BIRTHDAY OF THE CITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20475, 29 January 1930, Page 19

BIRTHDAY OF THE CITY.

A CANVAS TOWN OF 1840.

FIRST HOUSES IN AUCKLAND.

January 29 has long come to bo known as Auckland's birthday. To*day the city is 90 years old, for it was in 1840 that the first settlers pitched their tents along the sea front, where Fort Street now stands, and the first Governor of the colony, Captain William Hobson, hoisted the Union Jack over the miniature town and took possession of the surrounding land in the name of Her Majesty (ho Queen. No great city of the western world had a more formally pompous beginning than did the present city of Auckland.

He who now gazes comfortably over the myriad roofs of the city and walks in its avenues of shops and business houses would be amazed could he see what Auckland was like in the year it was born. The miracle caqnot be wrought, but the eyes can bo closed, and, as in - a dream, the dead past conjured up by anyone who makes it his business to delvo into tho early annals of tho town and tho story of its first inhabitants.

The site oh which the city now stands was purchased from the Maoris by barter, in a manner reminiscent of a Fennimore Cooper story. Captain \V. C. Symonds was instructed bv the Governor to carry out negotiations For the purclmso of lund, and, after deliberating with the chief Kawau, of Orakei, a deed was drawn up, by which 3000 acres, roughly triangular in shape, with the Waitemata as its base and Mount Eden at its apex, were handed over to the pakehas for 50 blankets,. 20 trousers, 20 shirts, 10 waistcoats, 10 caps, four casks of tobacco, one box of pipes, 100 yards of gown, 10 iron pots, one bag of sugar, one bag of flour, 20 hatchets, and £SO in gold. The signatories were Captain Symonds, Major T. Ryan, Mr. O. Clarke (protector of Aborigines), and tho chiefs Kawau, Tinana, Te Reweti Tamaki and Horo.

On January 29, 1840, there was not a single white person living on the shores of the Waitemata, for although that dato is now officially regarded as that of tho city's founding, and January 29 is observed as Anniversary Day, the day marks not the hoisting of tho flag on Point Britomart, but the day on which Governor Hobson arrived at the Bay of Islands in H.M.S. Herald from Sydney with a commission to proclaim British sovereignty and authority to declare void all land titles other than those secured from tho Crown. It was not until five months later, September 15, that he arrived in the Waitemata, and took possession of Auckland as the new scat of Government. Strictly speaking, that date, and not January 29, is Auckland's correct birthday, but it is difficult to ignore now the fiction established by 90 years of tradition and custom. 1

The City of Tents. Tho first homes in Auckland were bell tents, erected by tho labourers, mechanics and tradesmen, sent down from the Bay of Islands to build tho new city. They were pitched above a sandy beach in Mechanics' Buy, near where tho Maori Hostelry now stands, in Beach Road. At tho same time the Government officials camped in Official Bay, a pretty, treebordered inlet, now disappeared, which used to lio bqtween Mechanics' Bay and Point Britomart, long since demolished. Tho eito would be approximately at the foot of Ansae jLvenue. Where Queen Street runs to-day was the business centre, where the tradespeople built their stores. One of the first buildings to go up was Fort Britomart. In 1842 there were, only ten buildings in Queen Street, which was then a inuddy track,' running besido a little stream. One of these buildings was the famous old Government store; another was the town gaol, in front of which were posted the wooden stocks, in which drunkards and other petty, offenders were exposed to the public gaze. This building, together with the Courthouse, was at the corner of Victoria and Queen Streets, where the City Chambers now stand. * - .

