The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Old Wellington
Old Wellington.
The preceding pages having been exclusively devoted to a description of Wellington as it is to-day, with its nineteenth century civilization in full swing, it is necessary that some effort be made to depict its birth and early development; and thus to give those who are accustomed to it in its present condition some idea of the many privileges they enjoy which were entirely beyond the reach of the founders and early settlers. To form any conception of the trials and difficulties undergone by the earliest arrivals, it will be necessary in imagination to strip the present Wellington of its wharves and shipping; its made streets and comfortable houses; its electric light, gas, and even kerosene lamps; its telephones, telegraphs, letter carriers and regular mails; its cabs, coaches, trams and railways; its Government and police; its warehouses, shops and newspapers, and its peaceable, law-abiding population. In the place of all these it will be needful to put uncultivated land, impenetrable bush and savage native tribes. That is the Wellington of 1840, as seen and remembered by Mr. Thomas McKenzie and a few others who still live to tell the tale.
Wellington was founded by an association of private individuals known as the New Zealand Company. The principal promoter was Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who, on the formation and registration of the company on the 2nd of May, 1839, was elected managing director The capital was £400,000 in 4000 shares of £100 each, the deposit being ten pounds per share. The Earl of Durham was the governor of the company, and Mr. Joseph Somes (whose name is perpetuated as that of the only island in the Wellington Harbour) was the deputy-governor. This was not the first company formed for the colonization of New Zealand. A similar attempt had been made in 1825, but the Maoris savagely objected and the project was abandoned. Mr. Wakefield's company met with a good deal of opposition from the British Government, for New Zealand was at that time a foreign country; but the promoters were bent on success and could brook no delay. Within a fortnight the “Tory” had left the Old Land for the New, the expedition being in charge of Colonel William Wakefield, a brother of the managing director and uncle of Mr. Edward Wakefield, until recently well known in Wellington as a proprietor in conjunction with Mr. W. F. Roydhouse, of the (now defunct) Evening Press. Colonel Wakefield had instructions to buy land in wholesale quantities, and he accomplished that object most fully.
They Bought “the joy upon the shore, To tell their voyage perils o'er.”
On the 22nd of January, 1840, the “Aurora” was brought into Port Nicholson Harbour, thus instituting a red letter day on which the birthday of Wellington has since been celebrated annually. It is observed as a close public holiday and is called “Anniversary Day”; but beyond that very little is done to commemorate the event. The provincial regatta is held on that day, and at the banquet in the evening complimentary remarks are made about the pioneers, and the survivors are toasted; but nothing like a gathering of the two races is ever thought of; and the “Aurora's” passengers are now so nearly passed away that the old enthusiasm has died out.
The “Aurora” was a vessel of 550 tons, commanded by Captain Heale, and she brought about 150 passengers. Entering the harbour on Wednesday, the remainder of the week was occupied by the founders in getting themselves and their belongings on shore, and in running up temporary huts and houses. The Rev. James Buller, father of Sir Walter Buller, was visiting Port Nicholson at the time as a missionary, and advantage was taken of his presence by holding a service on the deck of the “Aurora” on the Sunday morning.
page 238On the following Wednesday the “Oriental” arrived. This vessel left London three days before the “Aurora”; but fortunately for Wellington the “Aurora” was for those days a smart ship. Auckland dates its anniversary from the 29th of January, or two days before the “Oriental” arrived. To the “Aurora,” therefore, Wellington Province owes the credit of being just a week older than that of Auckland. It was not a flying passage by any means, for it occupied 124 days. The “Oriental,” however, took 136 days. She was a vessel of 500 tons, in command of Captain Wilson.
Old Wellington,
Showing one of the boatsheds and wharves that were in those days dotted all along the beach. The building to the extreme right (corner of Bowen Street) still stands, and is easily recognised as the old offices of the late Hon. A. de B. Brandon. The old parsonage; (the gabled house on the hill) is still in good habitable condition; but the old Wellington Club (the large building behind the boatshed), and most of the others have long since disappeared.
