The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]
Wyndham
Wyndham.
The Wyndham Town Board has jurisdiction over an area of 450 acres, constituted a town district in 1882. The main road from Edendale to Glenham, Pine Push, Waimahaka, and Fortrose, runs through the town, but is still under the jurisdiction of the Southland County Council, and the page 1075 Board has to maintain only ihe other Streets in the district. The total annual rateable value of the district is £2,750. on which a rate of Is in the £ is levied The only debt which the Board has is the sum of £403, taken over from the old Wyndham Road Board, through the Southland County Council. The town is lighted by twelve kerosene lamps, and is drained into the Mataura river. In 1904, there were 417 rateable properties, owned by 123 ratepayers, and the number of dwellings was 125. The Board acts also as a Domain Board, and has control over the public reserve, which contains a very picturesque lagoon. Meetings of the Board are held on the first Monday in each month. The members in 1904 were: Mr W. J. Currie (chairman), and Messrs B. Sutherland, G. Hunter, J. Millar. J. McLauchlan, R. Paull and D. Gordon. Mr W. J. Marsh is clerk.
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Mr. D. Gordon.
Mr. George Hunter , who has held a seat on the Wyndham Town Board since 1902, is well known as auctioneer and manager of the live stock department of the firm of I. W. Raymond and Co., in which he is a partner. Mr Hunter was born in 1870 at South Wyndham, where he was educated and brought up to country life, which he followed for ten years, during which he was for some time in charge of his father's property. In 1898, he entered the employment of Messrs Raymond and Co., and became a member of the firm in 1903. Mr Hunter has served on the South Wyndham school committee, was president for the year 1901–2 of the Wyndham Agricultural and Pastoral Society, is a Past Grand of Alma Lodge, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, and a member of the Mokoreta Lodge of Freemasons. He was married, in 1900, to a daughter of Mr F. Gillanders, of Pourakanui, near Waitati, and has one son.
Rev. J. B. Smellie.
“The Wyndham Farmer,” which circulates from Mataura to Woodlands, and from Edendale to Fortrose and Waikawa, is a bi-weekly newspaper, published on Tuesdays and Fridays, amd contains four pages of seven columns each, about half of which is reading matter. The plant consists of a Wharfdale printing machine, driven by a two and a-half horsepower oil engine, and large fonts of new English and American type. The paper, which is Liberal in politics, and a supporter of the present Government, was founded in 1895, by the late Mr Alfred Dolamore, of Gore, and was taken over by the present proprietor, Mr E. G. Macpherson, on the 1st of January, 1898.
Mr. Ewen Greville Macpherson , Proprietor and Editor of the “Wyndham Farmer,” was born in 1863, at Lyttelton, and educated at the Otago Boys' High School. He was in the office of the “Clutha Leader” for five years, and then visited Sydney, where he joined the staff of the “Globe” (now known as the “Australian Star”), and rose to the position pf sub-editor. On returning to New Zealand, in 1887, Mr Macpherson became editor on the “Southern Standard,” at Gore, and was afterwards appointed manager of the “Wyndham Farmer,” which he acquired in 1898. He was instrumental in forming the Murihiku Rifle Volunteers, of which he is still a member, and he is secretary of the Wyndham Horticultural Society, one of the oldest and most successful societies of its kind in the provincial district. Mr Macpherson is also conductor of the Wyndham Choral Union, and organist and choirmaster of the local Presbyterian church. He has been for years handicapper of the Edendale Athletic Sports Society, and is a member of the local Athenaeum and school committees. Mr Macpherson was married, in 1888, to a daughter of the late Mr John Barr, one of the pioneer settlers of the Clutha district.
Evans, John Ledyard , Registered Chemist and Druggist, Medical Hall, Balaclava Street, Wyndham. Private residence, Alma Street. Mr Evans was born in 1833, at Shaw House, Melksham, Wiltshire, England, where page 1076 he was educated, and commenced the study of chemistry at Weston-Super-Mare. He came to Port Chalmers in 1862, by the ship “Alhambra,” and after carrying on sheepfarming for about eight years, started business as a chemist and druggist at Queenstown in 1872, and twelve years later removed to Wyndham. Mr Evans served as clerk to the Wyndham Town Board for sixteen years, and is a lay reader in the Anglican church.
Pope, Edgar , Baker and Confectioner, Balaclava Street, Wyndham. This business was established at Edendale in 1898, and was removed to Wyndham early in 1903. It is conducted in a one-storey brick building, containing a shop, a commodious re-refreshment room, and a residence; and the premises also contain a bakehouse and stabling. Mr Pope was born in 1862 in Birmingham, England, where he was educated and found employment at his trade until coming to Port Chalmers by the s.s. “Arawa” in 1884. After five years' experience at Invercargill, Mr Pope went to Sydney, but returned to Southland in 1898. He has served as a member of the Edendale school committee, and in 1904 was vice-president of the Wyndham Racing Club. Mr Pope is attached to the Mokoreta Lodge of Freemasons, and also belongs to Alma Lodge, Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows. He was married, in 1888, to a daughter of the late Mr William Sycamore, of Christchurch and Invercargill, amd has, surviving, one son and two daughters.
