NEW ZEALAND
Queenstown * Lake Wakatipu * Lyttleton - Sea Port of Christchurch.
Researched, written and illustrated with selected photographs from his archived copies of the late 19th century photographs collected by
George Bullough during his Grand World Tour
in the library at his Highland home, Kinloch Castle, Scotland by
George W. Randall, co-founder in July 1996 and former
Vice Chairman Kinloch Castle Friends’ Association .
GENERAL VIEW OF QUEENSTOWN – LAKE WAKATIPU, NEW ZEALAND
Album XI * Image 17 * Size 8 x 6 inches * Original photograph by Morris No. 205.
Late 19th Century photographs from the albums of Sir George Bullough, he was knighted in 1902, collected during his three year-long world tour 1892-1895.
Time of visit November 1894.
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We are halfway through Album XI TASMANIA and NEW ZEALAND
(Hobart Tasmania, Dunedin and Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross Colony New Zealand South Island, were covered in my previous Blog - No. 72)
(Hobart Tasmania, Dunedin and Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross Colony New Zealand South Island, were covered in my previous Blog - No. 72)
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These I
reproduced with explanatory notes in twenty-eight posts on my
Blog
and illustrated with a careful selection from my archive of relevant photographs
from the first ten of the twenty albums at Bullough’s Highland home,
late Victorian Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum, Scotland, built 1897-1900.
and illustrated with a careful selection from my archive of relevant photographs
from the first ten of the twenty albums at Bullough’s Highland home,
late Victorian Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum, Scotland, built 1897-1900.
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Regrettably no further written reminiscences have been found, but the remaining ten albums, contain some three-hundred images of their visits to Tasmania (see BLOG 72),
New Zealand, New Caledonia, Honolulu, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, San Francisco, Yosemite, Salt Lake City and Japan; the
latter in colour.
Album XIII is devoted to Natives of Australia and South Africa.
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THIS POST IS A
SELECTION FROM ALBUM XI - TASMANIA and NEW ZEALAND
NOTE:
Unless stated otherwise, descriptions relate to matters as they were at the time.
*<>*<>*<>*<>*< >*<>*<>*<>*<>**<>*<>*<>*<>*< >*<>*<>*<>*<>*  GENERAL VIEW OF QUEENSTOWN – LAKE WAKATIPU, NEW ZEALAND Album XI * Image 17 * Size 8 x 6 inches * Original photograph by Morris No. 205. |
Queenstown was
founded by thirty-six year old runholder (farmer), explorer and
surveyor William Gilbert
Rees in 1863.
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| Statue of Queenstown founder, William Rees Grapeman4 |
Born in
Pembrokeshire, South-west Wales, (Great Britain),
in 1827, Rees emigrated to New South Wales (Australia)
in 1852 where he took up sheep farming.
Six years later he returned to England to marry his childhood sweetheart, twenty year old Frances Gilbert.
In 1860 the couple moved to South Island, New Zealand,
where Rees established a “high country farm”
near the mouth of the Kawarau River,
(which drains Lake Wakatipu), north-western Otago.
in 1827, Rees emigrated to New South Wales (Australia)
in 1852 where he took up sheep farming.
Six years later he returned to England to marry his childhood sweetheart, twenty year old Frances Gilbert.
In 1860 the couple moved to South Island, New Zealand,
where Rees established a “high country farm”
near the mouth of the Kawarau River,
(which drains Lake Wakatipu), north-western Otago.
“I saw an open country, not perfectly
level but broken by small hills and terraces, whilst a large lake or arm of a
lake stretched away in the distance almost as far as the eye could see.”
In 1862 gold was
discovered on the nearby Shotover River;
the land, part of which included Rees’s homestead,
was designated an official goldfield. Rees was paid £10,000 compensation for the part of his farm that included Queenstown.
the land, part of which included Rees’s homestead,
was designated an official goldfield. Rees was paid £10,000 compensation for the part of his farm that included Queenstown.
In anticipation
of an influx of prospectors all requiring accommodation,
Rees
converted his wool shed into a hotel, the Queen’s Arms.
In 1866 he
entered into a partnership with Albert Eichardt who three years later
became sole proprietor. The cost of accommodation in 1898 was 10/- (50p or half a pound) per day,
The hotel exists today as Eichardt’s Hotel.
The hotel exists today as Eichardt’s Hotel.
A keen
cricketer, Rees played numerous first class matches, his forte being
batsman.
His cousin was W.
G. (William Gilbert) Grace, still considered
one of the
greatest players ever of first-class cricket.
William Rees
died at Blenheim, Marlborough, (in the north-east of New Zealand’s South
Island), aged seventy-one on the 31st of October 1898.
