People From Our Past... People in History from Our Community
Digging Up Our Past - You are welcome to contribute your Kaipaki history to this page.
Contact: Secretary Elwyn Bradley [email protected] or phone 823 6626 or Peter Cawkwell - Website Manager @ http://www.websoft.nz/ Email: [email protected] • Are YOUR relatives of 'People from Our Past' living in Our Community NOW? |
Youngster survived tomahawk attack - July 1863
In a graveyard somewhere near Kaipaki, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, there was a headstone marked Joseph Coates Wallis 1849-1933.
Joe Wallis was born into a pioneer farming family at Wairoa, south Auckland, at place now known as Clevedon at a time when only few small farms had been carved out of the heavy native forest.While his mother and younger sister managed the little house and garden, Joe joined his father on the farm, milking a few cows, raising pigs and clearing the land.
None of the settlers or the militia groups were aware that a fighting force of Ngati Maru from Hauraki had answered the call for assistance against the Pakeha invaders from Rewi Maniapoto and had occupied a disused pa called Rawatiroa. They were led by Matiu and Te Taka who were armed with relatively new percussion cap carbines instead of the usual Maori flintlock shotguns. Their objective was to disrupt the flow of munitions and supplies to Cameron’s army and, if the opportunity arose, to kill any Pakeha men they found in the district.The lumbering dray and the two Pakeha with it were legitimate targets and the first volley killed Hamlin. Joe attempted to wheel his horse and gallop to safety but the ageing hack refused to move amid the noise and confusion, Joe jumped down and made a run for safety but was caught and felled with several tomahawk blows.The muskets shots had been heard by farmers about a mile away who assumed it was militia men out shooting pigeons and the scene of the attack was not discovered for several hours.
The abandoned dray and the body of the bullock driver was discovered by Joshua Goulding, who was searching for some missing dairy cows. He raised the alarm. A party of armed men returned to the scene and found Joe with the side of his skull an exposed mess of mangled flesh, congealed blood and bone chips but still breathing.The still- conscious boy and the dead bullock driver were loaded on to the dray which bumped and thumped along the rough track for several hours before reaching Papakura. There, Alexander Thompson, a surgeon with the Royal Irish Regiment, spent the rest of the night cutting away torn tissue, removing bone fragments and stitching skin across the huge open wound. Joe survived.
In his later years Joe Wallis moved even further south to a farm at Kaipaki, where he died in 1933, aged 84.
In a graveyard somewhere near Kaipaki, between Cambridge and Te Awamutu, there was a headstone marked Joseph Coates Wallis 1849-1933.
Joe Wallis was born into a pioneer farming family at Wairoa, south Auckland, at place now known as Clevedon at a time when only few small farms had been carved out of the heavy native forest.While his mother and younger sister managed the little house and garden, Joe joined his father on the farm, milking a few cows, raising pigs and clearing the land.
None of the settlers or the militia groups were aware that a fighting force of Ngati Maru from Hauraki had answered the call for assistance against the Pakeha invaders from Rewi Maniapoto and had occupied a disused pa called Rawatiroa. They were led by Matiu and Te Taka who were armed with relatively new percussion cap carbines instead of the usual Maori flintlock shotguns. Their objective was to disrupt the flow of munitions and supplies to Cameron’s army and, if the opportunity arose, to kill any Pakeha men they found in the district.The lumbering dray and the two Pakeha with it were legitimate targets and the first volley killed Hamlin. Joe attempted to wheel his horse and gallop to safety but the ageing hack refused to move amid the noise and confusion, Joe jumped down and made a run for safety but was caught and felled with several tomahawk blows.The muskets shots had been heard by farmers about a mile away who assumed it was militia men out shooting pigeons and the scene of the attack was not discovered for several hours.
The abandoned dray and the body of the bullock driver was discovered by Joshua Goulding, who was searching for some missing dairy cows. He raised the alarm. A party of armed men returned to the scene and found Joe with the side of his skull an exposed mess of mangled flesh, congealed blood and bone chips but still breathing.The still- conscious boy and the dead bullock driver were loaded on to the dray which bumped and thumped along the rough track for several hours before reaching Papakura. There, Alexander Thompson, a surgeon with the Royal Irish Regiment, spent the rest of the night cutting away torn tissue, removing bone fragments and stitching skin across the huge open wound. Joe survived.
In his later years Joe Wallis moved even further south to a farm at Kaipaki, where he died in 1933, aged 84.
