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SPORTS/MEMORIES
MAP
OF THE AWHITU PENINSULAR
1. Original
McPike homestead:
2. Emma and Jim Short’s first home:
3. Jack and Kate Aspin’s retirement home:
4. Vic and Joan Aspin:
5. Dan and Kath Aspin:
Trevor and Molly Aspin:
6. Original Aspin homestead – John and Margaret:
7. Second Aspin homestead - Jack and Kate:
- Dan and Kath:
8. Brian and Alma Aspin:
Tim and Karen Aspin:
Dan and the late Kath Aspin’s retirement home:
9. Third Aspin homestead - Dan and Kath:
- Tim and
Karen:
10. Bill (Crusoe) Short’s farm:
11. Polly and Dick McPike – their first home:
12. Teanie and Ivan Wedding:
13. Bill (Crusoe) Short:
14. Emma and Jim Short’s second home:
15. John Aspin (Snr) retirement batch:
16. Maggie and Charlie Short homestead:
17. The Short Estate: Part of the original Short family farm:
Among others who lived here were
Sheila and Maurice O’Callaghan
18 Original homestead of William and Mary-Ann Short:
19. Jack and Connie Aspin:
Wayne and Trish Aspin:
20. Jack and Connie Aspin’s retirement home:
21. McPike Brothers:
22. Alma and Ross Dryland:
Eddie and Evelyn McPike
23. McPike Brothers:
24. Polly and Dick McPike homestead:
25. George McPike:
Freda McPike:
26. Jim and Phyllis McPike:
27. Lizzie and Bill Hyland:
28. Polly and Dick McPike’s second home:
29. Ray and Noeline McPike:
Since 1983, we add
30. Treena and Paul Sixsmith:
(Daughter of Charlie and Gloria Short.)
31. Holiday home of Barry and the late Patricia Ward:(Daughter of Bill
and Myra Short.)
32. Anne and Neville Bull: (Daughter of Audrey and Arthur Halliday.)
33.
Stephen and Leanne McPike: (Son of Eddie and Evelyn McPike.)
Have we missed anyone? Let me know if we have……….
In putting
this website together, it was decided to include a chapter on sports
activities and achievement, if only to note that, particularly in the early
days, so much social sport was played which saw the families and communities
on the Peninsula mixing together for a very enjoyable outing. This is still
enjoyed today, although perhaps not to the same extent, and with the advent
of motorcars, sees people gather at one central point, rather than in
smaller groups. Many of the most common sports have been enjoyed by a large
number of each of the generations, those include tennis, rugby, netball,
bowls, golf, cricket, swimming, badminton, athletics, etc., etc., but we see
where special achievements have been attained in other fields as well.
Without going into great detail, we felt some mention should be noted of
these, along with a few photos. In doing this, we sincerely hope not to omit
any occasion or persons which warrant a mention, as once again, we can only
pass on to print that information which has been given to us.
Perhaps the
most obvious place to begin is with those sports which we all participate in
probably at some time or other, if time and circumstances permit. The
evergreen game of rugby has been played since the year 'dot' as can be
evidenced by the photo taken at Mercury or Kennedy Bay up on the Coromandel
Peninsula. On the back of the photo was written 'Mercury Bay Football Team',
and it would have been taken around the-turn of the century. We see in this
Jim, Jack and Owen Short, Jack Aspin and Bob McPike (who was a
brother-in-law to the Shorts being Margaret's husband, and not related to
Dick McPike we are told) all lined up among a backdrop of scrub and
brambles! Rugby has been played by so many, enjoying successes at School,
Club and Provincial levels, but one feels that perhaps the most enjoyment
has been the fellowship and competition that goes along with the game.
The 'better
half of rugby perhaps is netball, and I am sure that the vast majority of
ladies who have been through the school system have had a hand at playing
this game, and will continue to do so. We note where Jim and Emma's
granddaughter, Mary Hull (nee Perry) has represented Waiuku in netball for
many years, and is now involved in the administration of the Waiuku
Sub-Association, having been Secretary and Coach and is now the A Grade
Representative Team Coach. Others have been in representative trials, and
the rest of us just enjoy the game, don't we girls? The list is endless.
Hand in hand
with these two goes Rugby League, and here we note Neil Aspin's involvement,
having represented Bay of Plenty and Auckland, and the New Zealand Maoris in
this sport, and also being in the Kiwi trials in 1978. Soccer too commands a
challenge, and obviously is enjoyed by many.
No doubt there
has been, continues to be, and always will be, a large group of people
enjoying athletics with many and varied successes from school level up, but
these would be too many to mention individually.
Likewise the
game of golf. While we can't lay claim to having produced any Bob Charles,
the power pole in the front paddock on the farm at Grahams Beach has
survived attacks from at least three generations of Aspins pounding that
little while ball down the paddock for the 'perfect shot'. Many clubs and
tournaments throughout the country will have lists of names now familiar to
us among their membership, right down to the first competition run in the
recently re-established Awhitu Golf Club in January 1983. There to keep the
flag flying is Evelyn McPike who won the Aspin Cup for the Ladies Matchplay,
and Mark Aspin who was runner-up in the mens event on the same day. Dan
Aspin has life membership of that same Club while his son David Aspin has
been the green keeper for some recent years now.
Then there is Tymon Neil !! Tymon is the great-grandson of Vaughan and
Jean Short. I am not sure what the date of the article is but it is in 2000
I think. It reads
“Don’t be fooled by Tymon Neil’s age when you take him on at golf. Unless
you’re a single figure handicapper the talented 12 year old is likely to
deal to you in no uncertain terms. Proof of the pudding came two weekends
ago when the 18 handicapper was playing in the men’s Saturday morning haggle
round. With his driver he attacked the Par 3 170-metre number 5 hole.
Within seconds he had nailed his first hole-in-one. “It was a great
feeling being my first ever eagle” said the Form 1 View Road School student.
It was an incredible feat considering Tymon has been playing the game for
only nine months.” Impressive. Well done Tymon.
Bowls too has
been well patronized by many, and the Clubs at Grahams Beach and Pollok have
seen, among others, Jack and Kate Aspin and then their son Jack Aspin line
up to show their skills.
One would not
like to try and single out those who have swung a cricket bat either. With
the advent of one-day cricket and the excitement and glamour it has bought
to our television screens, one would think that cricket had just been born.
No Sir, it goes way back when... This was a very common social event for the
McPike family at Pollok back in the l920's and we are told that many
neighbours and all the kids around would gather in the paddock for a
thoroughly enjoyable game. Neither age nor sex were ever a barrier on these
occasions, and we believe Kitty was a wicket keeper of quite some note. The
same thing happened in the front paddock at Aspins, with people coming from
all over the district from Big Bay to wherever to enjoy the day out. This
was always a picnic occasion, as is evidenced by the snap shot shown. It was
even then a very popular game, and we understand one gentleman who lived up
at Matakawau, Mr Jim Smith, regularly walked to Waiuku just to play cricket.
On one day he was up at 4.00 a.m., walked to Waiuku, made 84 runs, then
walked the full distance home afterwards. Eventually several clubs were
formed, viz the Grahams Beach Cricket Club and Manukau Heads Cricket Club
and they played all round the place. They might catch Len Peterson's launch,
'Emerald' and travel on down to Te Toro, hop off and make their way up to
Stan Gillott's farm, which was up in the hills by the coast, and play on a
'home-grown' pitch and field there. Or travel to Onehunga to play the
Onehunga Woolen Mills team, or a team from up there or Papakura or Birkdale
might come down to play the local chaps. Sometimes they felt it was a bit
too far to travel up to where they regularly played at Aspins, so they would
play on the pitch down on Taitimu properties, close to the beach.
Eventually, many years later, a pitch was layed down on the Domain at
Matakawau, and cricket has been played there consistently ever since. Again,
familiar names were there to help establish the grounds and lay the pitch,
and at this time Wayne Aspin was a youngster and must have been getting in
the road of things. For we hear tell of his Dad, Jack, telling him to "get
over there and stand in the gully", so true to direction Wayne did, and
disappeared down into the gully over the hill!!
