Still Watching the Years Go By
Norfolk pine at Te Wahapu Original photo © Russell Museum A Norfolk pine stands sentinel on a knoll at the end of the Te Wahapu peninsula, in a prominent position within one of our recreational reserves. A sign below the tree was erected to mark the reserve in July 1988 by the Historic Places Trust. The wording on the sign is: In this bay, Te Wahapu, a trading post and ship repair yard were established by Gilbert Mair in 1831, and run by him with William Powditch as a partner in the early years. Mair’s house stood on the point, beside the Norfolk Islands pine planted by Mrs Mair about 1836....
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Christ Church Centennial 1936 Original photo © Russell Museum The traditional Tall Ships hangi at the Russell Boat Club attracts hundreds each January. This photo shows steam rising from a hangi being opened on 29 March 1936. It was Christ Church’s one-hundredth birthday and all the pews were taken out of the church and the main service (there were three others, one in Maori) held outside at the back of the church to accommodate all the visitors and dignitaries. Afterwards across the road on the empty section where the museum now stands local Maori had put down a hangi. Through the...
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Pacific Hotel / Hananui Original photo © Russell Museum This photo shows the Pacific Hotel, later known as Hananui Boarding House, in its prime. It was built in the 1870s and demolished in 1961 to make way for the Hananui Motel, the first motel for Russell. The land it stood on was part of a larger area granted to Tamati Waka Nene in 1866. He gave a section of it to the widowed Matilda Cook whose husband, George, was a relative. Matilda had kept a motherly eye on Nene in his cottage nearby. She built a hotel to provide a living for herself and her family. In the back garden was a well, lined...
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Flooding in Russell Original photo © Russell Museum The winter season is upon us, a time of wind, rain and sometimes flooding. This photo is taken at 8.45am on 6 June 1925, from the hillside above Pitt Street and looking north to Maiki Hill. To the left is York Street with the Town Hall and Hananui’s fence. Far right is a house in Chapel Street now with a wisteria vine on its picket fence. The land between York and Church Streets is obviously low lying and swampy – prone to flooding. There are stories of being able to use a dinghy to get from one place to another. The stream that...
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Gables & Duke of Marlborough Fire Original photo © Russell Museum When the fire siren sounds, other than Monday night, we all worry. Did we really turn off the stove… Our reliance on rainwater tanks and bores makes us feel vulnerable, especially in summer. This photo shows the third Duke of Marlborough hotel burning fiercely and people carrying buckets of water up from the water’s edge in a vain attempt to dampen the fire, and protect neighbouring buildings. At high tide mark furniture and goods are dropped higgledy-piggledy. There are heaps of firewood by the right hand buildings...
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Original photo © Russell Museum Nahlin anchored off the wharf in 1932 During the summer season its common to have a cruise ship anchored in the Bay and occasionally a large private launch or yacht. This photo from 1932 shows Lady Yule’s steam yacht Nahlin anchored just off Russell wharf. This elegant vessel was commissioned by Lady Yule from GL Watson &Co, Glasgow and used by her for extended cruises including a circumnavigation. She was later made available for charters including summer 1936 when King Edward VIII took his lady friend Wallis Simpson on a cruise and precipitated his...
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