The Summer Edition
Greetings Everyone
The festive season is here after the long and unpredictable year we’ve had in 2020. The Committee wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New year in 2021. After the events of 2020 with COVID 19 dominating the news we’re looking forward to 2021 as a time to broaden our horizons again and to welcome whatever excitement it brings!
Our activities at the Karaka Museum have been a bit curtailed this year as we have focused on maintenance and keeping things ticking over. We have started planning for 2021 with our first Open Day scheduled for mid-March (date to be confirmed) so we’re looking forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Earlier this year we received two emails requesting the origin of the name Karaka. Carol Eggleton researched the following.
Origin of the name Karaka
Nona Morris discusses the origin of the name Karaka in "Early Days in Franklin", published 1965, chapter 5, pages 64 and 65.
She notes that the deed of settlement for the Pukekohe Block was signed on 7 December 1843. It included the area from the Karaka foreshore of the Manukau Harbour to the Waikato River.
She writes that there are a number of theories about the name.
"It has been said that the Karaka Parish, which was the northern part of this purchase received its name from the George Clarke who signed the first deed — Karaka being the Maori version of Clarke.
Another theory is that it was named after the Clark family who settled along the foreshore of Waiau Pa and Karaka, but these people came some years afterwards.
A more likely explanation is that the name originated with the chief Karaka Te Aua, who lived in the neighbourhood and also from the Te Karaka Maori reserve. This reserve was mentioned in the Deed of 1843 and is situated today on land owned by the Urquhart family." (a footnote on Karaka Te Aua referenced F.D Fenton, "Maori Land Court" for the location of his pa.)
The area owned by the Urquhart family is on Urquhart Road in Karaka - on the shore of the Manukau Harbour.
Morris also notes that this part of Karaka Parish was stunted scrub country so we do not know if there were Karaka trees in the area but as far as we know there are no photographs of the land at this time.
Extracts from Grassing the Karaka Country. The full article can be found at
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18991201.2.58?query=grassing+the+karaka&snippet=true
New Zealand Herald, volume XXXVI, issue 11234 1st of December 1899
6000 acres cleared, and 5000 acres ploughed in 10 months Mr T C Williams Richmond Park Estate.
(By our Agricultural Reporter)
The purchase by Mr TC Williams of 10,000 acres of land in the Karaka district about 12
months ago attracted considerable attention. The land was supposed to be so utterly useless for agricultural purposes that it was not conceived how any good use could be made of it, but it is understood in a general sort of way that Mr Williams intended to sow gorse on the place for sheep feed. Considering that in the ordinary course of things it's utilisation even in this way would have been vastly better than allowing it to remain idle, it comes as a pleasant surprise to learn that instead of gorse it is grass that is to be sown and besides grass, turnips and still more surprising to those who have got into the habit of calling the scrub land about the Manukau utterly barren and hopeless is the fact that the grass already sown by Mr Williams is thriving amazingly and promises to make good sheep country.
The estate which Mr Williams purchased lies between the railway line and the Manukau harbour immediately west of Drury. Much of it until recently was owned by Mr W Atkin and was known as Richmond Park another portion of it was purchased from Mrs Chamberlain, and one or two small lots from other individuals. The whole property purchased by Mr Williams is now known as Richmond Park, and covers, as has been stated 10,000 acres. The price given for the block is not definitely known but it’s understood that the average was about £l per acre.
Topographically, Richmond Park makes an ideal estate. It consists of gently undulating country, nearly every inch of it which is ploughable. It is watered by numerous running streams and springs. It is bounded on one side by the railway, and on three sides by the Manukau Harbour, or by the tidal arms of this great inland sea. It is within a little more than 20 miles from Auckland by road or rail and it has good water communications with Onehunga.
The tidal arms, the Hingaia, the Karaka and the Whangamaire besides giving water communication to the greater part of the estate, form natural boundaries which will save miles of fencing and give a charm to the place which those, who enjoy boating, bathing and fishing can easily appreciate.
This locality plan on a Karaka Land Company map shows an area bounded by the railway, the streams and the Manukau Harbour. (Karaka Museum Archives)
Karaka Museum
Newsletter for our Members The Karaka Historical Society Inc. Dec 2020 - Issue No.26
Within six months after taking possession of the estate 220 acres were in grass, and stocked with four sheep per acre. On one portion there were four breeding ewes and their lambs to the acre. The ground was cleared, ploughed once, disc harrowed twice, and a mixture of Italian and perennial rye, cocksfoot, and clovers, at a rate of 451b to the acre, was sown with 2 1/2 cwt of bone dust. The grass looks remarkably well as may be guessed by carrying 4 sheep to the acre from August to November, even in a favourable spring. I saw a paddock of 80 acres which had been stocked for two months and then sown down for seed. It had been sown down only five weeks when I saw it, and it looks remarkably well. It would yield I would say 20 bushes of Rye seed per acre and there was springing up among it a fine growth of white clover and the later grasses.
The work of clearing scrub is still going on. This is done where ever the scrub is not too heavy by means of a Hercules mower and costs an average of two shillings per acre. I saw this machine working and could not help admiring the thorough manner in which it felled the manuka and heather. Mr Flannigan informed me that when first obtained the machine was too slow in that action. He had by altering the pinion and the driving crank increased the speed up 100% and at the time he had the knife bar shortened by 1 foot. Now it will go through scrub just as a lighter machine goes through standing oats. The scrub soon dries, and is then burnt, when the ground is ready for ploughing. Ploughing is mostly done by contract and cost seven shillings per acre.
Even if Mr Williams intends to grow gorse he could not get the land into better condition for the purpose than by ploughing, grassing and turniping. Under any circumstance, the enterprise Mr Williams is showing should win our heartiest approval. He has been bold enough to attempt making useful, land which might have lain idle for years.
There are said to be 200,000 acres of similar land fringing the Manukau, and if Mr Williams makes Richmond Park a success other people will be found to follow his lead. One thing I noticed which is on the question of permanency of pasture there was the fact that a fairly large area sown down by Mr William Atkin, something like 16 years ago, shows a good sward although heather and scrub have nearly overgrown it. I think this evidence and the show of grass and the new paddocks go to prove the Karaka lands only require a fair amount of cultivation, such as would be given by turnips, rape, or oats to replace all the fern and scrub with healthy pasture.
Ploughman on McLaughlin’s farm, Wiri, ca 1890
Photograph reproduced by courtesy of Howick Historical Society Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 01440
Karaka Museum
Newsletter for our Members The Karaka Historical Society Inc. Dec 2020 - Issue No.26
We wish to acknowledge the passing of Juliette (Urquhart) Kemp on 7 August 2020. Juliette was an enthusiastic supporter of the Museum with a keen interest in the history of the area. We have valued her contribution as a member of the Karaka Historical Society.
Museum Visits
We welcome group bookings. The Museum is conveniently located near cafes so plan your group's Museum and Lunch trip today. Apart from our regular opening times we are
happy to open by arrangement for group visits.
Karaka Museum Opening Times
Open: 2nd Sunday of the month; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 4th Wednesday of the month 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
The Museum can also open outside these hours by appointment.
Groups are very welcome.
Contact: Fraser: 0221228738 Hugh: 0211668955 Judith: karakahistoricalsociety@gmail.com
www.karakamuseum.org.nz
Best wishes for Christmas & The New Year Carol and Judith