NAPIER'S YESTERDAYS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 119, 5 June 1937, Page 13

NAPIER'S YESTERDAYS

Charl.es

Price

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BY

SOME PERSONAL REMINISCENCES

I might be permitted to give sonie personal reminiscences of , some of the country correepondents and agents with whom I have been more or less closely associated on the Herald during niy long service with that paper. Some of the associations, which have all .been very happy to me, go back over a long period and have been the means of my fornting eome very preeious friendships. uf those who are still in the land oi the livang the iirst that comes to my memory is Miss Margaret Buchanau, who has been the Tikokino correspondent for the paper for a very iengiiiy period indeed. Miss Buclianan nept vne paper well supplied with iLampUtoti and afterwards with Tikokino news for she has the history of Tikokino and the family histories of its residents in her hook of memory. And if news of an important character was slack, we wero able to watch, through Miss Buchanan 's eyes, the glorious sunsets fading down over the ranges near at hand, srnile over the first eariy lamhkins that eame to the district, or xead with interest some story of the trials of the pioneer settlers. Miss Buchanan has a pleasing facility of description, so that even ordinary incidents became interesting narratives. Long may Miss Buchanan continue to wield her facilo pen. Next on the present list of correspondents is Mr. .Thomas Lambert, of Wairoa. MH Lambert has covered Wairoa for the Hawke's Bay Herald and Herald-Tribune for a peraod in the vicinity of 40 years, I fancy, and has done it well. I do not think there have been any happenings in Wairoa during that timh, be they important or unimportant, that have not been fully chronicled. And every arrival in the district, f rom birth to old age, appears in print, and immediately becomes a celebrity. Mr. Lambert is Wairoa 's oldest identity, I think, and his "Story of Old Wairoa" in a thick and well-illustrated hook, is a trdbute to the very thorough manner in which Mr! Lambert does his work. He is a sleuth for news and it is as easy for him to make a column story of a quarter-column incident as it is for me to do so. It is not only in our voluminous writing that Mr. Lambert and I resemble each other, Our handwriting is about equally hard to decipher, but Mr. Lambert eurpasses me in his ecOnomy of space. He does not like to 6ee any blanks at the end of a line of copy, so he fills up his lines by breaking up his words in the most extraordinary way. If he had the word "sentries" to write, for dnstance, he might put "s" at the end of one line, "entries" at the beginning of the next, or he might divide the word, " se ' "ntries," ' 4 sen ' tries, " "sent""ries," "sentr"-ies," "sentri""es," or ' ' sentrie s, " according to the amount of space he had left on the first line. But Mr. Lambert and I are both too old now to change from our peculiar eccentricities. But it will be long, I hope, before either of us is lost to the Herald-Tribune, for I know that our friendship will endure until one or other of us passes away. Hastings and the various correspondents and representatives it has had come next to mdnd. The first Hastings correspondent that 1 can recall was Mr. Hunter H. Murdoch, who held that position for many years. Mr. Murdoch was the drieet of humourists. Some people 's t'aces reveal their humorous character, others conceal it. Mr. Murdoch 's face concealed' his humorous proclivities. He was a great lover of bulldogs, and in appearance not altogether unlike one, and he was certainly like that variety in tenacity and courage. Mr. Murdoch had hds likes and dislikes, as we all have. Politicaily he was a Conservative, and he was conservative in his likes, biit liberal in his dislikes. He was a staunch friend, but he never made a pretence of friendship. As he hdmself said on one occasion, when he gave his hand in friendship it was to a friend. He was an inveterato punster and I a pupil. His correspondence to the paper was often couchea in humorous and punning vein. He was also a cartoonist of some abildty, and at election times his talent was used for election cartoons. He had also a flair for versification and in this his humour found plenty of scope. He vieited Taupo on ono occasion, was told all about the sulphur bath and blue bath at The Spa. He came back and wroto a humorous sketeh in verse, which he called the ' ' Twinpools of Beauty." In the story Mr. Brown, old and almost completely bald, and hds wife, very much be-whis-kered, visited Taupo, and were advised to try these two baths. Mr. Brown was to take the sulphur bath which was said to stimulate the growth of hair, Mrs. Brown to bathe in the blue bath, which was said to check and eventually stop hair gTOwth by destroying the roots. Unfortdnately, the couple by mistake took the wrong baths, with the result that Mr. Brown lost the few bairs on has head, while Mrs. Brown grew whiskers at such a rate that Bhe was ohliged to shave twice daily, and even then could have hair soup without having to jng the hare. When presented with a copy of this brochure by Mr. Murdoch I remarked that it was lucky he had not taken any of his bull-dogs to Taupo with him or one of them might have fallen into the sulphur bath and become a rough-haired Old Englisli sheep dog, or tumbled into the blue bath and become as hairless as a certain Mexican breed of dogs. When the Herald decided to establish a separate branch office in Hastings, Mr. W. J. Stratton, was, I fancy, the first rcpresentative until the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club seeretaryship and other positicms came to him, and his brother, Mr. Hector Stratton, who had been assisting him an the ofSce, took over the position of Herald representative, a position he filled distinctly well. Mr. W. N. Cathro, who had been sub-editor of the Herald for eome years, was anxious to retire, as

