By John Lawson
1922 continued the trends of 1921, with Whāingaroa gradually moving from horse and steam power to trucks and cars. It was also the year of the war memorial and significant for several groups, including the Bowling Club, St Peter’s Church and Raglan Old Settlers’ Association. The town had a population of about 300, or less than a tenth of today’s.
There was awareness that change was happening and the old Raglan was slipping into history. The Old Settlers’ formed in 1922, one of its objects being to “keep alive the old pioneer spirit of the district.” Their work included writing a settlers’ history of Raglan in 1940 and suggesting the formation of Raglan Museum Society in 1966. In 1922 three old settlers died and two moved –
- James Henry Phillips came to Raglan as a boy with his parents in 1857.
- Martin Harsant came with his family in 1858, when Dr Harsant was transferred to Raglan as Medical officer and Resident Magistrate.
- Thomas Boucher Hill was a founder of Auckland Acclimatisation Society in 1867 and came to Raglan about 1868, where he introduced sparrows. His old house is still on Hills Road, which was previously Opoturu Road and is named after the Hill family.
- Dave Ward who came to Ruapuke in 1880 moved to retire in Kawhia.
- A more recent arrival, Edward Charles Houchen, had arrived in 1893 and left Te Mata in 1922. He was chairman of Raglan Dairy Co.
William J. Petchell moved from Te Awamutu in May 1924, but there’s no sign of trees in the central strip.
A report said Raglan, “has become a most popular seaside resort, sometimes being called the ‘Brighton of the Waikato,’ being only two hours from Hamilton by an excellent motor road. . . Along the water front are many pretty summer homes owned by Waikato people who spend their holiday and weekends in this pretty spot.”
In January 1922 a Cambridge newspaper seemed not too familiar with, “the Bridal Veil falls . . . over a limestone cliff”, muddling it with Lake Disappear by saying, “When the water reaches the bottom it disappears into an underground passage, from which is re-appears a mile farther on and joins the Pakako creek”! The reporter went on to complain about, “the dilapidated and unaccommodating state of the town itself. The shops are mostly dirty and there are very few cottages for holiday makers to rent.”
Probably the accommodation shortage was due to the newly gravelled road cutting travel time, so that, “A record number of visitors took advantage of the glorious summer weather to visit Raglan for the annual carnival, and the once quiet little town was a scene of bustle and activity as the motor cars came pouring in, filling the garage and every available space.” By 1922 about 1 in 20 people had a car.
So money was raised for the Anglican vicar’s motorcar fund, as well as St. Peter’s Guild building fund reaching £800. On Sunday 11 January 1922 Bishop Averill laid St. Peter’s Church foundation stone. The three-quarter acre site was made up of a section bought for £110 and an area given to the church. Te Mata Anglicans also decided to build a church on an acre given by local store owners, Mr and Mrs Watkins and the Congregational Church formed a ladies’ guild. In the 1921 census over 52% of those who answered in Raglan County said they were Anglican.
There was a Raglan Town Board election with, “a record poll” and all those elected, “committed to a progressive policy, to make the most of Raglan’s advantages to incoming visitors”. The results were V.E. Pegler 102, R.E. Hunt 89, T. Parker 86, T.A.B. Hudson 79, W. Gibbison 75, J.F. Jackson 71, W.M. Sanders 57 and C.W. Ralfe 37.
An unfortunate effect of more tourism was the first beach drowning since 1864. Many had drowned in boating accidents, but on 22 November 1922 a group of 8 motored from Hamilton on a Wednesday afternoon and went swimming near the area now patrolled by lifeguards. Two ladies in their early 20s drowned. The coroner recommended that the attention of the public should be drawn to the danger of bathing on open beaches at ebb tide. Unlike today, there was no one else on the beach and one of the group had to run to Raglan for help.
Another report of trouble was of an aeroplane, which, “arrived at Hawera racecourse from Wanganui. After replenishing the petrol tank, a start was made for Raglan. The machine rose sharply and cleared the electric wires, but it had not enough way on and dropped suddenly smashing the propellor and under-carriage. The occupants were uninjured.” Raglan airfield wasn’t built until 1942, so probably it had been planned to land on that empty beach, as a plane did in 1929, when it was said to be the first.
CBD liquor bans didn’t start till 2005, but in 1922, “For the first time in four years the police cell at Raglan was on Wednesday night last, occupied. The offender was, on this occasion, a stranger to the district and was more rowdy than the peaceful little watering place is accustomed to, but he was not, however, so boisterous as to warrant a charge being laid against him. He was merely put under lock and key for the night and allowed to proceed on his way with the arrival of dawn and sobriety.”
Maybe because there were few such incidents, there was less support for alcohol prohibition than in 1919. Raglan constituency voted Continuance 2,592, Prohibition 3,165, well down on Raglan’s 77% vote for prohibition in 1919. In Whāingaroa the votes were –
| Continuance | Prohibition | |
| Te Mata | 32 | 6 |
| Waingaro | 41 | 16 |
| Ruapuke | 18 | 13 |
| Waitetuna | 22 | 19 |
| Ruakiwi | 14 | 12 |
| Okete | 35 | 35 |
| Raglan | 109 | 111 |
| Te Akau | 21 | 25 |
| Te Uku | 28 | 43 |
At the same time there was a general election in December. Raglan constituency extended to Waiuku and, as now, was largely rural and re-elected the Reform member, Richard Bollard. In Huntly the Liberals had 575 votes to 217 for Reform and other larger towns also voted Liberal. Both candidates held Raglan meetings. Mr Bollard’s was “a large and enthusiastic one”. Liberal candidate, Mr S. Lye, “addressed a record meeting in the Raglan Town Hall . . . and his absolute condemnation of Red Federationism and direct action, gained many converts”. Raglan town gave 153 votes to Reform and 64 to the Liberals.
To be continued ……..