Oxford, in the county of Ashley, is divided into two parts, known respectively as East and West Oxford; of the two, the former is the more populous division. At the census of April, 1901, 311 persons were returned as residing in East Oxford, and the population in its immediate neighbourhood numbered 602; at the same time the population of West Oxford was set down as 176. Each district has a railway station and post office. East Oxford is forty miles, and West Oxford forty-two miles, from Christchurch; the first is 748 feet, and the second 788 feet, above the level of the sea. A creamery adjoins the East Oxford station. The district is well supplied with stores and business premises, and there are numerous churches. There are capital public schools at both places, and there is a first-rate library, which is centrally situated, not far from the sale-yards. Fortnightly sales are held, and are well attended by settlers, who come from many miles around. A public cemetery, which is well planted with trees and shrubs and well kept, has frontages to the main road and to High Street. The first settlers came to the district towards the end of the fifties, when the whole country was covered with a dense bush, popularly named black birch, but, correctly, beech. The bush has been cleared out back into the mountain ranges, where, however, several mills are still working. The chief industry is connected with timber, but there is a considerable trade also in green flax. There is a park of 216 acres, thirty acres of which have been laid out as a racecourse. The reserve as a whole is managed by a domain board. Oxford has a salubrious climate, and is a popular resort in the summer time with excursionists, and persons in search of health. The head offices of the Waimakariri-Ashley Water Supply Board and of the Oxford Road Board, are situated in the township. There are three hotels, and two public halls and a police station in the district, and a resident magistrate holds sessions at fixed dates.

The Oxford Road District was established in the sixties. Roughly, it is bounded by the Waimakariri river on the south and on part of the west; by the Pukateraki range on the north-west; the Ashley river on the north and part of the east; and on part of the east by the Cust and West Eyreton road districts. The district is about twenty miles across. The total ratable value is over £380,000. There are 840 ratable properties and 550 dwellings, owned by 473 ratepayers. A rate of three farthings in the £ is usually levied, and produces a revenue of £1,087. The revenue from other sources is £863. The Board has control over a good many important bridges, such as the Eyre and Ashley Gorge bridges, besides many smaller ones. The heavy floods of 1902 partially or wholly destroyed a good many of the bridges in the district. There are no loans. The townships of East Oxford and West Oxford are both under the control of the Board. The board rooms are situated in High Street, East Oxford, where the Board has eighteen acres of land. The building was erected in the early seventies. The members of the Board for 1902 were Messrs A. Wright (chairman), A. Stubbs, D. Thompson, P. H. Thompson, and John Cross; and Mr. R. H. Gainsford is clerk, surveyor, and treasurer.

Mr. Robert Henry Gainsford. Clerk, Surveyor, and Treasurer to the Oxford Road Board, was born at Ealing, Middlesex, England, in 1850, and was educated at Church House Academy, Ealing, and Dane Hill School, Margate, Kent. He learned the business of an auctioneer and surveyor in the Old Country, and came out to New Zealand in 1882. For some time he was engaged in dairy farming at New Brighton, and afterwards at the Styx, and was appointed to his present position in May, 1901. Mr. Gainsford was married, in 1873, to a daughter of Mr. H. Hewett, of “The Peaks,” Canterbury, and has seven sons and three daughters.

The Waimakariri-Ashley Supply Board was constituted by a special Act of Parliament in 1894. The object of the corporation is to supply water by means of races to the various properties lying between the Waimakariri and Ashley rivers About 500 miles of races have been constructed at a cost of £25,000. Loans have been procured to the amount of £22,200. and a rate of 17–24ths of a penny on the capital value is levied to provide interest and sinking fund; and a maintenance rate on a sliding scale is levied in addition. The works so far have proved a great boon to the settlers. The offices of the Board are situated in Main Street, Oxford. The members of the Board for 1902 were Messrs F. C. Horrell (chairman), M. J. Dixon, T. H. Lance, W. McDowall, and J. Candy; Mr. G. P. Williams, engineer and secretary, and Mr J. McCormack, treasurer and collector.

