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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]

Professional, Commercial, And Industrial

Professional, Commercial, And Industrial.

Overend, John Frederick, Shipping, Commission, and General Agent, Main Street, Foxton. Mr. Overend is agent for the “Queen of the South”—an iron vessel—owned by Messrs. Levin and Co., Limited, of Wellington, which trades between Wellington and Foxton, making regular trips. Mr. Overend was born in Wellington in 1867, and entered into mercantile life in 1882 under Mr. Edward Pearce, who afterwards joined the firm of Messrs. Levin and Co. In June, 1896, Mr. Overend was appointed to represent his firm in Foxton. He is a member of the Order of Oddfellows, and takes an interest in athletic movements.

Young, F. R., Shipping and Commission Agent, Main Street. Foxton. Established by present proprietor in 1888.

Alzdorf, Walter Harry, Surveyor and Interpreter, Norbiton Road, Foxton. Mr. Alzdorf is the son of the late Baron Alzdorf, who was killed in the old Wellington Hotel in the big earthquake of 1855. He was born at Petone in the year 1841, and claims to be the first European born in Port Nicholson. Mr. Alzdorf was educated in the Colony, and served his apprenticeship in the Survey Office at Wellington, completing his term 1861. He was subsequently employed by the Provincial and General Governments as a surveyor, and between the years 1866 and 1869 laid out a portion of the town of Foxton, and most of the township of Palmerston and Fitzherbert, afterwards 200,000 acres in Manawatu and Wanganui. Mr. Alzdorf had done a good deal of surveying in his time, and is well qualified to undertake all work entrusted to him.

Manawatu Hotel (C. H. Harrison, proprietor), Avenue Road, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. The Manawatu Hotel is one of the oldest established houses in the district, having been founded about the year 1868. It comprises a large two-story structure, built of wood and iron, which contains some twenty-five rooms. There are sixteen comfortable bedrooms, containing twenty-one beds, and there are four large sitting-rooms. The dining-room is all that can be desired, being light and well ventilated, and excellently found in all necessaries. In the large billiard-room is one of the well-known tables made by Messrs. Wright, Ranish and Co., of Wellington. The Manawatu Hotel affords excellent accommodation for commercial men, for whose convenience a fine sample-room is kept. Mr. Harrison was born at Water-of-Leith, Dunedin, and was brought up to the ironmongery business. He has had a varied experience, having been for two years in Melbourne, where he was chiefly engaged in poultry-farming. He is now settled in Foxton, and has managed the Manawatu Hotel in a most satisfactory manner. Mr. Harrison is the son of the late Mr. W. H. Harrison, who was well-known as the editor of the Wellington Independent for many years. Mr. Harrison, sen., was associated with journalistic enterprises in several other parts of New Zealand. At one time he was the proprietor of the Grey River Argus, and while resident on the West Coast contested the Grey-mouth seat in the House of Representatives, defeating Sir Patrick Buckley. Mr. Harrison sat as member for the district in two or three parliaments. He was a Liberal in politics, and his memory will ever be fresh in the minds of those who were interested in political matters during the early days of the Colony.

Post-Office Hotel (Carl Mortensen, proprietor). Main Street, Foxton, Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. P.O. Box 20. The Post-Office Hotel is a handsome two-story building of wood and iron, erected on leasehold land right opposite the post-office. It was originally the old Aberdeen store, conducted for some years by Mr. Gray. The Post-Office Hotel was built in 1891, and contains twenty large and convenient rooms, of which eleven are bedrooms, affording accommodation for twenty or thirty people ordinarily, but more on special occasions. There are five good sitting rooms and a large and well-furnished dining-room. The billiard-room is one of the most convenient in the town, being supplied with one of Allcock's best tables. Adjoining the main building is a comfortable cottage, which has been added to the hotel, so as to provide increased accommodation. Behind the hotel are stables containing two stalls and three loose-boxes. There is also a good sample-room for commercial men.

