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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

General Government Institutions

General Government Institutions.

Post Office.

The Oamaru Post And Telegraph Office occupies a central position in Thames Street, Oamaru. The present fine building, which is constructed of Oamaru stone, and is two stories in height, with a basement, is erected on a section adjoining the old original post office building, with which it forms a striking contrast. The ground floor is used entirely for the postal, telegraph, money order and post office savings bank business, and the next floor is used by the Defence Department. The building was erected in 1884. A telephone exchange with 186 subscribers is connected with the office. The postal district controlled by the officer in charge of the Oamaru Post Office, extends from Waitaki to the Waihemo rivers; there are forty-two sub-offices in the district, and the staff at Oamaru numbers thirty-two members.

Mr. William Whitwill Beswick , Postmaster at Oamaru, was born near Scarborough, England, in 1848. He arrived with his parents in Lyttelton in October, 1853, by the ship “John Taylor,” was educated in Canterbury, and joined the staff of the post office in Timaru as clerk on the 1st of August, 1867. He became postmaster at Timaru in 1873, and page 509 acting chief postmaster in January, 1880, and was appointed to Westport in June, 1881. In December, 1885, Mr. Beswick was transferred to Gisborne as chief postmaster, and there he remained till May, 1897, when he took charge at Oamaru. He was married, in 1873, to a daughter of the late Mr. Johns C. Cuff, of Christchurch, and has three sons and three daughters.

Mr. Frederick Bicknell was for many years Postmaster at Oamaru, and is a native of Tooting, Surrey, England, where he was born in 1819. In 1842 he emigrated to Port Philip, where he became a squatter on the Goulburn River, and continued there as such till 1864, when he came to Otago. Mr. Bicknell joined the postal service in Dunedin, and was appointed postmaster at Oamaru on the 1st of May, 1867. He retired in 1880, and for seven years subsequently was secretary to the Oamaru Woollen Factory Company. Mr. Bicknell was married, in 1855, to Miss Armstrong, of Kilmore, and has eight daughters and two sons.

Custom House.

The Oamaru Custom House is situated in Thames Street, a portion of the old post office building being occupied for the purpose of the department. Mr. T. M. Cullen is the Collector of Customs for the district, and the bond, which is situated in Tyne Street, is the property of Mr. William Bee.

Mr. Thomas Michael Cullen , Collector of Customs and Sub-paymaster of Imperial Pensions, Oamaru, was born in Auckland in 1862, and was educated at the Auckland College and Grammar School. In December, 1878, he entered the Government service in the Postal Department at Auckland, and was transferred to the Customs Department in January, 1880. He was afterwards transferred successively to Napier, Wellington, Dunedin, and Hokitika. In 1890 he was transferred from Hokitika to Oamaru, in succession to Mr. Ridings. In athletic sports, social affairs, and in musical circles, Mr. Cullen takes an active interest. His geniality and freedom from affectation have made him a very popular Government servant, and won him numerous friends in the various districts where he has been stationed.

Mr. James Percy Ridings , Landing Surveyor for H.M. Customs, Dunedin, and formerly Collector of Customs for the Port of Oamaru and at Hokitika, was born at Nelson in 1860, and educated at the Auckland College and Grammar School. He joined Her Majesty's Customs in Auckland in 1876 as a cadet, two years later he was transferred to Wellington as clerk, and in 1882 he returned to Auckland. After four years he became landing waiter at Wellington, and was transferred in 1888 to Dunedin, where he occupied a similar position. In 1895, he was appointed to Oamaru, and in November, 1899, he succeeded the late Mr. Edward Chilman as Collector of Customs at Hokitika, whence he was afterwards transferred to his present position. Mr. Ridings was married, in 1891, to a daughter of Mr. A. W. Morris, manager of the Otago and Southland Investment Company, Dunedin.

Mr. Robert Thompson , who was an officer of H. M. Customs in New Zealand for thirty-four years, was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1832. He landed in Auckland in 1859, and joined the staff of the Customhouse as a ganger in Dunedin about the end of the following year. Mr. Thompson afterwards held office as warehouse-keeper in Dunedin, and was transferred in 1864 to Oamaru, where he became landing waiter. Nine years later he became collector, and in 1878 he was appointed receiver of land revenue and collector of customs at New Plymouth. Ten years subsequently he returned to Oamaru as collector of customs, and retired on a pension in 1896. During his residence in Taranaki he served as a volunteer at the time of the Parihaka trouble.

Police Department.

