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

Bluff

Bluff.

A prominent feature of the landscape, as seen from many an inland hill in Southland, is the rocky headland which guards the entrance to the harbour named the Bluff. As the sea-borne traveller views this dome-shaped peninsula from the deck of a steamer, and observes that it is almost barren of vegetation, he is not particularly impressed with the beauty of the country which he is nearing. Fortunately, the nature of the headland is no index to the general character of New Zealand. The harbour is noted for its safety from all points and has the advantage of the majority of New Zealand harbours, in having no bar. There is a clear fairway from Foveaux Strait right up to the Bluff wharf. The depth of the water is sufficient to admit with safety the largest liners that visit the colony, and the lower anchorage is fairly secure from the winds, and has excellent holding ground. The Bluff Hill rises to 800 feet above the sea level, and on the top there is a signal station where watch is kept from sunrise to sunset. On the north side of the hill is the lowlying land, on which stands the borough of Campbelltown. A very fine walk of about two miles in length has been constructed round the promontory, and the noble sea views from various points include Dog Island, Ruapuke, Stewart Island and Central Island; and some of the finest ferns in the colony grow on the banks of the road. One of the most important industries at the Bluff is the oyster and fishing trade, in which a considerable number of fishing smacks and men are engaged. Large quantities of fish are shipped in a frozen condition to the Australian markets, and there is also a considerable business in curing and smoking. There are oyster farms which, during the season, send large consignments to all parts of the colony, as well as to Australia. Close to the head of the wharf, there are extensive freezing works belonging to the Southland Meat Export Company, which despatches heavy shipments of frozen mutton by the ocean liners that visit the port. In the town there are three general stores, the same number of drapers' shops, bootmakers' shops, and butchers' shops, two bakers' shops, two engineering establishments, and a foundry. For the accommodation of travellers there are four hotels, in addition to private boarding houses. The noteworthy buildings include the post office with its tower and town clock with cathedral chimes, completed on the 21st of December. 1900; a handsome modern two-storey railway station, and a number of very fine grain stores; and the town also has a telephone exchange, a customs-house, police office, magistrate's court, and a stock inspector's office. There are five churches-namely, Anglican, Presbyterian, Primitive Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Plymouth Brethren. The public school, which was established in the sixties, has an average attendance of 250 scholars, and there is a denominational school belonging to the Roman Catholics. An Athenaeum, Drill Hall and Sailors' Rest are also in full operation. In respect to the volunteers, the Bluff has a corps of Guards and a company of cadets. A regatta is held yearly on the 2nd of January, when the port is crowded with visitors from Invercargill and other parts of Southland. Bluff is the seaport of Invercargill, and stands second to Dunedin and fifth in the list for New Zealand with respect to the value of its exports. The town is the terminus of the Hurunui-Bluff section of New Zealand railways, and is seventeen miles from Invercargill. It is in the electoral districtof Awarua, and in the Awarua riding of the county of Southland. At the census of 1901 there was a population of 1350, an increase of 275 from the previous census. The Bluff is the first and last port of call for steamers to and from Hobart and Melbourne.

The Borough Of Campbelltown was founded in 1897. It has an area of 2,000 acres; and in 1903 there were 360 buildings, owned by a like number of ratepayers, and 660 rateable properties, with an estimated
Photo by Mr. E. A. Nichol.Bird's-Eye View Of Bluff And Harbour.

Photo by Mr. E. A. Nichol.
Bird's-Eye View Of Bluff And Harbour.

annual rateable value of £10,074 A general rate of 1s 3d in the pound produces a revenue of £650; and a rate of 3d in the pound on the annual value is levied to provide interest on loans, which amount to £9,000, raised for the purposes of the borough, including street improvements, drainage and lighting. The gross revenue for the year ending March, 1903, was £1,600. In 1903 the town was lighted under arrangement with the Southland Freezing Company by an electric installation, which supplies forty-five street lamps of twenty-five candle power. The water supply of the borough is obtained through the Bluff Harbour Board. There is a well equipped fire brigade station, under the control of the council, and in charge of Mr P. Georgeson, as superintendent. The borough has a page 883 reserve of 140 acres on the south-east, of the peninsula on which the Bluff is built. The first mayor of the borough was Mr George W. Nicol, who was suceeded by Messrs Timothy J. Warren, Hon. J. G. Ward (1882–6) James Smith (1887). Samuel Nichol (1888–92), W. Lowrie Gray (1893–4), Samuel Nichol again (1895–7), Sir J. G. Ward and Mr J. H. Reed. The meetings of the council are held in the Stipendiary Magistrate's Court, Campbelltown. Members for the Council for 1901: Messrs J. H. Reed (Mayor). R. A. Cruickshank, A. McKenzie, J. Walker, W. J. Ridland, J. P. Roberts, E. A. Nichol, J. W. King, P. C. M. Anderson, and Dr. Torrance. Mr A. Mc-Clure is Town Clerk and Treasurer, Mr T. S. Miller, C.E., Enginneer. and Mr E. H. Dale, Inspector of Nuisances.