Whyte's Hotel (John Rainbow Stansell, proprietor), Main Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. P.O. Box 32, Telegraphic address, “Stansell, Foxton.” This imposing two-story building is situate within five minutes walk of the Railway Station. It contains thirty rooms, exclusive of the bar and the private parlour used by the family. There are two private sitting-rooms upstairs, and three parlours on the ground floor. The billiard-room is furnished with one of Alcock's full-sized tables. There is a large sample-room for the use of travellers, the house being well known by the “commercials.” Every comfort is found in Whyte's Hotel under the supervision of the host, who is ably supported by Mrs. Stansell and family. Mr. Stansell is the proprietor of a line of coaches, which leave daily for Levin, arriving in time to catch the morning train to Wellington, and return immediately on the arrival of the Wellington train. Attached to the hotel are most complete stable, including loose-boxes capable of accommodating page 1134 fourteen racehorses at a time. There is also a good paddock of four acres in connection with the hostelry.

Foxton Family Hotel (Henry Border, proprietor). Main Street, Foxton. Established many years ago by Mr. T. U. Cook, and conducted by present proprietor since 1890.

Barber, Richard Henry, Engineer and General Blacksmith, Main Street, Foxton. Private residence, Easton Street. Mr. Barber was born in 1864 in Wellington, where he was educated. Apprenticed to Messrs. Robertson and Co., of the “Phœnix Foundry,” he remained nine years in the pattern-making, turning, and fitting departments. Mr. Barber settled in Foxton in 1889, and commenced business on his own account. His shop is a one-story building of wood and iron, having 900 square feet of floor space. Mr. Barber is considered “the handy man” of the district, tinsmithing, wheelwright work, and numerous other jobs being committed to his care. He is agent for Cable and Co.'s flax-milling machinery, and sub-agent for the famous Planet J.R. machines, together with numerous other lines.

Jenks, Frederick Edward, Plumber and Painter, Foxton. Mr. Jenks founded the present business in 1875. The freehold premises occupied by him were built for the purpose of his trade in 1882, and afford fully 1000 square feet of floorage space. He has been prominent as a tradesman in the district, and has worked on all the local churches and public buildings, both inside and outside. Mr. Jenks undertakes plumbing and painting, including signwriting in all its branches, and may be relied upon to do his work thoroughly.

Wilson, Simeon, Blacksmith, Foxton.

Easton, A. S., Butcher, Main Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Mr. Easton was born at Peckham, near London. His eldest brother was foreman to a large butchery business carried on by Mr. James Smith in Melbourne in the early days. The subject of A. S. Easton this notice came out to his brother soon after finishing his apprenticeship, but only remained in Melbourne a short time. Attracted by the news from the goldfields of Otago, Mr. Easton crossed over, and was all through the Otago diggings, at Gabriel's, Waitahuna, and Tuapeka. Leaving the goldfields, Mr. Easton worked at his trade for some time in Dunedin, until the West Coast rush broke out. For some time afterwards he had mining experience on the West Coast goldfields. Subsequently for three or four years Mr. Easton had a shop in Wellington, after which he removed to the Foxton district, and established the present business in 1874. The premises now occupied by him comprise a unique and handsome building, affording about 3000 square feet of floorage space, which is erected on freehold land. The building was constructed from Mr. Easton's own designs, Messrs. Morley and Fry being the contractors. They have been completed nearly twenty years. Mr. Easton's convenient slaughterhouses are situate on twenty-four acres of land owned by him, where also he has a boiling-down establishment. He has several farms, including 175 acres in the Foxton district, where he carries on a dairy business, and milks thirty-five cows. He has a fine paddock of sixty acres in the district for the purpose of running sheep, and a horse paddock of six acres. At Birmingham Mr. Easton has 150 acres where he runs cattle, and at Campbelltown 237 acres where he runs his stock. Mr. Easton's turnover is from sixteen to twenty bullocks a month and about eighty sheep. He has four sons, who assist in the business, of whom one is married. A daughter of Mr. Easton's is married to Mr. A. H. Knowles, manager of the Bank of Australasia at Foxton. Mr. Easton took a prominent part in connection with the establishment of the Anglican Church in the Foxton district, and assisted materially in getting the church built.

Walsh and Howan (J. W. Walsh and J. H. Howan), Butchers, Main Street, Foxton. Established 1880, and conducted by present firm since 1892.

