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Henderson's Mill: how a humble timbermill became today's Henderson in West Auckland

by Anthony G. Flude


HB. 240pp. 170x210. Illus. Mono
2nd Edition.

ISBN: 9781877431210

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More about the book

In 1844 the Auckland firm of Henderson & Macfarlane swapped a ship for some 18,000 acres of land in the Whau in West Auckland. Thomas Maxwell Henderson, the senior partner and a hard-nosed Scotsmen, then proceeded to tear out the tall kauri timber from the Waitakere ranges and mill it at Henderson's Mill on Henderson Creek. After the mill closed in 1868, many came and left, but some stayed behind to build a life and eventually even a town. And that town became known as Henderson. These are their stories.

Exploring the period 1840 to 1939, in this book you will meet Thomas Henderson himself; the Macfarlanes; William Swanson; John and Helen McLeod who founded Helensville; George Thomas the blacksmith; Robert Gibbons the Whatipu mill owner; the Corban family of winegrowers; the colourful Portugese Don Buck; the strange recluse Henry Swan; Claude Brookes and his Tui Glen playground; the Henderson Mill Turf Club; the Henderson Football Club; The Henderson School; the Henderson Library; the Henderson Fire Brigade; the Falls Hotel; the Waitemata Electric Power Board; and many of the people, families and institutions of the west.

Henderson's Mill is a must-have reference work of both the history and the family names that contributed to the early district out West and the town of Henderson and its surrounding area, out as far as Helensville. It should be on every bookshelf in West Auckland.

NOTES
NOTE. p. 78. List of Trustees of the Henderson Mill Library filed in accordance with the 1875 Public Library Powers Act.
We have been advised that this list came from the MA Thesis of Glenda Northey: Northey, Glenda. Libraries in the Auckland Provincial Area, 1842 - 1919. MA theis, 1998. University of Auckland. p. 155. This attribution has been missed from the book.
The original documents themselves are held at the National Library in Auckland: Justice Department. Libraries registered under the Public Libraries Powers Act 1875, 307/64, National Archives, Auckland.

  • Table of Contents

    The Waimauku and Muriwai area
    Waimauku Village, 1950s. Where you found people and places
    Chapter 1. Mâori arrive in Kaipara
    ......Ngâti Whâtua o Kaipara
    ......Te Kawerau â Maki
    Chapter 2. Getting around Kaipara in the 1820s
    ......The waka
    ......The travels of Samuel Marsden
    Chapter 3. Kauri and the destruction of the forest
    ......Kauri gum: an ancient treasure
    ......The legacy: No going back
    Chapter 4. The Europeans arrive
    ......Profile: Samuel Frost. Ararimu Valley, 1863
    ......Profile: Robert Annett. Waimauku, 1868
    ......Profile: Allan Kerr-Taylor. Waikoukou Valley, 1869
    ......Profile: Joseph Wilkins. Waikoukou Valley, 1869
    ......Profile: John Foster. Muriwai Falls, 1870
    ......Profile: Stanley Lester-Jonas. Waimauku, 1880
    ......Profile: James Fletcher. Waimauku, 1885
    ......Profile: William Morgan. Ararimu Valley, 1886
    ......Profile: William Moore. Muriwai, 1888
    Chapter 5. Flax
    Chapter 6. Kaipara’s sea of streams
    Chapter 7. The railway arrives, 1875
    ......The Waimauku station
    Chapter 8. Waimauku Village
    ......Foster’s Waimauku general store
    ......Billiards and hairdressing
    ......Bill Good’s pub
    ......The artisan
    ......The Coronation Hall / Waimauku War Memorial Hall
    ......St Martin’s, the little church with a big history
    ......Other denominations at St Martins
    ......The Waimauku Peoples’ Church
    ......The post office and the telephone exchanges
    ......Electric power
    ......Ernie Burns’ garage
    ......Cyril Tong’s bakehouse
    ......The great name change folly
    ......Gossip columns
    ......Victory bonds: Waimauku’s victory
    ......The doctor
    ......The RSA
    ......Bomber Galloway - a tragedy and a tribute
    ......The music makers
    ......Population size
    Chapter 9. The dairy factory
    Chapter 10. The evolution of Waimauku’s roads
    Chapter 11. Waimauku School
    Chapter 12. Sporting life
    Chapter 13. The Kaipara after the Treaty
    ......Wally Wikaira: a local identity in Waimauku
    Chapter 14. Farmers arriving in the 20th century
    ......Profile: The Wightmans, 1912
    ......Profile: The Houghtons, 1919
    ......Profile: The Robbs, 1937
    Chapter 15. Villages apart: Kumeu ascendant
    Chapter 16. Orchards and vineyards
    Chapter 17. Muriwai Beach
    ......Catherine Moore’s story, 1893
    ......Profile: Edwin Mitchelson. Muriwai, 1901
    ......The state of the Muriwai road
    ......Korekore pa
    ......Racing on the beach
    ......Fresh water, changing sheds and other luxuries
    ......Fishing at Muriwai Beach
    ......Muriwai House
    ......The Trans-Tasman cable
    ......Fighting in the dunes
    ......Sewage in the sand
    ......War games
    ......Surf life-saving
    ......The volunteer fire brigade
    ......Carnage on the beach, vehicles in the modern era
    ......Aftermath of the 2023 storm: Two tributes
    Chapter 18. Diary of a country kid
    Chapter 19. Endgame
    Notes