Like cricket,
tennis was a very popular game back in the early days. By the early l920's
there were tennis courts dotted all over the Peninsula, including Aspins and
McPikes homesteads. Dick McPike and his family were keen tennis players, and
would think nothing of gathering up a truck load of players from around
Pollok and bringing them over for a game at Awhitu Wharf, or wherever. All
of Jack and Kate Aspins family played tennis, and people like Drylands, long
standing members of the Pollok Tennis Club, continue to enjoy the game with
enthusiasm. The tennis courts at Grahams Beach continue to be well
patronized, and Pollok Tennis Club remains very active today with McPikes
still very much a part of its membership. In the wider field there will be
many members of all the families who play tennis also, and we note here the
involvement of Charlie and Maggie Short's Granddaughter Leoni and Peter
Kennedy and their family. Peter has played tennis all his adult life,
playing for the Pukekohe East Club and has become a well-known Club and
District identity, coach and administrator. Leonie played for many years,
was Club Secretary and on the Committee of the Franklin Junior Tennis for
some 10 years. Their success and enthusiasm for the game shows in the
achievements of their four children -
Son Wayne - Twice was Franklin primary
champion and runner-up in
his group and continues to
play.
Son Michael - Won all Franklin primary age
group titles, twice South
Auckland primary schools
champion. Won Club’s
senior mens title. Won
Club doubles with Rod
Ketels for the under
19 and Franklin under 19
doubles.
Daughter Pauline - School girls champion.
Won several Club titles.
represented Franklin in the
juniors.
Daughter Helen - Won all age groups.
Holder of Franklin juniors
doubles title.
Won two South Auckland
secondary School titles.
Club champion in her age
group, Ladies senior
champion. Represented
Franklin in her age.
The family built up quite a reputation for themselves as is evidenced by the
many newspaper clippings Leonie has kept over the years, be it the local
Club or school results, or an attendance at a coaching school. One of these
reads, and we quote:
"Powerful Player Breaks Nine
Racquets"
Fifteen year
old, Michael Kennedy, of Pukekohe, who was the outstanding competitor at the
South Auckland Easter Junior Tennis Tournament held at Papatoetoe, has had a
meteoric rise to fame in the tennis world. He is a member of the Pukekohe
East Tennis Club and over the past four years he has won every tennis title
in the Franklin and South Auckland area that can be won. Michael is an
exponent of the 'power game' and plays with a real hard hitting tyle. To
show the tremendous power of his shots, he has broken no less than nine
racquets this season. Fortunately, for Michael, the manufacturer replaces
them and keeps him supplied with special strings. He has a cannon ball serve
and repeadedly aces his opponents.
Umpires have difficulty sighting his shots. He comes from a tennis family
and is coached by his father. His brother and younger sisters are also
outstanding players.
The year was 1971.
A sport a
little less known to most, but which gained prominence, thanks to the
exploits of Nerrily Fairhill, is archery. Not many people may realise that
there was quite an active archery club operating at Grahams Beach during the
early 1950's. Tom Bryan who lived at Grahams Beach was very interested in
archery, to the extent of making his own bows out of white te-tree. This
caught the imagination of quite a number of the 'locals' and there was a
regular gathering of people down on Bryans Land at Grahams Beach each
Sunday. Among those were Joan and Vic Aspin, and Joan was to attain quite a
record in this sport. This group of people helped to start up the 'Lincoln
Green' Club in Waiuku, and travelled to many championships around the
country, and in to attend shoots in Auckland, and other places. Joan won the
Auckland Title in 1950, and in the same year she won the World Posting
Competition (The Sefab Cup). At National level, she gained success too,
winning the New Zealand Title three times.
Joan Aspin
also took a keen interest in horses, and would ride from her home at Grahams
Beach to hunt in and around Waiuku. She was often accompanied by Howard
Short for the ride, and she recalls it took them four hours to get as far as
Waipipi. Her ability went beyond just riding, as she bred a few horses,
broke in a few, right down to shoeing them herself. Their children all rode
horses, and now we see where Garry and Ruth's daughter Debbie is continuing
in her grandmother's footsteps, proving herself quite a capable rider
indeed. At the age of 12 she has already competed in and won a number of
events around the local Pony Club circuits in the Kaitaia area, and the
photo shows her winning the Mangonui Open Pony F.E.I. Goodhew Cup in 1982.
We also understand that John and Marion Aspin's daughter Megan has shown
great skills in riding, and her bedroom was adorned (or is the right word
'smothered') with all the ribbons and trophies she has gained. Another keen
rider was Jann O’Reilly, daughter of Kay and Bob. Jann has numerous
credits to her name and as an adult spent some years training horses on the
northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. No doubt there are lots more, perhaps
far too numerous to single them all out.
But to mention
horses of course, is to talk about the Jim Short family. In earlier days, as
we all will appreciate, almost everyone sat on a horse at some stage or
another, be it for business or for pleasure. We have included a few shots,
showing some of the antics that were performed, but a more detailed coverage
could be given to Jim Short and his family's riding skills. In 1909 Jim rode
Bob Tindall's horse Batchelor to victory twice on the same weekend at the
Ellerslie races. They won the hurdles on the Saturday and the Steeple on
Monday, quite a notable effort. He was a fine horseman, was a good horse
doctor, and broke in many horses and also rode buck jumpers and steers for a
bit of an added thrill. His son Bill recalls one buck jumper Jim used to
ride. She was called Maggie Malloy, and it was quite common for a crowd to
gather around on a Sunday to watch the fun. A blindfold was placed on Maggie
Malloy, the saddle secured, and then it was all action as Jim prepared to
mount, and then stay on his bronc. A number of his children also rode buck
jumpers, steers, etc., at rodeos and the like, and didn't all come off best
either. On at least one occasion Jim junior, broke his hand and no doubt
there were lots more. Jim and his family took a very keen and active
interest in hunting, and are mentioned on quite a few occasions in the book
'A Great Run' which was printed in 1972 to commemorate 100 years of the
Pakuranga Hunt Club. I quote from this book-
"In Waiuku, a
family was fast growing up which was to contribute a great share to the
success of the Pakuranga. In the early Waiuku Hunts Jim Short had been a
stalwart and regular supporter, sitting very straight, riding very long, an
impressive sweeping moustache evoking a picture of the White Knight. There
all resemblance ended, for Jim Short was a horseman and now most of his sons
were hunting as well. They took some mounting for there were eleven of them,
and only three elected not to ride. The eldest Bill, was also the one who
was to continue hunting the longest. Artie was a tall, lanky boy who folded
his legs around one of the most famous of the hunt's point-to-point winners,
Pinto, a piebald the Shorts had bred themselves. The local priest at Otaua,
Father Skinner, had a black and white mare that he was trying to break in to
harness. After she had smashed three gigs he brought her round to the Shorts
and said, "Jim, break this denizen of Hell into harness for me!" It was
done, but he still did not like her, so finally he gave her to the Shorts,
and from her came Pinto. Although Artie rode him most, there was one race
where T. H. Brooks was up - and confident of winning until he fell at the
last fence and as he came off took the bridle with him. A quick thinker,
Harold was up in a flash. There was no time for the bridle, he jumped on,
put his arms around Pinto's neck and rode him past the winning-post that
way.
Most of the Short boys hunted, and Jack Short was a whipper-in. The Hunt
still rode over the farms of Jim, Don and Frank in 1972. Their experiences
are hilarious, but they have to be told by a Short; they lose too much when
put on paper.”
The same book
notes that the Short family were a great asset and stalwarts of the hunt in
the Waiuku area, giving their services for a period of some 70 years. Jim
(Snr) rode up until about 10 years before his death and he died aged 92!
His son, Bill, rode up until he sold his chestnut Monarch and then retired
from hunting at a very mature age. It would be quite inappropriate for us
to list the various successes and prizes this family have won through
hunting, show jumping, racing, etc – simply there are too many and we would
fear missing some out. To mention just several, we note the achievements
of ‘Pinto’ who won many point-to-points and Artie’s success with Brookby
Song, High Count and Golden Gossip – the list goes on and on and on right
through to November 2000 when we see a horse that Don had purchased at the
Karaka sales and now part-owned by his daughter Susan run a thrilling race
at Addington to beat off stiff competition from the likes of Yulestar in the
$100,000 NZ Free-For All. More pacing history, another Short victory,
another Short story, another one for the record books.
A sport less
known perhaps is that of orienteering. We have no doubt that there will be
quite a few people from all the families involved in this sport which is
gaining rapidly in popularity, right throughout the country. Often referred
to as ‘cunning running’ the ‘thought sport’ or the ‘family sport’, it
involves individual route finding around a set course with the aid of a map
and compass. A course has a number of check points known as controls which
the orienteers must find and clip to prove they have completed the set
course. The fastest time wins. (Sounds like motor rallying – the hard
way!)
This sport
caters for all ages and stages of fitness with grades for the under 12 year
olds right up to the over 60’s and with A B and C categories. We note here
in particular, the involvement of Kate and Jack Aspin’s grandson Wayne and
his wife Tricia as well as their daughter Leonie. They first became
involved not just at competition level but also in the planning and
organization side of it all. They have spent probably many months over
several years helping in providing detailed maps of the Pollok/Matakawau/Kemp
Road areas of the Peninsula and if you can imagine, the only way to provide
such maps is to get your tramping gear on and get out and walk the entire
area, noting every detail from the contour and vegetation matter, down to
the water troughs and telephone poles. Not a task for the meek.
