The thriving rural township of Waverley in early 1900's - Westpac Bank featured
Waverley is the South Taranaki
District's southern most town. Waverley's history is as rich and varied as that
of most towns in the South Taranaki district. Many of the streets are named
after men of the Eight and Tenth Companies of the Taranaki Military Settlers.
The settlers drew their land from the Okutuku Block.
The cottage of famous New Zealand writer and educator Rewi Alley is situated in the Moeawatea Valley, just north of Waverley. The cottage is a Category II Historic Place. Specially-designed heritage walks through Waverley will take you past some of the town's beautiful old sites and buildings.
The majestic Waverley Town Hall on Bear Street was built in 1908. This special building is a Category II Historic Place and is registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The Dallison Park Memorial to Queen Victoria, was built at the Dallison Park Bowling Green. The Norfolk Pines around the little building were also planted in commemoration of the Queen.
The marvellous Post Office building was constructed in 1928 and for many years was the hub of the town. The building has been restored and is now a private residence. You can see and read more about some of the special building and places that are important parts of the town's history and heritage below.
The cottage of famous New Zealand writer and educator Rewi Alley is situated in the Moeawatea Valley, just north of Waverley. The cottage is a Category II Historic Place. Specially-designed heritage walks through Waverley will take you past some of the town's beautiful old sites and buildings.
The majestic Waverley Town Hall on Bear Street was built in 1908. This special building is a Category II Historic Place and is registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The Dallison Park Memorial to Queen Victoria, was built at the Dallison Park Bowling Green. The Norfolk Pines around the little building were also planted in commemoration of the Queen.
The marvellous Post Office building was constructed in 1928 and for many years was the hub of the town. The building has been restored and is now a private residence. You can see and read more about some of the special building and places that are important parts of the town's history and heritage below.
Mrs
Jeanette Edwards, Ethel Edwards and Jack Hair: Circa 1908. Photographer
unknown.
Waverley Nursing Home , Abbotsford
The original Waverley Nursing Home came into being around 1907 , 08 and was established by Jeanette Edwards under the watchful eye of Dr. Harvey of Waverley. Mrs Edwards, a mid-wife and at that time still bearing her own large family of fifteen ( not all survived) spent much of her time travelling by either horseback or gig to the houses around Waverley.
Both she and Dr Harvey decided that it would be easier for women to come into town to have their babies and as Mrs Edwards owned a two storied house on the corner of Suther and Smith Street it was obvious this would be an adequate place to be turned into a nursing home. Her daughter Lizzie was the logical choice to run the home having helped bring up her own siblings. As the Home was a private one patients had to pay to stay there.
It is said in the story of Harvey Come Quick, a biography of Dr Harvey , Lizzie was inadvertently the means to acquiring a new and more modern Nursing Home in 1912. The original home was ordered to be closed down for fumigation by Dr Harvey. The fumigation was done by burning acrid smelling tablets over spirit lamps. One was apparently left too near to a curtain and the two storied house was destroyed by fire. The purpose built Home remains today but has ceased to be a Maternity home. It still serves the Community however, in the care of babies through the Plunket rooms and also meets the general health needs of the elderly and infirm .
References -
Harvey Come Quick - written by his Daughter, Dorothea Joblin 1963 - the story of The Little Doctor of Waverley
Waverley, the Early Years - written by Laraine Sole 1997
Waverley Nursing Home , Abbotsford
The original Waverley Nursing Home came into being around 1907 , 08 and was established by Jeanette Edwards under the watchful eye of Dr. Harvey of Waverley. Mrs Edwards, a mid-wife and at that time still bearing her own large family of fifteen ( not all survived) spent much of her time travelling by either horseback or gig to the houses around Waverley.
Both she and Dr Harvey decided that it would be easier for women to come into town to have their babies and as Mrs Edwards owned a two storied house on the corner of Suther and Smith Street it was obvious this would be an adequate place to be turned into a nursing home. Her daughter Lizzie was the logical choice to run the home having helped bring up her own siblings. As the Home was a private one patients had to pay to stay there.
It is said in the story of Harvey Come Quick, a biography of Dr Harvey , Lizzie was inadvertently the means to acquiring a new and more modern Nursing Home in 1912. The original home was ordered to be closed down for fumigation by Dr Harvey. The fumigation was done by burning acrid smelling tablets over spirit lamps. One was apparently left too near to a curtain and the two storied house was destroyed by fire. The purpose built Home remains today but has ceased to be a Maternity home. It still serves the Community however, in the care of babies through the Plunket rooms and also meets the general health needs of the elderly and infirm .
References -
Harvey Come Quick - written by his Daughter, Dorothea Joblin 1963 - the story of The Little Doctor of Waverley
Waverley, the Early Years - written by Laraine Sole 1997
2014 - This building is currently listed "for sale"
Waverley Town Hall 1908 to the present day
The Town Hall in Bear Street is an impressive structure built of timber, with a corrugated iron roof. The building contains a hall, stage and supper room.
