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Labour Weekend Plant Sale a success!

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 03:11:18 GMT

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Heritage Homes and Buildings - Waikouaiti News Agency

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 22:15:00 GMT

The building started life as Mr G. K. Browne’s stationery shop.

He kept the good citizens of the town supplied with pen, ink and paper for 25 years before selling the shop to the Murray family who added a barber’s shop and extended the premises so they could live on site. Among others to have owned the news agency business and site over the years were a Mr O’Connell, Ramsay Townsend, John and Susan Brown, Allan and Kay Black and Oz Gibson. The building has been rented to many different people since the mid 1980s. These days it is still in use as a shop, providing additional space for The Oddity, a second-hand shop next door.

Heritage Homes and Buildings: Waikouaiti General Store

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 22:30:00 GMT

The original building, which went up in 1862, housed one of the oldest stores in Waikouaiti’s history.

The business stayed in one family for 90 years. The store was built by D & J Malloch Bros, and remained in the family until 1952 when it was sold to the Lee family. The Croft family bought it in 1973 and turned the bottom floor into a very popular restaurant but it was destroyed by fire in 1986. Subsequently rebuilt, it was a garden centre and second-hand business before becoming the now highly popular Beanos’ Pies and Artisan Bakery in 1999.

Heritage Homes and Buildings - Quarry Road

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 22:30:00 GMT

This property was once the home of James Andrew Townsend and his wife Emily Elizabeth Fry.

The Frys were one of the early settling families in the area. James, was the son of James Andrew Townsend Snr of Trowbridge, Wiltshire who emigrated firstly to Melbourne, Australia and later Port Chalmers.

James Jnr married Emily in 1901 and they moved to the farm in 1907, which was likely when the house was built. They owned the farm until 1957 when it was bought by Lydia Elizabeth Bains, a relative. She sold it to Robert McDonald in 1965 who in turn sold it to the Martins in 2001.

Heritage Homes and Buildings - Corner Beach & Stewart Streets

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 22:15:00 GMT

The two-storied timber home on the corner of Beach and Stewart Streets was built in 1911 and given to William Moore, a Dunedin solicitor and judge, by the builder as part payment of a debt and was used as a holiday home.

The property was sold in the early 1940s and has since had many owners, including the Thomson family (the lemonade manufacturers of Dunedin), the local butcher Mr Makin, and the Jackson family. The balcony that was above the front bay window has gone, but the delightful architecture of what was once the entry and balcony above remain.

Heritage Homes and Buildings - 182 Main Road, Blacksmith's Shop

Thu, 26 May 2022 22:15:00 GMT

From the late 1880’s, 182 Main Rd Waikouaiti was a blacksmith’s shop.

It was first run by William McDougall Snr and then by his sons who made cartwheels and farm gates, and forged shoes and ironware for the community. In 1958 the blacksmith shop was closed when Harry retired and the building was demolished. When Wilf Kerr purchased the site he put up the current building which was divided into three premises; a tea rooms, video shop and TAB. Since then different owners have made changes and it is now a dedicated cafe and restaurant.

The Gold Rush Era

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 20:15:03 GMT

Waikouaiti has always had a close association with the Central Otago Goldrush of the 1860's which began with the discovery of the precious metal on the 25th of May 1861 by Gabriel Read. Waikouaiti witnessed thousands of hopeful prospectors make their way up Beach Street on their hazardous journey North to Tuapeka. The then very young settlement of Dunedin (founded 1848) reaped many of the benefits, for a period becoming New Zealand largest town. Many of the city's stately buildings date from this period of prosperity. New Zealand's first university, the University of Otago, was founded in 1869 with wealth derived from the goldfields. The current home to Waikouaiti's museum is a proud and significant building to its community. Built the same year as the University of Otago and designed by the prominent architect, Scottish born Robert Lawson, it began its career as a fortress BNZ Bank.