His Worship The Mayor, Mr. John Henderson Reed , was elected Mayor in 1898, in succession to Sir Joseph Ward, and has been re-elected yearly up to the present time (1904). He is the only son of the late Mr. James Reed, chemist, was born in 1869 at Invercargill, and educated at the Bluff and Invercargill High Schools. In 1886, he joined the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company at the Bluff as a junior, and was subsequently promoted, to the Invercargill office, where he remained some years. He was removed back to the Bluff in 1889 to fill the position of agent. He was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge Fortitude. No. 64, N.Z.C.; afterwards became secretary, filled the office of junior warden, and was elected worshipful master in 1895; he subsequently took the R.A. degree in Lodge Southern Cross, Invercargill. He was first elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in 1895, and was re-elected in 1897.

Councillor John Wallace King was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in 1893. Mr King was born on the 3rd of December, 1863, at the Bluff, where he was educated. After working for nine years at the Bluff Freezing Works, he joined the staff of Messrs J. Mill and Co., in 1897, and was promoted to the position of foreman in April, 1900. Mr King has been a member of the Bluff school committee, and was for some time a volunteer in the Bluff Navals. He was one of the founders of the Awarua Lodge of Oddfellows, in which he has passed all the chairs, and was for a time president of the junior lodge. Mr King was married, in 1888, to Miss Burgess, of Glasgow, and has four daughters and two sons.

Councillor Alexander McKenzie. who was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in April, 1901, was born in 1858, at Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where he was educated and brought up as a builder. Mr McKenzie landed at Sydney in 1883, and shortly afterwards removed to Melbourne, where he resided for ten years. He came to the Bluff in 1893, and has since been engaged in the building trade, and has erected several prominent buildings, Mr McKenzie joined the Order of Druids in Melbourne in 1883, and was afterwards transferred to the Invercargill Lodge. He was married, in 1887, to a daughter of the late Mr George Rose, of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and has three sons and one daughter.

Councillor James Walker has been a member of the Campbelltown Borough Council since 1898 He was born in 1864, at Invercargill, where he was educated and brought up as a carpenter. In 1889 he was engaged in the erection of the front portion of the Dunedin Exhibition building, and on the completion of that work he settled at the Bluff, where he has carried on business as a builder since 1891. Mr Walker has served since 1898 on the Bluff school committee, of which he was for some time chairman, and is a member of the Bluff Band. As a Freemason, he is attached to Lodge Fortitude, Bluff, and as a Forester is connected with Court Southern Cross, 6,131. Mr Walker was married, in 1890, to a daughter of Mr Paul Smith, of the Bluff, and has five daughters and one son. He is elsewhere referred to in connection with his business as a carpenter and builder.

Gerstenkor photo. Councillor J. Walker.

Gerstenkor photo.
Councillor J. Walker.

The Bluff Volunteer Fire Brigade was inaugurated on the 14th of August. 1888, with four members, and has since steadily progressed in numbers and efficiency, In 1903 it had ten members; namely, P. Georgeson, captain; J. Hunter, lieutenant; J. Wilson, foreman; J. Kiernan, secretary; and six firemen. The station, of wood and iron, was built by the Borough Council in Lee Street, in 1899, It contains an engine-shed and social hall, and was duly opened by Sir Joseph Ward. The appliances consist of a hose reel and 1,300 feet of hose, of which 700 feet is new canvas hose of the best quality. The water supply in the borough affords a pressure of 135lbs: thus the Brigade is able to cope with any emergency, and local property owners have to pay insurance rates only on the lowest scale. During the years 1896 to 1903 only four fires occurred, but in 1903 there were six alarms, and the outbreak at the Club Hotel, on the 19th of March, resulted in seven business premises being destroyed or seriously damaged; and, but for the efforts of the Brigade, the consequences would have been much more disastrous. Each member of the Brigade provides his own uniform and tools, and only the helmets are paid for out of the public funds.

Captain Peter Georgeson is an enthusiastic fire brigadesman, and became a member of the Caversham Brigade, Dunedin, in 1878. Except for an interval of eighteen months, he has served continuously since that time. Mr Georgeson was born at Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 18th of August, 1857, and was educated chiefly in the Shetland Islands; but learned his trade as a baker under Mr Sawers, of Lawn Market, Edinburgh. In 1876 he arrived at Port Chalmers by the ship “Waimate” (Captain Peak), and found employment with Mr R. B. Wilson, at Caversham, for eighteen months. After a short experience at gold digging at Kumar on the West Coast, Mr Georgeson returned to Otago, and was working at Port Chalmers for Mr Ritchie for a time. He was subsequently engaged at Temuka, Canterbury, for about two years, but removed to Southland in 1885, and was employed by the late Mr McEwan, at Avenal, Invercargill, for five years. In 1890 he settled at the Bluff, and established the business which is referred to in another article. Mr Georgeson, who has served three terms as a member of the local Borough Council, holds the silver medal granted by the United Fire Brigades' Association of New Zealand for five years' service. ending June, 1900. and the silver bar for two additional years' service. Mr Georgeson represented the Bluff at the conference held at Napier in March, 1903. He was married, in 1897. to a daughter of the late Mr Alexander Leith, of Edinburgh, and has three daughters and two sons.