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Mr. E. Pope.
Finlayson, Thomas and Co. (Thomas Finlayson and Hugh McKerrow), Builders and Wheelwrights, etc., Wyndham. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. This business was established in 1881 by Messrs T. and C. Finlayson, the latter of whom retired in 1888, and Mr McKerrow became a partner. The firm is well known throughout the Wyndham and Fortrose districts for the quality of its workmanship, as well as for the large amount of builders' requisites and furniture kept in stock at its emporium in Wyndham. Amongst the many buildings erected by Messrs Finlayson and Co. may bo mentioned the Wyndham dairy factory which forms a conspicuous landmark.
Mr. T. Finlayson.
Mr. Hugh Mckerrow , Junior Partner in the firm of Finlayson and Co., is the third son of the late Mr Hugh McKerrow, and was born in Glasgow in 1864. He was educated in that city, and also in Dunedin, where he learned the trade of a painter, etc. In 1897, he was married to Nellie, daughter of Mr John McLellan, farmer, Charlton, Southland.
Traynor Brothers , (Andrew Joseph Traynor, and Edward John Traynor), Builders and Contractors, Redan Street, Wyndham. This business was founded in 1876, by Mr Patrick Traynor, and was taken over by his sons in April, 1903. The buildings are of wood and iron, stand upon a freehold section of a quarter-acre, and consist of a wheelwright's shop, an ironmongery store, a show room, and page 1077 two coach-painting and finishing shops. Several of the public schools in the surrounding districts have been erected by the firm. The Messrs Traynor build houses and vehicles of all descriptions, and also act as undertakers.
Mr. Andrew Joseph Traynor , the Senior Partner, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1874, and two years later was brought by his father to the Bluff in the ship “Timaiu,” He was educated at Wyndham, where he was brought up to his father's business, which he and his brother took over in 1903. Mr Traynor is a' member of Lodge Alma, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity. He was married, in November, 1903, to a daughter of Mr S. Higgins, of Dunedin.
Gerstenkon, photo.
Mr. A. J. Traynor And Mr. E. J. Traynor.
Mr. Edward John Traynor , the Junior Partner, was born in 1880, at Wyndham, where he was educated and worked under his father until joining his brother in taking over the business in 1903., Mr Traynor is a member of Lodge Alma, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity.
Wyndham Dairy Factory , Wyndham (Mr James McLauchlan, secretary). This factory was established in 1885, and was one of the first co-operative factories started in Southland, if not in New Zealand. The directors obtained the services of Mr S. M. Robbins, from America, as their principal manufacturer of cheese, and he subsequenty joined the service of the New Zealand Government as dairy expert. Mr James Sawers, by the excellence of his manufacture, brought the company's product to the forefront in the world's markets, and this reputation has been kept up by his nephew, Mr A. Cunningham. Prior to the introduction of a butter plant, the output of cheese ranged from 150 to 160 tons, and since then the yield has been 220 tons of cheese and 30 tons of butter annually. The butter is sold in the Dunedin and Invercargill markets, but some of the cheese is exported, and the balance finds a ready local sale. The Wyndham factory has won several gold and silver medals, and, for the third time, gained the Challenge Shield for butter at the Dunedin winter show of 1903. The shield is, therefore, now the absolute property of the company.
Mr. James Mclauchlan , Secretary to the Wyndham Dairy Factory Company and other companies, owning seven factories, was born in Scotland, and joined the Magnetic Telegraph Company as a cadet in 1869. When the British Government took over the telegraph lines throughout Great Britain, in 1870, he was appointed telegraphist at Thornhill, Dumfries-shire, and subsequently took charge of the Glasgow office of the Glasgow and Southwestern Railway Company, in 1879. At the close of that year, he emigrated to Port Chalmers by the ship “Timaru,” Mr McLauchlan settled in Wyndham in 1881, and became identified with the dairying industry of the district. Mr McLauchlan is a prominent Freemason and Oddfellow, besides an enthusiastic cricketer. He was initiated into Freemasonry at the foundation of Lodge Mokoreta, No 63, in 1888. and elected its Worshipful Master in 1904; he is, also, as an Oddfellow, secretary of Lodge Alma, No. 34, and was one of the founders of Mark Lodge, No. 1, of Mark Masons, of which he became master, and again took office in 1903–4, as Mark Master. In 1888, lie was elected a member of the Town Board, and chosen its chairman in 1890.
