Lincoln and Districts Historical Society

March 2014 Number 38

President:

Margaret Hannan 325 2588

Secretary:

Margaret Morrish 325 2790

Editor:

Alistair Campbell 325 2773

Immigrants - Neville Moar We know a lot about early settlers to Canterbury, who came from the British Islands, but not so much about those who came from other countries. One group, rare-ly considered, came from Germany during the later 19th century and most contributed to the development of our district and sometimes even to the wider community. Julius von Haast is an outstanding example of one whose legacy extends well beyond the confines of Can-terbury Province. That so little is known about these people, where they came from and when, what they did to begin their new life and how they eventually settled permanently into society is unfortunate to say the least. Whilst the descendants of these first comers may know their history, it is difficult for the general enquirer to discover what this might be.

It is generally asserted that many German settlers into our district came from Hano-ver in northern Germany; it is much more difficult to track down the town or village in that region from which they came. Death certificates will often tell us the country of origin, but no more, pas-senger lists can be just as vague as can the knowledge of descendants. Some-times a stroke of luck will solve the prob-lem, as was the case with Henry Meyen-berg, whose birthplace was not entered on any official document except that re-cording his naturalisation. We know now that he came from a small town or village, Botsmeerdorf, in Saxony.

Most German migrants to our district arrived on ships which sailed from English ports. Some even arrived with British wives and so we may suppose that they travelled to England, often London, for work and lived there long enough to meet and marry their life partner. As many were recorded on passenger lists as labourers or agricultural workers one has to ask what drove them to leave their homeland to work in a foreign environ-ment. Hanover was ruled by the King of England (he was of the House of Hanover) until Queen Victoria as-cended the throne in 1835, so some at least would have been aware of that connection. Germany was in a state of transition, military service was often mandatory and sometimes a young man could find himself and his comrades in arms hired out to serve a foreign power, especially if he was from the lower classes. With few privileges and with little hope of improving their lot the urge to immigrate would be a powerful one; they would

be welcomed to work in the burgeoning factories of England.

And so they came to Lyttelton, either as single or mar-ried men, with high hopes and perhaps some trepidation to begin their new life. Most had to start as labourers and took what work was offered, but some like Adolf Lindemann arrived with enough money to set them-selves up in business. Or so it seemed. In any event Lindemann first comes to our attention as the manufac-turer of mineral waters in Christchurch, who became bankrupt only to reappear as a store keeper in Tai Tapu, where he secured the right to sell the Tai Tapu dairy company’s butter. Following a further bankruptcy, he moved to Tauranga, where he became a successful and

respected farmer and business man. Oth-ers, like his father-in-law, John Gerkin, often made their first living cutting fire-wood, a thriving and important industry in the early days of settlement. Some-times a man obtained the rights to cut tim-ber for firewood and these could be sold at auction if he fell upon hard times. Henry Ludemann was one of these. Job security was not always great and an ever present danger for the woodsmen was that of fire, which on one terrible occasion destroyed cords of firewood and stacked posts when fire swept through the Hoon Hay Bush. Henry Schaffer followed an-other route. At first he worked on roads and then for some years managed a carry-

ing business between Christchurch and Oxford.

Many of these settlers eventually bought land and took up farming. Some like John Gerkin ended as substan-tial land owners and died relatively wealthy men. Oth-ers, like Frederick Mahnke were small land owners, who worked as labourers to supplement their incomes. Nevertheless, whether they were substantial land own-ers or not, most were active in community life. Many, including Henry Meyenberg and John Mangels, were involved in the administration of their school, their li-brary, or road boards, while others were interested in the local church or, as the Arnst brothers were, in sport-ing activities such as cycling or rowing. It was John Gerkin who first suggested that German settlers should set up a Lutheran Church in Christchurch and who, with others, bought land on the corner of Montreal Street and Worcester Street for that purpose. Besides John Gerkin other Germans from our district involved with the Ger- ….. concluded on page 2

Julius von Haast

Page 2

record. A search of Papers Past often reveals details of their interests, albeit sometimes trivial. The Deeds books of the 19th century held by Archives New Zea-land in Peterborough Street contain a wealth of detail regarding land they bought and sold, copies of church records held by the Christchurch library offer family details and birth, death and marriage certificates can be tracked down through Internal Affairs. Details pro-vided by these public sources make it clear that these German migrants, most of humble origin, contributed significantly to the development of our district and in the broadest sense to Canterbury and New Zealand.

…… continued from page 1

man Church, as it came to be called, were Wilhelm Ellmers, Karl Magon and John Tobeck. The church’s early history was a difficult one and when it was sold at auction, because of arrears in meeting mortgage repayments, it was John Gerkin whose successful bid returned ownership to the struggling congregation.

Although it is not always easy to get information di-rectly relating to these first German migrants, it is sur-prising how much can be retrieved from the public

The Libraries of Lincoln - Margaret Hannan

The desire for a community library is almost as old as Lincoln itself. After some abortive efforts, a public meeting in 1873 resolved to establish a Lincoln li-brary. William Tod deeded 32 perches to "the inhabit-ants of the Lincoln School District for the purposes of a library and reading room”. The site was opposite the school and next to the Presbyterian Church, where Liffey Cottage now stands. A working committee was established, then a combination of subscriptions and fund-raising qualified the project for a subsidy from the Provincial Government Library Fund. In July 1874 the library opened for business; the first of four to have served the community since that time.