Mr. George Phipps Williams, C.E., Engineer and Secretary to the Waimakariri-Ashley Water Supply Board, came to New Zealand in 1869. He was born in London, where he studied for his profession, and was employed by the Metropolitan Board of Works. Since settling in the colony Mr. Williams has designed and carried out a good many public works in Canterbury.

Mr. James McCormack, Treasurer and Collector to the Waimakariri-Ashley Water Supply Board, joined the service of the Board in 1895 as draughtsman, and worked on the original plans, which have since been carried out. A year later he was appointed collector, and on the 9th of December, 1897, he became also treasurer to the Board. He has also held office as returning-officer of the Waimakariri-Ashley water supply district since the same date.

The East Oxford Railway Station and Post Office dates from about 1880 as a railway station, but until 1893 the post office was a separate department. The building is of wood and iron, and consists of a public office for the railway and a public lobby for the post office, together with a ladies' waiting room and station-master's office. There is a goods shed, and two trains, in and out, pass daily, with the exception of Wednesday and Friday, when there is only one each way.

Mr. John Patrick Rogers, Station-master and Postmaster at East Oxford, was born at Belfast, Ireland, in 1860. He came to Wellington, in 1874, by the ship “Wennington.” Ten years later he entered the railway department at Christchurch, and in 1886, was appointed stationmaster at East Oxford.

Railway Station, West Oxford . This station is on the branch line from Rangiora to Sheffield, and dates from the seventies. The building, which is of wood and iron, contains the usual ticket lobby, public office, and ladies' waiting room, besides accommodation for the Oxford post and telegraph office. There is a long asphalt platform, and commodious goods and engine sheds. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays there are two trains to and from Rangiora; on Monday the trains run to and from Christchurch, via Eyreton, while on Wednesdays and Fridays communication is maintained each way between Christchurch and West Oxford, via Sheffield. The combined staff of the station and post office comprises the stationmaster and postmaster, clerk, messenger, two guards, and three engine men.

Mr. John Fraser, the Stationmaster, Postmaster, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and Government Insurance Agent, has been in the public service since 1884, and was appointed to his present position on the 6th of August, 1902.

The East Oxford Public School stands on part of a section of four acres of land fronting High Street. The school, which has been in existence since about 1872, is constructed of wood and iron, and contains four class rooms and two porches. It has accommodation for between 250 and 300 children. There are 180 names on the roll, and the average attendance is 160. The headmaster is supported by two assistants and two pupilteachers. There is a good playground, and a school residence of five rooms.

Mr. Robert Ryder, Headmaster of the East Oxford public school, was born in New Zealand, and was educated at Havelock, Hawke's Bay, where he served his pupil teachership. After two years at the Christchurch Normal Training College and Canterbury College, he was appointed to Charteris Bay, and was afterwards three years in charge at Kaikoura Town school. He has held his present position in East Oxford since 1888. Mr. Ryder is married, and has two sons and one daughter.

The West Oxford Public School was established about 1872. There is a glebe of one acre and a half, and the school building, which is of wood and iron, contains one large and one small class room and three porches. It has accommodation for 180 children; there are 101 names on the roll, and the average attendance is eighty-seven. A good play-ground surrounds the school; there is a school residence of two stories and six rooms, and the out-buildings include a buggy house. The headmaster is assisted by a mistress.

Mr. James Harbidge, Headmaster of the West Oxford Public School, was born in 1857, in Birmingham, England, and educated at St. Paul's school, of which he was afterwards a teacher and assistant master. Mr. Harbidge gained a scholarship, under which he studied at St. Mark's College, Chelsea, and on the completion of his term, he received a first-class certificate in the second division. For two years subsequently, Mr. Harbidge served at St. John's school, Ladywood, Birmingham. In 1882 he came to New Zealand, via Melbourne, and was engaged by the North Canterbury Board of Education. After acting as relieving teacher at Spreydon, he was appointed to the charge of the West Oxford school. Mr. Harbidge was married, in 1883, to the daughter of the late Mr. J. Cope, of Birmingham. Mrs Harbridge was assistant mistress at the board school in Birmingham, and after coming to the colony, was for nine years mistress at West Oxford. Their family consists of five sons and two daughters.