Coley, George, Flaxmiller, Star Hemp Mills, Harbour Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Private residence, Main Street, Foxton. The three buildings which comprise the Star Hemp Mills at Foxton are of corrugated iron, and have a floor space of over 1300 square feet. The motive power is a “Ruston and Proctor” ten-horse portable steam engine, which works up to a pressure of seventy pounds to the square inch. The strippers, by Messrs. Booth and McDonald, of Christchurch, give every satisfaction. There is a very complete scutching plant on the premises, which were erected about seven years ago. Mr. Coley employs nearly thirty hands in the mill, exclusive of those who are engaged in cutting and carting flax and firewood on contract. The output of dressed fibre averages at the rate of about a ton per day, for which Mr. Coley finds a ready market in Wellington. The flax is shipped per “Queen of the South” to Wellington, consigned to Mr. G. H. Scales, who gives Mr. Coley every satisfaction. The dressed fibre from the Star Hemp Mills has never been specially exhibited, but Mr. Coley informed the writer that he intended to be an exhibitor at the Welligton Industrial Exhibition of 1896. Some of the dressed fibre produced by Mr. Coley at his Star Hemp Mills is of remarkable length and quality, some samples shown measuring four feet, and being of a beautiful silky texture. Mr. George Coley, the proprietor of the well-known Star Hemp Mills, was born in 1862 in Auckland, where he was educated. Prior to 1889—when he commenced business in the flax industry—Mr. Coley was a carrier between Wanganui and Wellington, where he was well known among the early settlers. Mr. Coley commenced in a small way as a carrier, and satisfied his customers by his diligent attention to their interests together with punctual delivery of goods entrusted to his care. For page 1135 thirteen years immediately preceding the opening of the Wellington-Manawatu Railway, he conducted a steadily expanding trade. Of course he was compelled to discontinue when the line was opened, as his services were no longer required. The completion of this railway affected others besides the subject of this notice by terminating the good old coaching days, in which employment was found for hundreds of horses and scores of drivers and grooms. The iron horse becoming supreme, the occupation of all engaged in the coaching trade was gone, and their only course was to move on to some point in the interior where the rails were not yet laid. Many busy little townships, which had attained some importance as stopping places for the mail coaches, were likewise affected and sank into insignificance when the service came to an end. Besides carrying on the business of a flaxmiller, Mr. Coley is engaged in chaff-cutting by steam-power, and also farming operations. Some few years ago he purchased a six-horse-power steam-engine by Ruston and Proctor, with which he is enabled to cut large quantities of oat sheaf, and he is credited with having put through no less than 650 tons in one season. He is the lessee of various properties for the cropping season, and grows considerable quantities of oats.

Mr. William Hutchison, Engineer at the Star Hemp Mills, is a son of Mr. Henry Hutchison, engineer, of Darlington, where he was born in 1849. After four years at the Gainford Academy, where he passed all his examinations with merit, he qualified as an engineer, becoming second engineer on the ironclad “Mahomed Ali.” Subsequently he had charge of Messrs. Bland and Co.'s erecting shop, Stockton-on-Tees, where over 400 hands were employed. Mr. Hutchison came to the Colony, per ship “Fern Glen,” in 1876, and was employed in Wellington by Messrs. E. W. Mills and Co. and afterwards by Mr. Seagar. He took charge of Messrs. Bell Bros.' sawmills at Kereru in 1887, where he remained for four years, and was afterwards at Mr. Wylie's Ohau sawmills. In November, 1893, Mr. Hutchison, after taking an active part in the erection of the machinery of Messrs. Bartholomew and Co.'s sawmills at Otaki, including the band-saw, came to Foxton under engagement to Mr. Coley. Mr. Hutchison holds first-class certificates as engineer, and is consulted by the residents of the district. His employer good naturally allows Mr. Hutchison to attend to the machinery of others engaged in the trade when mishaps occur.

Austin Bros. (Robert Austin), Flaxmillers, Foxton.

Rhodes, W. B., General Storekeeper, Main Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Telegraphic address, “Rhodes, Foxton.” Mr. Rhodes was born in the Colony. He was educated in Napier, and brought up to mercantile life. The present business was established in 1885, and has been conducted by Mr. Rhodes solely since 1894. The building occupied for the business is a structure of wood and iron, one story in height, affording ample accommodation for the demands of the business, which extends within a radius of twenty miles from Foxton. Mr. Rhodes has a capital and well assorted stock of the kind usually kept by a country storekeeper. He has done a large business as a buyer of flax, of which he has exported a considerable quantity. He is willing at any time to purchase flax on commission, and is in a position to buy at lowest rates. He is agent for the Standard Insurance Company, for the flax machinery made by Mr. R. M. Crosbie, of Nelson, and Messrs. Booth, McDonald and Co., of Christchurch. He is also agent for the Evening Post, New Zealand Times and Mail, Auckland Weekly News, and Weekly Press and Referee. Mr. Rhodes is well known and popular in Foxton, where he has resided for about six years. He gives W. B. Rhodes personal and energetic attention to his business, and also finds some time to take an interest in the recreations of the people. He is a steward of the Foxton Jockey Club, and a member of the rowing, tennis, and cricket clubs.

