Spring at Last.

Nursery Plant Propagation.

After turning eighty I began to think of how I could occupy my remaining years productively. I really would like to be a molecular biologist and thought seriously of starting a laboratory but with little experience and no backing for the half billion dollars needed I decided to look in a different direction and what better place to look than here at the Pines. Everything is set up already. The nursery is already a fact. It just needs some changes to be made to make it run properly again. Some tweaking. We are going to do everything better. In the beginning I was a little skinflint because we were not sure of ourselves, but now with nearly twenty years experience in propagating plants we can start again and fix the things that were wrong.We actually know how to do things right.

The mist bed is the important part. It was running at too lower temperature because of the high electricity costs in New Zealand compared with South Africa. In1997 that was. So instead of running it at 25oC I was running it at about 18oC. The mister had ceased to work properly because I was unable to get a new part as the supplier in South Africa had disappeared. I have managed to purchase a whole new and different system. The old system was based on a timer which could be set to mist for a short period of say five seconds every ten minutes. This had to be changed every time the weather changed which was a nuisance. It also had to have a day/ night switch. My new system is a balance arm which changes the amount of mist depending on the temperature and goes day and night. It is like an artificial leaf. When the water evaporates from a stainless gauze pad the balance swings and a mercury switch operates a solenoid valve and mist is sprayed . The weight of the water on the pad then switches it off until it evaporates again and it swings back like a see saw. The first mist bed was 'invented' only in 1953 and cuttings were misted continuously. Our first mistbed was at Glentworth in about 1987 where we were able to root Prof. Alan's Honey Gold paw paw cuttings.

Before we got all this going I had looked at the propagation tunnel and just wished we could start again. The mist bed was falling down and I thought it would collapse all together. Elaine appealed to four Mormon boys to help us. In two hours they removed all the sand from the table scraping the dirty sand from the surface and separating it from the clean sand, then together we heaved it back into position. I was then able to concrete the legs in place. The clean sand was replaced and the heating cable realigned. We then covered the bed with weed matting to prevent the potting mix getting mixed up with the clean sand.

The next thing to get right was the rooting medium. We have always used potting mix, but this is not the best because it contains fertilizer which inhibits root initiation. I have located a good rooting medium so hope for an improvement there.

All the old badly shaped plants have been removed from the growing tunnel so we can start again with new plants and try to keep pruning them to have a good shape when they are ready to sell and lastly I am learning to take the cuttings to help Elaine out.

After just four weeks new cuttings are rooting and I have already started potting them. Once potted they are placed on the mist bed but on a section that is not heated, just to help them on their way. All we need now are customers.

I think I will put my day/night timer back for safety sake.

Memories of 1984

The South African Connection. Sir George Grey and Dr. John FitzGerald.

Recently I've felt quite close to history. We have had some exciting visitors from across the Tasman! A historian in NZ traced descendants of Thomas FitzGerald who built this house, to Australia, and three great grand daughters were invited to visit us here. Fitzgerald was an amazing man who at 19 years old came from Ireland to survey land in NZ. He led a party up the Tukituki River to this area and set up trading stores and built this house and later several others. Many of the historic places in Napier such as the Catholic church were built by him. He became the first superintendent of Hawke's Bay in1859 to 61. Then he and his family went to Australia where he pioneered the sugar industry and founded the town of Innisfeil and surveyed McKay and laid out the streets giving them the same names as found in Napier.

We cleaned and smartened up the house. Keith mowed and trimmed the lawns and Elaine and I did the flower pots and outdoor table, which we could not use as it rained! Instead we sat round the big dining room table for a cream scone afternoon tea and talked and drank pots of tea. What delightful people they were. Living in this house has certainly given us an interesting life style that we would not have had anywhere else.

Thomas Fitzgerald and Sir George Grey became great friends while Sir George was on his first tour of NZ as Governor. Grey served as Governor of New Zealand twice. First from 1845 to 1853. and then again from 1861 to 1868. He was arguably the most influential figure during the European settlement of New Zealand during much of the 19th century. He was also prime minister of New Zealand for two years. Grey was Governor of the Cape Colony from 5 December 1854 to 15 August 1861. It was Governor Grey that persuaded the third owner of the Pines Dr Todd to take up the position of medical superintendent for this area. Sir George Grey was also a great friend of Thomas FitzGerald's brother Dr.John FitzgGerald who was his Medical Advisor and when he went to South Africa in 1854 as Governor he invited John FitzGerald to be his Medical Advisor there and to build a hospital at King Williamstown. This hospital became Grey Hospital ..

Grey was the moving force behind the creation of proper hospital facilities for the Xhosa population for the Ciskei and further afield. Gray's first step was to appoint FitzGerald as Superintendent of Native Hospitals. FitzGerald opened the forerunner of Grey Hospital on 28 April 1856 in 18 cottages in the Pensioners village in King Williams Town. During this phase the Superintendent played a major role in relieving the suffering during the cattle killing mania in which an estimated 50000 Xhosa eventually perished. He and Grey were also largely responsible for the erection of the native Hospital which was designed by Woodford Pilkton. The imposing building cost over 16000 pounds and was opened on the 14 June 1859. As a fitting tribute to Sir George Grey, the building was officially named Grey hospital in 1887. This declared monument is today the oldest and best known institution in King William's town and is still in use as a hospital.'

A sixteen year old girl, Nongqawuse, had a vision on the banks of the Gxarha River. She saw the departed ancestors who told her that if people would but kill all their cattle, the dead would arise from the ashes and all the whites would be swept into the sea. The message was relayed to the Xhosa nation by her uncle, Mhalakaza. Although deeply divided over what to do, the Xhosa began killing their cattle in February 1856. They destroyed all their food and did not sow crops for the future. Stored grain was thrown away. No further work was to be done. Days passed and nights fell. The resurrection of the Xhosa dead warriors never took place.
In his book The Dead Will Arise, historian J.B. Peires contends that by May 1857, 400,000 cattle had been slaughtered and 40,000 Xhosa had died of starvation. At least another 40,000 had left their homes in search of food. According to Dr. John Fitzgerald, founder of the Native Hospital who witnessed the events, one could see thousands of those "emaciated living skeletons passing from house to house" in places such as King Williams Town. Craving for food, they subsisted on nothing "but roots and the bark of the mimosa, the smell of which appeared to issue from every part of their body."
As the whole land was surrounded by the smell of death, Xhosa independence and self-rule had effectively ended.'

