Come and here james Morgan talk about the history of the HB Herald Tribune and his time there as editor of the HB Herald Tribune.
Hastings Library 11 August 2009 at 5.30pm
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Thomas Tanner
Thomas Tanner (known as the “Father of Hastings”)
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, he started work as an analytical Chemist. Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins.He made his way up to Wellington and onto Wanganui while aged only 19 years and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name, Tanera.
In 1853 Tanner took up a large run, Milbourne, on the Ruataniwha plains, Hawke's Bay. He promoted horse-racing, and selected the course at Clive for Hawke's Bay's first formal race meeting in 1856. After a few years he returned to England and married Julia Denton daughter of John and Caroline Denton at Hartlepool, Durham, on 5 May 1859. There is little evidence to indicate whether this was an arranged marriage or whether he had made her acquaintance as a teenage boy before leaving England. One suspects there was a connection with the two before he left with his parents and family to move to new Zealand. He returned to New Zealand with Julia. There were to be eight children of the marriage. The couple came out to New Zealand about 1862 on a chartered ship with furniture, books, servants and pedigree animals including a Stallion, pheasants and rabbits.
Tanner took an important step in 1864 when he obtained an illegal lease on the Heretaunga block, then a swamp but today one of the most valuable pieces of land in New Zealand. A few years later Tanner tried to buy the land but was not prepaped to pay what the Maoris wanted. Some years later a syndicate was formed to try and buy the land from the Maori. He divided the land into twelve shares, and, retaining four for himself, distributed the rest among six of his associates: J. N. Williams, A. H. Russell, T. E. Gordon, J. D. Ormond, T. P. Russell and J. B. Braithwaite. These men became known as The Apostles. In 1867 a Crown grant was issued on Heretaunga in the name of 10 Maori owners and Tanner obtained a legal lease. Heretaunga Block was secured by seven people who had 12 shares in the purchase of the land.These people are often referred to as the “Twelve Apostles”. The purchase price was stated to have been about 30s. an acre, and payment was made by £16,000 in cash, with the balance liquidating debts which had been incurred by the Maoris.
Here the first settle was established with apostles building on the land. In 1873 Francis Hicks (one of the syndicate) presented the Government with a section of land for the site of a railway station and decided to lay out 100 acres near this site for a township to be called Hastings. James Boyle later sold some of his land to the government to create the greater Hastings area north & South of Heretaunga Street.
A total of 144 sections were offered, the average price per acre being 56 pounds
Many local people firmly believe that Hastings was originally named Hicksville, after Francis Hicks, who bought a block of land, which now contains the centre of Hastings, from Thomas Tanner. However, this story is apocryphal. The original name of the location which was to become the town centre was Karamu. In 1871, the New Zealand Government decided to route the new railway south of Napier through a notional Karamu junction in the centre of the Heretaunga Plains. This location was on Francis Hicks's land. The decision on the railway route was based largely on two reports by Charles Weber, the provincial engineer and surveyor in charge of the railway. Karamu junction was re-named Hastings in 1873. (On 7 June 1873, the Hawke's Bay Herald reported: "The name of the new town is to be Hastings. We hear it now for the first time.") Exactly who chose the name has been disputed, although Thomas Tanner claimed that it was him (see Hawke's Bay Herald report 1 February 1884) and that the choice was inspired by his reading the trial of Warren Hastings. Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but acquitted in 1795..... In any event, the name fitted well with other place names in the district (Napier, Havelock and Clive), which were also named after prominent figures in the history of British India.
Tanner also bought land on the Ahuriri plains, and the Endsleigh and Petane runs.Thomas Tanner settle in Hastings building Riverslea Homestead where he raised his family.
Tanner became established as a dominant figure in Hawke's Bay affairs. He named his 5,332 acre portion of the Heretaunga block Riverslea, and built a 22-roomed mansion there. A landscape gardener was brought from England to lay out the grounds and an architect designed all the buildings, including the stables. The Tanners proceeded to show Hawke's Bay what gracious living was all about. Only one other family could boast gold plate on the table.
When war spread to the East Coast in 1868 and 1869 Tanner raised his own fighting force, the Hawke's Bay and Waipawa Yeoman Cavalry. He was commissioned captain and supplied his men with uniforms, mounts and arms, hiring the Oddfellows Hall in Napier as his private drill hall. The cavalry saw action at Gisborne in 1868 and at Mohaka in 1869.
Tanner was not simply a land speculator: he was committed to the idea of scientific farming. In order to drain and clear his Riverslea estate he needed both labour and capital. First he leased portions of his land and after obtaining the freehold, in 1871 he advertised for sale sections at Karamu. This area became closely settled. After 1873 small farmers subdivided their land into town sections and from the settlement of Karamu grew the town of Hastings. Tanner later called himself the town's father, because he owned the land in the first place, and its godfather, because he chose its name. He bought a section for an Anglican church and he gave land for a school and a public park. He also set aside two sections for a municipal building, for which he guaranteed building costs.