Our Heroes from WW1
AUCKLAND WEEKLY NEWS
21 OCTOBER 1915
DECORATIONS - A list of decorations conferred on colonial soldiers appears in the London Gazette. The following NZ names are mentioned:
BASSETT, Cpl – NZ Signallers – Victoria Cross
Mounted Rifles: - MEN FROM NO.4 GROUP
ALEXANDER, J P – Cambridge; ARCUS, C H – Frankton; ARCUS, P L – Frankton; ASHWIN, R N – Cambridge; BIRCH, B S – Hamilton; BOYLE, C H – Hamilton; BREGMEN, G O – Rangiriri; BREGMEN, T M – Rangiriri; CAMPBELL, J – Cambridge; CORRIGAN, H J – Matangi; COWLEY, W M – Otorohanga; ELLIS, W J – Rangataua; GARVEY, S H – Haku; GRIFFITHS, S J – Te Kuiti; JOHNSTONE, A H – Pokeno; McDONALD, J A – Rangiriri; McKINNON, W G – Kaipaki; McNAUGHT, W A – Te Kuiti; MOYLE, C S – Te Kauwhata; MUDFORD, N G – Cambridge; O’HEARN, J R – Gordonton; RUFFLES, W L – Tuakau; SCOTT, L – Hamilton East; TARR, W D – Kaipaki; TELFAR, J L – Aria; THOMPSON, W A – Bruntwood; THOMSON, W J – Gordonton; URQUHART, W J – Te Kuiti; WHITFIELD, E G – Frankton; WILCOX, H – Buckland; WILCOX, J F – Otahuhu; WILCOX, J S – Otahuhu; WILSON, E W McR – Hangatiki; WINDSOR, H M – Bombay; YEXTEAD, A H – Kiokio.
21 OCTOBER 1915
DECORATIONS - A list of decorations conferred on colonial soldiers appears in the London Gazette. The following NZ names are mentioned:
BASSETT, Cpl – NZ Signallers – Victoria Cross
Mounted Rifles: - MEN FROM NO.4 GROUP
ALEXANDER, J P – Cambridge; ARCUS, C H – Frankton; ARCUS, P L – Frankton; ASHWIN, R N – Cambridge; BIRCH, B S – Hamilton; BOYLE, C H – Hamilton; BREGMEN, G O – Rangiriri; BREGMEN, T M – Rangiriri; CAMPBELL, J – Cambridge; CORRIGAN, H J – Matangi; COWLEY, W M – Otorohanga; ELLIS, W J – Rangataua; GARVEY, S H – Haku; GRIFFITHS, S J – Te Kuiti; JOHNSTONE, A H – Pokeno; McDONALD, J A – Rangiriri; McKINNON, W G – Kaipaki; McNAUGHT, W A – Te Kuiti; MOYLE, C S – Te Kauwhata; MUDFORD, N G – Cambridge; O’HEARN, J R – Gordonton; RUFFLES, W L – Tuakau; SCOTT, L – Hamilton East; TARR, W D – Kaipaki; TELFAR, J L – Aria; THOMPSON, W A – Bruntwood; THOMSON, W J – Gordonton; URQUHART, W J – Te Kuiti; WHITFIELD, E G – Frankton; WILCOX, H – Buckland; WILCOX, J F – Otahuhu; WILCOX, J S – Otahuhu; WILSON, E W McR – Hangatiki; WINDSOR, H M – Bombay; YEXTEAD, A H – Kiokio.
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"From the collections of Hamilton City Libraries"
http://hamiltonlibraries.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p16653coll14/id/41/rec/3 |
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- Kaipaki (From 'The News and Theatre Courier' 12 August 1936)
'Pukerimu and Kaipaki can lay claim to be among the oldest settled portions of the Cambridge district. Following the cessation of active hostilities with the Natives, sections were granted by the Crown to soldier settlers. The possibilities of the country on the south side of the Waikato River were recognised, and so came such early pioneers as the Fisher brothers, J Gane, Scott, Parr (father of Sir James Parr, the High Commissioner [1936], who was born at Pukerimu). Other early settlers were D Caley, Walker, Wallace, P Cooper, Buttle, J Fitzgerald, Cowley and others.'
'Here, as in other parts of the district, the settlers experienced all the difficulties of early settlement, but they were good farmers and they laid the foundation of a pastoral district that would be hard to beat anywhere in the Dominion. Back in 1875, the settlers took action to provide educational facilities for their children. Early in the following year the old Pukerimu school came into being, as a result of the gift of a site by the late R Fisher at Walker's Gully. The old school served its purpose faithfully for 46 years, then being replaced by the existing school nearer the Kaipaki end. The first regular committee of the school was Messrs. D Caley, E B Walker, R Fisher, A Wallace and Jas Gane.'
