DUNEDIN IN THE SIXTIES

Evening Star, Issue 17037, 7 May 1919, Page 7

DUNEDIN IN THE SIXTIES

THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. In the 'Evening Star' of 27th. March last we had an article about the panoramic photograph of Dunedin in 1864 or 1865, which has been bought for the Dunedin Public Librarv. and we invited our readers to criticise or correct the notes on the subject that wo wrote from conflicting evidence. Several friends have responded, and wo thank them for doing so. Their communications are as follow : Mr S. X. Mnir (Broad Bay) writes: The panoramic, photograph of Dunedin referred to was taken by Mr J. W. Allen from the roof of my late mother's house on Bell Hill in 1864. There were only a few copies printed, as some of the plates got broken. Part of the panorama, from the Criterion Hotel northwards, was printed in the ' London Illustrated News' in 1865, of which I have a copy. Mr A. Bathgate writes: 1 have seen the old photo, and it has occurred to me that there is an error in your account when •jKi sav "Rattray street wharf is being built," "for I think the piles, etc., are not quite far enough out for the site of the wharf. 1 fancy, but may be wrong, that the piles, etc., shown were m connection with tho Rattray street sewer, which was carried through the reclaimed land thereabouts. The statement that MiDavid Proudfoot (contractor) and Mr Dempsev, of Smith and Dempsey (solicitors), were buvers of the freehold strip of land on the Rattray street reclamation, is to be modified. Mr Dempsev was dead at that time, but had loft money to be applied for the benefit of discharged hospital patients, etc., and his executor, Mr Henry Houghton, carried out this direction bv sharing in the purchase. Mr W. C. Shepherd (Maori Hill) writes: The .contractor for Cargill's Monument was Mr John Collins, a Melbourne man, a partner with Mr Young. I believe they bad the contract fj>r St, Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. Mr Collins came here in 1863 to build Sargood's warehouse—the first biL: job of its kind in this town. I and another took a sub-contract for" all the woodwork. When iinished Mr Collins took another contract, to build Mr W. Barr's warehouse, alongside Sargood's. We also had a sub-contract at Barr's job. Mr Collins was also busy erecting the monument at the Octagon. A shed, where the Burns Monument now stands. was used to hold the material, I and my mate having a portion in which_ to prepare tho joiners' work for Barr's store. Mr Collins told me he thought I lie monument would pav him. I believe the contract price was £1,400. I left some time before it was iinished. staying some time in Christehureh. Now I cannot remember when the monument was started, _ but_ 1 fanev it was in the early part of 1864. Before I left Mr Collins told me he was retiring from the building trade, as the business was a risky one. He intended going back to his native place in the North of Ireland, as he had enough to keep him without further worries. It is pointed out to us that the late Mr James MTndoe's chronological record crives the date of the commencement of the building of the Cargill Monument as 12th March' 1864. This, we may remark, would lit in with other evidence, and Mr M'lndoe's book is. as we have often proved, most reliable. The trouble is that on ,fhis particular point it is in direct conflict with the inscription on the monument itself—" Erected by the people of Otaso in the year 1863." Mr d. C. Proudfoot, to whom we are indebted for many facts in the preparation of the main article, makes two corrections : The compiler of the old direetorv soellod his name " Harnett," not " Hartnett," and the name of the chemist in Princes street was "Hods," not "Dodds." Mr Adam 'Glen tells us that the First Church building shown in the photograph stood not on the site now occupied by the Standard Insurance, but on or near to the present site of the King's Theatre. Mr W. B. M'Ewan, public librarian, writes: If you are writing a further notice of the picture, you might suggest that donations of old' views in and around tho City will be gratefully received by tho Public Library, where they will be carefully preserved in the New Zealand section of the department.