Cobden is situated on the north bank of the Grey river, one mile from Greymouth, and is in the Cobden riding of the county of Grey, in the electorate of Grey, and in the provincial district of Nelson. It is approached by a massive cylinder-built bridge over the Grey river, and is flanked by hills, with bush-covered slopes. It was here that the first settlement took place, and at one time, far back in the sixties, Cobden was a flourishing township; it now contains two hotels, a State school, a Presbyterian church, and several small stores. The maintenance of roads and bridges is in the hands of the Grey County Council, to which the ratepayers of Cobden riding return one member. The entire population of the Cobden riding, at the census of 1901, was 708, of which 423 resided in the township, and twenty-two at North Beach. There is a large quarry at Cobden, the stone from which has been extensively used by, and is still of service to, the Harbour Board for the Tip Head on the north side of the river, with which it is connected by iron rails along the breakwater. A large public hall and skating rink, locally owned, has been added to the buildings of the settlement, which is becoming a popular suburb of Greymouth. Services are held every Sunday, in the local schoolroom. At North Beach, about two miles distant, a gold dredge is in operation.

The Cobden Telephone Bureau is conducted at the store of Mr. George Armstrong, who is in charge. There is also a postal letter box. Mr. Armstrong is further referred to a storekeeper at Cobden.

The Cobden Public School , which is situated about a mile from Greymouth, is a large building capable of accommodating 180 children. It has three class rooms, two entrances, and a lobby. There are 180 names on the roll, and the average attendance for the quarter that ended with March, 1905, was 154. Over half an acre of land is attached to the school, and the staff consists of the headmaster, the mistress, and an assistant. The school has turned out some clever scholars, one of whom is Mr. J. P. Firth, headmaster of Wellington College, who received his primary education at Cobden, and an account of whose life appears in the Wellington volume of this work.

Mr. Leonard Frederick de Berry has been head master of the Cobden public school since September, 1904. He was born in the year 1880 at Feilding. Mr. de Berry was educated at the Greymouth District High School, and afterwards served as a pupil teacher at Greymouth for five years. He obtained a C certificate in 1903, and as an exempted student of Victoria College, Wellington, passed the first section of his B.A. degree in the same year. Mr. de Berry was head master of Ahaura public school for three years and a-half, and was appointed to the Cobden public school, in 1904. He is a member of the New Zealand Educational Institute, was president of the Grey branch of the Institute for the year 1903–4, and delegate at the Nelson Conference of the Institute in 1904. Mr. de Berry is captain of the Cobden School Cadets, an efficient corps connected with the Cobden school.

Ring, photo.
Mr. L. F. de Berry.

Armstrong, George, General Storekeeper and Baker, Main Street, Cobden. This business was acquired by Mr. Armstrong in February, 1904. The premises consist of a wood and iron building, and contain a store and residence, built on a site of half an acre.

Stewart, John, Dairyfarmer, Cobden, Mr. Stewart was born in Nelson in 1886, educated at Bridge Street school, and was employed early in life at dairying and market gardening at Nelson. He was subsequently engaged in sawmilling at Takaka for several months. Mr. Stewart's farm at Cobden comprises 260 acres, of which ninety acres are leasehold. Over 150 acres are cleared and laid down in English grasses. The property has been gradually improved from time to time, and grazes about thirty head of milch cows, principally Ayrshires. Mr. Stewart's carts deliver daily throughout Greymouth and the suburbs.

The Late Mr. C. Taylor.

Taylor, Joseph, Settler, Cobden. Mr. Taylor is a son of the late Mr. Charles Taylor, founder of Taylorville, and was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1850. He was educated and brought up at Bunninyong, near Ballarat, Victoria, and came to New Zealand in 1866 with his parents, who settled at Greymouth. When his father established himself in business in 1868, Mr. Joseph Taylor was his right hand support, and also during the ten years he was engaged in commercial enterprises. Mr. Taylor afterwards disposed of the business which he had conducted on a very extensive scale, as in the retail department alone he had employed over twelve persons. For about ten years he represented Brunner on the Grey County Council, and resigned his seat when the town was formed into a borough. He was a member of the Grey Education Board for two or three years, and has devoted much of his time to page 275 public affairs, having the welfare of the district at heart. Mr. Taylor not only possesses considerable town and country properties, but he has also large mining interests.

Mr. George Gillingham was born in Dorsetshire, England, in 1843, and came to New Zealand in 1870, in the ship “Zealandia.” He immediately settled on the West Coast, where he engaged in mining with his uncle (Mr. Lucas) for over a year, and eventually became storeman for Mr. Coates, the well-known Greymouth merchant, and afterwards with the late Mr. Dickie at Cobden. On the death of Mr. Dickie, in 1882, Mr. Gillingham commenced business on his own account.

Egden, John A., Miner and Mining Speculator, Cobden. Bankers, Bank of New Zealand. Mr. Egden, who is a partner with Mr. T. G. Davies, has been actively engaged in mining since he was a boy. He was born in Victoria, in 1868, came to this colony in 1880, and was at Rimu “rush.” In 1883, he went to Barrytown, where he was one of the initial holders of a part of the property, afterwards owned by the Waiwhero Sluicing Company, Limited, and he and his partner were very successful at Barrytown. Mr. Egden is also largely interested in dredging operations and in many valuable mining areas in different parts of the district. He is well known in connection with sporting and athletic matters, and is esteemed by a large circle of friends.

Mr. Benjamin Hurst is one of the early settlers of the West Coast. He was born in the year 1841 at St. Peter's, Isle of Thanet Kent, England. Mr. Hurst was afterwards brought up to the baking trade, but subsequently followed a seafaring life for about eight years. He then spent one year and six months in the Navigator Islands, came to New Zealand, and landed on the West Coast at North Beach in 1862. Mr. Hurst followed mining for some time, and afterwards took charge of the lights at Greymouth. He finally went back to mining, and is at present (1905) employed at gold saving, amalgamating, and retorting work for the North Beach Dredging Company, in which he holds a number of shares.

Riag, photo.
Mr. B. Hurst.