Hector James Booth, 1854 - 1938. His wife was Emma Volkner (1866 - 1941). They married on July 28, 1891, in Foxton, and had a son in September 1893, and a daughter in May 1901. Booth was a founder of Feilding Agricultural High School.
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John Alden D. Belk, 1845-1937 Wife : Emma F., 1856-1942 Mr Belk was a wheelwright and coachbuilder. He died on 21 June, 1937, aged 92. Residence 174 Manchester Street. John .A.D. Belk - arrived in Feilding with parents, from Middlesex, aboard the "Du
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Douglas Hastings Macarthur was born in Edinburgh, in 1839. He came to New Zealand in 1856, and farmed land near Collingwood before trying his hand at mining. He was part of the 'unofficial' gold rush in Collingwood, and like so many others, attempted to seek fortune further afoot on the goldfields of Marlborough, Otago, Westland, and Nelson.
In 1872, Macarthur was back in the Collingwood District, and by some stroke of luck, was named a sub-agent for the settlement of the Manchester Block. When Arthur Halcombe relinquished the management of the Feilding settlement, it was Macarthur who succeeded him, being appointed through London.
At any rate, after his early gold-seeking days, Macarthur became a prominent figure in the Feilding District. He was the first Mayor of Feilding, Chairman of the Manawatu Highway Board, Chairman of the Manawatu and Oroua counties, and Captain of the Manchester Rifles. In 1884, he was elected Member of the House of Representatives for the Manawatu, and then re-elected in 1887. He then took a turn at representing Rangitikei in 1890, two years before his sudden death at age 53. According to the eulogies given at his funeral, he was regarded as the coming Treasurer of the Opposition Party, and he had also been suggested for the post of Agent-General in London.
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Frederick Pope was born in 1824, and received his education at the Grammar School, Hanley, Staffordshire. He then entered the service of Coxon & Son, as an architect and builder, and remained there for two years before being apprenticed elsewhere.
In Feilding, he was a well-known builder and undertaker. He married Margaret Taylor in 1893 at the Primitive Methodist church, and had several children, both biological and adopted.
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Colonel, the Honourable William Henry Adelbert Feilding was a director of the Emigrant and Colonists' Aid Corporation, formed in 1869. He came to New Zealand via Australia to buy land for settlement and bought 100,000 acres of the Manawatu-Rangitikei Bloc
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An historical picture 0 Of particular interest in relation to the Feilding Centennial Celebrations taking place this week, this group picture, taken in the 1870's, shows officers and surveyors of the Emigrants' and Colonists' Aid Society who were concerne
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Sally Pearson, nee Paul. Photograph taken on Grant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
Date and photographer unknown.
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This postcard shows an image of Te Rangi Tahau, lying on the porch of a whare puni. His wife, Ngaikiha Te Raukura peers out the window, while one of his sons sits in the doorway. Te Rangi Tahau holds a patu (Totoringa) in his hand. Te Rangi Tahau was at one time a follower of Te Kooti, but at the time of this photograph it is believed he was living peaceably on the shores of Lake Taupō, at Waipahihi. Te Rangi Tahau was the son of Ngawaka Te Kohanga Tahau and Parekaui Teito Wairoroki. He had two sons, one of whom was named Paora Tahau. A clearer version of this photograph can be found at https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22780489.
The original photographer was Herbert Deveril, but this image has been published in several books since its creation, and was sold as a postcard for some time.
_Edited by Lydia Smith, 2023. _
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Kathleen Cobbe, daughter of New Zealand politician and store-owner John Cobbe. Photographed in 1904 by an unknown photographer.
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Cyril Gibson Bradbury photographed in the 50s, enjoying a drink at a meeting of the Halcombe RSA.
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Cyril Guy Conduitt Dermer, 1879 - 1947.
Cyril was the director of the Cheltenham branch of the Oroua Association. He was married to Christina Mary Porter of Palmerston North in August 1905, and had four children with her.
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Bessie Flavall of Feilding, formerly of Halcombe, aged 87 years. Winner of Prydes' Group of the New Zealand Veteran Golf Championship, played at the Feilding Golf Club in April 1982.
Flavall was also the Manawatu Croquet champion and winner of the Silver Button in the same year.
Flavall took up golf at 43 at the Halcombe Club and won the Junior Championship in her first year, later winning the Intermediate Cup. At 81, she won the Feilding Club's Junior Championship and had previously held the Intermediate Title.
