AUKLAND, NEW ZEALAND & NEW CALEDONIA
Written and illustrated from first hand research by George W. Randall, co-founder in July 1996 and former Vice Chairman Kinloch Castle Friends' Association.
1892 - 1895 GRAND WORLD TOUR OF GEORGE BULLOUGH
* See my specific blog to
CLICK ON THIS LINK
Returning to New Zealand and New
Caledonia Album XIV includes photographs from
- Waitomo Caves and Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island;
Noumea and France’s Penal Colony on New Caledonia, plus the tragic
1894 wrecking of
* See my specific blog to
the last and fatal sailing
of the S.S. Wairarapa
of the S.S. Wairarapa
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| QUEEN STREET LOOKING SOUTH, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND. 17217 J.V. (Original photograph by James Valentine.) |
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| Auckland Justices of the Peace Association website |
The name S. Coombe stands out above
his tailor and outfitter business on the
corner of Queen Street, and Customs Street, Auckland, the building also incorporating the Thames Hotel, managed by Mr. Richard Gretten, “licensed to sell liquor
and hold musical evenings”,
the hotel’s name “connecting it with the
(Thames) gold fields in New Zealand’s
South Island, fights between patrons at
the end of the evening (being)
a common event.” *
It was in Queen Street, named after Queen Victoria, that the first brick buildings in this rapidly developing commercial district of Auckland began to appear in the 1860’s. Coombes’ was located at number 80 Queen Street being originally a partnership of Coombes and Johnstone, which by 1870 was solely trading as Samuel Coombe Gentlemen’s Mercer.
his tailor and outfitter business on the
corner of Queen Street, and Customs Street, Auckland, the building also incorporating the Thames Hotel, managed by Mr. Richard Gretten, “licensed to sell liquor
and hold musical evenings”,
the hotel’s name “connecting it with the
(Thames) gold fields in New Zealand’s
South Island, fights between patrons at
the end of the evening (being)
a common event.” *
It was in Queen Street, named after Queen Victoria, that the first brick buildings in this rapidly developing commercial district of Auckland began to appear in the 1860’s. Coombes’ was located at number 80 Queen Street being originally a partnership of Coombes and Johnstone, which by 1870 was solely trading as Samuel Coombe Gentlemen’s Mercer.
South
Island. Samuel Coombe was born c.1837, his trading motto being:
“Small Profits
and Quick Returns.”
* Recommended reading:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The City of Auckland New Zealand ...
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| QUEEN STREET LOOKING SOUTH, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND. 17217 J.V. |
The canopy reads:
FENTON & Co. BUTCHERS
20 Queen Street.
Managed by William Albert Fenton the business was highly regarded for the excellent quality of its
meat. Besides considerable local business,
including leading hotels and boarding houses, the firm were contractors to the navy and vessels trading to and from New Zealand., their “roomy premises included a commodious cellar used
for salting and storing purposes.”
meat. Besides considerable local business,
including leading hotels and boarding houses, the firm were contractors to the navy and vessels trading to and from New Zealand., their “roomy premises included a commodious cellar used
for salting and storing purposes.”
Image left and text reference: Victoria University of Wellington, The Cyclopedia of New Zealand.
(Auckland Provincial District) Meat Trade
The next canopy reads:
STONE BROs. & COMPy.
on the wall of the large building beyond Mutual Life
Association of Australia,
a company formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1869, which
with numerous
mergers and acquisitions is today one of the leading life
insurance,
superannuation, funds management and income protection companies in
the
world under the AXA brand name.
ALBERT PARK LOOKING TO MOUNT EDEN, AUCKLAND, NEW
ZEALAND
1720 JV Album XIV *
Image 22 * Size 12 x 7½ inches
(Original photograph by James Valentine.)
(Original photograph by James Valentine.)
Albert Park,
which lies beside the one of the earliest volcanoes in the Auckland’s
mono-genetic volcanic
field, was laid out in the 1880’s on the site of the former
British military
facility Albert Barracks which overlooked Auckland from mid-1840 to 1870.
Footpaths climb steeply through stands of native trees to the flat summit
graced
with flower
gardens encircling the large cast iron fountain imported from Great Britain
in
1881 which forms the centre piece of the park.
.......................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................
Ref: The Project Gutenberg EBook of The City of Auckland, by John Barr published 1922...........................................................................................
