WOODVILLE & DISTRICT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 276, 20 October 1938, Page 12

WOODVILLE & DISTRICT

OBITUARY. MR T. F. FOUNTAINE. The death occurred just before midnight on Tuesday of Mr Thomas Francis Fountaine, wliose name has been very closely identified with the district from its earliest days. He was regarded as one of the founders of Woodville, and his name has been perpetuated by the fine reserve situated in the centre of the town, known as Fountaine Square, which was the deceased gentleman’s gift to the town many years ago, and which was opened on February 24, 1896. Planted with trees and shrubs, the reserve is a considerable asset. The late Mr Fountaine was in his 96th year. He was born at Bletchley (Buckinghamshire), and came to Kumeroa in 1886. He had been bedridden for a very lengthy period. The first store in Woodville was conducted by Messrs Fountaine and Monteith; and it was to these gentlemen that many of the early settlers, with their struggles, are said to owe a debt of gratitude for assistance given them. Messrs Fountaine and Monteith showed vision. They advanced stores and even cash, on the understanding that when the iand was fully paid for they would take up mortgages to the value of these services. In the early days, the late Mr Fountaine cherished great hopes for the future of Woodville. After giving up business, he took a trip to the Old Country and upon his return retired to his farm at Kumero*, where he had resided ever since.

The late Mr Fountaine never married. He is survived by five cousins, Mr C. D. Fountaine of Kumeroa, Misses Cross (3), of Wellington, and Mrs L. Edser, of Napier. The interment will take place at Woodville. EARLY ASSOCIATIONS. Relating the history of his association with Woodville, Mr Fountaine some years ago placed the following on record: “I first heard of Woodville when working on an East Coast station in 187 2—a Press notice describing the settlement of the two Scandinavian townships, Norsewood and Dannevirke, intimated that another township was to be laid out at the junction of the 70 and 40-mile roads which would, no doubt, be eventually, one of tne most important inland townships of New Zealand. I first came into the Bush in March, 1873, to work on McKay and Monteith’s contract for road formation between Dannevirke and Norsewood, when traffic ceased at the Te Whiti clearing, where the road engineer, Donald Ross, had his headquarters, and where McKay and Monteith had a store and butchery. Norsewood at that time was in a state of chaos, small sections of road formation had been let to the settlers and these were in various stages of completion. Pack horses and bullock waggons helped to make the road almost impassable. The settlers had fallen small patches of bush on their sections and were living in rough whares and tents. It was not an uncommon sight to 6ee a woman in sea-boots carrying a bag of flour on her back through the kneedeep mud; in fact, this mud was thigh-deep in places as we discovered a month later when we carried out our cook, on a stretcher, to Te Whiti. All rivers after Norsewood had to be forded. Early in the summer our work in connection with road formation was finished and another contract for bridges, as far as Oringi, was completed by January, 1874. From the Gorge the same sort of work was being done from the Palmerston North end. About the end of January I went to Napier for a spell. Going down from Waipukurau in Cobb’s coach we saw about Hastings a number of sections of earthworks which had been thrown up by Brogdin’s navvies, who had not long before been imported from England for railway works. These men some years later supplied most of the settlers for the Woodville Small Farm Association. On returning to the Bush I joined a survey party from Auckland which was going to work in the 40-mile bush where there were already several parties doing minor triangulation work. On the way through we met, at Matawhiwi, Nathan’s metalling team which had completed to there from the Gorge. We arrived at this junction in the afternoon. Woodville contained one building, a log wliare with iron roof, erected the previous year by Tom and Alf Grammar, of Ashhurst, and used by them as a depot for supplies, but as the work was completed it was abandoned. It stood where the Club Hotel now stands. The Masterton road was felled 66 feet and cleared and stumped 30 feet and was intersected by a number of nasty little boggy creeks, temporarily bridged with kupungas, some- of which crossings wo had to repair to get our packliorses over. We forded the Mangatua and the Maoris put us across the Manawatu in a canoe. They gave us a whare to sleep in and for supper a kit of well cooked potatoes. We reached the crossing over the Mangatainoka in the morning and pitched camp. There I stayed a fortnignt, mostly engaged in cleaning up the river bed. Except for a pair of boots I worked in a state of nature, sandflies and mosquitoes apparently being the only inhabitants. received a message from McKay and Monteith, I left in February and at the road inspector’s whare at: Matahiwi I met Mr J. H. Monteith who informed me that McKay Monteith (his brother) had secured the contract for the railway bridge at Waipukurau and that they would turn over their contract for the road formation and bridges, from Woodville to the Manawatu, to us (J. H. Monteith and myself) if we would take it on. We stayed with Mr M. J. Campbell, road inspector, that night and, after considering ways and means, agreed to take the contract over. In the morning we started to prepare for the work. Monteith was to collect supplies (a tough job). First we secured the whare at,the junction from the Grammars and made it our headquarters for stores. We fixed on about lialfway to Ngawapurua for the camp and in March, 1874, the work started. By .the end of the year we had secured our final certificate. On January 5 I attended at Napier the sale of the Woodville township lands and bought for myself and Mr Monteith, town sections 33, 41 and 42, and sub-sec-tions 1 and 2 of sections 30 and 31. I returned at once to clear them and to prepare for the erection of a store. Mr Monteith joined me shortly afterwards and we felled all our sections. After this was done I got a man (Ryan) to help me and erected a saw-pit oil section 30 and we cut during the winter 12,000 feet of timber, rimu and pine. At this time McNeil and Dunne sent down a party of Auckland carpenters ivho commenced to erect the Club Hotel with timber from Palmerston North. The hotel was finished in the beginning of 1876, and Mr J. J. Murphy arrived on the scene. Mr Monteith and I first put up a two-roomed cottage, then built our store, and started business in March, 1876. We had a good start for the Provincial Government of Hawke’s Bay had decided, on the decision to do away with provincial governments, to empty their