page 884

Mr. Samuel Nichol (Of the firm of Messrs. Nichol Bros., Merchants, Bluff and Invercargill), was Mayor of Campbelltown or Bluff from 1888 to 1892, and from 1895 to 1897. Mr Nichol devoted considerable time in furthering the raising of a loan of £5,000, which the ratepayers approved, for the purpose of improving the streets, and drainage of the borough. Born at Hobart, Tasmania, in 1840, Mr. Nichol is the second son of the late Mr. Robert Nichol, an ex-bank manager, and was educated at Hobart where he received a thorough commercial training, in the firm of Messrs. Chapman and Thomas, merchants. Mr. Nichol left his native land in 1859, for New Zealand and arrived at Riverton. in the brig “Reliance,” and served as a station cadet with Captain Raymond, the well-known squatter. He afterwards became chief clerk in the Wharfinger's department at Invercargill, and subsequently he was Wharfinger at Bluff. When the Provincial Government opened the Bluff line, they offered Mr. Mchol the special position of Station Agent, which he accepted, they being so satisfied with his past services. In consequence of the falling of the revenue, the Provincial Government leased the Bluff railway for eighteen months to Messrs. Nichol and Sherar, whose management was so successful and profitable, that the Government would not renew the lease. From that time, Mr. Nichol had associated with him in business his brother, Mr. Geo. W. Nichol, and the late Mr. Geo. E. Tucker. Mr. Samuel Nichol was one of the first elected members of the Bluff Harbour Board. He has been a justice of the peace since 1885. He became initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge Southern Cross, Invercargill, about 1863, and was elected W.M. of Lodge Fortitude, No. 2301, E.C. (now No. 64, N.Z.C.) at Bluff on the 14th January, 1894. He also holds the rank of G.S. in the Grand Lodge of New Zealand.

Mr. S. Nichol.

Mr. S. Nichol.

Sir Joseph Ward , who was Mayor of Campbelltown from 1882 to 1886, and again in 1898, is well known as member for Awarua in the House of Representatives, and as Minister of Railways and Postmaster-General for the colony. A sketch of his life is given at page 47 of the Wellington volume of this work.

Mr. James Robert Bertrand , who was for some time a member of the Campbelltown Borough Council, was born at Dominica, West Indies, in 1840. He is the youngest son of Mr. Edmund Rufus Bertrand, lieutenant in the East Indian navy, and his mother was Miss Frances Lee before her marriage, daughter of Squire Lee, of Coldley, near Alton, Hampshire, England. Both his parents died at an early age, and the subject of this sketch was adopted by his mother's relatives. He was educated at Upper Clapton, near Hackney, and at the Greenwich Naval School. At the age of fifteen years, he entered the Royal Navy as assistant clerk on H.M.S. “Bulldog,” in which he remained for eighteen months; was then transferred to the “Excellent,” gunneryship at Portsmonth, and afterwards served as clerk on various ships on the South American station. Mr. Bertrand came to New Zealand in the ship “Metropolis” in 1863, and joined the Customs Department at Timaru as clerk; he was successively first and second landing waiter at Greymouth, first landing waiter at Westport, and in 1874 officer-in-charge at Bluff. Mr. Bertrand retired on a pension in November, 1894, chiefly on account of ill-health, after a long and arduous service of thirty-one years. He was elected to the borough council in 1897. was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge St. John, No. 610, S.C., Invercargill, in 1885, and afterwards affiliated with Lodge Fortitude, No. 62, N.Z.C., Bluff. In 1871 he married a daughter of Mr. Labatt, of Westport.

Mr. Joseph Metzger , who was for some time a member of the Campbelltown Borough Council, was born at Wurtemburg, Germany, in 1849, and was educated partly in his native land, and partly at Bradford, Yorkshire, England. He was engaged in the pork butchering trade in Bradford for four years, and left Liverpool, in 1872, by the ship “Milwall” for Melbourne. After travelling through Australia, he was engaged by Mr. J. H. Smith, butcher, of Invercargill, and subsequently was in partnership, with Mr. Thomas Maldby for eleven years. Mr. Metzger afterwards built the Bay View Hotel at the Bluff, which he still conducts. He was elected as councillor in 1896, and takes a keen interest in all local matters, is a prominent member of the Southland Licensed Victuallers' Association, vicepresident of the Awarua Boating Club, president of the Football Club, member of the Gun and Rifle Clubs, and of the school committee; and was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge Southern Cross, S.C., Invercargill. Mr. Metzger is an ardent yachtsman, and gained the championship at the New Year Regatta held at the Bluff on New Year's Day, in 1898, with his own yacht.