His Majesty's Gaol and Police Prison at Oamaru is a turreted structure of Oamaru stone, erected on a portion of the page 510 Police Reserve, which is from three to four acres in extent. The prison has accommodation for eight permanent prisoners, and there is plenty of room for casual offenders. The prison is under the charge of Constable Madden, who was born in 1862, in County Galway, Ireland, arrived at Port Chalmers, in 1879, by the ship “Auckland,” and was appointed to his present position in February, 1897.

The Oamaru Police Station is situated between the Courthouse and the Gaol on the Police Reserve. The building has been erected for upwards of a quarter of a century, is constructed of Oamaru stone, and contains five rooms, including the office of the sergeant-in-charge and his staff. Oamaru is the centre of the district which includes all North Otago, and Sergeant King, the officer-in-charge, is assisted by a staff of ten constables and one detective.

Sergeant Thomas King , Officer in chage of the Oamaru Police District, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1853. He joined the police force in Wellington, and had numerous appointments before being transferred to Oamaru in October, 1901.

Railway Department.

The Oamaru Railway Station is one of the terminal stations of the New Zealand railway system, and from it the districts including Palmerston to Kurow, Ngapara and Tokarahi branches, are supervised by the stationmaster. It contains the stationmaster's room, booking office, ticket lobbies, guards' rcom, parcel office, lamp room, ladies' waiting-room and general waiting-room, refreshment room and bar, and there is also a convenient passenger platform. The station building is new and is situated at the foot of Usk and Ribble Streets, to which it was transferred from Wansbeck Street, in October, 1900. It is one of the best of the modern stations in the colony, and there are docks at the north and south ends of the platform. The goods department is conducted in a separate building, to which there are numerous entrances for the convenience of the business community. From the railway station premises the line is extended to the Oamaru breakwater, with which there is an extensive traffic in wool and grain. The entire staff in connection with the Oamaru railway station numbers thirty-eight, including clerks, guards, porters, watchmen, signalmen and gatekeepers. Mr. P. A. Duncan is stationmaster.

Mr. Peter Couch , Chief Clerk at the Oamaru Railway Station, was born at Deptford, England, in 1855, and educated at Deptford and Greenwich. He was brought up as a school teacher and received a license to teach, under the British denominational and educational system, but owing to a breakdown in his health he came to Lyttelton by the ship “Columbus,” in 1873. Shortly after his arrival he was appointed assistant master of the Christchurch High School, now the West Christchurch School, but was finally compelled to abandon his profession in consequence of the state of his health. Mr. Couch joined the Railway Department in 1878, as clerk in the Lyttelton goods department, where he continued till he was transferred to his present position at Oamaru in 1898. Mr. Couch was married, in 1877, to a daughter of Mr. J. Atkinson, of Lyttelton, and has six sons and three daughters. During his residence in Lyttelton, Mr. Couch was an active member of the Wesleyan Church, and held office as steward and trustee for about eighteen years.

Mr. P. Couch.

Mr. P. Couch.

Mr. James Cooper , Goods Clerk at the Oamaru Railway Station, was born in Mosgiel, Otago, in 1864. He was educated in his native town, and entered the railway service at Gore in 1883. A year later he was transferred to Dunedin, where he performed the duties of clerk for ten years. In 1895 Mr. Cooper was promoted to his present position in Oamaru. As a Freemason he is attached to Lodge Waitaki.

Mr. Ernest John Reid , Parcels Clerk at the Oamaru Railway Station, was born in Peterhead, Scotland, in 1876. He accompanied his parents to Wellington by the ship “Perthshire,” in 1883, and travelled in the ill-fated s.s. “Wairarapa” to Port Chalmers. His father, Mr. John Reid, was headmaster of the Ravensbourne public school for many years. Mr. Ernest Reid became a cadet in the Railway Department at Dunedin in 1893. He was stationed successively at Caversham, Hampden, and Herbert, and was again at Hampden before returning to Dunedin to the Goods Department, in 1897. Two years later Mr. Reid was appointed to his present position in Oamaru. He was married, in 1897, to a daughter of Mr. John Budge, farmer, at Herbert, and has three daughters.

Mahan and Muir, photo. Mr. E. J. Reid.

Mahan and Muir, photo.
Mr. E. J. Reid.

Mr. James Kay , Coaching Foreman, in charge of the staff at the Oamaru Railway Station, was born in August, 1865, at Kircaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland. He attended Mr. Philip's school, and went to sea as an apprentice. For about thirteen years he followed the sea, and after arriving in Olago, in a barque laden with jarrah timber, he decided to remain in the colony. In 1875 Mr. Kay joined the railway service in Oamaru, and two years later was transferred to Dunedin. He became the first guard on the north express from Dunedin, and after seventeen years' of service was stationed at Oamaru in 1898. As a Freemason Mr. Kay is a member of Lodge Oamaru Kilwinning. He was married, in 1875, to a daughter of Mr.
Mahan and Muir, photo. Mr. J. Kay.