treasury before handing oyer to the General Government. Their engineer (Wilbur) let contracts for road clearing all through the settlements and made payments. Unfortunately the treasury was soon empty. Most ot the work was done by Dannevirke and Nprsewood settlers, though there were a few others, among them Thompson, afterwards tried for the murder of Illands, who was at that time our cook. The earliest settlers I remember were C. Devan, who built between us and the hotel and started as a builder and carpenter, and who was also an amateur photographer, many of whose photographs are still in existence; Hutchings, shoemaker, between the hotel and the Post Office; Prothero, the first commission agent; Ban Serre, the Frenchman on the Gorge Road, and Barrett, who had been placed at the Gorge by the Fending Corporation, to burn lime. He occasionally visited the township and, leaning on the rail of the little bridge which stood between the sections on which the bank and the Borough Chambers have been built, would exclaim, ‘The place is getting more like Lunnon every day.’ From the time we opened our store new settlers came every week and by the end of the year most of the Woodville Small Farm settlers had arrived. We held a meeting in the store and the conscript fathers, seated on bags of potatoes, cases and kegs, put into force the County Act. Mr H. Monteith was the first member of the Waipawa Council; I was the first chairman of the Road Board, and was at that time Postmaster and was shortly afterwards appointed Church warden by the Bishop and the clergy in spite of protests; Philip Prothero was the first chairman of the School Committee. COMPLIMENTARY DANCE. In recognition of the success of the Ngawapurua basketball team in winning the junior competition of the Bush Association this season, the president of the club, Mrs F. W. G. Knapp, of that settlement, tendered a complimentary social and dance to the team and the other basketball teams in the district, as well as to the gentlemen who had aided the club. There was a large attendance. The function was held in the Ngawapurua Hall. The music was supplied by Mrs L. Williams and Misses P. O’Hagan. C. Knapp and 0. Williams. Messrs N. Kopke and F. Ansin were M.C.’s. On behalf of the club, Misses M. Singers and I. Mountfort presented the captain (Miss E. Gallon) with a bouquet. In turn, Gallon paid similar honour to Mrs Knapp. Mrs L. T. president of the Bush Association, Congratulated the Ngawapurua team on its win. She spoke in a very eulogistic strain of the inspiration and encouragement Mrs Knapp had been to the team and also of her generosity. There was no doubt but that the president had stimulated the team to victory. Musical honours, followed by cheers, were given for Mrs Knapp and the captain of the team.

