HISTORIC REMINISCENCES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLI, Issue 306, 3 December 1906, Page 2

HISTORIC REMINISCENCES.

Sir Joseph Ward and party arrived n Melson uv the Tutanekai this mornna to open the new Post Office, this ■,e?n" the Premiers first official visit . o Nelson He was met at tte-'Pos "t Major, (Mr.J. Piper) .-^essrs rra ; k Graham, McKenzie, and others, Ind liter drove to Mr Trask'.s resiJ T%ew minutes befpre "con Sir Joseph arrived at the Post Office. He was accompanied iQT tadjf. Ward, Miss Ward, Mrs ,F. :Ttast and daughter, (Mrs B e ere);-M^ F. Trask^and. private. secretaries, (Messrs J. F. -Andrews, and J. Hislop. ... ," ". - . A lorrie had been placed in front ol the building, and on this the Premier and party, with others took up a position. Amongst those on the lorrie in addition to those mentioned were Mrs Stevens; the Mayor, Messrs R. Reeves, J. Graham;. R. McKenzie, S. P. Stevens, Tinline, and Cooper. There was a very good gathering of the public considering the hour. Mags were flying from a number of business premises in Trafalgar-street, and a string of bunting had been placed across the street at the Post Office. Sir Joseph commenced his speech by expressing pleasure at being present to open the Post Office, and thanking the Mayor for his kindly words. He then referred to the public interest displayed in the working of the Postmas-ter-General's Department, the advance made by almost evory country >n postal communication, and to the fact that a post office was run for the public benefit— for the business man and for the private individual. New Zealand, said Sir Joseph, was the most up-to-date country in the world m regard to post offices; and also had most post offices per head of population. She had, too, the cheapest telegraphic communication, England following, and with the exception of India, the cheapest postal communication in the world. The Premier said he was glad to see so many old identities around him, and thought it would be a good thing for the Public Health Department to bottle up the Nelson climate, and thus establish a means of making money. Sir I Joseph, continuing, said: — 1 The Now Zealand Company in 1839 despatched an expedition from England to acquire land from the natives for settlement by immigrants. Colonel : Wakefield, who was in charge of the Expedition, selected Port Nicholson as the site of the first settlement, and the Poit Nicholson settlement having been established under what seemed encouraging prospects, the Company decided to send out a second expedition to find land for another settlement, to be called "Nelson." This expedition under the direction of Captain Arthur Wakefield, R.N., sailed from Gravesend on the 2nd May, 1841, in two vessels, the Whitby, Captain Lacey, and Will Watch, Captain Walker. A third vessel, the Arrow, laden with stores, also sailed nineteen days later. The Arrow seems, however, to have reached Port Nicholson first, followed by the Will Watch and Whitby in that order. Colonel Wakefield is said to have favoured the fertile land at the back of Banks Peninsula as a site for the settlement, but the local Government, in the person of Governor Hobson, was desirous that the expedition should go to Auckland, which was to be the capital of the colony. Parleying went on for three weeks, Governor Hobson refusing to allow the settlement to be at Banks' Peninsula, and Colonel Wakefield. objecting to send the vessels to Auckland, the Company having* assured all those who bought land that the central parts of New eZaland would be the field of the Company's operations. Colonel Wakefield eventually instructed his brother, Captain Wakefield, to take his ships to Blind Bay, as he had heard that there was some good land there. After sailing about the locality for some time, making investigations, Captain Wakafield had a friendly interview with the Motueka natives, with the result that on the sth November, 1841, the anchors were weighed and the expedition sailed from Astrolabe Roads for the newly discovered haven which was destined to be the future port of Nelson. The Arrow was the first to sail through the narrow channel between the land and the Boulder Bank, being followed by the Will Watch. The Whitby, which was the last to enter, unfortunately took the ground, but was shortly afterwards refloated without difficulty. Such briefly are the circumstances attending the selection of the site of the beautiful city of Nelsorr/ Mr JonaVfinline, who is now residing in Nelson, arrived at Port Nicholson in October, 1840, and in March, ! 