Well I have good reason to believe that Sir George Grey visited Dr. Todd here in this house after he arrived back for a second tour of duty as Governor beginning in 1861. Waipawa was the only centre of significance between Wellington and Napier and it would have been a good place to stop off on the long journey. After all it was right on the main track just after the river crossing at Abbotsford, as Waipawa was then known as.

His memory lives on in South African names, Grey's Hospital PMB. Greytown, Greyton, Grey High School in PE Grey College in Bloem. and and of course Lady Grey. . In New Zealand, Greytown, Grey River. Greymouth and suburb of Grey Lynn in Auckland.

Daffodil Day

The Twenty Eighth of August is Daffodil Day which is a day to raise money for the Cancer Society so they can continue the valuable work they do in helping people with Cancer. It is also a day to raise awareness of cancer in our community.
These photos were taken at the beautiful Daffodil farm near here. The daffodils were lovingly planted one bulb at a time, year after year and now it is a breathtaking sight for us all to enjoy.Click the photos to see them properly.

Lambing Time

I have nothing to write about unless I write about the miserably cold and rainy weather, so here is a picture of our new lambs.

Golden Wedding Anniversary.

On the 6th of June, D Day, we celebrated 50 years of marriage.. Our Golden Wedding Anniversary. We decided on a family luncheon together for the day. In November when the garden is back to it's summer glory we will have a slap up Garden Party to celebrate with friends and family, especially those who did not come to the birthday party. Winter is not a good party time! Ken and Janet had recently built a lovely big deck onto the front of their house and the sun shone specially for us on the day, so we lunched alfresco in style. Bruce gave us a flash scanner and Terry has had a great time scanning zillions of old colour slides that have been mouldering in their boxes for many years. Slides that we had forgotten about are coming to light and our past is taking on a new dimension in our lives. I mean... Did we really do this or wear that ??

The Conservatory

I raced to finish the conservatory for my party. All was done except for the doors which are going to take a bit of time to do.I must say I'm pretty chuffed with the result.Julie and Kerry spent a lot of time cleaning the floor tiles and removing the putty from the glass so that they sparkled.

80th Birthday Celebrations

The family decided on a week long celebration to mark Terry's 80th birthday.
The fruitpicking season finished on the Friday before and Matthew, Kerry and Julie were leaving, so 'An end of Season Birthday Dinner' was held before our pickers moved on to other employment. On the following Wednesday, which was Terry's actual birthday, we had a dinner with four good friends, Rachel, David, Denny and Tony,.. Then Friday brought cousins Ada and Hilton from Auckland to spend the long week-end with us.. Julie and Kerry had come back on the Thursday to help us prepare for the luncheon on Saturday. Terry had worked really hard to finish the conservatory in time and there were putty smeered windows to be cleaned, floors to be scrubbed and tables and chairs to be put out.The kitchen was a hive of activity with last minute dishes being prepared for the Saturday party. Rita had iced the beautiful birthday cake made with 5lbs of an exciting mixture of fruits. We needed good weather as the house is too small for a large party and the week leading up to the party had been really cold with snow on the mountains, so we were delighted to have a 22degree sunny still day dawn on The Day!
Janet and Ken arrived early with more goodies and to decorate the conservatory venue area and put out the necessary party stuff. Bruce next, with a Powerpoint slide show of Terry's life. More tables and jugs for the fruit punch were needed, so off to David's house for help. The party was to be a Southern African get together of family and our Zimbabwean and South African friends. Once assembled, Bruce our MC, gained everyone's attention to welcome everyone, Ken gave the thanksgiving and Win read her brilliant two paged 'Ode to Terrance". She also gave a synopsis on the family's Scottish heritage with the motto 'To shine, but not to burn". After the first course Bruce showed the big black pot that was used in saving Terry's life when he was born, reminding us that without the pot's part in Terry's life none of us would have been there to celebrate. He paid a great tribute to his Dad, and then Anne, Win and Holly lead us in a delightful singalong to Holly's music on the guitar. The combined contributions of the delicious desserts kept us all quiet for a while and a great time was had by all. Jim was found to be in the kitchen washing up and Julie tidied the dishes away. What a day! Terry's hard work in getting the conservatory finished in time, had paid off handsomely, making this occasion even more special.
Ada and Hilton stayed on until Monday to catch up on several years of absence, and so our planned week of celebration stretched to Ten Days of Birthday. 80th birthdays only come once!

Cornucopia

New Zealand, land of plenty. All except the bananas were grown locally, but how I wish we could grow paw paws.

Our New Family.

A new family seems to have been started. Elaine's cousin's two daughters, Kerry and Julie, and our grandson Matthew are staying with us for the apple picking season.We now have apples for Africa.This came at a cost though---to them. They had to do hard labour for us as well. Each year we have had two cords of timber off cuts delivered for our wood stoves, to keep us warm during winter. It is always such a bind packing it away into the wood shed. Matthew did it for us last year and the three have done it for us this year. As well as that they cut the top of the giant red wood. We had it cut ten years ago and it has grown so much that it was hiding our morning winter sun.They started cutting the regrowth with a hand saw and Keith our gardener finished the work.Now the three are building a tree house on top in their spare time.

The Longest Place Name in the World

Picnic at Herbertville

Colour

This is the front of the house. We filled pots with old potting mix, added a bit of fertilizer and mixed in petunias, bizzilizzies and begonias,plus water and sunlight and bingo.

Family Holiday At Waimarama

For the first time the whole family spent time together on holiday at the holiday resort of Waimarama.Its an isolated beach some twenty five ks from Havelock North. Isolated beach it might be but there are numerous upmarket double story mansions all the same, many on the beach front.Elaine left the day before me as I intended to cycle there when the weather was good.I made it to the 62k mark and sent out an SOS for Janet to pick me up as the traffic on the last part was too heavy for comfort.Janet hired a house for us all which was just a few minutes walk from the beach.The pics tell the story.


Patch joined in the fun


.

