REACHED HER CENTURY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 28 December 1925, Page 5

REACHED HER CENTURY.

PASSING OF OLD COLONIST. AUCKLAND IN THE -MAKING. Some interesting reminiscences have died with Mrs Dorothy Haynes, of Auckland, who lived from the time of stage coaches, to the days of airplanes. It transpires, by the way, that Mrs Haynes was 100, not 98 years old, having been born on May 24, 1825. She was horn at Little Haywood, an Old World village of Staffordshire, “the same day as Queen Victoria,” as she used to say. She could recall having as a girl seen Queen Victoria open Aston Park, in the outskirts of Birmingham. Since that long ago day she: saw the Prince Consort, King E-dward VIII., the Duke of Edinburgh. George V., and lastly, Prince Edward. Her memories of Royalty really went back,, to William IV v who earne to the throne years after she was born, and she recalled hearing a relation of her father speak of having been up to London to see the “Sailor King” crowned. Born in the last years of the reign of George IV., Mrs Haynes lived through the reigns of William IV. and Queen Victoria, whose reign alone was almost the span of ordinary life, and Edward VII. She saw George V. come to the throne, and also saw the future King. It was on July 29, 1861, that Mrs Haynes arrived in the Waitemata with her husband, Mr T. S. Haynes, who afterwards 1 became a well-known builder in the city. They came out in a little vessel called Broadwater of only 800 tons, commanded by Captain Stock well.

Asked how she came to hear of New Zealand, Mrs Haynes would mention a name that went still further back. “When I was living in Birmingham as a girl,” she would say, “T used, to go to the, baker’s for mother’s bread, and liis name was Mars den brother -of Samuel Marsden. the missionary, who came to New Zealand. Often Mrs Marsden used to tell us about what her son had seen in New Zealand.” “Queen Street grew very fine water cress when we landed here,” Mrs Haynes said once when asked what Auckland was like- 60 years ago. “Auckland wasn’t Auckland at all. Except for the buildings in the small town itself there was very little more than ti tree on what is now a: densely built on isthmus.”

Mrs Haynes had decided to open a milliner’s shop, and to, that end had purchased in England enough stock to last' for five years.. She set up in Karangahape Road, which then ran through a scrubbv ,waste. There was a brick hotel, hut Mrs Haynes’ was the first shop in the thoroughfare. The first dav Mrs Haynes opened her shop she took £5 from farmers’ wives, who were coming into town and could not resist “the very latest from London.” Subsequently the family came down into Queen Street, where Mrs Havnes opened a shop opposite where Tonson, Garlick’s premises now stand, and in 1873 she was one of fiftyseven burned out in wliat was known as Foley’s fire, which swept the western side of Queen Street from below Wellesley Street to the old City Mar went over to Northcote to take charge of a hotel, and lived in the maime suburb until her death.