OXFORD DISTRICT HISTORY

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20647, 9 September 1932, Page 18

OXFORD DISTRICT HISTORY

School Diamond Jubilee

BEGINNINGS OF SETTLEMENT AND SAWMILLING

A Record of Achievement

Oxford has as interesting a history as any part of Canterbury. Beginning as a pastoral district, it became after ten years the home of a thriving timber-milling industry, which provided occupation for a large part of its people for 40 years or more. Since the gradual cutting out of the bush toward the turn of the century, the sawyers have yielded place to a more purely farming population. The Diamond Jubilee of the Oxford consolidated schools is to be celebrated on Friday next, September 16th, and in connexion with the Jubilee a history of the district, "The Story of Oxford," has been written by Mr Lancelot Watson. This history, which is admirable both from a literary and a historical viewpoint, has been drawn upon for the facts presented in the accompanying. articles.

Up to JS6U the settlers in the Oxford district -were almost exclusively j>ast»r;ili<*ts. In 1851 Mr Joseph Haydon, of Australia, sent one of his managers, Mr Joseph Pearson, with a flock of *heep to take u|> pastoral country. He took up Burnt Hill, View Hill, CraigiuIturn and Mount White runs. In a '•List of Runs in the Province of Canterbury" he is mentioned as taking up run Xo. 1 on October 25th, 1851 (Burnt Hill), of 7500 acres. Other runs were taken up as follows: View Hill, Mr J. C. Aitken, who sold to Captain ' \V. X. Millton (1851); Daguum, Mr C. J. W. Cookson (1854).; Carleton and "The Warren," Cookson and Bowler (1852); Ashley Gorge, Mr T. EilU and Mr G. Gartner (1852); Woodstock, Captain Foster (early '6O 's).

The First Settlers. The site of the present Oxford township was not included in any of the sheep runs, nor was any bush. For six •r uvea years only two bush sections had been taken up, these being No. 201, a block of 200 acres of pine bush, lying on the North, side of Main street, fcariag Bay road in the Eas£, Old Mill road on the West, and running back to Griffiths road' or Church street extension; and No. 411, a block of 50 acres of bush diagonally opposite the site of the Commercial Hotel. The first of these was purchased by Mr T. TI. 'Hooves, from the Canterbury Association/- in London, in September, ISSO, before the arrival of the first four thipn. He, with his partner Hill, settled ob this block, and they were the first-

For the First Ten Years.

comer* to Oxford. Their two lean-to houses nark the beginning of settle vent in Oxford. Block 411 was purchased in the same month by Mr J. T. Murphy, of Cust. At the edge of the bush Messrs Heaves and Hill built their two houses, the former at a little bush creek immediately behind where Mr Bunn lived, wall* the latter was within a few chains of the back of the West Oxford Bailway Station, near where Mr Tritt lived. Of these two houses Hill's was of the type so usual in tho early days, gamely, two good-sized, front rooms, with a lean-to of two rooms built on at the back. Beeves's house was more pretentious and had six rooms, two of which were upstairs. Taking up Bush Sections.

Mr Beeves did not remain long, and hit bouse remained empty and in an unfinished state for some time, until in 1854 Mr Wentworth Cookson, who had taken up the Dagnum run, came and lived in it. With Daniel Philpot a a partner, Mr Cookson began supplying

his neighbours with timber. Latar sawyers were r Mr Christopher Denby and Mr Charles Luers. "The bush sections taken up after Messrs Beeves's and Hill's central block laj', some at the back of this block and fronting Bay road; others along the bush edge further west towards the Terrace," wrote Mr Cookson in The Press of August 12th, 1900. "In 1857 a good many of the station holders acquired bush sections presumably to have a supply of timber for station use. In this way a large part of flat bush land had been acquired by 1860. Knowing the exact line of the original bush edge it is interesting to trace how the first Oxford sections were taken Up with the obvious idea of including the best portions of the valuable pine which covered the flats. The:open flats outside the bush at East Oxford seem to have been no attraction for some years to come, for they consisted largely of poor flax and tutu patches, intermingled with swampy tussock."

At the end of 1857 Mr Isaac March and his brother-in-law, Mr Christopher Dcnby, with their families came to Oxford. Mr Tom Marsh, an elder son of Mr Isaac JUarch, and his wife .made a third family. With them was Mr Alfred Ancall, Mrs T. Marsh's brother, who is still alive. The bush sections lying east of the central block were taken up by outsiders who were otherwise not interested in the Oxford Settlement. These first settlers in Oxford made their homes at the western end of the bush flats.

During the next year or two there came Mr D. Fisher and his family, Mr and Mrs John Paget with their large family, and one or two single men, who were pit sawyers. The Fishers bought Hill's house, where they

lived three years> and then built the public-house which at first occupied the site where the brick hotel in after years stood. The Pagets made their home on a 20-acre section at the edge of the West Oxford terrace; and it belonged to the family till quite recent date. Among the single men, pit, sawyers who lived in whares around the edge of the bush, was Mr Luers, already mentioned, who, a few years later, built the Harewood Arms Hotel at East Oxford. At this time his home was in Rangiora, but while in Oxford he lived in a sod whare on a section of tussock land which he had bought immediately opposite the present residence of Mr Alex. Baxter, "Currielea." Two others complete the number of residents in Old Oxford at 1859-60. One was Mr Satchell, who had a little four-roomed house at the corner opposite the Bank of New Zealand. This he kept as a public-house, the first' in Oxford. A year later this building had given place to a larger one which was known as the Oxford Hotel. It was owned

then by Mr S. Eedfern, who had bought it from Mr Satchell, who had been helping to cut the timber for it. The other was Mr Bennett,, who has the honour of being the fir/st. storekeeper in Oxford. In 1859 his dwelling was a little whare near Cookson's house, but he soon built for himself a four-roomed house of the usual lean-to style. Part of this is still standing. Other Developments. The Woodside Settlement had also begun, la 1865 Mr and Mrs James Lilly came to Oxford, and a month or two later they, with Mr and Mrs E. Marsh, took up bush holdings at Woodside. They, however, were preceded by the McGraths, who occupied a. whare on the bank of Cooper's Creek on the site of Mr B.' Vallance's residence. Captain Foster had bought, land across the creek, and his sons were building the house later occupied by Mr G. Cooper (Cooper's Creek), and still later by Mr T. Harle; Mr C. A. Brown has built his house on the site of the old residence. Nearer Oxford were Messrs McGillivray, McCandlish and Mcßrear. In the '7O 's the Carleton run was being sub-divided and settlement was taking place there. The early settlers were Messrs E. Bennett, Alfred Winter, Michael Winter, Josepth Cross, H. Engelbrecht, E. J. Eeed, H. Steffens, John Skurr, Hudson Lyttle, Grimwood, Curie and Dohrman. The terms West and East as applied to the Oxford Settlement belong to a later period. The names Oxford and Harewood Forest were given by Captain Thomas. Since it was towards the western end of the Oxford bush flats that settlement first took place it may naturally be assumed tltat this was the particular locality familiarly called for a few years "Oxford,'' while the settlement at the eastern end was spoken of as "Harewood Forest."