Avondale Historical Journal No. 8

Volume 2 Issue 8 November – December 2002

The Avondale Historical Journal Official Publication of the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society Incorporated

Local Election Day: 1922 Inside this issue: 1–2

As I write this, it is a few weeks away from yet another Local Election (October 2001). I thought I’d give you a glimpse at the way things were in 1922, just to compare the way thing are now (with postal voting etc.) with the way it was nearly 80 years ago.

Growing Up in the 1930s and 1940s

3–4

On 29 April 1922, the first Avondale Borough Council was elected, and the first Mayor was Mr James Watkin Kinniburgh.

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Challenge of the Whau books available

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Local Elections 1922

This from the News of Avondale (courtesy of Mrs P Ferry and the Kinniburgh Family) “Never before in the history of Avondale has such keen interest been taken in any local affair as was manifest on Saturday last, when the election of the first Mayor and Councillors was held. From the opening to the closing of the poll there was a constant stream of voters, wending their way to the various booths…. “Throughout the day motor cars and other conveyances were speeding along in the interests of various candidates, and a pleasing feature in that connection is the fact that partisans frequently gave lift to opponents when the “right” car was otherwise engaged … “Soon after the booths closed (7 p.m.) little groups of electors began to assemble outside Mr Jame Watkin Kinniburgh, first Mayor of Avondale, 1922. Taken while in the Town Hall, eager to hear the results. As the office. Courtesy Mrs P Ferry and the minutes sped by the crowd got bigger and bigKiniburgh family. ger, and the old proverb, “It is an ill wind which blows nobody good” was exemplified, for hundreds patronised Empson’s Pictures to pass the time away, the result being that before 8 p.m. even standing room was not obtainable outside. However, those disappointed at not being able to see the picture found little incidents to keep them amused, one individual who had been imbibing somewhat freely giving some “patter” which caused a good deal of good-humoured chaff, while the local weather prophet came out in a new role, obliging the crowd with a vocal effort – an effort, by the way, which showed that a few years ago he must have possessed a voice of more than average sweetness. (continued next page) (continued from previous page)

The Avondale Historical Journal

Volume 2 Issue 8

Official Publication of the

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Local Election Day: 1922 “A welcome interlude in the long wait occurred about 9 p.m., when Mr Munns announced that Mr J. W. About our first Mayor Kinniburgh had been elected as the first Mayor of Avondale, with the substantial majority of 159. Loud and were assisted immigrants on the George Fife in 1842, arprolonged cheers greeted this announcement, and “His riving in Port Nicholson and having shared the voyage Worship” mounted the steps of the hall, accompanied by with William Fox. the new Mayoress, and gracefully acknowledged the compliment paid him, J. W. Kinniburgh was born in Wellington and expressed his determination that no “Mr Munns 11 April 1858 and started his career of effort would be lacking on his part durannounced that Mr public service in 1873, attached to the ing the coming twelve months to show Post and Telegraph and Railway Departthat the confidence reposed in him that J. W. Kinniburgh ments for the first ten years, then left the day would not be regretted by the elechad been elected as civil service to become Secretary of the tors. Taranaki Farmers Co-operative Associathe first Mayor of tion. After a year and a half, he went into “Mr. W. J Tait, the unsuccessful candiAvondale, with the business in Waitara as Produce and Comdate for Mayoral honours, heartily conmission agent. He then went back to substantial majority gratulated his opponent, and wished him Wellington, joining the Actuarial Branch a successful year in office. If, he said, of 159. Loud and of the Government Life Insurance Dept., the electors desired his services on some working on valuation and distribution of prolonged cheers future occasion, he would always be at bonuses. He married Naomi Colebrook in their service. Mr Tait was heartily greeted this 1879 in New Plymouth. cheered for the sporting manner in which announcement…” he took his defeat. In 1910, he wrote a paper advocating the decimalisation of New Zealand’s cur“As the time sped on various rumours rency, and tables on government began to get circulated that so-and-so statistics. After spending twenty-nine years in the Insurwas “in”, the name being varied occasionally. Some peoance Department, he was asked in 1915 to take charge of ple gave credence to the rumours, and rejoiced premathe newly established War Funds Office, which handled, turely – or, maybe, were disappointed without cause. A under his administration, £6,000,000. He retired in 1919, little reflection would have shown that no authentic results but retained his position as Secretary of the National could have been known until the returning officer made Funds Council in an honorary capacity at the insistence of his declaration. However, by this means, some more time the Minister of Internal Affairs. was “killed”, and when the picture show was over the ranks of the crowd were swelled until nearly a thousand Living in Auckland during his retirement, he and his wife people were straining their necks towards the upstairs were residents on Station Road, Avondale, just along and windows of the Town Hall, inside which the votes were down from Henry Street. He was Mayor of Avondale for being counted up. only one term, from 1922-1923. He died, in Auckland, on 24 July 1941 . “At last, close on 11 p.m., Mr Munns announced the result of the provisional count, and as each name and number of votes received were announced the “backers” heartily expressed their jubilation. Several of the successful candidates and one of the unsuccessful ones mounted the steps of the hall, and expressed thanks for the support received; a few minutes later the crowd wended its way homeward in little groups, comparing notes as to how many “winners” they had picked. It was an occasion which will be long remembered, being quite unique as far as Avondale is concerned, for as stated above, never before has so much interest been shown in local affairs.” According to his descendants, James W. Kinniburgh’s parents (David Kinniburgh, a carpenter, and Jane Fidge)

