Kumara is situated on the south-west bank of the Teremakau river, four miles and a-half from the railway station at Kumara Junction, and eighteen miles from Hokitika. It is in the county, the electorate, and the provincial district of Westland. There are two banks in the town; the Bank of New Zealand, with a resident manager, and the National Bank, which is visited periodically from Greymouth. Gold in the district was first discovered at Greenstone, and mining is carried on chiefly by hydraulic sluicing. It is stated that at one time 250 miners annually found 15,000 ounces of gold. These returns continued until the year 1890, when they suddenly dropped to 8000 ounces. The field was at its best in the latter part of 1876, when, it is stated, there were eighty hotels in the district, all doing a good trade. The Government has assisted the miners of Kumara as no other workers have been helped in the colony. At the cost of thousands of pounds, water races have been constructed to enable miners to work successfully what would otherwise have been useless ground. Miners who are not in a position to pay for the use of the water are allowed to use it free of cost. Kumara, however, is the home of the Right Hon. Richard John Seddon, Premier of New Zealand. The town has four churchs; Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Presbyterian, and there is also a Salvation Army corps. In addition to the ordinary schools, Kumara has also a School of Mines. There is a well-equipped fire brigade, which has been liberally supported by the local residents, and the town has a well-appointed cottage hospital. There are thirteen hotels within the borough, and one of the local firms has also a bottle license. The Government buildings include a courthouse, post office, and police station. A daily paper, “The Kumara Times,” is published in the settlement, and the Ioval Albert Lodge, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, is domiciled in the town. At the census of 1901 the population of the borough was 1121.

The Borough of Kumara has about eight miles of formed streets and two miles of footpaths. The rateable value of the property is £24,712; there is a general rate of 1½d, and also a charitable aid rate of 1½d in the pound. There is a very efficient water supply obtained from the Government water race, with a pressure of forty-five pounds to the square inch. The sum of £800 was borrowed under the Loans to Local Bodies Act for the purpose of establishing the water service. Half the loan was still unpaid in the year 1905. The present Premier of New Zealand, the Right Hon R. J. Seddon, was the first Mayor of Kumara, in 1877; and the members of the Council in 1905 were: Mr. J. A. Murdoch, Mayor, and Messrs J. S. Benyon, J. Jorgenson, R. McGlone, T. T. Jones, R. Rowse, M. Eggleton, C. Evenden, W. Campbell, and W. B. Gilbert, councillors.

His Worship the Mayor, Mr. James Alexander Murdoch, was elected Mayor of Kumara in 1903, and was re-elected in the two succeeding years. Mr. Murdoch was born in 1869, in Adelaide, South Australia, and was educated in New Zealand. He is president of the Kumara Hospital Trustees, and a member of the Grey Harbour Board; and is further referred to as a barrister and solicitor.

Kumara Fire Brigade . The station, situated in Seddon Street, consists of a good substantial shed built by the Borough Council, and the plant comprises a hand engine, a fire engine, hose, hydrant and hook ladder. The town is well supplied with water, which has a pressure of ninety feet. The members of the brigade take part in the usual fire brigade competitions annually held on the West Coast, and have won many trophies.

The Kumara Police Station , more generally known as the “Police Camp,” comprises a large barrack, The buildings stand in about two acres of ground. In the year 1877, the station was under the charge of a sub-inspector, who had a sergeant, detective, mounted constable and five ordinary constables under his control. Since then, however, the district has become more settled, and one constable is found sufficient for ordinary requirements.

The Kumara Hospital is erected on about two acres of ground, and divided into three wards, with accommodation for fifteen patients. There is also a detached fever ward and an Old Men's Home.

The Kumara School was opened in the year 1876, and is a substantial one-storied building, containing five class rooms. The playground is two acres in extent, and is well laid out. In conjunction with the school there is a technical class, which receives instruction in carpentry, etc. The school has several scholarships to its credit, and a good proportion of certificates are annually received from Wellington. The staff includes eight teachers.

The Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Kumara was renovated in the year 1905, and has accommodation for 200 persons. The Anglican parish at Kumara extends from Otira to Arahura. Regular services are held at Kumara, Stafford, and Waimea, and occasional services at other places. The Waimea and Stafford churches are named respectively St. Luke's and St. John's; they are old buildings, and were erected in the early days of those districts. There is a vicarage in Kumara, and the Stafford vicarage is occupied by a lay reader.

The Rev. Henry Montague Smyth, M.A., Vicar of Kumara, is further referred to at page 193 of the Canterbury volume of this Cyclopedia.

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is a suitably fitted up building; it has accommodation for about 250 persons, and has a serviceable organ. The charge includes Humphrey's Gully, Greenstone, and Stafford, and extends to Aitken's, on the Christchurch road. Morning and evening services are held in Kumara, and Sunday afternoon services at Stafford. The church at Stafford is supplied with an organ, and Sunday schools are conducted at Kumara, Dillmanstown and Stafford.

