with the skimmed milk to feed to the pigs. One of the great leaps forward in farming was the introduc-tion of separators to the home farms. Cream was then taken to the Waipipi wharf to be collected by the cutter Betsy and taken to Waiuku. In later years it was collected at the farm gate by local carriers and finally in the 1960s whole milk collection by tanker trans-port began.

The Waipipi creamery buildings, ca 1900. Farm-ers line up with their horses and carts with cream cans on board on the road outside the creamery.

A Post Office was opened in Waipipi in June 1884 and the first Post Master was Mr W. Ogilvie. In 1913 the office became a Tele-graph Office and Bureau with a switchboard and small local exchange. It operated until April 1, 1940.

The Manukau Harbour supported a lively shipping trade from the 1850s. The first ship to regularly trade between Waiuku and One-hunga was the schooner Maori, followed by Edward Constable’s Betsey. She became a fa-miliar sight along the harbour, calling at the many wharves around the harbour’s shores and was in service for almost 40 years.The little sailing cutters eventually gave way to steam, the first were the Lady Barkly and the Halcyon, which was especially built for the Waiuku run. Probably the best remem-bered ships were the Weka the Manukau and the Elsie. The opening of the railway in 1921 and a bus service to Auckland about the same time, spelt the beginning of the end for shipping on the Manukau.

Shipping

A lovely old Morton Bay Fig tree,still stands in Waipipi, believed to have been planted when the origional

Catholic church was on the site, and under the tree are the remnants of paths or flagstones that were part

of the church grounds. Of course the church building is long gone, we are not sure what happened to it and per-haps we can find this out as part of

these celebrations.

Observer > 7 March 1896 > Page 22

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Auckland Star > 27 February 1902 > Page 2

SS Weka at Te Toro Wharf - used to service all the small farming communities within the Districts.

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VOL. I. No. 1 March 2015A free publication of The Post Newspaper, Waiuku

How gorse came to WaipipiThe story goes (and is said to be true) that an enterprising farmer at Glenbrook planted a paddock of gorse as sheep fodder. On seeing the familiar furze growing, a wave of nostal-gia hit a couple of Irish settlers of Waipipi. Here was just the thing to plant for hedge rows and to remind them of home as well.So these upstanding citizens rowed across the harbour to Glenbrook in the dark of night and carefully and quietly ‘acquired’ some of the seed pods and returned jubilantly home to carefully plant and nurture the ‘yellow goss’.The first blackberry patch in Waipipi was found on Kelly’s farm and many a small boy was late for school when the blackberries were ripe. No one knows how the bushes came there, but they thrived in the warm sandy soil and soon became a familiar sight on all the farms in the district.

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Haymaking at Frank Gillotts. On stack - Charlie Cooper and Mr Tee. Gate sweep below stackers - Tom Saunders & George Lever. Against stack from left - Norm Gillott, Frank Gil-lott. Infront - Elvie and Violet sitting on the other side of the sweep.

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Franklin Patriotic Sports - The Waipipi pla-toon of the Franklin Home Guard marching away with a cup won at the patriotic sports held at Pukekohe on Saturday

Women were wonderful managers: hard working, good neighbours and al-ways willing to help those in trouble or in need. A farm-er’s wife could turn a hand to whatever was needed, there were no labour saving devices or electricity as we have today. So to start the day a woman had to light the stove to cook the breakfast and to heat the water for the dishes afterwards. While breakfast cooked, she had to fill the kerosene lamps and trim the wicks and clean the glass chimneys ready for the night. Also the candle sticks ready for the bedrooms. Candles were home made in moulds and a good supply was always on hand and many a bottle was used as a make shift candle holder.

A pioneer woman’s typical day at Waipipi

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A free publication of The Post Newspaper, Waiuku VOL. I. No. 1 March 2015

The Waiuku Survey 1864(The following are extracts from Remi-niscences of a Pioneer Surveyor by S. Percy Smith 1840-1916)“I was engaged on the above survey about 12 months, it consisted in the di-vision of the country into farms, roads, native reserves etc. “A scheme was now put in hand for set-tling a number of people on small lots of land we had barely engaged on. The idea was originated by Robert Graham (Superintendent of Auckland Province) I think, and was a foolish one for it was proposed (and afterwards carried out) to give them five acres each on which to starve.”Second expedition 1865 - “On January 7 five cutters arrived off Waipipi with 200 of the new immigrants under the charge of Mr Zimmerman. They camped near us. I saw them landing from the cutters — men, women and children wading up to their knees, a very nice experience of their new homes.”

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Auckland Star, Nov 27, 1903

AT WAIUKU A section of the large gathering in the school grounds yesterday afternoon dur-ing roll call. Many ex-pupils were present, the oldest being Miss Kelly, who attended, during the first years of the school’s establishment - New Zealand Herald, 24 February 1934

The Pukekohe and Waiuku Times, July 14, 1914

LARGE GATHERING PRESENT AT THE DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF THE WAIPIPI SCHOOL

2015 - Waipipi School children are travelling back in time, currently studying the 150 years of European Settlement within Waipipi and Districts.