Glentunnel is a flag-station thirty-nine miles west from Christchurch, on the branch railway line to Whitecliffs. The district embraces a wide valley, traversed by the Upper Selwyn river, and is said to have obtained its name from the fact that in the early days of settlement a tunnel was excavated through the hills on the northern side; hence the glen of the tunnel, or Glentunnel. Being of a broken nature, the district is taken up in large areas, and sheepfarming is carried on extensively. The pottery works and coalmining industry, the latter of which is capable of further development, have given rise to a considerable township. The village has a hotel, a public school, a town hall, and several places of business, and there are also representative lodges of Oddfellows. Glentunnel possesses a twice-a-day mail service by rail with Christchurch, and there is a post and telegraph office, with other branches of the public service, at one of the local stores.

The Public School at Glentunnel was established in the early seventies, and at first had only one room. But the attendance increased with the growth of the district, and another room and a porch were added to the building, which is of wood on a concrete foundation, and has accommodation for 120 pupils. The headmaster's residence is of two stories, and is about a chain from the school; the two buildings stand on a reserve several acres in extent. In April, 1903, there were about ninety names on the school roll, and the average attendance was about seventy. The headmaster is assisted by a mistress.

Mr. Frank Benjamin, Headmster of the Glentunnel public school, was born at Templeton, Canterbury, in 1876, and is the fifth son of Mr. Charles Benjamin, a farmer, of Templeton. He gained his early education at the Templeton public school, where he passed the entrance examination for the teaching profession; and after spending the usual term as a pupil-teacher, he entered the Normal School, Christchurch, and there gained the D certificate. He subsequently became a relieving teacher, and as such, taught at schools in various parts of the North Canterbury district. Towards the close of 1900 he was appointed headmaster of the Glentunnel school. Mr. Benjamin is secretary and treasurer of the Glentunnel Library Committee, captain of the local cricket and football clubs, and secretary of the Glentunnel sports committee. In Christchurch he is a member of the Pioneer Cycling and Athletic Club, the Canterbury, College Amateur Athletic Club, the Harriers' Athletic Club, and the Merivale Football Club. He has represented Canterbury College against the Dunedin University in football, and was one of those selected to represent the Canterbury College at the Annual University Tournament, held in Auckland, in April, 1903. For page 754 many years he has taken a prominent part in athletic sports in Christchurch, and for several years was winner of the sprint championship.

The Homebush Colliery (John Deans, proprietor), Glentunnel. This colliery is situated in the hills on the north side of the Glentunnel valley. It was opened over thirty years ago by the late Mr. James McIlwraith, who was at that time manager of the Homebush station, and has been worked continuously ever since. The seam now being excavated will provide work for about fifty years, and there are other seams in the vicinity. The coal obtained is a superior class of brown coal of a non-bituminous nature, and is very suitable for household purposes. Upwards of twenty-five men are employed constantly and the total output, per annum, amounts to about 10,000 tons, all of which finds a ready sale within the province. The colliery is about a mile and a half from the main railway, and rails are laid up the hillside, on which the coal is trucked down to the Glentunnel flag station, whence it is conveyed to the markets.

Standish and Preece, photo.
Mr. J. Deans.

Mr. John Comrie Compbell, Manager of the Homebush Colliery, is a native of Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was born in 1842, and educated at a private school at the Clarkston village. At the early age of eight years he commenced to work at the coal mines, first, at the Simpson Pit, and afterwards at Chapel Hall. In 1859 he joined the 7th Regiment, and sailed to India as a soldier. Shortly afterwards he left India for New Zealand and landed at Auckland. For eighteen months he worked on the goldfields in Otago, and then assisted in opening up the coal mines at Green Island and Fairfield, near Dunedin. He then commenced a colliery of his own, and worked it for a while. Mr. Campbell was afterwards manager of the Walton park Colliery, at Fairfield, for four years; of the Saddle Hill Colliery, for Messrs Christie Brothers, for eight years; of the Allandale Colliery Company's collieries, at Shag point, near Palmerston South, for nine years; of the Burnweil Colliery, at Lovell's Flat, for one year; and of other collieries in the neighbourhood of Bannockburn and Cromwell for a few years. He was then recommended by Mr. R. B. Denniston, mining engineer, of Dunedin, to Mr. John Deans, by whom he was immediately engaged to take charge of the Homebush Colliery, which he has since conducted with great success. Mr Campbell was married, in 1864, to Miss McLachlan, daughter of Mr. Peter McLachlan, of Saddle Hill, Otago. This lady died in March, 1902, leaving, alive, one son and six daughters.

Tomlinson, photo.
Mr. J. C. Campbell.

The Homebush Brick, Pipe, And Terra-Cotta Works (John Deans, proprietor), Glentunnel. This industry was established in 1870, after it had been ascertained that clay of a suitable nature abounded in the neighbourhood. For about sixteen years operations were confined to the manufacture of bricks, but in 1886 the making of drain pipes for agricultural purposes was added, and two years later terra-cotta work, pottery and other branches of the industry. The clay is brought by means of trucks from the surrounding hills, and the articles, when manufactured, are sent in trucks along a branch line to the Glentunnel flag station, whence they are taken by rail to the city depot, 81 South Belt, Christchurch, or to where else required. The factory is a commodious brick building with an iron roof, and contains three drying sheds, two machine sheds, an engine and a boiler house, and a repairing shop. It possesses two kilns capable, respectively, of holding 16,000 and 24,000 bricks, and new machinery of a modern make is being introduced. With abundance of buff, red and fire clays of high quality near at hand, machinery of a most efficient and up-to-date order, good coal supplied by the Homebush colliery, and railway communication, the Homebush Brick, Pipe and Terra-cotta works are in a particularly favourable position to compete success fully with other works in the colony. About fifteen men are employed constantly in the establishment, and the annual output amounts to about £3000 worth. All the classes of goods manufactured are known for their fine finish and durability, and find a ready sale in the market.

Mr. Lawrence Lord, Manager of the Homebush Brick, Pipe, and Terra-cotta Works, was born in February, 1854, at Padiham, near Burnley, in Lancashire, England. He was educated at the Wesleyan church school in his native village, and at the age of twelve was apprenticed to engineering under his father, who was head engineer at the Rosegrove Cotton Mills, Burnley. After serving his apprenticeship, he continued to work there till 1883, when he sailed for New Zealand. He landed at Dunedin, whence he removed to Lyttelton. For more than a year he was engaged in engine-driving in and around Christchurch, and was about six months with Messrs Lucas and Sons, engineers, Kilmore Street. He was then appointed head engineer of Messrs Ford and Ogden's Pottery Works at Whitecliffs, and resigned that position four years later to take up a similar position at the Homebush Brick, Pipe and Terra-cotta Works, of which he was appointed manager in 1892. Mr. Lord is a member of the local school committee, of the Domain Board, and of the Oddfellows' Lodge. He is married and has two sons.

Mr. L. Lord.