Mr. George Herbert Crockett was appointed minister in charge of St. Andrew's Presbyterian church, Kumara, in the year 1904. He was born in Riverton, Southland, in 1879, and was educated in Invercargill by a private tutor. Mr. Crockett entered the service of the Southland Implement Company in Invercargill, and also the engineering firm of Jabez Hayes and Company. In 1902, he went to Eketahuna as Home Missionary, and in 1904 was appointed to the Kumara charge. While in Invercargill Mr. Crockett had charge of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is married, and has one son.

The Kumara Roman Catholic District , which now forms part of the Christ-church diocese, was formerly in the Wellington diocese. There are four churches in the district—namely, at Kumara, Greenstone, Stafford, and Waimea. Services are held regularly at Kumara, and at the other churches. The church at Kumara is a large building, with accommodation for 300 persons, and the interior is well finished. The Catholic congregation is considered the largest in Kumara. The convent, which was opened in 1876, with schools conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, affords tuition for 120 scholars.

The Kumara Circuit of the Methodist Church embraces the districts of Kumara, Kumara Junction, Greenstone, Westbrook, and Stafford. At Kumara, there is a church which has accommodation for 150 people, and the parsonage is adjacent to the church. There is also a church at Stafford, and in other parts of the district services are held in the schools. Sunday schools are conducted at Kumara and Kumara Junction.

The Kumara Times, Dillmans and Goldsborough Advertiser , Seddon Street, Kumara, was established in 1875. The journal changed hands in 1896 and has since been the property of Messrs Stephen M. Benyon and William T. Richards, with Mr. J. S. Benyon, as manager and editor. It is a supporter of the Seddon Government.

Mr. James S. Benyon , the Editor and Manager of the Kumara Times, entered upon his duties in December 1896. He is the youngest son of the late Mr. Stephen Benyon, of Landport, Portsmouth, England, a painter in Heraldry, and was born in 1836, and educated at Mesney's Academy (endowed by Sir Walter Arundel) and is a decorator by profession. As with many other young men, the gold fever induced him to seek his fortunes in the Colonies and he arrived in Victoria in 1852; he is therefore a very old colonist. Mr. Benyon followed gold mining with varied success, working at his trade during intervals. He was at Bendigo, Forest Creek and at Ballarat, during the Eureka riots. Coming to New Zealand in 1869, he settled for many years at Okarito, having bought the stores and stock of Messrs Mace and Canavan. For five years he was secretary to the Okarito Road Board, and finally came to Kumara in 1885. Mr. Benyon filled the mayoral chair from 1889 till 1894, and officially welcomed His Excellency Lord Onslow during his visit to the West Coast.

The Stipendiary Magistrate's Court , Kumara. The Courthouse stands on a quarter of an acre of ground, and contains the court-room, clerk's office, magistrate's room, and a public lobby. Mr. R. J. Acheson, Stipendiary Magistrate and Warden, holds periodical sittings, and the local Justices of the Peace take ordinary cases during the intervals.

Byrne, Thomas Vincent, Solicitor, Kumara. Mr. Byrne has been well known as a solicitor on the West Coast, and as a public man. He has been several times Mayor of Kumara, and was elected to the Borough Council for the first time in 1892. Mr. Byrne was a member of the Charitable Aid Board for some years, and was at one time chairman of the Kumara school committee. He married a daughter of the late Mr. Ward, an old West Coaster, who came with the first of the “rushes.”

Mr. T. V. Byrne.

Murdoch, James Alexander, Barrister and Solicitor, Seddon Street, Kumara. Mr. Murdoch was formerly a member of the firm of Park and Murdoch, of Hokitika and Kumara, but he now practises at Kumara on his own account. He was trained under Mr. Park in Hokitika, passed his examination as a solicitor in 1893, and was admitted in 1898 as a barrister. Mr. Murdoch is further referred to as Mayor of Kumara.

The Bank of New Zealand at Kumara is situated in Seddon Street, and is a substantial wooden building with the manager's residence attached. The bank has been represented at Kumara since the year 1875, and the staff consists of a manager and one officer.

Mr. Henry Louis Pickett , Manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Kumara, was born in Auckland, in the year 1852, and entered the Auckland office in the assay department. He was subsequently at the Thames for three years, and at Lawrence for a similar term, and had charge of the bank's agency at Reefton, from 1882 till 1891. In the following year Mr. Pickett took charge at Ross whence he was transferred to Kumara. He is a Freemason, and a member of the Order of Foresters.

Davidson, Robert, General Ironmonger and Blacksmith, Seddon Street, Kumara. Established in 1876.

Mr. Davidson's Premises.

page 541 Bankers, Bank of New Zealand, Kumara. Mr. Davidson imports stock direct from the English, Continental and American markets, and does a large and lucrative business in hydraulic sluicing machinery, besides performing the greater part of the blacksmithing work required in Kumara. The connection extends over the whole of the West Coast. The firm supplied a considerable quantity of pipes for the Healey's Gully Goldmining Company at Moonlight. Originally, the business was carried on under the style of J. and M. Davidson.

