A VIVID MEMORY OF THE PAST

Lake County Mail, Issue 20, 8 October 1947, Page 1

A VIVID MEMORY OF THE PAST

Direct Descendant of Wakatipu Pioneer Hale and Hearty -

Contributed by W. D. Warren.

The name of W. G. Rees, grand old Wakatipian pioneer, and the early history of Queenstown are synonymous. Mr Rees, however, passed away nearly forty years ago but in Lower Hutt lives his eldest son, Mr Cecil Walter Rees, who retains vivid memories of the exploits of his famous father. It came as a great thrill for a Mail representative who has an intimate knowledge of the early history of the Wakatip to meet Mr Rees, who, in his 85th year, possesses all his faculties, is able to do his daily walk, some gardening, and his share of the household chores. With him at his Lower Hutt home are his wife, their eldest son, Mr Stewart Rees and his wife and family of two girls and a boy. Mr Cecil Walter Rees, who is naturally proud to he a direct descendant of the Wakatipian explorer, is only too happy to give audience to anyone who is .interested in his late father’s exploits. He was born in Waipahi, when his mother was on her way to the Queenstown district to take up residence. He actually spent only a few years in the district, being too young to have retained any extensive memories of it. ( Relics of His Father However, Mr Rees retains some memories, and has in his possession several relics of his father’s sojourn. He told the interviewer that his father held a great deal of the country on the Queenstown side of Lake Wakatipu, his partner, the late Mr Nicholas B. von Tunzelman, taking up land on the western side of the* lake. Both engaged in agricultural pursuits, their holdings being granted by the then Provincial Government. When these leases were terminated in about 18(57, Mr Rees’s father decided to go further north, and removed his family to Station Peak, South Canterbury. Oji his departure from the district Mr Rees was presented with an address signed by over 90 provincial residents, expressing appreciation of his interest in the district and his dispensing of charity. He was also presented with a coffee pot.' i The first house of the Rees fa ini y was a modest little dwelling, or calico hut, buiit near the outlet of the town creek. Visit of Sir George Grey An event which left an impression on the seven-year-old Cecil Walter was the visit of the then Governor, Sir George Grey. Queenstown was en fete for the occasion. A rather ornate arch of welcome spanned the main street, and as the coach and four carrying His Excellency drove under this there was a fanfare. One half of this arch was subsequently converted into a footbridge across the creek car the Rees dwelling. Mr Rees also remembers the famous whaleboat named “ Undine,’’ in Avhicli the first escort, with f’3,UijUoiis of gold, went down to Kingston. Eor some considerable time, said Mr Roes, this was the only craft on Lake Wakatipu, and was used for the transport- of gold and wool to the foot of the lake, and for Uie carriage of stores to Queenstown. Mr Rees’s father erected a house at Kawarau Palls station, part of which still stands. The only oilier surviving member of Mr W. G. Rees's family is Miss Milured Gertrude Rees, who lives at Nelson. Mr Cecil Walter, who is now retired, was an engineer by profession and was associated with the firm of L. \\. Mills, Limited, Wellington. Before this he spent several years in Australia and was engaged in a dredging enterprise in West Africa. Cecil and Walter Beaks, whh-h tower above the west arm of Lake Wakatipu, bear both Mr Rees’s Christian names. Air Rees was named after two of his father’s relatives in North Wales. Several other place ,names perpetuate the memory of the early explorer of the district, notably the Reels River, at the head of tin- lake, and the Shntover, named after a property, Shotovcr Park, near Oxford, England, belonging to Mr Rees’s friend, A. M. Gammio. The Von bears the name of another of Mr Rees’s friends, Aon Tunzelman. A copy of the address presented to W. G. Rees on his departure from Queenstown in 1867 appears on page 2.