The Father of Auckland. It seems that the first attempt to settle the Waitemata was made by the late Sir John Logan ■ Campbell, " the father of Auckland," whoso grave occupies an eerie lookout on the top of One Treo Hill. A month before Hobson came down from the Bay of Islands to reconnoitre the site of his new capital, Campbell and his friends, Mr. William Brown and Mr. William Web.-,, ster, with threo other companions, sailed from Coromandel on a land-hunting expedition, and, hearing the Waitemata spoken of in high terms by settlers who had travelled much, poked their noso through the Motuihi Channel and landed on Motukorea, afterwards named Brown's Island. By negotiation with three Hauraki chiefs, they obtained possession of the island by purchase —Auckland s first real etate transaction.

r The Pirst Buildings. > - Shortland Street, or Crescent, as it was then called, Was more thoroughly built upon, while in Princes Street and its neighbourhood were the public offices in which the business of the colon}', in its infant days was transacted. The offices of the Surveyor-General, the Colonial Secretary and the Colonial Treasurer were in a row in Eden Crescent. Tho bank (the New Zealand Banking Company—Auckland's pioneer financial institution) was an unpretentious building in Princes Street, near tho top of Shortland Crescent. St. Paul's Church was below it, on the present site of the Emily Plfice. reserve. Above the bank, in Princes Street, were the post office and tho Roy&l Hotel —the latter where the Northern Club now stands. Opposite'was Government House, with its porters' lodge near the gateway at the corner; Between Shortland Street and Vulcan Lane was Sir George Gipps' Hotel, and, nearer Queen Street, the Blue BcJl Inn.

Thus it came about that, weeks before the invasion of settlers commenced fIOIU the North, the five white men rowed over the waters of the Waiternata, with, only Maori inhabitants for their doubtful friends. " Ah! Never can I forget, wrote Sir John years afterwards that mOrning when first I gazed on the Waitemata's waters. The lovely expanse of water, with its gorgeous colouring stretched away to the base of Rangitoto, whose twin peaks, cutting sharply into the deep blue sky, sloped in graceful outline to the shore a thousand feet below. Still farther distant we saw a bold, round, high headland, backed by a still higher hill (North Head and Mount Victoria), and far away before us a long expanse of glancing waters, as far as the eye could reach. . . How silent and peaceful were Waitemata's lovely sloping shores as we explored them 01, that now long, long ago morning. As we rowed over the calm waters the sound of our oars was all tliat broke the stillness. Pitching the First Tent. The party of white men landed in Hobson Bav, and pitched a tent above a shelly beach." It was the first white man's home in Auckland. A few weeks later, ruary 21, while on Brown's Island, they saw the revenue cutter Ranger, with Captain Hobson on board, come through Rangitoto Channel and anchor off Kohiniarama. The story goes that Hobson s visit to Auckland was made at the re(pest of the Maoris living on the shores of the Waiternata. Harassed by repeated raids and invasions, they saw that under the protecting aegis of the powerful pakeha lay their only chance of peace and safely. However that may be, it is a fact that in the early part of 1840 a number of Ngatiwhatua chiefs visited the Bay of Islands, and that shortly afterwards Hobson, having taken the advice of the Rev. Henry Williams, afterwards Archdeacon Williams, came down to see what the Waiternata was like for himself. The selection of tlio Waiternata as the seat of Government conferred new meaning on the old phrase about Ifobson s choice." The decision roused a stonn ot protest and controversy at Port Nicholson, where the New Zealand Company and the'Wakefields were firmly established, but Hobson stuck to his guns, and his choice was duly confirmed by the Queen. The Origin ol Auckland's Name. In a despatch to the British Government, dated November 10, 1840, Hobson wrote: "I have lately returned from a visit to the Waiternata, where I found the officers of the Government, and the mechanics and labourers under their orders, proceeding with the necessary works for establishing the town which I contemplate being the futuro seat of Government, and which I purpose distinguishing by the name of Auckland." Lord Auckland, Governor-General of India, had been held in great esteem by Hobson ever since his first naval appointment. On his return from the West Indies, Hobson found himself idle for some years, and an application to the First Lord of the Admirably, Sir James Graham, for the re-employment of bis services brought no result. In 1834, however, Lord Graham was succeeded by Lord Auckland, and a few months afterwards Hobson was appointed to the command of the Rattlesnake, with orders to proceed to • the West Indies. Hobson had other occasions, too, to remember Auckland's patronage, and he left tokens of his gratitude wherever ho went. Eden, .the English name for Maungawhau, and the isthmus on which Auckland stands, .was Lord Auckland's family name.

