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Gummer’s Department Store

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Tales from the Dead Centre of Town

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Sir Edmund Hillary Visits Morrinsville

On September 5th 1955, Sir Edmund Hillary visited Morrinsville as part of the Ross Sea Committee's mission to raise £100,000 for an Antarctic expedition planned for 1956. Members of the committee set out on a tour of New Zealand to drum up support for the expedition and to dispel any public concerns that this was a government venture for which the public was expected to subscribe funds to. It was to be stressed this was a Commonwealth venture in which the United Kingdom and New Z...

Morrinsville School

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Early Schools in the Morrinsville District

School and district jubilee booklets in the museum reading room are a treasure trove, recording the trials and tribulations of starting schools when the ‘good old days’ were not so easy. The first local school was proposed in 1873 then again in 1876. It opened in June 1877 in Studholme Street on the land donated by Mr. T Morrin. Formal education had arrived. But in rural areas the situation was very different. Manawaru built a school in 1900 although the first school classes with...

Electric Trucks

Long before electric trucks became a topic of environmental and political debate, the Waitoa Dairy Factory had a fleet of electric trucks. These trucks were manufactured in Chicago in the early part of the nineteenth century until 1941, when the USA entered World War 11. Large fleets were imported into New Zealand. The half ton electric trucks had a top range of forty miles (64 kms) dependent on the load and road conditions, and a top speed of 14 mph (24 m/h) This meant that the dairy farms need...

Dutch Settlers in Morrinsville

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Meet Cecil at the Museum

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Pakarau Settlers

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Morrinsville Methodist Church

A meeting took place on April 17th, 1903, where members agreed to stand loyal to the project of building a church. A following meeting at Annandale formed a committee under the chairmanship of Rev. C. Abernethy. A site at the corner of Thames and Canada Streets was secured as a gift from Mrs W.S. Allen and the church was built. It was opened by Rev. C. Abernethy  on Thursday the 15th of October 1903 and the first service conducted by the Rev. S. Griffith on Sunday  18th October 1903. T...

Murder in Morrinsville in 1934

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Morrinsville Museum’s Treasures Attract School Groups

Supplied by Joan Jenkin and printed by Morrinsville News in Issue 11,  25 June 2015 Children from Morrinsville Intermediate, Kiwitahi, Springdale, St Joseph’s and David Street schools had their treasures on show in the Morrinsville Museum over the past two weeks. The almost 100 articles were an eclectic mix from soft toys, ornaments, pictures/photos, two stones a WW2 soldier had in his top pocket that were hit by a bullet, an engraved glass rolling pin depicting the owner’s journey from...

The Morrin Brothers and their link to Morrinsville

Supplied by the Morrinsville Museum, published in Morrinsville News, 28 May 2015 It is a common mistake to believe that Thomas and Samuel Morrin were born in Scotland or that both brothers ran the Lockerbie Estate. Both brothers were born in Quebec, Canada.  It was Thomas who owned the Lockerbie Estate and managed it by himself until he sold half of his shares to John Studholme. From then, both men did the inspection tours and made joint business decisions. Samuel may have had a small ...

Howie Park and its Beginnings

Supplied by the Morrinsville Heritage Centre, published in Morrinsville News, 23 April 2015. Mr George Howie was born in Wanganui in 1855 and in December 1910 purchased 86 acres in the eastern part of Morrinsville, this included his residence at 382 Thames Street, ‘Lochgoin’ which became the Town and Country Club in January 1951. He was involved in many organisations in Morrinsville, Businesses, Sports clubs and Societies and also held the office of Mayor from 1923-1...

World War One Exhibition

By Nicole Davenport, published in Morrinsville News, 23 April 2015 The Morrinsville Museum opened their new World War One exhibition to the public on Sunday and the Museum will open on ANZAC Day from 1 – 4pm. The exhibition focuses on the involvements of Morrinsville Soldier’s and the display will continue until the end of the centenary in November 2018.  “We will be making changes to the exhibition throughout this time to showcase dif...

Our Post Office and its History

Provided by the Morrinsville Heritage Centre, published in Morrinsville News, 26 March 2015. On 1 March 1876 the first Post Office was opened in the Jolly Cripple Hotel and Mowbray was appointed Postmaster a month later.  The Post Office was originally called Waitoa but changed to Morrinsville on 1 August 1878.  Successions of storekeepers were appointed Postmaster until 1 April 1883 when Mr. J. Clifford was the last storekeeper to be appointed in the original Post Office building.&nbs...

Port Brothers Limited

Provided by John Walsh, published in Morrinsville News, 12 February 2015. Port Brothers Ltd was once a well known thriving engineering firm, that was established at Kereone, by Jack and Max Port, up on a hill, behind the [now nonexistent] Kiwitahi Railway Station. Their parents had a farm next to the Kereone Hall and Jack was a pupil of the Kereone School, until he left to work on the family farm at the age of 15. His mechanical skills were soon seen ...