ONEHUNGA BOROUGH TO-DAY HAS FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 April 1927, Page 1

ONEHUNGA BOROUGH TO-DAY HAS FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY

ANNIVERSARY RECALLS DAYS WHEN BOROUGH WON DISTINCTION OF BEING THE EMPIRE’S FIRST TOWN TO HAVE A LADY MAYOR

On April 19, 1877—fifty years ago today—Onehunga Borough came into existence. This was by virtue of a proclamation gazetted the previous day by the then Governor, the Marquis of Normanby. Before its elevation to municipal status Onehunga affairs had been

controlled first by the Auckland Provincial Council (which passed out of existence in 1876) and then by a body known as the Onehunga District Board. In the very beginning - , before there was even an Auckland City, Onehunga was a flourishing settlement. True it was only inhabited by natives, but wild pigs were said to be there in abundance, and in tjjpe commercial transactions of those days pork was indeed a highly-valued form of currency. Even more so, it is stated by the historians, than the gold sovereigns with which the natives were paid for the site of the prospective city of {Auckland. A MILITARY SETTLEMENT Although there are no people now living who can speak from personal knowledge of the first settlement at Onehunga, a number can remember when its inhabitants were chiefly military "veterans. It was as a settlement for military pensioners that the borough, or pensioner cantonment as it was then called, first became definitely established as a European settlement. To those early inhabitants the first sight of the locality was not encouraging. An untimbered tract of fern land promising little food or shelter was all that met the eye. The aspect, so relates early accounts, was most forbidding, so much so that one pessimistic veteran was moved to translate the Maori name O-ne-unga as “only hunger.” Thus was perpetrated the original “one-hunger” travesty. PETTICOAT GOVERNMENT But apart from its historical interest, Onehunga has other claims to distinction. It was the first town in the British Dominions to be presided over by a lady mayor. This period, which is stated to be the most picturesque in the history of the borough, was the

year 1893-94, when Mrs. Elizabeth Yates, the wife of a former mayor, presided over the destinies of the town. That the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, judging by reports of council proceedings, was evidently not accepted too literally in Onehunga, and

for several months turmoil and dissension characterised municipal proceedings on the Manukau waterfront. In the following year the residents evidently tired of “petticoat government,” and Mr. D. A. Sutherland, who opposed the sitting mayor, oristed Mrs. Yates by 147 votes to 56. EARLY MAYORS Following the proclamation of the borough, Mr. D. Jackson was elected the first mayor, being followed by Messrs. Waller, Codlin, Dr. Scott, Dr. Erson, Messrs. C. C. Fleming, Michael Yates, Mrs. Yates, Messrs. D. A. Sutherland, Angus Gordon, John Rowe, J. J. Boyd, J. Stoupe, J. Park and J. Cowell, the present holder of the office. Of the early mayors still living, the senior is Mr. J. W. Waller, who, beside being a member of the first council, succeeded the first mayor, Mr. J. D. Jackson, after a few months, and held office in 1877-78. Also among the veterans are Dr. Scott, 1883-87, Mr. Donald Sutherland, 1595-97, and again 190104, Mr. Angus Gordon 1905-06, wellknown in the sporting circles of the present day as one of the stipendiary stewards of the New Zealand Racing Conference, and Mr. John Rowe, another well-known figure in the sporting world, who occupied the chair from 1906 to 1917, when he retired. Although, owing to its proximity to Auckland, its progress has perhaps not been so rapid as many other provincial towns, Onehunga in the past fifty years can point to a municipal record of substantial progress. From a native settlement, and later as pensioners’ cantonment, it has developed into a pleasant residential suburb. A rich pastoral countryside, and the beautiful surroundings of the Manukau Harbour should assure further prosperity and advancement in the years to come.