1842, he arrived at Nelson. On the 24th February, 1844, he was appointed Clerk to the Police Magistrate and I Native Interpreter, and he remained in the Government employ, holding various appointments, and left the' service on the Ist February, 1853.. . - Mr Geo. Fraser Tytler, who arrived from England in« the Will Watch "■ in May, 1841 ,at Port Nicholson, came on to Blind Bay to look for a place of settlement. They left the vessels at Astrolabe Roads and went in search of land, in small boats. They landed at the Moutere 'Bluffs, climbed a hill, and caught sight of the Waimea Valley. They then returned to their boat and discovered the Boulder Bank, and came into the Harbour. They returned and brought their vessels into the harbour. It was Mr Geo. Fraser Tytler who discovered Nelson Harbour. In 1856 the New Zealand Land Company paid over to tfie trustees certain moneys for various purposes, amongst which was the purchasing of a steamer. The following persons (of -whom Mr John Tinline is the only survivor) — Messrs Hugh Stafford, Herbert Curtis, John Tinline, Jas. H. Cross, William Wilkie, M. G. Morse, — Winterburn, Charlss Elliott, Geo. Mcßae, and Jas^ Nancarow — were approached to guarantee the trustees against loss in the.undertaking. The Tasmanian Maid was purchased, and she was run between Nelson, Takaka, Collingwood, Motueka, and the Wairau. In April, 1857, gold was discovered at Collingwood. The Tasmanian Maid' on the Bth August, 1857, brought the first gold to Nelson, consisting of 500oz. In 1860 the Tasmanian Maid was chartered by the military authorities at New Plymouth for the transport of troops and for other military purposes. The first settlers arrived from England 'on the Ist "February, 1842, on which date tho settlement was founded, and 'so rapidly did immigration progress that by tho end or the following May there were, it is said, fully 1700 peapla in ' the settlement. On the flth March, 1842, the barque Brougham arrived from 'London via Port Nicholson .with a batch 'of immigrants, and a post office was established shortly afterwards. The hours of attendance were from 10 to 11 a.m., tho Postmaster being the late Mr Henry A. Thompson, who was also Police. Magistrate. Mr Thompson was in. the following year a victim 'of the Wairau massacre. i The iPost Office at first was in a building measuring 12 by 10 feet on the 'Church Hill, opposite tho present Council Chambers. Mr George 'Fleury succeeded tho late Mr Thompson as Postmaster 'in 1843, and Mr W. U Howard Ibocamo Postmaster io 1845. Captain Benjamin Walmsley, of the stjth "Regiment, was Postmaster from 1552 until his retirement on pension in 1867. In about 1855 the 'office was removed to a cottage in Hardy-street, in the

vicinity of thj^premises, ,:now ' in Jihe occupation., ol Messrs '' Short and Sons. - '■':/..■ ■':.''' \<i... ■„.;! Mr "WilHaia ; Gray,' senior, (afterwards Secretary to. 'ttio ■Post Office, and {he father of the present Secretary of . Ahe/Pbst andiTelegraph Department), ' who had been Chief -Postmaster at j^ranaki , since September,' 1855, was in February, 1859;.iprQinoted ,to be chief clerk at ; Nelsorij ■,vfh\ch;apppintinent • he held until sheKwas- fitfciKer .promoted to. be .''Secretary 'itf'tKe. Chief, TPjtst Office at Dunedin" in;. 1863: CWthe 5tK - Jfovfimberv'lStjii ' the ynaw- Post .; Office buildipg, noV.used"~a' ; a' Q us * to house,V%aa i' ; ppened; s in ,'. Bridgestreet, .■whiapje. i .tliii6'-i!ost.''!'O|sce : - i remained for several' 'years. ; ;,-■ iAs th» site was. -found to' be^tob> 'tiistant from 'tihe business part -ortlie' City, the office \ras ■towards -the beginning Of 1881, removed to Trafal-gar-street. Oji the 28th July, 1867, Mr Sydney J. Dick,* nowXa —resident- of Edinburgh - an^JiweHearned retineineitt -, oit pension,' was appointed Chief tost/master,- . >'ahd on "the 16thvNjatember,vi87.7,;-;Mr.-| Dick ,was sucedbd^d- by .Mr i Kbbjsrt I KirtoQ, yfho }S /'likewise' inireqeiP*of "a J^nsi'ohxamd 'is-Eosidind" > n : <*»' Tarahaki •distrirt^- The : -lafe --;Mr- , Hugh' Caldefs ->uc v^ed)>.il!c/.KirtpTi on the Ist D'&emlj^iJ? 1802;, and the present.' diflef.