Central & Western Archive/GLAMJan 31, 2023

If you look at this photo from the 1980's and see the same scene today, you could be forgiven for thinking that not much changes on the Main Road through Tūātapere... but if you track the history of the buildings and various owners and businesses, you may be surprised to learn there have been quite a few over the many years:

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#Murihiku #Southland #Aotearoa #NZRuralLife
#IdyllicVillageScenes
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https://ehive.com/collections/202139/objects/1645607/tuatapere-history-old-main-road-shops-from-bridge-to-ferry-road-corner

Tūātapere History - old Main Road shops, from bridge to Ferry Road corner ; Var... on eHive

Photograph 1 of stores along Main Road, between Ferry Road & Bridge: A shops scene from Tūātapere's past, thought to be taken early 1980's. Information from donor states that, on the corner on the far right is Faulkner's store, they (being Bill and wife Jenny) took over from Ray Lawrence who had retired. Ray had run the shop on his own for some time as a menswear store, before that the business had been Souness & Lawrence. And in a much earlier time, this was McLeod's Tearooms, and much more besides in the years since). The Faulkner family, says Bill with wife Jenny had the above store about 78/79 into the early 80's at least, then they sold it to June Harpur, who was Bill Harpur's wife. However, we are not sure of all the owners or businesses on this site over time, so if you have any information or photos on these, please do share them with us so the community can find out their history. The above building on the corner of Ferry Road has since this first photo, been enlarged with a seating addition built on the side, which was for many years part of Yesteryear's Cafe, owned and run by Val & Helen McKay. It is now the new "Boundary Creek" Art Exhibition space, which opened late in 2022. You can see this building in other images shown here, under various ownership in photos 2 & 3. The next building in the centre is the old Post Office building, which is now and has been for some years, the home base of Country Corner Crafts, housing a craft co-operative which sells handcrafted goods. The old Post Office closed down after the Forest Service was wound up in the late 1980's, but I have not been able to find an exact date yet. If anyone knows this, please can they comment in the section below. Myself as a newcomer to the town of Tūātapere in 2006, I remember using the prior Chemist (I think Fraser's?) as the Post Outlet, but this too is now gone. Currently, (2023) Postal Services are run out of Chamber's Repair Service. And beside that on the far left, is the building that the donor recalls was a Toy & Gift Shop, owned/run by Ashley Mills (husband maybe Dave?), during the 70's or 80's. This store later became Murray and Erica Ottley's Second Hand shop which they have confirmed they owned during 1997 - 2002/3. It is interesting to note that this building is today in 2023, still being used to sell second hand goods as an "Arkwrights", but now under further new ownership. It also houses the local Radio Station as well. However, once again we are missing many years of ownership and businesses situated here on this site, so any information on those and further photos of any of these shops would be great, if you can share. And in comparison, check out the other photos in later years... Photograph 2 of stores along Main Road, between Ferry Road & Bridge: A shops scene from Tūātapere's recent past, taken during 2020 Covid. It shows Yesteryear's Cafe owned by the McKay's on the right hand side situated at the corner of Ferry Road, but with the previous For Sale sign in the window, after Helen closed down to retire, in what we believe was 2018. Then Country Crafts in the middle. We were told by the Country Crafts "girls" that during Covid was the best time for them at their co-operative craft centre, as many local people supported them and went in to purchase their gift needs instead of travelling elsewhere. Finally, the current (2023) Second Hand shop is at the left of the image. It is noticeable how few cars there were in the town during this time. Photograph 3 of stores along Main Road, between Ferry Road & Bridge: A shops scene from Tūātapere's recent past, taken recently in 2023. In this photo you can see the documented changes of both ownership and building use of the corner site on Ferry Road intersection, where McKay's Yesteryear's Cafe had operated for a long time. The newly upgraded building frontage can be seen advertising the recent takeover of this by Boundary Creek. The old Post Office, now Country Corner Crafts and advertising itself as a "Creative Arts & Crafts Centre" in the middle is showing its age and wear and tear, while the side wall of the still current Second Hand shop to the left, is also seen to have time taking its toll. There will be a lot more photos and information coming in the future on many old and existing local Tūātapere businesses. In the meantime, it would be wonderful if more people contributed memories, photos and other memorabilia to add to the story and history of these, for our collective community memories. If you can help us out with this, please comment in the section under this image, or make contact us. Thanks.

eHive
Central & Western Archive/GLAMJan 7, 2023

Ngā mihi o te tau hou. Happy New Year! I'm off my "holiday" from SM.