In 1873 the Heretaunga purchase was the subject of a commission of inquiry presided over by C. W. Richmond and F. E. Maning. There was an outcry: Tanner and The Apostles were attacked as instigators of grog mortgages and forced sales. However, fraud charges were not proved. Tanner survived the scandal because of his character and his ability as a businessman. During the inquiry Richmond wrote in his journal, 'I must say I like Tanera: He is no doubt a self confident little man - some might say conceited, but I don't give it that name: he is thoroughly self reliant & avows it'. Settlers in general did not like him but they eagerly followed his lead. Maori continued to co-operate with him even when he was found to have manipulated them because he understood their customs and always worked through the chiefs.
By the late 1870s Tanner's fortunes were on the wane. He had borrowed at high interest to purchase land and, as economic depression deepened, he was forced to subdivide and sell large areas of the Riverslea estate, in 1879, 1885 and 1889. He turned his attention instead to schemes for developing industries. This interest was not new. When leading the Hawke's Bay cavalry into action, he had been given a piece of coal picked up by a trooper at a stream crossing. After the emergency was over he had sent a coal prospector back to the area. He was one of the directors of the Hawke's Bay Goldmining Company which unsuccessfully prospected near Taupo in 1869, and was later, in 1880, a leading investor in the Mohaka Goldmining Company.
Tanner searched for ways of enriching himself and, at the same time, providing opportunities for small farmers. During the 1870s and 1880s he tried sugar-beet and tobacco growing and failed. In 1883 he invested heavily in hop growing and set up a processing plant at Riverslea as an outlet for small hop growers. However, his attempts to ship hops failed and he lost heavily. He set up a syndicate to promote a woollen mill in Hastings in 1887 and gave 6½ acres of land for the project, which did not eventuate. Although these schemes were largely unsuccessful, they illustrated Tanner's energy and his confidence in the potential of Hawke's Bay.
His sense of commitment was reflected also in his involvement in public affairs. He helped found the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association in 1873 and was a long-standing member of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, the Hawke's Bay Education Board, and numerous other organisations concerned with cultural and social life. A devoted member of the Church of England and a friend of Bishop G. A. Selwyn, he was present at the signing of the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. He was the principal benefactor of St Luke's Church in Havelock North, and its vicar's warden and synodsman. Tanner signed the contract and contributed financially to the building of the church. Many of the trees of Hastings and Havelock North were planted by him and the pin oak outside St Luke's Church is known as Tanner's Oak.
Tanner was at various times a member of the Heretaunga Road Board, the Hastings Town Board and the Hastings Borough Council, and was a Hawke's Bay county councillor between 1878 and 1893. He served on the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council from 1867 until 1876 and was member of the House of Representatives for Waipawa from 1887 to 1890. He died at Havelock North on 22 July 1918
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, he started work as an analytical Chemist. Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins.He made his way up to Wellington and onto Wanganui while aged only 19 years and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name, Tanera.
In 1853 Tanner took up a large run, Milbourne, on the Ruataniwha plains, Hawke's Bay. He promoted horse-racing, and selected the course at Clive for Hawke's Bay's first formal race meeting in 1856. After a few years he returned to England and married Julia Denton daughter of John and Caroline Denton at Hartlepool, Durham, on 5 May 1859. There is little evidence to indicate whether this was an arranged marriage or whether he had made her acquaintance as a teenage boy before leaving England. One suspects there was a connection with the two before he left with his parents and family to move to new Zealand. He returned to New Zealand with Julia. There were to be eight children of the marriage. The couple came out to New Zealand about 1862 on a chartered ship with furniture, books, servants and pedigree animals including a Stallion, pheasants and rabbits.
Tanner took an important step in 1864 when he obtained an illegal lease on the Heretaunga block, then a swamp but today one of the most valuable pieces of land in New Zealand. A few years later Tanner tried to buy the land but was not prepaped to pay what the Maoris wanted. Some years later a syndicate was formed to try and buy the land from the Maori. He divided the land into twelve shares, and, retaining four for himself, distributed the rest among six of his associates: J. N. Williams, A. H. Russell, T. E. Gordon, J. D. Ormond, T. P. Russell and J. B. Braithwaite. These men became known as The Apostles. In 1867 a Crown grant was issued on Heretaunga in the name of 10 Maori owners and Tanner obtained a legal lease. Heretaunga Block was secured by seven people who had 12 shares in the purchase of the land.These people are often referred to as the “Twelve Apostles”. The purchase price was stated to have been about 30s. an acre, and payment was made by £16,000 in cash, with the balance liquidating debts which had been incurred by the Maoris.
Here the first settle was established with apostles building on the land. In 1873 Francis Hicks (one of the syndicate) presented the Government with a section of land for the site of a railway station and decided to lay out 100 acres near this site for a township to be called Hastings. James Boyle later sold some of his land to the government to create the greater Hastings area north & South of Heretaunga Street.
A total of 144 sections were offered, the average price per acre being 56 pounds
Many local people firmly believe that Hastings was originally named Hicksville, after Francis Hicks, who bought a block of land, which now contains the centre of Hastings, from Thomas Tanner. However, this story is apocryphal. The original name of the location which was to become the town centre was Karamu. In 1871, the New Zealand Government decided to route the new railway south of Napier through a notional Karamu junction in the centre of the Heretaunga Plains. This location was on Francis Hicks's land. The decision on the railway route was based largely on two reports by Charles Weber, the provincial engineer and surveyor in charge of the railway. Karamu junction was re-named Hastings in 1873. (On 7 June 1873, the Hawke's Bay Herald reported: "The name of the new town is to be Hastings. We hear it now for the first time.") Exactly who chose the name has been disputed, although Thomas Tanner claimed that it was him (see Hawke's Bay Herald report 1 February 1884) and that the choice was inspired by his reading the trial of Warren Hastings. Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but acquitted in 1795..... In any event, the name fitted well with other place names in the district (Napier, Havelock and Clive), which were also named after prominent figures in the history of British India.
Tanner also bought land on the Ahuriri plains, and the Endsleigh and Petane runs.Thomas Tanner settle in Hastings building Riverslea Homestead where he raised his family.
Tanner became established as a dominant figure in Hawke's Bay affairs. He named his 5,332 acre portion of the Heretaunga block Riverslea, and built a 22-roomed mansion there. A landscape gardener was brought from England to lay out the grounds and an architect designed all the buildings, including the stables. The Tanners proceeded to show Hawke's Bay what gracious living was all about. Only one other family could boast gold plate on the table.
When war spread to the East Coast in 1868 and 1869 Tanner raised his own fighting force, the Hawke's Bay and Waipawa Yeoman Cavalry. He was commissioned captain and supplied his men with uniforms, mounts and arms, hiring the Oddfellows Hall in Napier as his private drill hall. The cavalry saw action at Gisborne in 1868 and at Mohaka in 1869.
Tanner was not simply a land speculator: he was committed to the idea of scientific farming. In order to drain and clear his Riverslea estate he needed both labour and capital. First he leased portions of his land and after obtaining the freehold, in 1871 he advertised for sale sections at Karamu. This area became closely settled. After 1873 small farmers subdivided their land into town sections and from the settlement of Karamu grew the town of Hastings. Tanner later called himself the town's father, because he owned the land in the first place, and its godfather, because he chose its name. He bought a section for an Anglican church and he gave land for a school and a public park. He also set aside two sections for a municipal building, for which he guaranteed building costs.
In 1873 the Heretaunga purchase was the subject of a commission of inquiry presided over by C. W. Richmond and F. E. Maning. There was an outcry: Tanner and The Apostles were attacked as instigators of grog mortgages and forced sales. However, fraud charges were not proved. Tanner survived the scandal because of his character and his ability as a businessman. During the inquiry Richmond wrote in his journal, 'I must say I like Tanera: He is no doubt a self confident little man - some might say conceited, but I don't give it that name: he is thoroughly self reliant & avows it'. Settlers in general did not like him but they eagerly followed his lead. Maori continued to co-operate with him even when he was found to have manipulated them because he understood their customs and always worked through the chiefs.
By the late 1870s Tanner's fortunes were on the wane. He had borrowed at high interest to purchase land and, as economic depression deepened, he was forced to subdivide and sell large areas of the Riverslea estate, in 1879, 1885 and 1889. He turned his attention instead to schemes for developing industries. This interest was not new. When leading the Hawke's Bay cavalry into action, he had been given a piece of coal picked up by a trooper at a stream crossing. After the emergency was over he had sent a coal prospector back to the area. He was one of the directors of the Hawke's Bay Goldmining Company which unsuccessfully prospected near Taupo in 1869, and was later, in 1880, a leading investor in the Mohaka Goldmining Company.
Tanner searched for ways of enriching himself and, at the same time, providing opportunities for small farmers. During the 1870s and 1880s he tried sugar-beet and tobacco growing and failed. In 1883 he invested heavily in hop growing and set up a processing plant at Riverslea as an outlet for small hop growers. However, his attempts to ship hops failed and he lost heavily. He set up a syndicate to promote a woollen mill in Hastings in 1887 and gave 6½ acres of land for the project, which did not eventuate. Although these schemes were largely unsuccessful, they illustrated Tanner's energy and his confidence in the potential of Hawke's Bay.
His sense of commitment was reflected also in his involvement in public affairs. He helped found the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association in 1873 and was a long-standing member of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, the Hawke's Bay Education Board, and numerous other organisations concerned with cultural and social life. A devoted member of the Church of England and a friend of Bishop G. A. Selwyn, he was present at the signing of the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. He was the principal benefactor of St Luke's Church in Havelock North, and its vicar's warden and synodsman. Tanner signed the contract and contributed financially to the building of the church. Many of the trees of Hastings and Havelock North were planted by him and the pin oak outside St Luke's Church is known as Tanner's Oak.
