A wet afternoon and a box of old photos needing labelling and sorting, but soon I found myself remembering back to the 1940s. One memory led to another and though the photos are still largely unsorted, I had a fascinating afternoon, even going right back to commencing school during the early days of WWII.
Blockhouse Bay Historical Society
from Green Bay to Onehunga
A.W.Glen, November 2006
Green Bay is at the western end of the Blockhouse Bay Historical Society’s bailiwick. The bay is a small indentation in the coastline on the inner channel. This bay was the southern exit of the old Maori portage from the Waitemata to the Manukau, via the Whau River. The route was a direct path from the Kaipara Harbour through the portage to the Waitemata, and then inshore to the entrance to the Whau river between the Te Atatu and Rosebank Peninsulas. A stream from the Whau branched off at New Lynn and followed up on the east side of the present day Portage Road, to near Craigavon Park. Another smaller stream exited from Craigavon Park and flowed to the Manukau on the east side of Green Bay Road. This stream entered the Manukau beside the beach facilities building and its course is a deep gully between the road and Motu Moana Camp, the Scout Association’s property on the east side of the gully. There has been some filling and land reforming for roads and facilities between the Connaught and Kinross Road intersections. The distance between the two streambeds was about 200 yards. The streams, although not large, would have had enough water in them, at most times of the year, to lubricate mudslides so that the canoes only had to be carried a short distance. At the west end, a short distance from the beach is a rock breastwork, part of the sewerage holding tank which is no longer in use, the sewerage being pumped to the Mangere Treatment Plant.
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.
Almost at the beach end of Blockhouse Bay Road, just on the edge of the beach Reserve, is the pathway to Sandy Bay. There is no car access which adds to the charm of this beautiful little bay. The path cuts back and down on an angle from the main road, bounded on the road side by a stone wall, ending in a stone seat. This was once keenly sought after by courting couples. Then the pathway plunges steeply down towards the shore.
At the December meeting, Vice-President Bill Glen invited members to take part in a short story competition. The subject was to be either a historical incident regarding the Blockhouse Bay area, or an incident pertinent to the beach and Yacht Club. Several anecdotes had already been related at the meeting, many very humorous, and the narrators of these were urged to “put it down on paper” and enter the contest. It was felt that all the members would almost certainly have something to contribute, and all the entries would be preserved in the archives. Ray Howlett was appointed judge and the contest closed at the end of January.
Alfred (Fred) and Margarette (Daisy) Thom lived in Folke Street, New Lynn, with their family and Daisy’s widowed mother. The children attended New Lynn Primary School and the whole family participated in the New Lynn community life, with Fred serving on the New Lynn Town Board.
However, they spent every free minute over at Blockhouse Bay, fishing, swimming, picnicking and camping in the summer holidays and on long weekends when the weather permitted. As the years passed, Fred became aware of how popular the area was becoming, both with summer campers and with more and more permanent residents as well as day visitors. He decided the time was just about right to build a store down near the beach as the only drawback for campers and residents down at the bay was the steep climb up from both Blockhouse Bay and Sandy Bay to Wynyard Street, and then another climb up to the shops in the Village. (Wynyard Street was much steeper then, as can be seen looking down from Gilfillan t, the original street on the high ground bordered by a white railing.)
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