May – June 2002 Volume 1 Issue 5

The Avondale
Historical Journal
Official Publication of the Avondale-Waterview
Historical Society

A new Historical Society!

Avondale and Waterview areas at last have their own Historical Soci-
Inside this issue: ety. The inaugural meeting on March 30, despite the fact that this was
Easter Saturday, attracted 15 people to the Avondale Community Cen-
Historical 1 tre, where the Society was formally created and a Steering Committee
Society Notes called for to take the new Society on the road to full incorporation. Al-
& Next ready, there are a number of members making lists of future projects for
Meeting the Society.
An early gift to the new Society came on March 28 when the dissolving
Lions Hall 2 Keep Avondale Ward Beautiful Society voted at their last AGM to do-
anniversary nate any funds left over in their accounts to the Historical Society on
proof of our incorporation. A most welcome gesture!
Story of the 3 Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to bring about our
Journal and new Society, and many thanks to the earlier Avondale History Group
Society who, through producing the Challenge of the Whau in 1994, did so
much to help spark interest in the local history of our community, which
“Voices of the 4 has led, ultimately, to this Society.
Past”
— Lisa Truttman

Next General Meeting of the Society

The Steering Committee approved that the next General Meeting of
the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society will be held on

Saturday June 1, 2002, at 2 pm,

Avondale Community Centre,
99 Rosebank Road, Avondale.
Please contact Lisa Truttman, phone 828-8494 for further information.
The Avondale Historical Journal Volume 1 Issue 5
Official Publication of the Page 2

25th anniversary of the Lions Hall

(left) The old Hall, as it was before restoration
by the Lions Club (photo courtesy Lions Club
of Avondale).

(below) The Lions Hall as it is today (photo

courtesy of Mr B Spencer, taken March 2002)

The Editor of this Journal is quite partial and

biased when it comes to the Lions Hall, on
the corner of Blockhouse Bay Road and
Great North Road. I am a member of the Li-
ons Club of Avondale, who meet twice a
month at the 92-year-old Hall, leased by the
Club from Auckland City.

This year, 2002, is the 25th anniversary of

when a local community group, in conjunc-
tion with Auckland City, local residents and
businesses, When the Avondale Lions started work on the building
succeeded in making sure a piece of Avondale’s history it desired to keep the building as much like the original
could live on and remain as a landmark from the past as possible. During the restoration a Baptismal font un-
for future generations. der the floor 8ft long, 4ft wide and 4ft deep was
discovered. This has been retained and used for stor-
(From Lions Club of Avondale 25th Anniversary age.
booklet, 1989, and their Club website:)
Considerable support came from the local community
"Lions Save the Day Again -- New Lease once restoration started including a Mr O'Rorke, a
plumber who donated his services for all plumbing
Of Life For Old Hall" needs. Many other companies supplied goods
The above was the headline that appeared in the West-
at cost or less and the lions provided the labour under
ern Leader on 27th September 1974. "An old Avondale
the guidance of Joff McDonald.
landmark is to renovated at a cost of $10,000 by the
Avondale Lions Club" the article continued ... "the
From the time the building permit was obtained to
club had been granted the lease of the 64 year old
commence restoration of the Hall, 3,000 hours of la-
building from the Auckland City Council."
bour and $17,000 had been spent.
The old Church Hall (Church of Christ) was originally
Finally on Saturday June 11th 1977, 67 years after the
opened on June 19th 1910 on land owned by a Mr
"First" opening, Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson opened our
William Shepherd. Mr Shepherd's daughter, Dulcie
new Lions Headquarters and community facility. At the
Shepherd lived in the family home 2 doors away.
time of the "second" opening the building was valued
at $35,000.
In the 1950s the building ceased to be used as a Church
and fell rapidly into disrepair. The land was gazetted as
a railway reserve and several firms used the building
for either manufacturing or storage until 1973 when the For more information on the Lions Club of
Avondale Lions Club was appointed custodian by the Avondale, visit the Club website:
Ministry of Works. www.geocities.com/avondalelions/index.html
The Avondale Historical Journal Volume 1 Issue 5
Official Publication of the Page 3