Mr. and Mrs J. Harbidge.

The Kiri Kiri Public School is situated in the West Oxford district, and was established in 1892. It is built of wood and iron, and has a porch and one class room, with seating accommodation for thirty children The number on the roll is thirty-one, and the average attendance twenty-four. The playgrounds are well sheltered by a plantation of trees.

Miss Marguerite Callaghan, Teacher in charge of the Kiri Kiri Public School, was born in Lincoln, Canterbury. She was a pupil teacher at Ladbrook school for some time, took charge or the North Loburn school in 1896, and was appointed to her present position in 1900.

St. Andrew's Anglican Church, East Oxford, dates from about 1872. The existing building was erected in 1879, when the old church was taken down on account of damage from severe gales. The land on which the church and vicarage stand is about eight acres in extent. The church has accommodation for 150 persons, and there is a small Sunday school with twenty-five scholars and two teachers. The vicar, who resides at East Oxford, is in charge of the Oxford parochial district, which includes East Oxford and West Oxford, Carleton, Woodside, View Hill, Woodstock and Glentui. The parish covers an area of about 120 square miles, and is one of the choicest country districts in the diocese.

Saint Mary's Anglican Church, West Oxford, is situated on the Terrace. The building is completely hidden by magnificent shelter trees, which afford complete protection from the local gales. The church, which is built of wood and iron, has seat accommodation for eighty worshippers, and was erected about 1872.

The Roman Catholic Church, Oxford, is erected on a section of one acre and a half of land. It is of wood and iron, and was built in 1879 at a cost of £700. There is sitting accommodation for 250 persons, and the spiritual wants of the people are attended to from Rangiora.

The Wesleyan Church at Oxford is situated in the main street of the township. Methodist services have been conducted in the district since 1872, when they were begun by the Free Methodists. Shortly after the consummation of Methodist Union, in 1896, the church in West Oxford was sold, and that at the east end was removed to a central position, and has since been enlarged and well buttressed. The land is about half an acre in extent, and services are held each Sunday morning and evening. The Sunday school is held in the church, and is attended by about thirty scholars, in charge of a superintendent and four teachers. There is a parsonage of seven rooms, and a glebe of an acre of land. Oxford has been head of a circuit since 1872.

The East Oxford Baptist Church stands in Church Street. The congregation was established in the sixties, and the building erected about 1872. It has since been enlarged, and has accommodation for 100 adults. A Sunday school, in charge of seven teachers, is attended by seventy scholars.

Fleming, Charles Lewis, Teacher of Music, Main Street, East Oxford. Mr. Fleming was born, in 1863, at Portsmouth, England. He comes of a musical family, and his father, the late Mr. T. Fleming, was well known as the founder of Fleming's String Band. Mr. C. L. Fleming commenced his musical education under Mr. J. D. D. Pillow, organist of All Saints' church, Portsmouth, and was afterwards instructed by Mr. Story, then organist of St. Paul's. He came to New Zealand in 1882, and settled in Christchurch, where he at once commenced his career as a teacher, and for about ten years was engaged in his profession, or in playing for operatic and dramatic companies, with whom he generally travelled throughout New Zealand. page 496 He was for some time in Rangiora, and settled at Oxford in 1901. Mr. Fleming was married, in 1884, to a daughter of Mr. George Collinson, of Christchurch, and has one son.

Volckman, Bernard, M.R.C.S.E., L.R.C.P. (London), and L.M. (London), Physician and Surgeon, East Oxford. Dr Volckmann was born in 1861, in London, and educated at Dulwich College. He studied at the London Hospital, Whitechapel, took his diplomas in 1885 and 1886, arrived in Australia in 1889, and commenced to practise at Oxford in 1890.