Born Bessie Managh, she married Fred Flavall in 1918 and had three sons and a daughter.
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Left to right: Frederick Ellis; John Wilkinson; and Frederick Pope. The caption on the photo mistakenly uses an 'E' instead of an 'F' for Pope's initial.
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A photograph of a man named William Jones. Any other information regarding this person is yet to be found.
(Lydia Smith, 2022)
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Richard and Kathleen Cobbe, photographed with some donkeys in approximately 1904.
Photographer unknown.
(Lydia Smith, 2021)
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Charles Adnam Mountfort was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1854.
Mountfort arrived in Feilding in 1874, where he spent the next 6 years surveying between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of the 106,000 acres that comprised the Manchester block. This included the cutting of the lines for many of the roads - his first job in Feilding was cutting the line for the road from Feilding to Bunnythorpe. Mountfort also surveyed the Oroua River from the mouth to its source, and completed similar work on the Manawatu River. In 1902, he surveyed the Aorangi Block for the subdivision into small farms, and was also responsible for the surveying of Apiti Small Farm Block, and similar blocks behind Kimbolton and Rewa. Mountfort also surveyed and laid out the townships of Halcombe, Ashhurst, Apiti, and Rongotea.
Mountfort joined the Survey Department in 1884, and eventually rose to become a district surveyor. In 1888, he was involved in creating the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors.
He retired in March 1923, regarded as a "conscientious, hardworking, and efficient officer, possessed of good practical knowledge of the higher branches of geodesical survey." His last work before retiring was the redoing of the standard survey of Feilding, Palmerston North, and the adjacent district.
Mountfort was married to Ann Barry Vaughan in 1879. They settled in Feilding and had seven children together. Ann was a teacher who had set up a girls' school in Gisborne. She also painted landscape scenes when she accompanied her husband on surveying trips. Ann died in February 1938, several years before Charles passed in May 1941.
(Lydia Smith, 2021)
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Charles Adnam Mountfort was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1854.
Mountfort arrived in Feilding in 1874, where he spent the next 6 years surveying between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of the 106,000 acres that comprised the Manchester block. This included the cutting of the lines for many of the roads - his first job in Feilding was cutting the line for the road from Feilding to Bunnythorpe. Mountfort also surveyed the Oroua River from the mouth to its source, and completed similar work on the Manawatu River. In 1902, he surveyed the Aorangi Block for the subdivision into small farms, and was also responsible for the surveying of Apiti Small Farm Block, and similar blocks behind Kimbolton and Rewa. Mountfort also surveyed and laid out the townships of Halcombe, Ashhurst, Apiti, and Rongotea.
Mountfort joined the Survey Department in 1884, and eventually rose to become a district surveyor. In 1888, he was involved in creating the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors.
He retired in March 1923, regarded as a "conscientious, hardworking, and efficient officer, possessed of good practical knowledge of the higher branches of geodesical survey." His last work before retiring was the redoing of the standard survey of Feilding, Palmerston North, and the adjacent district.
Mountfort was married to Ann Barry Vaughan in 1879. They settled in Feilding and had seven children together. Ann was a teacher who had set up a girls' school in Gisborne. She also painted landscape scenes when she accompanied her husband on surveying trips. Ann died in February 1938, several years before Charles passed in May 1941.
(Lydia Smith, 2021)
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Frank Yates Lethbridge was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand, representing first the Rangitikei electorate from 1896 to 1902, and then the Oroua electorate from 1902 to 1908.
Lethbridge was born on May 22, 1852, in New Plymouth. He was educated in Nelson and Christchurch, and worked on his father's farm after leaving school. He settled in Feilding in 1876, and undertook the management of a 7000 acre estate, which would later be used for a racing track, golf links, polo grounds, and cricket and football club grounds. In 1879, Lethbridge married his cousin Clara Lethbridge in Turakina, and they had three daughters together.
Lethbridge was heavily involved in the Manchester Block community, even before his foray into politics. He was a member of several local bodies, including the Jockey Club, the Polo Club, and the Horticultural Society. He was a lieutenant in the Militia, and captain of the Manchester Rifles for several years, commanding the Rifles at Parihaka. He was also a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and held the rank of Post Master.
Lethbridge died on the 26 January, 1915, after a long illness.