Tanner was at various times a member of the Heretaunga Road Board, the Hastings Town Board and the Hastings Borough Council, and was a Hawke's Bay county councillor between 1878 and 1893. He served on the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council from 1867 until 1876 and was member of the House of Representatives for Waipawa from 1887 to 1890. He died at Havelock North on 22 July 1918
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Shirley McKay Talks on Thomas Tanner
Tanner, Thomas 1830 - 1918Runholder, land speculator, farmer, entrepreneur
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name, Tanera.
In 1853 Tanner took up a large run, Milbourne, on the Ruataniwha plains, Hawke's Bay. He promoted horse-racing, and selected the course at Clive for Hawke's Bay's first formal race meeting in 1856. After a few years he returned to England and married Julia Denton at Hartlepool, Durham, on 5 May 1859. There were to be eight children of the marriage. The couple came out to New Zealand about 1862 on a chartered ship with furniture, books, servants and pedigree animals.
Tanner took an important step in 1864 when he obtained an illegal lease on the Heretaunga block, then a swamp but today one of the most valuable pieces of land in New Zealand. He divided the land into twelve shares, and, retaining four for himself, distributed the rest among six of his associates: J. N. Williams, A. H. Russell, T. E. Gordon, J. D. Ormond, T. P. Russell and J. B. Braithwaite. These men became known as The Apostles. In 1867 a Crown grant was issued on Heretaunga in the name of 10 Maori owners and Tanner obtained a legal lease.
In the next few years Tanner obtained freehold title for the Heretaunga block, in the face of opposition from some Maori owners and from Europeans who deplored the control of large areas of land by a few. Using persuasion and sometimes force, he pressured the grantees until one by one, they sold. By 1870 Heretaunga was freeholded. Tanner also bought land on the Ahuriri plains, and the Endesleigh and Petane runs.
Tanner became established as a dominant figure in Hawke's Bay affairs. He named his 5,332 acre portion of the Heretaunga block Riverslea, and built a 22-roomed mansion there. A landscape gardener was brought from England to lay out the grounds and an architect designed all the buildings, including the stables. The Tanners proceeded to show Hawke's Bay what gracious living was all about. Only one other family could boast gold plate on the table.
When war spread to the East Coast in 1868 and 1869 Tanner raised his own fighting force, the Hawke's Bay and Waipawa Yeoman Cavalry. He was commissioned captain and supplied his men with uniforms, mounts and arms, hiring the Oddfellows Hall in Napier as his private drill hall. The cavalry saw action at Gisborne in 1868 and at Mohaka in 1869.
Tanner was not simply a land speculator: he was committed to the idea of scientific farming. In order to drain and clear his Riverslea estate he needed both labour and capital. First he leased portions of his land and after obtaining the freehold, in 1871 he advertised for sale sections at Karamu. This area became closely settled. After 1873 small farmers subdivided their land into town sections and from the settlement of Karamu grew the town of Hastings. Tanner later called himself the town's father, because he owned the land in the first place, and its godfather, because he chose its name. He bought a section for an Anglican church and he gave land for a school and a public park. He also set aside two sections for a municipal building, for which he guaranteed building costs.
In 1873 the Heretaunga purchase was the subject of a commission of inquiry presided over by C. W. Richmond and F. E. Maning. There was an outcry: Tanner and The Apostles were attacked as instigators of grog mortgages and forced sales. However, fraud charges were not proved. Tanner survived the scandal because of his character and his ability as a businessman. During the inquiry Richmond wrote in his journal, 'I must say I like Tanera: He is no doubt a self confident little man - some might say conceited, but I don't give it that name: he is thoroughly self reliant & avows it'. Settlers in general did not like him but they eagerly followed his lead. Maori continued to co-operate with him even when he was found to have manipulated them because he understood their customs and always worked through the chiefs.
By the late 1870s Tanner's fortunes were on the wane. He had borrowed at high interest to purchase land and, as economic depression deepened, he was forced to subdivide and sell large areas of the Riverslea estate, in 1879, 1885 and 1889. He turned his attention instead to schemes for developing industries. This interest was not new. When leading the Hawke's Bay cavalry into action, he had been given a piece of coal picked up by a trooper at a stream crossing. After the emergency was over he had sent a coal prospector back to the area. He was one of the directors of the Hawke's Bay Goldmining Company which unsuccessfully prospected near Taupo in 1869, and was later, in 1880, a leading investor in the Mohaka Goldmining Company.
Tanner searched for ways of enriching himself and, at the same time, providing opportunities for small farmers. During the 1870s and 1880s he tried sugar-beet and tobacco growing and failed. In 1883 he invested heavily in hop growing and set up a processing plant at Riverslea as an outlet for small hop growers. However, his attempts to ship hops failed and he lost heavily. He set up a syndicate to promote a woollen mill in Hastings in 1887 and gave 6½ acres of land for the project, which did not eventuate. Although these schemes were largely unsuccessful, they illustrated Tanner's energy and his confidence in the potential of Hawke's Bay.