The Bluff Harbour Board has, in addition to the harbour, the control of about 8,500 acres of foreshore, and of 33,000 acres of endowment in the Taringatura district. This land is leased in small grazing runs, and brings in a yearly revenue of £500, which the Board pays into its sinking fund. The revenue of the Board for the year ending 31st December, 1903, amounted to £18,112, and the expenditure for the same year, including interest on loans and works (£8,571) was £19,057. The assets of the Board amount to £114,696, and its liabilities to £50,111. The accumulated sinking fund in the hands, of the Public Trustee is £24,246. The Harbour Board owns a fine reservoir, which is built on the hill, and from this the shipping is supplied with water, and, also, by arrangement with the Campbelltown Borough Council, residents at the Bluff. There is a complete pilot service, and the Harbour Board owns a tug steamer, which makes periodical trips to Stewart Island. The Board was constituted in 1877, and the amount of shipping has greatly increased in recent years. Members for 1904: Messrs A. Bain (chairman), J. E. Watson. R. Dunlop, G. R. Waddel. L. W. Raymond, T. Gilroy, R. A. Anderson, H. Hirst, T. Green, J. W. Mitchell, and Sir Joseph Ward. Officers: Mr W. Sharp, C.E. (engineer), Mr G. R. George (secretary and treasurer); Captain N. McDonald (harbour master and chief pilot); and Captain C. H. Lovett (second pilot). The Board's offices are centrally situated in Gore Street, and consist of a handsome brick building of two stories. Meetings are held on the last Friday of the month.

Mr. Andrew Bain , who has been chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board since 1903, and a member since 1896, was born, in 1856, in Aberdeen, Scotland. He went to sea at the age of nine years, and lived mostly on the water until he was twenty years of age, taking a second mate's certificate in 1877. He was a seaman on board the ship “Marlborough,” which arrived in Dunedin in December, 1877, when he removed to Southland, with which he has been associated since January, 1889, He learned the trade of a carpenter in the colony, and began business as a builder in 1886. Mr Bain served for a short time as a member of the Invercargill Borough Council. He has been on the South Invercargill Borough Council since 1880, and has served six terms as Mayor during that time. Mr Bain is also chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, a member of the hospital committee, and is chairman of the South School committee. He has served as a member and director page 885 of the Caledonian Society, and is also a director of the Star-Bowkett Society. Mr Bain is further referred to in connection with the South Invercargill Borough Council, the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and as a builder. He was married, in 1881, to a daughter of Mr H. Swallow, of Herbert, and has had eight daughters and six sons, of whom two daughters have died.

Mr. A. Bain.

Mr. A. Bain.

Mr. John Walker Mitchell , who has long been a member of the Bluff Harbour Board, and was for nine years its chairman, was born at Thornhill, Perthshire, Scotland, in 1832, and came to New Zealand in 1862. He has been identified with local politics for the last forty years, during which he has rendered important services to his fellow-citizens. In 1870 he was elected Mayor, and during his term of office took steps which ended in an Act being passed to constitute the Bluff Harbour Board. Perhaps, however, the greatest service he has rendered to Southland was his energetic action as chairman of the Railway and Immigration Committee in the seventies, as the success of that redoubtable association is fully attested by the network of railways of which Invercargill is the centre. Mr. Mitchell was re-elected Mayor of Invercargill in 1890.

Mr. James E. Watson , who has for some time held a seat on the Bluff Harbour Board, was born in 1863, near Edinburgh, and received his education in that city. He arrived in New Zealand in 1880. and entered the service of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, with which he remained for nine years. In 1889 he joined Mr. Tothill. under the style of Tothill and Watson, merchants, etc. This business is now conducted under the style of J. E. Watson and Company, Limited, with Mr. Watson as Chairman of Directors. Mr. Watson was elected a member of the Invercargill Borough Council in 1896, and he has long been connected with the Southland Hospital Board as member and chairman.

Mr. George Richard George , J. P., Secretary and Treasurer of the Bluff Harbour Board, was born in 1858, in Liverpool, England, and arrived in New Zealand in 1879. For some years prior to his appointment under the Board, Mr George was an officer in connection with the Government Insurance Department, and was stationed in Invercargill. He was for four years a member of the Southland Education Board.

Captain Norman Macdonald , Harbour-Master and Chief Pilot under the Bluff Harbour Board, was born in Harris, Inverness-shire, Scotland, in 1855, and is the second son of Mr. Donald Macdonald. He entered the merchant service in 1869, and sailed in vessels belonging to the Glasgow Shipping Company, trading to Melbourne, afterwards serving in the City Line, which traded to Calcutta. On arriving in Melbourne in 1879, he joined the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, and continued in its service for two years, acting successively as second and first officer. Subsequently, he was appointed first officer of the New Zealand Government's s.s. “Stella,” and retained the post for two years. In January, 1888, he was appointed to his present position, and during his term of office the port has been free from accident of any kind—an admirable record. Captain Macdonald was one of the founders of Lodge Fortitude, No. 64, N.Z.C., Bluff, and was elected worshipful master in 1897. He was exalted to the R.A. degree in Southern Cross Chapter, Invercargill, and to that of Mark Mason in Lodge Otago, No. 844, E.C. He is a chieftain of the Highland Society and a prominent member of the Southland Caledonian Society. Captain Macdonald was married to a daughter of Mr. Duncan Cameron, of “Rosebank Farm,” Gippsland, Victoria, and has ten children.