With people and prosperity came the introduction of the iconic Cobb & Co Coach, which transported people and gold to and from Waikouaiti, Dunedin, the goldfields and back again. In the photo you see a coach parked outside The Golden Fleece hotel, across the road from the bank. A replica coach (built here in Waikouaiti) is installed a stones throw from the present day Golden Fleece and outside the old BNZ bank building. One of the Heritage Centre’s treasures, currently on display, is a large thick hide gold carry bag used by Waikouaiti's BNZ bank, along with a heavy lock from a strong box used to transport the gold bag on the coach to the bank.

Military Manoeuvres

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 20:55:59 GMT

Intriguing early military photo unearthed

The Waikouaiti Coast Heritage Centre has acquired an intriguing photo titled ‘Waikouaiti Camp 1892’. It shows a military camp located directly behind the former Town Hall and Council Chambers, currently the site of the East Otago Event Centre.

The photo is unusual in that most camps of the era were held near the current golf and gun clubs.

In common with most districts, from the mid 1860’s East Otago had an active volunteer movement.

Not a lot is known except what was published in various newspapers and Government papers of the time. But we do know that in October 1864 Waikouaiti volunteers attended their first training parade under Police Sergeant Burns. The following March the Waikouaiti Rifle Volunteers were formed with the commissioning of an Officer Captain, Blair Fullerton of Mount Royal, the document for which is signed by Governor Grey with a wax seal.

By 1881 the Waikouaiti Rifles had one captain, a sub-lieutenant, four sergeants, a bugler, and 45 rank and file members armed with snider rifles.

Mock Battle a crowd puller

In 1888 the North Otago Volunteers and Dunedin Hussars staged a mock battle which garnered such interest that steam trains ferried crowds of onlookers from both north and south. Unfortunately, the weather refused to cooperate and the day ended with no winner being declared.

In 1892 the camp shown in the photograph was held on the Maxwell property, which was directly behind the current Events Centre.

While in progress, there was an early demonstration of New Zealanders’ now legendary “number eight wire” mentality. The camp lacked a gun large enough and loud enough to provide a suitable display of military strength. One ingenious individual procured a blacksmith’s anvil, drilled a hole in it and poured in gunpowder. He secured the powder with a wooden peg, lit the fuse and took refuge behind a nearby hedge until the explosion – which was, by all accounts, something startling. Not something, however, that any modern armaments or health and safety official would sanction!

Sunday afternoons, following church parade, were deemed suitable for games and sports. The list of games played are reminiscent of many of a childhood: tilting the ring, sack race, Cumberland wrestling, wheelbarrow race, hop, skip and jump, putting the stone, menagerie race, tug of war, egg and ladle race, picking up stones and three-legged race.

Names mentioned in connection with the camp included Major Sutherland, Camp Major Schultze, Captain White, Lieutenants Stewart, Templeton and Colour, Sergeants Maxwell, J Diack and Bradley, Corporals H Townsend and Bell, Volunteers A Park, Volunteer A J Woolley, AH Allcock, E Aitcheson, J Cameron, W Martin, DW Mallock, J Aitcheson, J Allen and a Mr Blair. The company’s Chaplin was Rev. Lucas and the organist, a Mr Davis.

Ceremonial disbanding

In 1893 the Waikouaiti Rifles were disbanded with suitable ceremony, which took the form of a Smoking Concert. However, that didn’t end the area’s military involvement. The following year the Otago Hussars sent a party of officers to increase its numbers by recruiting 40 mounted men. These became the Waikouaiti Mounted Troop. Captain Allan S Orbell, who had been Captain of the Waikouaiti Rifles, held camps for the Hussars on his property near what is now Orbell’s Crossing.

Many of the families from this volunteer period are still in the district today. Waikouaiti Rifle Volunteer descendants who served in later conflicts are listed on the local war memorial.

There are many gaps in the information held so if you can add any details please contact the Museum via email:

Geelong – An Early Paddle-steamer

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 20:49:27 GMT

Insights into the origins of Waikouaiti's street names

Many of Waikouaiti's streets are named after ships owned by John Jones (1808-69). He was the primary land holder, employer and merchant in the settlement.

