DUNEDIN AS IT WAS

Evening Star, Issue 17284, 24 February 1920, Page 8

DUNEDIN AS IT WAS

'AND AS IT IS

INTERVIEW WITH SIR ROBERT -STOUT.

Out of a conversation a few days ago with Sir Robert Stout, and the remarkthat it was some time since he had stayed so long in Dunedin, came the opening up of a flood of interesting recollections which w© have permission to publish. "Yes, said Sir Robert, "I went s to Wellington in 1895, and practically settled there, and I have not since then heen foi so long in Dunedin. Having had time tc Hook about during this'visit, I have noticed the great advance made by Dunedin. The improvement of the Town Belt is a matter that must "be observed by persons who knew Dunedin in the past years. I presbffie, that this is partly the work of the Am6oities Society, with the co-operation of the City Council. The streets are also w much 061101' condition than they used to be, and one notices the attractiveness of, the public and private gardens, and .ihirt &e general surroundings of the City sia Sflgatly &ud satisfactory. J saw Dunedin first, in 1864, the bity was being laid out under the direction pf M* Millar, F.S.A.. who was engineer to -the Dunedin Town Board, and who retained his position when Dunedin , became a municipality. In the winter of thai year none of the footpaths had any pavement worth mentioning. The only pavement in the whole city was in the B&H of Evinces street known as the uttina The sidewalks, then in process of formation, were mostly of clay, with n little metal or gravel spread on the move aßppetfy/ places. Mud was encountered ever Where, and every man wore leggings Visitors, especially those from Australia. found plenty of opportunities to grumble about the condition of the streets, awl • the Residents had to put up with chaff on ■ the subject from those who treated the ' sitijatlon satirically. The fact, of course •tffcs thfli the city was being made faster '. th&n it could be finished; it was going .•.through its babyhood at amazing speed. f'JJow' there are good streets, well-formed, < wita proper pavements, and a fine tram service that js » great convenience. The isjaly Jputjlio conveyances in the early days, ,to which X referred, were cabs that ran 1 between the Bank of New Zealand and the Water of Leith. The cabs of that ' period were of the kind that one saW :n Melbourne, I have not seen them for years. They were built for six passengers, sitting back to back, but sometimes carried seven or eight, and the fare was 6d whatever the distance. Gargill's Monument was riot at that time in the Octagon: it was built a little later. There was no road through the Octagon. You went round it in passing from Princes street to GeoTge street, most persons using the road on the lower side. The difference between the Dunedin of 56 years ago and the Dundin of to-day is simply immeasurable. All South Duoedjii was a swamp. There were no houses at St. Olair, St. Kilda had been sold in sections, but hardly any buildings were erected, "There c4ii be hardly any comparison between tSegotaal life of Dunedin now and th£p. But thete was a considerable amount of amusement even then. Music halls we¥e the vogue—l. think there were «{js '<s thsm-KHis tho two theatres, th" s*piflciess and $& Royal, were generally often, the' jPrJriceea nearly always. There ■ the ,Y&a?hall Gardens, as a place of , JM&flft <?n holidays, little steamers going i4a MicL'feOj" two hwrbor steamers runinittgf as-'tSbafc ;tdjne -jwera the Golden Age an-! \\iis PenpSuia, Besides the profession;, iifcheaiadcali performances there were often good by amateurs, the Phi!pasfmopw Society being prominent in thar .ip'oy giving concerts of marked merit. ?Tho Jtfeseoi Stock Exchange was at a :Istei; period used fos music, hut not at "th© feftfj to .which J refer. It was, as a oflte, !R)f6 jbuildittg now coinmonly called tni& £ost (jfnefes and out of use save for •iSs |/Bn4i3 &b4 Deeds Department, was f[(J4k, ; "Ji vrp&~ finished, I think, in 7, "SM'theii the Postal Department movecl into it, aad the building now the StooS Exchange was token possession of bjf thft University of Otago. It was after ftifid 'Piuversity got the building that con- ' certs' swe sometimes held there. In the 'ooVritgr e£ years the Provincial Council met In m jPoat Office block. In 1864- the of the Council were held in St. GeorgfiTß Hall, nearly opposite St. Paul's Cbutftb, tft fctflart street. The building ■iianttS id wis day. Sometime after 1864 ithe EjJovfocial Council met in Parley's jjEfolli ty thti Outting, I could fill up your s'tiapei? wth the Provincial Council incideafa (if those days. On one occasion, in ijfcu. Hall, the gas went out, and each, member *wos supplied with a candle .' efcucjSs i& $> _ beer bottle, and what was sM&an#h!ty intended as a joke was played ,<m. Mr Alex, Rennie, member for the ■Pateri, by putting his candle into a fager, hseSr bottle, as a playful reference, suppose, his being a teetotaller. Sir John Richardson, a dignified man, was Speaker Of the Provincial Council in 1864, and Mr John Hyde Harris was Superintendent of the Province.

