Collections

These albums were donated by Mr Pitman and the photographs are held here at the library.
The albums have now been moved to the Feilding Community Archives on South Street.

Feilding Racecourse

These Photographs were taken on Tuesday 30th July 2018. Showing the first of the three stadiums to be demolished.
The second stadium was being demolished around 28th August and the original stadium photographs were taken 6th September.

History:
The Feilding Jockey Club was formed in 1879 and the president was Mr D. H. Macarthur. The club's first race meeting was held on Frank Yates Lethbridge's property known as "Lethbridge's Run", held on Easter Monday 1879. By September 1889, the Feilding Jockey Club was sufficientyl established to begin the process of acquiring its own property.
In April 1890 the Feilding Joceky Club accepted a
Mr Turner's offer to lease the club sixty-two acres for use as a racecourse, with a purchasing clause in ten years. The first race meeting to be held at the new course, took place on 27th December 1890.
The Feilding Jockey Club ran an extremely successful and popular racetrack from its establishment in 1879 until its merger with the Awapuni Club 1999.
when the decision was made to sell the racecourse to the Manawatu District Council and transfer the Club's racing operations to Awapuni. The Feilding Jockey Club land is now part of Manfield Park.

Grandson Mr Gavin Scott has allowed the library access to his collection of photographs and family history. .

As a 14-year-old, Mr Hobday was sent from England to stay with his uncle Thomas Bull in Rongotea. He met his wife Mary Nesbit at Carthew's Bookshop where he was encouraged to learn about photography because he was selling cameras. The Nesbit family owned the Feilding Abattoir in Sandon Rd.

Along with the photos deposited in the Feilding Community Archives by Mr Scott is a poster advertising Mr Hobday's aerial photographs "Photography was my grandfather's passion," Mr Scott said.

Mr Hobday was very interested in planes and paid 15 pounds to be the first passenger to fly with Captain Russell from the Feilding Racecourse to Parorangi, now Hato Paora College, on August 17, 1920. He also flew with Francis Chichester and George Bolt, and is believed to be the first professional aerial photographer in New Zealand. He was commissioned by the Auckland Weekly to photograph the damage to Napier after the 1931 earthquake.

"He was a pioneer in aerial photography and founder of the New Zealand Professional Photographers Association," his photographs were taken from open aircraft, and the detail shows his skill as a photographer.

Bert Hobday has left a legacy of photographs of Feilding and the lower North Island in the early part of the 20th century. Although a collection of his glass plates was lost in the Darragh building fire in 1995, many of his prints are at the Feilding Library and decorate the Feilding Information Centre and other buildings.

Mr Bert Hobday died in 1973.

Many thanks to Fairfax Media for allowing us to scan and upload photographs from our local Feilding Herald to our 'Recollect Webpage'.
These photographs have been taken by different Feilding Herald Photographers over the years. Most are Pre 2000.
Donated and copyright owned by Fairfax Media
Permission is required for reuse of any of these photographs. Please contact us at the library for further information.

Halcombe Anzac Day Service Thursday 25th April 2019 - “The Homecoming”.
A Halcombe Anzac Day service is not your typical service. Our aim is to create an event that is unique and special, that brings our community together and helps us to understand the history that formed our district.
As this year marks the last year of the official 5-year commemoration of World War 1, we plan to make this year’s service the pinnacle event, with a re-enactment of our local soldiers' ‘Homecoming’ in 1919. So it will be “All Aboard” on 25th April for a steam train excursion, from Feilding to Halcombe, for our spectacular Anzac parade and service, followed by lunch, with memorabilia on display and an art exhibition in the Halcombe Memorial Hall. Entry to the Anzac service is free. Timetable: At 9:30 am, the community welcomes the Homecoming Train into Halcombe. Passengers will be met with a good old-fashioned ceremony! Time for tea & coffee before our Anzac Parade at 10.30 am and traditional Anzac service at 10:45 am. Lunch follows the service, with a chance to view the art exhibition and war memorabilia in the Memorial Hall display. Steam train departs Halcombe at 2:00 pm.

Photographs Donated By Jess Manthey

Feilding & District Information Centre was situated in this building till May 2017 (Manchester Square), after a brief stay with the Feilding Library they have now moved to the Feilding Railway Station in June 2017.

About Feilding

Welcome to friendly Feilding, voted NZ's Most Beautiful Town, where housing is affordable, the lifestyle is relaxed and friendly, no traffic lights, free parking while you shop with all the benefits of the city just 20kms away.

Location

Feilding is well placed geographically, just 2 hours drive from most of the southern half of the North Island including Hawkes Bay, Lake Taupo, Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu and Wellington (NZ's capital) providing a gateway to the South Island. The Manawatu District's location offers easy access to four seaports, seven airports, an airforce base and two large military bases.

The Manawatu District covers an area of 2,780 square kilometres and is bounded by two rivers (the Rangitikei in the north and the Manawatu in the south), the Ruahine Ranges to the east and the Tasman Sea to the west. Our nearest city, Palmerston North (only 19kms from Feilding), has a population of over 75,000 providing extra employment opportunities and easy access to all the city facilities.

History

Named after Colonel William Feilding, (a Director for the Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation Ltd), Feilding as part of the Manchester Block was purchased from the Wellington Provincial Government with the first European immigrants arriving on the 22 January 1874. Free passage was given to 2000 emigrants with guaranteed work for `able bodied' men within ten miles of the settlement, clearing trees, building the Main Trunk railway line and farming.

Many streets in Feilding and outlying settlements in the Manawatu are named after the Directors of the Corporation. Manchester Street and Square are after the Chairman, the Duke of Manchester, while Kimbolton Road is named after his Estate. The Earl of Denbigh is remembered on another square while Henry Ashhurst gave his name to an outlying township as did Arthur Halcombe.