Captain N. Macdonald.

Captain N. Macdonald.

Captain Charles Herbert Lovett , Second Pilot to the Bluff Harbour Board, is the second son of Mr. F. H. Lovett of the Tasmanian Survey Department. He was born, in 1853, at Hobart, where he was educated at a collegiate school, and afterwards joined the whaling barque “Aladdin,” belonging to Mr. John McArthur, of Hobart, and remained seven years in that gentleman's whaling service. He rose to the rank of second mate, obtained a master's certificate in 1878, and then commanded the barque “Bells” and other vessels belonging to Mr. C. W. Turner, of Christchurch, until 1892, when he was appointed to his present position. He was initiated into Freemasonry in 1879, in Lodge Unanimity, Lyttelton, and in 1893 affiliated with Lodge Fortitude, No. 64, N.Z.C., Bluff, in which he now is a Past Master. Captain Lovett was married in 1880 to Miss Lucas, of Tasmania, and has five children.

Mr. Ebenezer Johnson , Inspector of Works for the Bluff Harbour Board, was born in 1848, at Colchester, Essex, England, where he served his apprenticeship as a carpenter under Messrs George Dobson and Son, Colchester, and afterwards became pattern-maker to Messrs Davey and Paxman. Mr Johnson arrived at the Bluff, in 1875, by the ship “Adamant,” and joined the railway service as a carpenter. He was afterwards promoted to the position of Inspector of Bridges, and served the Government in that capacity for six years. On leaving the railway service he settled at Dipton, where he was in business on his own account for six years. Mr Johnson was appointed to his present position under the Harbour Board in 1889. As a Freemason, he is connected with Lodge Fortitude, in which he has passed all the chairs. He was married, in 1870, to a daughter of the late Mr C. Clover, of Colchester, England, and has four sons and three daughters.

The Bluff Post And Telegraph Office is domiciled in a handsome two storey brick building, at the corner of Gore and Lee Streets, and has a tower, with a clock which has cathedral chimes. The rooms consist of a public office, mail, postmaster's and operating rooms, and a telephone exchange. A large number of mails are received and despatched daily, and oversea mails for the Australian colonies, foreign offices and United Kingdom are sent by every steamer.

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All South Island mails are landed and distributed at the Bluff. The telephone exchange has thirty-three subscribers, and the postmaster has seven assistants.

Mr. Thomas B. Salmon , Postmaster at the Bluff, was transferred from Auckland in 1903. He is referred to as an officer of the volunteers at page 161 of the Auckland volume of this work.

The Bluff Railway Station was first established in the year 1870, and is the terminus of the Hurunui-Blulf section of New Zealand railways. The present station building is two stories in height, of wood and iron, and was erected in 1904. A ladies' waiting-room and lavatory, parcels and booking office, the stationmaster's office, and the rooms for guards and porters are on the ground floor; and the offices connected with the goods department, on the next floor. There is a commodious passenger platform, and a verandah extends the full length of the building. In addition to the station building, there are large goods, engine and coal sheds. About twenty trains arrive and depart from the Bluff every day, and the stationmaster's staff numbers about twenty, including clerks.

Mr. John Guy , Stationmaster at the Bluff, was appointed to the position in February, 1904. He was born at Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1855; educated at the Scotch Free School; entered the service of the North British Railway Company in 1860, and remained there six years. At the age of eighteen he came to New Zealand by the ship “Wild Deer,” landing at Port Chalmers, where he was engaged by Messrs Cobb and Co for some time, and then joined the Government service. He made steady progress, and became successively stationmaster at Pukerau, Orepuki, Kingston and Edendale, whence, after a term of eight years, he was transferred to Inglewood, in Taranaki; and from Inglewood, he was promoted to his present position. Mr Guy was married, in 1888, to a daughter of Mr P. B. Bolt, of Lake Wakatipu, and has three sons and two daughters.
Mr. J. Guy.

Mr. J. Guy.

Mr. Alexander Mcquarrie , who has been second clerk at the Bluff railway Station since 1897, was born in 1870 at the Bluff, where he was educated. He entered the railway service in Invercargill as a cadet in 1890, was promoted to the position of clerk six years later, and was transferred to the Bluff in the following year. He is attached to the Loyal Awarua Lodge of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, in which he has passed all the chairs. Mr McQuarrie is a member of the Awarua Boating Club, of which he was at one time secretary. He was married, in 1903, to a daughter of Mr A. Baker, of Invercargill, and has one daughter.