Thomas Street and the next street over, Henry Street, commemorate the vessel Thomas Henry. Then there is the Scotia Street and Geelong Street among others. Depicted in the painting above by Captain Thomas Robertson (1863) are passengers being rowed ashore from the paddle - steamer Geelong at the mouth of the Waikouaiti River, with Waikouaiti township in the background (at the time called Hawkesbury).

The paddle – steamer Geelong was built in 1854 on the Clyde River, Scotland, to become the fastest vessel on the Melbourne - Geelong route during the Victorian gold rush. Jones, along with Cargill & Co. purchased her in January 1859 and she initially undertook the Otago-Southland east coast mail delivery. Based at Port Chalmers, she settled into the Dunedin to Oamaru run, calling at Waikouaiti on almost every run. During the gold rushes of 1861-1863 she dropped off thousands of diggers in Waikouaiti Bay. With engines and sails, the Geelong was nifty and reliable - ideal for Otago's coastal waters. She seldom got into difficulty.

She was sold to a new owner in the far north of the North Island in 1875 and in 1879, was wrecked at the entrance to Whangape Harbour which is on the West coast of Northland (ref Roadway to the Rushes by Eileen Foote).

Mr & Mrs John Jones

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 19:45:03 GMT

Waikouaiti's Original Power Couple

Sydney born John Jones rose, through his own merits, from very humble origins to mover and shaker in the early settlement of Dunedin. At times a controversial figure, it was widely acknowledged he was fair and honest in his many and varied business dealings, a kind and generous man and a loyal supporter of all the churches.

As the saying goes, "behind every great man is a great woman", and Jones had Sarah, nee Sizemore, who it is said played a pivotal and influential role in her husband's success. Described as having soft blue eyes, a round rather solemn face framed with long dark brown hair neatly parted in the middle and coiled up at the back, her demure demeanor was combined with a fierce look in her eyes. By all accounts Jones adored her and their marriage was a happy one.

Sarah and her brother were both born in Bristol. Their mother Charity Sizemore was convicted of receiving 350 yards of stolen cloth and sentenced to 7 years. She was transported in the Maria in 1819 (the year Queen Victoria was born). Sarah, aged 11 accompanied her mother, while her brother was sent out on a different ship. Their vessel carried only women convicts. Her mother was selected by the Captain to be his wife's maid, and she served out her time working for one of the wealthiest families in Sydney. It's therefore safe to presume she was regarded as being of good character. Certainly Sarah must have thought highly of her mother, as she named her eldest daughter after her.

John Jones and Sarah Sizemore were married in Sydney at Scots Church by the Reverend Lang on the 7th of January 1828. Their ages are stated as being 20 for Sarah and 19 for Jones. In 1843 Jones moved his family to Waikouaiti and they lived the rest if their lives in Otago. Sarah seemed to be producing children all their married life. The couple had 11 children, 9 (5 boys and 4 girls) survived into adulthood.

Sarah died 22nd September 1864 aged 57 from heart disease. For Jones it was described as "the hardest blow of his life and from its effects he never properly rallied". Her funeral was large and attended by the great and the good of Dunedin. Public offices were closed for the service and many similar marks of respect were paid by local merchants and tradesmen. Jones himself died in 1869 aged 60. They are buried together in Dunedin's Southern Cemetery.

You can learn more about this nineteenth century power couple and their achievements at the Waikouaiti Coast Heritage Centre.

Remembering a soldier – James Kirkwood

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 08:07:07 GMT

A tragic tale from the Boer War

When Premier Richard Seddon's offer to Mother Britain to send troops to South Africa in September 1899, New Zealand men responded in overwhelming numbers. However, only men already members of the tiny New Zealand permanent force or a part-time volunteer unit were selected. There was a required age, height, ability to shoot and ride. Many applicants were rejected on the grounds of poor horsemanship.

Not so, young James Kirkwood from Goodwood. He knew horses. Well-built and strong through working as a farrier, he also served as a volunteer for 18 months with the Palmerston Rifles, prior to enlisting on the 3rd of April 1900. He was only 19 and a half years old. After a short stint in a makeshift training facility in Karori Wellington, he was shipped out to South Africa attached to the 7th Contingent.