But though Captain Hobson had so expressly declared the annexation of New Zealand, the Wellington, or Port' Nicholson settlers had no great relish for being governed in that way. They viewed with some alarm the passing of a Bill by the New South Wales Legislature nullifying all titles to land in New Zealand except such as might be allowed by the Queen's representative; and, generally, they considered themselves equal to the management of their own affairs. A committee of colonists had been formed in London; and, after arrival, this was quickly transformed into a Council of Colonists. Taxes were levied, magistrates appointed, and the rights of government quietly usurped. The Lieutenant-Governor having heard of this at his seat in the Bay of Islands, anticipated some trouble; and sent his Colonial Secretary, Mr. Willoughby Shortland, with thirty troopers and five constables, to Wellington to issue a proclamation declaring the sovereignty of the Queen, and calling upon the illegally-appointed officials to withdraw ana submit themselves to the proper authorities. This was quite a serious affair, in the opinion of the Lieutenant-Governor, who had conceived a greatly exaggerated notion of what he was pleased to term the “high treason” of the Port Nicholson settlers. To His Excellency's surprise and delight, the usurpers received his Secretary and soldiers with effusive expressions of loyalty, explaining that theirs was an interim Government, prepared to hand over the reins to any duly-qualified “driver “who might make his appearance.
This was immediately followed by a recommendation to Captain Hobson that he should at once make Wellington the seat of Government, as from its central position it must sooner or later become the capital of the Colony, In obedience to instructions from the head office in London, a suitable site for Government House and offices had been selected by the New Zealand Company; and one of their cargo-ships—the “Platina” —brought out the Governor's house, with a request to Colonel Wakefield that he would send it to any part of the Colony which Lieutenant- page 240 Governor Hobson might select for the seat of Government, although it was even in England supposed that Wellington would certainly be chosen. It was the unexpected that happened, however, and the “Platina,” which was the twelfth vessel to reach the Port of Wellington, was sent on to Auckland, where she had the distinction of being the first merchantman to enter that beautiful harbour. Its inferiority as a port quickly showed itself, for the “Platina,” being, of course, without any chart of the harbour, ran aground for a few hours on the Bean Rock, where a fine lighthouse now stands. This was on the 13th of September, 1840, and three days later Captain Symonds and others of the party sent by Lieutenant-Governor Hobson, landed in Auckland, and on the 18th of September hoisted the British flag. Thus Wellington's hopes were crushed, and Auckland, though founded a year later, shot ahead of her in population and development. Whether Captain Hobson acted wisely in overlooking Wellington's claims will always be a matter on which opinions will divide; but he will never be accused of intentional error.
About five acres are reserved for Government House in the spot where that establishment now stands, and Mount Cook is reserved for “public buildings,”—alas! that it should ever have been used for a gaol. Both the Roman Catholic Burial Ground and the General Cemetery are marked off and named; but the Botanical Gardens appear as “hilly country covered with timber.” All the hills were bush-clad. The founders of Wellington having satisfied themselves with their 1100 acres, determined that no encroachments should thenceforward be made. They certainly guarded most jealously what reserves their greed had allowed them to make All this was done by August, 1840, and might on first consideration be looked upon as so much accomplished and all in readiness for the Seat of Government. But it was hardly to be wondered at that Governor Hobson preferred to “cut up” a site for himself where he could have ample reserves and chain-wide streets, and so much land that he could sell a few choice bits of it for upwards of £25,000 in a few months.
Lambton Quay—Opposite Kirkcaldie's.
(This view shows the southern portion of Lambton Quay, before the arrival of the architects.)
Before the end of the following year (1841), the population had increased a good deal, and the people had begun to spread themselves about the district for the cultivation of the land. Farming and grazing operations were in full swing at Karori, Lyell's Bay, the Lower Hutt, Porirua and other places, and very good results were being obtained.
The second anniversary of the Colony's foundation was celebrated at Wellington on the 22nd of January, 1842. For a great many years the regatta has been the onlj anniversary sports indulged in, but on this occasion a decidedly mixed programme was gone through, including sailing and rowing matches, a hurdle horse-race, “rural sports, consisting of jumping in sacks, climbing a greasy pole, catching a soap-tailed pig, etc.; a mile foot race, a rifle match, and ' in order to meet the wants of the public,' a ball at Barrett's Hotel, and another at the Exchange Boom, Te Aro.”
Lambton Quay.
(Looking South irom the corner of Molesworth Street, the vacant allotment in the foreground being the Government House grounds.)
