Central & Western Archive/GLAMNov 28, 2022

The word for Day 28 in English then Māori of #Museum30 #Walls #Pātū

If the walls of the Eastern Bush Hotel could talk, they would sure tell some stories! See more in our Central and Western Murihiku Southland Archive here: https://ehive.com/collections/202139/objects/1564613/eastern-bush-hotel-store-post-office-mouat-ownership-1905-2004

#History #Heritage #Aotearoa #NZ #GLAM #Museums #Archives #digipres #Ōtautau #Murihiku #Southland #Farming #AccommodationHouse
#Waiau #MouatFamily
#CommunityCollaboration #Homes #Whare #RuralNZ #AgricultureHistory #Hotel
#CentralAndWesternArchive

Eastern Bush Hotel, Store & Post Office - Mouat Ownership (1905-2004) ; Aubrey,... on eHive

Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel, Store & Post Office - Mouat: Photo of Accommodation House/Hotel painting done by C. Aubrey (1881). According to family records, Aubrey stayed at the Hotel with the Mouat's during 1881 while he painted their Accommodation House, in exchange for room and board. It is believed he was a remittance man and he made his living going around the country doing paintings. You can see photos of what is left of the Hotel under the archive entry no. CWA.004.100.10 The first Mouat to live and work at Eastern Bush, was Malcolm. He was also one of the earliest people in that district, according to much of the history that I have seen written. In his early days, Malcolm Mouat was reportedly an intrepid explorer of the Western Murihiku and Fiordland areas, and even has a lake named after him, Mouat Lake, which is west of Lake Poteriteri, nesting between the Princess and Cameron Mountain Ranges. See under 'Place Notes' below for a map link to this. Recorded by FWG Miller in his “West to the Fiords” book (which he used notes by WJ Mouat – Malcolm’s son, to write up some history on the family at Clifden and Eastern Bush), Malcolm Mouat was a Shetland Islander, who arrived at Murihiku Bluff in 1869 then proceeded by bullock wagon to Clifden, on the bullock track which was the only ‘road’. As Malcolm was an expert seaman, there he was tasked with the job of boating people, stock and supplies across the Waiau River. In Miller’s book, he states that Malcolm ferried sheep on the boat with their legs tied (presumably so they did not try to escape!), but cattle and horses swam behind the boat. Being made head shepherd about a year after arriving there, it is said Malcolm remained in this position for another nineteen years. Another record of a journey through Western Southland from 1889 by HW Potter, also mentions Malcolm Mouat and this is his own personal observations, stating that after calling for the boat, “In due course it reaches us and we are soon afloat and the way in which the boatman, Malcolm Mouat, handles the craft in the dark deserves commendation. We go some considerable distance down the stream; a vigorous pull across into an eddy brings us back almost opposite from where we embarked. Here we are cordially received by the manager, Mr Robert Tapper, Jnr.” When the land there was taken up by the Government for closer settlement, Malcolm also entered the ballot for land there, but missed out, as apparently that land was drawn out by another local settler, Scott. So as the story goes, Malcolm then purchased J Woods property ‘Woodlands’ off him instead, the year is said to have been 1891. Marrying Anna Bella Scobie, the daughter of the Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel, Store and Post Office owner William Scobie (and wife) the following year, Malcolm purchased this property himself in 1905, (a fact which I have verified against legal land records) and the following year in 1906, Malcolm transferred this property into the name of his wife. In the intervening years, as the ‘Woodlands’ property was on the other side of the Waiau, the family had to get across the river to get to and from their home, which until the bridge was opened in 1899 (see separate entry for the Clifden Suspension Bridge), was a rather arduous affair. Neighbour Charlie Moffat, born in 1922 recalls some history of the Mouat family farm, in records faithfully kept by son Lincoln, who has graciously gifted copies of these to this archive. Charlie recalls that there was pretty much an unlimited supply of flax on the Mouat property ‘Braeview’ next door, and they employed a man, who he remembers as being Ossie Sheringham (unsure of exact spelling?), to cut the flax. He lived on what the Mouat’s called ‘The Farm’ in a cottage with his wife and had come out from England. This flax-cutter was employed by the Mouat’s for quite some years, from Charlie’s memory. He also recalls that the Mouat’s had some of the best land in Eastern bush, but it was largely undeveloped. My own guess is that their other occupations as Hotel and Store keepers, kept them busy. When Malcolm died in 1932, his wife continued on at the property with her sons, until Anna Bella herself, died in 1950. According to her will, she left the property in the hands of her three sons, William J (whose diary FWG Miller has listed as a reference for the family’s story), Malcolm Jnr., both of Eastern Bush, and Magnus Mouat at the ‘Woodlands’ property. Peter Begg’s recollections of the area as quoted in Miller’s book, cover the following points: “My first recollection of ‘Woodlands’ was that it was occupied by a Mr Manson, father of the well-known athlete and shearer, D Manson. Malcolm Mouat, a hardy Shetland Islander and for many years head shepherd on Clifden, married Miss Scobie and took over Woodlands, and a son owns the property.” The last Mouat the property was in the ownership of, was Stuart who farmed the property with his wife and family. They took great care to save the records of the Accommodation House/Hotel and there are many more photos and records to share on this with the archive, I have simply run out of time to get them all online at this point, so more later! If you or anyone you know has any more photos, information or accounts of the Mouat’s during the years, on any aspects of their business, farming or community life in the local area, please do share these in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. Please let us know if you have more records to add, they will add the heritage of the property.