'Pukerimu and Kaipaki can lay claim to be among the oldest settled portions of the Cambridge district. Following the cessation of active hostilities with the Natives, sections were granted by the Crown to soldier settlers. The possibilities of the country on the south side of the Waikato River were recognised, and so came such early pioneers as the Fisher brothers, J Gane, Scott, Parr (father of Sir James Parr, the High Commissioner [1936], who was born at Pukerimu). Other early settlers were D Caley, Walker, Wallace, P Cooper, Buttle, J Fitzgerald, Cowley and others.'
'Here, as in other parts of the district, the settlers experienced all the difficulties of early settlement, but they were good farmers and they laid the foundation of a pastoral district that would be hard to beat anywhere in the Dominion. Back in 1875, the settlers took action to provide educational facilities for their children. Early in the following year the old Pukerimu school came into being, as a result of the gift of a site by the late R Fisher at Walker's Gully. The old school served its purpose faithfully for 46 years, then being replaced by the existing school nearer the Kaipaki end. The first regular committee of the school was Messrs. D Caley, E B Walker, R Fisher, A Wallace and Jas Gane.'
New Zealand Hockey Team 1937 with Bill Smillie from Kaipaki.
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Kindly provided by his son Jim & Margaret Smillie, April 2013
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WW2 Casualty Lists
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Thomas Edward (Tom)THWAITE ( Killed in Action, WWII, Aged 20)
Serial Number: NZ4215760
RNZAF : Air Observer(Navigator)
Date of Enlistment: 4th of December 1942
Rank: Flight Sergeant
Flying Hours: 405 hours
Operational Sorties: 14
Date of Birth: 26th of May 1924, at Frankton, Hamilton
Personal Details: Thomas was the son of Mr Thomas T. Thwaite (snr.) and Mrs Josephine Thwaite (nee Coyle) of Kaipaki. He was educated at Ohaupo School, and on leaving he worked on his father's Kaipaki farm.
His airmindedness must have been keen as he was a member of No. 7 (Hamilton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps, and he was still a member of this at the time of making his application for RNZAF service on the 20th of May 1942.
Service Details:
On the 25th of January 1945, Tom and his crew were posted to No. 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe in Lincs., where as navigator aboard Lancasters he completed 14 operational sorties over enemy territory. The targets included Karlsruhe, Politz, Dresden, Bohlen (twice), the Mitteland Canal, Ladbergen, Dortmund, Lutzkendorf (twice), Whurztburg, Wesel, Farge and Molbis (all in Germany).
Details of Death: Flight Sergeant Thomas Thwaite was the Navigator of the crew of a Lancaster bomber of No. 50 Squadron which took off from Continental Europe on the 26th of April 1945. The aircraft crashed at the Hardingstone Lodge Farm in Northamptonshire, while returning from a ferry flight Europe. Tom was aged 20
Buried: Thomas was buried in Plot H/3, Grave 94, of the Botley Regional Cemetery, Oxford, with Service Honours
Connection with Cambridge: Thomas lived at Kaipaki, before World War II.
Serial Number: NZ4215760
RNZAF : Air Observer(Navigator)
Date of Enlistment: 4th of December 1942
Rank: Flight Sergeant
Flying Hours: 405 hours
Operational Sorties: 14
Date of Birth: 26th of May 1924, at Frankton, Hamilton
Personal Details: Thomas was the son of Mr Thomas T. Thwaite (snr.) and Mrs Josephine Thwaite (nee Coyle) of Kaipaki. He was educated at Ohaupo School, and on leaving he worked on his father's Kaipaki farm.
His airmindedness must have been keen as he was a member of No. 7 (Hamilton) Squadron of the Air Training Corps, and he was still a member of this at the time of making his application for RNZAF service on the 20th of May 1942.
Service Details:
On the 25th of January 1945, Tom and his crew were posted to No. 50 Squadron at Skellingthorpe in Lincs., where as navigator aboard Lancasters he completed 14 operational sorties over enemy territory. The targets included Karlsruhe, Politz, Dresden, Bohlen (twice), the Mitteland Canal, Ladbergen, Dortmund, Lutzkendorf (twice), Whurztburg, Wesel, Farge and Molbis (all in Germany).