The Avondale Historical Journal

Volume 2 Issue 8

Official Publication of the

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Growing Up in the 1930s and 1940s by Bruce Spencer I was born in Rosebank Road. Avondale, in 1931. My father was a harness-maker by trade, and with the coming of the motor-car he worked for General Motors in Wellington as an upholsterer. On returning to Auckland he had a house built in Avondale, but found work hard to obtain. When I was three years old my father had to sell up and we moved to Penrose, as work was easier to get in the freezing works. He soon became a foreman in the small-goods department, and he stayed there until the war years, when he was man-powered to the JPB (Joint Purchasing Board) as head storeman. I grew up in the Penrose, Ellerslie. Te Papapa and Onehunga districts, walked a mile and three quarters to school every day until the end of Standard IV, after which I went to Otahuhu Technical High School for Forms I and II, then moving on to Seddon Memorial Technical College, where I took an engineering course, leaving in Form IV to take up an apprenticeship. At primary school I played cricket and football for the school. In the early days our neighbour, a painter by trade in the Railway workshops, had a great workshop at home, in which he built a three-wheeled car, and I was always there to see what was going on. The car had a wooden chassis and wheel-barrow wheels, and was powered by a motor-cycle engine. Unfortunately, even in those days he could not register it or get a warrant of fitness for it, because of the wooden chassis, and its being too low to the ground. After driving it around the roads three or four times at night he put it under the house and stripped it down. Another venture of his was a gas producer that he was building at the start of the war. I used to sit on the cylinders as he drilled them by hand, cut out the holes with a cold chisel and filed them smooth –all by hand. This took about six months’ work and it was nearly finished when he was told he could not use it because it was home made. After that he bought an old Rugby car and stripped it right down and restored it to new condition. I did help in this project, and that is where I developed my love of engineering. After school there was always work to be done around home, cutting firewood. My father and I constructed a saw-horse and with a 4ft-6in M-tooth crosscut saw I used to cut old railway sleepers and split them for the coal range and the copper. When Forest Products Ltd started to build in 1939, they took all the fence-wire

off the posts and left the posts standing. I asked if I could have them, and they said as many as I could dig out. We had two timber jacks at home, so with a piece of chain and a shackle around the post, and the help of the kid next door, I was able to get the lot. Our old retired neighbour used to sharpen the saw for me, until he taught me to do it myself and I always had a sharp saw after that, as my father bought another, similar, saw.(There were no chainsaws in those days.) On Sunday afternoons I used to cut enough kindling wood for the week, outside if it was fine, in the garage if it was wet. We always had a large garden, and Dad having to milk the house-cow night and morning, I had to help in the garden. I never minded doing these chores, as it gave me responsibility in the family. We had fruit-trees – peaches, nectarines, figs – and a large passion-fruit vine. We had a fowl-run and a chickencoop. The chickens were fed bone-meal as part of their mash, and water-cress collected from a stream was hung in a peach-tree for the fowls to peck at. Mum and I used to go blackberrying and she used to blackberry and apple tarts, blackberry jam and apple jelly, as well as marmalade. I used to help peel the onions for pickling. About this time (1941) I met the gardener from Forest Products, who lived up the road from me. He grew gladioli for shows and I soon learnt the art of cutting the bulbs, joining the halves together, tying them with raffia and waiting two years for a new bloom. I had some great shows in the front garden at home. In the winter the paddocks around our place would have large ponds in them, some about three feet deep in the middle. We used to make canoes out of a sheet of old corrugated iron with a piece of 4” x 1” for the bow and the stern. We would pull the centre out and nail a piece of 6” x 1” for a seat. Any old nail-holes in the iron were patched with tar off the road. We had an old kerosene heater, a large one, from which I cut out the centre. We used to fill it up with dry gorse and set it alight and cook eggs. tomatoes and toast on it. I was lucky, because Dad had a car and we had a radio for entertainment. Dad always came home for lunch, to hear the war news. Sometimes I would go home on my (continued next page) (continued from previous page) bike for lunch, as well, and this day Dad told me to

Volume 2 Issue 8 Page 4 tell the teacher when I got back to school that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour in the Hawaiian Islands. The headmaster heard me telling one of the boys, asked me how I had found out about this and went away to phone (no phones in the school in those days). That afternoon we had a geography lesson on the Hawaiian Islands. In summer, after dinner in the evening, we would play cricket on the road outside our place until about 8-30 p.m. We might have to stop once or twice in the evening for the odd car or pony and trap coming down the road. If it was wet, we would sit around on the back porch, whittling a piece of wood with a sharp pocketknife and yarning, or making shanghais to chase the birds out of the fruit trees. (To be continued)

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The Avondale Historical Journal

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Published by the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society Inc. Editor: Lisa J. Truttman, 19 Methuen Road, Avondale, Auckland Phone: (09) 828-8494, Fax: (09) 828-8497, email: [email protected] AWHS site www.geocities.com/avondalehistory Rimtark www.geocities.com/rimtark/index.html Earth Settler www.earthsettler.tripod.com/esindex/earthsettlerhome.htm Archive Room www.geocities.com/archiveroom/

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Avondale-Waterview Historical Society Inc. Committee 2002/2003: President Sec/Treasurer

Avondale Photo Centre, 1962 Great North Road,

Historical Research Officer: Committee: Ngaire Bishop Robert Browne Eileen Browne Robert Chisholm Elizabeth Clark Dorothy Maddock

Bruce Spencer Alison Turner

The Society and editorial staff thank

Lisa Truttman

Avondale Business Association for their continued support and sponsorship of this publication.