Towards the end of 1842, Wellington; set up a corporation, with Mr. George Hunter, senr., as mayor, and about a dozen aldermen. It was a short lived form of local government, and would probably have had a much shorter life if the communication with the Home Government had been more rapid. That august body, for reasons not clearly remembered if clearly stated, added “another injustice to Wellington” by refusing to allow the ordinance of Governor Hobson, which created the Wellington Corporation. In December, 1848, when Governor Hobson had been in his grave upwards of fifteen months, the corporation put its house in order and passed peacefully away. As further particulars of this early blossom are given under the heading “Corporation of Wellington,” it need only be mentioned here that Wellington dodged along for twenty years without even a town board. The Provincial Council performed many of the functions of civic institutions in its earlier days.
Wellington always had its newspaper. The New Zealand Gazette was published first in London in September, 1839; and on the Petone beach in April, 1840. The third issue was struck off in an office twenty feet square, brought out ready made by Mr. Samuel Bevans, who also brought out the plant and appliances. Issue number twenty, dated the 22nd of August, 1840, explained the change in its name as follows:—“Britannia, the name given to the town of the New Zealand Company's first and principal settlement by Colonel Wakefield, has been approved by His Excellency, Captain Hobson. It is a good name, because till now unappropriated by any town, and therefore distinctive in its character; and further, in being agreeably associated in the minds of all Britons with their fatherland. The town lands having been allotted, we couple with it the name of that able paper which has so long and successfully advocated the principles upon which this settlement has been founded, and add the united terms in our title. Henceforward this paper will bear the name of the New Zealand Gazette and Britannia Spectator.” This page 244 name, however, was destined for a shorter life than its first, for fourteen weeks later the word “Wellington” took the place of “Britannia.” It was an enterprising little paper and was well supported. Further information concerning it will he given in the historical sketch on the “Press of Wellington—Past and Present.”
Though the settlers of Port Nicholson were a most law-abiding people, as they are to this day, considerable annoyance was occasioned by the burglarious depredations of a low class of men who had come over at various times from Tasmania and New South Wales. Over fifty years ago Mr. Pharazyn's store was robbed, and so much law-breaking occurred that the gaol was full to overflowing, and a dozen or so of criminals were transported to Van Diemen's Land, as Tasmania was then called. The gaol was merely a large raupo hut, but the more desperate characters were anchored with leg irons. Their hands were free, however, and they were allowed to hobble aboui the gaol. One day Mr. John Plimmer happened to be in that direction and noticed a whaleboat being drawn up on the beach and left there by its occupants. Half a dozen of the convicts with their leg irons on went apparently to examine the boat, and before he could give the alarm had pushed her off and hobbled in. There was an exciting chase, but the convicts won, as they quickly got round the heads where the smaller boats could not follow them. Though a large reward was offered for their re-capture nothing was heard of them for a week, “when,” says Mr. Plimmer, “the people were startled by some canoes coming round the heads full of Maoris, and we rushed to the beach to learn what so unexpected a visit meant. We soon found out that the Maoris had caught the prisoners and had brought them tied together, hands and feet, like pigs, in the bottom of the canoes. Their little craft had been wrecked in Palliser Bay, and the Maoris, hearing of the reward, lost no time in obtaining it. Very daring robberies had been committed by them, and probably some murders, as many lives were lost which could not be traced to the Maoris.”
View Of Lambton Quay And Terrace.
(The square building to the right will be recognised as Nathan's Bond, corner of Lambton Quay and Waring Taylor Street. The line in the foreground is the boundary of the third reclamation, which extended to include Waring Taylor Street.)
Shipbuilding and other industries sprang up, and in many ways Wellington kept the lead it had taken. Sheep-farming was begun by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Clifford and several others; and notwithstanding many and great privations, the embryo capital was making its way.