Details of Death: Flight Sergeant Thomas Thwaite was the Navigator of the crew of a Lancaster bomber of No. 50 Squadron which took off from Continental Europe on the 26th of April 1945. The aircraft crashed at the Hardingstone Lodge Farm in Northamptonshire, while returning from a ferry flight Europe. Tom was aged 20
Buried: Thomas was buried in Plot H/3, Grave 94, of the Botley Regional Cemetery, Oxford, with Service Honours
Connection with Cambridge: Thomas lived at Kaipaki, before World War II.
Bert Goodwin - 1982 - Life Member
Cricket Team - 1979-80
Cricket Team 1981 - 1982
Rex Bones, Robert Snodgrass, C Saunders, Alan Bones, T Ganley, G Shaw
Peter Monohan, Geoff Bell, Jim Batger, Des Hilton, Evan DeLaRue, Bert Goodwin
Rex Bones, Robert Snodgrass, C Saunders, Alan Bones, T Ganley, G Shaw
Peter Monohan, Geoff Bell, Jim Batger, Des Hilton, Evan DeLaRue, Bert Goodwin
LONG SERVING Hall Committee member Keith Goodwin presenting Colin Speake with his presentation after 27 years service; 18 years as Chairman. 20 July 1994.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Quarry opponents point to Maori historical sites
Opponents of Valley Sand Supplies' plans to expand its Pukerimu sand quarry say it is threatening Maori historical sites.
Valley Sands has applied for resource consent to expand its Cambridge Rd quarry, along with greenwaste composting, a cleanfill landfill, demolition materials recycling and a refuse transfer depot for inorganic waste. A group of neighbours have formed the Pukerimu Preservation Society to oppose the move and say the company is not following the consent conditions already in place.
Group member Colin Deacon said he was concerned the company could be damaging pre-European soil structures and borrow pits' on its newly acquired land facing Kaipaki Rd.
The south side of the Waikato River has many areas of soil modified by Maori. Borrow pits are hollows where pumice and similar material were dug up and spread into the surrounding soil, raising the soil temperature to improve growing conditions. "
Quarry opponents point to Maori historical sites
Opponents of Valley Sand Supplies' plans to expand its Pukerimu sand quarry say it is threatening Maori historical sites.
Valley Sands has applied for resource consent to expand its Cambridge Rd quarry, along with greenwaste composting, a cleanfill landfill, demolition materials recycling and a refuse transfer depot for inorganic waste. A group of neighbours have formed the Pukerimu Preservation Society to oppose the move and say the company is not following the consent conditions already in place.
Group member Colin Deacon said he was concerned the company could be damaging pre-European soil structures and borrow pits' on its newly acquired land facing Kaipaki Rd.
The south side of the Waikato River has many areas of soil modified by Maori. Borrow pits are hollows where pumice and similar material were dug up and spread into the surrounding soil, raising the soil temperature to improve growing conditions. "
The Opening - 26th February 2011
Kaipaki’s Elwyn steps down 10 JUN 2022 • BY VIV POSSELTSHARE:
Elwyn Bradley spent 46 years as the community’s hall secretary.
Waipā stalwart Elwyn Bradley will leave a legacy of community service in her wake when she retires as Kaipaki Hall secretary/treasurer on June 29.
She been hall secretary for 46 years, and for about three years before that she was busy on the social committee helping organise events. She was also secretary of the Kaipaki Athletic Club before she married and was secretary of the Kaipaki Ladies Guild for many years. Elwyn held the same position in the Kaipaki Cricket Club for over a decade while her husband of more than 60 years, Ray Bradley, was chairman.
She has judged countless lambs for local primary schools and been involved in numerous A & P Shows. “The last thing I did was as champion judge for A & P Shows,” she said.
With all that service has come a slew of awards. There was a Certificate of Appreciation from the Waipā District Council (WDC) in August 2005, awarded by then Mayor Alan Livingston in recognition of her ‘valuable and significant’ voluntary service, and another WDC Pirongia Community Award for her contribution to Kaipaki.
Life membership was conferred on Elwyn in 1990 by the Kaipaki Ladies Church Guild, and by the Kaipaki Settlers Hall Association, the latter given for her ‘outstanding service’ to the local community.
Elwyn and Ray have been in lockstep right from the start. Elwyn was born and grew up in the area, attending Ōhaupō, School at primary level. She was a Kite by birth who grew up on a family farm which she later discovered backed on to the one she and Ray purchased. They met when Ray, a Hawke’s Bay lad, came to visit a cousin when Elwyn was still at Hamilton Girls’ High School. Once they wed and had a few youngsters in tow, they bought their 89.9 ha farm. It was ‘an old wreck of a place’ said Ray, much of it untouched, full of tea tree and blackberry.