The twenty-six
mile long Rees River in Central Otago, which flows into upper Lake
Wakatipu,
Lake Wakatipu, 1,017 feet above
sea level, covers an area of 113 square miles and has a
maximum depth of 1,239 feet. “Dog-leg” in shape its overall length is almost 48 miles,
with a maximum width three miles. Located at the southern end of South Islands Southern
Alps the glacial lake is home to long-fin eel, salmon, brown and rainbow trout. These attract
numerous species of birds, including, black teal, mallard, pied shag, and black billed gull.
maximum depth of 1,239 feet. “Dog-leg” in shape its overall length is almost 48 miles,
with a maximum width three miles. Located at the southern end of South Islands Southern
Alps the glacial lake is home to long-fin eel, salmon, brown and rainbow trout. These attract
numerous species of birds, including, black teal, mallard, pied shag, and black billed gull.
The lake, noted for its scenic beauty, is surrounded by the jagged mountain peaks
named “The Remarkables” by Alexander Garvie, during his reconnaissance survey of the
district in 1857. Viewing the sunset scene before him for the first time Garvie exclaimed,
“Remarkable!” to describe the sight.
One of Otago’s earliest settlers Alexander Garvie arrived in New Zealand in the 1840’s when
he
was in his mid-twenties. A builder and carpenter by trade he later turned to
surveying
undertaking the Provincial Triangulation Survey in central Otago in
1857 when he
established the base line on the 116 square mile Taieri Plains, south-west of Dunedin.
Alexander Garvie died in 1859.
“Dog-leg”
in shape, the 113 square mile lake is almost 48 miles in length with a maximum
width of three miles.
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Rising sharply along
the south-eastern shore of the lake, the highest peak being
Double Cone at 7,608 feet, the snow capped mountains create an impressive
backdrop when viewed from Queenstown.
Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
Double Cone at 7,608 feet, the snow capped mountains create an impressive
backdrop when viewed from Queenstown.
Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
GENERAL VIEW OF QUEENSTOWN – LAKE WAKATIPU, NEW ZEALAND
Album XI * Image 17 * Detail from original 8 x 6 inch photograph by Morris No. 205.
Album XI * Image 17 * Detail from original 8 x 6 inch photograph by Morris No. 205.
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| John Richard Morris Early New Zealand Photographers |
in Manchester, England, eldest of the five sons of John and Marina Morris. When John was just fifteen years
old the family emigrated
to New Zealand on board the ship
“City of Dunedin” arriving at Port Chalmers
on the 12th of January 1869. John along with three of his brothers became
professional photographers, with numerous premises in Dunedin, principally Princes Street and George Street, run with the
help managers under the direction of
brother Guy, himself a successful press photographer. John Richard submitted his work to numerous international
exhibitions, including Christchurch in 1884 and the Centennial International at Melbourne
in 1888
“City of Dunedin” arriving at Port Chalmers
on the 12th of January 1869. John along with three of his brothers became
professional photographers, with numerous premises in Dunedin, principally Princes Street and George Street, run with the
help managers under the direction of
brother Guy, himself a successful press photographer. John Richard submitted his work to numerous international
exhibitions, including Christchurch in 1884 and the Centennial International at Melbourne
in 1888 when he won the Second Order of Merit.
He died at his home in George Street, Dunedin, aged
sixty-five
on the 29th of January, 1919 as a result of the influenza epidemic
which swept New Zealand and is interred in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery.
which swept New Zealand and is interred in Anderson’s Bay Cemetery.
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Map from: Tourist
Guide to the Lakes, Mountains and Fiords of Otago and Southland 1898
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VIEW FROM KINLOCH, LAKE WAKATIPU, NEW ZEALAND
Album XI * Image
18 * Size 8 x 6 inches * Original photograph by Morris No. 272.
Surrounded by mountains in every direction Kinloch is located at the head of Lake Wakatipu, twenty-eight miles due north of Queenstown. "The water of the lake is the deepest blue in colour and is remarkable for its purity. The water temperature a few feet below the surface never falls below 52 degrees Fahrenheit or rises above 54 degrees, however on the ledge which juts out from every beach, being shallower, the sun raises the temperature making bathing an enjoyable experience. A strange phenomenon is lack of buoyancy which makes swimming any distance a matter of difficulty."*
* Tourist Guide to the Lakes, Mountains and Fiords of Otago and Southland
1898
 Map from: Tourist Guide to the Lakes, Mountains and Fiords of Otago and Southland 1898 *<>*<>*<>*<>*< >*<>*<>*<>*<>**<>*<>*<>*<>*< >*<>*<>*<>*<>* |
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MOUNT BALLOON, MILFORD SOUND
Album XI * Image
19 *
Size 8 x 5¾ inches * Morris No. 162
Mount Balloon
stands 6,059 feet high in MacKinnon Pass an area of South Island’s
Milford Sound
that boasts fifteen feet of rain every year.
THE GIANT'S GATE LAKE ADA
Album XI * Image 22 * Size 8 x 5¾ inches * Morris No. 129Surrounded by the finest of scenery Lake Ada in Milford Sound is 150 feet above sea level.  