Mr. John Plimmer, who arrived in 1841 and still lives in the Empire City, where he is frequently called the “Father of Wellington,” wrote some very interesting letters to the New Zealand Mail some four years ago, in which he described the condition of things at and for several years after his arrival. He was one of 280 passengers who came out in a ship of 650 tons (the “Gertrude,”) the passage being as pleasant as could be expected “under the circumstances.” As over a dozen ships with nearly 2000 passengers had come out to Wellington before the “Gertrude,” it was but natural that the “new-chum” should expect to see something like a town, but the removal from Petone was then in progress, and Mr. Plimmer says “there was no house in view but Colonel William Wakefield's, on the site where Government House now stands.” Sir Francis Dillon Bell, the immigration receiving agent of the New Zealand Company, he describes as “a pleasant, fresh-looking young man of about twenty,” who went on board and pointed out Kaiwarra as the place at which they and their goods were to be landed. The place prepared for the reception of the immigrants “was a large raupo shed of Maori architecture, in which as many of the married couples as there was accommodation for were located.” In the evening, about half a dozen Maoris entered unannounced, and unclothed with the exception of mats, and this “seriously discomposed the women and raised the ire of the men, as they squatted round the fire as composedly as if they had been well dressed and invited guests of the evening.” After describing the difficulties of getting himself a house on the Te Aro flat, Mr. Plimmer mentions an incident which will serve to show the conditions under which the founders had to live and labour with the Maoris. He says:—“About three weeks after our arrival, I had a new feature of life among the Maoris. I had felled a large tree, some three feet in diameter, with a beautiful head of foliage. The tree in falling had struck the bush fence of a Maori garden, and I went to see if it had done any damage. But while I was stooping down, a Maori chief name Emori had crept up the other side without my hearing him, and as I raised my head he struck at me with all his might. But by good luck I turned and saw the tomahawk, and ducked my head so that he missed it, but not so my hat. As I had my little boy with me, I feared if I ran he might kill the child, so I made up mind to fight him, and ran to the butt of the tree to get my axe, and then back along the bole to meet my foe. But, lo! he seemed paralyzed. In striking with all his might, my hat offering very little resistance his foot had slipped, and he had trapped himself among the branches and was perfectly at my mercy. I shall never forget the hideous look of his tattooed face, which had turned a nasty dark yellow, and as I swayed the large felling axe over his head he shrank back in the bushes till I thought the fright had killed him. Just at this moment Motoraha, the head chief, appeared on the scene with more than 100 of the Maoris, and I thought my time had come. But when they saw the position the chief was in they could not control their mirth, and the old chief held out his hand to me, saying, ‘Kapai [very good] kapai the pakeha! Me very hungry; homai a hereni’ [give me a shilling]. I gave him half a crown, and was very glad thus to get out of the scrape.”
Lambton Quay, now the most fashionable business street in the City, was originally the high water mark, hence its unshapely form. It has now two streets in front of it, with most of the finest buildings. Of this part, which is still called “The Beach,” Mr. Plimmer says:—“The first time I came up “The Beach,” I overtook a poor woman carrying a bed. There was a heavy wash on the beach which prevented her passing with her load, so I carried her bed on my back through the water, she following in the best way she could; but we both got very wet…Te Aro flat was covered with fern and flax, except that portion of it extending from Couitenay Place to the Basin Reserve, which was one impassable bog. On the beach at Te Aro were two or three large pahs inhabited by several hundreds of Maoris.”
The earthquakes of 1848 and 1855 did much to retard the progress of Wellington. That of 1848 was less severe, but the principal reason why it did less damage was that there were very few brick buildings. Mr. Plimmer, who had done exceedingly well in lime-burning, had built a brick house to encourage the business, and had let it for Government offices. Although the building was damaged to the extent of nearly £2000, and was at the time crowded with clerks, they all managed, by means of two sets of stairs, to get out unharmed. Other and smaller places were similarly damaged; and Mr. Plimmer, being the principal builder at that time, repaired the majority of them, but only in wood, as bricks were considered dangerous. Most of the chimneys had been thrown down, and great damage was done to all kinds of glassware and other brittle articles. Of the shake in 1848, Mr. Plimmer says:—“It was too severe for us to do anything while it lasted. I had several shelves of books and glass in my sitting-room when the quake commenced, and my wife was sitting with her back to these shelves with a young baby on her lap. She was unable to rise, but bent over the child, and was painfully pelted with books, glass and china, and though I was not three yards away I could not move or do anything to protect her from the shower of projectiles… After this, as people did not like to live in brick or clay houses, the real age of wooden houses commenced, but after a while they began to build brick stores as a protection against fire, insurance being very high on wooden risks. Therefore, when the second large and disastrous earthquake occurred in 1855, it did immense damage, as most of the buildings were either demolished or so shaken as to be untenable.”
