Cinema  Kororāreka may be  a recent phenomena  but movies at the Town hall are a Russell tradition. They were shown from the silent days until the early 1960s and served an admirable public service for a time. These 1965 news clippings discussed the issue:

Picture Theatre: Reduced public support may result in closing down of the theatre it was stated. Revenue was down £340 on last year for the 10 months ending in January…the council decided pictures could be screened for a further year after which the position would be reviewed. The public is to be notified of the serious financial position and the possibility of closing down; A letter to the editor expressed an opinion about the useful role movies could play in a town such as ours, where drinking alcohol is such a popular pastime; Insufficient bar-room facilities at the only licensed hotel in Russell had led to drinking on the beach and on roadsides during the holidays… councilors expressed concern at liquor being consumed in public places. The council decided to ask its solicitors for advice on overcoming the problem of inadequate drinking facilities on holiday premises in the town.

The photo shows the exterior ladder to the Town Hall projection room c. 1924-25. The two young boys are Roy & Charlie Baker. Photofile no. 7007.

©Russell Museum

What happened here in 1809? And does it matter? In 1959, local people thought it did. They celebrated its 150^th anniversary.

In 1809 Tara was ariki. He lived here with his younger brother Tupe and their people.  Kororāreka was then the headquarters of the Uri-Karaka section of Ngāpuhi.  In the same year that  Whangaroa Māori attacked and burnt the Boyd to her waterline, Kororāreka Māori showed more traditional manaakitanga – hospitality.  Alexander Berry, supercargo (trading master) of another ship, wrote, “Under the auspices of the Kororāreka chiefs, from 1^st March to the end of May, 1809, we landed the stores and appliances of the ship City of Edinburgh, of 526 tons register, hove her down, completely stripped her of her copper, caulked, repaired her bottom and resheathed her with plank made of New Zealand pine.” McNab reported that during all this time Berry lived ashore “in a house built by the Natives”.

On Kororāreka Day 14^th March 1959, a ceremony was held to unveil a bronze plaque in the Russell Museum grounds. The plaque read “This flagstaff was erected to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Kororareka, NZ’s oldest European settlement 1809-1959”. The accompanying programme read, “It is just 150 years since the first white men came ashore to live in Kororāreka, the place which is now known as Russell…At that time, the place was simply a Māori fortified village which occupied nearly all the space on the bank above the shingly beach.”

Mr Berry and his crew may qualify as our first ever “ swallows” –  here today, gone tomorrow. Nevertheless they are enshrined now, in recent history, as our first ever Pakeha settlers.

Sources: Sherrin & Wallace (1890) The early History of New Zealand / Shawcross, Kathleen, (1967) Maoris of the Bay of Islands, 1769 – 1840 /   Russell Centennial Trust Board, (1959) A Short History of New Zealand’s Oldest Pakeha Settlement. 98/551 http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-McNTasm-t1-body-d9-d4.html#n121

The clothes and the togs might have changed but the happy faces, the concrete steps and the Four Square building haven’t. Neither have the wharf sports. Neither has the speed of our swimmers. They were fast in 1959 and they are still fast in 2012. Long may it continue. L to R Back: Jimmy Miller, -, -, –

Front: -, Gail Arlidge, -, –

If anyone can name swimmers or spectators, Russell Museum would love to hear from you. Call us on 4037701 or visit. We are open 10am to 4pm, seven days.

Text: Russell Museum

Photo: Ian Hanlon

Have a close look at these schoolboys from the 1920s. Each one holds a spade, hoe, hedge clippers or rake and stands behind a pile of corn cobs, or perhaps a cauliflower. We know the name of the tall boy on the left – Les Williams – but the others are all anonymous. We had such a good response to our last query (all the 1959 swimmers from our last photo now have names) that we thought we’d try again. Who were these 1920s Russell School gardeners? Your great uncle?  Grandfather? The gentleman in white shirt and tie on the left may be Principal John Wright who taught from 1923 to 1932. The original Baker Cottage can be seen in the background.

Text & Photo: Russell Museum. Photofile # 23-052

Info from Claudia Grant 9/4/12. Actually Lindauer moved to Russell and may have started teaching in 1931. This is not Lindauer in the photo. Claudia born May 1932, Max Arlidge born September 1932, both delivered by Mrs Mundy midwife in house where St Peter Chanel  church is now. Max was Mrs Mundy’s  last delivery – Dolly Arlidge always told Claudia. Building then became St John premises and later the Catholic presbytery.

Would this picture have enticed you to visit Russell in 1907? It’s from the NZ Government Railways publicity department. There was no rail link from Auckland to Opua however, until 1925, so most travellers then, came to Russell by sea. From 1884 to 1931 the SS Clansman, carrying up to 100 passengers, arrived in Russell at 8am on Tuesdays. Her Captain William Farquhar may have been one of the first to recognize the Bay’s potential as a fishing ground. He was heard to say ‘I won’t live to see it but this will be a great fishing resort some day. There is no finer place in the world for it’. It was his habit during the season to take his ship over towards Cape Brett when coming from Whangaroa in the early afternoon; he’d drop a boat with an officer and two men and pick them up on his way to Auckland  in the evening. Lobsters from Whangaroa, fresh hapuka from Cape Brett – what better advertising could there be?

No, it’s nothing to do with pest control. It is thought that the rhyme originated in the late 19^th or early 20^th century. This was a time of great poverty in England. One way the people could obtain money was to pawn their possessions. This was known as to hock or pop. At these times people would be forced to pawn essential items such as their bedding, furniture and clothing. But on the whole they would try to pop only items they could do without, such as their wedding rings. One such item was their weasel iron. The women would only use their iron on a Tuesday after the Monday wash. They would then pop the weasel iron on the Wednesday. With the money they received, they would buy half a pound of tuppeny rice and half a pound of treacle. This type of food was both starchy and filling. They would then take the iron out of pop on a Friday when their husbands received their pay. The word weasel comes from the wheezing sound the charcoal made inside the iron. This iron (MSC84) was lent to Russell  Museum  by Nigel Armitage and David McGill.

Here’s another old one for you. This photo was recently added to our archives, courtesy of Aunty Win Williams, whose husband Trevor was a member of this Russell senior rugby team when he was still a student at Kawakawa District High school.  On this day in 1946 they played against Kaikohe, at Kaikohe, and were beaten 36 – 6. However they had some guns lined up against them – the Kaikohe team included JB and Peter Smith, Stan Young, Charlie Stirling and a number of Bay reps. The Russell lads wore old Russell School jerseys: thick wool, no collar, blue and white hoops. Trevor recorded these details on the back of the photo. In the photo are, from left to right: Back row –  Morrie Larkin (coach), Mac Hau, Jack Maioha, Merv York, Alan Grant, Sid Irving, Sam Maioha (sec); Middle row –  Lionel Williams, Ces Ollerenshaw, Don Brooker, Neil Wark, Bob Irving ; Front row – Mattie Rivers, Dean Moyle, Trevor Williams, Alwyn Rotherham(capt), Colin Moyle, Ron Simpson.