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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]

Tadmor Valley

Tadmor Valley.

Tadmor Valley is a farming district, situated ten miles from the Motupiko railway station, and nineteen miles from the junction of Hope road. The country was opened up about forty years ago, and the earliest settlers were Messrs Thomas Fawcett, G. W. Paull, F. Needham and Isaac Fitch. The farms vary from 100 to 1600 acres; the bulk of the land is devoted to sheep grazing, and carries at the rate of a sheep and a-half to the acre. Hops thrive in the district, and there are several fair-sized hopgardens, varying from one to five acres in extent. Splendid crops of oats, potatoes, turnips, etc., are grown. The scenery is attractive; the river teems with trout, and the sportsman can fill his bag with quail, pheasants and rabbits; there are also deer in the district. The Tadmor river rises from the Backbone Range, and the source of the Buller is at the watershed which adjoins Tadmor. Tadmor has a post office, a store and a public school. The railway to the West Coast is laid three-parts of the way down the Tadmor Valley, but has not yet (1905) been opened for traffic.

White Brothers , General Storekeepers and Produce Merchants, Tadmor. Branch at Motupiko. This business was established in 1878. The Tadmor branch was taken over by the present proprietors in February, 1898, and the Motupiko store was opened a year later. The area covered by the firm's business includes Wangapeka, Sherry, Tadmor, Motupiko and Stanley Brook. Messrs White Brothers are buyers of wool, hops, sheepskins and all kinds of general produce.

Mr. Chatham White was born at Warrington, Lancashire, England, and educated at the local grammar school. He was afterwards engaged as a bookseller and stationer for several years, five of which were spent with Messrs Philip, Son and Nephew, Liverpool, the celebrated map printers. He landed in Zelson in 1897, and he and his brother subsequently took over their present business.

Mr. C. White.

Mr. C. White.

Mr. Gilbert White is a son of Mr. Henry B. White, solicitor, of Warrington, and brother of Mr. Chatham White and Mr. John White. After his arrival in New Zealand, he was at the fell mongering works of Mr. Chapman, of Johnsonville, near Wellington. He was in the West Riding of Yorkshire during the coal riots of 1893.

Hodgkinson, Reuben, Farmer, Tadmor, Mr. Hodgkinson has a freehold section of 255 acres, which, with the exception of thirty acres, has been cleared of timber, and subdivided into paddocks, which carry 400 sheep, chiefly Lincoln and Romney Marsh. The soil is a light yellow loam, and has been proved, under the judicious management of the owner, to be capable of growing either root or grain crops, Mr. Hodgkinson was born at Wakefield in 1849, and is a son of Mr. Hodgkinson, of Tadmor. He followed goldmining at Wangapeka, the Buller and Tadmor, where he was one of the first at the “rush,” being with Piroti and his party. Mr. Hodgkinson was digging off and on for thirty years; in fact, till 1896. He purchased his present property in 1869. Mr. Hodgkinson married a daughter of the late Mr. Jacob Watson, of Tadmor, and has three sons and three daughters.

Hodgkinson, Thomas, Farmer, Tadmor. Mr. Hodgkinson's farm is freehold, and covers an area of 600 acres of good sheep grazing country. There are 800 Lincoln-Romney sheep on the property, and also twenty-five head of cattle. The farm consists, for the greater part, of low lying hills, which, when they are fully laid down in grass, will be capable of grazing three sheep to the acre. The whole of the sheep are remarkably clean and free from the slightest suspicion of ringworm or foot-rot. Mr. Hodgkinson was born at Wakefield in 1845, and is a son of the late Mr. German Hodgkinson, a member of the Wakefield expedition party, who came out in the “Thomas Harrison,” in 1842, and died at Nelson on the 10th of August, 1900, aged 98. Mr. T. Hodgkinson was educated at Wakefield, and has followed farming from his earliest days. He farmed two properties of fifty and seventysix acres respectively at Motupiko until 1874, when he bought his present holding. Mr. Hodgkinson was for about twenty years a member of the local school committee, and occupied a seat on the Motueka Road Board for some time. He is an Oddfellow of many page 145 years' standing, and lakes a general interest in the welfare of the district. He has a fine residence of twelve rooms, and offers superior accommodation to the travelling public. The comforts of the house are all that can be desired, as everything about the place is throughly up to date. Mr. Hodgkinson married a daughter of the late Mr. William Louden, one of the best known settlers in the Waimeas.

Kinzett, William James, Farmer, Tadmor. Mr. Kinsett's farm comprises 400 acres, of which 200 acres are held under lease, and he has also 113 acres at Upper Tadmor. He grazes about 1000 Romney Marsh sheep. The land consists chiefly of low lying hills, though 150 acres are fit for cropping with hops, barley and oats. The farm is well supplied with outbuildings, such as stables, wool and cart sheds, cow-bails, etc. A large hopkiln has been erected, and 350 bushels can be dried on the floor. Mr. Kinzett was born at Nelson in 1841, and is a son of the late Mr. George Kinzett, who came to Nelson in the ship “Thomas Harrison” in 1842, and after undergoing many hardships, and passing through several Maori troubles, established a comfortable home. He died when eighty-two years of age. Mr. W. J. Kinzett was brought up to farm work, and started on his own account in the Wairau, where he tilled sixty-five acres, for thirteen years; but he eventually sold his land, and took up his present holding in 1885. He was for six years a member of the Motueka Valley Road Board till its extinction, and also served on the Tadmor Road Board and local school committee, and the old licensing committee, of which he was chairman. He was volunteer for six years, and competed at the Rifle Association meetings. Mr. Kinzett married a daughter of Mr. W. A. H. Busch, of Aniseed Valley.

The Late Mr. G Kinzett.

The Late Mr. G Kinzett.

Thomason, Esmy, Farmer, “Lillydale,” Tadmor, Mr. Thomason owns 200 acres of land, which has been cleared, grassed and fenced. It is stocked with 500 Romney Marsh sheep and a few cows. About thirty acres are cropped annually, and the yields are very good. Three acres are planted with hops, and the crop is of excellent quality. The section is well watered, Mr. Thomason was born at Brightwater, and brought up to farming; and, having lost his parents when he was young, he had to fight his own way in the world. He bought his present property in 1885. Mr. Thomason was a member of the old road board for ten years; he served on the licensing committee years ago, and is chairman of the school committee. He married a daughter of Mr. Henry In wood, of Motueka, and has five sons and three daughters.

Mr. Benjamin Harford , who was formerly a sheep and cattle farmer at Sherry, was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1835, and came to Nelson with his parents in 1842, in the ship “Bolton.” He first followed Farming at Foxhill, and later on at Hope, and subsequently took to carting at Pieton, Akaroa, and Christchurch. About 1885, he bought property in the Tadmor district, where he carried on operations till 1898, when he sold out to Mr. Joseph Rollet and purchased 600 acres at Sherry, Mr. Harford occupied a seat on the licensing committee for two terms, and was a member of the Sherry school committee. He married a daughter of the late Mr. James Allcott, of Waimea, and has a grown up family of six sons and five daugheers, all of whom reside in the Nel son district. Mr. Harford now (1905) lives in retirement in the city of Nelson.

Mr. B. Harford.

Mr. B. Harford.