Each of the four
corners of the fountain base comprise the statue of a cherub riding a dolphin, each cherub
blowing a horn which spouts water.
The whole
surmounted by a robed female figure holding aloft a horn which also spouts
water. The Park
originally had commanding views over Auckland and its harbour but today the
skyline is dominated by
modern office blocks, largely hidden in summer by the foliage of the now
mature specimen trees dating from the 1880’s.
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| ALBERT PARK LOOKING TO MOUNT EDEN, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Album XIV * Image 22 * Detail from full size 12 x 7½ inches * 1720 JV
|
THE PHOTOGRAPHER J.V. - JAMES VALENTINE
The “JV”
refers to James Valentine father of George Valentine (1852-1890).
who emigrated to
New Zealand in 1884 hoping the climate would improve his health.
Two years after
he died in Auckland, a firm's photographer was sent by
Valentine & Sons to take a series
of images to be used as tourist souvenirs and postcards; these were
marked with the “JV” initials as distinct
from the “GV” of George Valentine.
In 1889
Valentine was one of the first photographers to descend into Waitomo Caves,
“an exploit
which would have tested the physical endurance of a very fit person.
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| AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, FROM PARTINGTON WINDMILL. Album XIV * Image 18 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches * No. 17633 J.V. (Original photograph by James Valentine.) |
Partington’s
Windmill, was a six storey flour mill built of local made clay bricks
constructed between 1850 and 1851 on Karangahape Road, a ridge overlooking Auckland by engineer and millwright Charles Partington.
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| PARTINGTON MILL GC7G9TD Windmills of Auckland |
factory close-by for the manufacture of biscuits,
Victoria Flour Mills and Steam Biscuit Factory.
Joseph Partington, an early health food enthusiast and
son of Charles, died in 1941. In his Will he bequeathed
the still working mill as a gift to the city in the hope it would
be preserved, “for the free
enjoyment of the
Citizens of Auckland forever.”
The original document was
never found and through the
laws of
intestacy the building became the property of
Joseph’s large
family who quickly sold it, despite the city council having a copy of the bequest
but failing to contest the Supreme Court ruling.
Having stood idle since the death of Joseph Partington in 1941, it was lost to the city in 1950
when it was demolished.
In 1945 the
council formed the Old Windmill Preservation Society, its aim to move
the structure to another site.
Failing to raise
the necessary funding, matters stagnated before coming to
a head two years later when the owners made it
known to the council they intended to demolish the windmill.
Again cost was
the problem and despite a great deal of controversy in April 1950 demolition
began. Too late to save
Joseph Partington’s windmill and finally realising the loss of this iconic
part of Auckland’s
heritage, the National Historic Places Trust was formed in 1955. |
AUCKLAND HARBOUR
Album XIV * Image
23 * Edited from full size 6 x 3
inches * No. 63 J.M.
(Original photograph by Josiah Martin) |
The photographer J.M. was Josiah Martin, born in, London, England in 1843.
In the late 1860’s he emigrated to
New Zealand with his wife and young daughter
eventually settling in Auckland on
North Island.
A gifted teacher, in 1874 he founded a private academy and the
following year opened the
Auckland Model Training School. In 1879, although
only thirty-six, failing health forced him
to resign his headmastership and he returned to England and made a tour of Europe.
While in London he visited
the Royal College of Chemistry and was introduced to the
latest improvements in
“instantaneous” photography using the newly developed gelatin
bromide process.
On his return to Auckland he opened a photographic studio on the corner of
Queen and Grey Streets taking portraits and selling his images as prints,
lantern slides and stereographs. He was fortunate to be present for the
eruption of 3,645 foot Mount Tarawera
in the early hours of the 10th
of June 1886, which killed an estimated 120 people.
Martin specialised in topographical
and ethnological subjects for which he gained
an international reputation, winning
a gold medal at the Exposition Coloniale in Paris
between May and October 1889, dominated by Gustave Eiffel’s 1,063 foot tower.
Josiah Martin died
in Auckland at the age of seventy-three in 1916, survived by his wife
Caroline
and their three daughters, who, in 1958 presented his collection of negatives
to the Auckland Institute and Museum.
His images, like
those of his contemporaries, provide a record of how landscapes and society
has
changed in the intervening decades. Today Martin’s photographs are to be found
in
art collections of many of the world’s institutions.