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Margaret Knight was the successful candidate in the 1954 Queen Carnival to raise money for the proposed Civic Centre. She is shown here in her coronation regalia.
Queen carnivals were popular community fund raising events in New Zealand during the first half of the 20th century. The tradition began around 1915 as a way of raising money for patriotic purposes. Margaret’s team raised the most of the four candidates and Margaret was ‘crowned’ in a lavish ceremony in the Drill Hall. The Carnival raised £26,000.
The new Civic Centre was built on the site of the old Drill Hall in Stafford Street and opened in February 1957 by the Governor General, Sir Willoughby Norrie.
(Simon Johnson 2021)
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John Hammond Murray was a sheepfarmer in Waituna Valley during the late 1800's and early 1900's. He ran a flock of 6000 Lincoln sheep and a herd of 200 cattle on his estate. Murray inherited the farm from his father, who also owned a general store.
Murray was born in Whanganui in 1866, and grew up helping out on his father's farm and in the store. He is described as someone who took a 'keen and practical interest in his district" and was "always willing and anxious to further its interests in every way he possibly can". Murray was a trustee of the Waituna Cemetery, secretary of the President Garfield Lodge in Whanganui, and a member of both the Rifle Association and the Rangitikei Hunting Club. He was also asked several times to be the warden of the Otamakapua Block.
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George William Fowles was a watchmaker and machinist in Feilding in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He was born in Warwickshire, England, and learnt and practiced his trade in London before coming to Aotearoa in 1874, on the _Salisbury. _
Fowles settled in Feilding, and started a watchmaking, instrument-making, and machinery shop almost immediately. He was also an amateur photographer, and a member of the Foresters Friendly Society. He was elected to the Feilding Borough Council in 1886, and held that post for over a decade. He also was a member of the Kiwitea Road Board and the Kiwitea County Council.
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The Goodbehere family, photographed on Christmas Day in 1907. In the photo:
Back Row: Mrs. Edmund Goodbehere; F. Goodbehere; Ellen Goodbehere; Edmund Goodbehere; Brian Goodbehere.
Front Row: Patricia Goodbehere; Mrs. F. Goodbehere; Kitty Goodbehere; Jack Goodbehere; Mrs. Samuel Goodbehere.
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Thomas Harvey James was an architect in the Manawatu in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He began his business in Palmerston North in 1889, and remained there for four years, erecting or designing some of the finest buildings in the district, including the Colonial Bank, and the Palmerston North Hospital.
James also made some additions to the Feilding Hotel (also known as Hastie's Hotel), and created the Feilding Wesleyan Church. He was the architect for the Star Bowkett Building Society, and the Feilding Building Society, a post that he held since he moved to the district in 1893.
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David Penruddock Buchanan was married first to a woman named Mary-Ann Alice, who died on March 19, 1898. He had one child with Mary-Ann, a daughter born in 1890. Buchanan's second wife was Florence Watkins; they married on February 6, 1900. They had at least one child together, another daughter born almost exactly a year after they married.
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John H. Perrett was the Chairman of the Sandon School Committee, although it is unknown when he occupied this post.
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Arthur Acheson-Gray was a farmer in Ashhurst during the late 1800's and the early 1900's. He was born in Winchester in 1874, and was educated in Reading. He came to New Zealand on the Tongariro on the 1890, and went straight to the Colyton district in order to acquire "colonial experience".
Acheson-Gray bought two sections in the Harbour Board Block, consisting of 310 acres. He named the property Waiwiri, and it was situated on the road leading to Feilding from Ashhurst. The farm grazed 1000 crossbred sheep, and a good number of cattle.
Acheson-Gray was notably involved with several local clubs, including the Ashhurst-Pohangina Jockey Club, of which he was a steward. He was also the captain of the Feilding Association Football Club in 1895.
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Arthur Stanhope Aldrich was born in Dublin in 1872. He spent four years in Japan before being sent to Paris to be educated at an Anglo-French College there. In 1886, he came to New Zealand, where his father purchased several properties, including "Matsubara", near Bunnythorpe.
Aldrich was a keen athlete, and distinguished himself in several branches of sport. He was a rifleman, an angler, and a huntsman. He was a full private of the Manawatu Mounted Rifle Corps from the time it was organised, in 1891, working his way through the ranks to hold the commission of lieutenant.
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