Avondale Historical Journal 82

8/9/2019 Avondale Historical Journal 82

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The Avondale

Historical Journal

March-April 2015

Official Publication of the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society Incorporated

An intriguing image recently posted to me by AWHS member Muriel Wells-Green -- showing a “peace ball” held

in the old Avondale Public Hall (now thewooden building next to the Hollywood Cinema in St Georges Road.)

All I can find on it in Papers Past is this:

"On Friday night the Banwell Club held a peace

ball, which was a great success. Never in the

history of Avondale has the hall been more artisti-

cally and tastefully decorated. The whole of the

ceiling was made to represent a huge spider's web,

in red, white and blue. very large number of guests

were present and dancing was the feature of the

evening. An innovation which was rather novel

was provided when several of the dances, which

Next meeting of the

Avondale-Waterview Historical

Society:

At St Ninians, St Georges Road

(opp. Hollywood Cinema)

SATURDAY, 4 April 2015, 2.00 pm

An Avondale Peace Ball, July 1919



The Avondale Historical Journal

Page 2

rebellion. In all his adult life Mr. Bollard took an activeinterest in the affairs of his district and of his country …

He was for some years chairman of the Auckland

Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and a member of theEden Licensing Committee. He entered the House in1896 as member for Eden, defeating Mr. JacksonPalmer. This seat he held continuously for 18 years, re-tiring only at the expiry of the last Parliament when,owing to advancing years and failing health he decidednot to contest the seat again. In politics he was a memberof the Reform Party, a sturdy advocate of the freehold

the orchestra played to patriotic airs, were vocalised

by the dancers, and taken up by the chaperons and oth-

er visitors. A very nice supper was provided, at which

the tables were tastefully decorated. Messrs P Adams

and J Goring acted as MC's, and Morrows orchestra

provided the music.”

( Auckland Star 22 July 1919 p.8)

If anyone's got more info -- do let us know.

2015 marks the centenary of the death of one of Avondale’s early settlers, a farmer, an estate agent, achampion for progress in the district, and arguably the greatest resident public representative for Avondale, John Bollard. He dominated Avondale community lifeand politics for over 50 years, and always believed inour future. He was a man of the people, “Honest John” Bollard, and was greatly mourned when he passed away. The following are excerpts from thenewspapers of the time of his death.

John Bollard,

who for many years represented theEden constituency in Parliament, was taken to a privatehospital at Auckland on Sunday suffering from a seri-ous internal complaint. He was operated upon duringthe day, and is progressing as well as can be expected. ( Fielding Star , 23 March 1915)

Mr John Bollard, ex-member for Eden, died onTuesday, afternoon, aged 75 years, after an operationwhich took place on Sunday. Deceased leaves awidow, five sons and five daughters. He was a cousinof Mr John Finlay, of Tokaora. Mr Bollard was first

elected to Parliament as member for Eden inDecember, 1896, and represented that district continu-ously until quite recently. ( Hawera & Normanby Star , 24 March 1915)

The late Mr. Bollard had been in indifferent health forsome time, and on Sunday he was taken to a privatehospital suffering from a serious internal complaint.An operation was necessary, and it was successfully performed, but yesterday morning the patient showedalarming signs of collapse, and died during the after-noon. The late Mr. Bollard was born in CountyWicklow, Ireland, in 1839. He arrived in New Zealandin 1860, and in his earliest days of colonial life heserved with the Auckland Militia in quelling the Native

John Bollard —

the Father of Avondale

It seems John Bollard had a fondness for check suits, not

something you’d know from the photographic portraits of him,

but the Observer was both quick and keen to use this to identi- fy him in their cartoons.

