2

Presbyterian Orphanage at Papanui.

Presbyterian Social Services Association was founded in

1908 to care for the unfortunate people of the community.

In 1910 it was agreed that an orphanage should be built in

Christchurch. The Rev. Frank Rule, who had come to

Christchurch in 1909, became the “Agent of the Association” and

was set the task of raising funds for the orphanage.

“ The Objects of the Home:

These homes are established to safeguard the welfare of the

unfortunate children, in the following order:

First: Children who have lost both father and mother.

Second: Children who have lost either father or mother.

Third: Children whose futures are endangered.” In October 1911 the committee purchased a twelve-roomed

house in Blighs Road, Papanui, from Mrs. Fisher, the widow of

James Bickerton Fisher, a well-known Christchurch solicitor.

They paid £2,500 for the two story home, on 6 acres of ground.

The home was officially opened by the Presbyterian Moderator on the 29th February 1912. Sister Agnes McMillan from Dunedin was appointed Matron, with Miss McGregor as her assistant. There was accommodation for 25 children. In the first year 43 children had been cared for at the home, and at this stage an additional dormitory was built. By 1915 there were 50 children being cared for.

3

The Home at 97 Blighs Road, Papanui.

The home was struggling to cope with

accommodation, so in October 1915 a property in

Rhodes Street, Merivale, was rented and officially

opened on the 11th March 1916, with 15 boys between

the age of 10 and 15, from Blighs Road, in residence.

Miss Julia Murray was the Matron.

In 1918 the Association bought the property for

£2,750.

Rules and regulations were strictly adhered to. Sunday morning was Church and Sunday School and well-behaved children were allowed to attend the evening service as well. Children attended the local school, which was Waimairi for the Blighs Road children. They took part in many sporting activities and their gymnastics group was well-known for their demonstrations.

4

The boys’ Gymnastic Team.

Money was always in short supply so the homes relied on

donations from their churches, be it clothing, fruit and vegetables,

jam, eggs or any other provisions.

In 1916, Frank Rule initiated “Egg Sunday”, the first one

being held in Ashburton where over 200 dozen eggs were donated.

This was wonderful, but the eggs had to be preserved - not a

particularly enjoyable job.

The early 1920s brought another innovative scheme, when a

“sheep a week” was set up. Some 48 carcasses of mutton were

promised yearly, most being donated from the Oxford district. In March 1919, after the War and the influenza epidemic, the

property adjacent to the Blighs Road home was bought. For this

3-acre property they paid £1430. The PSSA. now had possession

of the whole block in Blighs Road from Park Road to Matsons

Road. (Park Road, later renamed Windermere Road; Matsons

Road renamed Condell Ave.) This latest purchase became the

“Park Road Babies‟ Home.” After repairs and alterations this was

officially opened on the 11th October 1919.

Miss McFarlane was the matron there for seven years.

5

The Babies’ Home, Park Road, (now Windermere Road).

At the end of 1919, it was decided that the girls would be

housed at Rhodes Street, (see page 3) and the boys at Blighs Road.

With six acres of ground, the boys were taught gardening

and farming skills. Mr and Mrs D.H. Fawcett were appointed as

master and matron to the home.

During the long Christmas/New Year holidays the boys would spend up to four weeks camping on the South New Brighton property of “Daddy” Jones. The girls would then go for a shorter time. In the early 1930s the Association bought a former Sunday

School building at New Brighton for their holiday camp.

6

Boys at the beach.

By 1923, there were 45 boys at Blighs Road, 22 girls at

Rhodes Street and 20 babies at Park Road. 1926 brought more changes when a „Home‟ for working boys was needed. The children from the babies‟ home went to Rhodes Street and Blighs Road to make room for nine working boys, and this number soon grew to thirteen. It was at this time that the Boys‟ Home was renovated, and a gymnasium built. This was named the “Tutton Memorial Hall” - a legacy from the late Mrs Tutton. By 1936, ideas on caring for children were changing and gov-ernment allowances were in place, meaning that the boys over 15 went to private lodgings, and family homes were established to keep brothers and sisters together. Alterations were made to the Blighs Road home and Grace Ironside was appointed matron.

7

“Photo call for five young boys at Blighs Road.”

From an early Annual Report

8

Following the evacuation of children from England during

WW II, a group of 15 children were cared for at the orphanage until permanent homes could be found.

By 1945 buildings were needing to be replaced, so it was

decided to follow the new trend of “cottage” buildings with only

20 children housed in each.

The first of these was built on the Blighs Road property at a

cost of £15,000 and officially opened in May 1950.

In 1952 the Rhodes Street home was closed. By 1960 there

were only four girls and seven boys cared for at Blighs Road.

They were placed in foster homes, and the building turned into a

hostel for working girls. In 1966, planning started for the development of the “Windermere” complex for the elderly, on the site of the old homes.

Evacuees from England accommodated at Blighs Road.