They travelled all over the North Island to compete in events and had
visited Australia three times for competitions. All three have
represented NZ against Australia in the annual challenge each year since
1979 through to at least 1983 with Leonie being in the Junior Women’s team,
Tricia in the Open Women’s team and Wayne in the Men’s over 35 team.
Tricia’s outstanding record includes winning the National Open Women’s Title
for four successive years, ie 1979, 80, 81 and 82. Leonie’s includes
winning the Women’s 15 – 16 year old National Title in 1982 and Wayne’s
taking second place in the Men’s over 35 event in the same year. Since our
first edition in 1983, Wayne and Tricia’s involvement has continued both on
the competitive and organizational sides. Overseas trips have included
events in Britain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Hungary,
Canada, USA and Australia, with satisfying results. Within the appropriate
age classes, Tricia had placings in the World Masters Champs – 2nd
in Hungary in 1990, 1st in Tasmania,1992, 2nd in
Minnesota, USA 1997 & 1st in Victoria, Australia in 2002. She
has also held several Asian/Pacific and Australian titles as well as many
further NZ national ones. The couple completed a winning double in 1989,
1991 and 1998. Wayne has held 4 national titles in 1989, 1991, 1995 and
1998 and gained many placings. He has done well in the tough Australian
competitions gaining 2nd, 3rd and a 1st in
the NSW championships. His best placing in the World Masters was 18th
out of 130 competitors in Hungary, 1990 - a very creditable result for a New
Zealander, then 7th in Victoria, Australia in 2002.
On the
administrative side Wayne has been a selector for the NZ Orienteering
Federation for the last 14 years and continues in this role. Ten of those
years were as chairman of the selection committee. Both he and Tricia
still enjoy doing the fieldwork for orienteering maps and are considered
among the best mappers in the country. Yes, orienteering is a sport for
life – watch for an update in another 20 years !!!!!!!
We have no
doubt too that there are many people who have had a go at playing hockey.
This is a well established activity in most sporting calendars and we note
here that Gwen Short (Jack’s wife) when they were living at Aka Aka played a
jolly good game of hockey and went on to represent Franklin. Her influence
has carried through to her four children for they all played hockey and like
their mother they too all represented Franklin. We see that their daughter
Nelda was also the President of the Auckland Hockey Association and is now a
Life Member of that Association. Her daughter Sharon also excelled in the
sport, representing Auckland and was a NZ representative in her age group.
In more recent years she has played hockey for Western Australia.
Marching is
another sporting activity that we see people involved in, although this is
perhaps a little less known than other sports. Once again, Jack Short’s
family of Marilyn, Nelda and Gladys (just the three girls this time!) have
had a full roll to play. They all marched from the midgets through to the
seniors and Marilyn is now a marching instructor and judge. Their mum Gwen
continues her active roll in the administration side of things. Down in
Taranaki too marching gained a very strong following with Emma Julian and
her daughters Dorothy and Lesley. Dorothy was a member of the highly
successful team, the Vanguards, for some five years and during this time the
team were runner-up to the NZ champions. Marching played a big roll in
their childhood. Lesley was a member of the same team and was marker for
eight years and she says that during this time the team were runner-up to
the New Plymouth champions three times and third twice. She describes
these as the “best years of our lives”. She was a Taranaki Champion Marker
and has 112 medals received through marching.
Another
notable achievement that has been bought to our attention is in the field of
clay bird shooting. Hec Julian (husband of Emm) is the star performer here
and in 1970 he was awarded a Life Membership of the New Plymouth Gun Club.
His interest began back in 1941 and he has an impressive list of successes
since then, competing at many Gun Clubs around the North Island. In
February 1972 he competed in the Air New Zealand Shoot at the Pihama/Oeo Gun
Club and was the only competitor to ‘break’ a 25 bird possible. From this
he competed against the best in the country for a trip to Australia and
competed in the same event the following year. In 1979 he won the Veterans
Cup as well as in 1980, then the 1st Senior trophy at Pihama/Oeo
Club and Sparrow Championship at the same club in 1981.
And how many
people race motorcars? We read where Dennis Short, grandson of Jim and
Emma, races saloon cars and he and a friend were the winners of the saloon
car champions one year. He has raced in the Benson and Hedges series.
Maurice Short, Jim and Emma’s grandson, enjoys speedway racing. Mervyn
Perry, another grandson of Jim and Emma’s, has been somewhat involved in
stock car racing and also in the motor-guard rally, being a crew member.
There will be others. Jim Short, yes another grandson of Jim and Emma’s,
also has a passion for racing cars. He owns or has an interest in five
very impressive looking vehicles, all Jaguars or Porsches and races
these himself all over the North Island be it Bay Park, Pukekohe or
wherever. (It would seem that this family of Emma’s has made the
transition from horses to cars very well!)
I have to
correct an error we made here in our first edition. In this chapter we
stated that Jim raced Jaguars and Peugeots when in fact it was Porsches.
As Jim so rightly pointed out to me it is rather like describing your prized
nag as a piebald whereas in fact the magnificent beast is a chestnut. I
am still chuckling over that and am happy to put right my blunder Jim.
Jim has
continued his passion for cars. He has built his own Short Spyder and this
is a truly magnificent animal. Even those of us who are not into cars
personally cannot look at this thing without going “wowwweeeee” .
He showed me an extract from a magazine printed some time recently and I
felt it was so good I have just photocopied it and scanned the thing here
for you to have. The article is listed below (clickable link) and
while Jim you may be quite humble about your achievement we just felt that
everyone should be able to share in this.
Click here to view article
Wrestling is a
sport a little less known to some, but nonetheless worthy of special note in
this instance. And we are talking about amateur wrestling here not that
rubbish stuff we get fed on the old TV nowadays…. It may be said that at
one time wrestling was to Awhitu what tennis has been to Wimbledon, but then
we could be accused of a slight over-exaggeration there !!! However, it
did gain very rapidly in popularity on the Peninsula during the early 1930’s
and has had a healthy following since. In the early 1930’s Gordon Hutter
was very popular with his broadcasting of the Professional Wrestling bouts
over the radio, and this caught the imagination of some of the lads about at
that time. Dan Aspin recalls that they used to 'horse around a bit among
ourselves. Have a bit of a tassle - the old silage stack was pretty good,
you had a soft landing there, so we'd have a little bit of a rough around
before we fed out!'. Pine needles were real good, and Wilfred Nicol who
lived over at Awhitu Central, came over and helped the Aspin boys to sew up
a mat made of old sugar sacks, full of pine needles. The McPike boys from
Pollok were in on this too, and we recall that it was on one of these
'working bees' that Alma Aspin met Ross Dryland who was with the McPike boys
and in on all the action. They gathered on the verandah and all pitched in
to produce an 'Awhitu style' wrestling mat. Many of the chaps at Pollok were
keen on this too, so it was decided to hold an evening in the Pollok Hall.
It was duly organised and advertised, 'everyone welcome', and we are told
that 'everyone' turned up, including the chaps who were working on the roads
at the time. Jack Aspin recalls that Frank Newlyn who was farming also at
Awhitu Central was there too, and standing back at the door as he usually
did, and remarked to Jack "You chaps are starting at the wrong end of the
game. If you're going to do it, you may as well do it properly". So they
asked him if he would teach them. He felt it was too far to travel to
Pollok, so asked if he would teach at Awhitu, he said yes. and basically
that's where it all began. With Woolfred Nicol, and then his brother Alan to
add inspiration, the game really caught on. Angus, Dave and Ray McPike, and
the Aspin boys wrestled a lot during this time, as is evidenced by the
photos. Club night was each Friday, and in just a few years, the Awhitu Club
gained quite a high reputation in the Auckland Wrestling Association, being
known as 'rugged types', and it became a name to be treated with caution and
much respect.
The Club had
members competing in various weights, mostly the middleweight, and they
competed in the Auckland champions, and also against Waikato and other
competitions as well. Some of their successes included when Vic Aspin gained
the Auckland Title in 1933, 1937, 1940 and 1946. Jack Aspin won the Title in
1939 with Dan runner-up, and this occasion is worthy of special mention;
Vic held the Title, but did not defend it because he had the flu, so Dan
took his place, and he ended up wrestling Jack in the final - two brothers
competing for the other brother's Title! Ray and Dave and Angus McPike also
won Titles, as did many others in the club. Trevor Aspin wrestled as well,
although he was a little younger than the others.
