EXPERIENCES AT THE GISBORNE POST OFFICE.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10473, 31 December 1927, Page 10 (Supplement)

EXPERIENCES AT THE GISBORNE POST OFFICE.

MAILS IX THE EARLY DAYS

RI AliN iSCEXCES OF MU. - JOE " ' * FYSOX.

If one man more than another sees the varvim' phases or life in a country town, it ns the postal earner, especial iv when his experience extend., over some thirty to thirty-five years. This is the record of Mr. A. -J. hyson, now living in retirement m Eutene Mr. Fyson has exceeded the allotted span by five years, out it is indeed difficult to believe that fact. To outward appearance he looks considerable mss man s.xty years ot age, and if, as is often said, a man is as old as he feels, Mr. Fyson is still in the forties. Still active, and v.'.tli nil his faculties at practically tlieir host, he is indeed a model type or pioneer who helped to raise Gisborne from a tiny borough into one of the largest towns in the Dominion. \[ r Fvson was bom at Tiighham, near Durv f-treet, Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1852. * He was educated at Bury Saint Edmunds, and then went on to Framlingham College, Suffolk. School days over, at the age of sixteen. he decoded to follow the sea, and was appointed a midshipman in Messrs. Green .and Co.’s line. His first experience of life on the ocean wave was on the Clarence, a typical handsome full-rigged ship of those tlavs, which left London tor Madras. He remained on the Clarence for two more trips to India, and then the

ship went to Melbourne. At the conclusion, Mr. Fyson, who had been studying his profession, passed his third mate’s exam, received his ticket, and like many others of those deys. deserted sun Hr steam, bring appointed to the ,tt. v.. age, wuich tiaded to the East, the Hoick Sea ports, the keltic and the Mediterranean, also on one trip fining to Canada. The young adventurer then decided to look to the now lauds for a permanent home, and derided on New Zealand, coming out at the age of twenty-tour as a passenger in the ship Thurnland Castle. On arrival at Auckland Mr. Fyson decided to work in the Waikato, hut alter a few months there came on to Gisborne, arriving in 1877. in 1879 lie was appointed postal carrier at the Gisborne Post Office and remained there five years. In ISD2 lie joined lip once more and remained in the Government employ until five or six years agu, when he retired on superannuation.

THE NEWLY-FORMED BOROUGH IX 1877.

In 1877 Gisborne whs a very small place compared with the town of tunny, said .vtr. Tyson, in coiiveisanon with a representative of the Uishorne Times. 'The borough, for ii: was a borough then in its iirst year, did not contain 500 residents. On the Kaiti side there were practically no Europeans living, the population there consisting of Maoris. Gladstone Hoad was almost pure sand, and the dust that arose during even a slight breeze was enough to blind one- Bullock drays were common vehicles of transport in those days, and it wag quite an irepressive sight to see twenty to thirty bullocks removing a house on sledges. These bullocks were very powerful animals, but even at times their task was beyond them. He remembered on one occasion seeing a bullock dray with a large team bogged in Gladstone RcL, just above the Royal Hotel, and it had to he dug out. The road near the Matawhero Hall was very’ bad in the early days. The route was past the Royal Oak, and not round towards the snleyards ns now. At the end of the road the rider or pedestrian crossed the river and joined the road again just below the present bridge.

MAIL DELIVERY IN' 1-879.

As stated above Mr. Fyson entered the service of the Postal Department in 1879 and was the first le’fter carrier appointed in Gisborne. The procedure in delivering the mail was to put the letters in one’s pocket, meet the addressee up the street, and deliver the missive to him. Later lie used, an old bag to carry the mail. He would go to the wharf on the arrival of the steamer from Napier. and often carried on his shoulder the whole of the southern mail (from Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin). Later the mail was removed in a hand cart, which was wheeled on the footpath. The Coast mails in the early days were carried by packliorses, and the joiirnev from Gisborne to Port Aivnnui took three days. On occasions flic mail was considerably delayed. One week the mailman was due to leave again on the Monday, but wlien the dav arrived he could not' be found. ‘ The Postmaster inquired of Mr. fyson the whereabouts of the mailman’s horses, and was to’.d they were on the Kaiti side of the riaer. He instructed they should be caught and Mr. Tyson should take the mail up the Coast. He, protested he did not know the, road, but his objections were lightly waved aside. Mr.

Fyson set out on the journey, but to hfs delight was overt-ken near dulaga Bay by the mailman, who h:earrived on the scene alter Mr. hyson’s departure.

THE OLD POST OFFICE.

In those davs the Post Office was at the back of the present building, but prior to that it stood where the present Post Ofri.e clock is situated, it consisted of a lour or five room sliantv. with a verandah and residents* knocked on a slide for their mail. If the officer in charge happened to he busy at the time of the knock, and it was repeated, his language when he came out was not a.ways according to Government regulations.