Conditions were harsh. Limited supplies, scarcity of water, rations consisted of hard army biscuits, bully beef, sugar and tea. Along with the stress of combat, soldiers and their horses had to cope with extreme heat during the day which gave way to freezing nights. There were long days, up at 4am for 12 hourly patrols.

The horse played a vital role in the life of a New Zealand soldier. On horseback a soldier was able to cover great distances across the veldt (open plains) where most of the conflict took place and keep up with the hit and run tactics of the Boer guerrillas.

Young James endured all this for almost two years when tragically and shockingly he lost his life. He was accidentally shot by a fellow soldier on the night of the 18th of February 1902 with little more than 3 months left before the war ended with a British victory. He was exactly twenty-one and a half years old. So cruel and horrific for his parents John and Janet Kirkwood. He is buried where he died at Reitspruit Farm in Orange River Colony. He was awarded both the Orange Free State and the South African 1901 and 1902 clasps. James Kirkwood was only one of many brave young New Zealanders who gave their lives in this conflict far from home.

The Orbell Story

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 06:23:52 GMT

The name Orbell is synonymous with Waikouaiti's early development and success.

It all began when John Orbell aged 47, his wife Catherine, their ten children and one servant arrived in primitive Port Chalmers in the winter of 1849 on the Mariner.

Previously John had been a successful flour miller, grain merchant and gentleman, in Suffolk on the banks of the Stour River in Essex. Following the potato blight of the 1840's, a sharp drop in the price of grain and heavy debt, John and Catherine now looked to New Zealand to offer their family a brighter future. Arriving in Otago, they decided instead to head to Wellington, a more established settlement. Unfortunately persistent, unsettled weather prevented the Mariner from sailing.

As the week's passed their financial situation became desperate. Enter John Jones. He convinced them to come and work for him. "Mr Jones made such favourable propositions, that my father was induced to accept them. He was to provide a house for us at Waikouaiti, and lease us some land and assist us in other ways. Needless to relate, that led us to believe that we were very fortunate", reminisces Macloud Orbell in later life. "Had we had any knowledge of Mr Jones character, we should not have placed ourselves in his power”.

Indeed, the house provided, at the top of Prospect Farm at Matanaka, turned out to be a two roomed weatherboard cottage, twenty feet by twelve, and open to the south west wind which "blew sand through the roof in showers. Supplies were purchased from Jones, but it was impossible to get any delicacy, or even a meal to put before an invalid”.

It's winter 1849. Having fled bankruptcy and creditors in recession torn England, the once comfortably affluent John and Catherine Orbell, their ten children (five girls and five boys) and an elderly manservant, have accepted an offer of work on Johnny Jones' Prospect Farm at Matanaka in Waikouaiti. Ten year old Macleod is sleeping in the granary with his four brothers, because the dilapidated, pint sized cottage, assigned to the family of thirteen, has not the room. They were locked in every night by the farm manager, no doubt on Jones' orders, to discourage any pilfering. Imagine if there had of been a fire, in that age of candles and oil lamps.

Incidentally, have you been to see the historically unique farm buildings at Matanaka, open free every day to the public. Well worth taking a look. The afore mentioned granary is still there. You can enter it, along with stables, school house and a not so private three seater privy. It's an extraordinary feeling, as though John Jones himself had just stepped away for a minute.

In his later life, Macleod Orbell, on request of his family, consented to write reminiscences from his childhood, and the first twenty years of life in New Zealand. He wrote, "Naturally the family found the altered conditions of life most trying, and with disappointment after disappointment, but bravely accepted the position without a murmur. We were a most united family, and feeling that difficulties well met are half conquered, we determined to make light of obstacles".

It's fascinating to hear what they survived on. " Our diet consisted chiefly of fat American pork imported in barrels, wild ducks, and potatoes grown by the natives. We made our own bread, the flour being imported from America, also in barrels. The pork, flour, and groceries were purchased from Mr Jones. The sugar was something to remember. We had to take it or go without. It came in great blocks, weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds, black as black, which we chopped with an axe before using".