he felt that all-night dnty was becoming very irksome. He was induced to take over the control of the Hastings branch, Mr. Stratton having Lo resign owing to other and more lucrative wo'rk having been offered to him. Mr. Cathro brought a lengthy experience of newspaper work to bear on his task of making Hastings news a strong feature of the paper, and he slept in a loom adjoining the office in order that he might be always at hand if anything important happened late at night. But running a morning paper,. even in a branch office, is a strenuous thing, and after a few years Mr. Cathro found the increaeing work rather much for him and he resigned. His suceessor was Mr. Fred Leicester, who, though he succeeded some good men, was Roon tecognised by the firm as being the best of the lot. From Hastings, strange to say, memory takes a eudden spring to Woodville. Tkis town was tor many years quite an important oue ior the Hawke's .bay Herala, which was the first paper to reach there on the day of pauiieation, being for a number of years the only town connected with Woodville direct by rail. The first Woodville correspondent that I can recall was Mr. W. G. Crawiord, schooimaster and latex town clerk. Mr. Crawiord wrote an almost copperplate hand, and his correspondence was scholarly, too, but he mi&sed a good deal of what is called casual news, which dn small towns has an iniportance rather out of proportiou to the actual happenings. Mr. Cranford was succeeded by Mr. Rowe Fennell, a land and commission agent, and secretary to the Woodville Agricultural and Pastoral Assoeiation. Mr. Fennell was a young elderly bachelor, living alono in a four-roomed house. I have. called him a young elderly bachelor, and he truly was that. Elderly in years, young in the youthfulness of hd? spirits, his- enthusiasm, his buoyant hopefulness, and particularly in his lovo for children and Ljs care of them and companionship with them. Like Uncle Ed's of the radio to-day he had a large circle of child friends to whom he was an uncle or elderly brother, a playmate m games, and a storyteder of eutrancing iairy or andrnal stories wlien the weather was too wet for games, for Mr. Fenneil's home was always at the dispofciil of his young friends anl their psrents for birthday parties, anft Mr. Fennell 's owc birthday was the occasion of much celebration. The pretty decoraticas, the tabics heavily luden with tasty riishes and sweets, the big birthday cake (without candles for tlie vears, ior, remember Mr. Fennell was not old, except |n years), made a brave show. Then the singing and reciting which came hfter, and lastly the surprise packets which each child had brought for Mr. Fennell 's birthday, and his very tearful reception of them. Well, I attended several of those birthday parties, and should like to go to one noW. But Mr. Fennell had one peculiar eccentrdeity. He was a collcctor, in a way I suppose you could call him a collector of antiques, for his hobby was (my readers would never guees, I know, so I will tell thean) eollecting kalf-burnt raaltckes. He never threw away a match when he struck one. He blew it out, and dropped the half-burned end into a candlestick, saucer, cup, jug, box, or any other liandy receptacle, with the idea of using it over again, when he had an opportunity. But I do not think he ever did have an opportunity, and he never emptied any. of his receptacles for half-burned matches. If a candleMick, saucer, or cup got full of halfburned matches he simply let them remain there and went on filling something else. The last time I visited him, a few montlis prior to his death, he had about one cwt. of half-burned matches in his house. I do not know who inberited the collection, but certaiuly his hobby was no moro silly tlian that of those Who collect souvenirs of murderers apd other similar ghastly hobbies. Following Mr. Fennoll ag Herald correspondent . at Woodville came the late Mr. Joe Chicken. Mr. Chicken was a working watchmaker by occupation. i fancy he had rare skill in watch repairiiig; anyhow his use of that skill was rare. Mr. Chicken, like Mr. Fennell, was an elderly bachelor, but his hobby was sleeping. When he went to bed on a Sunday night, it was quite uncertain what day of the week, or even what week, he would wake in. For that reason Mr. Chicken would sometimes seud week-old news which he had just gafcliered after a long spell of Rip Van Winkleism. When you took a clock or watch to he repaired, Mr. Chicken lent you one out of stock, to keep you up to time until your timepiece had been repaired. I knew one instance when over two years elapsed after a clock had been taken to him for repairs, and the subatitute had gone wrong, so that another from stock had to be hahded over until the client's own clock was ready. This, however, was never dono for a fire broke out an Mr. Chicken 's shop, and the docks that wero on tick, and docks that wouldn't tick were all destroyed. Mr. Chicken afterwards moved to Norsewood, where he sold school books and school stationory, and still proinised to repair docks and watches. He also acted as agent for tko Hawke's Bay Herald. He was very obliging and on rush days, when there was apy special news he would often bog a paper from regular customers, when they had read it, to give to irregular customers. From Woodville to Dannevirke as not a far cry, and my tlioiiglits somehow .iourneyed down the line to Dannevirke as' I was writing about Woodville. One of tho eariiest, if not the earliest Dannevirke correspondent that the Herald had was a young fellow named Fred Sliugar. Fred lived at Ormondville, and had taken his deceased'e father's place as Bush correspondent which rneant Ormondville, Norsewood and Makotuku, but he yearned - Tor a wider field, and more aalary, the