Christmas Day 2008 at the Pines

Happy Christmas Everyone

Lawn Cricket

The Victorian Conservatory

So I have got round to building our Victorian conservatory.I have been planning it or variations of it for the past many years,and think it will be a good addition to the house,especially in winter. I wanted to build one at Nessie though it was really not on, as it wouldn't have looked right on a cape dutch house.The Pines is Victorian era, so the name fits anyway. I found a picture on the internet and am copying it the best I can. So far it looks right.This is what it is supposed to be like.

17th March. Started putting the glass in fanlights. I feel I'm on the last lap now and should be finished in couple of weeks. The tiles have been ordered and will fetch them in a day or two. Then there is the ceiling the doors and the painting.

I DID IT MY WAY.

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge

After nearly a years training Elaine and I went up to Lake Taupo for me to take part in the Taupo Cycle Challenge on the 29th November. The Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is New Zealand’s premier cycling event. Set in the picturesque Central North Island, the event offers riders the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of individual and team challenges based around a 160 km circumnavigation of Lake Taupo. Riders can choose solo, endurance or relay challenges. While the event is largely non competitive and caters for every level of rider it does offer three race options for elite cyclists.

The event regularly attracts in excess of ten thousand riders and in 2006 was admitted to the prestigious UCI Golden Bike Series, thus gaining recognition as being one of the world’s top nine rides.Seven are in Europe and the other is the Argus in South Africa.

We stayed with the parents of a friend in their new house with a most magnificent setting. I did manage to finish the challenge which was harder than I thought it would be but this was offset by the fact that I coped much better than I thought I would. My inspiration was Wally Haywood who ran Comrades, the eighty seven K. ultra marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, at eighty years of age.OK I'm not eighty yet,just a few months short.I cycled next to Wally as he ran up Drummond Hill on his way to winning back in 1954.
Post script.
It took me more than a week to recover. I felt very tired and hungry and was only able to get back on the bike the following Saturday.My main problem is that I have a low red blood cell count which limits the amount of oxygen that I can get from my lungs to my legs. This was only discovered a year ago. The solution of course is blood doping or injections of EPO. There is a zillion to one chance that I will be tested and disqualified for two years.Now where can I find crooked doctor?

On reflection I realise that I needed to train for the longer distance. My training was adequate for 100Ks. I suffered after that. I also need some lower gears for the last two long hills. I walked the last one of three ks. There were two 80 year olds that were ahead of me. I am certain that they had others riding with them to pace and encourage them.

Just click the picture to see Lake Taupo in all its glory

Trelinnoe Park

On Friday Ken and Janet took us to see Trelinnoe Park. It is about 30ks along the Napier Taupo Highway and another five ks on a dirt road in the sticks,or so I thought. I got this from the web "In 1956 brothers Brian and John Wills took up residence on the 2800 acres (1134 ha¹s) of waste scrub land that had not been successfully farmed. Their ambition was to create a profitable and pleasing farming enterprise. The result is Trelinnoe Park.

The park’s 30 acres has an exceptionally wide and varied collection of trees, shrubs, perennials and natives. Landscaped woodland paths, wide sweeps of lawns, clipped hedges, hillsides of flowering trees and spectacular vistas."
This is just one picture I took. Its just a taste. Just Click the picture.I stitched three together


Here are some more.

Just Click this View

In 1997 we sold our old retirement farm Nessie in the Tsitsikama, Eastern Cape, to Rob and Erica from the Netherlands. They had previously bought the big dairy farm next door to us and wanted Nessie as a home for themselves. We recently looked them up on the Internet and wrote to them.

Erica sent me photos showing how they had beautifully renovated our old Cape Dutch house, and replaced the iron roof with thatch as it was once..

She also told us that they had changed the name of the farm to McKenzie Farm. How cool is that?!!

We have been invited to come anytime to stay in their guest cottage and visit the farm again

My Sunday's Ride to the Mountains

While South Africa seems to be in the grip of winter we have been having the most glorious weather. So much for all my moaning. On Sunday I took a ride into the mountains. A round trip of about 65 kms. There was very little wind to begin with but as I got into the Ruahine foothills the wind picked up and was against me. The road had a slight incline as well, which made my going a bit slow,but I knew as I headed for home it would be with me all the way. The first photo is just around the corner, one and a half ks from the house,then up a gentle slope and a two k hill where there is a winery. Grapes are coming in everywhere. Further on there are apple orchards.At the bottom of the first hill it is flat for the next twenty kms.,the Tikokino flats, although the road rises at about 5m per K. I passed deer farms,cattle and sheep and board at the gate of one farm which reads; South African Angoras and Siementalers. Podocarpus totora are found all over making the countryside a parkland. The one pic shows the road lined with them. They have formed a small forest on both sides.They look very much like P. falcatus with the same small leaves and grow bushy when not in a forest just like falcatus. This farm belonged to David Wilson. He has just returned from a visit to South Africa where he stayed in Underburg for a few days. He visited the farm of the Lunds, on which I spent time learning to farm in 1957 when Ken Lund was farming it.He then went to visit Denis Barker at Hillcrest, a classmate of mine, who took him to see our old school, Kearsney College..After this David went to St Francis Bay just twenty Ks from our last farm Nessie now owned by a Dutch couple and called Mac Kensie not Die Nessie. Its a small world.

I crossed the Waipawa River and returned on the opposite side. Except for a couple of challenging hills to begin(the last pic of the mountains shows the valley I had just cycled across) it was flat-out for another twenty Ks( I found myself doing over forty kph with the wind on my back for kilometer after kilometer.) passing through the village of Onga onga.It is a historical village beautifully restored. Actually its not famous for anything so I don't know why it would be an historical village except it has given its name to a very poisonous plant. One final hill (last pic over looking the Wapawa river where our house is just to the left at the bottom end of the river )and then it 's down hill most of the way home.All in all it took me 3hrs 52 minutes including stops for snaps and a couple of breathers.

Our Inhouse Florest

A Flood Averted

Elaine and Sue in Coronation Park below The Pines
We have just had the heaviest rain for a number of years. The last time it rained like this the stream overflowed around the house and water entered the bedroom. After that I fixed the 200mm pipeline from the dam which had become damaged. This can take much of the water from the dam with the overflow going down the furrow.

