Pt Chevalier Times No. 14

8/8/2019 Pt Chevalier Times No. 14

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ewsletter for the Point Chevalier Historical Society o. 14, October 2010

ext issue due out ovember 2010Contact Lisa Truttman (editor) :

19 Methuen Road, Avondale, Auckland 0600, phone (09) 828-8494

or email [email protected]

Membership of the Point ChevalierHistorical Society

Membership is open to all with an interest in our area’s history, and costs only $10 per person . Thisentitles you to vote at our meetings, and to receive

mailed copies of the Point Chevalier Times.

Send cheques to:Pt Chevalier Historical Society

C/- 19 Methuen RoadAvondale, Auckland 0600

sites.google.com/site/pointchevalierhistory/

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Society Member Annette Power loaned a family photo album to me at the last meeting in August.It included this image, taken 5 January 1930, featuring a roundabout on Pt Chevalier Reserve.

Calendar

Meetings—2010October 28, 10.30 am,Horticultural Centre, Great North Road

November 25, 10.30 am Location to be advised

Meetings—2011February 24 10.30 amHorticultural Centre, Great North RoadApril 28 10.30 amHorticultural Centre, Great North Road June 23 10.30 am (AGM)Horticultural Centre, Great North Road August 25 10.30 amHorticultural Centre, Great North Road October 27 10.30 am

Horticultural Centre, Great North Road November 24 10.30 am Location to be advised



The company operated briefly, but judging from theclosed company file left behind in Archives ew Zea-land and the following article from the NZ Truth ,14 August 1915, it made some waves. It certainly al-lowed the Truth full rein for biting Wellington-based

sarcasm.

Point Chevalier Motor Bus Co. Ltd. ProspectusThe Hope to do a Great Many Things with £5000

While Auckland is a beautiful place, it also enjoyssome notoriety by reason of the companies it managesto float at times. A lot of this comes from the fact thatwherever a goldfield exists one finds a class of peoplewho have quite an optimistic outlook upon this sordidworld. Thousands of companies have been floated inthe Northern City to get imagined riches from theThames goldfields, and since the latter have all but

petered out, the company promoter is turning hisingenious mind to other things.

In the prospectus under review we get seven gentlemenwho desire to float the Point Chevalier Motor Bus Co.,Ltd., asking the public to subscribe £5000 in quite auseful venture. That is what "Cambist" concludedwhen the prospectus of the company was first handedto him. Why should the district lying between theAvondale "nut factory" and the smellful soap works of Cox's Creek, not have an up-to-date motor service?Why not, indeed!

The fact is that the Point Chevalier district, which intimes gone by used to belong to dear old Paddy Dignanone of the best of the old-time publicans, and the

biggest shareholder of the Bank of New Zealand before the crash in 1890, has developed into animportant suburb in spite of everything. The westernwinds may sweep over the place and make it feel cold,for Auckland, but nevertheless, it is a fine old spot, andhas its own attractions. One of the principal attractions,in fact, the chief attraction, is the vast number of allot-ments that can be easily obtained there, if one hasenough money in hand to tempt the owners of the clay

lands thereabout. But means of communication are notof the best, so have a motor bus company by all means.Such a movement does a lot to help to soil the "lots."

In the first place let me say that it is no reflection uponthe seven gentlemen who are trying to float the Motor Bus Co. to call these proposed directors "guinea pigs."They are out for guineas, all right, if they are to be

judged by the prospectus. In stating the objects of thecompany they put their remuneration down at £1 1seach for each meeting of directors, or such sum as"may be decided by the company in general meeting."Well, seven guineas every time these gentlemen squat

m the "seats of the mighty" will produce mighty goodresults for the act of so sitting. Good old Auckland! Noone ever hears of a director going short of a feed, andno wonder.

The Point Chevalier Motor BusCompany 1915-1920

Dropping into more serious mood, "Cambist" wouldlike to ask what Messrs. [Thomas] Dignan, [Thomas]Fry, [Andrew Wright] Anderson, [Thomas] Baster,[Albert Gilbert] Quartley, [Maurice] O'Connor, and[James] Mackey really know about motor bus compa-nies? Not one of these people describes himself as anexpert in that class of business. Two of them are"gentlemen" but who ever heard of a gentleman

running a motor bus business? And the secretary doesnot sport anything more enlightening than F.N.Z.A.A.after his name. The motor bus business has ship-wrecked many investors Iin different parts of theworld. Lately in Australia quite a large number of suchcompanies have come to grief, principally becausethey fell into the hands of incompetent managers. Well"Cambist" does not want to say that the “guinea pigs”in this case are incompetent persons, in the same sense.What he does say is that they have taken modest careto hide their motor bus qualifications. However, theyare down for one hundred shares each, which is rather more than the usual subscription that promoters puttheir names down for. Still, it would not take a greatmany meetings to refund in fees the amount they coulddraw if they were minded to "call the Board together"often enough. In cases where the Board is withoutsufficient knowledge, it usually requires a lot of meet-ings to teach all the members something about the artof running a motor bus company. It would be cheaper if they could point to an expert manager, and leavethat manager alone. Why did they not do this at thefirst?

Looking over the memorandum of association, one is

fairly staggered at the business this company proposesto undertake. In the second clause it is stated that theycan "carry out any of the business of electricians,mechanical engineers, suppliers of electricity for the

purposes of light, heat, sound, motive, power or other-wise, builders, contractors, ship owners .and ship

builders, aerial ship or plane owners and builders,traction vehicles owners, and builders' manufacturers,repairers and suppliers, of and dealers in all plantapparatus and things required for, or capable of beingused in connection with railways, tramways, motor air transit, or for or with the generation, distribution,supply, accumulation and use of electricity, or magnet-ism for any purpose whatever."