"There were three schools in Dunedin suburbs when I came—one in the Northeast Valley, one at Gaversham, and one at Anderson Bay. The'three Dunedin schools were what was called the South School, of Whioh Mr Park was i-he master; the lllddle School (where the Technical School low stands). Mr" Halliwell being the master; (vnd the Union Street School, Mr jEtewari its master. Mr Mitchell was Blaster of the Gaversham School before Mr Milne. The Athenjenm was in those days at the corner of High and Manso streets. It wa3 largely patronised, especially the magazine room. The formation lof the Otago Chess Club was mainly due to the efforts of half a dozen of us; Dr Xates, Mr B. L. Farjeon, Mr John Mouat, Mi 3?. Paithfull Begg, and myself were ■ the first who suggested the scheme. The -establishing of a swimming tlub was another undertaking. That was in 1866 or 1867, Amongst the promoters of that <?Udj were Dr Burns, Mr Digbv Smith, Mr .Liisfc. Mr Faithfull Beg", Mr Campbell (in Ross and Qlendinings employ), and myself, The first meeting of the club wa? in 6be European Hotel. At first there, was no shed. We just bathed off the Pelichet Bay jetty. After a while accommodation was provided for the ittimmer!* "Qrickfifc was the popular field game of the day. Football came later. There were some good cricketers here then— C. C Kettle, Gibson T-urton, W. D. Murison, J. Fulton, F. Macdonald, W, G. J, B. Bradshaw, W. Hendley, and ptjhers ■vyhoee names I forget. I call to Mai a iijatch between the High School hoyijmi the Grammar School boys on the Utann Dunedin Ground in 1864. The cap- , tain of the High School team was the boy 1 who afterwards became Sir Francis Bell, and his brother Edward was captain oi she Grammar School team. I played in that match, as one of the masters oi tho Grammar Sohool, and our side got beaten, bur boys being too small to do much. When football came in I took a part in giving tp.B game a start. ' I was president Of the Union Football Club in, I think, 1873, and -I played for my clnb in that year and .1874. . " Mir J. H. Shaw was master of the Grammar School of which I have spoken, and it was at this establishment that I got my first employment in Dunedin, bemg appointed to ,a vacancy caused by the retirement of Mr Lord. The Grammar School ceased in 1865, and I became second Master of the Union Street School, remaining in that situation till December of 1867, when I began to study law with the late Mr W. Downie Stewart, father of the present M.ELR. for Dunedin West. None of the legal practitioners oi 1867 are now in active practice." Prompted by a .question as to what he thought of the social life of the Dominion in the sixties as compared with now, Sir Robert added: "I think there was then a comradeship and a friendly feeling amongst the people snch as has never been excelled since. The hopefulness of the community was quite inspiring. Everyone seemed imbued with the expectation" that New Zealand would be a great nation and Otago a great place. The weekly returns from