Built in 1908, the Town Hall has been the main centre of social activity in the town for many years. This is the third Waverley Town Hall, the first having been situated on the site of the old fire station on Weraroa Road, and the second is presumed to have been on the Town Hall's present site.
Unfortunately the lack of care and attention through the years has seen this grand old building decline. It was sold by South Taranaki District Council to an absentee Landlord in 2011. The huge storm that followed in March 2012 affecting both Waverley and Patea properties severely damaged the frontage of the supper room addition and to date has not been restored.
Diana Beaglehole, Historian wrote >>> here
The Story continues >>> here
The Town Hall in Bear Street is an impressive structure built of timber, with a corrugated iron roof. The building contains a hall, stage and supper room.
Built in 1908, the Town Hall has been the main centre of social activity in the town for many years. This is the third Waverley Town Hall, the first having been situated on the site of the old fire station on Weraroa Road, and the second is presumed to have been on the Town Hall's present site.
Unfortunately the lack of care and attention through the years has seen this grand old building decline. It was sold by South Taranaki District Council to an absentee Landlord in 2011. The huge storm that followed in March 2012 affecting both Waverley and Patea properties severely damaged the frontage of the supper room addition and to date has not been restored.
Diana Beaglehole, Historian wrote >>> here
The Story continues >>> here
 Unveiling 1925
The Waverley Clock Tower - was built in 1925 and unveiled on 28th October, as a War Memorial to those who served in the Great War, by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, J G Coates
2013 - the Tower and clock had a complete up-grade bringing it back to full working order and looking as new. ANZAC parades continue to draw the locals to the foot of the tower every year in salute to those who fell in all the battles fought to the present day - Lest We Forget |
Current Day
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Hitching Posts
The hitching post on the footpath outside the War Memorial Clock Tower is a timber post. It is set in the ground of the footpath, with metal ring on the road-side of the post. The two hitching posts, one outside the old Waverley Post Office building and at the northern end of town are metal poles with a rounded knob at the top. The age of the hitching posts are not known but they clearly originated during the era of horses and horse drawn traffic. Therefore they would date from before World War I, and quite possibly from the 19th century.
Such hitching posts, or sometimes rings or rails, were common in the town outside business premises and places such as the Post Office and Public Library.
The hitching post on the footpath outside the War Memorial Clock Tower is a timber post. It is set in the ground of the footpath, with metal ring on the road-side of the post. The two hitching posts, one outside the old Waverley Post Office building and at the northern end of town are metal poles with a rounded knob at the top. The age of the hitching posts are not known but they clearly originated during the era of horses and horse drawn traffic. Therefore they would date from before World War I, and quite possibly from the 19th century.
Such hitching posts, or sometimes rings or rails, were common in the town outside business premises and places such as the Post Office and Public Library.
The old Post Office
The building situated on the corner of Weraroa Road & Chester Street was built in 1928 and for many years was the hub of the town, it has now been converted into a private residence. The Post Office is a two storey building finished with textured stucco plaster. Above the main entrance written in capital letters is the name Waverley. The building was designed with spacious, elegant accommodation upstairs; and the post office and telephone exchange on the ground floor level.
An advertisement for the sale of the building described it as follows:
The rimu floors have been sanded and polished to perfection, stairway and other rimu timbers have been painstakingly restored to levels that must be seen. The exterior and interior of the building have also recently undergone a major repaint. The kitchen has been totally rebuilt using rimu timber and brass fittings from the former Post Office. Materials from downstairs have been recycled by a tradesman to give a touch of old world charm. Upstairs you have three bedrooms plus a sunroom, lounge, kitchen (walk in pantry), bathroom with period brass fittings and bath with claw feet etc Downstairs there are numeous rooms waiting for the new owners to use the space (ideal for a gym, shop or other facility). The rear of the building has new high fencing which gives a nice quiet courtyard for those barbecues.
Waverley Railway Station
The Waverley Railway Station is a lean-to designed, Vogel Class 4 station. It was designed with a centrally located lobby, an office to the left and a ladies waiting room and adjoining toilet to the right. Although the building has been extended, the compactly rectangular shape with its incorporated verandah remains. Rusticated weatherboards clad the building and the roof is corrugated iron. Some features of the original facade remain, including one small arched ticket office window.
The interior has match-lined walls and some sash windows. Access to some rooms is gained via the rear of the building. Associated buildings include sheds, a loading bank, sidings, and signals which have been relocated. The addition of the verandah in 1912 gave the building a gable form. It sits on six posts which were formerly railway iron. The decorative valancing at either end of the verandah iscut to form a scalloped edge. The lobby was enclosed in 1956 and there have been other additions toboth ends of the building.
