Hokitika, N.Z./Street Nomenclature
HOKITIKA.
Street Nomenclature.
Supplementary Notes from the pen of S. Saunders, Esq., Journalist, Wellington.
In its street names Hokitika has memorials to many public men who have distinguished themselves by generous, patriotic and beneficial service to the district and the Dominion at large.
It is well that we should occasionally recall memories of the pioneers in settlement and achievement as an inspiration and encouragement to all of us, and particularly to our young people, to go forward in their footsteps and with their high ideals and devotion to duty.
I have a list of some of these memorable names before me this evening, taken almost at random, and I propose to remind you very briefly of what the courageous far-seeing men who bore them, did for you and me and the rest of the community.
Tancred Street is named after Henry John Tancred, born in England, 1825, and educated at Rugby. (The great public schools by England did as much for colonisation in those days as Wellington said they did for the nation at the battle of Waterloo). As a very young man Tancred joined the Austrian Army and saw service in Hungary and Italy, and came to Canterbury in 1851, and quietly identified himself with affairs of the young colony. In 1853 he was elected to the Provincial Council, then for first time called together under the Constitution Act. In 1857 he was elected to the General Assembly, and in the same year joined the Sewell Ministry, having as a colleague Mr Whitaker (afterwards Sir Frederick). He took a keen interest in educational matters, and was a member of the Canterbury Board of Education, a Governor of Christ’s College and of Canterbury College, and his association with the West Coast was largely in connection with his efforts to provide facilities for education throughout the whole country.
Sewell Street.—Henry Sewell came to Canterbury (of which the West Coast was then a part) in 1853, and he had been closely associated with Edward Gibbon Wakefield and other officers who took a prominent part in promoting the Canterbury Settlement. On his arrival in Lyttelton he found the new settlement in a state of stagnation and applied himself with great zeal and judgment to the task of putting its affairs in order. Remarkable success attended his efforts, and all parts of the country in which he laboured have good reason to be grateful for his services. He was elected to the first Parliament under the Constitution Act in 1853, and held office in the first Ministry under Mr Fitzgerald. Later he became the head of a Ministry, but resigned rather than give up his demand for full responsible government. He was a very capable lawyer, an effective debater, and a highly cultured gentleman.
Fitzherbert Street.—Mr William Fitzgerald came to New Zealand as a young man in 1842, landing first at Wellington, and a year later he was offered seat in the Legislative Council, but he declined the distinction, preferring to devote himself to farming and trading pursuits. He was, however, one of the moving spirits in the agitation for responsible government which finally won for the young colony the Constitution Act under which it still enjoys its wide political freedom. He was elected Superintendent of Wellington in 1871, and remained in office till, the abolition of the provinces in 1875. Previously he had been elected to the House of Representatives, and filled the office of Colonial Treasurer (now designated Minister of Finance). He took a very active part in the removal of the seat of Government from Auckland to Wellington, and again his efforts were crowned with success. He was elected Speaker of the House of Representations in 1876, and on retiring from that branch of the Legislature in 1879, was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Council. It was in recognition of his many valuable services to New Zealand, which often affected the Coast in an intimate way, that his name was given to a street in Hokitika.
Bealey Street.—Mr Samuel Bealey was born in Lancashire, in 1821, and took his degree of B.A. at Cambridge in 1851, and sailed for New Zealand the same year. With his brother John he acquired considerable tracts of land in Canterbury, and his name is familiar in connection with a well-known part of the road between the Coast and Christchurch. On the passing of the Constitution Act, Mr Bealey was elected to the Provincial Council, and continued a member of that body till he was elected Superintendent of the Province in 1863. His great aim in private life and in the various public offices he filled, was to hasten the young colony towards the great goal to progress and prosperity which he believed to be its ultimate destiny. He did much to promote public works in Canterbury, and expended much by his thought and energy in developing the country on this side of the Range.
Hall Street.—Sir John Hall was born in Yorkshire in 1824, and after receiving a generous education in Germany, Switzerland, and Paris, and some office experience as Secretary to the Secretary of the General Post Office in London, he came to New Zealand in 1852 in the last of the Canterbury Association’s chartered ships. After visiting several parts of the Colony he finally settled in Canterbury. He was a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council through the whole period in which the provincial form of government existed, and held several responsible offices. Among other positions he held were the Chairmanship of the Westland and Selwyn County Councils, and after to the first Christchurch Municipal Council. He was elected to the House of Representations as Member for Christchurch in 1858. In the following year he became Colonial Secretary under the leadership of Sir William Fox. In 1862 he was nominated to the Legislative Council, but at the end of the year he resigned his seat in the Upper House to contest the Heathcote seat in the Lower. Having won the election, he became Postmaster-General in the Stafford Ministry, and in the rapid changes of Ministers that took place during the next ten years he filled many positions, but in 1879 he resigned for the fourth time a seat in the Council to lead the opponents of Sir George Grey at the polls. After the election he became Premier, and was at the head of the Government till the general election, when the Stout-Vogel coalition came into force. Sir John Hall’s political views were not the views of many people on the Coast, but he was an earnest, capable man and rendered great service to New Zealand during the difficult days of early settlement and development, and his name shall remain green with these who are enjoying the fruits of his labour.
Sale Street.—It was Mr Samuel Bealey, when Superintendent of Canterbury, who sent Mr Sale over to supervise the Westland goldfields. Mr Sale a conscientious and scholarly man, full of understanding and sympathy, did excellent work in the promotion of the goldmining industry, and in viewing remote parts of the Coast. He was subsequently appointed to the staff of the Dunedin University College as a professor, and continued in that capacity for many years to add distinction to a name which Hokitika is proud to honour.