His sense of commitment was reflected also in his involvement in public affairs. He helped found the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association in 1873 and was a long-standing member of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, the Hawke's Bay Education Board, and numerous other organisations concerned with cultural and social life. A devoted member of the Church of England and a friend of Bishop G. A. Selwyn, he was present at the signing of the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. He was the principal benefactor of St Luke's Church in Havelock North, and its vicar's warden and synodsman. Tanner signed the contract and contributed financially to the building of the church. Many of the trees of Hastings and Havelock North were planted by him and the pin oak outside St Luke's Church is known as Tanner's Oak.
Tanner was at various times a member of the Heretaunga Road Board, the Hastings Town Board and the Hastings Borough Council, and was a Hawke's Bay county councillor between 1878 and 1893. He served on the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council from 1867 until 1876 and was member of the House of Representatives for Waipawa from 1887 to 1890. He died at Havelock North on 22 July 1918.
KAY MOONEY
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name, Tanera.
In 1853 Tanner took up a large run, Milbourne, on the Ruataniwha plains, Hawke's Bay. He promoted horse-racing, and selected the course at Clive for Hawke's Bay's first formal race meeting in 1856. After a few years he returned to England and married Julia Denton at Hartlepool, Durham, on 5 May 1859. There were to be eight children of the marriage. The couple came out to New Zealand about 1862 on a chartered ship with furniture, books, servants and pedigree animals.
Tanner took an important step in 1864 when he obtained an illegal lease on the Heretaunga block, then a swamp but today one of the most valuable pieces of land in New Zealand. He divided the land into twelve shares, and, retaining four for himself, distributed the rest among six of his associates: J. N. Williams, A. H. Russell, T. E. Gordon, J. D. Ormond, T. P. Russell and J. B. Braithwaite. These men became known as The Apostles. In 1867 a Crown grant was issued on Heretaunga in the name of 10 Maori owners and Tanner obtained a legal lease.
In the next few years Tanner obtained freehold title for the Heretaunga block, in the face of opposition from some Maori owners and from Europeans who deplored the control of large areas of land by a few. Using persuasion and sometimes force, he pressured the grantees until one by one, they sold. By 1870 Heretaunga was freeholded. Tanner also bought land on the Ahuriri plains, and the Endesleigh and Petane runs.
Tanner became established as a dominant figure in Hawke's Bay affairs. He named his 5,332 acre portion of the Heretaunga block Riverslea, and built a 22-roomed mansion there. A landscape gardener was brought from England to lay out the grounds and an architect designed all the buildings, including the stables. The Tanners proceeded to show Hawke's Bay what gracious living was all about. Only one other family could boast gold plate on the table.
When war spread to the East Coast in 1868 and 1869 Tanner raised his own fighting force, the Hawke's Bay and Waipawa Yeoman Cavalry. He was commissioned captain and supplied his men with uniforms, mounts and arms, hiring the Oddfellows Hall in Napier as his private drill hall. The cavalry saw action at Gisborne in 1868 and at Mohaka in 1869.
Tanner was not simply a land speculator: he was committed to the idea of scientific farming. In order to drain and clear his Riverslea estate he needed both labour and capital. First he leased portions of his land and after obtaining the freehold, in 1871 he advertised for sale sections at Karamu. This area became closely settled. After 1873 small farmers subdivided their land into town sections and from the settlement of Karamu grew the town of Hastings. Tanner later called himself the town's father, because he owned the land in the first place, and its godfather, because he chose its name. He bought a section for an Anglican church and he gave land for a school and a public park. He also set aside two sections for a municipal building, for which he guaranteed building costs.
In 1873 the Heretaunga purchase was the subject of a commission of inquiry presided over by C. W. Richmond and F. E. Maning. There was an outcry: Tanner and The Apostles were attacked as instigators of grog mortgages and forced sales. However, fraud charges were not proved. Tanner survived the scandal because of his character and his ability as a businessman. During the inquiry Richmond wrote in his journal, 'I must say I like Tanera: He is no doubt a self confident little man - some might say conceited, but I don't give it that name: he is thoroughly self reliant & avows it'. Settlers in general did not like him but they eagerly followed his lead. Maori continued to co-operate with him even when he was found to have manipulated them because he understood their customs and always worked through the chiefs.
By the late 1870s Tanner's fortunes were on the wane. He had borrowed at high interest to purchase land and, as economic depression deepened, he was forced to subdivide and sell large areas of the Riverslea estate, in 1879, 1885 and 1889. He turned his attention instead to schemes for developing industries. This interest was not new. When leading the Hawke's Bay cavalry into action, he had been given a piece of coal picked up by a trooper at a stream crossing. After the emergency was over he had sent a coal prospector back to the area. He was one of the directors of the Hawke's Bay Goldmining Company which unsuccessfully prospected near Taupo in 1869, and was later, in 1880, a leading investor in the Mohaka Goldmining Company.
Tanner searched for ways of enriching himself and, at the same time, providing opportunities for small farmers. During the 1870s and 1880s he tried sugar-beet and tobacco growing and failed. In 1883 he invested heavily in hop growing and set up a processing plant at Riverslea as an outlet for small hop growers. However, his attempts to ship hops failed and he lost heavily. He set up a syndicate to promote a woollen mill in Hastings in 1887 and gave 6½ acres of land for the project, which did not eventuate. Although these schemes were largely unsuccessful, they illustrated Tanner's energy and his confidence in the potential of Hawke's Bay.
