LIFETIME AT HOWICK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19831, 29 December 1927, Page 11

LIFETIME AT HOWICK.

MR. HENRY ANDREW, AGED 85

INTERESTING REMINISCENCES.

CITY IN THE EARLY DAYS. Hale and hearty, in spite of his 85 years, Mr. Henry Andrew, of Heaghill Farm, near Howick, is one of the most interesting figures in tho district. Born the day after his parents landed at Auckland, in 1842. he has lived in the Auckland province all his life. Wlifin the ship Duchess of Argyll sailed into tho Waitemata Harbour on October 11, 1842, she carried Mr. Andrew's parents and their four children. Coming ashore on October 13, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew found temporary accommodation at Mechanics' Bay. The next day their son, tfenry was born. Mr. Andrew had been a weaver in England, but, as there was no opening in that line in the new country, ho took up labouring work. One of his first " jobs" was in excavating for old St. Paul's Church at the top of Shortland Street, or Shortland Crescent, as it was then known.

As a lad, Henry Andrew played in the streets of the town. He can remember the tide swirling up into Shorthand Crescent. Flowing down by the side of Queen Street was a stream, and the crossing to Wyndham Street was by means of a plank. When about five years old the lad left Auckland to attend St. John's College at Tamaki. The college was then a slight distance from its present position. A track ran between Tamaki arid the city, and people frequently walked from one place to the other. There were about 20 children in the school, which was taught by Miss Hunter. Journey to Howick. When the boy was 12, his father went to live at Howick, taking his family with him. The journey was made by boat from Tamaki, a whole day being occupied in moving. There was no township of Howick when Mr. Andrew, senior, settled on Heughill Farm. Howick was established as a "pensioners' " settlement, and Mr. Andrew, senior, had the contract for supplying the blocks for the erection of the cottages. Howick was prepared as a model village, and churches and houses were all ready for the colonists when they arrived. The building of a church prior to the arrival of settlers is considered to be unique in New Zealand history. Three shiploads arrived—the Minerva, Sir Robert Sale and Sir George Seymour. In August, 1866, Mr. Henry Andrew, then aged 24, left Howick for Thames in the boat Catherine. Like others, he was attracted by the gold discoveries. Of the party of eight which made the journey, he is now the only survivor. He attended the first divine service held in the Thames district. After nine months on the goldfields. he returned to the farm at Howick. At the time of his Thames visit there was considerable unrest among the Maoris. In October, 1863, the two brothers, Nicholas and Richard Trust, were murdered by natives at Whitford. The volunteer cavalry, of which Mr. Andrew was a member, received orders to proceed to the scene of the murder. The party did not encounter any natives. The bodies of the two men were recovered, and a tomahawk with blood stains was found near the scene. The cavalry then proceeded to Brookby, where the settlers had been scared from their homes bv the hostile attitude of the Maoris. Although ample evidence of the activities of the natives was found, the party once more returned without any fighting. Settlers Sleep Under Hedges.

The cavalry went out twice during the same year but the Maoris kept well out of sight. The times were troublous and many settlers left the Howick and Whitford districts to seek shelter in Auckland. At Hcrghill Farm, the Andrew family found it necessary to quit the house and sleep under the hedges when the natives were reported to be in the vicinity. Mr. Andrew now spends his time pottering about the farm. He finds many orld jobs to perform, and he spends his life in the open-air as much as possible. Occasionally he is to be seen in Howick. With his curiously-rounded top-hat and frock coat he is a familiar figure to the residents. His wife, formerly Miss Emrna Sharp, whom he married in 1870, has recently suffered ill-health. However, the warmer weather has brought better health and she is again out-of-doors.