9

South Island Methodist Orphanage

and Children’s Home. For many years the Methodist Church had felt a need to have

orphanages in New Zealand. In 1912 a committee was appointed

and the first orphanage opened in Auckland, followed by the

Papanui „Home‟ that was officially opened on the 25th April 1914. The door of the orphanage was opened by Mrs Henry Holland, the Mayoress of Christchurch. This was followed by afternoon tea served in the building.

There were seven children in residence at the time. Sister Mabel Morley had been appointed Sister-in-charge, but owing to poor health, Sister Isabel Sinclair took her position for the first 3 months.

The first “South Island Methodist Orphanage”

Sister Mabel Morley

10

The „Home‟, situated at 54 Harewood Road, was purchased for

£2750. The property, of which James Sail was the first owner,

comprised nearly 5 acres, that had been part of the original Rural

Section 213(RS213), of 46 acres. The area was bounded by streets, and formed a complete block: Harewood Road, Myrniong Street, (Chapel Street) Union Street (Hoani Street) and Sails Street. On the property there was an almost new fourteen-roomed house which was described as “of quaint architecture”. The furnishings were provided by a committee of la-dies at thecost of £261.

Under the guidance of the architect Mr Roy Lovell-Smith,

alterations to the value of £325 were made to provide

accommodation for thirty children.

The grounds were planted with old English trees and there were

spacious playgrounds with a detached playroom.

The “First Orphanage Family”, with Sisters Isabel and Dora in charge

11

This property, later addressed as 7 Chapel Street (formerly Myrniong Street) was the site of an air-craft crash-landing in March 1926. The aircraft, a Bristol F.2B Fighter was on a refresher course.. About 5.30 pm. the aircraft was seen to spin after doing a loop. It came to rest about 36ft. (11m.) from the dining room where the children were eating. There were three people on the plane: the pilot and a passenger were killed, and the pilot under instruction was seriously injured.

Children of the “home” in a Papanui park.

12

By the 1930s the “Home” was out-growing its premises, so a

12-acre property on the opposite side of Harewood Road was

purchased.

The foundation stone for the new building, an Orphanage and Children‟s Home, was laid on the 10th November 1933 by his Excellency the Governor General, Lord Bledisloe.

Lord Bledisloe, Governor General, lays the foundation stone of the South Island Orphanage and Children’s Home at Papanui,

13

The opening of the South Island Methodist Orphanage and Children's Home, Papanui, on November 9th, 1934

The building was two-storied, of concrete, with a central

block for dining room, kitchens, lounge and office with accommo-

dation upstairs, and a wing out each side, one for girls and the

other for boys. The architect was Wilford Melville Lawry (1894-

1980) known for his Art Deco buildings. The official opening was held twelve months later on the 9th November 1934.

An aerial view—1934

14

The Dining Room

A corner of the Kitchen

The Reception Room

A corner of a Dormitory

15

In 1974 when celebrations were held to mark 60 years, there

were 48 children in residence at the home.

Children who were resident for long periods of time attended

Waimairi School and took part in local children‟s activities. Tales

are told of barrow-loads of shoes being taken for repair to “Peter‟s

Boot Repairs” in Papanui Road, and of school lunches of beet-root

sandwiches. Another story tells us of the “trench warfare” once practised in

Harewood Road. At the time of the 1st World War there was an

open drain on the north side of Harewood Rd. between Chapel

Street and Sails Street where the soldiers practised before leaving for

overseas. This attracted the children from miles around including

the children from the Orphanage. The soldiers would give „titbits‟

of food to the children. A long time-resident of Matsons Ave. recalls the children

from the home, on their way to Waimairi School, clambering up to

the top of the old macrocarpa hedge that was across the front of their

section. The children would walk along the top to the gate, jump the

gateway, continue to the other end where they would hide anything

they didn‟t want to take to school (including shoes) and then climb

down to continue on their way. On the way home they would

retrieve their possessions, walk the length of the hedge again, and

return to the Home.

Over a period of 72 years, hundreds of children have been cared for at the Home. Changing times and methods of caring for these children led to the Orphanage and Children‟s Home being closed in 1986, and then demolished in October, 1996. After the site was cleared, it was subdivided and became “Marble Wood.”

16

a PAPANUI HERITAGE GROUP Publication

ISSN 1173-6909 21 (print)

We acknowledge consulting the following resources:

Annual Reports of the Presbyterian Social Service Association

“A Sense of Community” - the history of Presbyterian Support Services in the Upper South Island

by Vivienne Allan, 2008.

“The Story of the South Island Methodist Orphanage and

Children‟s Home” by M. A. Rugby Pratt, 1934

Editor’s Note: These properties, originally acquired for the accommodation and the care of children,

are now the locations of facilities for the care of elderly.

Compiled by Christine Grant, and edited by Warren Hudson November-December, 2010

ISSN 2253-4830-21 (online)