Mr. A. Cunningham,
Wood, Andrew , Merchant Tailor, Balaclava Street, Wyndham. This business was established by Mr J. Wood, father of the present proprietor. It is carried on in a commodious shop, where five persons are employed, and the cutting is done by the proprietor himself. Mr Wood was born in 1877, at Waikouaiti, and received his education at Port Chalmers. He learned the tailoring trade with his father, at Wyndham, and subsequently took over the business on his own account. Mr Wood is conductor of the Wyndham Brass Band, and a member of Court Royal Oak, Ancient Order of Foresteis. He holds a gold medal tor fishing, and the local rifle club's silver medal for shooting. Mr Wood was married, in 1898, to a daughter of the late Mr John Mitchell, farmer, “Sunnyside,” and has one son.
Mrs Jane Linton , the Proprietress, was, born at Prestwick, Aylshire, Scotland, and attended school there and at Kilmarnock. She came to New Zealand by the ship “James Nicol Fleming,” in 1876, and after a year spent with an aunt at Clinton. She married the late Mr James Linton, cheesemaker, of Waimatuku, Mataura, and Dalefield dairy factories. Mr Linton died in April, 1899, at Oaklands, Mataura, leaving a family of three sons and seven daughters. Mr Linton was farming at Oaklands, and afterwards at Tuturau, before acquiring the Farmers' Club Hotel in 1904.
The Railway Private Hotel (James Walker, proprietor), comer of Balaclava and Redan Streets, Wyndham. This hotel is a two-storey brick building, containing fourteen bedrooms, two dning-rooms, which will seat twenty guests, and four sitting-rooms. There are nine rooms on the ground floor, and thirteen rooms and the bath-room, are on the next.
Mr. James Walker , who has been Proprietor of the Railway Hotel since June, 1903, was born in 1849, in Linlithgowshire. Scotland, and came with his parents to Port Chalmers by the ship “Alpine,” in 1859. The family settled in the Tokomairiro district, when he was brought up to country life, and was afterwards farming with his father at Balelutha. In 1871, Mr Walker, in conjunction with a partner, acquired two threshing mills, which he worked for about two years, and subsequently carried on fanning until he took over the Railway Hotel at Wyndhamham, in 1903. Mr Walter has been a member of the Town Board, has been on the committee of the local school, and is chairman of the recreation re-reserve, and one of the directors of the Wyndham dairy factory. He was married, in 1876, to a daughter of Mr James Milne, J. P., Wyndham, and has, surviving, five sons and three daughters.
Wilson, Andrew Anderson , Boot and Shoemaker, Redan Street, Wyndham. Mr Wilson was born in 1806, in Dunedin, where he was educated, and worked at his trade for about fifteen years. He established his present business at Wyndham in 1900, and his premises, which occupy part of a wood and iron building, consist of a shop and work-room. Mr Wilson was a member of the old Waikare Rifles for about seven years, and is a Past Chief Ranger of Court Pride of Dunedin, Ancient Order of Foresters, of which his father, Mr John Wilson, was secretary for thirty-three years. In 1893, Mr Wilson was married to a daughter of Mr Daniel Evans, ot North East Valley, Dunedin, and has three sons and one daughter.
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Mr. A. A. Wilson.
Winter, William John , Saddler and Harnessmaker, Balaclava Street, Wyndham. This business is carried on in freehold premises, and four persons are employed by the proprietor, who supervises the business himself. He also owns a farm of 150 acres at Menzies Ferry, and another of 361 acres, eighteen miles farther out in the country. On both farms mixed farming is carried on, and Mr Winter exhibits cattle, horses, pigs, and sometimes poultry at the public shows. He was born in 1851, at Lurgan West, County Antrim, Ireland, where he was brought up on his father's farm. He was apprenticed to the saddlery trade, and after working for some time as a journeyman, came to New Zealand in 1873, and started work in Dunedin. Mr Winter was subsequently at Milton for a short time before acquiring his present business at Wyndham. He was a member of the Wyndham Town Board for many years, and also of the Oteramika Road Board. Mr Winter, who is one of the directors of the Wyndham Dairy Factory Company, is a Master Mason in Lodge Southern Cross, and a member of Lodge Alma, Independent Order of Oddfellows, American Constitution. He was married, in 1878, to a daughter of Mr John Templeton, farmer, Waimatuku, and has seven sons and three daughters. (After this article was monolined, Mr Winter sold his business, and went on a visit to England.)
The Wyndham Branch Of The National Mortgage And Agency Company Of New Zealand, Limited , is situated in Balaclava Street, and a full stock of farm rs' requisites is kept.
Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. A. Crosbie.
