Palmerston North a century ago
Cloudy weather, war fundraising, an American election: Palmerston North 100 years ago.
Wilson, with 277 electoral votes, 23 more than his Republican rival, Charles Evans Hughes.
However, in the burgeoning town of Palmerston North, population almost 13,000 – no one had yet thought to count Maori residents – American election matters were far from most people’s minds on that cloudy, windy day.
The World War I battle of the Somme, ongoing for the past four months, was in its last week. Palmerston was still largely in mourning for Dr Arthur Anderson Martin, its brilliant, much-loved hospital surgeon – and crusader for a local radium institute – who had died serving as a battleground physician in France on September 17.
Ironically, just days before this, the borough council had decided to name the still-being-constructed street connecting Broadway and Grey streets ‘‘Martin St’’ after this local hero.
War-related fundraising was a continuous – and satisfying – occupation for Palmerstonians and their surrounding neighbours.
On Friday, crowds had swarmed to Shannon for a carnival in aid of the Wounded Soldiers’ Fund, featuring Pierrots, boy scout demonstrations, decorated motorcycles, a gypsy caravan, games and reportedly ‘‘many other devices to draw money from the pockets of the visitors’’.
The newly-founded Manawatu Patriotic Society was working on donating an ambulance for wounded New Zealanders at the front and helping to plan an Anzac Club building (later to become the Soldiers’ Club and then the RSA headquarters) on the corner of George and Cuba streets.
On Friday, a blueprint of this £5500, two-storey building, had been presented to the society and the Anzac Club committee. It included a billiard room, office and reading room on the ground floor (the original plan to have groundfloor shops had been done away with but would later be reinstated). Upstairs there would be a social hall with a kitchen, a ladies’ cloak room and a balcony. The idea of a third floor ‘‘had been dropped’’.
The enthusiastic mayor, James Nash, was encouraging the calling of tenders for work on the building.
Another patriotic matter concerning the society, the borough council and the Department of Lands and Survey was the future allocation of land for returning soldiers.
Nash had asked why the department hadn’t bought any land around the Manawatu district. The Standard reported the answer: ‘‘the price was too high’’. Nash argued ‘‘it was better to buy land here even up to £70 an acre, than land of poor quality at £20-30’’.
The Lands and Survey secretary had stated: ‘‘A soldier had yesterday gone to some land at Awahuri and had refused to take it up as he considered it was not good enough’’.
Local landowner Mr J M Johnston replied he’d offered 620 acres, but was turned down.
A special committee was formed to consider the matter.
Entertainment kept everyone’s spirits up and the Kosy (The Square), Palace (George St) and Everybody’s (Coleman Place) cinemas were screening popular silent movies every day, while the latest visiting lecturer to arrive in Palmerston, Madame Reprah, of London and Australia, was booked to speak on spiritualism at the Empire Hall in Main St on Sunday evening.
The Standard reported: ‘‘Madame Reprah states…it is not her intention to proselytize nor disturb the beliefs others have and get up to… (but) to give a clear understanding of the teaching, stripped of all shams and pretence’’.
From the Auckland police court came a story about the ‘‘antishouting’’ law.
‘‘Two workingmen, John Catlin and William Lee, were charged, the former with doing an act which amounted to treating, and the latter with aiding in the act.’’
The men pleaded guilty. A plain clothes police sub-inspector, passing the Prince of Wales Hotel, had heard the words ‘‘shout’’ and ‘‘drink’’. He saw money pass between the men and followed them to the hotel.
‘‘Before they had time to order any liquor he stopped them… Catlin had handed fourpence to Lee to have a drink. The subinspector said it appeared this was the very class of case the regulations had been designed to stop – namely, to prevent men who, having dependants, spent too much money on liquor.
Catlin had seven dependants, and Lee two, and neither of them earned high wages. So far as Catlin was concerned, nine shillings a day was little enough, in view of the present cost of living, for him to keep his family on, and he could ill-afford to buy liquor for himself, let alone for others.’’
The magistrate gave the men a severe talking-to, convicted them and fined them each seven shillings costs.