I the goldflalds put men into great heart. I and the efforts made for tha settling of ' People on the land were full of confidence, The settlers had to put up with many inconveniences. Houses were scarce, and most of them of what Judge Johnson called the soapbox order of architecture} food was dear; there was no water supply j we were without many of tho so-called comforts of civilisation; nevertheless the people then were more buoyant of mind and moM cheerful, and, as it appears to my mind, more hopeful than they are today. We had then, also, an alertness in intellectual life which one now searches for in vain. People used to meet to' discuss the latest books, and the magazine articles were continually talked about. The American Civil War was then raging, and it was a fruitful source of controversy. Many of us, including Mr Wilson Gray and Mr Halliwell, were strongly for the North, and, being fortified by all the reading we could get hold of on the subject of the Free Soil Party and other American questions, we argued the points freely with others who espoused the Southern* cause. The talk of our lads in the sixties was neither of horse-racing-nor football matches, but of the newest books, literary and scientific questions being considered of higher importance. The Evolution question 1 was one of the topics of the day, and every fresh argument was keenly noted and debated. It appears to me that the people nowadays are more fond of amusement, to their serious detriment. Ido not think that the change of thought has brought about any greater enjoyment of life. In my opinion it ; s a serious thing for the Dominion that our people are not alive to the financial position. They do not seem to realise what it means to the country as a whole that paper money is inflated, that our debt has more than doubled, and that along > with this burden of debt we are burdening ourselves by requiring more and more services from the Government, which means a vast increase in the growth of the Civil Service and a terrifying prospect as to extra taxation. It 'is time to think and to appreciate the fact that if New Zealand is to retain her prosperity we must work harder and produce more and return to the old-time thriftinuss which was characteristic of the early settlers. In 1864 and thereabouts our young people could walk, and they saved the cab fares, and considered it a good holiday to "go for a long tramp into the country, lumbers of persons went on foot to the races at Silverstream, not because they were interested in the horses, nor because they wanted to bet, but to meet friends whom they had probably not seen for a long time, the racecourse was to them just a convenient rendezvous, and as they mostly walked there and back, and > took their lunches with them, the day's outing would cost not much more than the shilling for admission. In these later days, if onr young folk want to go even to Tahuna Park they must have a motor or a tram car. Another marked change from the past is in regard to the consumption of tobacco. "Very few men smoked then as compared with now; I should say the tobacco smokers are now 10 times moro numerous. Cigars were used only by men cf means. There waj a considerable amount of drinking in the sixties. Brandy and rum were the favorite spirits, and there was a lot of beer drunk. The people of those days were very keenly interested in politics. *Xo person -could vote unless he had property of some sort—freehold, or leasehold, or household. Prior to 1870 it was all open votine. I was poll clerk at the Provincial elections of 1865. Each voter had to sign his name against the name of the candidate for whom he voter. We had very able lawyers, doctors, and clergymen in those days. Amongst the clergvmen I may mention Mr Parsons, of the Baptist Church, ilr Conebee, of the Congregp.tionalists, Dr Stuart, and Dr Rums, of the Presbyterians—the latter a most polished preacher, his sermons all ready for publication, and couched in the best English. " I have mentioned the dearness of food. Here are some sample prices, of date March, 1864: BTead, Is to Is 6d per 41b loaf; flour, 6d per lb; beef, Is per lb; mutton, lOd to Is; lamb, 10s to lis per quarter; pork, Is to Is 3d per lb; milk, 8d a quart; butter—fresh 2s 3d to 2s 6d per lb, salt Is 4d to Is lOd per lb; cheese —colonial Is 6d per lb, English Is 6d to Is 8d per lb; eggs (fresh), 3s 6d to 4s a dozen; fowls, 10s to 12s per rair; sugar, 6d to 8d per lb; tea, 2s 6d to 3s 6d peT lb. Towards the end of 1864 flour fell to 4d per lb. The wages of laborers were 7s to Bs, carpenters and mechanics 10s to 12s per day of eight hours. The rents of houses, considering the accommodation afforded, were higher than even thev are at present. Many lived in tents. " The improvements in the surroundings of the people and the general advance in our social life are great. In another 55 years there will no doubt be seen as great changes as have been witnessed since 1863. "I have greatly enjoyed my present visit. I have missed many friends, for many have passed over the' Great Divide, but my sadness at their absence has been relieved by meeting their sons and daughters, even their grandsons and granddaughters, and seeing how their descendants are fighting the battle of life. The race is not decadent, and the Flag that has waved over a stalwart people wfll still wave over a race keen, efficient, kindly, and loyal. Seeing and meeting our young New Zealanders gives ns earlv settlers hope and joy. We forward to the days of great things that axe coming. We arc still only at the dawn of the coming great age. Our surroundings will see greater improvements, though now a walk through the Queen's Drive will give \ts sights of beauty and of grandeur, also views of ocean and mountain, unexcelled in any walk round any city. The surroundings will have' their effect on the race. There are difficulties to be met, but the time will come when our people will banish alcohol, nicotine, and the other things that are injuring -us physically, mentally, and morally, and the desire for efficiency and public service, now strong amongst us, will increase. I cannot close without adding that, as of old, so now, the kindliness of the people is ever manifest. This is seen not onlv in the many institutions to help and keep the aged and the young, but also in the kindly ways of the people. I cannot sufflcientlvjpthank my old and new friends for their courtesy and consideration,"