In 1900 a more central site was deemed desirable. The building was moved to public land on the western side of the L1 next to the bridge, where it still sits, known as Pioneer Hall photographic gallery. Barely more than a decade later, the as yet unrealised desire for a reading room occasioned a public meeting to raise funds for this project, and to gain support for seeking a Government subsidy to build the reading room as a memorial of George V's coronation in 1911. Upon investigation, however, local MP Heaton Rhodes reported that only new buildings qualified for the subsidy. The decision was taken, therefore, to build Coronation Library on the opposite side of the L1 (now Down by the Liffey Gallery). Heaton Rhodes officially opened the new library on 21 April 1912; in the evening a celebratory concert and dance was held in the Druids' Hall, which occupied the site where the 2014 library stands.

The closing decade of the twentieth century saw a move to an even more central location. The Friends of the Library successfully lobbied Selwyn District Council to relocate the library to the obsolete Post Of-fice building in Gerald Street, as Coronation was cramped, dark and cold.

Almost 140 years after the opening of the first library, Mayor Kelvin Coe officially opened the new, purpose-built, Lincoln Library and Service Centre on 8 Febru-ary 2014. In 1911 Heaton Rhodes said that there would always be a demand for books, and as long as that demand existed libraries would be wanted. He also believed that Lincoln would eventually become a town, at which time a larger and more elaborate build-ing, in keeping with the importance of the centre, would be built. His prediction has at last come true, and the wider Lincoln community is demonstrating that libraries, and books as well as electronic sources, are indeed still wanted.

Pioneer

Hall

Coronation Library

Old Post Office becomes the Library

Page 3

While the 'mission' of the library has remained much the same over time, there are also some marked differences. The original library cost approximately £200 and its area was 27 square metres; Coronation Library cost nearly £215 pounds and its area was 44 square metres. The new library came in on budget at $3.7million and is 700 square metres in area.

Though there was provision for a paid librarian in 1874, the position was difficult to fill and volunteers assumed responsibility for running the library until it was absorbed into the Selwyn library system in the 1990s. Now there are several paid staff, and only a few volunteers. Opening hours in 2014 are 8.30 - 5.00, Monday to Friday, extended to 7pm on Thursdays, and 9.30 - 12.30, Saturdays, which is in stark contrast to two 2-hour evening sessions a week in the nineteeth century, which increased to three times a week at Coronation Library.

Only subscribers were entitled to borrow before the Dis-trict assumed responsibility, and the limit of no more than one book at a time, issued for 14 days, is paltry when compared with the 2014 'limit' of 50 items for 4 weeks. Early Lincolnites would be astonished to dis-cover the international flavour of the book stock, as there was a bias toward English material in their time. Reading was considered to be a source of erudition and a means of improving one's mind, so the size and range of the current fiction section would also amaze - early borrowers weren't even offered Dickens! Approximate-ly 19,000 items are in stock today, compared with 699 titles in the late 1870s.

Australian and English newspapers were available from the earliest days of the library. The need to be in touch with far-away events was acknowledged. Whatever would those readers make of the access the internet pro-vides, or the ability to see people in distant places while talking to them by means of Skype? The function re-mains the same, though the means have been revolu-tionised over time.

Early records show that the library was required to pro-vide activities for children. This responsibility contin-ues to be accepted. Activities for babies, toddlers and school-age children are held in the well-stocked, attrac-tive children's section of the library.

Doubtless, at some future date there will again be a call for a new library to serve the greater Lincoln communi-ty. It would be foolish to speculate on its likely location or form, but another link will be forged in the library chain.

Sunday, 27th April

Ferrymead Heritage Park Military Display

Seniors $23 Adults $30

To celebrate 100 years since the outbreak of World War I, Ferrymead Heritage Park will be transformed into a wartime era township. There will be displays of military vehicles, weapons, photos, decorations and uniforms, a walkthrough replica Anderson air raid shelter, a themed troop train and military art and model competitions. Some of the displays are inter active, and there will be a battle simulation.

We will not be organising a bus. Please make your own way to the Park. If you need a ride to the Park, or are able to take others, please contact the Secretary on 325 2790.

Almost a year ago, the Department of Internal Affairs

asked groups to make a special effort this year to mark

100 years since the start of World War I. Our group

has prepared information on 79 young men with Preb-

bleton connections, who served in the armed forces.

We know where all of the 23 who died lie, and have

obtained photographs of the cemeteries.

We also have a section on the women and those left

behind, and what they did for the war effort, and

another called “Men who served in World War I and

who later settled in Prebbleton”.

To try to get more of our village involved, we have

another section called “Men who served in World War

I, and whose descendants now live in Prebbleton”.

This has added some wonderful stories—the first doc-

tor at Gallipoli, a P.O.W. and one of the tunnellers.

We will also have a 1916 Triumph motor bike with

side car, that was used to take messages to and from

the frontline.

This information will be displayed in the Prebble-

ton Public Hall from 9.00am to 4.00pm, on the 25th,

26th and 27th of April. There is no entry fee and we

do hope you are able to come and see the amazing

amount of information we have gathered, and will

better understand the impact that World War I had on

our small village.

Present Lincoln Library

Field Trip

Prebbleton Heritage

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Gerald Street about 1920 - Photograph donated by Beverly Sloan

Early Floods

Flooding in Springston, 1925.

Dartnall and McMeekan’s

store is on the right.

(Source not recorded).

Flooding at Motukarara,

1941.

(Source: Miller).