The story of a Journal, and a Society

I have been asked to put together a brief background story photos.
as to how the Historical Society came about.
In September 2001, inspired by the Avondale His-
Around 1989, I started to collect information and ephemera tory Group’s Newsletters of 1992-1993, I wrote
on Avondale’s history, spending spare time going to the and published the first Avondale Historical Journal
Auckland Central Library and raking through old Western under the “Heart of the Whau Project” name. One
Leaders, as well as viewing old maps and photos. I have of the Journal’s main purposes was to maintain the
had the kind permission of several library staff at Avondale interest in a historical society until I could organise
Community Library over the years, photocopying from their another meeting date.
own local history archive.
The Journal was originally mailed or given di-
After the publication of Challenge of the Whau (1994) I rectly to people on a mailing list of around 50
continued to gather what I now term “Avondaliana”; Avon- names. This list grew extremely
dale collectibles, information, photos, news clippings. My fast, and by the publication of “I believe ... that
personal archive outgrew my initial simple filing system, Issue 4 in late February 2002, the
and now one area of interest overflows the others as it will. mailing list was at around 90 and Avondale should
I believed, and still fervently believe, that Avondale should rising – an extremely popular have a history, a
have a history, a heritage, for if not, when those of us who publication with the public. Each
have lived these Avondale lives of ours are gone – only issue was sponsored to cover cost
heritage, for if
fragments will remain, whether of memory or of paper. of photocopying, postage etc. by not, when those of
either local businesses or mem- us who have lived
In late February 2001, I was approached by Duncan Mac- bers of the public. In early
donald, chairman of the Avondale Business Association, to March 2002, the Avondale Busi- these Avondale
write a timeline history of the Association. Of course the ness Association agreed to cover lives of ours are
story of the association is strongly linked to and part of the future costs of photocopying to
story of Avondale Central itself, and so started Heart of the the mailing list in return for the
gone – only
Whau. The Avondale Business Association approved a re- right to reproduce the Journal in fragments will
search grant to cover expenses such as transport, photo- each issue of Avondale’s Spi- remain.”
copying, stationery etc, and the hunt for information began. der’s Web local paper, as an in-
sertion. This meant the distribu-
From March 1 2001 I began compiling information for tion of the Journal now stands at over 1000 copies
Heart of the Whau. I quickly discovered that I am not the for the first four issues.
only local history buff out there, and have had the appreci-
ated help of dozens of people, businesses, and institutions. On Saturday, March 30, 2002, the Historical Soci-
To my delight, many of the “identities” of Avondale past ety was born, and the Journal became its official
and present have become good friends of mine, and keen publication. — Lisa Truttman
supporters of the concept that we need one legal entity, a
Society, to represent the issues of heritage preservation and
appreciation in our community.

In May-June 2001, with the second draft of Heart of the

Whau presented to the Avondale Business Association’s
Committee, I asked if the ABA would act as an “umbrella
group” for funding applications to ensure the printing of the
book. Instead, the Committee suggested that a historical so-
ciety be set up. I arranged for a meeting to take place in
July, but illness forced a cancellation.

On August 10 2001, as I felt that there was so much new

information coming to light on the history of Avondale that
I didn’t want to wait for book publication entirely, I started
the “Rimtark” website for Avondale History, followed soon
after by the “Archive Room” for general Auckland history,
and another sister site, “Earth Settler“. These websites com-
plement the existing History section on the Avondale Busi-
ness Association site, still the home of the original timeline,
but also have their own Down Memory Lane section, spe-
cialist articles on Avondale churches and personalties, and
Any old photos?
Keep your eyes open for any old photographs of
Avondale and Waterview. Please do contact me if
you think you’ve found something, no matter how
obscure! Precious gems, as you all know, can lie in
unlikely places.
 Volume 1 Issue 5
Page 4

“Voices of the Past”

I hear the voices speaking, Like the sound of many voices, comes
In the long ago. the murmur of the sea,
I see the faces passing, And they mingle with the ocean –
That I used to know. of eternity.

The present time, the past years, and I watch the shades of sunset
the future that will be – At the close of day;
Seem to blend like lovely colours, I try to hold the picture
through eternity. ‘Ere it fades away.

I see the different places, For it is a world of changes,

Where they used to go – And nothing long can last:
The walks along the beaches, Yet ever through the ages ring –
When the tide was low The voices of the past.

By Miss Ethel C. Wilson.Born 1873, at Remuera.

(Originally published in New Zealand Herald, c. 1951, from the Ota-
huhu Historical Society's scrapbooks.)

Contributions welcome for future issues of the Journal

No, I’m nowhere near to running out of items to put in the Journal, but I’d welcome contributions from you, the
readers, including personal stories, poems, artwork, anything on the theme of local history of our area or even sur-
rounding areas.

Please send your contributions to the contact address below. The next issue of the Journal will be compiled in the
middle of June this year for July-August period.

The Avondale Historical Journal

Published by the Avondale-Waterview Historical Society
Editor: Lisa J. Truttman, 19 Methuen Road, Avondale, Auckland
Phone: (09) 828-8494, Fax: (09) 828-8497, email: historian@avondale.org.nz
Websites: Rimtark www.geocities.com/rimtark/index.html
Earth Settler www.earthsettler.tripod.com/esindex/earthsettlerhome.htm
Archive Room www.geocities.com/archiveroom/

Printed by
Avondale Photo Centre,
1962 Great North Road,
Avondale,
We thank
Phone/Fax: 09-820 6030 Avondale Business Association
for their support and sponsorship of this
publication.