Continuing our occasional history series, we look back to Whāingaroa a century ago – 1925
1925 Part 1: Bryant home opens – roads and more roads
by John Lawson
In 1925 Raglan’s population was about 330, a significantly larger village than in 1911, when it was 246, but far smaller than the 3,717 of 2023. Whāingaroa news in 1925 was again dominated by roads and who should pay for them, it was the year when the footbridge was built, the shipping service began to make a loss, an epidemic closed schools and cut trade, Wallis’s flax mill at Okete closed, St Peter’s Church was dedicated and probably when the Phoenix palms and pohutukawas were planted in Bow St.
National Library research concluded this photo is from about 1925. The AARD garage in Raglan was where the supermarket now is, next to Harbour View Hotel. AARD advertising changed to Robertson’s Motors on 11 Nov 1924, but tenders closed on 20 Sep 1924 for building Gilmour’s store (now Wylds). On the left of the photo the old church (Raglan Surf Co) became a parish hall in 1925, when St Peters opened. The Royal Hotel is silhouetted against the harbour. It burnt down in 1931. The Town Hall in the right foreground burnt down in 1927.
It was an era when there was little awareness of racism; the prize for best fancy dress at the Hockey Club ball went to a Klu Klux Klan dress, the Raglan County Chronicle was subtitled The Settlers’ Journal, and papers often used ‘settler’ as a synonym for ‘people’, as in the Waikato Times report of 4 February 1925 – “The settlers of Te Mata having at last got linked up with civilisation by a metalled road”.
Later well known as Eva Rickard, having been given the name Eva when required to speak English at school, Tuaiwa Hautai Kereopa, was born on 19 April 1925 at Te Kōpua. That papakainga was, in 1941, compulsorily purchased and its buildings demolished to form the airfield. In 1984 she led a 2,000-strong hikoi protesting against Waitangi Day celebrations whilst grievances remained settled. She got part of the airfield returned in 1987, but also campaigned for the unemployed, imprisoned and others under privileged.
The Bryant Home was getting established in its provision for under privileged children. In 1924 it took about 20 Auckland children, increased to 30 in 1925. In November it was equipped with electrical appliances, using its hydro power. Some farmers were worried about the Home taking 10.5 cubic feet a minute from the Wainui Stream to generate power, but they measured the flow and found it only made up about a seventh of the total.
The Home closed for weeks in both April and November 1925 due to infantile paralysis (polio), which affected social life, trade and travel at the beginning of the year, much as COVID did almost a century later. Schools were closed from January to May and when they re-opened attendance wasn’t compulsory.
In its first full year the Home had a bad start, as it was also closed in July, “owing to the impassable condition of a mile of the road between Raglan and the home. No motor car has been able to get to the home for two months.” Raglan County appealed to other councils to contribute to metalling the road, noting that it mainly provided for Hamilton children. In response they got £5 (about $600 in today’s money) from Cambridge Borough Council and from W. S. Higgins, of Frankton, who said he frequently used the road and recognised he should contribute to its upkeep, but a refusal from Hamilton Borough. It was a similar problem with the main road. The 1922 Main Highways Bill was changed by the Main Highways Amendment Act 1923 to allow the county to continue claiming part of the cost of the main road from Hamilton borough. However, there was still some confusion; in March 1925 a conference of councils was told that arrangement “had lost its validity”. The Highways board paid the County Council for maintenance, but the county had to pay interest on the cost of construction. A minor change accepted by the Main Highways Board was that the main road extended to the wharf instead of ending at the Bow St post office.
A report in March 1925 said, “the Deviation road is metalled and well made throughout; there are numerous sharp curves, but so long as motorists keep to the left, sound their horn, and slow down at the corners, they are safe. The hill can be crossed comfortably in 20 minutes” and another report in December that, “The road from Hamilton is in perfect condition, motoring over it being a real pleasure”. In July Raglan County planned to spend £240 to widen the 6 sharpest bends, using offers of £20 from Hamilton Automobile Association, a subsidy from the Highways Board and £10 each from Auckland Automobile Club and Hamilton Motor Cycle Club.
Bradbury 1925 edition
Away from the gravelled main road, heavy rain “made many of the leading roads quagmires and some impassable”. In October the local MP, Richard Bollard, crossed the harbour by launch to Ruakiwi landing. He travelled by car from there to Te Akau, but on Richardson’s Hill “the car floundered and slid about the road for some distance and then settled down with deep roars of protest from the engine, into two deep holes, where she stuck fast.” It took two road-men two hours to get it out, though in July the road had had 208 yards of rough limestone spread as a foundation and in November 2¼ miles of earthworks had been done and 700yds of limestone broken. Another 2000 yards was needed to metal the whole road.
Work was also pressing ahead on improving other roads for motor cars, though still only a minority of ratepayers owned one. The State Advances Superintendent allowed Raglan County a £550, 5¼% loan to complete metalling of some Karioi riding roads, including Wainui Rd. Whaanga Rd was declared a County road and the 1906 9ft wide road, which ended on the Raglan side of Te Toto Gorge, was improved.
As well as loans and rates, Government provided £11,935 for local roads, but it had to be at least matched by local ratepayers. The Public Works Statement included £3,600 to make temporary improvements near Waiteika stream, on the Kawhia low tide road across Aotea Harbour, and for work on the present Makomako-Kawhia road, which replaced it in 1928.