MAORI CORRKSPC*NI)J•:XCE.

The correspondence for -the Maor s was always a source ot anxiety to the postal officials, and a simple plan was decided on. Ail the letters to Maoris were left on a heap on the counter and when a Nat've came ..i and asked for a letter he was waved over to the bundle and went through it, and if any letters' were addressed to him. took them. Further iron hies were caused !iv the fact that Maori correspondents would address letters to pnkehrvs by the European names translated into the Maori language. and many amusing incidents arose from that practice, sometimes all the small staff of the office being called in to assist in sn'ving the problems, and then the aid of a Native interpreter would need to be sought. A POSTAL PROBLEM. . In the course of his duties as a postal carrier. Mr. Fvson was often called unon to exercise his ingenuity to decipher addresses. One day. however, if letter '■imp to the office which caused general consternation, as for some time no e-c could make head nor tail of it. The. staff - were called in and even the aid of outsiders

sought, but it was- almost useless. Mr. Tyson put forward his theory, which met with general assent, but one line was still missing, and to this day, so far as is known, no one has interpreted it- The address on the letter was as follow: — Drawing of a boll, followed by the letters E R., 1./o the old Jew who taught Oliver Twist to steal, 19 Where Peary W cut Street Fresh Place, Home of the Rarest Bird, * New Zealand. Mr. Fyson’s interpretation was as follows Mr. Boiler, ; C/o Mr. Fagin 49 North Street, Newtown. New Zealand. “The Home of the Rarest Bird” baffled all. f l he problem was solved so far as the Gisborne office was c-un-cerned by Mr. Fyson writing across the envelope, “Try Palmerston North!” What the Manawatu staff did is not known, bat nothing further was heard of the letter.

VOLUNTEERING IN THE EARLY DAYS.

Volunteer corps were in existence in Poverty Bay before Mr. Fyson’s arrival, but about 1880 the J. Battery was formed. They had a 6-pr Armstrong and drilled strenuously at this gun, under an insruetor from Napier. One Easter encampment held at Rose‘.and Gardens, .uaxaraKa, about ISBI, near the present railway station, lives in M ! r. Fyson’s memory. A picked gun crew of nine had been chosen to give an exhibition of gun drill. The gun had to be dis-

mounted, and with wheel', la d flat on ti.e guumi. sum tncii put together again, this pa: i icuiar m- w was vol.smart. and so keen in their "nix that at tae camp they pcai-tuai..' sap under the siuu. 1 lie exhibition Ini-l first to be given in «;!<».v time and then in rapid time. In tile latter case one minute lor the complete dismounting and mounting was considered' a record, but the. gun crew mentioned per-oviued the.r ta>!c .n 59 see. Captain (a terward- Coloneii Winter made a close inspection ot the gun after the operation. and there* was intense excitement when he declared ever;.tiling was correct. The gun crew were tin.* heroes of the day and were rushed » fir to the canteen. On parade at camp that day there were 1 Kb ineK*-»in~ :i \ ii’Uiitver corps at Ormond, dim exm t number is recalled by the fact tint Mr. Fyson. in addition to being a member of the gun crew; was also quarter-master-sergeant. A ueli-kuov. n locei resident was so pleased at the exl.ii> it ion that he insisted on .-.heuti: g •

MR. THOS. .HALBERT. Sour., vy armed in Gisb-rne in tile ’d'hiiti

lor all the men in camp. Quarter-liiaster-Sergonr.t hyson iss called in. and added up the total, and the hill ran to just over C 219 s, lor one or two of tiie men did not accept the invitation. The unlorin of the .). Battery in those days tvie a blue uniform, white pipe, lay belts, and a blue lor.’.go cap. \

EARLY DAY l’ASdhl M !•>.

The chief pastime in the early days was lhlliaixJs. There wee omy live hotels—the Albion, .Argyll (now Coronation). -Viasonic. Isli.iicrocx (now Gisborne), and Royal. dim lus'.nained was on the site of the present building, and stood quite a long way out from the town. Every hotel had its billiard room and many keenly exciting genu’s were played, d'here was also an hotel'at Makaraka. near the old Kin Ora factory, two hotels at Wacreuga-a-hika. two at Oimoml, where the Armed Constabulary were stationed, and one at Matnwhero. Keen interest was also taken in cricket, and many exciting games were played at Te Ha para, where Mr. Rees had a propel - pitch at his residence.

FIRIXO THE NO-OX GFX.

Official tiim 1 "as recorded in Gisborne in those cloys. War the oiu flagstaff just close to the month of the Waikanae stream stood a tM-pr muzzle loader, an old ship's gun. Various bauds of residents "ere in the habit of practising with the gun. firing shot and shell at targets in the sea. It was also used on the Queen’s Birthday to tire the 11 oval Sa’ute. One of 3lr. Fyson & duties was to go down to the gun every Saturday and fire it at noon exactly

to give the residents the correct time. He°always took with him two pounds of powder and the first procedure was to grease the gun well. Air. Fyson cannot recall how the practice of firing the gun at noon started, but the" residents used to look forward to it. Afterwards the gun was removed, and the practice of c-ourse ceased.