Mr. Plimmer's experiences of the earthquakes of 1855 were more thrilling and exciting than even those referred to above; and as they give a good idea of the confusion and alarm resulting from these very severe shakes, Mr. Plimmer's description will be read with interest. He says:—“There were three distinct heavy shakes, linked together, in a manner, by a continuous quivering. The first, which occurred on Monday, was the lightest, and did little damage; but the second, on Tuesday, was much heavier, and many chimneys fell, and the large brick stores were much damaged—especially those with heavy slate roofs—by breaking the bond of the brickwork and splitting at the angles. This was the case with a large bonded store owned by Captain Rhodes. Asked if I thought I could do anything to save it from falling. I thought I might clamp it together with rods and plates. I immediately got some prepared, and put some bricklayers to make ready the walls by making holes through them, and I then ascended a long ladder—or, rather, two spliced— to see if all was clear to pass the rods through just below the eaves. I had caught hold of the slates, and was leaning over to see if all was clear, when the third and page 247 strongest of the earthquakes commenced. I had hard work to regain a firm footing on the ladder, and I then saw that any attempt to descend meant certain death, so Iheltj on for my life to the slates on both sides of theladder. Sometimes the rocking building leaned so far over, that I could scarcely keep the ladder against it. It was a horrid situation; but I held on, and retained my presence of mind till the force abated, for I thought I might have some chance if I went down with the building. In the meantime the gabled end had fallen down close from where the head of the ladder was set; and when the shake moderated to a light quivering, I stood for a little while, and, looking round, saw that almost all the chimneys were down. The new Wesleyan chapel, which was in Manners Street, was very much damaged. The gabled end had fallen, and I saw a man in the ceiling joist, close under the roof. The most curious thing was the way in which the bog was moving. It was rolling like a heavy sea, but looking more like a field of corn in a high wind. I made an examination to see how the ladder was secured from slipping sideways, and was astonished to find that the sides had ground through two thicknesses of slates and into the wall plates.” When Mr. Plimmer descended from his terrifying position, he found the Customs officers and men much more alarmed than himself, and looking like ghosts. When asked what was the matter, as they were in no danger, they replied that they expected every moment to see him “dashed to pieces.” But when the necessity for immediate action was over, and he was able to reflect upon his almost miraculous escape, he was quite upset for a moment, but was soon roused by the fear that his wife and children might be among the ruins of some fallen building. He continues: “I did not stop to say one word to anyone, but went quickly away. When I reached Manners Street it was filled with people, some standing as if bewildered, others rushing about, calling and enquiring for husbands, wives, and children. Where the Bank Hotel now stands the street was completely blocked. In that narrow street leading from there to the reclaimed land—or, rather, the beach that was then—a sad fatality had occurred. A large brick building there was used for the commissariat stores. It happened that the commissariat sergeant and his two children were in there when the shake commenced, and being afraid, they escaped into the street for safety. Now, it happened that there was a brick wall about six feet high, which I had built for Mr. Fitzherbert to fence in the new Customhouse yard. The sergeant and his children were standing under this wall, when the great upheaval, which lifted all the land about four feet, threw up the heavy wall, and a portion of it fell on them, killing them at once. They were being carried out as I approached.”
The upheaval sent the water from the harbour into all the stores along the beach, doing a great deal of damage. What wonder that some of those who were in Wellington in those exciting days were anxious to get away, and that thousands who purposed to come were able to change their minds on the point. Since 1855, however, less damage has been done in Wellington by earthquakes than in several other parts of the Colony, though until quite recently slight shocks were more common at the Capital than elsewhere. In 1881 there was a smart shock, which stopped many of the pendulum clocks and rang all the bells of the town, but not one of the thousands of chimneys suffered at all. There is, of course, a “glorious uncertainty” about earthquakes; but there are no reasons for supposing that Wellington is in greater danger than any other part of the world.
It was a long time, however, before the results of the earthquake of 1855 had so far faded from the thoughts of the people as to admit of any attempts at building in brick. Ten years later when the General Government removed to Wellington, Government House and the Houses of Parliament were erected in wood; and eleven years later still, when the abolition of the provinces and the consequent centralization of all government functions took place, the new Government Buildings were erected in wood, though a few brick buildings had been ventured by that time. It is impossible to estimate the deterrent effects caused by the dread of earthquakes. Scores of fine buildings have been run up in wood which would otherwise have been in brick, and scores of the brick structures are of three stories which would otherwise have been five or six. Even now the architects cannot convince their clients that the risk is inappreciably increased with the increased height. This is a very great drawback to a city whose land is so scarce and consequently so valuable. A few four-story buildings and one or two of five stories may be seen, but the majority of the brick buildings even now being erected are two and three stories high.
Other items of interest concerning the early times in Wellington are given in various articles, and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say that the Wellingtonians of to-day are deeply indebted to the pioneers and early settlers, who were, on the whole, brave, loyal, and capable. That there are so few monumental expressions of this debt is to be regretted.