First Schooling - Christchurch Normal School

I commenced my schooling at the Christchurch Normal School and became so attached to it that, when the family moved to our new home in St Albans, we elected to stay on there in spite of a walk of a couple of miles that this involved. The headmaster, Mr Christopher Thomas Aschmann, together with his well chosen staff were excellent teachers, all of whom commanded our whole-hearted respect and admiration. For some unknown reason, everybody live din mortal fear of Mr Aschmann's strap, although no one had ever seen it. The truth was that he never needed it for he could do more with his tongue than any teacher with a dozen straps. At least he ensured that I received a thorough grounding in the 'three Rs' and learned to be proud of my heritage as a Britisher, for which I have always been thankful. Upon concluding my primary education with a Proficiency Certificate, I spent 1914 at the Christchurch Technical College following an industrial course in which I soon reached top of the class. Half way through that year the Great War broke out.

1906 Christchurch International Exhibition

In 1906 Christchurch suddenly became the hub of the universe with the opening , early in November, of the Christchurch International Exhibition. This was situated in Hagley Park. The main entrance faced onto the end of Kilmore Street, where a temporary bridge spanned the Avon. Above the main entrance was a huge dome with a tower on either side. A heavy 'nor-wester' came when these were just completed and blew both of them down. However they were replaced in time for the opening which took place with great pomp and ceremony, including a spectacular military and naval parade. Junior and High School cadets in colourful uniforms were brought in from far and wide and camped in the park. A Maori Pa was set up on the eastern side of Victoria Lake and a notable feature of the amusement section was a Water Chute at the opposite end. Boats crammed with passengers were released down a steep include over which water continually poured and these would shoot down into the lake with a tremendous splash amid loud squeals from the ladies. Another attraction that appealed particularly to me was the diorama of the Battle of Gettysburg. Dad took my brother and me to see the reenactment of the fight, which was very realistic indeed. In the foreground of the circular enclosure were life size figures of men and horse together with all the military hardware of those times, all of which merged in to the cleverly painted background on the circular wall. A commentator recited the principal happenings of the day and, as the action commenced the flashes of fire from the guns, the loud explosions and sound of rifle fire accompanied by the acrid smell of burning powder, all contributed to make it look like the real thing. The cannonade was loud enough but this was soon intensified by a thunderstorm which burst over the corrugated iron structure. This was too much for my little brother who was so terrified that he had to be taken out before the battle was half over, much to my disappointment for that meant I had to go out too.

Early Days (1900s) in Christchurch

Christchurch at the commencement of he century was quite a small place enclosed by four belts which are now known as avenues. Beyond these in all directions there were a number of satellite villages of which St Albans was one. In 1905 the No 1 tramline was laid down between the Railway Station and Papanui. At that time my father had opened a picture framing shop in Victoria Street. One of the attractions that this place had for me was the opportunity to watch the line being laid. Since this stand did not prove to be a good one for the business, Dad was not slow in moving to more suitable premises in Colombo Street next to the corner of Kilmore Street. Not long after this move the No 2 line was laid down along Colombo Street from the foot of the Cashmere Hills to Bealey Avenue, which it followed to Barbados Street and thence along this street to St Albans PArk. We used to enjoy being taken by Mother to Cathedral Square to watch the steam engines shunting the trailers.

Early in 1905 my grandmother took me to New Brighton in a horse drawn tram that left from Cathedral Square. It was considered a great step forward when steam locomotion replaced the horses. However, it was not until after World War One that horse drawn hansom cabs disappeared from the rink in front of the Cathedral and "livery and gait stables' became a thing of the past. The principle one was in Armagh Street facing Victoria Square. The gentry from the northern suburbs and towns would come to town on Wednesdays, which were sale days at Addington, and leave their buggies at this stable while the ladies did their shopping. My first part time employment was an an errand boy at Fisher's the fruiterer and florists at the corner of Colombo and Gloucester Streets. One of my duties was to deposit purchases in the respective buggies at the stables. With the advent of motorised transport these stables were converted into the 'Rink Taxis' the site of which is now occupied by Haywrights.

View Larger Map

Arriving in New Zealand

When the time of our departure finally came, we travelled to Brisbane by train. This was a notable journey too as the oil soaked cotton waste in one of the axle boxes on our carriage caught fire and we were shifted to another car. With our goodbyes duly said to mother's relatives, we embarked on a little coastal vessel called the "Gaybow" bound for Sydney. All that I remember of that part of the journey was seasickness and the nasty smell of the boat. We anchored at Sydney not far from a drawbridge, which had to be raised to let us through the gap. [ed. Possibly where ANZAC Bridge is now located] After a wait of a few days we boarded the "Waikari", which also had that nauseating smell which characterised steamers right up till after the First World War. Father and Mother scarcely left their cabin during the whole voyage , which took about a week. My grandmother took charge of us boys so were well looked after. Tall silk hats were the fashion at the time and one of the passengers had the misfortune to have his blown overboard by a sudden gust of wind. I fully expected the ship to stop and attempt retrieve it and was very surprised to see everyone look unconcernedly as it quickly drifted from sight. Upon our arrival at Lyttelton, father went to Christchurch by train in search of accommodation for the family while mother stayed oin the ship with us boys. I had reason to remember this circumstance for I enjoyed sitting on a bollard looking at all the activity in the harbour, all of which was completely new to me. All went well until I fell from my perch and collided with the frayed end of a steel cable that punctured my leg just below the knee. it made a nasty hole but the stewardess made a neat job of patching it up. This incident left me with a scar which I bear to this day. It was November 4th and the following day was Guy Faulkes Day. I had never seen nor heard of this before but it was duly enlightened by my grandmother, who promised to mae a Guy for me the following year which she did.