There now, my prospective investor! Take a fewshares and maybe "Cambist" will be invited to go withyou on a flying trip over Cox's Creek, where we bothcan enjoy the aroma of the soap works free, gratis, andfor nothing. But hold on a minute, there is more tofollow. In clause 5 there nestles a nice little sentence— "for limiting competition."

So the Point Chevalier Motor Bus Co Ltd. has got adash of Rockefeller about it. They would limit (or

crush, to be explicit) all competition in the numerousthings they would do. After reading this "Cambist"fears his chance of a flying trip over the Mad House onthe Whau (pronounced Wow) done for. Limiting com-



Hi Lisa,Thanks for continuing to send the Pt Chevalier Times tome. Re the article on the old Homestead I seem to recol-lect that the Middleton family lived here for a while. I canrecall visiting with Bill Middleton after school at times.

Jon Collins

Also, Pam Burrell and Valerie Longworth contacted mere the reference to the Pt Chevalier Community Commit-tee. The Committee didn’t operate the Old Homestead,but they may have had a meeting or two there. Pam and Valerie — some time, some notes on the Committee’sactivities would be great, thanks — Editor.

Readers respond:The Old Homestead (from last issue)

Raymond Street (from issue no. 8)

I was just made aware of the article you printed about myfamily last year. My great grandfather was James senior not William (he was James brother). James senior andWilliam were both grocers in Mt Eden until my greatgrandparents came to live in Raymond St. William wasfather to Harry Preston and Arthur Preston who lived inHarbourview Rd (neither had children).

James jr was the father of Raymond, (the boy whodrowned), Gordon and James (Jim) who were in the din-

ghy. Raymond St was named for this drowned son. MyUncle, and my brother are named Raymond with variouscousins of my mother and uncle also called Raymond(Raymond Stanley lived at number 16). As an aside my

brother Raymond named after the drowned boy alsodrowned at Home Bay (here Bay).

Thanks, Delwyn(Edited later by her mother Glenys, who has a familyhistory on the Prestons).

While William Preston had title to the property when Raymond died, his brother James and his family were theones referred to in the newspaper articles of the tragedyas living on the Point. The confusion when I wrote the

piece arose because the report referred to Raymond’s parents living at Pt Chevalier — and the title pointed toWilliam, not James. I asked Glenys how this happened,but I’m still awaiting a reply. — Editor

petition has the germ of capitalism in its worst form.Unfortunately Capital and Labor give many manifesta-tions that are, at best, an ugly example of the grossestselfishness. Yet the little company proposes to takesteps to be selfish by act of incorporation. It isquestionable whether this is not ultra vires.

Clause 9 makes it possible to indulge in much land

speculation. Clause 11 sets out powers for other trans-actions connected with land. Clause 25 heads, "todivide as profits among the members of the companythe net annual income to be derived from the exhaus-tion of any wasting asset of the company, without anyobligation on the part of the company to provide for loss on any previous year's operations." Land specula-tions connected with leases would come under thisvery well. Whatever it means they intend to lift all the

profits they can, and quickly as they can. None of theold time precautions here. That clause is as modern astheir blessed flying machines.

Clause 26 is a gem for Labor to take note of. "To promote freedom of contract, and to resist, insureagainst, counteract and discourage interferencetherewith, and to subscribe to any association or fundfor any such purpose." "Cambist" says three cheers!Let him have a hundred shares so that he can smashthe Labor push that provides all the wealth of theDominion. That's the chat. Now we have got it at last.

Clause 30 shows how world-wide the objects of the£5000 Motor Bus concern is: "To procure thiscompany be registered in any part of the British

Empire, or in any foreign country, or place." So PointChevalier will spread its kultur all over the globe,reducing competition, smashing vulgar Labor, when itis not busy running its smellful buses, or flying like a

bird over the Mad House at the Whau (now referred toas the mental hospital, Avondale). There is only onething that the directors seem to have overlooked— there is no provision made for the manufacture andworking of submarines. By George! these are greatthings, quite as wonderful as the aeroplanes, and quiteas dangerous. What a comprehensive lot the "guinea

pigs" are at the back of this company. Why do theyever ask the public to come into the blessed thing, atall, at all? Whirrau and "Wow."

The word “kultur” was used here as a fairly sharpcrack at Point Chevalier by the Wellingtonians. AGerman word, it wasn’t used in a friendly fashionthen, in the second year of the First World War.

The company was supported financially by a loan from DSC and Cousins & Cousins Ltd (the latter well-known coach makers) at the start against two Kissel motor omnibuses, one capable of carrying 18, theother 20 passengers. Anderson Andrew Wright wasdescribed as being a motor bus proprietor, living at

Surrey Crescent.The only annual report in the file was from 1918. In it,it described a total of 164,000 passengers during 1917,over 24,000 trips using workers concession tickets of

3/- for 12 trips. The latter statistic, wrote the chair-man, Thomas Dignan, “should be a great inducement to bona fide workmen to make their homes in thehealth giving surroundings of Point Chevalier.”

Dignan himself, of course, lived at “The Pines” on Pt Chevalier Road.

The company suffered losses in 1915-1917, and sowere forced to raise the fares due to increased cost of upkeep and “the continually advancing price of oil.”Well, there was a war on at the time, of course …

The Point Chevalier Motor Bus Company went intovoluntary liquidation in 1920.

Lisa J Truttman

Pt Chevalier Times No. 14

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