-^Postmaster, -Mr Sydney P. -StrobW,;. assumed office on the Ist A^styf 1902. - . - NotwSthstaidilrg&tho^ check wliich Nelson- experj^cjd^as -a result c s .of; •*tho lirifortunale*^ ciflmi4ftl^R-;^fthp; -Waireu massacre; in .1843, and ;vthe suspension^ of^opeßitJbDs*:by-?thfe ' Netw: Zealand - Company . in jiB44,^ in consequence of-7 which^adwg vessels failedr^or-ra .time : to" ; ;ottll at> . Neltsorifi.the^ growth and progress " of tbe\96tft'laiJent; wero remarkable. "\ AsiViii- instance of U>e cumtorous systan. of accounting in vogue in the /"eaifly. days of the Post Office* ■we ,I'eahi from th'o book "The Early History- 'of ■''the -New Zealand Post Office;;'; that" in 1845 the Postmaster at CjNelsbn,' Mr Howard, was taken", to 'tast for not for--1 w^^ing 1 ri3y..,first ?;: tciutgoing vessel the Wellington portion of an English maif whicK.-' ''ih&if' been received -at his.p'prt.- ,He : (pleaded as his excuse-want of • time,, as he had to stamp 3240 letters and news'^aptfrs.. • iearly the whole of whiclr ftad ; to^ l>e marked with a pen, while 603 letters had to be weighed;' stamped 1 and marked^f or ; iniand and sea postage.^ BB^ Honor, the Superintendent,,, considered the explanation satisfactory; [although it ■= was to bevregreWed that Mr Howard had 'not:' applied for additional assistance. -In those days of heavy postage; rates every letter had to be Veighod /and -accounted for as if each contained precious stones. In our present methods any clerk who proved unable : to /dispose of the same tfuantijty or 'correspondence in an hour or two would not be rogarded as^ "particularly efficient. In 1843, mails' reached Nelson very irregularly, by any chance vessel. Sometimes months between mails. Apparently as the result of > (depression caused by native troubles there Nwas in- 1845 a serious stoppage • of the maids within the colony; and; we learn from the "New Zealander" (newspaper ' of thai time that owing to th« brig Victoria ■being" so ,-niuch employed at! tho : Bay of Islands, communication between Port; 'Nicholson and Nelson haS been completely interrupted. The newspaper urgted that small j vessels should be chartered by the Government to journey, between Auckland, the then seat - of -^Government, and tht south-u-n settlements, alleging that settlers atVWiellington, Now Plymouth and Nelson received 'intelligence of events that took place" at the Bay if , Islands much sooner from the Sydney papers than from Auckland. -In 1850 the overland mail service, between Auckland and the southern settlements was re-estaib-lishod and continued in that fortunate "state for a decade. At the beginning' of 1850, the total nuniber of Europeans living within the town district of Nelson Was. 129.7. Mr E. W. Stafford was, on' the Ist- August, 1853, elected the ■' first Superintendent of tho province of Nelson, his. unsuccessful opponents being Messrs J, W. Saxtbn aid Francis JoUie. Donald Sinclair; Drs . Henwick and ' Bush, and ; Messrs W. Hough and H. Idams were the 'first, members for LHff town in the Nelson Provincial Council. - " That Nelson 'in 1854 was refardod as- of -^considerable postal importance is seen from the docilion of the General Assembly at ;ta, first": nieeting in that year to increase the salary ( of "the P-ost-naster. to iiZHO a year. At- the earna time Increases to £300 were granted to the Postmasters at Auckland and' iWelliogton respectively;. In Committt€j9TOfrS'upply in 1858.^ the Government asked for rotes for; local posts, the amount required 'for the Nelson district being £1150,/ being, equal to the sum asked for Canterbury, and exceoded ..onlivtoy Wellington with £1200. The desirableness of est&'blihhing steam communication had 'never been lost' sight of by the settlers. On tlie sth March, 0.654:, the "Nel-sQD.-'-f :":a steamer of between 200 ,md 400 tons, sent out by Messrs Willis land Company, arrived at Nelson. She w>as soon put into commission, and ran regular trilps to Wellinfiton, New Plytaouth. Manukau, and Otago ;' 'but' was with-' drawn in May, 1855, and sent back- to England, as 'there was no profitable work for her.' : -Towards the iend of the fifties Nelson' was of great importance as the ■ Iffrst port of call in New Zealand : for the steam pail service with -Sydney "an operation 'at tihat time. . In this service one steamer was statiioned . at. Sydney and the other, at Nelson. -. Itoe former was to leave. Sydney 'on 'the 10th (the assumed date '- of arrival of 'tho English maUr for Nelson, arrivteg there on the I7th. The mails for Wellington, Canterbury, arid Otago were to be transferred at Nelson to the second steamer and • conveyed in hur to their destination. -On the lOth . {January, '1661, a twice-monthly " overland mail was established between v »Picton and Christchurch in. connection with a steamer subsidised, ty the Provinand plying betwperj Nelson, Pictpn .dial <3overnment of Marlborpugh, and plyin«r 'between 'Nelson. Picton, and Wellington