The Oxford Magistrate's Court was originally established in the seventies. The present courthouse is erected on the main road, near the station, and cousists of a large room, used for the purposes of the court, at which Mr Bishop, Stipendiary Magistrate, attends monthly. The local constable, Mr. Leahy, acts as bailiff of the court.

The Oxford Police District includes the whole of the Oxford road district and part of the West Eyreton, Cust and Ashley districts. It has been a separate police district since about 1872.

Mr. Michael Leahy, Constable in charge of the Oxford district, was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in 1860. He came to New Zealand in 1879, and joined the police force at Wellington. Mr. Leahy, who was appointed to Oxford in 1895, was married in 1888, to the daughter of Mr. M. Lynskey, of Kaiapoi, and has two sons and two daughters.

Hunter and Son (Thomas Hunter), Oxford. Mr. Hunter has been connected with mercantile life in Canterbury for a great many years. He was born in 1846, in Fifeshire, Scotland, and arrived at Lyttelton, in 1864, by the ship “British Empire.” After working three years at his trade as a carpenter, he started a grocery business in Victoria Street, Christchurch, and carried it on for twenty years, when he disposed of it, and was for some time farming in Southland. He then settled at East Oxford, where he entered into business with his son under the style of Hunter and Son. This business he still carries on. Mr. Hunter was married, in 1868, to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Berry, of England, and has five sons and three daughters.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. L. O. Ingram.

Ingram and Co. (Leonard Otto Ingram and Thomas James Hunter), Auctioneers and Estate Agents, Main Street, Oxford. This well-known firm succeeded, at the beginning in 1902, to the large business establishment of Mr. John Ingram, father of the senior partner.

Mr. Leonard Otto Ingram, one of the Partners in the firm of Ingram and Co., auctioneers, is the only son of Mr. J. Ingram, of Oxford, where he was born in December, 1878. Mr. Ingram was educated at his native place and at Lincoln Agricultural College, and became connected with his father's business in 1896. Two years later Mr. Ingram took out a license as an auctioneer, and on the 1st of January, 1902, the firm of Ingram and Co. was constituted by himself and Mr. T. J. Hunter. Mr. Ingram has been a member of the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry since 1899, and of the Oxford Domain Board since 1902.

Mr. Thomas James Hunter, Junior Partner in the firm of Ingram and Co., was born in 1873 at Christchurch. He was educated at the Normal School, and was afterwards associated for some time with his father in business under the style of Hunter and Son, storekeepers, East Oxford. In 1893 Mr. Hunter went to Christchurch, and gained experience in connection with auctioneering with the firm of Wilson and Son, by whom he was employed for about five years, and attended regularly at the Addington sales. On returning to Oxford, under an engagement with Mr. J. Ingram, he served for four years before taking over the business in conjunction with Mr. L. O. Ingram. Mr. Hunter was one of the promoters of the Cust Mounted Rifles, and joined the corps as sergeant. Twelve months later he was promoted to the rank of sergeant-major. In May, 1899, Mr. Hunter married a daughter of the late Mr. W. Parkes, of Christchurch, and has one son.

Standish and Preece Photo.
Mr. T. J. Hunter.

Waterman, Frederick A., Baker and General Storekeeper, High Street, East Oxford. Mr. Waterman was born at Nutley, in Sussex, England, in 1849, and had to earn his own livelihood very early in life. At the age of nine years he was engaged at a gentleman's residence, and after a short pericd he went to the bakery trade for six years. He worked in fourteen different bakehouses in England, and came to Lyttelton, in 1875, by the ship “Merope.” Mr. Waterman landed in Lyttelton with £1 11s in his possession, and in twelve months had freehold property to the value of £85. Late in 1876 he started in East Oxford a bakery business, to which he added general storekeeping; and since 1886 he has been agent for the South British Insurance Company. To cope with his increased business his shop has been enlarged, and now has a frontage of ninety feet, and two entrances. Mr. Waterman was married, in 1882, to the second daughter of the late Mr. James Allen, of Oxford, and has four sons and four daughters.

Tolputt and Clarke, photo.
Mr. F. A. Waterman.

East Oxford Creamery (Central Dairy Company, Limited, proprietors), near the railway station, East Oxford. This creamery began operations in June, 1893. The building is of wood and iron, and occupies part of a section of two acres. There is a six-horse power boiler, and a steam engine of similar capacity, which turns two Alpha Delaval separators, each capable of separating 400 gallons of milk per hour. There are ninety-five suppliers on the books, and from 1100 to 1200 gallons of milk are separated daily. During the winter months the page 497 creamery works only three days a week. The cream is sent to Addington.

Cederman, Angus Neilson, Painter, Main Street, Oxford. Mr. Cederman was born in the province of Skane in the south of Sweden on the 15th of June, 1846. He was for a time apprenticed as a tailor with his father, but afterwards became a painter by trade. In 1874 he came to Lyttelton by the ship “Guttenberg,” and settled in the Oxford district. At first he found employment in road work and draining, but afterwards obtained work at Rangiora at his own trade. As settlement grew in the Oxford district, he was able to find employment at his trade there, and still follows the occupation. Mr. Cederman has served on the East Oxford school committee. He was married, in 1872, to a daughter of Mr. N. S. Neilson, of the province of Skane, Sweden, and has two sons and four daughters.

Woodward, William, Painter and Paperhanger, Victoria Street, East Oxford. Mr. Woodward was born in 1853 at Ramsgate, Kent, England. When fifteen years of age he went to work as a porter on the Midland Railway, England, and after going through the workshops, became carriage and waggon inspector. Mr. Woodward came to Lyttelton, in 1877, in the ship “Opawa,” and was engaged in Christchurch as the first ticket collector on the Port line. After a year he was promoted to the position of guard, and transferred to Kaiapoi for eighteen months. From Kaiapoi he went to Oxford for eight years, and for five years out of the eight he conducted the trains between Oxford and Kaiapoi without being relieved for one trip. He was then transferred to Timaru, where his health gave way under the pressure of excessive work. He then returned to Oxford in quest of a quieter life, and began his present business, as well as a small dairy farm of fourteen acres. Mr. Woodward was married, on the 14th of July, 1877, at Ramsgate, to a daughter of the late Mr. James Smith, file-cutter, of Sheffield, and has four sons and one daughter.

Tolputt and Clarke, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. Woodward.

Commercial Hotel (John James Branley Hiffernan, proprietor), Main Street, West Oxford. This well known hotel was established in 1878, and the present proprietor entered into possession on the 3rd of June, 1902. The building, which is constructed of wood and iron, is two stories in height, and contains sixteen bedrooms, four sitting rooms, a billiard and bagatelle room, and a dining room, the latter being capable of seating forty guests. The stable behind the hotel has four loose boxes, and there is a coach shed. An excellent paddock and kitchen garden are attached to the hotel, which is one of the most commodious in the Oxford district. A large hall, suitable for public meetings, and fitted up so as to give ample convenience for theatrical and other amusements, adjoins the hotel.

Mr. John J. B. Hiffernan, the Proprietor, was born in Bendigo, Victoria, in 1876, and was brought up to the grocery trade. He arrived in Canterbury in 1900, and for some time owned the Avonside and Dallington drags, and kept the Foresters' Hotel livery and bait stables in Armagh Street. After a few months he sold out his interests, and removed to Oxford. Mr. Hiffernan was married, in 1901, to a daughter of Mr. M. Vale, of Linwood, Christchurch.

Mr. and Mrs J. J. B. Hiffernan.

The Terminus Hotel, (Thomas Driscoll, proprietor), Main Road, West Oxford. This hotel is built of brick; it is two stories in height, and contains about thirty rooms. There are ten bedrooms and four sitting-rooms, besides a commodious dining-room, and a large billiard-room.