Mahan and Muir, photo.
Mr. J. Kay.

page 511 John Hogan, of Ireland, and has had six sons and two daughters; two sons and one daughters are dead. Mr. Kay's eldest son went to South Africa, where he joined the Canadian Scouts. Since the close of the war, he has held a position on one of the South African railways. Mr. Kay's second surviving son was a member of the Tenth Contingent, and returned to the colony after the close of hostilities.

Mr. William Arthur Verey , Railway Carpenter at Oamaru, was born at Handforth, Cheshire, England, in 1845. He attended school in his native place. His father was master of the first National School in the district; he was also the local postmaster for twenty years. Mr. Verey came out to Victoria in 1864, and learned his trade partly in that colony and partly in New Zealand. In 1876 he arrived in Dunedin, and joined the Railway Department as a carpenter in 1880. After three and a half years of service, he was appointed Inspector of Bridges at Invercargill, and held the position for three years and seven months. In October, 1887, Mr. Verey was transferred to Oamaru as carpenter in charge. He is a prominent member of the Railway Employees' Benefit Society, and of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, of which he has been chairman at Oamaru, and has been secretary for five years. Mr. Verey was elected delegate to represent the Oamaru district at the conference held in Invercargill in 1902. He has been a deacon of the Baptist Church for a number of years. Mr. Verey was married, in 1881, to a daughter of the late Mr. Robert Stevenson, of Dunedin, and has two sons and one daughter.

Mahan and muir, photo. Mr. W. A. Verey.

Mahan and muir, photo.
Mr. W. A. Verey.

Mr. George Broad , Engine Driver on the Oamaru section of the New Zealand railways, was born at West Maling, Kent, on the 27th of April, 1840. After serving for a short time on the London and Chatham railway, he came to the Bluff on the 28th of May, 1865, by the ship “Jessie Gilbert,” and joined the New Zealand railways in 1866. Mr. Broad became fireman on the first engine that travelled on the Dunedin and Abbotsford line. He was made driver in 1875, and has been continuously employed on the middle section since its opening. He is a member of the Endeavour Lodge, U.A.O.D., and has taken an active part in connection with railway sick benefit societies. Mr. Broad was married to a daughter of the late Mr Oliver Sutton, of Manchester, and has five sons and three daughters.

Mr. G. Broad.

Mr. G. Broad.

Mr. John George Brooker , Engine Driver on the Oamaru section of the New Zealand railways, was born in 1856, in Maidstone, Kent, where he was educated. He arrived in Port Chalmers in 1873, by the ship “James Nicol Fleming,” settled in Oamaru, and in 1874 he joined the railway service as a cleaner. Two years later he was promoted to the position of fireman, and became driver in 1877. He is a Forester, and is attached to Court Pride of Oamaru. Mr. Brooker was married on the 23rd of October, 1877, to a daughter of Mr. Thomas Colleram, of Galway, Ireland, and has four sons and seven daughters.

Mr. John Brown , Engine Driver on the Hurunui-Bluff section of the New Zealand railways, was born in Liverpool, England, in 1856. He was educated at Workington, Cumberland, and served his time as a paper maker at the Derwent Paper Mills, Workington. Subsequently he was employed as a puddler by the West Cumberland Iron and Steel Company of the same place. He afterwards became engine driver for the Derwent Hematite Iron Works, since known as the Ironfield Steel Works. At Christmas, 1879, Mr. Brown arrived in Port Chalmers by the ship “Taranaki,” and after a general experience extending over two or three years, he obtained employment at the Hillside Railway Workshops, Dunedin. Shortly afterwards he became cleaner, and was subsequently appointed fireman, and continued in that position till May, 1886, when he was appointed night foreman of cleaners. He was appointed driver in November, 1889. Mr. Brown is connected with the Masonic Order, having been initiated into Lodge Celtic No. 477, S.C., Dunedin, on the 17th of March, 1887. While stationed at
Mr. J. Brown.

Mr. J. Brown.

page 512 Waimate, he joined Lodge St. Augustine, and worked his way up to the junior warden's chair. He is an elder, Sunday school teacher, and choirmaster in connection with the Columba Presbyterian Church, Oamaru. Mr. Brown studied the tonic sol-fa notation under Mr. Braik, Dunedin. He is a total abstainer of twenty-five years' standing, and is an earnest advocate of prohibition. Mr. Brown was married, in 1886, to a daughter of the late Mr. John Little, of Dunedin, and has five sons and one daughter.