This afternoon the dam filled and overflowed the bank and came streaming down the pasture and some flowed through the wood shed but otherwise we were saved from real damage to our carpets.

There was damage all over New Zealand but we escaped the worst. Waipawa recorded 92mm in just a few hours though my rain gauge only recorded 72mm. I can't account for the discrepancy.

This is the intake box for the pipe. You can just see the 'dent' in the water in the picture above it.

The water from the pipeline that would otherwise have flowed around the house and into the bedroom.

Island Wedding in the Pines Garden

On Easter Saturday we hosted an Island wedding ceremony in our garden. For this time of the year the garden looked pretty good. I picked pink liliums and stuck them in the agapantha clumps to give colour. Also all our hanging baskets of Busy Lizzies and the flowering tuber Begonias were placed on the bank behind the 'alter' to give a colourful touch. For the table, I used a lovely old crocheted tablecloth that my mother brought from Bangkok, and the strongest chair we had to support the 'traditionally built' bride for the signing of the marriage register.. The vows too were mostly traditional, with some cracks like, 'Will you promise to bring him breakfast in bed on Sundays?" The photos as usual for NZ were taken in a most informal way with the bride and her bridesmaid sitting on the lawn. The bride was given away by her 10 year old son and her 1 year old baby boy who made a gallant effort to walk her to the altar.. Not what we have been used to, but all very colourful and a happy occasion. The bride was so delighted with the everything that she gave me double what I had quoted and the celebrant asked if we would be happy to host more weddings and the photographer asked if she could book our garden for pictures.

The day before I had gone down to the rugby field to ask the youngsters on their buzz bikes to please not ride there during the afternoon..

Autumn 2008

Autumn is here again. It has been long in coming after a very warm and longish summer with little rain.Shades of global warming. I wonder? Farmers were desperate for rain which has finally come but much too late.We got fifty mm. over the last week. The leaves of the hickory turned yellow a week later than normal but now have nearly all fallen forming a carpet on the grass below. Yesterday I also took a picture of our pin oak which is really beautiful. The Hickory picture was taken on the 9th April exactly the same date as I took one last year so I can see the difference.

The Pines as it was 22 years ago

Above 'The Pines' as it was when George Wood purchased it about 22 years ago, and below how it is today.

One Hundred and Fifty year Jubilee Celebration.

Pictures speak louder than words.However for an objective opinion read this review

c1890

The Pines circa 1890

D Day minus one.

We wait in fear and trepidation. Tomorrow's the day and we have no idea what to expect. We know at least seventy people will be coming, those that have been invited and those helping,but we know many others, the locals,are also coming and are quite excited about it all. The garden is fab and the weather promises to be great. Many jobs have not been finished but it doesn't really matter any more. They will have to accept us warts and all.I have one job to do today.The gazebo has to have cement tiles put down to cover the earth floor and Elaine wants me to polish the wood stove, Don't know why as no one is to be allowed into the house.Ja well no fine,I'll do it.

The chain gang coerced into action.

The last lap.

For several months the upstairs window has been boarded up. A wind blew it open and damaged the frame and broke a glass pane. It just had to get in the queue, but at last its time came and Warren our neighbour came over to help with putting up my scaffold which I had bought specially for this very purpose.

Jubilee Organisation on Track

Janet has designed this poster for our celebrations and it will be put up in Waipawa and Waipukarau and in the small towns around.

Rain Rain Rain

Winter came late this year. It started about a month ago and has rained on and off almost all the time since,that's after the worst drought in living memory which started in December. The year's rainfall to mid June was only 107mm .There have been floods in many areas of North Island this month with a state of emergency being declared in the far north. I took pictures of our flooded Waipawa river this morning.Its the first time I have seen it so full, only about 200m from our house and we can hear it roaring.This picture with Elaine shows only half of the width of the river which joins another tributary the same size just a few Ks below forming the Tukituki River. Elaine is actually standing in the middle of the bridge so there is just as much behind me with the camera. Its about 250m wide.The bottom picture taken a year ago shows the normal flow.

Slow Progress.

The plants have been removed from the garden in front of the house and all the piles concreted in place and foundations are completed, but the place looks a mess.Today the temperature was way down to about 10oC. I just managed to get the cement mixed and the rain started down. Cold icy rain. Before I could go inside I had to use it up , wash the cement mixer and tools and get everything under cover ,by which time I was freezing and wet.The steps are partly done and will be paved in quarry tiles. Hopefully they will be an improvement on the old rotten wooden ones.

Transcription of notes for “The Pines” 150th birthday celebration

A little bit about “The Pines” and its previous occupants – a remarkable bunch.

The first occupant Thomas Henry FitzGerald erected the cottage in 1858. An early settler he came to New Zealand from Ireland in 1842. He opened a general store in Waipawa in 1857 with a Mr L N duNoyer – presumably a relative as FitzGerald’s mothers maiden name was duNoyer. He was also a surveyor and civil engineer.

The house came partially assembled [much as frames and trusses do today] from Northland to Napier by barge and then by bullock team to Waipawa. Prefabrication of kauri houses was quite commonplace and they were shipped as far afield as San Francisco.

FitzGerald was also active in politics and named as the 1st Superintendent of Hawke’s Bay 1859-61. He had considerable interests in Napier where he owned and operated a steam flourmill, a bond store and printing press and constructed two hotels. It was at his press that the first copy of the Hawke’s Bay Herald and Ahuriri Advocate was printed on September 24th 1857. His hotels were the Commercial [now the Union] at Ahuriri and the Settlers at the bottom of Shakespeare Road on the town side. An early ad for his Commercial Hotel asks patrons not to urinate over the veranda as it scares the horses!

He moved to Napier and then in 1862 to Queensland where he is remembered as a pioneer of the sugar cane industry, founder of the town of Innisfail and for naming the town of Te Kowai after our own native tree. Like many entrepreneurs, he suffered mixed fortunes in finance and health and died in 1888 aged 64.

The second owner was Charles Herman Weber. Weber and his two brothers both of whom became Harley Street Doctors fled Germany as pacifists who did not like or agree with the strong military regime of the time.

