EARLY BUILDING.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18008, 13 July 1928, Page 19 (Supplement)

EARLY BUILDING.

. STONE BUILDINGS. All,, the public buildings, . Stores and,offices, built in TimarustOne, in and near the Main Street;, are-in a sense reminders, of the great fire which, on December 7, 18G8, swept away the Avodden buildings on the avest side of Stafford Street, frorti Church Street to Woolcombe Street, and most of those on the eastern side. To avoid a like disaster in future, tho Municipal Council decreed that all buildings in and near the Main Street must be build of noncombustible materials. Good bricks were not then available. Therefore, - stone had to be used. The ■ first buildings of concrete were the Court House (1874), and Trinity .Church (1877). Bricks became available in quantity in 1878. " ' The first ship to load ' wool in Timaru for London was the Mary Queen, 350 tons register, Captain Clark. The first bale was jut on board on December 15> 1864, with some ceremony. It was hoisted , to 1 the.yarni-arm, .and,, the.,, stey.edpre; standing upon it, drank success to the enterprise; after Avhich a short party ■ had lunch and drank toasts in the

cabin. When the construction of an-en-closed harbour was being seriously discussed in the ’seventies, Captain Woollcombe, one of the oldest residents, who had been officially connected with the shipping business, proposed that the Waimataltai Lagoon should be made the harbour by dredging it out. Since his day the sea has dredged out the greater part' of the lagoon, and such vessels as then frequented Timaru could lie at anchor where Captain Campbell proposed to dredge a port. FIRST MILK SUPPLIER. . The first milk supplier of Timaru , was Mr Belfield, who on starting.the “Timaru Herald” in 1864, sold his , cows and plant. The latter consisted of a horse, with pack-saddle,, on which two tall milk -cans were, strapped. '