Mr. John Davidson, sometime managing partner in the firm of J. and M. Davidson, was born at Ravenglass, England, where he was brought up as a general blacksmith. Previous to coming to Victoria, Australia, in 1858, he was employed at his trade

The Late Mr. J. Davidson.

at Bootle, near Glasgow. He followed his occupation in Victoria until he came to New Zealand in 1865, when he settled in Hokitika. There he carried on his trade for four or five years, and then removed to Kumara, where he laid the foundation of a large business. Mr. Davidson did not take an active part in public affairs, but he was esteemed by all who knew him. He died some time ago.

Way, George Burt, General Storekeeper and Butcher, Seddon Street, Kumara. Established in 1890.

Railway Station Sawmill , Kumara. This mill was erected by Mr. William Morris in 1894, and furnished with machinery of the latest type, including a twenty-five horse-power engine made by the Dispatch Foundry Company, of Greymouth, a Bullock's patent bench, and twin circular saws for breaking down purposes. The mill's capacity is equal to 7000 feet of sawn timber daily. With the exception of the small quantity used locally, the timber is shipped to Christchurch, where it finds a ready sale.

Greenstone Creek Dredge (Alexander Cowie and Victor Bice, proprietors). This dredge, situated on the Greenstone Creek, started work in the year 1902, and was acquired by the present proprietors in October, 1904. It is fitted with an up-to-date plant; the boiler is of twenty horsepower, with a twelve horse-power engine; the buckets have a capacity of four and a-half feet, and the elevators, of thirty feet.

Mr. Alexander Cowie, Senior Partner, is manager of the Greenstone Creek dredge, and has had considerable experience in connection with dredging on the West Coast.

Mr. Victor Bice, Junior Partner of the Greenstone Creek dredge, was born in the year 1879, at Greymouth, where he went to school. He was brought up to engine-driving, spent some years in the Government service, and subsequently worked at various sawmills. Mr. Bice holds a first-class competency certificate and has had considerable experience in dredge work. He was working on the Greenstone Creek dredge prior to its purchase by himself and Mr. Cowie in

Mr. G. B. Way.

Mr. V. Bice.
Ring, photo.

October, 1904. Mr. Bice is a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters, Greymouth.

The Kumara Water Race was constructed in the year 1876 by the Government of New Zealand. Its total length is thirteen miles, and its source is the Kawhaka Creek. There are three reservoirs and one dam, and one of the reservoirs is at the head of the creek. The reservoirs contain about 7000 cubic feet of water. There are twelve miles of piping, and each pipe measures from thirteen to thirty inches in circumference. The water is let to sluicers at a nominal charge of 7½d per hour per sluiceing head.

Mr. James Rochford, Assistant Manager of the Government Water-race, Kumara, was born at Sandhurst, Victoria, in the year 1864. He came to Goldsborough with his parents when very young, and oblained an appointment on the Kumara water race in 1881. Besides being assistant manager, he does all the survey work that is needed in connection with the water race. Mr. Rochford is one of the stewards of the Kumara Jockey Club, and takes a prominent part in all sporting and dramatic matters.

Mr. John Palmer, Sub-Manager and Ganger, Government Water-race, Kumara, was appointed to his present position in the year 1895. He was born at Portsmouth, England, in 1840, and was attracted to Victoria, Australia, by the gold discoveries in 1862. Mr. Palmer worked on the Back Creek, Castlemaine, Lachlan, Daylesford, and Woods Point diggings page 542 with varied success. In 1870, he came to New Zealand, and went to the West Coast, where he began sluicing in the Greenstone district. After some seven or eight years he removed to Kumara, and engaged in sluicing there prior to entering the service of the Government. Mr. Palmer has been an Oddfellow since 1873, and was treasurer of his Lodge for twenty years. He is a trustee of No. 2 Sludge Channel, and was at one time one of the trustees of the Kumara Hospital.

Mr. Andrew Thornley, sometime a director of the Long Tunnel Company, Kumara, was born at Boston, Lincolnshire, England, in the year 1834. He was a son of a farm manager, and followed farming pursuits until he was twenty years of age, when he found employment in the Cleveland and Middleborough Ironworks. In 1859, he left England for Australia; he was in Geelong the following year, and then became a contractor for public works in Victoria and New South Wales. He was subcontractor

The late Mr. A Thornley.

for the Wallsend Coal Pit Tramway Company at Newcastle, and in constructing the breakwater at Woolongong, a seaside about sixty-four miles south of Sydney. He next went to the Gulf diggings in the southern portion of New South Wales, Araluen and Little River. In 1865 Mr. Thornley arrived in Hokitika, and followed mining until 1885, and was also engaged in contracting and road-making between Goldsborough and Stafford. In 1885, he entered the employment of the Long Tunnel Company. Mr. Thornley, always in a quiet, unostentatious manner, furthered the interests of the mining industry. He died some time ago.