Like FitzGerald, Weber was also a civil engineer and surveyor. He went first to England then to the United States where he worked as a surveyor for the explorer Fremont and was involved in putting a railway through the Rocky Mountains. Then on to the Argentine surveying and involved in the sandalwood trade before moving on to Australia.

In Australia he met and married Ellen Drewe and had 3 children – two of whom died in infancy. He was approached to come to New Zealand as a surveyor and thus arrived with Ellen and the surviving child in 1860.

It would seem more than coincidence that he purchased “The Pines” as the fraternity of engineers must have been small then, so possibly they were acquainted – and indeed, their lives connected frequently over the years.

The Webers had the distinction of being the parents of the first white child born in Waipawa – Albert Fremont Weber, born on October 24th 1861.

Charles’ work as a surveyor was well recognised and highly thought of and still using one of his original maps survey pegs have been found still in place as recently as 20 years ago. Again in common with FitzGerald, Weber was persuaded to Napier and appointed Provincial Engineer and Chief Surveyor for Hawke’s Bay and the first Harbour Board Engineer. On his move to Napier he purchased FitzGerald’s flourmill and other concerns – so the link continued.

Sadly in 1886 Weber disappeared on a private survey job close to Woodville – despite a search party being mounted his body was not recovered for nearly three years and was hen found a mere 2 chain from the road. It is thought he died of a heart attack. The settlement of Weber in Southern Hawke’s Bay is named after him.

Dr Alexander Todd, another Irishman, was the third owner of the property. Probably more is known about him – tales of his excesses and walking stick wielding abound. What is not commonly known is that he arrived here unintentionally.

Soon after graduating from Medical college in Edinburgh he set off on a round the world voyage as Superintendent Surgeon aboard the “Rangoon”* – the first direct voyage from England to Napier. It is hard to imagine now but the vessel left London on November 26th 1863 and did not arrive in Napier until July 23rd 1864 – an eight-month marathon. During this time the ship collided with an American brig sustaining damage and also struck extreme weather – gales, heavy seas and hailstorms for almost the entire time. At one stage everything on deck was washed away and the helmsman was crushed by the wheel and killed. The Captain was drunk all the time [one reference kindly says “laid up”, the crew revolted and Todd had to assume command.

With difficulty the “Rangoon” reached Napier – its upper works severely damaged and unable to proceed further - the passengers were landed and the crew discharged. Within a short time the Governor-General, Sir George Grey and other notables called on Todd and the outcome was that he abandoned the world tour and decided to settle in New Zealand. He purchased the practice of Dr Venn of Waipawa who was returning to England and at the same time was appointed both the medical charge of the natives of Hawke’s Bay by the Native Commissioner and through the influence of Sir Donald McLean and the Hon J D Ormond as surgeon to the Imperial Troops stationed at Waipawa. With the withdrawal of the Imperial Forces he was appointed Medical Officer of the Colonial Defence Forces and on their transfer, Brigade Surgeon of the East Coast Volunteers. He obtained his commission as a Major and later as Lieutenant Colonel.

Like the previous owners of “The Pines’, Dr Todd also invested in business and land and was a partner in the Union Brewery and Aerated Water Company and had and in Waipawa, Kaikora [Otane], Woodville and Western Australia.

He died still in residence at “The Pines” in 1914, aged 74.

Dr Todd married Annie Mary Arrow, a daughter of Henry Arrow and sister of Lissie who married William Rathbone. Mrs Doctor Todd with two D’s as she insisted on being addressed has been variously described in family reminiscences as determined, bossy and a martinet. Despite these epithets she was regard and a stalwart of the community. Mrs Doctor Todd with two D’s was involved in the temperance movement and after her husband’s death refused to renew the lease of the Union Brewery – situated on her land – and subsequently it had to be pulled down – not a woman to be toyed with! Hearsay has it that she also confiscated Dr Todd’s walking stick in his latter days – to stop him walking across to the brewery.

Alex and Annie had three daughters Olive, Ida and Kathleen and a son Alex Todd Jr. Mrs Doctor Todd with two D’s died in 1927 having been predeceased by daughter Ida in 1926.

Pigeons and doves are synonymous with “The Pines” – the original trees that gave the property its name having been planted to shelter the pigeon lofts and stables. Dr Todd took doves with him on his rural visits, which meant he could either send a message home to his wife or he could leave a bird with a patient so they could send it back with a report on their condition or a message to him. One of the original dovecotes was removed from “The Pines” to Waikoko Gardens at the Hastings Showgrounds in 1968.

Over the years the house was home to a number of tenants and suffered a gradual decline. Fortunately it was purchased in the late 1980’s by George Wood and lovingly restored.
Anna Natusch further developed the gardens during her occupancy. Terry and Elaine McKenzie – who like the first three owners – have come form another country to make Waipawa their home, have spent the last ten years ensuring “The Pines” looks hale and hearty. Heres to 150 years and long may the cottage survive. Congratulations to you both on your valuable contribution to a most important piece of Waipawa’s heritage.


Bibliography

Port to port A pictorial history of Port Ahuriri, / Wilkie, Don. 2003.

Abbott's-Ford a history of Waipawa / Gray, Margaret. 1989.

Cyclopaedia of New Zealand, Volume 6 – Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts. 1908.
Thomas Henry FitzGerald
http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Henry_FitzGerald

Central Hawke’s Bay Settlers Museum Inc – family files.

*Rangoon. Wooden barque, 379 tons. Built Great Britain, 1853, reg. Melbourne, 15/1867. Lbd 114.5 x 26.5 x 18 ft. Ashore at Kiama in strong winds, 22 March 1870. Wedged between two rocks there was hope she would survive, but a heavy gale about a month later completely destroyed her. [LN],[LAH],[SAN - barquentine, lost at Minnamurra, east side of small island at mouth]

Repairs to the Concrete Piles Under the House.

