ONLY ONE STREET

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17945, 24 November 1932, Page 10

ONLY ONE STREET

EARLY WELLINGTON DAYS VETERAN’S MEMORIES “I can remember Wellington when it had only one street, and that was where Manners street and Courtenay Place now are. The buildings were all on one side and there was -water on the other'” This was one of the many interesting reminiscences told by Air Alfred S'packman, of Mill road, Otaki, when interviewed recently. Mr Spackmaii, who is in his eightythird year, was'born at -Stokes Valley on August- 6, 1850.' His father, Air George Spackmaii, came to New Zealand from England in the early ’forties and was engaged in the timber business at Silverstream for many years.

Mr Spademan, with bis five brothers, worked at carting the timber from bis fatber’s mill into Wellington. Air Sparkman spoke of the days when they itSed to float the logs in the 'water on the site of the present Lumbton station.

Speaking of the roads in the early days, Mr Sparkman said: “1 have

known the time when we could not get from Ngnhuu range to Pc tone. The 'sea used (o come right up to the cliff land sweep over the road in rough j weather. I have seen ns many as i!7 wagons held up at [Petone for three days. That was in the days when j there was only one house, belonging to a Maori chief, at Petone, and the site of the Petone raihvay station 'was .a swamp.” Before be was 1(1 Mr ‘Sparkman was driving a five-horse team. He ilia’s vivid memories of carting the largest spar ever taken through the Hutt gorges, ft was a fid-foot mainmast for a sailing ship and -had been rut out at what was known as the “Maori bank.” It was heart of red pine, which had been | trimmed for cartage by two ship’s carpenters.

i [Before he came to New Zealand Mr Sparkman's father bought Hie 'land from (lie Now Zealand Company in London, being allotted ltd acres on the present site of the Basin Reserve, which was then a swamp. lie sold it at the price which lie paid for i.l, 'and lalcr on an earthquake lifted it and it was drained by a Chinese. It

was then that Air Spackmaii, sen., moved out to Silverstream. The reclamation of the land on which the Post Office now stands is well '.remembered by Air S'paeknian, also the time when Adelaide road was a swamp. “I ran remember when there was no money in Wellington and voil were given scrip to go to the merchants for goods until a ship arrived with money from England.”