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UNIDENTIFIED. MOUNT COOK?
Album XIV *
Image 3 * Size 5½ x 4 inches. |
KIWI OR WINGLESS BIRD FOUND ON THE WEST COAST
Album XIV * Image
2 * Full size 8 x 6 inches.
Inscription on right base: KIWI
A nocturnal,
flightless bird with a long beak and stout legs, poor sight but excellent
hearing.
A ratitae,
the breastbone lacks a keel for the attachment of flight muscles.
The barbed feathers
lack vanes and the wings are very small.
KIWI OR WINGLESS BIRD FOUND ON THE WEST COAST
Album XIV * Image 2 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches.
Inscription on base: KIWI
Inscription on base: KIWI
HAVELOCK
Album XIV * Image 1 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches.
A MORNINGS FISHING BY WYNNE WILLIAMS.
HEAVIEST FISH 7-lbs. ALL TROUT FROM THE UPPER SELWYN RIVER,
TAKEN WITH FLY AND ROD.
Album XIV * Image 3 * Size 8 x 6 inches.
Caption on photograph:
Trout in New Zealand Rivers. The Upper Selwyn.
Havelock, a
township at the mouth of the Pelorus and Kaituna rivers at the head
of Pelorus
Sound, twenty-seven miles north-west of Blenheim.
The town came into being in 1864 with the Wakamarina Valley gold rush,
sawmilling being the principal
employment.
It was named after the Major General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., to
commemorate
his role in suppressing the rebellion against increasing British power
in India, particularly his role in the recapture of Cawnpore in 1857.
in India, particularly his role in the recapture of Cawnpore in 1857.
HEAVIEST FISH 7-lbs. ALL TROUT FROM THE UPPER SELWYN RIVER,
TAKEN WITH FLY AND ROD.
Album XIV * Image 3 * Size 8 x 6 inches.
Caption on photograph:
Trout in New Zealand Rivers. The Upper Selwyn.
A good days sport 38 fish with the fly. 2 rods.
______________________________________________________
WAITOMA CAVES, NORTH ISLAND
______________________________________________________
WAITOMA CAVES, NORTH ISLAND
New Zealand
WAITOMO CAVES –
Entrance to Fairy Grotto No. 9
Album XIV * Image 9 * Size 8 x 6 inches
Waitomo is from
the Maori language, wai meaning water
and tomo meaning sinkhole;
water passing
through a hole.
Discovered in 1887 by Tane Tinorau, a local Maori chief, and only six years before
George Bullough's visit, the limestone Waitomo Caves
are found in the southern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island,
7½ miles north-west of Te Kuiti,122 miles due south of Auckland.
George Bullough's visit, the limestone Waitomo Caves
are found in the southern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island,
7½ miles north-west of Te Kuiti,122 miles due south of Auckland.
 |
| (From Glowing Adventures - Waitomo Cave Tours website) |
The caves, the principal ones being Waitomo, Ruakirii and Aranui, are easily accessible and contain amazing examples of stalagmites and stalactites.
Waitomo Cave's Glowworm Grotto, as its name suggests, is noted for the
Waitomo Cave's Glowworm Grotto, as its name suggests, is noted for the
presence of the larval stage of the fungus
gnat (Arachnocampa luminosa),
a species found only in New Zealand.
Their sparkling presence affords visitors the most impressive caving experience.
Many of the
limestone formations have names including: Mairs Cavern, White Terrace, Blanket, Monster and Fairy Grotto. A number of freshwater creeks and brooks cut through
the caverns creating underground lakes which team with life, as do the caves
themselves being home to birds, lizards, bats,
insects and the elegant cave flower, a large mushroom-like fungus which thrives in
the caves damp areas.
 |
WAITOMO CAVES – MAIRS CAVERN No. 20
Album XIV *
Image 7 * Size 8 x 6 inches |
From time to
time a creature from the outside world will stumble into the caves,
get lost and die. Locked in this extreme isolation away from scavengers who
would scatter their bones, the not quite fossilised skeletons, some dating from the
Pleistocene Era, are being discovered and studied, their remains providing
a wealth of information on how species have changed over time.
get lost and die. Locked in this extreme isolation away from scavengers who
would scatter their bones, the not quite fossilised skeletons, some dating from the
Pleistocene Era, are being discovered and studied, their remains providing
a wealth of information on how species have changed over time.