Most of those
who initially started off the club at Awhitu maintained a very long interest
in the sport, being involved in coaching and maintaining the spirit of the
club and others were involved at the administration level as well. We note
that Dave McPike started up a gymnasium when they moved up to Silverdale,
and Jack Aspin was instrumental in starting up the Waipipi Wrestling Club,
as examples of their continued support. The club was in good heart, winning
Auckland School Boys' champions and others, and the next generation of
Aspins and McPikes wrestled from a very early age, gaining many successes at
all levels. Norman Hyland recalls wrestling with the under 10's at Pollok,
and when at Silverdale attended many championships, and in 1957 won the
Schoolboy Middle-weight champions at Otahuhu. All of Jack and Connie's boys
wrestled, John being runner-up to the Senior North Island Title, and when he
was 16 Wayne won the North Island Title at Hamilton. Jack was on the
Auckland, then the New Zealand Panel of Referee/Judges. He was selected to
referee at the Commonwealth Games in Perth in 1962, and then also in
Edinburgh in 1970, and it was on this same trip that he attended the World
Games at Edmonton, Canada, and gained his International Referees Ticket. He
refereed at other places during that same trip, and travelled all over New
Zealand in this capacity. When they were living at Awhitu, Vic and Joan's
boys wrestled too, and so did all of Dan and Kath Aspin's boys.
David Aspin went on to make a very notable contribution to the sport.
Between the ages of 17 and 19 David travelled with different teams wrestling
in Australia, Japan, America and Canada in the middleweight class. He
competed for New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh in 1970,
gaining the Bronze Medal in his weight. He competed in the Olympic Games at
Munich in 1972, and although he was unplaced in his bouts, he was honoured
to be selected as the New Zealand Team Captain and carried the flag during
the opening ceremonies. He competed in the Commonwealth Games at
Christchurch in 1974, gaining the Gold Medal on this occasion with huge
excitement for all the family. Then after a very intensive time training in
the States with the American Olympic wrestling squad, he competed in the
Olympic Games at Montreal in 1976 and again, although he was unplaced in his
bouts, he was selected to carry the New Zealand flag during the opening
ceremonies. To carry the flag twice at an Olympic ceremony is a very great
honour indeed. David competed in the National Championships in 1976, but
since that time has found that family commitments have not permitted an
active interest in the sport.
Perhaps an appropriate item to finish off this chapter, is the newspaper
extract below. This was in the sporting column of the Herald in 1938 and
seems to tell its own story –
BROTHERS AND
'COWS'
They call it
'enthusiasm', but there is something more than that to it. About 70 miles
out from Auckland is a place called Awhitu, where in addition to the farming
attractions, there is a wrestling club that must rank as the strongest
country club of its sort in the Dominion.
Competitors from there took three of the Provincial Amateur Wrestling Titles
back with them last night - the light heavy-weight, the middle-weight and
the welter-weight. The middle-weight was previously held by Vic Aspin of
Awhitu, but owing to indisposition, he was unable to compete. The final of
that division was fought out, however, by his two brothers, J. Aspin and W.
S. Aspin. Jack Aspin, who is now a member of the Auckland Club, won it. Mr
Aspin (senior) who watched the match, remarked regarding 'W. S.' - "He's got
to get back tonight, for he has to milk his cows in the morning".
And we can’t
forget some other sports, e.g. angling. Vaughan Short was President of the
Waiuku Anglers Club for many years and won many trophies, incuding heaviest
schnapper, biggest stingray and surfcasting. How many more are there?
Sporting
achievements have continued and I fear we have missed plenty out in this
update. One that I will briefly touch on though is a pretty unique one. I
am copying from an extract from the Taupo Times on 10 January 2002. It
reads -
Sisters on run
from
Bluff to Cape Reinga
Most people
take a vehicle when travelling from one end of the country to the other, but
Angelene and Rebecca Dryland from Hamilton are using their feet.
The sisters left Bluff on November 13 and hope to run to Cape Reinga by
January 31.
They say the aim of their journey is to raise awareness of the amount of
litter scattered along the roadsides, and both agree the Desert Road is one
of the worst sections of road in the country.
“It’s pretty shocking along there” says Angelene (26). “A lot of the
litter has obviously been there for a long time.”
As well as
raising awareness of roadside rubbish, they are also promoting the ‘adopt a
highway’ idea, which has taken off in Canada and the United States.
Schools, clubs and businesses elect to take care of a piece of highway and
keep it clean and rubbish-free.
Angelene and
Rebecca stayed in Taupo on New Year’s Eve, before running to Atiamuri on
January 2nd. The following day was their “one-in-seven” rest
day and they came back to Taupo to buy a new pair of shoes for Angelene and
to stock up on supplies.
On Friday they run from Atiamuri to Tokoroa. “We’ve found all sorts of
things on our run,” says Rebecca (25). “We’ve found a wallet, a cellphone
and enough tools to fill a toolbox.”
The journey is a family affair with their brothers and sisters driving a
support vehicle with them the whole way.
And so ends
the article……….. Brian and I caught up with them on their rest day at Lake
Ohakuri (Atiamuri) but not just them, the whole family as well and a cousin
or two who were offering moral support as well !!! This is a huge
undertaking and warrants a write-up from the girls themselves, plus a photo,
for our next published booklet.
I CAN
REMEMBER
Memories
are like a kaleidoscope, some standing out more than others:
we have a cross-section to share here, ranging from the early days up to
the present time - some humorous, some not - all memories.
When I was about five years old, i.e. 1905, at my darling Grannie Aspins,
Grand-dad was there at this time and sitting in the shed outside the back
door I followed Grannie and he spoke to me as he sat on a box with a little
cask, and this had a tap on it, and he was helping himself to a drink, and
asked me would I like some. That was the sweetest beer I ever tasted. I
think it would have been hop beer. Then I caught up with Grannie who was
walking up the back path to the dairy across the yard and she gave me some
raisins.
My Grandad
Aspin, even though there was never any photos of him, I remember he was
medium height, with grey hair and a long white beard well down on to his
chest. He wasn't a very talkative man.
I can
visualise Dear Granny now with her big hat and veil on and this puff-puff in
her hand with smoke oozing out of it, that for sure she was going to rob the
bees in the old orchard.
The last time
I saw Grandad Aspin was as we were coming home from school. I would be about
eight I think, and he was riding a strawberry horse near the Central School,
and had biscuit tins in a haversack filled with strawberries, and he stopped
to give us some.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
Remembers her grandparents
John & Margaret Aspin.
Two of
Mother's great sayings - "where there's a will, there's a way", and "no news
is good news".
Kitty Waters
(nee McPike) about Polly
I wonder do
some of Uncle Jim and Aunty Emma Short's boys remember the time my brother
Bert and I were allowed to go on a holiday to their place. I was about 17,
i.e. 1922, at the time and a neighbour's dog wandered to their place and
didn't seem to want to go back to where it belonged. So a couple of the
older boys caught it and put some turpentine under its tail - you can guess
the rest! The poor thing yelped and ran back the way it had come, and I
don't think a dog ever travelled faster than that one did.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
Henry Short
(our Uncle) used to collect cream from the Manukau Heads and take it down to
a point (at Millets perhaps) where he would meet up with Bill Dickey, then
Bill would take it all down on to the Awhitu Wharf. Often he was late and
missed Bill, and there you'd see Henry Short and his horses going
hell-for-leather down the track to catch Bill up. It was quite regularly
that he had to take the cream right down to the Awhitu Wharf himself to
catch the boat. Sometimes, coming home from school, we'd see Henry Short and
his three dogs (Skipper was one of them) still on the roadside talking to
John Irwin’s boys, Alf, Stan and George. He loved to talk, and was often
there all day.
Later on, Ray McNamara started a cream service from Grahams Beach to Waiuku
Factory.
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
recalling events at Awhitu
Years ago Pop
had a big crop of water melons up on the hill over behind the present house.
This particular day Aunty Emma was here visiting, and her and Mum were up
having a look at the melons. They found a great big one, oh, it would be as
much as you could carry - a great big round one. I remember this, as I was
just a small boy at the time. Anyhow, they got to the top of the hill and
Emma decided it was too big to carry down, so she decided to roll it down
the hill. They reckoned that would be O.K., so away it went. It was a beauty
water melon. By the time it got down the hill, it was all broken up into
pieces, with the seeds all shaken out of it. Aunty Emma took a long while to
ever enjoy a water melon after that!
Dan Aspin
when a young
boy at Grahams Beach.
Collecting
sugar bags of fungus off the fallen Karaka trees from down in the gullies,
drying this out on sheets of iron, having to ram it into bags, and then
selling it to Ah Chee in Auckland to make some money. And in the heat of the
summer, reaping the coxfoot grass, threshing it to get out the seed, and
selling this to Loan and Mercantile.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
talking about her childhood.