Mr. Arthur Sinclair , Railway Wharf Foreman at the Bluff, was born in Shetland, Scotland, in 1847, and came to New Zealand in 1860 by the barque “Henrietta. For a time he lived in Dunedin, where be attended a night school, and settled at the Bluff in 1865. Having been accustomed to the handling of boats from his youth he shortly afterwards joined the pilot service, and was frequently in charge of the pilot boat. Mr Sinclair joined the railway service in 1876 as porter, and after serving twelve years in that capacity was appointed foreman on the wharf. Mr Sinclair was initiated in the Shamrock. Rose and Thistle Lodge of Oddfellows, in 1869, and is now connected with the Loyal Awarua Lodge at the Bluff, in which he has passed all the chairs. In the early days he served on the Bluff school committee. Mr Sinclair was married, in 1867, and has one daughter.
Gerstenkorn, photo.Mr. A. Sinclair.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. A. Sinclair.

The Primitive Methodist Church at the Bluff was erected in 1877. The building, which stands on a quarter-acre section, has seating accommodation for 270 persons, exclusive of the choir, which will hold thirty. It was the pioneer church at the Bluff, and since its establishment has been considerably enlarged. Services are held morning and evening every Sunday, and the Sunday school is attended by eighty-four children, in charge of thirteen teachers. The parsonage, which contains six rooms was erected in 1900, and stands on a quarter-acre section on the hill overlooking the harbour and town. The church is free from debt.

The Rev. Percy James Cossum , Minister of the Primitive Methodist Church at the Bluff, was born in Kent, England, in 1869. After qualifying for the ministiy, he was accepted and sent to New Zealand by the English Conference in 1897. Mr Cossum was ordained in 1901, and was for two years at Eltham, and for a like period at Dunedin, and at Waddington, before taking up his duties at the Bluff in March, 1903. Mr Cossum was married, in 1901, to a daughter of Mr James Brooker, of Bromley. Kent, England.

Torrance, James , M.B., Ch.B. (N.Z.), M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P. (London), Physician and Surgeon, Bluff. Dr. Torrance was horn in Dunedin, where he was educated at the High School, and Qualified for his profession at Otago University, after which he commenced practice at the Bluff in the beginning of 1893. In 1896, he went to England and studied at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, taking the degrees of M.R.C.S. and L.R.O.P. On returning to New Zealand, he at once resumed practice at the Bluff, where he acts as Health Officer, Native Medical Officer, and Public Vaccinator. Dr. Torrance takes a general Interest in athletic sports, being an old and dashing footballer, and also fills the office of vice-president of the Awarua Rowing Club. He has for some years been a member of the Campbelltown Borough Council.

Georgeson, Peter , Baker, Confectioner, Pastry Cook, and Grocer, Gore Street, Bluff. This well-known business was established by the proprietor in 1890. The buildings stand on page 887
Wharves And Shipping At The Bluff: 1898. Photo by Mr. E. A. Nichol.

Wharves And Shipping At The Bluff: 1898.
Photo by Mr. E. A. Nichol.

part of a section of about two acres of freehold in the heart of the town. They are of wood, iron, and brick, and comprise shops, two refreshment rooms, a residence, two splendid ovens and two separate bakehouses, which are fully employed. The whole establishment is lighted with electricity. Mr Georgeson's business requires him to keep five men and two delivery carts in regular employment. For twelve years continuously up to and including 1903, Mr Georgeson had the contract for the supply of bread at the Bluff to the Union Steam Ship Company's vessels. Mr Georgeson's father owns and works the farthest north bakers under the British flag; it is known as Burnside bakery, at Walls, Shetland, Scotland; while Mr Georgeson himself owns and works the farthest south bakery in the world. Mr Georgeson is referred to, in another article, as captain of the Bluff Fire Brigade.

Johnston, Olloff Edward , Builder, Bluff. Mr Johnston was born in 1875, at the Bluff, where he was educated. He served a six years' apprenticeship to his trade, and then worked as a journeyman until the beginning of 1902, when he started his present business Mr Johnston has a carpenter's and joiner's shop, with a complete plant. Amongst the buildings erected by him are those in connection with Mr Cawthorne's large fellmongery establishment at West Plains. Mr Johnston was a member of the Bluff Navals for four years, and was one of the corp's shooting team. He was married, in 1899, to a daughter of Mr W. Cawthorne, fellmonger, of Invercargill and the Bluff, and has one son.

Walker, James , Carpenter and Builder. Gore Street, Bluff. This business was established in 1890 by Mr John Walker, father of the present proprietor, and has been conducted by Mr James Walker since 1893. There is a convenient workshop with all the needful plant, and six men are usually employed. Mr Walker has erected a large number of cottages, as well as the Masonie Hall, which he completed in 1903. He is further referred to as a member of the Campbelltown Borough Council.

