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Blockhouse Bay WW1 Honours Board 1914 - 1918

Those who returned

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Camping at the Bay

Around the beginning of the 20th century, families began making the arduous journey over unformed roads, to camp at Blockhouse Bay beach reserve. They camped at both Blockhouse Bay and Sandy Bay and many came back year after year to the same site, where they had built a fireplace and dug ditches for drainage. There was a real community spirit among the campers, and when fishermen returned with large catches, the extra was shared so that all the families had some. The children all played together while the women shared chores and sat and chatted while the men fished or relaxed. After all, it was a holiday.

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Christmas parade and market day 2007

Saturday, 8th December, 2007, was a perfect day for a Christmas parade. In spite of dire weather forecasts all the previous week, threatening rain and even thunderstorms, the day was perfect. Blue, blue sky, puffy white clouds, a gentle breeze and a record attendance all combined for a very successful event.

With the street closed to traffic, the crowd was able to wander freely between the pavement stalls, and entertainment was provided by a series of groups offering every type of music. The Historic Society’s stall on the Village Green, in front of Armanasco House, again proved very popular offering a wide range of pre-loved goods, and two raffles of a grocery hamper and a doll were also well patronised.

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Do you remember?

Do you have personal memories of Blockhouse Bay? Or perhaps stories and memories related to you by a family member or a friend?

We would love to hear your memories, if you wish to share them. No detail is too small, as the Society endeavours to record the rich history of the Blockhouse Bay area.

If you have memories you would like to tell the Society about, please contact: Brian Goodwin on 626-5809.

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Heritage Festival 2007 - Historic Photographs Display

The John Davie Te Whau Performing Arts Centre at Blockhouse Bay Primary School was the venue for this display of historic photos depicting aspects of early life in the Bay. The photos were all from our extensive Archives, and by participating in the Auckland-wide Heritage Festival we were able to provide an opportunity for the wider community to view these.

Many of our members and members of the public took time to visit and browse, and relive memories of times past. it also provided an opportunity to view this new venue in the village.

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Heritage Week 2006

Auckland City Heritage Week was celebrated all over the city and the Society hosted a number of activities in Blockhouse Bay village.

Armanasco House was opened and featured a photographic display from our archives from 16-17 and 21-24 September. Local residents took advantage of the occasion to visit the House as, although it is used as a meeting venue, it is not normally open to the public. Events were happening all over Auckland, and yet many people came from other suburbs and even out of town.

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Hing Cottage

• 1940 The Hing family lived in the cottage. They also had a little fruit shop on the corner.
• 1950 July: Joan and Douglas Costain purchased the cottage.
• 1960 Property sold to Auckland Savings Bank and the cottage demolished.
• 1965 25 May: The Mayor of Auckland, Mr D. M. Robinson, and the president of the Auckland Savings Bank, Hon. W. T. Anderton, preside at the opening of the new Auckland Savings Bank building with the branch manager, Mr P. F. Downs.

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Peter Bainbridge Motors & The Block Cafe

568-570 Blockhouse Bay Road

Aerial veiw of The Block Cafe

Motor mechanic Peter Bainbridge has had a long association with the Bay, and in his years in business has a gained a reputation of giving great service to the local motorists. Peter is retiring, and in July put the 1111 sq m site on the market, this property having a Business – Local Centre Zoning, permitting a broad range of uses and a total building height of 18 m, so some changes may well be coming into the Village.

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Public transport in a period past

Travelling by public transport in the late 1920s was not without occasional hazards, especially on the long journey from Auckland City to Avondale South (Blockhouse Bay) on the other side of the isthmus.

One evening at sunset, the fully laden motor bus set out as usual and was just making its way through Morningside, when the rim on the back wheel flew off without warning and went rolling on along the street. The driver pulled in to the side of the road and, retrieving the rim, set it back in place as the passengers waited, then slowly and skillfully the vehicle set off for home. Morningside Hill was negotiated successfully as was the downhill run into Mt Albert, and everyone began to relax and think of the dinner awaiting them.

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Quarantine station at Blockhouse Point

Researched by Bill Glen

In the early 1860s the Government was concerned that, although immigrants were checked before boarding ship for New Zealand, some passengers took ill on the voyage. There was a risk of contagious diseases entering the country, putting the public at risk. On 12 January 1864 at Government House in Auckland, quarantine regulations were signed into law by Governor George Grey. These regulations required quarantine stations to be set up at main ports, and described the actions to be taken by ships’ masters, harbour boards and provincial governments, to protect the country from introduced diseases.

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