To quote from the Department«J Report for IStJ) •>The difßcuJties of :toe road ana the time occupied in performing tie Journey /do,, indeed; Anaike a. complebß'.corresppodenoe between tne : tyMVwmaife;- overland and seaborne, . a. prpbfemVof .."considerable difficul-. ■ ty;'butjjia.t' least it may be aesum,'cd that whatrTßas rbeen done contributes very sensibly to tie conryenterice'of: tie r: settlers residing in the'eountry • 'betwiEen- Nelson and iOhristrhurch, ' as ~tSey' no'vr . feel sure thatvat certain tjines ttoey wOl be "Bitole vto-: .cominmnicate ' with. other • parts' ■" without the necessity r Of themselves making the journey :f or. the purpose.:' Despite these- ;favourable remai'ks, . the service was Of short duration, for we read .in 'June, £562, ' '"the overland ! jaiaila later repbrt Jthat on tte 30th 1 service was* not satisfactory, £9*l--the want which it .was intend^to s«upp|y^would.be met far another ■V^The, arabiint^ of postal reve^^de"«vedi;frbi» the Nelson district;-.. -to ; 1880/.;iB' seen from the fact that in ythaty year -the Colonial Treasurer 1 altTSrAuckla-nd- forwarded to . Nelson stamps: of: the value, of £323. From - thevfirst ainual report of the Post- ] maaterrGeiieral^issued on. ' the :4th i Jnne,,lB^o>sitris found that.- even at. . that;: e^lyN'date-' there ' was a _ house, to hpu66j,deHy^iry in Nelson. -In: 1553 -the ipostar business was so . considerabte^'as^Jto cause " the . Pqa«nvast«rrGfehei>al;<c to -renaark in ; : :hisy. report for. that, year- thaf the : :<PostVOfllce building ; was -'altogether - ioo\ : small \f or -the- amounts otjwwk : •' ":; ;^a important.' advahc^ ;v£: ,.' the ••"" hiat)t>er" / dr. communication: * v '.w,ast ~; miaide in Aprils "lB66^ bjr-^the c^m-. '-■^ ••-pletibn. of ■■' the -section of^itelegraph: i line'wbetwqjn :.- Hurunui and Nelson; ; whicfe; rendered^^ possible telegrapute • ■"'.•'.■:--. : .-:-'> V .-'•■. -';-.'',., ' > ■ ?- '■• ':•■:*-. I

communication throughout the length of the Middle- Island, from the Bluff to Nelson. In the following August, moreover, the first suhjnarino cable was laid across Cook Seraiti .%-.■■?■ -. Nelson was constituted, a municipality n 1874. The firsfcMaydli was Mr Joseph Beid Dodson, Who was elected ori the Ist, May of that y&jr. The rafcable value of property at Hat time was £42,220. - In 1876 the poiiulation was estimated ot SSS4, and al r the~c£Bsus of 1886 the number of persons was 7316; £1717. -For the year 1867 the number i had increased to 8164. In 1905 the I imports at the Port of Nelson were of the" value of £132,661, and the exports £81,173. On the 31st March last the unimproved value of property in the municipality of Nelson was £569,228, •the value of improvements £803,297, making a capital value of land- and improvements of £1,172,625. On the amalgamation of the Post and Telegraph Departments on the Ist January, 1881, the staff at Nelson numbered 18. ; There is at the present day a staff- of 54 officers. As might only be expected in the case of a settlement which had such an early beginning and rapid advance, Kelson was among the places at which money-order offices and Post" .Office' Sayings Banks were ; established imrifediately or shortly, after the''ihtrdaqctioh of the systems. Ttie ntithber of money orders issued in the Nelson district in 1884 was 436, of the value of £1,863, and the number of orders paid was 363, of the value of J81717. Eor the yead 1867 the number of Savings Bank deposits at the Nelson office -was^JlS, of theuesum of £2639, and the number of [ ..withdrawals 40, of the svlm of £616. ' ' v The telephone exqhangei^'&i Nelson was established, towards the end of 1884, at which .tim& ; there were only Jive exchanges., in the*, colony. , There were on the 31st Mar.eh ifast 101 .exchanges, on yrhjoh^date the nunirb6Sr''.pf subscribers at Nelson was 283. '''- " I' give a comparative statement of the Department's business at Nelsan' during the years 1895 and 1905:—