His sense of commitment was reflected also in his involvement in public affairs. He helped found the Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral Association in 1873 and was a long-standing member of the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, the Hawke's Bay Education Board, and numerous other organisations concerned with cultural and social life. A devoted member of the Church of England and a friend of Bishop G. A. Selwyn, he was present at the signing of the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. He was the principal benefactor of St Luke's Church in Havelock North, and its vicar's warden and synodsman. Tanner signed the contract and contributed financially to the building of the church. Many of the trees of Hastings and Havelock North were planted by him and the pin oak outside St Luke's Church is known as Tanner's Oak.
Tanner was at various times a member of the Heretaunga Road Board, the Hastings Town Board and the Hastings Borough Council, and was a Hawke's Bay county councillor between 1878 and 1893. He served on the Hawke's Bay Provincial Council from 1867 until 1876 and was member of the House of Representatives for Waipawa from 1887 to 1890. He died at Havelock North on 22 July 1918.
KAY MOONEY
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Shirley McKay Talks on Thomas Tanner
Come along and hear Shirley McKay Talk on Thomas Tanner his family tree his life and more...
Don't miss it!!
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name...
Don't miss it!!
Thomas Tanner was born in Wiltshire, England, probably in 1830, and was baptised at Devizes on 31 July 1831. He was the son of Mary Pontin and her husband, Joseph Tanner, a landowner. After studying medicine briefly, Thomas Tanner came to New Zealand in 1849 on the Larkins and worked as a cadet on a Wanganui sheep run. There he acquired a knowledge of Maori culture and a Maori version of his name...
Monday, 22 June 2009
John Buck History of Te Mata Winery
Te Mata Estate Winery originated as part of Te Mata Station, a large pastoral land holding established by English immigrant John Chambers in 1854. John's third son, Bernard had the original vision for wine production off the north facing hillside slopes bordeing Havelock North. Bernard was well travelled and had observed similar, successful wine growing conditions in France. When John formalised the division of his estate between his sons, Bernard retained the 1,960 hectare Te Mata Estate homestead block. A French vistor to Te Mata Homestead in 1886 kindled Bernards interest in wine and vineyards. The surrounding slopes and sunshine was ideal for wine grape sto grow. After visits to deveral French and Australian Wineries this motivate d Bernard even more. In 1892 cuttings of Pinot Noir were obtained from the Society of Mary's Mission Vineyards at Taradale and the first vines struck root at Te Mata Vineyard. He went onto plant grape vines on three parcels of hillside land above the homestead. (Today, Te Mata Estate still utilises those three original three vineyards to produce its most famous wines; Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.) The business flourished. Chambers converted a brick stable into his cellar and by March 1895 the first wine was flowing. 'My wine is turning out very well', he wrote in 1898. 'I made claret and chablis and have given a lot away. I won't begin selling for another year, until the wine is more matured.' By 1900, on 5,430 acres of freehold land, Bernard Chambers had 10,328 sheep and six acres of grapevines. Among the stream of eminent visitors to the vineyard were the premier, Richard Seddon, and the governor, Lord Ranfurly.
By 1906 Te Mata Vineyard had spread to 26 acres. Three years later, with Australian wine-maker J. O. Craike at the helm, production was the highest in the country, with an annual output of 12,000 gallons of claret, hock and Madeira from the 35 acres of Meunier, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Verdelho vines. Craike won gold medals for Te Mata overseas. In 1914 Sidney Anderson, the government vine and wine instructor, wrote that Te Mata Vineyard 'is now the leading one in the Dominion' and that the wines 'are commanding a large sale'.
However, not all was plain sailing. The prohibition movement peaked in the second decade of the twentieth century, forcing many wine-makers out of business. From 1909 onwards Chambers did not extend his vine plantings. Birds, mildew, frost (which in 1914 irretrievably damaged 16 acres of vines) and labour posed further problems. Chambers wrote in 1916, 'the vines are in a disgraceful state, unhoed under the rows, and generally neglected'. Meanwhile, some of his employees were 'in the cellar doing talking principally.
In October 1917 Bernard Chambers, now 58, sold his winery, wine stocks and part of the vineyard to Reginald Collins Limited; Chambers retained a minority shareholding. Five months later he sold most of Te Mata station, retaining 129 acres for himself. By 1923, when Reginald Collins sold its interests to TMV Wines, the vineyard had shrunk to 10 acres.