Well, we had a great break, I got some of the funding for both my volunteer community projects - the new #CentralAndWesternArchive computer arrived and is set up and now the new scanner has come in the post and is waiting to be picked up Monday, so lots of excitement here, many thanks to the Tūātapere TeWaeWae Community Board for their funding our new equipment.

#PōMārie #NZTwits #Aotearoa #Aotearoadons #NZRuralLife

Central & Western Archive/GLAMDec 9, 2022
An article on the history of the forestry industry in #Tūātapere, at the end of #Highway99 from last century... Gosh it sounds a long time ago when you put it like that! Fascinating insights into rural community life and stubborn resilience. This archive was gifted with special thanks to the #HumpTrackTrust. Read full article .pdf here: https://ehive.com/collections/202139/objects/1610322
#SharingCommunityHeritage
#HistoryBelongsToEveryone
#WaiauDistrict
#Murihiku
#Southland
#Forestry
#Logging
#RuralCommunities
#NZRuralLife
Tūātapere history - A Journey to the end of Highway 99, magazine article: ; Met... on eHive

Tūātapere history - A Journey to the end of Highway 99, magazine article. First photo is a .jpg of the front cover, the next two items are .pdf's of the actual article, broken into two parts to fit the files on here: A brief history taken from the body of this very in-depth archived article (please click on image of record to see more details) is the origins of and the current Tūātapere district and township, immediately prior to the 1988 announcement that the NZ Forestry Service would now be discontinued. The town was built on the back of the Timber Industry, with 30+ mills once working the bush around of the township. So it was a big blow when most closed. In 1909 the railway had descended on the fledgling town and its citizens after those milling bush along the southern coast continued to push onwards and westwards, eventually reaching the place which had been called Drummond's Ferry. It was named for ferryman Bob Drummond who operated the punt here in the days before a bridge was put over in 1915. In the years between the two world wars, this allowed new settlement to take place on the river flats over the bridge on what is now "Half-Mile". The article has an overtone of despondency with occasional highlights of positivity from some, who ultimately say they will never give up. Looking back on this old article in hindsight, it becomes apparent that Tūātapere has indeed kept going and even 'risen from the ashes' of these dark times. In the current day, we have not only had some resurgence in forestry, but there is a large farming sector, thriving hospitality venues, art studio's, international tourism, other businesses, also the Hump Track which is about to become Aotearoa NZ's latest Great Walk and much more. Residents today (2022), include those new to town from further afield, who find the "hole in the bush" a peaceful place to live life. Sometimes it is good to be reminded of how we can overcome hurdles and make great on such an array of achievements. However, we need as a town and community, to also celebrate and appreciate the years of hard times our forebears, other leaders and residents of the district underwent and lived through, leading to what we all enjoy here today. Where we are now is truly a history of resilience, reliance on each other and reaching forward, and we can be truly proud of us. So that residents and descendants can find any material relevant to their lives, I have made a list of most of the people and places mentioned in the article below - but you will have to read it as an attached download to be able to find the exact references. Where possible I've included page no's. Page 61 (Highway 99 sign): - Conservation - Forests - Logging - Native Beech - Rogernomics - Timberlands Page 62: - Aluminium Smelter - Cooper's Corner - Dalgety's - Lind, Clive - Farmers/Farming - Foveaux Strait (Te Ara a Kiwa) - Hydro Lakes - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - McKenzie Basin (Te Manahuna) - Milling - Murihaka (note - should be Murihiku) - Port Craig Timber Company - Riversdale - Southern Alps (Te Tiritiri-o-te-moana) - Southland Times - Tīwai Point - Tūātapere - Turner, Michael - Western Southland - Wrightson's Page 63: - Beaches - Beech Forest - Bridges - Cemeteries - Centre Island (Raratoka) - Depression - England - Escape Reefs - Farmhouses - Fiordland - Fishing - Flax - Foveaux Strait (Te Ara a Kiwa) - Graveyards - Longwood Ranges - Mills - Pig Island - Pioneers - Port Craig Timber - Princess Mountains - Railways - Riverton - Scotland - Sea - Snow - Stewart Island (Rakiura) - Te Waewae Bay - Viaducts Page 64: - Ambulance - Britonia Theatre - Butcher - Boundary Creek - Cemetery - Chemist - Coffee shop - Discount Food Store - Electrician - Fire Brigade - Fire Station - Four Square - Fraser, John - Gold Rush - Grocers - Lindsay & Dixon - McNay, Dave & Pam - Motor Garages - National Bank - Orepuki - Pipe Band - Plunket - Post Office - Presbyterian Church - Pubs - Railway - RSA - Rugby - Sawmillers - Shale Mining - Southland Farmers Co-operative - Stationer - Stockyards - Swedes - Timber Merchants - Timber Milling - Town & Country Club - Tūātapere - Waiau Hotel - Waiau River - Waiau Star - WTCC - WW2 Page 65: - ACCESS training schemes - Craft Co-operative - Education - Farming - Fiordland - Forestry Headquarters (old) - Half Mile - Information Centre - Johnston's Mill - Library - Motel - Motor Garage - Police Station - Pub - Sheep - Shell Fuel - Speights Beer - Southland Polytechnic - Swedes - Swimming Pool - Takatimu Mountains - Timber Industry - Tūātapere - Waiau College - Waiau River - Waiau Valley - Wild Pork - Work Development Society (later the Resource Centre Society Inc) - Wrightson Dalgety Page 66: - Baldwin, Wendy - Blackmount Community Centre - Chemist - Cyclone Bola (as a strange aside, I was living through this as a child!) - Concert Pianist - Fraser, John & Isabel - Fundraising - Garrett, Betty - Gutsell, Dorrie - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - Link & Chain Editorial (old local newspaper) - LINK programmes - Motel - Officer, Dianne - Orepuki Community Centre - Orepuki & Districts Health Day - Otago University - Pharmacist - RSA Lounge - Rugby - Southland Polytech - Southland Times - Till, Maurice - Tūātapere Work Development Market - Waiau Amateur Wrestling Club - Waiau College - Waiau Community Theatre - Waiau Hotel - Waiau Star - Waiau Town & Country Club - WTCC - Weight Watchers Page 67: - Badminton Club Nights - Barker, B - Barrett, Barney - Birch Street - Combined Axemens Athletics & Cycling Reunion - Conservation - Corfield, Phil (Entertainer) - Doctor - Elder, Dr Eric - Entertainment - Farming - Flower arranging - Games Evenings - 'Girls can do anything' - Glynn, Mrs D - Information Centre - Māori Language Classes - Native Timber - Ohai Coal - Orange Hall - Pioneering - Plunket Rooms - Primary School - RSA - Scottish Country Dancing - Sheep - Social Netball - Social Services - Southland Community College - Tūātapere Library Committee - Tūātapere Maternity Hospital - Tūātapere Presbyterian Hall - Unemployment - Waiau Garden Club - Waiau Hotel - Waiau Tourism Group - Waiau Town & Country Club - Weightwatchers International - WTCC Page 68: - Chainsaw Instructor - Corporatisation - Cricket Teams - Dean Forest - Department of Conservation - DOC - Exotic Timbers - Exploitation - Families - Feltex - Firefighting - Forestry Contractors - Forest Service - Government jobs - Half Mile Road - Industry - Japan - Kennedy's Mill - Lindsay & Dixon - Log-scaling - Longwoods - Muldrew, Graeme - Native Timbers - Oil Exploration - Papatotara - Paynter Corporation - Petrocorp - Pruning & Thinning - Rowallan - Rural economy - Seismic Work - State Forests - Suddaby, Haydn - Sutton, RR (Invercargill) - Timberlands - Tūātapere - Unemployment - Work Development Society (later the Resource Centre Society Inc) Page 69: - Alton Valley - Department of Conservation - DOC - Deer - Economy - Environment - Families - Forestry Corporation - Forest Service - Lindsay & Dixon - Muldrew, Graeme - Orepuki - Pine Cones for sale - Pubs - Redundancy - Rowallan Forest - Sawmills - Southland Beech - Southland Times - Templeton, Gary - Tūātapere - Unemployment Page 70: - Alabaster, Gren (principal at Waiau College) - Animal Drenching - Axemen - Beech Trees - Bush - Bushmen - Bush Robin (Kakaruwai) - Central Timber Co. - Corporatisation - Cricket (sport) - Cutting Rights - Debt ratio - Douglas, Roger - Downturn - Elder, Dr - Electric Fencing - Evans, Joe - Export Markets - Families - Farmers - Farming life - Fertiliser prices - Fiordland (Te Rua-o-te-moko) - Forests - Forest Service - Groveburn Sawmilling Co. - Labour Party - Lindsay & Dixon - Māori Landowners - Mechanics - Miller, Fred - Mills - National Party - Otago/Southland - Princess Mountains - Rowallan - Salaries - School leavers - Schools - Southland Farmers Co-op - Southland Promotions - Southland Timber Co. - Staff - Tapanui - Templeton, Gary - The Hump - Timber/Joinery Companies - Truckers - Tūātapere - Tūātapere New Year's Day Sports - Tūātapere Sawmilling Ltd. - Unemployment - Virgin Bush - Waiau College - Waiau Sawmilling Page 72: - ACCESS training - Accountancy - Bursary - Bush - Community College - Department of Conservation - DOC - Duck Shooting - Dunedin (Ōtepoti) - Farmer's Co-op (Southland) - Farming - Farm Labouring - Fishing - Hunting - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - Jesson, Adin - Jobs - Lincoln (Agricultural College) - Mills - Orepuki - Park Management - Parties - Peek, Rawyn - Pubs - School leavers - Scrub Cutting - Social Welfare - Sport - Teaching - Te Anau - Templeton, Alexia - Tūātapere - Unemployment - Waiau College Page 74: - Bateman, Murray - Builders Supplies - Carrier - Coal Train - Domestic Disputes - Draught Beer (DB) - Dunedin - Farmers - Forestry - Freight - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - Hairdressing - H&H Buses - Hampton, Brian - Holt Park - Housekeeping - Invercargill Rugby Park - Lillburn - Longwoods - Machinery - Mail - McCarthy, Winston (Sports Commentator) - McNay, Dave (publican) - Netball - Ōtautau - Ōtautau Hotel - Pharmaceuticals - Pies - Police - Probation - Pub - Reported Crime - Riverton (Aparima) - Rugby - Rural Delivery - Sheep - Sheep Stealing - Shop Supplies - Southland Sports Trust Cup - Southland Times - Spare Parts - Springboks - Tong, Gary (Constable) - Tūātapere - Unemployment - University - Videos - Wallace County Council - Wheat Page 76: - ACCESS Training - Adams, Gerard - Baldwin, Wendy - Bluff (Motupo- hue) - Bulmer, Steve (Rugby) - Chemist Shop - Chinese Cooking - Chip Mill (wood) - Christchurch (Ōtautahi) - Committees - Cowan, Gary (Rugby) - Department of Conservation Premises - Diack, Irene - Drinking - Farmers - Firewood - Fraser, John - Freight - Gore - Hay Contracting - Holt Park - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - Isolation - Lambing - Lands & Survey Department - Lincoln (Agricultural College) - Lindsay & Dixon - Lion Breweries - Lionesses (Lion's Club) - Lion Red Sports Trust Cup - Longwoods - Makeup Course - Male domination - McCall (Rugby) - Mills - Mitchell, Mark (Rugby) - O'Brien, Paddy (Rugby) - Odd jobs - Ohai - Ōtautau - Ōtautau Hotel - Pharmacy - Pubs - Riversdale - Rugby - Shopping - Speights - Sutherland, Gloria - Te Anau - Te