When as
toddlers, we lived at Hukanui, and Bert and I had lots of fun on the farm
there. There were three sows, all with a litter of little piglets, and we
would spend hours as pre-schoolers with these little pigs and the old mother
pigs. We would rub the sow's tummy and they would lie down and all the wee
piglets would be 'in' for their drink, and as soon as they settled down to
suckle, we would pull first one little pig, then another, from the teat he
was sucking on, and pop him on to another teat, and each time they made a
sound like a cork being pulled out of a bottle, and this fascinated us. The
poor wee pigs would give a hit of a squeal and fight their way back to their
‘own’ teat. The old mother pigs never seemed to get alarmed, they would just
grunt away in a satisfied way, and we two tormenting little pests would be
there for ages.
Maud Marquis
(nee Garrett)
talking about her early childhood.
Occasionally
on Sundays, just to make it a special day, we would walk down to the west
coast, and around to the heads and home again, and the bigger ones would
have to carry the young ones on our backs.
Being down on
the west coast, often there were a lot of horses roaming about down there,
and sometimes we made bridles out of flaxes, caught these horses and rode
them along the beach having races.
At school at
Awhitu Central we used to play hares and hounds, or paper chase, and we kids
would take off deliberately down the gully behind the school, and by the
time we got back school was over! However, the teacher twigged to this
pretty quickly and we were banned from playing this game during the lunch
time.
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
When we were
living on the West Coast Road at Pollok, our Grandma Aspin stayed with us
for quite some time. She helped out with the milking, and would have been
somewhere around 74 years old then. Milking was done by hand, and everyone
in the shed had their place to be and their share of cows to milk. Agnes and
I had a lot of fun with our Grandma over this time, and I can remember
'driving' her to the shed with Agnes by her big black apron strings.
Alice McNamara
(nee Short)
When it was
time for a game of tennis, the McPikes would load up a truck and cart the
truck full all over to Awhitu for a game against the locals there.
Jack Aspin
remembering his
Uncle Dick McPike.
While we were
at Rewa, our little 'privvy' was built out in the corner of the back yard. I
remember once when I was about 11, Mum thought I was dodging doing jobs, and
the next thing, in comes a bucket of cold water (water that Bert and I had
struggled to cart up to the house from the spring about 10 chains away).
This landed all over me, I was left soaking wet, and yes, I thought my last
day had arrived! Oh boy, things got a bit tough at times.
Maud Marquis
(nee Garrett)
When Tom Bryan
from Grahams Beach broke his leg when he was hit by a ball when playing
cricket and had to be taken on a stretcher by launch over to the Auckland
Hospital.
Having to back
my Model T Ford (the same one that originally belonged to Jack Aspin) up
Tindall's Road, because if I drove it up frontways the carburettor would be
higher than the petrol tank and no fuel would get through.
Edie Short
When we lived
in a flat above the shop that Dad had at Inglewood, no doubt this was a busy
time for Mum as she used to look after the shop and try and keep us three
kids in control. Some of the highlights of flat dwelling were
- Dorothy falling down the stairs and breaking her arm, Lesley getting
scarlet fever and having her bedroom sealed up for fumigation (without her
in it!) and the rest of us being quarantined at home for a few days.
Pat Julian,
son of Emm and Hec
Ironing the
clothes with the hand irons, heating them up on the coal range, and using
them on a sheet on a blanket on the kitchen table.
Rosaline Hart
(nee Waters)
at her parents home at Port Chalmers.
Living at
Kaitawa, a very small community where the majority of people were employed
by the Public Works Department. There was one general store, a Y.M.C.A. hall
where all forms of entertainment, sports, films, etc., were held, and a
primary school with a roll of approximately 60. Our nearest doctor and
hospital were in Wairoa, about 50 miles away.
Elaine Thomson
(nee Short)
when a child.
I'm not sure
if this is entirely correct, but I remember someone saying that one day when
either Grannie Barry or Mum were home by themselves, a large group of Maori
folk came by the homestead and came in looking for food. They were
travelling from the Waikato or somewhere and heading up over the Waitakeries
somewhere. Whoever was here, Grannie or Mum, gave them a kerosine tin full
of eggs. They boiled these up and ate them, then lay down under the fruit
trees to have a sleep and after this, got up and were on their way.
Vic Aspin
referring to
the home at Grahams Beach.
When Father
Skinner came to visit, in the afternoons he would travel on down to Big Bay
to see the Torpeys and Pettersons, and I will always remember us kids used
to dash over to the hill to watch him jump his horse over the rails down the
gully at the end of Marshalls Road.
Jack Aspin
(jnr) when a child.
Uncle Jack
taking me gumdigging, and when I left to go home, he gave me four shillings
and six pence and I thought I had a fortune, as this was the first money I
had ever seen.
The big shed where uncle Jack had his incubators, and one time someone
turned a knob, and the chickens all perished.
The big hole or something with a shed over which uncle Jack had to smoke the
most wonderful bacon you ever tasted, and that goes for the smoked schnapper,
and the bacon and hams hanging up in the kitchen.
Kathleen Gardner (nee Short)
talking of her Uncle Jack Aspin
The beam on
Mum's face when Dad came home at the end of his first month as Electrical
Engineer and tossed his whole month's pay in the air - all thirty six pounds
of it.
Pat Julian
talking of Emm and Hec.
When working
at Silverdale we would go fishing (i.e. Dave, Angus McPike and whoever else)
and many of the fish that were caught were just given away to everyone and
anyone.
Norman Hyland
When my sister
Lyla was born. mum, my brothers and I had travelled down to stay with dad's
eldest sister and her family at Beaken Hill, Wellington Heads. Lyla was born
here, but my cousins and us were not allowed in the room to see the wee
baby. In those days these things were 'hush-hush', and we were just being
inquisitive we were told.
Then dad travelled down from Rewa to collect my two brothers and I and to
see mum and his new wee daughter. We thought it was just great being with
dad, no growls, no strap and he used to cook our meals, and we thought they
were just the nicest ever. He always made us a pudding too, of some kind,
and if it was a bread and butter pudding, he would slice the bread quite
thin and put butter and jam between slices, then cut them into neat squares,
then he would beat the eggs, sugar and milk together to pour over the sliced
bread for the custard part, and I don't think any puddings ever tasted nicer
than dad made. He was always just so great to us children.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
Nanna and
Granddad Garrett's big white house at Ngawaka, with green roof, the long
path leading up to the door and how neat the garden always used to be, and
the wide thrift border which was on both sides of the path.
Beth Kirwan
(nee Goodrick)
Back in 1935,
Sam Kemp, Dave McPike, Dan and myself went through to Auckland to the
wrestling champs, and when we got there we found out that our entry was not
accepted. So we then put our names in for the North Island champs at
Wanganui the following week, sent a telegram home to say that we were going
to Taihape, and set sail for the south in 'The Chev'. We had no money
between us, but Dave reckoned he knew where he was going, so we reckoned
we'd be right. We were heading for Garretts, and were driving along this
quiet country road down Taihape way somewhere and the road got a little less
metalled and a little more rugged until we ended up driving over cattle
tracks, would you believe. Then we realised we were driving into someone's
farm, up their drive, because the road ran out at their cowshed! "Oops, took
a wrong turn somewhere, about face quick and let's get out of here! ".
Finally we did find Garretts. Dave knew a shortcut!!
Vic Aspin
There was
nearly a tragedy one day. Mother took afternoon tea down to the men at the
sawmill, Vaughan being with her. He would have been just two years old then,
and was playing with a boat in one of the wells that were there, when Mother
noticed he wasn't there, and asked where he was. Father said he was there a
moment ago, and shoved his hand down the well and bought Vaughan up, soaking
wet, and it was only quick thinking that saved him.
Kathleen Gardner
Having to walk
all the way to Awhitu Wharf School, and negotiating the creeks when they
were in flood. Then running down the last hill on the way home and having my
knee give out on me, and tumbling the rest of the way down. Then having to
struggle up Elephant Hill on the other side to home.
Teanie Wedding
(nee Aspin)
when at Grahams Beach as a child.
My Mum taking
down brand new curtains from our lounge and giving them to a needy family
who had less than we did.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
talking of Lucy.
When staying
at my grandmother's home at Pollok for a short time, grandma (Polly) used to
make up my sandwiches, and they were kept moist in a small flour bag, or a
salt bag, but by the time I had carted them up the road several miles, they
ended up in crumbs, and I often couldn't eat them.
Laurence Waters
Kitty's son.