It had various owners until it was acquired by the current owners in 1978. Both vineyards and winery were run down, although still making wine. The opportunity to purchase brick cellars, dating from 1872, and two wonderful vineyard sites were irresistible to the Bucks and the Morris's, the two families behind the current company. A twenty year development programme was commenced, beginning with a restoration and re-equipping of the original building. More land was acquired by ownership, lease and management contract. All the original vineyards were replanted and viticulture underwent a further detailed review when Dr Richard Smart was engaged as a consultant in 1989. Peter Cowley joined as winemaker in 1984 and is now Technical Director in the company. Under his direction, all our winemaking techniques are monitored and kept in tune with our policy of producing small lots of high-quality wine from our own properties. In 1994 we appointed a viticulturist, Larry Morgan, a close associate of Richard Smart. Larry has put in place all the monitoring and review systems to further enhance the quality of grapes arriving at the crusher, and has also steadily advanced our move into sustainable viticulture. Te Mata Estate currently produces 35,000 cases of wine and is at full production. Sixty percent of this is red.
ARCHITECTUREAnother feature of Te Mata Estate is its architecture. Incorporating the original winery building, Wellington's famous Athfield Architects have created a modern complex using local materials and limewash colours. Apart from the restored original building the rest of the premises have been progressively built since 1987. Both the winery buildings and the Buck family home, Coleraine, across the road from the winery, were designed by Wellington architect lan Athfield. Athfield's brief was to create a New Zealand winery environment which did not copy the traditions of other winemaking countries. Local materials were to be used. Circular and square forms and the use of a range of limewash colours chosen.
By 1906 Te Mata Vineyard had spread to 26 acres. Three years later, with Australian wine-maker J. O. Craike at the helm, production was the highest in the country, with an annual output of 12,000 gallons of claret, hock and Madeira from the 35 acres of Meunier, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Verdelho vines. Craike won gold medals for Te Mata overseas. In 1914 Sidney Anderson, the government vine and wine instructor, wrote that Te Mata Vineyard 'is now the leading one in the Dominion' and that the wines 'are commanding a large sale'.
However, not all was plain sailing. The prohibition movement peaked in the second decade of the twentieth century, forcing many wine-makers out of business. From 1909 onwards Chambers did not extend his vine plantings. Birds, mildew, frost (which in 1914 irretrievably damaged 16 acres of vines) and labour posed further problems. Chambers wrote in 1916, 'the vines are in a disgraceful state, unhoed under the rows, and generally neglected'. Meanwhile, some of his employees were 'in the cellar doing talking principally.
In October 1917 Bernard Chambers, now 58, sold his winery, wine stocks and part of the vineyard to Reginald Collins Limited; Chambers retained a minority shareholding. Five months later he sold most of Te Mata station, retaining 129 acres for himself. By 1923, when Reginald Collins sold its interests to TMV Wines, the vineyard had shrunk to 10 acres.
It had various owners until it was acquired by the current owners in 1978. Both vineyards and winery were run down, although still making wine. The opportunity to purchase brick cellars, dating from 1872, and two wonderful vineyard sites were irresistible to the Bucks and the Morris's, the two families behind the current company. A twenty year development programme was commenced, beginning with a restoration and re-equipping of the original building. More land was acquired by ownership, lease and management contract. All the original vineyards were replanted and viticulture underwent a further detailed review when Dr Richard Smart was engaged as a consultant in 1989. Peter Cowley joined as winemaker in 1984 and is now Technical Director in the company. Under his direction, all our winemaking techniques are monitored and kept in tune with our policy of producing small lots of high-quality wine from our own properties. In 1994 we appointed a viticulturist, Larry Morgan, a close associate of Richard Smart. Larry has put in place all the monitoring and review systems to further enhance the quality of grapes arriving at the crusher, and has also steadily advanced our move into sustainable viticulture. Te Mata Estate currently produces 35,000 cases of wine and is at full production. Sixty percent of this is red.
ARCHITECTUREAnother feature of Te Mata Estate is its architecture. Incorporating the original winery building, Wellington's famous Athfield Architects have created a modern complex using local materials and limewash colours. Apart from the restored original building the rest of the premises have been progressively built since 1987. Both the winery buildings and the Buck family home, Coleraine, across the road from the winery, were designed by Wellington architect lan Athfield. Athfield's brief was to create a New Zealand winery environment which did not copy the traditions of other winemaking countries. Local materials were to be used. Circular and square forms and the use of a range of limewash colours chosen.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
John Buck Te Mata Winery
Come and listen to John Buck talk about the history of Te Mata Winery...
Te Mata Estate Winery originated as part of Te Mata Station, a large pastoral land holding established by English immigrant John Chambers in 1854. John's third son, Bernard had the original vision for wine production off the north facing hillside slopes bordeing Havelock North. Bernard was well travelled and had observed similar, successful wine growing conditions in France. When John formalised the division of his estate between his sons, Bernard retained the 1,960 hectare Te Mata Estate homestead block. In 1892, he went onto plant grape vines on three parcels of hillside land above the homestead. Today, Te Mata Estate still utilises those three original three vineyards to produce its most famous wines; Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.
Te Mata Estate Winery originated as part of Te Mata Station, a large pastoral land holding established by English immigrant John Chambers in 1854. John's third son, Bernard had the original vision for wine production off the north facing hillside slopes bordeing Havelock North. Bernard was well travelled and had observed similar, successful wine growing conditions in France. When John formalised the division of his estate between his sons, Bernard retained the 1,960 hectare Te Mata Estate homestead block. In 1892, he went onto plant grape vines on three parcels of hillside land above the homestead. Today, Te Mata Estate still utilises those three original three vineyards to produce its most famous wines; Coleraine, Awatea and Elston.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Jerry Hapuku Talks about Chief Te Hapuku
TE HAPUKU(born 1799 – died 23 May 1878).