The Waverley Railway Station building was built in 1881 as par of the Foxton,Carlyle railway at a cost of £1,125 to erect There were no documented changes to Waverley Station during its first 40 years of service until a verandah was added to the building in 1911. In 1939 new toilets were provided. The most substantial alteration to the original building was the closure of the open lobby in 1956 when a swinging door from the platform was installed to protect passengers from the elements and the ladies waiting room was relocated. In 1981 a gang amenity was provided in the building, and walls and partitions were rearranged to provide lockers, toilets, showers and a communal room. In1986 Waverley became a special purpose station. After over 100 years of service, the building's future as a museum had hoped to have been secured by the local organisation Friends of the Waverley Railway Station but as years have gone by the few remaining members could not cope with the rising costs of preservation and amount of work involved to maintain the project. Now that the group has disbanded the historic collection of plant and equipment has been distributed to various museums around the region for safe keeping. Only the shell of the building remains.
The Waverley Railway Station is a lean-to designed, Vogel Class 4 station. It was designed with a centrally located lobby, an office to the left and a ladies waiting room and adjoining toilet to the right. Although the building has been extended, the compactly rectangular shape with its incorporated verandah remains. Rusticated weatherboards clad the building and the roof is corrugated iron. Some features of the original facade remain, including one small arched ticket office window.
The interior has match-lined walls and some sash windows. Access to some rooms is gained via the rear of the building. Associated buildings include sheds, a loading bank, sidings, and signals which have been relocated. The addition of the verandah in 1912 gave the building a gable form. It sits on six posts which were formerly railway iron. The decorative valancing at either end of the verandah iscut to form a scalloped edge. The lobby was enclosed in 1956 and there have been other additions toboth ends of the building.
The Waverley Railway Station building was built in 1881 as par of the Foxton,Carlyle railway at a cost of £1,125 to erect There were no documented changes to Waverley Station during its first 40 years of service until a verandah was added to the building in 1911. In 1939 new toilets were provided. The most substantial alteration to the original building was the closure of the open lobby in 1956 when a swinging door from the platform was installed to protect passengers from the elements and the ladies waiting room was relocated. In 1981 a gang amenity was provided in the building, and walls and partitions were rearranged to provide lockers, toilets, showers and a communal room. In1986 Waverley became a special purpose station. After over 100 years of service, the building's future as a museum had hoped to have been secured by the local organisation Friends of the Waverley Railway Station but as years have gone by the few remaining members could not cope with the rising costs of preservation and amount of work involved to maintain the project. Now that the group has disbanded the historic collection of plant and equipment has been distributed to various museums around the region for safe keeping. Only the shell of the building remains.
Waverley Hotel
The Waverley Hotel stands on the site where Palmer's Hotel once stood. As the story goes the name was originally spelt Waverly on the front sign because, it is said, that the board ran out before the name did.
It had been rebuilt in 1870 as a two storey building with seven bedrooms, and called the Commercial Hotel. The Commercial Hotel too was claimed by fire in 1907. The current building was constructed in the 1930's after another fire claimed the building.
Clarendon Hotel
Built in 1878, the Clarendon Hotel had 21 rooms. By 1906 the hotel had been extended to 29 rooms, including 19 bedrooms, 4 sitting rooms, a commercial room and a dining room able to accommodate 50 people. The hotel survived a fire in 1907 which burnt the front only. There were stables where the Taranaki Farmers building now stands.Today it remains the hub of the local community's social scene with introduction of live music, gaming room, TAB facilities and a bar menu.
ANZBank
The ANZ Bank is a prominent corner section building built up to the edge of the footpath. The building is constructed of timber with French imported tiles on the roof.
The ANZ Bank building was purpose built to house the Bank of Australasia and has been used for banking purposes ever since. The stables once used by the bank are now part of the property owned by a Waverley resident.
Rewi Alley's House
Rewi Alley's house was built about 1919-1920. It is a simple cottage, with rusticated weatherboards and double-hung windows. The front elevation has a verandah, while the gabled roof is clad in corrugated iron.
Rewi Alley's farm was a World War I rehabilitation farm which he jointly owned with his partner Stevens. They went on to the farm at the beginning of the rural depression. In 1926, Alley decided to leave the property to Stevens when he travelled to China.
Rewi went to China in 1927 after fighting in World War I and farming six years in Taranaki. He died in Beijing sixty years later soon after his ninetieth birthday. His exploits in China are now legendary. His achievements include helping establish the Chinese Industrial Co-operative with Peg and Edgar Snow in 1937, then gaining the support of Sun Yat Sen's widow, Madam Soong Chingling. During the war, Alley travelled fearlessly throughou China establishing small-scale co-operatives on both sides of the Japanese lines to help the war effort and expand the co-operative spirit. This was the famous Gung Ho co-operative movement, whose name means €œwork together€ and became a battle cry during the war.