When Lorton
and I first started going out together (I was then 21) and my brother Bert
had to come home from the place he was working at to take me in his car,
otherwise I wouldn't have been allowed to go.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
Immediately
before I left school working on a part-time basis with a mobile picture
theatre - our longest journey was to Whangamomona, in those post-war days a
thriving back country area between Stratford and Ohura. The 50 mile journey
was likely to take anything up to four hours, with the old Ford van coughing
and wheezing its way over a succession of saddles. It was powered by a
mixture of petrol and gas produced by a coke burner mounted on the side of
the vehicle, and this had to be lit an hour or so before departure. In
summer our progress was likely to be marked by a series of blowouts, as one
pre-war tyre after another gave up the struggle.
However, the leisurely pace meant that I was able to keep up with my
reading.
The Friday night movie at 'Whanga' was always well attended by virtually
every family in the district, as was the Saturday afternoon matinee, which
brought out all the kids who laughed and yelled their way through each
screening, punctuated by a never ending stream of patrons rushing next door
for a top-up of ice-cream and sweets.
Pat Julian
son
of Emm and Hec
Dad's team of
eight bullocks. The two I remember most were Spot and Dodger. Both black and
white bulls who died many years later, almost together on the farm that dad
bought at Turangarere, one on one side of the hill, and the other just out
of sight around the other side. Dad used the bullocks for all the hauling
work in the bush and I can still smell those bullocks to this very day, and
the only language they knew was swearing in the typical 'bullockies' way.
They were slow, but they got there.
Jean Crawley
(nee Goodrick)
daughter of Maud and Lorton.
Uncle Henry
Short used to call me Benzene or sometimes Kerosene, because of all the 'enes'
in the family, i.e. Kathleen, Evelyn, Emmaline, Eileen .
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
When we moved
on to the farm at Hattons Road, half the house had corrugated asbestos
roofing, no lining or ceiling, and when the wind blew the rain would run up
underneath the asbestos and we would all get "rained' on, so had to move out
and sleep on the floor in the living area, the only room that was lined.
That first year on the farm at Hattons Road, the wettest June possible, and
we had no shed yet, cows were calving everywhere, and so we had to milk in a
neighbour's shed, by hand.
The first milking plant we had on the farm was a bucket plant, and I recall
the dairy inspector, a Mr Dally, On one visit he saw it and enquired as to
whether it was only temporary, adding to his remark "I do hope so Jack! ".
Jack and Connie Aspin
My Mother
driving the car when she was a good 83 years old.
Alma Dryland
(nee Aspin)
talking of her Mum, Kate.
On wet
Sundays, our friends gathered for a game of cards, stayed for a meal and
played on into the night, with many a prospective suitor finally departing,
sadder but wiser, while the Julians counted up their winnings!
Pat Julian
son
of Ernm and Hec
My younger
brother Vic, playing down by the cowshed, and the horse kicked him and cut
his head.
Teanie Wedding
(nee Aspin)
One day that
will never fade from my memory. Tim and I were fishing at Waikawhai, and at
low tide there, there are 24 drains exposed. We had two buckets of pipis,
Tim had three rods, and two stools, and there were three streams at the
mouth of the river, and we were in the middle. We had to watch the tide or
we may be cut off. Tim went to look and check the tide, when I said to him
"look at your rod". It was fair dancing, so he grabbed it and in came the
biggest schnapper you ever saw. He said to me "Had enough". I said "No,
throw out again". This time, same as before, we got two beauties. Tim went
over the brow of the hill to check the water, and uh oh, we were stranded
and he said we would be cut off until 11 o'clock tonight, and this was at 3
o'clock. Problem was, I didn't like cold water, and he knew it, and all this
gear too! But we decided to give it a go. The water was up to Tim's armpits,
so I grabbed my skirt and nickers over my head, and Tim lead the way to the
car on the bank, and we got home to a hot bath, with not even a cold to show
for our adventure.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
and her husband Tim.
Talking my
brother Greg into being subject of some paint I found in a tin in the old
general workshop shed below the house, and suggested to him that his face
would look very effective if it had some painted murals on it like a Maori
face. I forget what the colour was, but we did a very beautiful design to
his face, took him up to the house, and we unfortunately weren't received
very favourably. Also the fact that Greg had to have his face cleaned off
with some form of cleaning fluid, and Poppie had hurt him as much that end
as the other end, which we both received!
Bill Bradburn
talking about Charlie and Maggie Short's home.
Dad's
wonderful vegetable garden and always having a fresh supply available, and
Mum's masses of blooms in her flower garden - daffodils by the bunch full.
Rosaline Hart
(nec Waterr)
talking about Arthur and Kitty Waters
We used to
look out here for the boat to come in and take the cream down to catch it.
This would be about two or three times a week, the boats being the old Te
Toa, and the Outlaw. When we saw the boat go past the old black bouy, then
disappear under the hill, we knew it was time to get going. The old Te Toa
was eventually wrecked out off Mayor Island somewhere. Life and everything
evolved around the mail. It used to come down by boat. In our earlier years,
the manure and stuff would come down by boat too. We'd unload the manure on
to the end of the wharf, then we'd have to lug it down and push it along on
to the end of the wharf, load it on to the trolley (that's providing that
nobody would push the darn thing off the end of the wharf, which used to
happen every so often. It would zip along and over the end of the wharf, and
you'd have to go down on to the beach and resurrect it at low tide. Heavy
damn thing it was). We used to be able to put, oh say, a ton or so of manure
on to that. Unload that on to a trolley, and cart it up by trolley or wagon
to a truck as it was all clay roads out here then. Everything had to be just
right. A fair bit of energy went into that stuff, because once you did get
the manure, most of it was sown by hand. You know what sowing by hand is?
Stick the bag around your neck and away you'd go. I don't know how much
you'd sow in a day, we didn't weight things in those days. We got a bit
shrewd after a while, and we used to take a shovel and start at the top of
the hill, and just drag the bag down behind you and walk back up with an
empty bag. Another way was to load up the horse and sledge, and someone
would drive the horse along, with two shovels throwing manure over from each
side. That was pretty good if you had a decent sledge and three guys.
Dan Aspin
at
Grahams Beach
The family
travelling to Auckland when Joan Exeter and Clive Benny were married, as
Dorothy was one of the bridesmaids. The rest of us stayed with uncle Frank
and aunty Kath Fisher who at that time had the shop on Ponsonby Road, and I
remember one of the Fisher boys squeezing toothpaste out of the upstairs
window to see if he could get it to reach the ground, just as well they had
a shop
Pat Julian
talking about his cousins
Mum always
said "work would never kill anyone", and boy, how we worked.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
Mum was well
known in the local sports day for she always used to win the married ladies
races - it was her event.
Jack Aspin
son
of Jack and Kate
Someone can
remember during the war years when everything was rationed, the family had a
friend who was the chief butter-maker at the local dairy factory, and at
regular intervals, an early morning call out to the factory would result in
a great slab of butter, carefully swathed in greaseproof paper, nestling in
the bottom of the kitchen cupboard, which needless to say was never opened
in the presence of strangers. Such a windfall always had their mum baking
furiously and all cake tins full to the brim.
Couldn't be at Inglewood, surely!!
When I was
about 18 and we were living at Utiku, south of Taihape, and dad and I went
per horse and gig to Utiku to catch the train to Taihape, some 12 or 13
miles away. Somehow we missed the train from Taihape back to Utiku, and had
to get a taxi. Also in the taxi was a young chappie who had also missed the
train, so he told dad he would share in the taxi expenses, which he did.
When Dad and I got out of the taxi and collected our parcels, this young man
handed me a nicely wrapped parcel. I said "no, that isn't mine", and he said
"yes it is, it is for you". (He had his eyes on me - quite a nice young
fellow). Well, when I walked in the house with this mysterious parcel, mum
wanted to know what it was, and where did I get it from. I told her the
story of how I came to have it, but no, she tore the wrappings off, and
there was this gorgeous big fancy box of chocolates, all wrapped in pretty
tinsel papers. Well, that was all I ever saw of either box or chocolates.
She kept them all.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
When my
brother Dave and I were coming home from Waiuku in Dave's little baby Austin
car, the road then was more of a track than a road, and the idea was to get
your wheels in the two 'tracks' and then you'd be right. However, the Austin
was too narrow and we had to ride with one wheel in the track and one up. We
were coming down what was known as Harvey's Hill (the Waiuku side of Sawmill
Hill), when we saw this wheel running down the road in front of us. We
didn't realise it was ours, as we were still moving down hill very nicely,
(thanks to the fact that we had our wheel 'in the groove' as it were), and
it wasn't until we reached the bottom of the hill and the car stopped that
we got out to have a look. Sure enough, we were missing one back wheel. We
could have travelled on for some time without the fourth wheel, except
because it was a back wheel, we had no driving ability.
Angus McPike
Our neighbour
at Awhitu Central, Mr George Irwin (Snr), used to make his own cheese.
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
Coming home
from school we children would pick up a limb of ti-tree or some other piece
of wood and carry it on home for the evening's firewood.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
at Awhitu
The time Dan
so successfully drove the car over the side of Tram Gully. It was in the
early 1930's sometime, and I had bought an old Chev for the princely sum of
fifteen pounds. It only had two back brakes, and they were worn - but drive
the thing we did! This particular occasion we were driving home from a dance
at Awhitu, and Dan was doing the driving. Coming down Tram Gully he went to
change the gears, but it wouldn't go, so he free wheeled it down the hill a
bit and tried to bump it into the bank, but it did not stop and suddenly
there was the old hair-pin corner, so working on the scientific fact that
all that goes up must come down, we went down, but not in the usual fashion.
We ended up over the side of the gully, and all scrambled out with very
minor injuries, and thanked our lucky stars for a narrow escape. The next
morning we tipped it up on its wheels and drove the thing home.
Vic Aspin
Dave, Angus
and Ray grew a garden which extended between the Pollok Hall and the Pollok
School. At lunch time several children would be selected from the school to
go and pick watermelons and would take them back to the school for everyone
to share for lunch.
The McPikes were well known for growing flowers and vegetables and just
giving them away.
Norman Hyland
son of Lizzie
and Bill
Often when
Lorton came in from his days' work he used to like nursing the babies, and
singing to them and rocking them off to sleep on his knees with his hands
cupped behind their head, and he was always successful where as I could sit
for ages trying to do the same thing but they wouldn't oblige me by going to
sleep. I evidently didn't have that magic touch.
Maud
Marquiss &
husband Lorton Goodrick
The time after
we sold our lovely little home at Leigh, Tim suggested we go to Coromandel
for a drive. Next day, Sue, Leanne, Tim and I went down there, spending a
wonderful day, and on arriving back home at Leigh found a letter from our
friends who owned a Motel in Thornton Bay, Thames. We didn't realise that we
had driven passed their door that day, and the letter was asking us to go
down and stay and have a look around, so next day, away we went to Thornton
Bay. With their help and that of an agent, we bought our very old home at
Tapu.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
One of my few
memories of grandpa was of him carrying a bag of pears up the hill to the
old cowshed. We weren't allowed near the trees at the time because of the
threat of bee stings from the penny royal, and that stuff is still there
today - my own daughter Penny having had at least one bee down her gumboot.
Brian Aspin
on the farm at Grahams Beach
When I was 10
going up to Port Chalmers hospital each lunch hour, and peering over the
hedge to see if I could see mum and she was always there holding up our new
baby for me to see. Then the day Chris was bought home with mum, I was
walking up the hill to home (half a mile) and couldn't bear the excitement
any more, so dropped all the bread and few groceries and school things right
there in the hay paddock and raced home to find a very small baby, all
wrapped up in blankets in a suitcase with the top off as we never had much
money in those days.
Rosaline Hart
talking about her family, Kitty and Arthur Waters
When I
convinced Greg to supply the garments for the old sheep dog on the farm, and
we were only able to get Greg's pants on to the dog somehow or another, and
the dog took exception to this and disappeared, and gran then naturally took
exception to this also, and made, after certain chastisement, made Greg go
after the dog which by this time had gone further on up the road over to the
far paddocks across the gully. Greg had to go without his pants, just in his
shirt tails after the dog to get his pants back.
Bill Bradburn
talking about Maggie Short
When we were
living in Maire Street, Inglewood, and Mum decided to spring clean the
bedrooms, and unearthed a great heap of cake papers from under each of our
respective beds. Do all kids suffer from night starvation?
Pat Julian
(son of Emm and Hec)
My earliest
memories of going to Waiuku were of long trips over Mt. Messenger, being car
sick, and through the Awakino Gorge - more car sickness. No mum, brown paper
wrapped around our little fat tummies didn't stop the car-sickness! All of
us kids sitting on granny's big table and shelling buckets of peas for
dinner.
Dorothy La Hood
(nee Julian)
talking of Maggie Short's home
Walking down
to visit granny Aspin from our home at Awhitu Central, we would get to the
old boiler on Boiler Gully, would divert 50 yards or so off course, and
would go over to the old boiler, climb up onto it and have a look in to see
if there were any rats in it.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
During the
war, Dave McPike and I were in the Home Guard, otherwise known as 'Dad's
Army'. We made our own home-made mortar, consisting of blasting powder, a
stick of gelignite, a numerous nuts and bolts. The first ones we let off
landed right on target down the gully, but the third went off a little
premature as the fuse was a bit too short, and we all had to make a quick
duck or be on the receiving end of all those nuts and bolts. I believe Dan
has still got the relics of this under his house.
Vic Aspin
When we were
very little kids, I would have been about five or so, and Emm was two or two
and a half, and all the kids were going off somewhere (down 26th gully or
someplace). Anyhow, Emm and I had great difficulty keeping up with the
others. I managed somehow, but Emm got tired and so curled up in some fern
and promptly fell asleep. Well, that prompted a major search party. It
seemed to me that the whole of Awhitu were out searching for her, calling
and yelling, up and down all the gullies, until finally she was located at
about 10.00 p.m. curled up sound asleep and warm as toast.
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
When we were
little children at Hukanui, the jersey bull got out of his paddock and got
into the side of the haystack, bunting it and rocking it furiously. Then a
neighbour came down on his horse with a pitch fork and poked the bull in the
backside, sending it off back to its paddock.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett) when a child
I don't
remember mum being a great disciplinarian but I can still visualize the time
when I had committed some long forgotten crime and was hotly pursued by mum
around the house with her uttering terrible threats about what would happen
when she caught me. However, after about four laps, a very much exhausted
mum and yours truly both collapsed in hysterics on the lawn, with all
thoughts of punishment gone - much to my relief.
Pat Julian
and his mum Emm (nee Short)
When we took
over our farm at Waipu, it had ti-tree on it bigger than you could put your
arms around. My dad was amazed at the size of the stuff.
Also when we were at Waipu, the children mostly ran around in bare feet, and
I can still see their evening ritual sitting around the lamp with their
aunty Audrey busy digging out the gorse prickles.
Teanie Wedding
(nee Aspin)
When they were
at Pollok aunty Polly McPike had mice that used to get in the corn, and I
can still visualise her in there amongst the corn, grabbing these mice,
squashing them with her left hand (she was left handed) and then dropping
them, one after the other - dead as a door nail.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
My first
teacher, a Miss Anderson, who had the children making rubber cats out of
hotty bottles. I had no hotty, so dad gave me a piece of rubber inner tube.
We did a lot of craft work in those days.
Jean Crawley
(nee Goodrick)
I don't ever
recall receiving a weekly allowance, but always used to con some spending
money at Christmas by putting a price on various chores, mow lawns ninepence,
cut hedge two shillings and six pence, dig garden two shillings, etc., I was
then able to rush off and buy presents for the whole family.
Pat Julian
son
of Emm and Hec
Searching for
the cows in the bush - we could guess just about everytime that one would be
missing in there, either with a calf or just hiding herself.
Rosaline Hart
(nee Waters)
on the farm at Port Chalmers
Another
occasion I recall when gran's white cat happened to be down at the cowshed
one afternoon, and I thought I would see whether the cat could swim. So I
put it into the barrel of whey for the pigs, and the cat didn't like it very
much and got out of it very smartly, but unfortunately gran saw it from up
at the farm house and I was called up there very smartly. Aunty Alice at
this time suggested to me that if I helped her to dry the dishes that she
was washing up she'd tell gran that she had given me the necessary 'what
for', which I agreed to smartly. So I was busy drying up the dishes when
gran came in with a rather big stick and I was very fortunate to get away
without having to be further chastised.
Bill Bradburn
at
his gran Maggie Short's home
Running into
the sitting-room of our home at Pukeokahu, tripping and falling into the
open fire place, burning my hands. However, it must have not been too bad,
for I had no scars.
Beth Kirwan
(nee Goodrick)
We didn't have
a broom as such when we were kids, and for many years when a broom was
needed, we would duck down into the gully and get a head of ti-tree and use
that on the wooden floors. We also had to scrub these floors and they would
come up almost white.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
when a child at Awhitu
Going from
Pollok to Clarkes Beach on the boat with Dave, Angus and my Dad, Bill
Hyland, and putting out the mullet net and catching so many fish that we had
to tip the loose ones out to keep the boat afloat so we could get back to
Pollok. We smoked them all, and gave them away to everyone - Dave and the
rest of us got in his truck and drove around to all and sundry giving out
these fish - damn near supplied the whole Peninsula.
Norman Hyland
and McPikes
Close to the
Awhitu Central school was an old orchard, full of apples, plums and
cherries. Clifton Irwin and I used to duck in and raid this orchard, fill
our skirts up with apples and plant these at intervals along the roadside on
the way to school. Then coming home we would pick up an apple and much away
at it until we found the next one, and so on. However, one day all our
plans were foiled, as during the day the roadmen had cut down the ti-tree
and rubbish and cleared the roadside and so buried our apples and we
couldn’t get them that day.
Eileen Exeter
(nee Short)
The generosity
and wonderous nature of my mother. If she had six pence she would give the
six pence to you and go without herself.
Sheila Shears
daughter of Evelyn
What about the
time Tim reckoned he was Superman, standing up on a window ledge ready to
‘fly’ out the window and beyond so Gill pushed him off to see if he was.
He wasn’t.
An
Aspin from Grahams Beach
One late
afternoon Greg and I were having a rather difference of opinion down by the
creamshed of who was going to go down to the paddock and bring the cows
home. Unfortunately Grandad had crept up on us from behind with a rather
large stick and for the next couple of hundred yards down the farm he kept
us both going quite quickly and chased us probably several hundred yards
until we came to the cow race past the cowshed where he stopped but we kept
going quite well.
Bill Bradburn
talking about Charlie Short
The communal
loo, wooden bench type, a high one for the adults and a low one for the
kids, where we all congregated for a chat with all our cousins. Was the
smell carbolic?
Dorothy LaHood
when at her grandparents home at Awhitu
Maggie Short’s
Another time I
recall racing Dorothy across the street in Inglewood to the shop, beating
her by a short head and slamming the door as I shot through. Unluckily for
me, dad was in the shop and proceeded to demonstrate with a piece of wire
around my leg, his displeasure at those who slammed doors on others and this
time I had no chance of practicing the old four laps around the house trick!
Pat Julian
and Hec, his father.
Crossing the
Manukau Harbour. It was Labour Weekend and a terrible cold, bleak and
raining day, with big seas and the boat had to travel down to Cornwallis
before it could cross over to Big Bay. I had my wee son Lewis with me and
we were standing up most of the way. Everyone except Lewis and I were being
sick, with buckets everywhere, we all got wet and were terribly cold. We
were on the Awhitu or maybe the Outlaw and I remember Nick Cockburn who was
outside with some of the others, got so cold he couldn’t hold on any longer
and fell into the boat on top of everyone. The Skipper, Len Peterson, says
it was the worst crossing he had ever had.
Teannie Wedding
(nee Aspin)
When Lorton
and I were first married and living at Pukeokahu, east of Taihape and during
the winters we would be snowed in with about 16 to 18 inches of snow, then
we would have heavy frosts on top of that and the snow would take sometimes
over a week to thaw. Lyla and Leo bought our Cousin Alice and her husband
Ray McNamara out to visit us when they were down on their honeymoon and this
was just after a heavy fall. They had to follow in the wheel tracks of the
mail-bus to get a grip on the metalled road. But Lorton had to get the old
horse harnessed and hook it on to Ray’s car to tow it up the first steep
hill to our place as the wheels of the car just skidded on the solid snow
and couldn’t get a grip at all. Their first experience of snow and its
hazards and an everlasting memory of their honeymoon trip to the snow
country of the central North Island will be something I am sure they often
thought about and wondered how folk lived in such places.
Maud
and Lorton
Goodrick
My surprise
birthday party when I was 10 and getting a box of chocolates and cake which
was a big thing in those days when I look back. Also the two wheeler bike
we shared and had a few spills off – still have some scars in memory of
that!
Beth Kirwan
(nee Goodrick)
One day our
neighbour, John Irwin, came in and we were eating corn and I can remember
thinking that he would think we were eating pig tucker – well now everyone
eats corn, don’t they?
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
Years back
Taff Zinzan said he would give me a couple of horses he had and didn’t
want. So I got them off him and one was called Flame – I fought him for
years and years and I too gave him away in the end. This particular day I
remember I was taking the cream up to the end of the road and the horses
shied. I lost one rein and they pulled me along the road on the other rein
until finally I let go. They bolted and ended up in Leo Kemp’s pond –
they had both run either side of a post and got tangled and ended up in the
pond. I found out some time later that they had bolted on Taff too and he
had lost all his cream on that occasion!
Jack Aspin
at
Hatton’s Road
I have
wonderful memories of my dear old dad. He was always so gentle and kind
and loved by all who came in contact with him.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
speaking of her dad, Tom.
My Model T
Ford car I owned. It originally belonged to my uncle, Jack Aspin. I
bought it off Bill and Jack O’Reilly and they wanted seven pounds ten
shillings for it. I said to them I only had a fiver then they asked what
else did I have. I knew I had a radio worth about three quid and they said
that would do, so I bought it for five pounds plus a radio worth three
pounds. It was around 10 years old when I had it and I must have sold it
about three or four years later.
Eddie Short
son
of Jim and Emma
Somebody told
us of the time when Jim and Emma and family were living up at Kennedy Bay.
Their uncle Owen Short was visiting and stuck his head through the window to
talk to the kids when Emma walked up behind him, said something, and he got
such a fright he lifted his head and broke the window.
We
think it was Bill Short,
who was one of the kids.
Uncle Tom and
Aunty Lucy had an open fireplace in their cowshed. It was a monsterous
thing, took massive big logs in it and they had it going all year round. I
presume in the cold weather it helped to defrost the piping, etc, before
milking.
Frank Short
son
of Jim and Emma
The first
motorcar around here, it would have been in the very early 1920's. I think
Henry Short had one of the first Model T Fords. Henry is the brother of Jim
and Charlie of course. Before he had his car, he used to ride his horse
around a lot, and he was always teasing us kids. I remember he used to
always give Vic the works. As soon as Henry would see him, he'd tie his
horse up somewhere and say "Right, you coming home with me? I'll get that
chaff sack and put you in the sack and put it over the saddle and away we'll
go! " We used to believe that he'd do it too. I wouldn't put it passed him
either really. He did love a joke - what Short didn't?
Dan Aspin
The occasion
when Robin Jefferies fell from one of the pear trees into the pig wallow -
splut! It was just after dad had installed a high pressure hose at the
piggeries up the hill, and if ever there was a time it was needed, it was
that day. That must have been a weak limbed tree, because some years
earlier, Tony Marshall had fallen from the same tree!
Brian Aspin
on
the farm at Grahams Beach
My brother
Bert was the comedian in our family, often having us in hysterics with his
antics. On one occasion when, he happened to be at home for a few days, he
rang up a girl we knew, who was to be married to a fellow who we also knew.
This chap stuttered terribly, and Bert carried on a 'lovers chat' with this
girl for about half an hour, impersonating her fiance, even down to the
stutter. The poor unsuspecting girl didn't realise it wasn't her fiance, and
Bert told her he would ring again, which he did the next evening. And when
the girl answered the phone Bert started stuttering away to her and she
asked who he was, and hung up. Well, the next day we found out that the
couple had been married that particular day in the Registry Office in
Taihape, and we often wondered if they would ever suspect it was him who was
the culprit. I don't think they ever would.
On another evening, a girl cousin of mine came to spend a holiday with us,
and she and Bert dressed up in my dad's long pink woollen underpants and did
all kinds of stunts. She was another one like Bert and full of fun. They had
dad and mum and my brother Ralph and myself nearly in hysterics.
Maud Marquiss
(nee Garrett)
Carol
Hamilton, son of J. T. Hamilton, tells us that his father always said that
"Shorts (Charlie) had a sheep-race down the middle of their house - girls to
the right, boys to the left, Mum and Dad straight ahead in the middle".
Our neighbours
we had when living at Awhitu Central were Mr Willie Irwin who lived down the
gully near the Coast, Mr John Irwin on another side, Mr George Irwin on the
other side, and Mr Maurice Millett who lived just over the brow of the hill.
Kathleen Gardner
(nee Short)
When grandma
lived at Grahams Beach, our dog, Snuff, would always recognise her car going
up or down the road. She might have been gone several weeks, and we could be
at home when the dog suddenly starts barking and zipping up and down the
place, running out to the road, and you could be sure that grandma's little
Prefect was making its way along the road, perhaps as far back as Tram
Gully. Sometimes we couldn't even hear it, but he did, and he recognised it
was her too. He was never wrong.
Brian Aspin
It was young
Gill Aspin, wasn't it, who put a 50 cent piece on the plate at Chur |
