Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 18, June 1974
OUR CONTRIBUTOR: MR. (H.S.) BRICK BUDD
has early ties with Ohinemuri, his Grandfather having been on the scene before the opening of the Goldfield, and his eldest uncle was born in Paeroa in 1875 and his mother in 1880. The 1900 Cyclopedia records that his Grandfather, Maurice [Maurice Goggan or Groggan – E] Power was the Proprietor of the Ohinemuri Hotel erected in 1896 on the corner of Normanby Road and Arney Street. It had been established in 1876 on a site in Cassrels Street overlooking the river, then the main highway. Early in the century the Power family moved to Waihi where they conducted the Central Hotel (later removed to become the Princes Gate Hotel in Rotorua). The Paeroa premises was burned down in 1907. (Mr. M.G. Power [Maurice Gilbert, son of Maurice Goggan or Groggan - E] was Mayor of Waihi 1913-1915).
At the R.C. Church in Waihi, Nancy Power married Frank Budd who was a Battery Manager but in 1913 be was appointed Manager of the National Bank Refinery in Willoughby Street, Paeroa and remained there until it closed in 1923. The family lived on the corner of Thames Road and King Street (where Mr.& Mrs. Lauder live now). There were six children, Brick, Sybil, Molly (who died suddenly in 1970) Buzz, June and Margaret. Their parents were keen Golfers and Mr. Budd (Sen.) was made a Life Member of the Paeroa Club. Mrs. Budd became a Life Member of the Tennis Club on account of her great help when it was raising money to transfer from the Domain Courts to the present property near the College. She was an accomplished pianist and played for fund raising dances besides helping in other ways. In 1924 they moved to Hastings where Mr. Budd joined the staff of the A.M.P. Society a position he held until his death in 1957.
Brick had spent 1923 as a Pupil Teacher at the Paeroa School and continued for a year at Hastings, but joined the National Bank till 1930 when he thought his future lay with "oil"; War II decided otherwise and he went overseas with the Advance Party in Dec. 1939. He was Adjutant of the 19th Battalion for about 18 months and as a Comp. Commander was seconded to do a job for the British just after "Crete" but became a P.O.W. for four long years, returning to N.Z. in 1945 after which he was with "Insurance" for some years.
But Brick's real interest lay in Golf. In 1951 be became the first Secretary Manager of the Whangarei Club and in 1954 the Sec. Man. of the Rotorua Golf Club, retiring from there in March 1971. His father started him playing when he was about 7 years of age and he has been playing ever since. He recalls that he and Tracy Moresby were the first (and only) Junior Members of the Paeroa Golf Club in "Race Course" days during W. War I and he won the Paeroa Club Champ. in 1922 - his first - but subsequently he won 28 more though he played little competitive Golf after 1953. He put up one record that he thinks Stuart Jones may some day equal. That was by winning the Hastings Club Champ. in 1929 and '30, the Hastings Open Champ. in 1930 and the Hastings Veteran's Champ. in 1965. Now he has retired to Tauranga, and being nearer to his old "Home Towns" has joined our Historical Society. We say "Welcome!".
MR. STANLEY WELLINGTON BAGNALL born at Turua, was the only son of Richard W. Bagnall and Lydia Chadwick (Lamb) of Thames. His father was a son of George Bagnall who came to N.Z. with his wife and family from Prince Edward IS. (Canada) in 1864, and later established a Sawmill at Turua. After attending Auck. Grammar School, Stanley Bagnall joined Mr. Porrit's legal firm in Paeroa but during World War I served overseas. On returning to N.Z. he took up farming on the Hauraki Plains and married Bertha Phillips. During the depression the family left the farm and moved to Papakura, then to Albany; later to Birkenhead where Mr. Bagnall died in 1971 aged 81 years. He had written many articles for Newspapers and maintained his interest in Turua. His daughter, Dorothy is a member of our Historical Society and we are grateful to her for sending us a copy of the above article.