The Red House Co-operative Store, (Thomas Westwood, proprietor), Corner of Main Street and Whyte Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. P.O. Box 12. Telegraphic address, “Westwood, Foxton.” Private residence. The Avenue. The Red House was established on the 1st August, 1894, that day being the birthday of the enterprising proprietor. The convenient premises were erected for the purposes of the business on the present site, which is leasehold, with a purchasing clause. The building, which is one story in height, is constructed of wood and iron, and contains a large shop with a store-room behind. The frontage of the building is twenty-five feet to Main Street, by forty-eight feet to Whyte Street, the total floorage space being upwards of 1200 square feet. Behind the main building is a large iron produce shed. Mr. Westwood keeps a large and general stock of grocery, ironmongery, crockery, and other lines. He was one of the successors to the business conducted by the late Mr. C. Honore. Mr. Westwood is well known in the Colony, and particularly in the Foxton district. He has had business experience of seventeen years' duration in the district, and was for four years a member of a local firm before establishing the Red House on his own account. Mr. Westwood is a direct importer of crockery, the other goods in which he deals being purchased in the Colony. His trade extends to Sandon, Cambelltown, Carnarvon, and Shannon. Two horses and carts are employed in the business, one being specially used for town delivery, and one for the country. Mr. Westwood's private residence is situated on freehold land, in the Avenue, Foxton. The engraving on the following page gives a good idea of the handsome and convenient premises occupied by Mr. Westwood.

The Red House Co-operative Store.

The Red House Co-operative Store.

Hennessey and Co. (Philip Hennessey), General Storekeepers, Main Street, Foxton. Established by Mr. J. W. Liddle in 1867, and conducted by present proprietors since 1894.

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Spelman, Bernard, General Carrier, Grain and Produce Merchant, Avenue Road, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. Mr. Spelman established the present business in 1866. His central premises are of wood and iron, erected on freehold land. There is an eight-horse-power portable engine by Messrs. Richards and Watts, the water for which he raises from a fourteen-foot well by means of a force-pump, and all necessary machinery, such as circular saws, chaff-cutter, corn-crusher, and corn-kibbler. Mr. Spelman undertakes cutting and crushing for farmers chiefly. He also buys and sells on his own account. Mr. Spelman was born in Ireland, and came to New Zealand per ship “Hudson,” arriving in Wellington in 1878. He had learned the carrying business, and at once settled in Foxton. He employs seven horses and carts in connection with his business, and has four acres of land in the Avenue Road, where he resides, as well as one hundred and six acres at Pohangina, which he farms. He has been a member of the Foxton School Committee for some five or six years, and occupies the position of keeper of the Foxton Pound, which duties he has performed for about nine years past.

Kerr, Archibald, Baker and Confectioner, Main Street. Foxton. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. Established about 1884. and conducted by present proprietor since 1893.

Loveday Bros. (Frederick Eure, manager), Drapers, Foxton.

Osborne, Edmund John Burnard, Draper, Main Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Established by present proprietor in 1880.

Ennis, Stuart, Tailor, Main Street, Foxton. Established 1889.

Jonson, Andrew, Cabinetmaker, Builder, and Undertaker, Main Street, Foxton. Established 1870.

Osborne, E. P., Cabinetmaker and Undertaker, Foxton. Established 1887.

McCloskey, Henry Thompson, Hairdresser and Tobacconist, Foxton.

Harris, John, Bootmaker, Foxton.

Little, William Thomas, Saddler and Harnessmaker, Main Street, Foxton. Bankers, Bank of Australasia. Conducted by present proprietor since 1892.

Fraser, Alfred, Bookseller, Stationer, etc., Foxton.