Mr. Robert Graham, who arrived in the ship Jane Gifford on October 8, 1842, described the place in his diary as follows: "The town of Auckland lies in a hollow, and the houses are built close down to the beach. They are all built of wood, and roofed with shingles, which have the appearance of slates. Shortland Crescent seems to be the principal street in the meantime. The first shop is a grog shop, the next is McLennan's store, the next a shoemaker's, the next a baker's, then a grog shop, then a pork stand, and a grog shop, etc. I should say that upon an average there is one grog shop for every three of all the other trades put together. Shortland Crescent is a pretty sleep hill. On the top are the soldiers' barracks, the church, the customhouse, bank and other public buildings, and adjacent the barracks. Bullock-Drawn Ploughs In Epsom.

" A road leads to Manukau, a distance of ten miles, where a coach can run the whole way. Mr. Gould and I wont out this road four miles to a placo calkd Epsom. There is a little cultivation going on there, but none nearer the town. Saw some nice cottages and fine gardens, and two farms of about ten acres, each under cultivation in wheat and barley. There were also two herds of cattle with bells on their necks to indicate their whereabouts when in the fern, which is everywhere around. Observed one plough at work, drawn by two bullocks." The first wooden building built in Auckland was probably the Government store, which was located at the corner of Shortland and Fore Streets (later known as Fort Street). The building stood at the water's edge in 1840. Another very early wooden building was Acacia Cottage, Brown and Campbell's (Sir John Logan Campbell) little house, which superseded the firm's raupo whare. This cottage, which occupied a site in what is now O'Connell Street, was removed to the slopes of One Tree Hill, near the tea kiosk, when that street was widened. Pioneer Businesses.

By 1844 there were but two brick buildings in the city. One was the twostorey business house of Gibson and Mitchell, in Shortland Street, and the other was St. Paul's Church, which was opened by Bishop Selwyn. In that year the town was starting to take shape in earnest. Along the south side of Shortland Street from Queen Street were, in succession, the business premises of Conry (solicitor), Broadbent (storekeeper), Cormack (watchmaker), and the firm of Nathan and Joseph. Then, across the High Street junction, came the Commercial Hotel and Common's store, with Mackenzie's pharmacy in its upper storey. In Fore Street were, in succession, the Victoria Hotel, W. S. Grahame's store, afterwards known as Grahame's bond, and for long an interesting relic of early Auckland, and Captain Porter's Store, while on tho slope above were the residences of Mr. Grahame, Captain Porter and Captain Tucker. Along High Street was the Post Office building, which was also tho customhouse; opposite, on the slopo now traversed by Courthouse Lane, were the Wesleyan Church and the Mechanics' Institute, a forerunner of the Public Library.

KAPAI CORN BROOM CO. LTD.

The history of this old firm dates back to 1876, when the late Thos. J. Harbutt started manufacturing brushwave and corn brooms at the same situation as at present. ; , , In the early days great difficulties had to be surmounted, prejudice against local manufactured goods being the greatest. However, as the result of determination to succeed, every effort was made to ensure that quality of its products should be the claim for support, and gradually the buying public recognised that the turn s trade-mark " Kapai " truly described its products. To-day all the corn brooms used in the Dominion are New ZealandmiThe firm's present-day output of general brush ware finds its way into every part of the province. " Kapai ' hrand brushware is a household word. Ihero is not an industry but requires some special line of brushes to help it, and the Kapai Coin Broom Company answers the call, supplying the various corporations with scavenging brooms, flourmills with machine brushes, dairies with bass brooms, scrubs and separator brushes. Mother with every kind of household requirement, father with his shaving brush. ' / , The present manager, Mr: Syd. J. Harbutt, served his apprenticeship with the firm and with experience gained in other lands has further developed the old firm, which can well claim to be _ tho oldest established business of, its kind in the Dominion.

"Kapai" trade-mark, with the wellknown Maori head, still stands for quality and service, its goods all bear a guarantee of faithful workmanship: