Waikari is a flourishing settlement close to the railway line. The station is forty-nine miles from Christchurch, and stands at an elevation of 773 feet above the level of the sea. The business of the postal department is conducted at the railway station. There are four churches, two hotels, and several stores in the township, in which the Waipara Road Board, which has jurisdiction over the roads of the settlement, has its office. Waikari is in the county of Ashley, and the population, at the census of 1901, was set down as 417; the Waikari Flat, close by, had a population of thirty-seven. As a pastoral district, Waikari has an enviable reputation. The wool of its halfbred flocks is unsurpassed in the colony; it is noted for its fineness of fibre, and invariably obtains the best prices in the local market. The celebrated Weka Pass is not far from Waikari. There are a few homesteads in its neighbourhood, and formerly it had a hotel. At the census of 1901, Weka Pass had a population of twenty-four.

The Waikari Railway Station And Post And Telegraph Office is built of wood and iron, and contains a separate room for the postal work and the stationmaster's office. The railway station was opened at Waikari, in 1883, and the post and telegraph business was conducted at a local store for some years, but the two departments have been combined since about the year 1890. Six trains pass daily through Waikari station. Mails are received and despatched twice every day, and there is telephone connection with Hawarden.

Mr. Charles Frederick Somerfield, Stationmaster and Postmaster at Waikari, was born in Auckland in 1870. He joined the railway service in 1884, and was appointed to his present position in 1901. Mr. Somerfield was married, in 1895, to a daughter of the late Mr. D. Lynch, and has two sons and one daughter.

Wohnus, Martin, Baker, Waikari. Mr. Wohnus began his business in 1879, and it has increased very largely with the growth of the district. The building, which is of wood and iron, contains a shop, a dwelling-house, and two storerooms. At the back are the stables and other buildings; and there is a large bakehouse, with two ovens, each capable of holding 140 large loaves. Three horses and two carts are kept in use, and bread is delivered for twenty miles around. Mr. Wohnus is the only baker in Waikari, and has gained a large market for his bread, orders being received from Amberley in the south, and as far north as Waiau. Three men are employed, and the average output is 14,000 loaves per week; orders for small goods are promptly attended to. Mr. Wohnus was born, in 1840, in Wertemburg, Germany, where he was educated. He served two years at his trade there, and then went to London, where he remained for fifteen years. After coming to New Zealand, in 1873, by the ship “Lyttelton,” Mr. Wohnus engaged in general country work about Gtago until he was employed in connection with the construotion of the Weka Pass railway, and after being about a year on that work he began his present business in Waikari.

Waikari in 1898.

Mr. M. Wohnus.

Star And Garter Hotel (John P. Horner, proprietor), Waikari. This hotel is a wood and iron building, and was stablished in the sixties. It is situated on the Great North Road at the north end of Weka Pass, and was once the station for the coaches between Amberley and Culverden. It contains twenty-one rooms, including two dining, and three sitting rooms; a livery and bait stable is also kept by the proprietor.

Mr. John P. Horner, Proprietor of the Star and Garter Hotel, was born in 1800, in page 574 Christchurch, and received his education at Mr. C. Cook's Warwick House private school. He was brought up to the blacksmithing trade, at Papanui; and was for two years at the Addington railway workshops. In 1887 Mr. Horner went to Waimate for three years, and on returning to Papanui conducted a business there for nine years. In 1899 he sold out and tock over the Star and Garter Hotel at Waikari. Mr. Horner was secretary of the Papanui Gun Club for thirteen years, and has been secretary of the Waikari Gun Club since 1899. He is one of the best shots and was runner-up for the £90 prize in 1900, when he obtained twenty-three points out of twenty-four. Mr. Horner has won two trophies, a medal, and two cups; one cup was won at Amberley, and the other at vaulting with the pole at the popular sports at Christchurch in 1882. He also won the Jubilee Quoit Championship in 1897. Mr. Horner was married, in 1830, to a daughter of the late Mr. Alexander Frew, saddler, Waimate.