Cook, T. U., River Bank, Foxton. Mr. Cook is one of the oldest settlers in the district. He purchased land from the Colonization Company in 1839, and came out in one of the three earliest ships, the “Adelaide,” arriving in Port Nicholson in 1840. Mr. Cook settled in Foxton in the year 1854, but came into possession of a considerable amount of land through his wife, who was a native, by whom he has had fifteen children, of whom ten are still alive, and all but one have been married. Mr. Cook's eldest daughter resides in England with a family of nine or ten children. Another daughter is married to Mr. Hickson, Treasury Department, Wellington. Mr. Cook has in all about forty grandchildren. His landing in the Colony is thus described in his own words: “On the ‘Adelaide’ dropping anchor in Port Nicholson Harbour towards evening, several of the passengers made a request to the captain to allow them a boat to go to shore, Mrs. Smith, the wife of the surveyor-general, being very anxious to meet her husband, who had previously arrived in one of the first ships. Several of us volunteered to pull the boat if the captain consented. He endeavoured very strongly to dissuade us from doing so, as a southerly gale was coming up. We started, however, and landed on the Petone beach after several narrow escapes from capsizing, the gale being very terrific, and the rain coming down in torrents. When we landed it was pitch dark, and in some manner myself and Baron Alzdorf got separated from the others. After wandering about for a time we discerned a light, which we made for, and which came from a hut occupied by immigrants. There we were kindly treated and provided with a bed. Such was my experience of my first night in New Zealand.” Mr. Cook has engaged in many pursuits since settling in the Colony. He has been in the ship building trade, has also been a storekeeper, and was one of the first sheepfarmers in the Wellington provincial district. As an hotel-keeper, Mr. Cook erected the Family Hotel in Foxton between thirty and forty years ago, and had the first licensed house in the Foxton district, which he called the Adelaide Hotel. The place is now occupied as a private residence by Mr. Cook, who is in his seventy-ninth year, and is deservedly respected by the inhabitants of the district.

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Robinson, Francis, J.P., Settler, Foxton. The subject of this notice was in the Marine service in his younger days, afterwards acting as paymaster in Bombay, from which position he was compelled to retire by ill-health. He came to Wellington in 1811, per ship “Mandarin,” and became one of the first colonists in the Manawatu district. After residing in Wellington, Captain Robinson came to Foxton, where he subsequently settled permanently. After a short visit to Australia, he settled on 400 acres in Foxton, which he had purchased in London before coming to the Colony, and on getting possession of his land, proceeded with the work of a pioneer settler. Subsequently he took a Maori lease of about 20,000 acres, being a portion of the Himatingi Block. This block must originally have been heavy bush, as timber has frequently been found embedded in the earth in the process of digging wells. The late Captain Robinson spent a great deal of money in draining, the swamp being so soft in many places that it was necessary to put down planks for the men to stand upon before the drains could be constructed. To the late Captain Robinson, whose portrait appears in the engraving, Foxton is indebted for the progress of the district. He was a successful settler, and always prominent in furthering the welfare of the district. Captain Robinson was chairman of the late Foxton Road Board, at that time the only local body, and on his death in November, 1888, at the advanced age of 82, left six sons and four daughters. All his children are married, with the exception of two [unclear: sons, the grandchildren numbering twenty.] He was one of the first Justices of the Peace appointed in the Foxton district. At his death he left a fine run of 9000 acres of good sheep country, lying mostly between Foxton and Carnarvon.

Captain and Mrs. F. Robinson.

Captain and Mrs. F. Robinson.

Barber, Edward, Farmer, Carnarvon, near Foxton, Born in the Metropolis of the World in 1843, Mr. Barber was educated at Dover Road School. After spending many years in the butchery business in the Old Country, Mr. Barber shipped on board the barque “Arabello,” and landed at Wellington on the 3rd of January, 1862. He was engaged in the meat trade at Wellington in the firm of Barber and Co. for many years, also in the Wellington Meat Export Company. On severing his connection with the firm, Mr. Barber took up the large tract of country he now possesses at Carnarvon, on which he breeds many thousand sheep, as well as several hundred head of cattle. The property is fenced and subdivided, and contains a substantial homestead and numerous out buildings.