eHive
Central & Western Archive/GLAMNov 3, 2022

#Museum30 Day4 Today's topic is #Record or #Mauhanga in Māori #NZTwits #Aotearoa #History #Murihiku #Southland #NZ
#Waiau #Ōtautau #Archives
#CentralWesternSouthland #GLAM #CommunityHistory #digipres

Record or mauhanga from the #EasternBush #Store #PostOffice #AccommodationHouse in the #WaiauDistrict, part of our local Central & Western heritage collection, digitised by the Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive. Check out the history of these early buildings here: https://ehive.com/collections/202139/objects/1603194/eastern-bush-store-mouat-ownership-1905-2004

Eastern Bush Store - Mouat Ownership (1905-2004) ; Chamberlain's Cough Remedy; ... on eHive

Front and back cover's, plus a page from inside one of Malcolm Mouat's Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel Store account book's: The exact date that the store at the Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel site started is unknown, but it was being advertised in the days of William Scobie, which is well before Malcolm Mouat married his daughter and not long after took ownership of the property. The Mouat family have also donated copies of the day books from this store from 1882, so we know that it was operational at least from this point, and maybe even sooner, although an advertisement in the paper from the year earlier making a request for: "J.H. RUSSELL, BLACKSMITH, Eastern Bush, to REMOVE from the HUT and BLACKSMITH’S SHOP on my section, No.11, adjoining Eastern Bush, by 1st November, 1881, as the buildings will be required by myself by that date. Wm. Scobie.", makes it quite likely that the store was run from this time in the very buildings that used to be occupied by the Blacksmith, who was JH Russell. He later operated out of a hut on land to the north of where the cemetery sits, which is another story that will be the focus of yet another Eastern Bush History entry. Whatever the date of the store's initial operation, it seems to have been closed down some time after 1900, and before the Mouat's moved into their new house, which was built just as the Monowai Power Station came online, in 1925. Great grandson of Malcolm Mouat Snr., Dean Mouat, believes the store was closed around 1914, although I am not sure where this date comes from and the details do bear more looking into, which I will do later. If anyone else can help with this, please do let me know, thanks. The store was recorded as selling almost anything and everything, as was required back in those days. Dean Mouat's old school project on the hotel and store at the property inherited by his family, lists the following items: Blankets, Suits, Boots, Waterproof Coats, Towels, Quilts, Canvas, Belts, Shovels, sewing items, Cocoa, Matting, Flour, Tobacco, Oatmeal, Butter, Cheese, Matches, Rice, Flour, Sugar and more. He notes how the stores were waggoned in from Ōtautau and that the day book, which I have seen and can verify, has customers from as far away as Otahu Flat, Feldwick, Mararoa, Clifden and Blackmount all buying items there, as well as the locals from Eastern Bush District of course. By the time we look at the 1888 daybook, with more and more widespread travel and settlers coming to the district and indeed all over Murihiku Southland and land being sold for closer settlement, we start to see buyers from even further afield, such as places like Garston, where people would stop for the night at the Accommodation House, as well as get purchases for their journey. There is also a photo of this Accommodation House/Hotel painting done by C. Aubrey (1881). According to family records, Aubrey stayed at the Hotel with the Mouat's during 1881 while he painted their Accommodation House, in exchange for room and board. It is believed that Aubrey was a remittance man and he made his living going around the country doing paintings for room and board. This is under entry CWA.004.100 in this archive and later photos of the building can also be seen