Ireland, Alexander, Saddler, Waikari. Mr. Ireland began business at Waikari in 1891. Harness, saddlery, horse covers, cow covers, and other articles in the trade are made on the premises, which consist of a shop and a workroom. A branch of the business has been established at Hawarden. Mr Ireland was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1853, and came in 1860 to Port Chalmers, with his parents, who settled in Dunedin. After three years he was taken to Riverton where he was educated, and served five years at his trade, which he then followed at Invercargill and various other places. In 1875 Mr. Ireland came to Canterbury, and found work in Christchurch, and for eighteen months at Amberley and Rangiora. He then returned to Riverton, where he carried on business for twelve years, and then went to Ashburton, where he established another business. In 1888 he went to the Melbourne Exhibition, and after a stay of sixteen months in Australia, returned under engagement as manager of Mr. McNaught's business in Waikari. He held that position for eighteen months, and established his present business in 1891. Mr. Ireland has an apiary of fifty hives; he has made a careful study of bees, and keeps in stock, for sale, all the latest appliances for bee-keeping. While in Riverton he was a borough councillor and a member of the local school committee. He was also a member of the Southland Philosophical Association, and gave several lectures before the members of that body. In 1890 Mr. Ireland promoted the Waikari Mutual Improvement Society, and has served six years on the Waikari school committee, of which he was for some time chairman. He was married, in 1878, to a daughter of the late Mr. Henry Lough, of Amberley, and has one son and six daughters.

Wrigglesworth and Binns, photo.
Mr. and Mrs A. Ireland.

McDowell, Thomas, General Storekeeper, Waikari. This business was established about 1877, by Messrs Vaughan and Cordnerl, and was taken over by the present proprietor in April, 1879. The premises consist of a large two storey iron building, and contain a double shop, three departments, dwelling house, and several storerooms. Mr. McDowell's is the popular store of the Waikari district. He stocks grocery, drapery, farcy goods, ironmongery, boots, coal and wood, timber, and all farmers' requisites. He is agert for the Christchurch daily papers, the Alliance Insurance, and broker for the Australian Mutual Provident Life Insurance. Mr McDowell was born in 1852 in Lanarkshire, Scotland, where he received his education and served five years at the bakery business. He came to Lyttelton in the ship “Pleiades,” in 1874, and took work as a platelayer on the Christchurch section of railway. He was a storekeeper at Chertsey for five years, and in 1893 had a bakery in Waimate, which he left to take over his present business in 1897. Mr. McDowell was for a number of years a member of the Chertsey and Rakaia school committees, and is an honorary member of the Loyal Waikari Lodge of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity. As an elder and local preacher, Mr. McDowell has acted for the Presbyterian church in nearly all the places at which he has lived. He was married, in 1872, to a daughter of the late Mr. G. McAllister, of Langloan, Scotland, and has two sons and two daughters.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. and Mrs T. McDowell.

Honeybone, Thomas E., Carrier, Waikari. This business was established by the father of the present proprietor, who took it over in 1890. The plant consists of three waggons, two spring drays, one tip-cart, and a gig, six draughts, and a number of other horses. There is a coal and wood depot in connection with the business. Mr. Honeybone was born in Oxfordshire, England, in 1866, and came to Lyttelton in 1874, with his parents who lived some time at Leeston, and Balcairn, and finally settled at Waikari. He worked with his father until taking over the business himself. Mr. Honeybone has taken an active part in racing, and is the owner of the trotting stallion “Baltimore” and the mare “Ipswich.” He has owned many other valuable racehorses, and has won some large prizes. Mr. Honeybone acts as handicapper for the Amuri and Hurunui racing clubs. He has been a member of the Amuri Mounted Rifles since their enrolment. As an Oddfellow he was for six years a member of the Loyal Waikari Lodge, Manchester Unity. Mr. Honeybone was married, in 1891, to a daughter of the late Mr. Edward Smith, of Balcairn and has one son.

Mr. T. E. Honeybone.