Monte Carlo competitions were won by Mrs Coulter and partner, and Miss 0. Williams and partner. A lucky saucer competition was won by Mr P. Tregaus. The assembly dispersed with thanks to Mrs Knapp for her hospitality. GUARD’S RETIREMENT. Guard J. W. Russell, who has just retired on superannuation from the railway service, joined the latter _at Palmerston North 36 years ago, during the period that Mr H. C. Smith was stationmaster. After six years in Palmerston North he was transferred to Waipukurau, where he remainde for two years. He was also two years at Lower Hutt, where he was 'promoted to the position of guard. Subsequently, he was engaged in relieving duty in various parts of the Wairarapa. After that he was lent by the department to the Public Works Department at Gisborne, where he remained for several years. He was next employed in shunting at Lambton and Thorndon for six years, being transferred as first grade guard to Woodville nearly 20 years ago, his duties being in the Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa lines. Mr Russell retires with an excellent record, and with the good wishes of the department. At the present time his future movements are uncertain. ~ , It is interesting to record that the present stationmaster at Palmerston North (Mr A. H. Northover) was a cadet at the same station when Mr Russell joined the service. CROQUET^CLUB. Mrs J. Halpin presided over a meeting of the Croquet Club, held on Wednesday afternoon. It was decided to purchase a new lawnmower. A donation of 10s was received from Mrs W. Curry towards the purchase of wire netting. A vote of thanks was passed to the donor, and Mr Halpin was also thanked for re-erecting a netting fence. Two more new members were elected.

NOTES. Several members of the Woodville Salvation Army Band will co-operate with the Hastings Band in the Army s Labour Day week-end band rally and festival in Wellington. PERSONAL. Miss M. Chambers has been spending the past few days in Hastings. Mr and Mrs W. Nicholson, of Taumarunui, accompanied by their son, Mr Wingate Nicholson, of Dannevirke, paid a brief visit to Woodville yesterday and renewed acquaintance with old fri’ends. In the early days of the town Mr W. Nicholson was closely identified with various local bodies and institutions. PAHIATUA. GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS. The Pahiatua Golf Club championship was decided at the week-end between J. G. Swainson and B. Donald, the former winning 8 and 7. The junior championship final was played on Saturday, L. Truscott beating A. Tait at the 19th. The official programme for the year was concluded when a bogey competition was played. The A division was won by A. J. Morgan, 1 down, and the B division by Truscott, all square. PERSONAL. Mr and Mrs Ivan Algie has left for a motor tour in the north. Mr and Mrs J. D. Wilson are holidaying in Napier and Hastings and will return to Pahiatua after the Labour Day week-end. NOTES. The Librarian and staff of the Public Library, assisted by Mr Mitchell the travelling librarian from the country library service, are at present at work on the transferring of the lending system of the public library

from the old subscription basis j; to a free one. At the annual* meeting of the Mangatainoka Athletic Society the election of officers resulted as follows: Patron, Mr R. A. Williams; president, Mx-. W. Fulton; secretary, Mr H. A. Bickj; handicappers, Messrs R. A. .Williams and A. J. Morgan; starter, Mr E. H. Lett; delegates to sub-centre, Messrs Wiliams,l Lett and Morgan; auditor, Mr R. C. Austin. The balance-sheet showed a credit balance of £228; lls 3d. The profit on the year’s working was over £6O. •••' RED CROSS SOCIETY. The Mayor of Pahiatua (Mr S. K. Siddells) presided at a meeting of the Pahiatua branch of the New Zealand Red Cross Society, on Tuesday night. The Mayor said the central committee for the relief of distress had donated £lO to the society for the relief of distress in Pahiatua. Although there was at pyresent no distress, he saw no reason why this should not bemerely the nucleus of a fund whic licould be augmented by donations from time to time. A letter from the secretary of the Woodville branch was received notifying their intention of holding a dance to raise funds, and inviting tlio Pahiatua branch to be represented. Mr Siddells suggested that this idea might well be adopted by the Pahiatua branch to raise funds for a distres* fund and for the purchase of equipment. It was pointed out that such a fund would be very useful in times of depression. Mrs David Crewe conveyed an apology from tha Women’s Diyision of the Farmers’ Union, saying that they were unable to be represented, but their co-opera-tion could be counted on. It was suggested, in view of the long wait until classes began after Easter; that the society should obtain text-books on related subjects from headquarters, and deliver monthly lectures, these to be more or less of general inteerst and bearing on the activities of the society. It was thought better to leave over the matter of organising some form of entertainment until mores übscriptions were in. A resolution was passed that all those present form themselves into an executive committee for the purpose of organising membership. Other Woodville and,district news appears on page 7.