latter for -family reasons eaused by his fathev's death. He sougnt to have Dannevirke included in his territory, at an increased reniuneration. -He was appointed, and made good. He cyclod on a push bike to. Dannevirke . every day, pick^d up. all the news . that was going, reported. ;all- .the meetings, whether helij in the daytdme or at night, did the saiue at Ormondville, Makotuku, and .Norsewood, cycling at all hours and in all w'eathers, and covered the territory as it had never been covered. before. And Fred soon leaTnod to write good stuff. He' studied shorthand and could be trusted to do any kind of reporting and do it well. After he had done this for some few years, there occurred a vacancy on the • reporting staff of the Pahiatua Herald. I advdSed Fred to apply thongh his going would nlean the loss of a • really good man as Hawke's Bay' Herald correspondent. He got' the job at the Pahiatua Herald, "and was soon, as in nearly all "country offices, broken in to proof-reading, sub-editing, and aesisting- in the publishing room. It was splendid training, and he was a glutton for work, and became " honorary secretary to' various societies ad institutions just to give him something to fill in his spare time with. The amoufit of spare time he had 'after doing an average of about 72 hours per week can be.imagined. Laier he got' a job on the Poverty Bay • Herald, where he made good as' a live wire reporter who was never left behind in the' race for news. He heard of a eteamer coming into Gisborne roadstead one day with some contagious disease on board. He went out on the launch, but was told that he would not be allowed on board. He got on board somehow, interviewed the patient, somehow got a story, and got the disease; he died of it. All reporters are not as devoted to duty as that, but all the good ones are. One Dannevirke correspondent that we had was Mr. Walter Dobson. Mt. Dobson wae-a good correspondent with a groat facility for condensation. He was a J.P. also and "could condense a lengthy Court trial into a very short sent6nce for the accused, , if found guilty. Very often his sentenco was merely a warning "Don't do it again." He has also for many years been seqretary to the Dannevirke Racing Club. He acquired some years ago ^ (I have not sqen him recently) a certain rotundity of figpre, which caueed trainers sometimes to say jocularly, once round the secretary was a good training gallop for a horse. At these sallies Mr. Dobson almost smiled. Probably, but for the knpwledge that smiles bring wrinkles or krinkles to the face, the ■srnile would have been broader. My pen has already outra'n my allowance of space, but., to the many other country correspondente of the old days I can only say cheerio, you are not forgotten,-but happily, perhaps, I have to draw down the curtain, and leave you behind the scenes.