OUR CONTRIBUTOR - WINIFRED HUGHES was one of the 5 Nathan children - born in a house near the Gasworks, Puke Road, Paeroa. Her eldest brother Cyril (1st W .War) died 6 years ago, and her brother Stanley in infancy. Violet is in the South Is. and Rosalind (Mrs. Thorn) in Auckland. The children attended the Wood Street School where Winifred served 2 years as a Pupil Teacher and after Training College as an Assistant in 1926. That year she assisted Miss Emmett with the Guides and Brownies. With Sylvia Taylor she was a Tawny Owl and received a warrant as a Guide Lieutenant. She then went to a Sole Charge School at Kinohaku where she met her husband and married in 1930. She has reared 6 children and now lives in Manurewa but maintains a lively interest in Paeroa.
OUR CONTRIBUTOR: CLIFF FURNISS is known to us as the Secretary of the Auckland Maritime Society which visited Paeroa in 1972.
His Father gave up his trade as a carpenter to take up land on the Hauraki Plains, first bee-keeping and then dairying, on the Mangawhero Road, between Patetonga and Kaihere in June, 1920. In the winter of 1927 he moved to another farm a few miles away, at Torehape. An unformed road bounding one side of this property is now shown on maps as "Furniss Road". Owing to deterioration of health Mr. Furniss (Sen.) sold the farm in 1938. In 1948 after various jobs with a break of two years' Home Service in the Army, Cliff joined the staff of the Waterfront Industry Commission's Auckland branch where he has since served in various capacities.
Another of our Contributors who has a "Plains" background is MR. ARCH McDONALD now well known in Paeroa in connection with the Social Credit movement and as a businessman. We are grateful to him for his interest as we are to MR. VIC MURRAY whose 50 year old snaps of Ngatea will recall early memories. His reference to "Dave Vincent' s Shop" reminds us that the story of the pioneer Vincent Family (still represented in Paeroa by "Charlie") must be told in a future article.
OUR CONTRIBUTOR: MRS. NEZZIE MORRIS a member of the noted Waipu McLeod family, attended the Auckland Grammar School and took up teaching. It was while she was on the Staff of the Netherton School that she met Bennett Morris who had served with distinction for nearly 4 years during World War I, both at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. He was twice mentioned in despatches and was awarded the meritorious Service Medal. In 1926 Nezzie and Ben married and lived in Mackaytown before moving with their daughter Isobel to Waihi till 1945 when Ben's health broke down and they decided to live at Whangamata. There he interested himself in boating and fishing when health permitted, but he passed away in Waihi Hospital in 1966 after a very long illness. Mrs. Morris now lives in Waihi where she has many friends.
OUR CONTRIBUTOR, GARY STAPLES has proved himself a true Researcher. Not only has he consulted the few remaining men who were miners but he has gone to tremendous trouble to verify facts for this article and for a longer one to be published next year dealing with the history of the major Karangahake Mines. This recording will answer many queries now and provide a reliable source for future reference.
OUR CONTRIBUTOR: MR. RUDALL HAYWARD, M.B.E. a pioneer film producer, in 1971 was listed among the "Makers of Auckland" and we have pleasure in quoting from his press record:- "In 1921 (at the age of 21) he was assistant director of the feature "The Bloke from Freeman's Bay". Then followed other silent films. "My Lady of the Cave" (1922), Rewi's Last Stand (1925), The Te Kooti Trail (1927) and "Bush Cenderella" [Cinderella ? – E] (1928).
In 1926 he completed his first sound film, "On the Friendly Road" and in 1939 the second version of "Rewi's Last Stand". Together with his wife Ramai (who was a leading player) he has more recently specialised in the production of 16mm. educational programmes for world-wide T.V. screening. His latest film "To Love a Maori" is a remarkably moving picture of race relationships in N.Z. in spite of the fact that, in his own words, it was produced on "half a shoe-string".
A modest, self-effacing man, Rudall Hayward is an artist with a lively social conscience and is an advocate of the establishment of a course at University level to give creative film makers both training and encouragement. It is noteworthy that during his brief attendance in Wanganui College, an entry in the 1916 suggestion book reads "Buy projection equipment and show educational films". (We regret Mr. Hayward died 29-5-74). ED.