At right, an observation on the Charitable Aid Board, from

1895

Above, from the Christchurch Sun , 27 March 1915




Page 3




Page 4

Observer , 25 July 1903

Observer , 14 March 1908

Observer , 6 April 1907



tenure when the tenure issue was one of the greatest before the country, and generally he was a stout friendof the man making his living on the land. Indeed, on thesubject of agriculture, Mr. Bollard was acknowledgedan expert. He was also keenly interested in primary ed-

ucation, .and from the inception of the workers' homesscheme he advocated the establishment of rural work-ers' homes. While he was an unswerving supporter ofhis party and its principles, the party contacts in theHouse had no charms for him, and he kept almostentirely out of the arena when party wrangles were be-ing fought out. So it happened that however bitter thefeeling might be against the party, Mr Bollard was bycommon consent excluded. He had no single enemy inthe House, and his honest and straightforward characterwon him universal esteem. Mr R F Bollard, member forRaglan in the last, and in the present House, is a son of

the deceased gentleman.

( Dominion, 24 March 1915. The part I left out waswhere the Dominion mistakenly thought John Bollard’shome was Mt Eden rather than Avondale, probablyconfused by the name Eden as the electorate which

spanned most of the isthmus and part of West Auckland,and the Eden Licensing Committee. Newspaper jour-

nalists could write as much in error then as now.)

During the Maori war he superintended a large ship-ment of horses from New South Wales for the Arm-

strong Artillery, serving in the Waikato district, andwas afterward for some time in the Auckland militia.He eventually settled down at Avondale, near Auck-land, where he resided ever since. Mr Bollard has takenan active part in public affairs for the last 40 years. Hewas chairman of the Avondale Road Board for 29 years… He was a justice of the peace, and for many yearsacted as coroner for the district extending from MountAlbert to the West Coast. He has been chairman of theAuckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board and member of the Eden Licensing Committee. He took a greatinterest in agriculture, and acted as a judge at shows formany years.

(Otago Daily Times, 24 March 1915)

The news that Mr. John Bollard, the highly esteemedand veteran legislator, who for nearly twenty years rep-resented Eden in the House of Representatives, and wasone of the pioneers of the Avondale district, passedaway yesterday, will be received with general regretthroughout Auckland, while a wide circle of friends allover the Dominion will be saddened on hearing of his

demise …

The late Mr. Bollard was a native of County Wicklow,Ireland, where he was born 75 years ago last New

Year's Day. He emigrated at the age of twenty toAustralia, where for a few months he tried his fortuneon the goldfields. Unenamoured of his prospects insearch of the yellow metal, his eyes turned to the youngcolony of New Zealand, and he landed in 1861 at Auck-

land in charge of 200 horses for use by the militia in theMaori war, which had recently broken out. On May 9of the same year he was married at St. John's College,his wife having also but shortly arrived from her nativeIreland. Mr and Mrs Bollard immediately took up theirresidence at Avondale, where they had lived ever since,Mr Bollard farming, and subsequently becoming a landagent and valuer. During the Maori war he served as asergeant of militia, first at Otahuhu and later at theAvondale blockhouse.

As an active participant in public affairs,

Mr. Bollard

held a record unequalled in New Zealand,

for the year following his marriage he was elected as amember of the Avondale School Committee, of whichhe was still a member at the time of his death, havingserved the whole 54 years on it, and 51 of those yearsas its chairman. At the celebration of his jubilee as amember, in 1911, he was presented with an illuminatedaddress, the presentation being made by the Minister ofEducation of the day, the Hon. George Fowlds, whileamong those who attended the function was the presentPrime Minister. At the last meeting of the Committee,held about three weeks ago, he was present.

Another public body on which he served long and faith-fully was the Avondale Road Board, of which he waschairman for 28 years, while at one time he also actedas its engineer, for which post he was qualified by earlyexperience in Ireland. He was also a staunch church-man, having been one of the founders and original trus-tees of St. Jude's Church, Avondale, and for many yearsa churchwarden. Among his other public offices, hewas a Justice of the Peace for nearly 40 years, coronerat Avondale for about 30 years, a member of the oldEden Licensing Committee, and a member for manyyears of the Auckland Hospital and Charitable AidBoard.