Mr. Thomas Driscoll, the Proprietor, was born in Timaru, in 1872, and was brought up to country life. In 1897 he became a hotel proprietor, but two years later he sold out his interests and commenced farming at Orari. He, however, sold his farm, and settled in Oxford as proprietor of the Terminus Hotel, in 1901. Mr. Driscoll was married, in 1897, to the daughter of the late Mr. M. Barrett, of Temuka, hotelkeeper, and has one daughter.

Pritchard, Alfred Charles, General Storekeeper and Draper, Main Street, Oxford. This business was established in 1875 by Mr. A. P. Pritchard, brother of the present proprietor, and was conducted by him till 1892, when it changed hands. The present owner was born in Monmouth, England, in 1836, and arrived in Australia in 1852. Ten years later Mr. Pritchard came to New Zealand, and was on the goldfields of Otago and the West Coast. After settling in Canterbury he became the first manager of the North Canterbury Co-operative Association. While he was on the West Coast Mr. Pritchard took part in the administration of local affairs, and was for some time a member of the Hokitika Borough Council. He was married, in 1866, to a daughter of the late Mr. Simon Fraser, of Cork, Ireland, and has five sons and two daughters. Mr. Fraser arrived in Melbourne in 1853.

Parish, Richard Holman, Draper and Importer, East Oxford. Mr. Parish was born in Exeter, Devon, England, and came to New Zealand in 1866 per ship “Bombay.” He was for three or four years in Christchurch, and then commenced business in 1870 in Oxford, where he has successfully carried on to the present time, and also conducts a general printing and jobbing office. Mr. Parish is chairman of the Cemetery Board and Town Hall Company, and for ten years was a member of the North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. He was made a Justice of the Peace in 1895.

Mr. R. H. Parish's Premises.

Knowles, Frederick Charles, Bushman, West Oxford. Mr. Knowles was born in the Oxford district in 1866, and was brought up to country life. Subsequently he obtained a position as a telegraph messenger in the railway department, and held it for five years. Since leaving the department he has engaged in bush work, and has a team of horses, with which he finds constant employment. Since 1894 Mr. Knowles has been a member of the Loyal West Oxford Lodge of Oddfellows. In 1897 he married the daughter of the late Mr. J. Parlecheque, of Oxford. Mrs Knowles died on the 11th of November, 1900, leaving three daughters.

Knowles, John, Butcher, West Oxford. Mr. Knowles was brought by his father, the late Mr. William Knowles, to Lyttelton, in 1860. The family settled at Papanui for a few years, and have been associated with the Oxford district since 1867. Mr. Knowles was brought up to country life, and has been in business as a butcher for a number of years in West Oxford. He was married, in 1883, to the daughter of Mr. S. Chapman, of Rangiora, and has four daughters and two sons.

Mount Oxford Sawmill (J. Rossiter, proprietor), West Oxford. This mill was started in 1892, and is working 400 acres of birch (beech) and pine bush. It is a wood and iron building containing a portable Hornsby engine of ten horse power, which drives two circular saws and a twin circular breakingdown saw. Three miles of tramline are laid, and eight men are employed in connection with the mill.

Mr. John Rossiter, Proprietor of Mount Oxford Sawmill, was born at Ferry Road, Christchurch, on the 27th of April, 1855, and is a brother to the first European boy born in Canterbury. In 1861 he was taken to Oxford, where he attended school, and at twelve years of age he was employed at bushwork. When twenty-four years old Mr. Rossiter started carting with a team of twelve bullocks. In 1886 he leased the Terrace Sawmill, and had several other mills before taking over his present mill in 1898. He has also 800 acres of freehold property at Carleton, which he acquired in 1894, and on which he has yearly fattened from 800 to 1000 sheep. Mr. Rossiter has served on the West Oxford and View Hill school committees, and has been a member of the Loyal Oxford Lodge of Oddfellows. He was married, on the 4th of May, 1875, to a daughter of the late Mr. William Bowman, of Riccarton, and has six sons and three daughters.

Tolputt and Clarke, photo.
Mr. A. Ancall.