1 Before concluding Sir Joseph Ward referred to the position of the new Post Office, and said that in other and 1 larger towns than Nelson distance was considered neither here nor there. ( What was to-day regarded as an inconvenience would in the course of a few months disappear like mist. He hoped that the building would "soon be found — not too big, but too small. Sis' Joseph was warmly applauded at the conclusion of Mb address. Mr J. Graham, M.HTR., extended a hearty welcome to Sir Joseph Ward on the occasion of his first official visit to ( Nelson, and trusted it was only the forerunner of many such visits. Sir Joseph had for years been known to them as the most up-to-date Postmas-ter-General this colony or any of the Australasian colonies had ever had, and they would congratulate him on the position he had now attained to. Referring to the history of Nelson given by Sir Joseph Ward, Mr Graham mentioned that his father was one of the N. Z. Expedition men, and that his mother came out in the first emigrant ship — was indeed, the first white woman to place her foot on shore in Nelson. Sir Graham spoke of the difficulties in connection with the selection of a site for the new Post Office and said that but for Sir Joseph Ward's assistance a new building would not have been secured. It had been proposed to expend £1000 on improving the old Post Office, but after visiting the old building Sir Joseph Ward in five minutes had decided that it was not worth the expenditure, and that a new building was required. On behalf of his constituents he thanked Sir Joseph Ward for the absolutely up-to-date building.'- (App.) Mr Graham said he had an important announcement to make. They knew that he had for a long time been endeavouring to obtain telephonic communication to the French Pass, and he had great pleasure, in reading the following telegram in reference thereto: — "I have much pleasure in informing yon that I have authorised the telephone- extensions along the western side of Pelorus Sound including Lydia Bay, and the extension to tho French Pass, and the works will be put in hand at an early date. J. G, WARD," Thsre was an outburst of applause when the telegram was read and Mr Graham, for himself and the public, expressed his hearty appreciation for the concession. Mr Cooper, the contractor, having presented Sir Joseph Waril. with a' gold key, the latter opened the 'door ofrthe main entrance, and formally.-«ieclared the new Post Office open. At the invitation of the Premier the public inspected the new building. Sir Joseph Ward said he had heard that the children had not been granted a holiday, but he hoped they would be given one in the afternoon. (Cheers and applause from "Young Nelson.") *' Ur',' "-' -T*r*&r-r- ) The construction of tho building which was opened to-day was commenced in. 1905, a tender having been accepted on, Maji sth of that year. '.The original tender was for £6840, but additions and alterations have resulted in increases until the total cost at tho /building w»ll 6be between £9000 and £10,000. The structure, of brick, stands on concrete foundations, these being Bft "in depth in places, and altogether 600 yards of con* crete have been used. ■ About a quarter of a million bricks were required for the Post Office, and, with the exception of a thousand or two, were made in this district. The main entrances to the new building have been placed at the northneastcrn end, one in Trafal-gar-street- and the other in Hali-fax-street. Doth, leaxl into a vestibule, ■ where shipping, mail, and w-eather notices will be placed. From tho vestibule access is. gained! to the public portion of tha building, where the stamps, telegrams, parcels, and Savings Banks departments are conducted. Tha Ofifef Postmaster's room is situated handy to tho public office, and passing through it 'from the public office one reaches the mail room, 40 x 36ft, with., every convenience provided for handling the mall matter. The private, boxes are, of course, adjacent to this" room, and are '208. in number, phblic entrance jljeing made from Trafatfgar-sreet. ' The oper-afcing roorf is on the second floor, and is '44ft x 23ft, and", lijkoall other rooms, is well lighted and "nicely fit/ted up. Adjacent to itthe operating rpom is 'the' telephone exchange ■;pom, > . but this is not yet In order.' • ' [-:•■" A great^'reany other rooms* arc | in the new building, ali of which,; have 'up-to-date appliances and "-fittings fqr t&e doapalcb oi business. Excellent provision has •been- "made for lighting by das andt night, and altogether 1-50 gas jetsv'bave -been fixed. , Messrs -Cooper k SonsTifWelling"ton) sere the contractors, the sub contractors .being- :— Carpentry, it; Benouf. - [(Wellington) ; ~pl assuringMessrs^:;.. Foley .jßind Sons (Welling ton) J' "'' painting- and,- - decorating Messrs Savage & Stons (Nelso.n; plumjjtpg and ""gas fitting, Nelsoi Tinware Co.. Ltd; fittings, M Moffatt (Wellingeon.). Mr J. Camp bell 'was the architect, and: thi work was carried out* under t/h< I ' -

supervision of Mr A. Davies, ol the Public Works Department.

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