In the final stages of the war, Alley turned his attention to founding schools that would train young Chinese in technical and academic skills to serve he great reconstruction effort after the war. In 1952, Rewi moved to Beijing where he lived until his death in 1987. During that time he was honoured by all the leading figures in China, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, and by the New Zealand Government which recommended him for the Queen's Service Order which he received in 1985. Read more about Rewi Alley here.
In the December 1988 issue of Historic Places in New Zealand there was an article about a rather dilapidated house in the back country at Moeawatea, near Waverley, which was occupied by Rewi Alley for six years in the early 1920s. Alley left the house in 1926 to journey to China and start his world-renowned life's work in that country. Since the publication of that article a year ago, David Harre (who helped to make the film Two Blades of Grass about Alley's life in China) originated a Conservation Corps project under a government scheme to renovate the house.
This renovation was completed over a six month period and the house was officially reopened on 28 July 1989 by the Minister for the Environment, Phil Goff. The ceremony began with the presentation of a carved Maori guardian spirit for the place. Access by vehicle to the Rewi Alley house remains difficult. A seven kilometre, fair-weather track provides the only road access.
Rewi Alley's house was built about 1919-1920. It is a simple cottage, with rusticated weatherboards and double-hung windows. The front elevation has a verandah, while the gabled roof is clad in corrugated iron.
Rewi Alley's farm was a World War I rehabilitation farm which he jointly owned with his partner Stevens. They went on to the farm at the beginning of the rural depression. In 1926, Alley decided to leave the property to Stevens when he travelled to China.
Rewi went to China in 1927 after fighting in World War I and farming six years in Taranaki. He died in Beijing sixty years later soon after his ninetieth birthday. His exploits in China are now legendary. His achievements include helping establish the Chinese Industrial Co-operative with Peg and Edgar Snow in 1937, then gaining the support of Sun Yat Sen's widow, Madam Soong Chingling. During the war, Alley travelled fearlessly throughou China establishing small-scale co-operatives on both sides of the Japanese lines to help the war effort and expand the co-operative spirit. This was the famous Gung Ho co-operative movement, whose name means €œwork together€ and became a battle cry during the war.
In the final stages of the war, Alley turned his attention to founding schools that would train young Chinese in technical and academic skills to serve he great reconstruction effort after the war. In 1952, Rewi moved to Beijing where he lived until his death in 1987. During that time he was honoured by all the leading figures in China, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, and by the New Zealand Government which recommended him for the Queen's Service Order which he received in 1985. Read more about Rewi Alley here.
In the December 1988 issue of Historic Places in New Zealand there was an article about a rather dilapidated house in the back country at Moeawatea, near Waverley, which was occupied by Rewi Alley for six years in the early 1920s. Alley left the house in 1926 to journey to China and start his world-renowned life's work in that country. Since the publication of that article a year ago, David Harre (who helped to make the film Two Blades of Grass about Alley's life in China) originated a Conservation Corps project under a government scheme to renovate the house.
This renovation was completed over a six month period and the house was officially reopened on 28 July 1989 by the Minister for the Environment, Phil Goff. The ceremony began with the presentation of a carved Maori guardian spirit for the place. Access by vehicle to the Rewi Alley house remains difficult. A seven kilometre, fair-weather track provides the only road access.
Tutahi
Church
Tutahi Church on State Highway 3 is built on the site of the Tauranga Iki Pa, and also marks the place where the 1860's Taranaki Land wars began and ended. It is a very significant and spiritual site for Maori.
The two windows in the front facade contain leadlight glass, with the same glass designed window above the front door. It has double hung side windows with single light sashes. Those soldiers associated with the Tutahi Church who went away to fight in World War II all returned. It is thought that this may have some connection with the spirituality of the church. It is thought that this church was built in 1870. A bible is known to have been placed in the foundation stone and the church is reputed to have considerable spiritual and healing power. In 2002, a local and national Maori public figure, Dalvanius Prime was buried at this site.
Tutahi Church on State Highway 3 is built on the site of the Tauranga Iki Pa, and also marks the place where the 1860's Taranaki Land wars began and ended. It is a very significant and spiritual site for Maori.
The two windows in the front facade contain leadlight glass, with the same glass designed window above the front door. It has double hung side windows with single light sashes. Those soldiers associated with the Tutahi Church who went away to fight in World War II all returned. It is thought that this may have some connection with the spirituality of the church. It is thought that this church was built in 1870. A bible is known to have been placed in the foundation stone and the church is reputed to have considerable spiritual and healing power. In 2002, a local and national Maori public figure, Dalvanius Prime was buried at this site.
>>>Page 2 Local History continues