His recollection of John Jones up close is revealing too. " He was a man of many parts, very impulsive, and yet at times most kind hearted and generous. At other times most aggressive and almost brutal, his temper apparently uncontrollable. If anyone differed with him, or even had a slight altercation, he would knock him down, and subsequently repent and sometimes make a present of a horse or a cow for the injury he had done him. At the period of which l am writing, he was all powerful”.

Life was hard and isolated for fifteen months before Jones finally agreed to lease them 20 acres in Hawkesbury, where they set about building a substantial timber home. In 1851 Orbell constructed a simple wind driven flour mill to grind his wheat. In time they expanded their farm and business interests, even competing successfully against Jones. Relations improved when the two families were united through the marriage of John Jones' eldest son John Richard and Mary Orbell (both 24) in 1855.

John Orbell was described as an educated, intelligent and thoughtful man. Over the thirty years he lived in Waikouaiti, it was said he involved himself actively in the affairs and welfare of his community and parish, becoming a Justice of the Peace in 1863. Catherine Orbell died in 1875 shortly after their Golden Wedding anniversary. John Orbell died in January 1879 after a brief illness. They lie in picturesque St John Churchyard. Their sons carried on farming and in business, playing a significant role in the district.

Now, who doesn't remember the Union Steam Ship Company?

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 07:44:24 GMT

Largest Shipping Line in the Southern Hemisphere

The Union Steam Ship Company, once the biggest shipping line in the Southern Hemisphere, was New Zealand's largest private sector employer and survived right up until the end of the twentieth century.

The company began right here in Dunedin in 1875 by Wellington born but Dunedin raised James Mills. He was only 28 years old. In 1869 Mills tried twice to float a Union Steam Company of New Zealand Limited, but failed to attract enough interest from local investors, until he found backing from a Scottish shipbuilder named Peter Denny. Denny agreed to invest in return for Union Steam Ship Company orders for ships built at his Dunbarton shipyard. The first two Denny built ships, the Hawea and Taupo, large by local standards, arrived mid 1875 and entered service.

James Mills' Union Steam Ship Company took over the Harbour Steam Navigation Company, once owned by the late Johnny Jones and now by his son John R. Jones, who became a director of the Union Steam Ship Company along with Mills. The company was so successful it became known as the 'Southern Octopus', due to its monopoly on trans-Tasman trade.

James Mills was a valued and trusted employee of our own Johnny Jones. He started as a shop assistant and worked his way up to managing Jones’ Harbour Steam Navigation Company which served parts of Dunedin, Port Chalmers, and Oamaru, even trading with Hokitika on the West Coast. When Jones died in 1869, James Mills was his leading trustee, evidence of the high regard Jones held him in.

James Mills" connection to Waikouaiti doesn't end there. He represented the district on the Otago Provincial Council in 1870 and 1873-1876, and later represented Port Chalmers in Parliament from 1887-1893 when he retired. He was knighted in 1907 and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1909. The first native born non-indigenous New Zealander to be so honoured. He died in London January 1936 in his eighty-ninth year.

The day a Cobb & Co coach passed through Waikouaiti

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 07:58:38 GMT

4 July 1864

The moment was recorded for posterity by The Daily Times. “I think everyone who has witnessed the rattling of a coach and four up a street, loaded with passengers, halting, a short greeting of friends, change of horses, all done in a marvelous short space of time, and then the start again, will agree with me that it instills into one’s heart as it were a kind of spirited feeling that does one good, and especially in a place where nothing of the sort has been seen before” effused the paper’s correspondent.

Almost certainly, the man in the driver’s seat controlling everything to do with that stirring scene was the legendary Australian born Edward (Ned) Devine. He drove for Charles Hoyt (under the brand of Cobb & Co) in Otago from 1863 after earning his reputation driving in the Victorian Goldfields. Thought by many to be unequalled as a whip, a shrewd judge of horses, calm in emergencies, intelligent and witty, a showman and a prankster, this colourful character has his name stamped in the memory of Waikouaiti too.

