You probably missed it, but January 22 was the 150th anniversary of the first interclub game of lawn bowls in New Zealand.
The clubs were Dunedin and Fernhill and Fernhill were the winners.
Another sporting highlight was the formation of the Otago Cricket Association at a meeting on July 15 at Wains Hotel, so let’s hope the OCA is busy organising a 150th celebration for that date.
Cricket had been played since 1849, of course, but it seems that the association owed its foundation to a Dunedin proposal to bring the All-England XI to New Zealand after their tour of Australia.
The tour took place and provided one of cricket’s great dramas when English wicketkeeper Ted Pooley was arrested in Dunedin over a betting swindle but Ted’s tale can await a later column.
In 1876 Dunedin was enjoying its decade-long period as New Zealand’s largest city and business firsts were not uncommon.
In February Edward McGlashan opened the country’s first paper mill at Woodhaugh, where old rope, bagging, linen and cotton rags were converted into paper with the Water of Leith providing the clear water needed for the process.
The Dunedin Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway opened the first section of its line on October 26 and the Otago Daily Times reported: ‘‘The weather was beautifully fine and warm. At twelve o’clock the train containing those invited to the luncheon, left the Rattray street Station, and ran smoothly the whole way to the terminus, which is immediately behind the Racecourse Stand. An adjournment was made to the interior of the Stand, where luncheon was partaken of and speechifying took place. Trains continued to run to and fro every few minutes, and the crowds of visitors who embraced the opportunity of taking an outing gave to the Ocean Beach and its neighbourhood a gay aspect.’’
Competition from horse trams saw regular passenger services cease in 1882 and the original company wound up but a new company ran race-day trains to Forbury Park until 1904.
The last passenger train was a special troop train in 1914, and goods services ran sporadically until 1938.
On November 5 Knox Church will be 150 and funds are already being raised to ensure its survival for another 150 years.
After much wrangling and changes of architect the church was completed at a cost of £18,000 ($3.5 million in 2026) and it took until 1891 to clear the debt. (The original budget had been £5000.)
On Christmas Day 1876 God Defend New Zealand was first performed at the original Queen’s Theatre in Princes St and is one piece of music which has lasted the distance.
In Queenstown there’s a restaurant called 1876 as it’s housed in the old courthouse, which opened in 1876 — a pleasant nod to history in a town which is at risk of growing too fast to appreciate its past.
There are a couple of survivors from 1876 which are pretty special.
One is a Patearoa farm, Greenbank. It has been in the hands of the Herlihy family for five generations and owes its beginnings to Irish immigrant James Herlihy, who was gold-mining at nearby Hamiltons.
Some miners had been granted small plots near Patearoa and for larger-scale farming the nearby Sowburn Flat, which was a tract of swampy land between Sowburn and the Taieri River, was made available.
In 1876 James Herlihy took up a 200-acre (81ha) block of agricultural land in the area. The property became Greenbank, which is now a thriving dairy farm and may yet support a few more generations of Herlihys.
A few weeks ago I suggested in this column that the owners of Speight’s may not even have been aware of the brand’s important anniversary.
Within a day came an email from up north informing me that a celebration would be held and I was invited. Such is the power of the press!
On Friday night guests were treated to food and drinks and all was jollity. A great night out although I wondered fleetingly about 150 years from now — will the Herlihys still be farming Greenbank and will Speight’s still be brewed?
• Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