Donaldson, Adam , Shipwright, Barrow Street, Bluff. Mr Donaldson was born in 1844, in Haddingtonshire, Scotland, where he was apprenticed to a house carpenter. He afterwards worked as a shipwright and joiner at Cockenzie for about twenty years, and came to Dunedin, in 1888, by the s.s. “Ionie.” Mr Donaldson resitied for four years at South Dunedin, working chiefly at his trade, and at the Dunedin exhibition of 1889, gained the first prize and special mention for a model fishing cutter of his own construction. He afterwards removed to the Bluff, where he established his present business. When Lord Brassey visited the Bluff in his yacht, “Sunbeam,” Mr Donaldson was engaged to carry out repairs to the vessel. Mr Donaldson has served on the Bluff school committee since 1901, and is a member of the Presbyterian church and superintendent of the Sunday school. He has been married three times. His first wife, who was a daughter of the late Mr Richard Alexander, of Cockenzie, died in 1882, leaving two sons and two daughters; and the following year he married a daughter of the late Mr Kenneth McKenzie of Ross-shire, and she bore him one son and three daughters. In 1903 Mr Donaldson was married to the widow of the late Mr Thomas Gilson, who had four sons and two daughters by her former marriage.

Bluff Dairy Supply Company (James Thomas Wiggins, proprietor), Gore Street, Bluff. The Bluff Dairy Supply Company was established by the Invercargill Dairy Supply Company in 1901, and was taken over by the present proprietor in May. 1902. Milk, butter, cheese, bacon, eggs, and poultry are supplied by the company.

Mr. James Thomas Wiggins , Proprietor of the Bluff Daily Supply Company, was born in 1858, in Oxfordshire, England, where he was educated. He was employed in a woollen cloth factory, till 1880, when he left for Australia. After spending some years in the Australian colonies, he landed at Wellington in 1887. Mr Wiggins worked in both the North Island and the Middle Island for some years, and in 1900 settled in Southland, where he farmed 240 acres of freehold at Otatara. He subsequently leased the Bluff Dairy Supply Company's property and embarked in his present business.

Club Hotel (Charles Sutherland, proprietor), Gore Street, Bluff. This hotel was established about forty years ago. The building has been burned down three times—the last occasion on the 19th March, 1903; but the premises were rebuilt in brick, and re-opened in 1904. The “Club” is a two-storey building, with forty rooms, thirty of which are bedrooms; and there are four sitting-rooms, a dining-hall capable of seating forty guests, and a large billiard-room with a new Alcock table. The whole building is lighted with electricity.

Mr. Charles Sutherland , Proprietor of the Club Hotel, was born in Christchurch, in May, 1871, and in 1887 was apprenticed at Mr Freeman's Coach Factory, where he learned the page 888
Photo by Dr. Torrance.Group Of Penguins, Macquarie Islands.

Photo by Dr. Torrance.Group Of Penguins, Macquarie Islands.

trade of carriage-painting; after serving three years, he was appointed head of one of the departments, and two years later joined Mr Nightingale in establishing the Criterion Carriage Works at Gore. After that partnership was dissolved, Mr Sutherland entered on his present business at the Bluff.

The Eagle Hotel (Charles Alexander Tulloch, proprietor), Gore Street, Bluff. This well-known hotel was established in 1861, and has been conducted by Mr Tulloch since 1900. The building is of wood and iron, and contains eighteen bedrooms, four sitting-rooms, and a dining-room, which will accommodate twenty people.

Gerstenkorn, photo. Mr. C. A. Tulloch.

Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. C. A. Tulloch.

Metzger, Victor , Engineer and General Smith, Gore Street, Bluff. Mr Metzger's business was established in 1899, and the premises, which stand on half-an-acre of land, consist of a wood and iron building. There is a full plant, including a five-horse power oil engine, lathes, screwing, cutting, punching and shearing machines, and two forges. Four men are employed in the works. Mr Metzger was born in 1877, in Invercargill, where he learned his trade with one of the large engineering firms, and was so employed until establishing his present business. As a Freemason, Mr Metzger is connected with Lodge Fortitude, and is attached to the Loyal Awarua Lodge of Oddfellows.

Mr. V. Metzger.

Mr. V. Metzger.

Metzger, V. And Company (Victor Metzger and Henry Joosten), Importers of Oil Engines, Dynamos, and Batteries, Gore Street, Bluff. This busineess was established in 1899, and is conducted at the engineering establishment of Mr V. Metzjer.

The Southland Frozen Meat And Produce Export Company , Limited, has extensive works at the Bluff, as well as at Mataura and Wallacetown. An account of the company and its operations is given under Invercargill.