(Reference:
Waitomo Caves – David Namen, Daniel Bensen)
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| WAITOMO CAVES -THE MONSTER - MAIRS CAVERN No. 2 Album XIV * Image 8 * Size 8 x 6 inches |
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| WAITOMO CAVES – ENTRANCE TO MAIRS CAVERN No. 13 Album XIV * Image 8 * Size 8 x 6 inches  .................................................................................................. NEW CALEDONIA FRENCH CONVICT SETTLEMENT  Album XIV * Image 29 * Edited from full size 8½ x 6 inches
New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a 250 mile long
island with an extreme breadth of 35 miles, which, with its adjacent island, amounts to some 6,450 square miles.
during his second voyage to New Zealand, its original name being the Island of Balade. Although extensively used
by sealers and traders in sandalwood no friendly relations were made with the Kanak
natives. French
missionaries arrived in 1843 and claimed the island for France, the capital, Noumea, initially known as Port de France, being founded eleven years later.
The French penal
settlement, which could hold 3,000 prisoners at a time, was established in 1864 as an alternative to that in French Guiana (South America) where life expectancy for prisoners and their charges was short
due to tropical diseases and poor facilities. (Transport of prisoners to Guiana
finally ceased in 1897.)
The native population of New Caledonia at this time, estimated at around 60,000, had more than halved by the turn of the century with records showing a population of 10,056 convicts. The neighbouring Isle of Pines (to the south) was used as a place of detention for habitual prisoners, and although Image 29 is only identified as "Noumea Convict Station" in Album XIV it bears strong similarity to known photographs of this facility. The hottest and wettest months are from December to March but because of the trade-winds the climate is healthy. The landscape is rich and beautiful, the mountains rising to almost 5,500 feet above sea level. An almost unbroken barrier reef skirts the western shore at a distance of five miles creating a navigable channel.
Gold, lead, copper, iron, nickel, chrome and cobalt are found; gypsum and marble are quarried, with coal is worked near the capital, Noumea.
Bats are the principal native mammal, along with introduced rats!
Other wildlife includes pigeons, parrots, doves, kingfishers, ducks and the wingless kagu (Rhinochetus jubatus) - unique to the island - along with turtles and fish. (Descriptive period reference: Encyclopædia Britannica 11th Edition)   Album XIV * Image 29 * Edited from full size 8½ x 6 inches
Approximately 1,200 miles from Sydney, Australia, New Caledonia was named by
Captain James Cook in 1774 and annexed by France on the 24th of September 1853
under the orders of Napoleon III. The first convict transports arrived in May 1864,
the arduous 11,000+ mile voyage from France taking six months. Convicts worked on the colony’s infrastructure including construction of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in the capital, Noumea to plans drawn up by an ex-convict named Labulle. Building began in 1887and the cathedral, which contains twenty-eight stained glass windows,
was inaugurated ten years later.
France ceased sending convicts to New Caledonia in 1897, by which time almost
twenty-five thousand had been transported. Hard labour convicts sentenced to eight
or more years were “obliged to settle in the colony … … they being subject to
perpetual residence.” Those with lesser sentences were required to remain for a
further period equal to their original term. The hope was that prisoners would
colonise the islands, which in 1897 was home to 1,700 penal settlers.
Further information: https://www.croixdusud.info/hist eng/hist bagne eng.php
 Album XIV * Image 25 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches  Album XIV * Image 26 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches  Album XIV * Image 25 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches  Album XIV * Image 26 * Edited from full size 8 x 6 inches  Album XIV * Image 27 * Size 8 x 6 inches 
CONVICT BAND IN KIOSK. PUBLIC GARDENS.
Album XIV * Image 28 * Size 8 x 6 inches  Album XIV * Image 28 * Detail from full size 8 x 6 inches
In this much
enlarged right corner of the original image (above) stand two native
Karnak by the bandstand while behind a coachman, whip in hand and wearing a white pith helmet sits on his open landau with a four-wheeled coach in the background. +++++ ***** +++++ * +++++ ***** +++++ BLOG 81 - ALBUM XV - NUMEA, BATAVIA, SINGAPORE Copyright * February 2019 * George W. Randall Archive * BLOG 80 * Updated 8 February 2023  |
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