Mr Bollard's Parliamentary career began in 1896, whenhe was elected for Eden, and he held the seat throughall political changes till his retirement before last elec-tion. “Honest John” Bollard being one of the few members whom his political opponents regarded as beingsafely entrenched against all attacks by his hold on theaffections of the Eden electors, this was perhaps themore remarkable in those days of noisy politicians from

the fact that he was known as one of the "silent" members of the House. The veteran member for Eden wasnot a rhetorician, and seldom spoke, but when his voicewas raised he spoke from honest convictions, and was


Page 5



accorded an attention denied to many a glib and silver -tongued orator. His sterling work on the Agricultural,Pastoral, and Stock Committee, and his advocacy of theestablishment of an agricultural college for the NorthIsland are too well known to need emphasis, while his

memory must always be dear to workers as having beenthe first member of Parliament to urge the establish-ment of a workers' homes scheme. Upon his announce-ment last session of his intention to retire from politics,Mr. Bollard was presented with testimonials of his longand faithful service to the country, and of the high es-teem in which he was held by his fellow members on both sides of the House.

For some years past the late Mr. Bollard had sufferedfrom intermittent attacks by an internal complaint, buthis general health had been fairly good till last Sunday,

when a severe seizure made it necessary for him to un-dergo an immediate operation. He appeared to makefavourable progress till yesterday, morning, when achange set in for the worse, and he died peacefully at3.30 p.m. yesterday. He is survived by his widow, whois also 75 years of age, and ten children — five sonsand five daughters — of whom the eldest is Mr RF Bollard, M.P. for Raglan.

The funeral will take place at three o'clock to-morrowafternoon at the Avondale Anglican Cemetery.

At last night's meeting of the Mount Albert BoroughCouncil feeling reference was made to the late legisla-tor, and it was decided to forward a letter of condolenceto his widow and family in their bereavement.

( Auckland Star 24 March 1915)

The funeral of the late Mr John Bollard at the AvondaleAnglican Cemetery yesterday afternoon was attended by nearly 2000 people, among the number being thePrime Minister, the Right Hon W F Massey, Messrs FW Lang, A M Myers, C J Parr, A. Harris, J S Dickson,

and C H Poole, members elect of Parliament, and theHon T Thompson, MLC. Ex-members of Parliamentwho had sat while Mr. Bollard was a member, includedthe Hon. George Fowlds, Hon. J A Tole, KC, and theHon E Mitchelson, Messrs E W Alison, J H Bradney,F Lawry, F McGuire and A Kidd. Most of the public bodies in and around Auckland were also represented.The chief mourners were Messrs. R F Bollard, member -elect for Raglan, A Bollard, H Bollard, sons of the de-ceased legislator. Messrs. Bailey, Milne, and Waters,sons-in-law, Messrs. John Bollard. Arthur and Harry

Bailey, grandsons, and Mr. W Berm, brother -

in-

law.The wreaths and other floral tributes were so numerousthat the services of 50 of the elder boys from theAvondale school were needed to carry them to the


Page 6

graveside. The mourners all followed the hearse onfoot, the cemetery being near the house in RosebankRoad, where the late Mr Bollard had resided for overfifty years, and the service, which was conducted by theVen Archdeacon Calder, Vicar of All Saints, was an

impressive one.


The cortege left the house at Rosebank Road, Avondale— over 50 years the home of Mr. Bollard — at half - past three o'clock. Opposite the residence were drawnup 300 children from the Avondale and New Lynnschools, their presence being in recognition ofMr. Bollard's 51 years' service as chairman of theAvondale School Committee. The cemetery is close tothe house, and the hearse was the only vehicle in the

procession, the mourners following on foot.

( NZ Herald 26 March 1915)

The members of the Auckland Board of Educationadopted a motion of condolence at this morning’s meet-ing with the relatives of the late Mr John Bollard; theBoard at the same time recording a minute appreciationof Mr Bollard’s excellent services to the cause of edu-cation in the province and in the Dominion.


NZ Herald photo




Page 7

We don’t have quite the same problem as Epsom, fur-ther east on the isthmus, in terms of defining what is andwhat isn’t Avondale and Waterview, but on viewing amap of a survey of Avondale residents done recently bya local community group, I realised that an old questionhad indeed arisen yet again in our history: how much ofAuckland is Avondale?