Ngati Kahungunu chief.
Very little has been recorded of the early life and lineage of Te Hapuku. He was born 1799 in Hawke's Bay, probably at Ahuriri, the son of Te Whakahemo, and younger brother of Te Namu. Chief Hapuku had 10 wifes and Jerry Hapuku recited them and their descendats. Numerous they were. In 1825, during the northern tribes' invasion, he took part in the defence of Te Papake pa, on the Ahuriri sandpit, and was taken prisoner by Iwikau Te Heuheu. On the way to Taupo he escaped and made his way to Mahia where he was given protection by Te Wera. Three years later the Hawke's Bay tribes, which had taken refuge at Mahia, were again attacked. They repelled this and, as a result, were able to return to their former homes. Towards the close of the 1830s Te Hapuku engaged in a minor war with the Hutt Valley tribes; however, hostilities ceased in September 1840 when the Ngati Kahungunu chief visited Wellington. On 23 June 1840 Bunbury called at Hawke's Bay where, at a meeting near the mouth of the Tukituki River, he secured the signatures of Te Hapuku and Waikato to the Treaty of Waitangi. In December 1850 McLean met Te Hapuku and other Hawke's Bay chiefs at Waipukurau. Te Hapuku was well disposed towards McLean's wish to buy land; and, on 4 November 1851, negotiated the sale of the first Waipukurau block for £1,800. In 1853, because of his great mana among his fellow chiefs, the Government appointed him as a magistrate to settle disputes among his countrymen. About 1855 Te Hapuku bought a small schooner in order to ship timber and native produce to Auckland and other coastal ports. He visited Auckland in August to complain to Wynyard that he had not been paid for his land. In the same year Te Hapuku received Wiremu Tamihana Te Waharoa and other leaders of the King movement at Te Hauke, and attended subsequent meetings at Taradale, when the kingship was offered to Te Kani Takarau of the east coast. At this meeting, which Iwikau and Taiaroa attended, Te Hapuku and Karaitiana Takamoana were both contenders for the kingship, but each was too jealous of his own precedence to accept the other as king. In August 1857 Te Hapuku and Tareha, or Te Moananui, had a dispute over the former's right to remove firewood from the latter's bush land at Whakatu. This erupted into open warfare and three engagements took place. Peace was restored when McLean mediated between the two chiefs and Te Hapuku agreed to return to his pa at Te Hauke. This was the last tribal war fought in Hawke's Bay. In August 1859, at Napier, McLean negotiated with Te Hapuku and the Ngati Kahungunu chiefs for a further area of 90,000 acres.
Towards the close of March 1865 Hauhau emissaries entered Hawke's Bay on a recruiting mission. Shortly after this, when news came of the murder of Volkner, Te Hapuku and other chiefs sent messages to the Governor expressing abhorrence of the crime and disavowing sympathy with Hauhau doctrines. In October 1866, Te Hapuku, Karaitiana, Kawepo, and Tareha were present at the Omarunui battle and, afterwards, pursued the enemy across the Mohaka River to the boundaries of the province.
Te Hapuku was among the first of the Hawke's Bay chiefs to realise the benefits which would accrue to the Maori from the presence of European settlers in the district. In 1844, when Colenso arrived to open the first mission in Hawke's Bay, Te Hapuku extended his protection to the venture. Four years later he intervened decisively to prevent Te Rangihaeata from obtaining muskets from the Ngati Kahungunu. In 1851, when Selwyn visited the mission, Te Hapuku placed his canoe at the Bishop's service to bring him from Whakatu.
During his later years Te Hapuku lived quietly at Te Hauke, near Te Aute College. There, in 1878, when Te Hapuku lay dying, Sir George Grey brought along his greatest rival, Te Moananui, in order that the two might make peace. Te Hapuku died on 23 May 1878 at Te Hauke. He was buried with full military honours, the New Zealand Government running a free train from Napier in order to bring Maori and European mourners to his tangi.
Chief Te Hapuku Whakapapa
Ko Tamatea-Ariki-Nui (Captain of the Takitimu waka)
ko Rongokako
ko Tamatea-Pokai-Whenua
ko Kahungunu (ancestor of Ngati Kahungunu tribe)
ko Kahukuranui
ko Rakaihikuroa
ko Taewha
ko Takaha
ko Hikawera
ko Te Whatuiapiti (ancestor of Ngai Te Whatuiapiti tribe)
ko Te Wawahanga-o-te-rangi
ko Te Rangikawhiuia
ko Te Manawaakawa (ancestor of Ngati Manawaakawa)
ko Te Rangikoianake (ancestor of Ngati Rangikoianake)
ko Tamaiawhitia
ko Te Rangikoianake
ko TE HAPUKU
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