Bowe, Thomas, Farmer, No. 2 Line, Foxton. Born in 1847 in Kilkenny, Ireland, Mr. Bowe was apprenticed to a flour-miller, with whom he served four years. Going to America at the age of seventeen, he found employment in the leather trade at a “currying” shop. Mr. Bowe came to the Colony per ship “Stephena,” landing at Auckland in 1865. He was given employment by Mr. John Curtis, who was the contractor in Mr. Henry Holland's brickyard. After eighteen months the West Coast gold rush set in, and Mr. Bowe went to Greymouth, and was very lucky as a digger for seven years. Flushed with success, he made a twelve months pleasure trip to Australia, and returning in 1875 he commenced contracting at Wanganui with Mr. Alex. Walker (now at Waverley) under Messrs. Pell and Parker. This continued about six months, and the firm of Walker and Bowe, after doing well, took a second contract for harvesting 160 acres for Messrs. Taylor and Watt. Coming to Foxton in 1875, Mr. Bowe worked for eighteen months under Mr. Henry Dawson on the Moutoa estate, after which he bought the freehold farm on which he now does a large dairying business, and fattens cattle for the market, besides engaging in agriculture. He sells his milk chiefly to the Foxton creamery. Altogether Mr. Bowe may be considered a successful farmer.

Hillary, John, Ferryman, Wirokino, near Foxton. Postal address, Foxton. Born on the 5th of October, 1843, he joined Her Majesty's Navy in 1859. In 1862 he joined the merchant service, in which he continued for four years, and traded in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas to Africa, and twice to New Zealand, landing on the last occasion in January, 1867. Mr. Hillary was engaged in various pursuits in the Manawatu district for twelve months, when he was appointed ferryman on the Manawatu River by the Wellington Provincial Council, where he continued till the County Act came into force in 1877. He ferried the first royal mail coach that ran between Wellington and Wanganui, and during the five years he made many improvements in the ferrying service, for which he was compensated by the Council when that body took it over. Mr. Hillary lost the tender during 1879 and 1880, but was engaged to refit the Lower Gorge ferry, which had been destroyed by a flood. In 1881 he was successful in obtaining the Foxton ferry for a lease of three years, and in 1883 he erected a new ferry at Wirokino, which he worked in conjunction with the Foxton one. On the completion of the Wellington-Manawatu Railway the traffic fell off so considerably that the Foxton ferry was closed in 1888, and the plant was removed to Wirokino and there used, the Wirokino plant being subsequently fitted up by Mr. Hillary at a place chosen by him for the Shannon people. He conducted both ferries for a time. In 1890 he leased the Wirokino ferry for twelve months, and the Shannon ferry from September, 1891, till September, 1893. In April, 1895, he took a lease for three years of the Wirokino ferry. Mr. Hillary has had a long experience in the business, and was the page 1138 recipient from the Foxton people of a valuable silver watch, suitably engraved, in recognition of his services. Punctual and attentive, Mr. Hillary is at all times to be relied upon.

Satherley, George, Farmer, No. 1 Line, Foxton. The son of the late Mr. William Satherley, the subject of this sketch was born at Nelson in 1842, and after an experience of twenty-two years in the Nelson district on his father's farm, he came to Foxton. He was overseer for fifteen years on the Moutoa estate—a run of 10,000 acres, belonging to the Bank of New Zealand. Mr. Satherley commenced a dairy farm in 1889, and runs some thirty cows on his freehold property. They are fed during the winter months on oats, hay, and mangolds. At that season Mr. Satherley makes his own butter, which commands a sale locally. During the summer months the milk is sent to the creamery.

Whibley, Daniel, Farmer, No. 1 Line, Foxton. Born in Kent, England, in 1845, Mr. Whibley worked the greater part of his time on his father's farm till 1875, when he sailed in the “Berar” for Wellington. Arriving safely, they were quarantined at Somes Island for fourteen days, when he proceeded to Wanganui, and was employed at the Tutaenui bridge for some months, and afterwards brickmaking on the Oroua Downs, having had some four years experience in the County of Kent. Mr. Whibley came to Foxton in November, 1875, and was employed by Mr. Thynne on his farm, where he stayed twelve years. He then purchased his present freehold property. Recognising the dairy industry to be a profitable business, Mr. Whibley invested in some twenty head of cows, and sells milk to the local creamery. The success of his farming is the result of hard work on the part of Mr. Whibley, who is well supported by his wife and family.

Main Street, Foxton.

Main Street, Foxton.