THE GUN, THE HORSE AND THE FARMER.

The report of the gun invariably caused consternation among the horses in the vicinity and in this connection is an amusing & £°ry. There was urn- bridge over the V aikanae. then and the residents had to ride or drive .across the stream. On Saturdays ‘the farmers always came into town. On one occasion the late Mr. V r . S. Green was crossing the stream when his buggy stuck inutile middle. Though he tried every means he could not get the horse to move the vehicle. Mr. Fyson suggested to Mr. Green that he should ;et into the buggy ami held on

tight when the gun was Fred only a short distance away. Mr. Cmen wanted to argue, but there was o b two minutes to go to noon. Rati e sceptically, ns g-t into the buggy, ana in a few minutes had the surprise of his Lie. When the gun was tired the horse, plunged madly and a second later the horse, buggy ana rider were on the bank.

live shells in river.

T'ne ammunition in those days was placed in charge of Mr. l'yson, and on one occasion he had a very exciting experience. One Sunday night a titv broke out in the store ot Can aed Sons, meiclients. He was at church at the time, and a mail near!>v said the Post Oiiiee was ablaze Mr. Fyson rushed down and saw that for the present the Post Office "as safe, but sparks were occasionally dot-ending on the shingled root. In j; shed near the huikhng were tw.„ live shahs. Deciding to take no risks lie carried the shells away and threw them in the river near the present kaiti bridge, ami to the best of his knowledge'they are still tnei«;

PRISONERS JOiN BATHING PARTjES.

When lie first came to Gisborne Mr. Ik,oil stayed at a boardinghouse in i'-col Street, near the site or tile present Gisborne Garage, and with many others he spent much time on the heath. Opposite the boardinghouse wn~ the prison, a yard enclosed witii a palisade and leme, on the site ol th** present police station. On tlio way to the beach the bathers would converse with the prisoners. On several occasions prisoners anxious vo Join the bathing party would implore, their assistance in removing some of t’ne battens, ;:uu the oik wider woiiltl r {) to the beaeii witii *heparty. On rlie return no would again enter the pool, and the battens would he replaced.

A GRUESOME FIND.

A large number of Maoris lived near the mouth ol the I\ aikanae then. On one occasion when u me vicinity, Mr. r yson lound three skulls.* apparently a relic of tho olden day's. Another time when on his round as ■a postal carrier lie passed a Maori whare which was open, and saw something like a keg of ammunition. As he was in charge of the ammunition ot the district he investigated and found 000 rounds of the old long ICnliekl lido. He removed the keg. am! took it to the store at the Post Office, but strange to say no inquiries were ever made on the matter.

\II> V S FV,SON'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM MASSACRE.

A narrow escape in the Poverty Bar massacre was experienced byMrs. b'yson, who iiy the wav was a caughtcr of Mr. Follies, a wellknown local builder. lie was engaged in constructing a wookshed at \\ aercmga-a-luka when a workman said he had received information that the fiauimus were coining down. Mr. Forbes said lie intended to stay, hut all the workmen thought otherwise and in his temporary absence, all lott in a bodv. As no good could be gained by remainin, Mr. Forbes left ami with" his family went to Auckland. A few days later the Poverty Bay massacre occurred. It is interesting to note that Mr. Forbes built the Catholic Church in Gisborne in 1878 or 18-79. and also built a house on Whntaupoko next to where Mr. Lysnar is now living. That house is still standing despite the fact that it must be sixty years since its erection.

TAR AIVFRA ERUPTION.

Great excitement was occasioned in Gisborne on -June 10, 1888, on the occasion of the Tara worn eruption. A rather severe shock of earthquake was experienced during the night, and the residents had to breakfast by lamplight. Mr. Fyson came into the street, and met Mr. J. IV. Nolan, who commented on the occurrence. The residents uere undoubtedly flightened, and as all the wires were down no news could he obtained. Volcanic sand fell in Gisborne and especially heavy falls were recorded at Ormond. The steamer Southern Cross from Tolaga Ray to Gisborne had her decks covered with sand. It was noticeable that no vplwiiiie sand fell at Napier, and this was accounted for by the fact that at the time of the eruption the wind was blowing strongly across from the direction of Rotorua.

WHERE ARE THE" MAORI CANOES GONE?

One thing that puzzles Mr. Fyson is the absence of Maori canoes, which in the seventies and eighties were common on the river. They were of rather a small pattern, but were seen in large numbers. They were in constant request by those desiring to cross the river. He assumes that they have either been taken away or washed out to sea.