For a long time I have been concerned about the piles under the house. Several years ago when someone wanted to buy the house we decided that if we could get a good price for it we should let it go. A pile inspector said the piles needed to be reset and that it would cost in the region of $8000. The buyers were put off,or rather the bank wouldn't lend the money. We were pretty please to have got out of it.The main inspector though said the house would stand for another 150 years.Keith our gardener has spare time on his hands because of the winter coming on and also because of the drought,so I decided we could use him to help with the heavy digging work.So this week I began the work of reinforcing the piles by underpinning them with concrete and digging foundations for the brick work that will replace the planks.Great grandfather Collins,who was a stonemason,would have been proud of me.Another reason to do this is to make the house vermin proof. We keep getting mice and rats into the walls. This work will keep them out I hope. When this is completed we will safely be able to put garden along next to the house without worrying about the woodwork.We will probably plant hydrangeas The painting is still going on but I'm pretty bored with it..

Preparations for the 150 Year Anniversary of 'The Pines'

We had great fun on Saturday and thought I would post a few pictures of what we were up to...(Click to enlarge the pics)

We dressed up like the Dr and his wife who lived here 150 years ago.
It is for an article in the SA Garden Magazine. A freelance journalist is visiting NZ and needs to make some money so asked if she could do an article on an Immigrant SA family to NZ for the Garden magazine..

The costumes are because we are having a big Jubilee celebration here in November to mark the 150th Anniversary of the First house in the first town Waipawa. The town will then have their big celebrations in 2010. There will be an Event Planner so we just have to get the place looking good.
Terry is working on the front of the house. He has scraped off five layers of paint and it has been hard work . There is lots more to do but already it is looking much nicer.

The people dressed in period costume will walk or drive in horsedrawn carriages through the town...........up to our house. There will be Garden Party on the lawns. A story teller will tell the history of the house and there will be prizes given for the best costumes. Then a tour of the property to see the pigeons in the pigeon loft on the hill where the doctor kept the pigeons to keep in contact with his country patients.. and a visit to the dam where the horses used to drink... old fashioned games will be organised for the kids..

New Zealanders love to dress up in Period costumes and being a small country far from every where else they have to make their own fun... and keep a sense of Identity I suppose. Anyway this all seems to have just 'happened' to us and we are going along with it and having lots of fun on the way.. My crinolene, bonnet , everything has been done for me with great enthusiasm by a friend Lesley who works in the local museum.. Terry did kick at first but was given no choice, and when the top hat was put on his head he found he rather liked the image!

Every week we have been busy with this or that and the nursery has been neglected so I am relieved that all photo sessions, babysitting, birthdays etc are over for a time and we can get back to the humdrum life we actually enjoy.. We are not as young as we used to be ! are we now ?

Autumn at 'The Pines'

Autumn days are here and now I know why they call it 'the fall' It's been a long time in coming this year. The weather is much warmer than usual and very very dry. The Hickory lost it leaves almost three weeks later than last year.

Pin Oak

Hickory

Red Ash

Work in Progress

The family came to help for about five minutes the other day.

Activities around 'The Pines'

The bottom of Rose Street used to be the centre of activities,with 'The Pines' on the one corner and Mr. Rose's hotel on the other side. It later burned to the ground. The activity still continues to this day.

Right opposite ,not a hundred metres is Coronation Park which is used for all sorts of activities. A week or so ago we had the annual dog show. It's incredible how a whole tent city can be put up in a few hours and at the end on Sunday afternoon just as quickly disappear .

Now the CHB Bats cycle club often starts and ends its weekly races right outside the gate. In this particular race there were sixty participants

I found this website belonging to Jan Gosling who lives a little up Rose Street. She writes about 'The Pines'

Walking down the hill from my place you have to go past 'The Pines' at the bottom of Rose Street.
'The Pines' is Waipawa's oldest surviving house being built in 1858 out of kauri shipped to Napier and then brought down to Waipawa by bullock wagon.

Browse through Jan's website and you will be able to learn a bit about our little town.

The Country Fair

This entry has been inspired by my friend Rupert's article in the Natal Witness where he described the market day in Alexandra Park,Pietermaritzburg.

Fresh produce is the heart of the market.There are piles of shiny spinach and crisp cabbages, young mealies, pumpkins yellow, white, blue, round or flat but not square; green, yellow, and red peppers; blushing tomatoes, sweet sprouts, crunchy cucumbers, gem squash, onions of varied sizes and colours, potatoes medium and small, carrots straight and crooked, avocados, beans, brinjals, broccoli, butternuts, etcelery. There’s an organic vegetable stall.

Well compared with the excitement of the farmers market our fair was a bit of a drab affair as the day dawned dull and overcast. Why is it that the weather turns nasty on such occasions. It is always held on Waitangi Day which is a sort of a National Day commemorating the signing of the Waitangi agreement between Maori and Queen Victoria.

Fruit of all kinds in season makes the mouth water — a veritable cornucopia of grapes, litchies, peaches, plums, nectarines, bananas, papaws, mangoes, melons and more. Soon there will be prickly pears and in autumn persimmons and naartjies. Dennis and his clan dole out portions from huge tubs of picture-book fruit salad, colourful chopped casserole vegetables, and dark red sliced beetroot.

Our fair really didn't have any fruit but if it had you would also have been able to have any fruit you liked as long as it was an apple.We had our plant stall of course but now every year more and more are having plant stalls which makes it more difficult for us.The copy cats.
There were clothing stalls, and book stalls and I wondered what they did if it actually started raining with all the books laid out on tables.It made me wonder just how many people in the world were able to write books and sell them and just how did people have so much time to read all those thousands and thousands of books on every subject under the sun.Books on gardening,dressmaking, woodwork, war, veteran cars or how to farm alpacas,you name it and there will be one.

Flowers — roses, proteas, chrysanthemums, and lilies, just for starters — by the truckload beg to be taken home. Buy plants to grow your own flowers — annuals, perennials, shrubs, climbers, ferns, baby trees. If the obliging plant sellers don’t have what you want, they will get it for you. Usually there will be a few non-commercial flowers and plants from home gardens — elegant arums, frothy hydrangeas, red Natal bottlebrush, yellow ginger with long red stamens like painted fingernails, sometimes Crinum and Scadoxus rooted in bags — and aromatic sprays of penny-gum leaves.

Right next to us we had some lasses and lads performing Scottish dances so beautifully. Some were so tiny and cute,but I'm sure they made up for the lack of sun.Further away country and western music was being performed. Strolling down one of the side streets lined with stalls of every kind,but no fruit or apples, there was a lass playing the violin.