The map above features a dotted line showing approxi-mately what Auckland Council today class as Avondaleand Waterview, according to their rates information.

The boundary between Avondale and Waterview is sim- ple — a line at the junction of Great North and Block-house Bay Roads, north of which is Waterview. Water-view’s eastern boundary is the Oakley Creek. ButAvondale’s eastern and southern boundaries are a bit

less straight-cut. The curving line of the Oakley Creek isfollowed, so we have Avondale Heights included, thendown towards the New North Road, where the rise to-wards the Baptist Church is Avondale. The creek headsunder Bollard Avenue, then on to mark out the MethuenRoad area and nearby streets, towards Richardson Road.Then following Richardson Road on the western side,until reaching the rear of properties at John Davis Road.The line then heads generally west, just north of Mar-gate Road, following the course of the Whau Streamtowards the end, cutting into Olympic Park to the main

Whau River.

The original Whau Highway District went a bit furtherwest, including Portage Road in New Lynn up until ear-ly in the 20th century, and of course stretched down to

Boundaries ...




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Published by:the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society Inc.Editor: Lisa J. TruttmanSociety contact: 19 Methuen Road, Avondale, Auckland 0600 Phone: (09) 828-8494, 027 4040 804email: [email protected] Society information:

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/avondalehistory/

Subscriptions: $15 individual $20 couple/family $30 corporate

Copies of Avondale Historical Journal and AWHS Newsletter produced for us by

Words Incorporated, 557 Blockhouse Bay Road,

Blockhouse Bay.

The Society and AHJ editorial staff thank

Avondale Business

Association for their continued support and sponsorship of this

publication.

the Manukau incorporating what is now BlockhouseBay from the late 1860s.

Whau North, at the boundary with New Lynn

The “townships” of Whau North (Portage Road to Tay-lor Street, including Olympic Park) and Whau South(much of Blockhouse Bay east of the roundabout at theshops) predated highway districts in the area and hadtheir own changeable boundaries.

The townships were drawn up by the Auckland Provin-cial Council in the late 1850s in response to the early proposals for a Whau Canal project, and first promotedfor sale towards the end of 1857. There were somesales, but most of the land remained unsold. Under theCommon Schools Act of 1869, some of these unsold

sections in both townships were set aside as educationreserves.

John Bollard in December 1882, as chairman of theAvondale Road Board, wrote to the Crown LandsBoard asking for Whau North and Whau South to beresurveyed, a recreation reserve set aside, and for bridg-es to be constructed (possibly over the Whau and Avon-dale Streams). The 1883 resurvey of Whau North wasfor town allotments in terms of size – this was reclassi-fied as suburban land in March 1885. At the same time

the Crown Lands Board determined that, as the name“Whau” had “associations with the name which mightaffect the sale of the allotments”, that the name“Gordon” should be adopted instead, after the hero ofKhartoum. A month later, realising that there was an-other town called “Gordon”, the Board decided to re-name Whau North as “Wolseley”, after yet anther Brit-ish Imperial military hero, Sir Garnet Wolseley (what isnow Tiverton Road was once Garnet Road).

In February 1889, with the Avondale Road Board in

discussions with the Minister of Public Works over the

need and the financing of a new Whau Bridge at Great North Road, an alternative was put forward to have aroad formed past Hunt’s brickworks and through theWolseley township, to provide an alternative crossingnear the confluence of the Whau and Avondale streams.

This later became Wolseley Road, but the alternativecrossing remained just a wooden pedestrian footbridgeuntil the 1960s.

In July 1929, after the 1927 amalgamation with Auck-land City, it was proposed to name Wolseley Road asBancroft Street (by the way, St Georges Road was beknown as Taylor Street, continuing the existing road, butthis didn’t happen). However, the Wolseley name re-mained until August 1932, when Wolverton Street wasformally adopted by Auckland City Council.

The Avondale-Waterview Historical Society is proud to be a member of the New Zealand History Federation.

More information at their website: http://www.nzhistoricalsocieties.org.nz

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Avondale Historical Journal 82