Waewae - Todd, Eric (Rugby) - Truck Driving - Tūātapere - Yates, Gavin (Rugby) - Youth unemployment - Wallacetown - Western Rugby - Women - Women's Views - Working Women - Work Skills Page 77: - Beecroft, Noeleen - Bushmen - College - Concert Piano - Conservationists - Deep South - Deer cullers - Dixon, Ngarita - Domain Camping Ground - Eileen (no last name) - Elder, Dr - Farmers - Forestry - Fraser, Isobel - Garrett, Malcolm (junior Dean at the college) - Hartley, Karen - Housewife/Housekeeper - Jobs advertised - Johnston's mill - King Country - Lange, Stuart (Presbyterian Minister) - Lindsay & Dixon - Longwoods - Main Street - Māori - Mills - Native Timber milling - Possum Trappers - RSA - School leavers - Sodium vapour lights - Southland Times - Sutherland, Gloria - Teachers - Till, Maurice (concert pianist) - Truck driving - Tūātapere - Tūātapere Community Arts Society - Wives - Women's Lives Page 78: - Arts - Audi 90 - Automatic Telephone Exchange - Beech Forests - Britonia Theatre - 'Centre of Excellence' - Chemist - Christchurch (Ōtautahi) - Church - Country Depot - Country Service (teaching) - Daughters - Deer Shooting - Dole - Downsizing - Drinking excessively - Dunedin (Ōtepoti) - Economic divide - Elder, Dr - Foreign travel - Fraser, John - Furniture making - Gas Station - Government Department employment - Half Mile Road - Heavy Drinking - Invercargill (Waihōpai) - Job losses - Market forces - Married Women - Mills - National Bank - Native Timber - Orepuki - Pharmacy - Port Craig - Possum Trapping - Post Office - Pubs - Railway - Redundancy - Rogernomics - Salmon - Sexual imbalance - Shiseido Cosmetics - Sports - Teachers - Timber - Tong, Constable - Town & Country clubs - Tūātapere - Single women - Young men - Young women - Whitebait - Wild Pigs Page 80: (Above the "At the Brasserie advertisement") - Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau) - Automotive Graveyard - BBQ's - Beers - "Bludgers" - Bushmen - Christchurch (Ōtautahi) - 'City people' - Community - 'Country people' - Cricket (sport) - 'Dodgy' Corporations - European Cars - Floundering - Hunting & shooting - Lifestyle - Muldrew, Graeme - Pākehā - Papatotara - Paua-ing - Quietness - Remoteness - Re-training - Rogernomics - Royal Commission On Social Policy - 'Small Town people' - Socio-economic Issues - Southern Ocean - Suddaby, Haydn - Te Waewae Bay - Tūātapere - "Victims" (of economic downturn/downsizing) - Waiau Mouth - Waiau River - Wellington (Te Whanganui-a-Tara or Pōneke) - Whitebaiting - Winter Page 81: (final page) - Abandoned Cement Works - Aparima Valley - Axeman's Carnival (New Years Day) - Budget Surplus - Closed shops (Nightcaps/Ohai) - Coalmining - Domain - Douglas, Roger - Golden Summers - Lake Te Anau - McNay, Dave & Pam - Mines - Mossburn - Neighbours - Nightcaps - Nightcaps Discount Food Centre - Ohai - Ōrawia Road - Post Offices - Pubs - Riverton (Aparima) - Snow - Social cohesiveness - Taringatura Hills - Tūātapere - Waiau Hotel - Winter END... Please see the article attached for further information, a copy of the front cover has been provided as a .jpg picture file and the article itself is in two parts via .pdf which will open with an Acrobat Reader programme. A more in-depth history is recorded in the archive copy of the article itself, but please be aware that although Metro Magazine have kindly given us permission to put this in the public archive, it is still Copyright to them. More information about the local district and town history will be added shortly. In the meantime, please share your memories of our community and stories over the years that you know of, and most of all, do let us know if you have any more photos please. You can do this by adding a comment about it, at the bottom of the image page, or making contact.

eHive