In 1865 he proposed starting his very own service between Waikouaiti and Dunedin. Coach services ceased in May 1878 with the completion of the Dunedin to Christchurch railway. In 1880 Ned was proprietor of the dilapidated Commercial Hotel here in Waikouaiti, once located on the Main Road about where the library is now situated. He never renewed his licence the following year. He was declared bankrupt in 1882. He died in Australia in 1904 aged 71. His obscure grave was relocated and a memorial erected with funds from both Australia and New Zealand and unveiled in Ballarat on 7th February 1937.

There is something just a little bit magical about the Cobb & Co coaches. They played such an important part in this country’s history and Waikouaiti is no exception. There is a fine example in the Settlers Museum. There is one in the Lawrence museum too. I had such a strong desire to hop up and sit inside it, despite the keep off notice (I did desist). When my grandmother was a very little girl she traveled with her mother from Canterbury to the West Coast on a genuine Cobb & Co coach. That impressed me no end. They stopped in Otira. My grandma and her mum were riding up high beside the driver when he flicked his whip over the horses and on its return struck my grandma in the eye. No permanent damage ensued, but she recalled it being “very painful and burying her face in her mother’s lap.” That service ended in 1923.

A great opportunity has presented itself for your museum to purchase a steel constructed, full sized replica of a Cobb & Co coach made (but not owned) by local man and museum chairperson Bill Lang. The plan is to install it outside the new museum build on the corner of Kildare and Main streets. It couldn’t help but look amazing, make a statement, draw tourists into the town, and in time become an iconic image for Waikouaiti.

Durden Hill and its namesake

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 07:26:07 GMT

A story of philanthropy and heartache.

Pahatea/Durden was named in honour of Edward Witt Durden from Dorset England who arrived in Otago January 1849 aged about eighteen. He was a plumber's son. The story goes, he and another apprentice printer, unhappy in their current situations, ran away and worked their passage to Jones' Cherry Farm, where they became shepherds. After marrying Anne Beal in 1857, he shepherded at Puketapu for Jones. He left Jones' employ in 1861 to start his own store and bakery in Beach Street. His kind and generous nature, and the later loss of his home and store to fire, exacted a heavy toll. Durden declared bankruptcy in 1868 and 1870. He and Anne kept the Royal Hotel but was bankrupt again in 1876. He worked for D & J Malloch until his death from skin cancer in 1896, aged 65. Ned Durden was a founding member of the West Hawksbury Corporation. He was also a founding member of the Oddfellows Lodge, which promoted philanthropy, the ethic of reciprocity and charity. The Durden’s lost their baby son John Edward to measles in 1861 and were survived only by their daughter Annie. The photo of Ned and his son's grave sits in a plumb position in St John's Churchyard. The feature hill, currently draped in rainy mist, a fitting backdrop.

Johnny Jones, a legend in his own time

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 08:07:55 GMT

Whaler, Settler, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist.

Waikouaiti has seen its share of industrious and fascinating characters that have left their mark on the district.

A favourite remains the indomitable, somewhat controversial and larger than life protagonist that is John Jones. A self made man and legend in his own life time.

Born in modest circumstances in Sydney around 1808, by 1844 he was the settlement's primary landlord, employer and merchant. There are several fine books on him. I can recommend one in particular, by his great granddaughter Diana Harris, titled Johnny Jones, A Colonial Saga.

Through canny negotiations with tangatawhenua such as Tuhawaiki, the paramount chief of the Kai Tahu tribe, Jones set about taking ownership of the entire South Island. However, he had his ambitions deflated and bought back down to earth by the British Crown. As part of the signing of the 1840 Treaty, an immediate stop was put on flagrant buying up of land without the Crown's permission. Jones was denied most of his earlier purchases.

He fought bitter litigation through the courts for years but was largely thwarted, with the Crown conceding some of the titles. His influence in the district continued after his death in 1869 and even into present day. For example, though not a profoundly religious man himself, he never the less gave generously to all the denominations. He gifted the land and paid for the construction of the beautiful Anglican Parish of St John, built in 1858 (significantly today, the oldest functioning parish in Otago and Southland). Money and resources bequeathed to the parish in his will is what keeps its doors open to the community, and almost 150 years after his passing.