Rolleston Street.—No name in the public life of the Dominion is held in more appreciative remembrance than is that of William Rolleston, the last Superintendent of Canterbury, and one of its most honoured sons. After a distinguished career at Cambridge University, Mr Rolleston came to New Zealand in 1858, and took over a run in the forks of the Rakaia River, near Lake Coleridge. But the people of Canterbury soon discovered their need of such a man to help on their various public activities, and he was speedily drawn into the vortex of local and colonial politics. This part of his career, which extended right up to the time of his death, cannot be adequately discussed here. But it is interesting to recall that on the discovery of goldfields on this Coast in 1865, he came from Christchurch to Hokitika with Mr Seed, Mr Rochford, and other officers to organise the several departments of government, They did much for education, for land settlement, for electoral reform, for the consideration of the conditions of the workers, and for any other beneficial reform that was dear to his heart. Though on the opposite side of Parliament to our own great statesman, Richard John Seddon, it is pleasant to know that these two big, able, chivalrous men were close personal friends, and that though they sometimes employed different means to reach the same, their devotion to New Zealand and to its people was their common consideration and the crowning glory of their service. Hokitika has good and abundant reason for honouring the memory of William Rolleston. In doing so it is honouring itself.
Weld Street.—Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld was born in 1823, and after being educated at Stoneyhurst College, and in Switzerland, he came to New Zealand in 1844 with the intention of devoting himself to grazing pursuits. He, also, was a strong advocate of the concession of responsible government, and was largely instrumental in bringing this about. He occupied a seat in the first House of Representatives, and in 1864 became Prime Minister, after extracting a promise from the then Governor, Sir George Grey, that he was to have his own way in setting the grave Native difficulties that existed at that time. In 1865 he resigned and returned to England, but his administration in New Zealand had so impressed the authorities at Home that he was made successively Governor of West Australia, Tasmania, and the Straits Settlement. He held very extensive land interests in New Zealand in connection with the Cliffords, to whom he was related. His name is a great one in the colonising affairs of the Empire, and it is fitting it should distinguish one of the streets in Hokitika.
Jollie Street—Mr Edward Jollie, who did much exploring and pioneering work in the later fifties and early sixties of last century, gave his name to Jollie Pass, the road leading from Hanmer Plains to the Clarence Valley, long before his name was perpetuated in Hokitika. He was in the House of Representatives for a single session of the second Parliament, from 1859 to 1860, but he had a longer record in the Canterbury Provincial Council, being a member from 1866 till the eve of the abolition of the Provinces ten years later. He was Chairman of the Executive in 1866, 1868 and 1869. Both the opportunities he enjoyed, and with his vast energy and persistence, he did much. for Westland, as well as for Canterbury, and the town has done well to commemorate his services.
Davie Street.—Mr Davie was one of the Chief Surveyors during the early days of Westland in Canterbury (and it must be remembered that at that time Westland was part of Canterbury). He was distinguished for his conscientious perseverance of his professional duties, his ready resource, and his sound judgment. He earned the gratitude of the West Coast by the assistance he gave in the development of its resources.
Hamilton Street.—William John Hamilton was one of the earliest Collectors of Customs in Canterbury, and as in those days the occupation of such an office did not debar a man from entering politics, we find this studious, eager man as a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council in 1863 and 1864, and a member of the Executive. His inclination however, drew him towards outside work, and quite early in the days of settlement he found his way across from Christchurch to the West Coast. As that of an able administrator, a loyal friend and a broad-minded man, his name stands high among those workers of history in New Zealand.
Stafford Street.—Between 1855 and 1878 Sir Edward William Stafford took a prominent part in the politics and government of New Zealand. He was thrice Premier, from 1856 to 1861, from 1865 to 1869, and from Sept. 10th, 1872, to October 11th, 1872. The last period was during one of the shuffles of the cards which occasionally took place in politics, but the other periods covered some of the most serious stages in the Maori wars. His administration was vigorous and capable, and though he is not numbered among the most capable of New Zealand statesmen, he retained in a marked degree the respect and regard of his political friends and political opponents. Having first taken up his residence in Nelson (which city first sent him to Parliament) he always retained a keen interest in this part of the country, and Hokitika is marking its appreciation of the man and of his work, by associating his name with one of its principal thoroughfares.
Cass Square.—No other member of his profession, not excepting the pioneers of the Canterbury Association, had so much to do with the “laying out,” so to speak, of Canterbury and Westland, as had Mr Thomas Cass—who, for many years was Chief Surveyor of the Canterbury Province. A man of exceptional ability, great courage and power of endurance, he gave splendid service to the State and the Province, and his works live after him in many parts of the South Island. Hokitika’s tributes to this upholder of all the best traditions of his profession may be only a small one, but it is appropriate, and the one he would have chosen himself
Whitcombe Square.—Whitcombe is named as a tribute to the discoverer of the Whitcombe’s Pass who had both a passion and a genius for exploration, and found in the rugged mountains by the great “Divide” a wide and congenial field for the gratification of his bent. Whitcombe was unhappily drowned during one of his journeys, and his remains lie in the Greymouth cemetery, side by side with those of Townsend, one of his fellow explorers, and George Dobson, one of the victims of the Burgess-Kelly gang of bush rangers.