Shoppers and stallholders, no less than the produce and home cooking on offer, make our market a special place. Little knots of friends stand chatting while others — solitary strollers, hand-holding couples, family parties — saunter or hurry by, enjoying the day or intent on their purchases. Ramblers with faraway eyes bump into fellow hikers, happy to relive the last walk and eagerly anticipate the next; recent excitement was finding a few Christmas bells, once common but now sadly rare, plundered to the edge of extinction.

People arrived from Hastings and Napier to swell the buyers but being a cool day were not dressed in bright summer clothing.

It finished all too quickly with many of our plants unsold but I think we did as well as expected and were not too disappointed. The hard part was loading everything back on the the ute and having to put it back into the nursery.

The Saga of the Old Oak Tree.

When we bought 'The Pines' we knew that trees would cut out the sun in winter but we certainly did not know the full extent of it. As soon as we moved in, in the middle of winter, we realised that the old oak tree in our neighbour Anna's section took our sun for a few hours in the day, and there are only a few hours of sunshine a day here in winter.

I have called it 'the old oak tree' but really it was a youngster as far as real old oak trees go, but here trees grow very fast.At a funeral we met the man who planted it when he was a boy of six.

One particularly cold winter Elaine went to see Anna to asked if it was possible to trim the oak, but she would have none of it, as there were elves, fairies and hobgoblins living there.

The main problem was that it lost its leaves well into the winter and after that the sun was filtered through the many branches and twigs. Each winter I would scheme that maybe I could do the old oak tree some injury through injecting arsenic or roundup into her trunk but unfortunately my upbringing would not allow it. And so the old oak tree stood there mocking me. Beautiful and proud.

Then just last year Frank, another neighbour,who oversees the section for Anna, called to Elaine and asked if she had seen what had happened to the old tree. From the fork about two metres up, right to the ground the trunk had split.

Anna called in a tree surgeon and other experts but all concurred that nothing could be done. Well I suppose she blamed me. Thought maybe I had taken a chain saw to it. I felt guilty of course, believing that my ill will had brought on the problem and I began to fell sorry for the tree, and saw how beautiful it really was. Then I expect she asked one of the priestly elves to say the last rights. So the day came last Friday when three tree fellers arrived with chain saws, mulchers and a tractor to do their dastardly act.

Now after three days all is quiet, the old oak tree is no more,crushed and cut into small pieces, lying on the ground, to be burned as fire wood next winter.A tragic end indeed and hardly just reward for taking our sun.

As for the elves, fairies and hobgoblins, I'm not sure where they have gone, but there are many other places in the garden for them.

Renovating the Pines House

With the one hundred and fifty year celebration coming up at the end of the year, there is much work to be done on the house. The front verandah needs it most, so I have started removing several layers of paint. The layers must tell a story,pale green, dark green, cream, white and some gunge which could be a pink undercoat, but cannot be removed with paint remover. I'm using a heat gun, paint remover and a sander. I have tested for lead but it always indicates negative. I can't believe that no lead paint was used over the past one and a half centuries so think I should get another test kit.The heat gun leaves the house with fumes which I'm sure are 'toxic', and I could also burn it down, so instead I'm trying to rely mostly on paint remover even though it is more costly.

Now what I find interesting is that the house was built an 1857. The builders would have been over twenty five years old so they would have been born before the settlers started coming. Most settlers came from the United Kingdom where houses were built of brick so they wouldn't have had the knowledge of building in wood. The joinery in the house is excellent, showing considerable experience in building. As I see it, only the United States builds houses like they do here in New Zealand, discounting of course Queensland and I don't see any Queenslanders coming here to build in 1857. So where did the knowledge come from?

Christmas Day

Click the picture to enlarge

A friendly visitor.

Christmas Greetings

I am sitting in my pyjamas at my wee laptop and thinking I had better get going with a Christmas letter if I am to catch you before Christmas
The Springbok mealie meal porridge is humming away in the microwave and Terry is about to go out and open up the greenhouses and take our spanking new nursery sign down to the main road that passes through our town. Janet designed and painted this new sign which says 'Elaine's Garden Nursery' !!

We spend most of our days propagating, potting and selling plants. I cannot think of anything more enjoyable to do with my time. We meet lots of interesting people and there is an honesty box which thankfully works well. At New Year the children helped Terry finish building a new 'state of the art' greenhouse where the plants can grow. We had brought the propagation and big greenhouse tunnels with us from Nessie our farm in the Tsitsikama.
Terry at 77 is enjoying his retirement studying the wonders of nature and many evenings when the weather is fine he goes off for a run. A digital camera came with the new computer he bought.. He is having such fun studying the insect life in our dam. He puts the tiny insects under the microscope and then photographs them and puts the pictures on the computer and onto his Blog, and has added information to Wikipedia about the Azolla fern. A little black spot as big as a pin's head turned out to be a perfect snail. Then a speck darting about became a gruesome waterbug with fangs!! The tiny duckweed looks amazing when enlarged.

Terry raised the overflow of the pond wall and now we have a decent size dam which we will be able to use if there are water restrictions again this year, as a dry year is forecast. We planted three tree fern logs with fronds peeping out the top and Terry is faithfully watering the tops hoping they will take root. Two pleasant young Mormon Missionary men have given us help with the heavy work and as they could not accept pay I gave them hot meals and homebaking to take away. They arrived in their smart black suits and changed into shorts and T shirts and laughed as they worked. They were Ozzie sportsmen. The first two Missionaries who came were elderly ladies from Salt Lake City. They asked if they could help pot up plants for us. Really nice, never imposing any religion on us. They gave us a Family Tree programme and we were able to get Family information from their archives, and add what information we had to the archive records. Amazing!

In September Terry went to the Sea of Faith conference in Marton where there were international speakers including Don Cupitt

Ken and Janet are still leading the New Covenant Fellowship church they planted in Havelock North near Hastings... The church has grown and they are hoping to build a church building soon. Up to now the weekly services have been in the big St John's Hall. They have renovated a couple of houses and with the housing boom made enough to buy a really comfortable family home.