The Field-Gibson Flax Milling Company , Wyndham. This company's mill was established in 1903. The machinery includes a stripper and water scutcher, which are driven by a seven horse-power steam engine, and a dry scutcher, worked by an eight horse-power oil engine. About twenty men are employed at the mill, and the output has frequently been as high as twenty tons of dressed flax per month.
Mr. Oliver Moffat , Engine-driver at the Field-Gibson Company's mill, was born at Wakanui, Canterbury, on the 21st May, 1879, and was educated at Otautau. He was brought up as an engineer, and was afterwards engaged as engine-driver at Merrivale sawmill, where he was employed for two years. He then took up farming for some time, and afterwards became a partner in the Scott's Gap flaxmill, now the Field-Gibson Company's mill. Mr Moffat has had charge of the machinery since the establishment of the mill, which was recently removed from Scott's Gap to Wyndham.
Mr. O. Moffat.
The Redan Flaxmill is situated in the Wyndham Valley, about four miles from Wyndham. The mill is well equipped with two portable engines and a complete plant.
Gerstenkorn, photo.
Mr. W. H. Crighton.
Gerstenkorn, photo,
Mr. And Mrs. A. Beange.
Mr. And Mrs J. Greenlees.
Mr. J. Laidlaw.
Mr. J. Milne.
Williamson, George , Farmer, Redan Wyndham. Mr Williamson was born in 1848, near St. Andrews, Fifeshire, Scotland, where he was educated and brought up on his father's farm. He came to Port Chalmers in 1875 by the ship “Wild Deer,” and worked at a sawmill in Dunedin for about five years. He afterwards managed “Springbank,” for Judge Ward for a year, and Monte Christo for Messrs John Reid and Sons for five years, and was also manager at Morton Mains, and at Blackstone, in the Mossburn district. Mr Williamson worked a farm of 1,000 acres at Mossburn for about nine years, and was engaged in dairyfarming at Titiroa for four years before buying his present farm in 1903. The property consists of 550 acres, and a fine homestead and farm buildings have been erected. Mr Williamson was married, in 1878, to a daughter of Mr James Smith, warehouseman, Dunedin, and has three sons and three daughters.
Mr. Peter Heron Blackley , sometime proprietor of the Railway Hotel, Wyndham, was a very old and much respected colonist. He was born in Kirkeudbright, Scotland, in 1828. At the age of twenty-five years, he emigrated to Victoria, and remained in that colony for nearly eleven years, chiefly engaged in mining pursuits. He then came to New Zealand, and was shortly after joined by his brother Walter, with whom he entered into business, and the partnership was dissolved only by the death of his brother. Messrs Blackley Brothers were page 1081 contractors to the boroughs of Dunedin and Oamaru for supplying asphalt for the construction of footpaths. They were also engaged in mining speculations at Pomahaka, McRae's Flat and the West Coast. They next bought an hotel at Palmerston South, which they carried on until the death of Mr Walter Blackley. Mr P. H. Blackley then removed to Balclutha, where he became the owner of the Criterion Hotel. About 1894, Mr Blackley leased the Railway Hotel, Wyndham, which he conducted until his death, on the 20th of December, 1896. He was a keen and skilful bowler, and was formerly a leading member of the Balclutha Bowling Club. He was also a prominent Freemason, and an office-bearer of Clutha Lodge. Mr Blackley was twice married; his first wife died, leaving one son, who pre-deceased him by some years; by his second wife he had several children, but only one son and one daughter survive him, the others dying in infancy. Mr Blackley was buried at Balclutha, and the funeral was attended by a large number of settlers and members of Lodge Mokoreta, Wyndham, who observed the customary Masonic rites.
The Late Mr. P. H. Blackley.
Mr. James F. Collins , An early pioneer Victorian settler of the fifties, and the eldest son of the Very Rev. James Collins, D.D., Dean of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland, was born in 1833, in Cavan, County Cavan, Ireland, and was educated for the Army at the Royal School, Cavan. Mr Collins, however, joined the service of the Provincial Bank of Ireland at Monaghan, in 1852, but left Ireland for Melbourne in 1853, and joined the post office at Bendigo in 1854. Subsequently, he engaged in mining at “Jim Crow,” Castlemaine, until 1858, when he re-visited his native land. He was married, in 1859, and sailed for New Zealand, arriving in Canterbury in December of the same year. In 1860, he settled in Southland, and was engaged in farming operations in the New River district untill March, 1888. Mr Collins took an active interest in the political, social and pastoral affairs of the district, and was elected a member of the first Provincial Council, and also was a member of the road board. He was one of the promoters of the Southland Frozen Meat Company, an industry which has conferred such vast benefits on Southland, and he was also a subscribing member of the Southland Acclimatisation Society. His son, Mr E. E. Collins, is noticed in connection with the dredging industry, under Waikaia.