History of Te Kinga &
Lake Brunner - West Coast, New Zealand
   
The
little village of Te Kinga, shown here in a 1928 photo, has an interesting history. The West
Coast is a unique region, rugged and wild, and has been inhabited by
stone-age people for perhaps thousands of years. Modern-day
visitors to the region will see few traces of the activities of the
"olden-days," and Lake Brunner history.
Te Kinga, Lake Brunner is one of many West Coast villages that lived and died in the same
century. Established in the early 1900's, it nestled on the north-western shores
of the lake known to the Maori as Kotuku Moana or "Waters of the White
Heron." The lakes present-day name is in memory of that of the early explorer, Thomas
Brunner, first European to set eyes on Lake Brunner, long before the
establishment of Te Kinga.
Te Kinga was a saw-milling village - the majority of the village men either worked in the sawmills, or on the
logging gangs engaged in felling trees and delivering them to the mills. My great-grandfather, Joe Abbott,
moved to Te Kinga around 1908, and managed a team of horses, hauling logs to one
of the
sawmills. The first post office opened in 1895.
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| Joe Abbott, circa 1920's. Sharpening the scythe, preparing
to cut grass. |
Joe Abbott and Jim Davidson, circa 1920's. Standing on the railway
tracks above the village of Te Kinga. |
As a boy, growing up in the village, fishing and hunting were the key
pastimes. Some of the following old scenes of the village give an appreciation
of the daily activities of nearly 50 years ago at Te Kinga.
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| Taken December 15th 1956, my Dad and I on Sandy the
horse, at the "Official Opening" of the Crooked River road
bridge into Te Kinga. The ribbon was cut by the oldest resident of Te
Kinga, Mrs Emma Beatrice Abbott, my great-grandmother. |
Once a week George Banks, the butcher, came to town!
My great aunt Violet buys the week's meat. The house now used as a fishing
lodge is at right. |
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| The old Crooked
River swing bridge, replaced by the bridge in the photo above. Looking
west towards Moana. The original piles on the east side of the river are
still visible. In this photo, the river is in full flood. |
Te Kinga boasted the only rifle range for may
miles, and was a popular venue for the local gents. Dick Carter, watches
by Harold Feary adjust the sights on his 303. My grandmother, Gladys
Hill, was a crack shot, and had an amazing collection of trophies to her
credit. These are, I believe, still in the family's possession, treasured mementos
of my Aunty Pam. |
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| The
old sawmill house sometimes used for guest accommodation - as it was, nearly derelict
20 years ago. |
Today, the house has taken a new lease on
life, looking great inside and out! |
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| The "Cashmere Bay Hotel" prior to
its demise. As a small boy, I can remember standing on the verandah of the
Te Kinga Post office, watching the flames destroy the pub. |
Te Kinga School, around 1955. I was pupil
here, commenced school in 1959. The building is now the Rotomanu, School,
as it was moved there after the sawmill closed. |
Te Kinga, our little town, did not quite
die, but it certainly went into an extended coma. The hotel burned down when I was
a small boy, and was not replaced. The
village fell into ruin after the saw-mills closed, late 1960's. The shop
closed, and the school. Most of the houses were removed, taken by transporter to
Stillwater. My grandmother closed the Post Office in 1975, and moved to Greymouth
to live with my mother.
In
recent times, the village has undergone something of a revival. Much of the land has changed
hands, and an enormous amount of work has been done by a real estate developer. The
subdivision, along what was once quite a busy street, is great. Services include
power, telephone, gas, water and sewer. The weeds and
scrub have been banished, all 28 lots cleaned and leveled, and there are plans to build a small hotel on the old
saw-mill site. All things come to he who waits! Since standing on my
grandmother's front verandah all those years ago, watching the hotel burn down,
its been a long, long wait!
From Stone's 1938
Directory: Westland Province & Electoral District: Grey County
A post and telegraph
office 26 miles S.E. by rail from Greymouth.
Mails -
cleared Greymouth Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 6:40am; arrives here
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 9:30am; cleared here Monday, Wednesday,
Friday, 2:00pm, Saturday 3:00pm.
Abbott
Joseph Henry, mill hand; Beams Stanley, bushman, Becker Wilfred, farmer;
Bentley William, engine driver; Burns James, surfaceman; Cashmere Bay Hotel:
J.A.Dowell, prop. Davison Robert, surfaceman; Dawson George, bushman; Dickson
Ralph, engine driver; Dow James Stuart, bushman; Dowell Jas Avery, (Cashmere Bay
Hotel); Egerton John Edward, mill hand; Farrelly Anthony, mill hand; Gibbs John
Thomas, sawyer; Gordon John, bushman; Gray William, farmer; Hayes George, mill
hand; Hibbs Thomas Royal C., sawyer; Hill Albert Victor, mill
hand; Hines James, saw doctor; Kerr James, yardman; Lowe Wiliam, storekeeper;
McAllister Archibald Douglas, engine driver; McDermid William, bushman; Manzoni
Joseph Martin, bushman; Mayo James, sawmill manager; Potter William Henry, mill
hand; Robinson Arthur (J.P.), farm manager; Robinson James, Patrick, farmer;
Southam Herbert, yardman; Williams John Thomas, master mariner.
History
of Te Kinga & Lake Brunner - West Coast, New Zealand
We
are avid collectors of old photographs relating to the history
of Te Kinga and Lake Brunner.
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