Daniel at 14 is a sportsman playing first team rugby and cricket and does amazing things on his fourstroke motorbike and skateboard that his grandmother cannot bear to watch!!!

Jonty at 11 is a mathematician and loves to sit at my laptop and search the world on Google Earth. Both charming handsome guys, says Grannylaine.

Bruce is in management at the Horticultual Research Institute, mostly involved with Computer Information Websites (Can't remember his title!) Still does the Iron man Triathlon every year

Rosie is a popular nurse in charge of the City Hospital's Rehabiliation Unit. Very active with the children and her social life.

Matthew finishes school this year and will be 18 soon. A first team soccer player. Hopes to study Business management at the University.

Kirsty our only granddaughter is 15 and a confident, lovely girl. A good Hip Hop and Jazz dancer, and teaches in the Sunday School.

The family will be coming to us for Christmas. Bruce and family are 2 hours away at Palmerston North on the west side of North Island and Janet and family are 40 mins away on the east side near Hastings.

We have a carport size gazebo down in the shady corner of the lawn which was put up for the Oldie's Church Outing and another party this Thursday. We hope to have our Christmas dinner out there with croquet and patonque on the lawn. Prayers go up for good weather each time!! When the weather is good it is really really good and when it is bad it is horrid!.........! The garden is a picture with all credit going to Keith our gardener who has come weekly for the past seven years.

Much love from us all and may you and the family have a happy and blessed Christmas and New year.

Terry and Elaine and the family

One Hundred and Fifty years

History of The Pines



The Pines was the first house to be built in the town. This was in 1857 and it is the oldest inland town in North Island so we believe that this house must be one of the oldest houses in Central North Island.
There is a picture hanging in the Council showing Waipawa as it was in 1870 and this house and the Anglican church are the only recognisable buildings.

I would like to tell you briefly about the first owners of The Pines
–--Thomas Fitzgerald built The Pines in 1857. The Kauri was shipped to Napier and brought to here by bullock wagon.
---Charles Weber a German Civil Engineer arrived with his wife and baby daughter in 1860 from the USA where he had been surveying a railway line through the Rocky Mountains. His son George was the first child to be born in the town in 1861. Charles Weber was appointed Hawke’s Bay Provincial Engineer and Chief Surveyor in 1864. He surveyed the railway line south from Napier. In 1886 he disappeared and his body was found three years later by bush cutters. The town of Weber is named after him.
The Pines therefore had two highly skilled owners. They diverted the creek running down behind the house and they constructed a drinking pond for their horses.

--Dr Todd was the next owner and he planted the great Redwood trees which now form the skyline.
--Dr Todd built substantial dove cotes for the homing pigeons which he used to communicate with his country patients. We have a macrocarpa replica of one of his dove cotes on the hill behind the house. It is said that he would leave a pigeon with a sick patient or pregnant woman to enable them to send for help or even just send a pigeon home to tell his wife he would not be home for dinner !
Our neighbour Frank White tells how his father had his tonsils out on the kitchen table. As Dr Todd grew older he enjoyed walking down to the pub for a drink and the story goes that one evening he was weaving his way home down the middle of Ruataniwa Street. Dr Reed the new doctor passed him in his horse drawn trap and suggested he walk on the pavement. He retorted, ‘What do you think I am, a bloody tight rope walker!’ Another night a fellow drinker took Dr Todd to his nearby house as the doctor was not in a fit state to walk home. When he awoke next morning the Dr could not remember why he was at this man’s home so just to be on the safe side he sent him a consultation fee!

Dr Todd and Mrs Todd lived in The Pines for 45 years.

Terry and I came out to New Zealand nine years ago and looked around to find a suitable place to live and set up our little nursery. We were delighted to find this lovely little home in a beautiful setting. And we are still in the process of making it a home. We brought two nursery tunnels with us from South Africa and these are my big playrooms where I spend most of my days pottering around.

The Pines circa 1890

The pond was constructed by Charles Weber. It has remained empty for many years, but this year with the help of two Mormon boys who volunteered their help for a few hours, repaired the concrete spillway. Over the years the house has been altered to make it more liveable but the original structure still stands.

The dear doctor who lived here at the 'The Pines'in the nineteenth century,long before there were automobiles or proper roads, used pigeon post . On his journeys into the countryside the doctor would take pigeons to leave with his patients so they could let him know of their progress. The pigeon house eventually disintrigated and has been replaced by a replica. Some of the present pigeons may even be decendants. Well they are part of this artificial ecology surrounding my pond and can often be
seen sunbathing and drinking.

I have always been very fond of pigeons as when I was a boy of ten I constructed a pigeon coup and hoped one day to race them. This never happened,because later when at about sixteen my father was transferred. I was at boarding school and it was a very sad situation having to get rid of all my homing pigeons. On returning my school Kearsney College after the holidays I hid a baby squeeker under my jersey and boarded the train for the overnight journey.I fed it by chewing the grain and then feeding the bird from my mouth until it was able to fend for itself. I made a box for it and put it on top of the book cupboard in the house commonroom.This was its refuge for the next few months till the end of the year. I settled for the name 'choccy' because of its colour. Well as the weeks went by Choccy became stronger and was able to fly and spent most of the time outside returning at night to its box. I though nothing strange about it at the time but no matter where I was outside he was able to find me and would swoop down and come and sit on my shoulder, picking me out from the other boys. His antics amused every one, sometimes disrupting assembly by making pigeon noises while perched high up on the hall cinema screen or flying down onto the table during exams,and strutting around on one of the tables examining the pencils.

Well eventually the year ended and I travelled with the family to a holiday resort at Isipingo near the sea. His box was nailed to a beam under the eave near my room and that became his home for the next few weeks, flying around and returning at night. All good things come to an end and I was forced to leave the pigeon there as we were to go to live for a while in a city hotel.

The Pines Pigeons were fed every evening in their house but one evening I forgot and several of them came and sat on the roof all facing and staring at me until I got the message. They had never sat on the roof before as their house is very much higher up on a hill.

Pigeons have an intelligence and concienceness that we will never know. they know things we can never understand and it is arrogant of us to think humans are the only ones with intelligence and that animals only have instincts.

The Pines as it is today