Here at the museum, as you might expect, we have a few interesting items associated with the great man. Some are touching and distinctly personal. On display in the bank chamber is an exquisite nightgown worn by his granddaughter Beatrice Victoria Robinson Jones. Next to this item and for another granddaughter, Florence Jones, we have pieces of beautiful silver cutlery manufactured in Edinburgh called The Royal Collection. Touchingly monogrammed JJ to FJ, it was commissioned as a wedding gift. We have an additional 20 pieces, which have neem returned from Toitu Museum in Dunedin.

Lionel Terry, Infamous Seacliff Resident

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 07:32:44 GMT

White Supremacy, paranoid schizophrenia and prison escapes..

Here at the community's fabulous new Heritage Centre, inside the Bill and Kay Lang Room, are a series of individual displays. Each one is made up of historical items, photographs and information highlighting individuals, industry, war service, culture, lifestyle and times specific to this area. Just a reminder that you can visit our gift shop at the same time, it has a wide range of Christmas gift ideas, something for everyone.
One of the heritage displays is on Seacliff Asylum. One of its more infamous residents was a white supremacist and murderer called Lionel Terry.
Born in Kent in 1873, his father was a prosperous corn merchant who claimed to be related to Napoleon Bonaparte. Terry was educated at Merton College in Wimbledon. He served 3 years in the Royal Regiment Artillery. Afterwards he was involved in successive itinerant occupations in South Africa, United States, Canada and Australia. He travelled to the West Indies, climbed Mount Pele in Martinique before its eruption. He explored the interior of Dominica, producing the first map of it. He served in a mounted police brigade in Rhodesia fighting against the Matabele in the second Matabele War, taking part in fifteen engagements and being wounded twice. He took part in the ill-fated Jameson Raid, on the 29th December, 1895. 
In Canada he served as the Secretary of a miner’s union and was outraged at how the Premier of British Columbia and mine owner, James Dunsmuir, hired Chinese labour for low wages in preference to Caucasians and mine owners in South Africa imported Chinese Coolies to work for low wages in preference to Caucasians.

Terry's politics favoured only the white working class and believed the British Government, capitalists and Jewish financiers were destroying the British Empire's future, by using the working class as slaves, and hiring non-white labour.
He arrived in New Zealand in 1903. He wrote letters and poems to various publications espousing his views on labour, capitalism, the empire and race. He wrote and privately published The Shadow while in New Zealand. In it he calls on King Edward VII to "defend his empire against the capitalists and Chinese and East Asian immigration."
In June 1905 he undertook a 900km trek from Mangonui to Wellington, distributing copies of The Shadow. 
Once in Wellington he set about trying to convince New Zealand's Parliament to ban any further Chinese and East Asian Immigration into the country, without success.
On the 24th September, 1905 Terry shot an elderly, infirm and impoverished Chinese immigrant called Joe (possibly Zhou) Kum Yung in Haining Street, Wellington. He later died in hospital. Yung was a 70 year old Canton Chinese gold prospector who enjoyed little luck with the declining goldfields and suffered a limp from an earlier accident. It is said he yearned to return to his native Canton.
Terry later told authorities he selected his victim due to his infirmity. The day after the shooting Terry admitted himself to authorities saying, 'l have come to tell you that l am the man who shot the Chinaman in the Chinese quarter of the city last evening. I take an interest in alien immigration and l took this means of bringing it under the public notice.' The New Zealand Supreme Court found him guilty of murder on the 21st November, 1905 and sentenced him to hang. However, the death penalty was commuted to life incarceration within New Zealand psychiatric institutions. 
Over the next forty-seven years he served time in Christchurch's Sunnyside Hospital, Dunedin's Seacliff and Lyttelton Prison. He escaped twice from Sunnyside and spent 3 weeks on the run after escaping from Seacliff too.
Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, thanks largely to Truby King's progressive treatments he did recover slightly from his ongoing mental illness. He was allowed to produce more poetry, paint and undertake horticulture. Overtime he developed messianic religious delusions viewing himself as a prophet, dressing in white and growing a beard and long hair. In 1940 he assaulted a doctor who attempted to administer an anti-typhoid injection. He died from a stroke in 1952 aged 79.