Hard years were spent knocking the farm into shape and raising four children, yet they both managed to live a full community life. Ray was on the Kaipaki Hall Committee for 35 years and was involved in various sporting clubs as well as Harness Racing Waikato. The latter acknowledged his ‘achievements and dedication’ with an award.
The hall committee was more active then than now. Dances were held, other functions and meetings plentiful, Sunday school romps and concerts and mid-winter Christmases started by Elwyn, always with Santa’s arrival locked in.
In 2011, management of the hall switched to a Board. Elwyn remained involved but said it became ‘more of a business’. Now, she said, it’s time for someone else to take over.
“I’ve tried to resign a few times, but never quite got there. This time, I had to make a firm decision because of my health. It’s the right time now.”
Her father and brother were on the hall committee too. One childhood memory held dear is of her going to the hall with her mother to fold bandages for the war effort.
Family has filled her life. They lost one of their four in recent years, but have 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, with another on the way.
Elwyn Bradley spent 46 years as the community’s hall secretary.
Waipā stalwart Elwyn Bradley will leave a legacy of community service in her wake when she retires as Kaipaki Hall secretary/treasurer on June 29.
She been hall secretary for 46 years, and for about three years before that she was busy on the social committee helping organise events. She was also secretary of the Kaipaki Athletic Club before she married and was secretary of the Kaipaki Ladies Guild for many years. Elwyn held the same position in the Kaipaki Cricket Club for over a decade while her husband of more than 60 years, Ray Bradley, was chairman.
She has judged countless lambs for local primary schools and been involved in numerous A & P Shows. “The last thing I did was as champion judge for A & P Shows,” she said.
With all that service has come a slew of awards. There was a Certificate of Appreciation from the Waipā District Council (WDC) in August 2005, awarded by then Mayor Alan Livingston in recognition of her ‘valuable and significant’ voluntary service, and another WDC Pirongia Community Award for her contribution to Kaipaki.
Life membership was conferred on Elwyn in 1990 by the Kaipaki Ladies Church Guild, and by the Kaipaki Settlers Hall Association, the latter given for her ‘outstanding service’ to the local community.
Elwyn and Ray have been in lockstep right from the start. Elwyn was born and grew up in the area, attending Ōhaupō, School at primary level. She was a Kite by birth who grew up on a family farm which she later discovered backed on to the one she and Ray purchased. They met when Ray, a Hawke’s Bay lad, came to visit a cousin when Elwyn was still at Hamilton Girls’ High School. Once they wed and had a few youngsters in tow, they bought their 89.9 ha farm. It was ‘an old wreck of a place’ said Ray, much of it untouched, full of tea tree and blackberry.
Hard years were spent knocking the farm into shape and raising four children, yet they both managed to live a full community life. Ray was on the Kaipaki Hall Committee for 35 years and was involved in various sporting clubs as well as Harness Racing Waikato. The latter acknowledged his ‘achievements and dedication’ with an award.
The hall committee was more active then than now. Dances were held, other functions and meetings plentiful, Sunday school romps and concerts and mid-winter Christmases started by Elwyn, always with Santa’s arrival locked in.
In 2011, management of the hall switched to a Board. Elwyn remained involved but said it became ‘more of a business’. Now, she said, it’s time for someone else to take over.
“I’ve tried to resign a few times, but never quite got there. This time, I had to make a firm decision because of my health. It’s the right time now.”
Her father and brother were on the hall committee too. One childhood memory held dear is of her going to the hall with her mother to fold bandages for the war effort.
Family has filled her life. They lost one of their four in recent years, but have 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, with another on the way.
Elwyn BRADLEY Obituary
Passed away peacefully at Waikato Hospital on Monday, 13th November 2023. Aged 86 years. Cherished wife of Ray for 67 years. Dearly loved mother and mother-in-law of Carol & Ross, Mark & Abbie, Julie & Craig, and the late Dennis. Adored Nana of 13 grandchildren and great-nana of 16 great-grandchildren.
Passed away peacefully at Waikato Hospital on Monday, 13th November 2023. Aged 86 years. Cherished wife of Ray for 67 years. Dearly loved mother and mother-in-law of Carol & Ross, Mark & Abbie, Julie & Craig, and the late Dennis. Adored Nana of 13 grandchildren and great-nana of 16 great-grandchildren.