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| S.S. TARAWERA IN MILFORD SOUND Album XI * Image 20 * Size 8 x 5½ inches * Morris No. 174 |
S.S. Tarawera was built, launched and completed by William
Denny & Brothers at
their Leven
Yard, Dunbarton, Scotland in 1882 for the Union Steamship Company
of New Zealand,
Ltd., Dunedin.
At 2,003 gross
registered tons the cargo/passenger vessel was their first to exceed two thousand
tons.
Measuring 285 feet in length with a
breadth of 36 feet and depth of almost
Measuring 285 feet in length with a
breadth of 36 feet and depth of almost
23 feet; Tarawera’s engine was a253 nautical horse power C2cyl
(38 and 68 x 43) in. by Denny & Company, driving a single screw with a service speed
of twelve knots. Passenger
capacity was 124 first class; 80 second class, with ninety portable cabins.
Tarawera “was the first British ship to be fitted
with Edison’s incandescent electric light.” The vessel was
laid-up at Port Chalmers in 1921, stripped to a hulk in 1927 and eventually towed to Paterson Inlet,
Stewart Island for use as a store ship for the Rosshavet Whaling Co. In 1933 S.S. Tarawera was moved to the island's
Lowry Beach and deliberately grounded to
form a breakwater.
Milford
Sound is the
most northerly of the fiords along South Islands south-western coastline. The
1,280 foot deep inlet offers the most spectacular fiord scenery in the Southern
Hemisphere with the all dominating 5,551 foot high
Mitre Rock Peak at the headand the nearby
500 foot sheer drop of Stirling Falls.
In February 1883
Donald Sutherland, a native of Wick, Scotland, and London (England) born Samuel H
Mereton, made the first attempt to ascend Mitre Rock.
They reached
Mitre Ridge, 1.8 miles from the summit, but with bad weather
rapidly closing
in were forced to abandon their climb.
It was not until
the 13th of
March 1911 that former sheep farmer, mountaineer,
explorer and
airman, twenty-eight year old New Zealander James Robert
Dennistoun finally reached the topmost peak of Mitre Rock.
MOONLIGHT, MILFORD SOUND (MITRE ROCK)Album XI * Image 21 * Size 8 x 5½ inches * Morris No. 113
LYTTLETON FROM RUAPAKI (MAORI PAH)
Album XI * Image 24 * Size 8¼ x 6 inches.
Lyttelton Harbour was
discovered by European settlers in 1770
during Captain James Cook’s
first
voyage to New Zealand aboard His Majesty’s Bark, The Endeavour.
The
Maori village Ruapaki dates back
almost one thousand years.
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Size 8½ x 6 inches
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches.
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches
An important sea-port for the frozen-meat and wool trade with Great Britain, Lyttleton was linked by rail with Christchurch seven miles distant.
The rail line, and the particularly the opening of a tunnel in 1867,
played a significant part in the development of Lyttleton as a port.
The rail line, and the particularly the opening of a tunnel in 1867,
played a significant part in the development of Lyttleton as a port.
The
sign on the building (upper right) reads: New Zealand Shearing
Company.
LYTTLETON -
THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album
XI * Image 24 *
Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches.
LYTTLETON - THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH
Album XI * Image 24 * Detail from full size 8½ x 6 inches.
The roof sign reads:
Anderson Engineering Works, which opened in Lyttleton in 1887.
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Formerly called
Port Cooper and Port Victoria, Lyttleton lies on the north-west
side of Banks
Peninsula, on the east coast of South Island. Harbour works costing
over £300,000 in the 1880’s made it a
first-rate 110 acre commercial ocean port.
Protected by
breakwaters, with a 450 x 82 x 23 foot deep foot graving dock,
the port has
ample wharf accommodation fully serviced by the latest
loading, discharging
and storing facilities.
Lyttleton is
supplied with water, gas, electric light and post and telegraph offices.
At the time of
our intrepid visitors, it also boasted a time observatory,
a jail for
long-service prisoners, a state school, a sailor’s home and an orphanage.
Sheep farming in New Zealand was first established in the 1850’s
with the export of wool the dominant commodity accounting for
more
than one third of export revenue.
With the
invention of refrigeration the first consignment of 4,331 carcasses
of frozen mutton, 598 of lamb and 22 of pig; numerous game plus 246 kegs of butter were
loaded on-board the England bound, 400 passenger clipper Dunedin,
a hold of which had been specially fitted out with
a compression freezing plant
by Bell Coleman.
Built in
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1874 for the Albion Line the 1,320 ton Dunedin was
operated by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company (NZALC).
The ship sailed
from Port Chalmers on the 15th of February 1882 and arrived in
London on the 24th of
May – this first venture returned a profit of £4,700.
It was the
beginning of the huge trade in frozen meat and dairy products
that remains the cornerstone of New Zealand’s economy.
that remains the cornerstone of New Zealand’s economy.
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Reviewed by author 2 December 2024.
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