in other entries. I have also been promised a photo of the sign which used to be hanging at the store, when the property was taken over by the last purchasers. The first Mouat to live and work at Eastern Bush, was Malcolm. He was also one of the earliest people in that district, according to much of the history that I have seen written. In his early days, Malcolm Mouat was reportedly an intrepid explorer of the Western Murihiku and Fiordland areas, and even has a lake named after him, Mouat Lake, which is west of Lake Poteriteri, nesting between the Princess and Cameron Mountain Ranges. See under 'Place Notes' below for a map link to this. Recorded by FWG Miller in his “West to the Fiords” book (which he used notes by WJ Mouat – Malcolm’s son, to write up some history on the family at Clifden and Eastern Bush), Malcolm Mouat was a Shetland Islander, who arrived at Murihiku Bluff in 1869 then proceeded by bullock wagon to Clifden, on the bullock track which was the only ‘road’. More can be read about this in other entries on the Mouat family history in this archive. Marrying Anna Bella Scobie, the daughter of the Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel, Store and Post Office owner William Scobie (and wife) the following year, Malcolm purchased this property himself in 1905, (a fact which I have verified against legal land records) and the following year in 1906, Malcolm transferred this property into the name of his wife. In the intervening years, as the ‘Woodlands’ property was on the other side of the Waiau, the family had to get across the river to get to and from their home, which until the bridge was opened in 1899 (see separate entry for the Clifden Suspension Bridge), was a rather arduous affair. When Malcolm died in 1932, his wife continued on at the property with her sons, until Anna Bella herself, died in 1950. According to her will, she left the property in the hands of her three sons, William J (whose diary FWG Miller has listed as a reference for the family’s story), Malcolm Jnr., both of Eastern Bush, and Magnus Mouat at the ‘Woodlands’ property. Peter Begg’s recollections of the area as quoted in Miller’s book, cover the following points: “My first recollection of ‘Woodlands’ was that it was occupied by a Mr Manson, father of the well-known athlete and shearer, D Manson. Malcolm Mouat, a hardy Shetland Islander and for many years head shepherd on Clifden, married Miss Scobie and took over Woodlands, and a son owns the property.” The last Mouat the property was in the ownership of, was Stuart who farmed the property with his wife and family. They took great care to save the records of the Accommodation House/Hotel and there are many more photos and records to share on this with the archive, which they kindly donated to us in 2022 for recording here. I have simply run out of time to get them all online at this point, so I promise there will be more. If you or anyone you know has any more photos, information or accounts of the Mouat’s during the years, on any aspects of their business, farming or community life in the local area, please do share these in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. Please let us know if you have more records to add, they will add the heritage of the property.

eHive
Central & Western Archive/GLAMNov 3, 2022

#Museum30 Day3 Today's topic is #Fragment or #Ngota in Māori #NZTwits #Aotearoa #History #Murihiku #Southland #NZ
#Waiau #Ōtautau #Archives
#CentralWesternSouthland #GLAM #CommunityHistory #digipres

Photo of the only fragment or ngota left of the #EasternBush #AccommodationHouse in the #WaiauDistrict, part of our local Central & Western heritage collection, digitised by the Central & Western Murihiku Southland Archive. Check out the history of this early building here: https://ehive.com/collections/202139/objects/1601845/eastern-bush-hotel-store-post-office-mouat-ownership-1905-2004

Eastern Bush Hotel, Store & Post Office - Mouat Ownership (1905-2004) ; Best, S... on eHive

Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel, Store & Post Office - Mouat: Accommodation House/Hotel remains photos from 2022. The main hotel room chimney is now all that remains of this building. It was a large two-sided chimney sitting in between the hotel drinking bar and the kitchen area, which could be accessed and cooked in from both sides. The chimney from both sides can be seen in the set of photos above. The first Mouat to live and work at Eastern Bush, was Malcolm. He was also one of the earliest people in that district, according to much of the history that I have seen written. In his early days, Malcolm Mouat was reportedly an intrepid explorer of the Western Murihiku and Fiordland areas, and even has a lake named after him, Mouat Lake, which is west of Lake Poteriteri, nesting between the Princess and Cameron Mountain Ranges. See under 'Place Notes' below for a map link to this. Recorded by FWG Miller in his “West to the Fiords” book (which he used notes by WJ Mouat – Malcolm’s son, to write up some history on the family at Clifden and Eastern Bush), Malcolm Mouat was a Shetland Islander, who arrived at Murihiku Bluff in 1869 then proceeded by bullock wagon to Clifden, on the bullock track which was the only ‘road’. As Malcolm was an expert seaman, there he was tasked with the job of boating people, stock and supplies across the Waiau River. In Miller’s book, he states that Malcolm ferried sheep on the boat with their legs tied (presumably so they did not try to escape!), but cattle and horses swam behind the boat. Being made head shepherd about a year after arriving there, it is said Malcolm remained in this position for another nineteen years. Another record of a journey through Western Southland from 1889 by HW Potter, also mentions Malcolm Mouat and this is his own personal observations, stating that after calling for the boat, “In due course it reaches us and we are soon afloat and the way in which the boatman, Malcolm Mouat, handles the craft in the dark deserves commendation. We go some considerable distance down the stream; a vigorous pull across into an eddy brings us back almost opposite from where we embarked. Here we are cordially received by the manager, Mr Robert Tapper, Jnr.” When the land there was taken up by the Government for closer settlement, Malcolm also entered the ballot for land there, but missed out, as apparently that land was drawn out by another local settler, Scott. So as the story goes, Malcolm then purchased J Woods property ‘Woodlands’ off him instead, the year is said to have been 1891. Marrying Anna Bella Scobie, the daughter of the Eastern Bush Accommodation House/Hotel, Store and Post Office owner William Scobie (and wife) the following year, Malcolm purchased this property himself in 1905, (a fact which I have verified against legal land records) and the following year in 1906, Malcolm transferred this property into the name of his wife. In the intervening years, as the ‘Woodlands’ property was on the other side of the Waiau, the family had to get across the river to get to and from their home, which until the bridge was opened in 1899 (see separate entry for the Clifden Suspension Bridge), was a rather arduous affair. A painting of the Accommodation house in 1881 can be found under the Archive entry CWA.004.100 Neighbour Charlie Moffat, born in 1922 recalls some history of the Mouat family farm, in records faithfully kept by son Lincoln, who has graciously gifted copies of these to this archive. Charlie recalls that there was pretty much an unlimited supply of flax on the Mouat property ‘Braeview’ next door, and they employed a man, who he remembers as being Ossie Sheringham (unsure of exact spelling?), to cut the flax. He lived on what the Mouat’s called ‘The Farm’ in a cottage with his wife and had come out from England. This flax-cutter was employed by the Mouat’s for quite some years, from Charlie’s memory. He also recalls that the Mouat’s had some of the best land in Eastern bush, but it was largely undeveloped. My own guess is that their other occupations as Hotel and Store keepers, kept them busy. When Malcolm died in 1932, his wife continued on at the property with her sons, until Anna Bella herself, died in 1950. According to her will, she left the property in the hands of her three sons, William J (whose diary FWG Miller has listed as a reference for the family’s story), Malcolm Jnr., both of Eastern Bush, and Magnus Mouat at the ‘Woodlands’ property. Peter Begg’s recollections of the area as quoted in Miller’s book, cover the following points: “My first recollection of ‘Woodlands’ was that it was occupied by a Mr Manson, father of the well-known athlete and shearer, D Manson. Malcolm Mouat, a hardy Shetland Islander and for many years head shepherd on Clifden, married Miss Scobie and took over Woodlands, and a son owns the property.” The last Mouat the property was in the ownership of, was Stuart who farmed the property with his wife and family. They took great care to save the records of the Accommodation House/Hotel and there are many more photos and records to share on this with the archive, Some of these can be seen under an entry in this archive, no. CWA.004.100.4 If you or anyone you know has any more photos, information or accounts of the Mouat’s during the years, on any aspects of their business, farming or community life in the local area, please do share these in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. Please let us know if you have more records to add, they will add the heritage of the property.

eHive