Mr. Richard Artis Cruickshank , Engineer-in-charge of the Southland Frozen Meat Company's works at the Bluff, was born in Southland in 1869, and is the sixth son of Mr. Adnm Cruickshank, an old identity, residing near Gore. He was educated in Invercargill, and was apprenticed to the trade of a mechanical engineer at Messrs Johnston and Sons' Vulcan Foundry. In 1891 he went to Scotland, where he completed his training with the celebrated page 889 firm of Messrs Kincaid and Co., of Greenock. On returning to Southland in 1893, he accepted an appointment as third engineer at the Southland Frozen Meat Company's works, and was promoted to be engineer in charge in 1896. After taking charge of the works, Mr. Cruickshank erected an ammonia compressed refrigerator, to be worked in conjunction with the compressed air machine.

Mr. James White , Engineer of the Southland Freezing Works at the Bluff, was born, in 1848, in Forfarshire. Scotland. Before coming to the colony, he was engine driver for nine years on the Caledonian railway, in his native land. He arrived at Port Chalmers by the ship “Oxford,” in 1876, and after spending a few months at the Taieri, became a fireman on the railway at Oamaru, where his previous experience secured him an appointment as driver, after six weeks' service. In May, 1884, Mr White left the railway service and settled at the Bluff, where he has been employed at the freezing works since 1885. He is a member of the Order of Foresters, and, as a Freemason, was initiated in St. David's Lodge in Kineardinshire, Scotland. Mr White was married, in 1880, to a daughter of the late Mr William Thomas, of Keith, Banffshire, Scotland, and has five sons and one daughter.

Mr. J. White.

Mr. J. White.

Moody, William James , Fish and Oyster dealer, Gore Street, Bluff. This business was established about twenty years ago. Mr Moody was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1858. When a lad he went to sea, and in 1872 became captain of a vessel engaged in the English coastal trade. Mr Moody came to New Zealand by the ship “Dunedin “in 1873, and shortly afterwards went to Stewart Island, where he was in the fish trade for nine years. In 1884 he engaged in the wholesale and retail fish and oyster trade at the Bluff, where he erected a curing-shed and two smoke houses. He is a large buyer of fish, and is the owner of the ketch “Tui,” which he employs in fishing. Mr Moody was married, in 1888, to a daughter of the late Mr Richard Price, of Herefordshire, England, and has one son.

Gerstenkorn, photo Mr. And Mrs W. J. Moody And Son.

Gerstenkorn, photo
Mr. And Mrs W. J. Moody And Son.

National Mortgage And Agency Company , Gore Street, Bluff. The Bluff branch of this company was established in 1879. The premises, which consist of a large brick and iron two-storey building connected with the Government railway by a siding, have a storage capacity for 80,000 sacks of grain. A large proportion of the oats raised in Southland is shipped by the company.

Mr. Robert James King , Agent of the National Mortgage and Agency Company at the Bluff, was born in 1868, at the Bluff, where he was educated. On leaving school he joined the service of the National Mortgage and Agency Company, and after serving seven years was promoted to his present position in 1889. He also acts as agent for the National Insurance Company at the Bluff. Mr King has been a member of the Regatta Committee since 1900, and has served for seven years as a volunteer in the Bluff Rifles. He has been a member of the Athenaeum Committee since 1892. Mr King was married in November. 1903, to, a daughter of the late Mr A. Gavock, of Invercargill, and has one son and one daughter.

Mr. R. J. King.

Mr. R. J. King.

The New Zealand Loan And Mercantile Agency Company, Limited . The Bluff branch of this company's business is carried on in a substantial building in Gore Street, and is connected with the railway by a siding.

Mr. John Henderson Reed , who has been agent of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, at the Bluff, since 1889, is referred to in another article as Mayor of Campbelltown.

Wright, Stephenson And Company , Stock and Station Agents; Bluff branch, Gore Street, Bluff; head office, Dunedin. The business of Wright, Stephenson gnd Company at the Bluff has been established many years and is conducted in Ward's buildings. A railway siding is used for receiving and despatching grain and produce, direct on to the trucks. The whole of the Southland shipping of the firm is done from this centre, and from eighty to ninety thousand sacks passed through in 1904.

Mr. Donald Mckenzie , Manager of Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Company's branch at the Bluff, was born in 1867, in Glasgow, Scotland, where he was educated and brought up as a sailmaker. He afterwards went to sea, and in 1897 landed in Dunedin, where he joined the staff of Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Company. page 890 Mr McKenzie was transferred to the Bluff as manager of the company's branch in 1901. As a Freemason, Mr McKenzie is attached to Lodge St. Andrew, Scottish Constitution, Dunedin; he is also attached to the Loyal Awarua Lodge of Oddfellows. He has been a member of the Bluff Regatta Committee since 1903. Mr McKenzie was married, in 1901, to Miss Birch, and has two sons.

Parsons, Alfred , Carrier, Bluff. Mr Parsons is a son of the late Mr William Parsons, of Ocean Beach, where he was born in October, 1874. He was brought up to the carrying trade, and in 1895 took over his father's business, which he has since conducted and increased. Mr Parsons is attached to the Loyal Awarua Lodge of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity. He was married, in 1901, to a daughter of Mr J. Plank, of Bluff, and has two sons.