Charleston: Its Rise and Decline/Chapter 9
Chapter IX.
ADDISON’S FLAT—CRONINVILLE.
NO story of Charleston would be complete without reference to the sister settlements of Addison’s Flat and Croninville.
ADDISON’S FLAT.
This field was of about nine months later birth than Charleston, and in its childhood looked upon the earlier town as, in a manner, a foster-parent. It was a part, or maybe the boundary, of Waite’s Pakihi, the Kara-o-matea Plains; an area of about 6,000 acres held under Government lease by Reuben Waite.
Until it attained independence by the provision of the Westport-Charleston coach-road in 1873-1874 Addison’s Flat relied upon such supplies as could be packed from Packers’ Point, or from Thiel’s landing, at the Buller. From Packers’ Point (see another chapter) the mails to Addison’s were carried by Joseph Mills on horseback, over a rough unformed track. Upon one occasion he was bailed up by a robber, near to McPaddon’s Hill—the robber was captured and imprisoned.
During the “rush” period, the paddle steamer Woodpecker ran a service to Thiel’s landing, near to Snag Falls, now known as Victoria Falls. The passenger fare was 5/-. On 17th September, 1867, the Provincial Engineer reported: “From the landing-place on south side of Buller, opposite Westport, a good horse-road has been made and metalled to Addison’s Flat, otherwise called Waite’s Pakihi or Skibbereen; four miles of which is the old track up the Buller, and the remaining portion of four miles follows the foot of the ranges to the township.” The formation of the coach-road from the Buller to Charleston via Addison’s Flat, for which the Provincial Council granted £2,000 in June, 1870, began in 1873, at the Westport end; thus, while the section to Addison’s was completed in that year, the section thence to Charleston was not opened until 1874. Until then Addison’s only connection with Charleston was a pack-track unfitted for vehicles.
The field was discovered in May of 1867, by a negro named Addison, near to the stream called Dirty Mary’s Creek. It is possible that he had come from Charleston; had, maybe, been responsible for naming that town’s picturesque background, Darkie’s Terrace; but this surmise cannot be substantiated. Within a few weeks there was a population of some thousands.
The creek was named after Mary Boyle, a woman noted for her cleanliness and respectability who kept a small licensed house upon its bank. The stream was early used as a sludge-channel for tailings, and its clear waters became thick and discoloured—dirty. From “Mary’s Creek” it came to be referred to as “Mary’s Dirty Creek” and later, unreasonably, as “Dirty Mary’s Creek.”
Although Addison was the first to discover gold in quantity, a few miners already had been getting small parcels from the Cement Lead. Like its sister town Charleston, Addison’s rapidly forged ahead, proved to be a rich field, and as rapidly petered out, perhaps more rapidly. On 23rd April, 1872, Dr. Joseph Giles, Warden, in a report remarked, “The falling off of population is very marked at Addison’s Flat.”
By 1880 all the easily-worked ground had been gone over and the field was almost finished, in fact its decline started as early as 1874. At its peak, about 1870, it supported a population variously estimated as being from three to five thousand, with forty public-houses, and a casino. The census in 1901 showed 208 persons; in 1911, 145 persons; and in 1921, 38 persons.
The first school, in the Roman Catholic Church, was private and conducted by Mrs. Duffy; later by Miss Mills. In 1882 a State school was opened, Mr. David Hogan being the teacher, and Miss McRae assistant, with 140 pupils. In 1889 the daily attendance was 49; in 1896 it was about half that number, Mr. W. J. Moloney being teacher; while in 1908 it was only 9, Mr. Thomas Kane being in charge.
The first-borns of Addison’s Flat were, it is believed, Mary O’Reilly, Frank Dennehy, Bridget Moloney, in that sequence. The first marriage was, it is understood, that of Mary Jane Cahill and Michael Darcy on 8th March, 1868.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England were erected in 1869. The latter was, in later years, pulled down to allow of its site being sluiced for gold.
The gaol was built in 1868, and held the enviable reputation of, it is said, never having had an occupant under lock and key for more than a few hours, and that only for petty offences. It was later used as a store-room and eventually as a fowlhouse.
Some of the richest leads of this field were: O’Toole’s, said to have been the richest, having given returns totalling £130,000 during its forty years of working; The Shamrock; Wilson’s; Addison’s; Twohill’s; Virgin Flat; Gallagher’s; Caroline Terrace; Cement Lead. Many of the fortunate gold-seekers were making from £10 to £15 per day.
One of the earliest elevators or “blow ups” was on the Shamrock claim; and it is said that the first stamper battery was on The Venture claim owned by Messrs. Wright, Hardley and Garvin. It is also stated that a small dredge operated on the Garry Owen claim. The area of the field was about ten by six miles, and the main supplies of gold were found at a depth of from ten to forty or more feet below the surface.
Among Westcoasters the story of the riot at Addison’s is an oft-told tale, handed down from father to son. The Westport Times and Charleston Argus of 4th April, 1868, records that the trouble occurred on the 2nd of that month.
The Hibernian Budget of a comparatively recent date, states that the “combined Hibernians” of the district had decided to hold a ball. As the Hibernian Society was not established in the district until January, 1870, the reference probably should be to the “Celtic Committee,” or to the Fenian Society. The Hibernian Budget continues: “In those days dancing rarely ceased until daylight, and this occasion was no exception. After the ball the men gathered together in little groups in the street, and not very much further away were groups of Orangemen. The latter men offered a wager that a girl, Bella Newton by name, would not be permitted to ride a horse unmolested through the Hibernians. The girl accepted the wager, and having tied an orange handkerchief around her neck, she mounted a white horse and set off. As she passed through the ranks of the Hibernians they took her horse by the head and asked her the meaning of the exploit. Upon being informed that the ride was the result of a wager, they took the handkerchief from her neck and, facing the Orangemen, tore it to shreds. This was the signal for the commencement of a first-class riot. News of the battle quickly spread from north to south, and men both orange and green flocked to take sides at Addison’s. It is reported that there was not a pick-handle nor an axe-handle to be purchased within a wide radius of the town.
“As the day progressed, the Orangemen were compelled to retreat to a swamp about two miles from the town. The battle continued unabated in the mud and slush until the arrival of Warden Kynnersley from Westport, who was apparently the sole representative of law and order in the district.
“Undaunted the Warden rode his horse into the middle of the fray and, mounting a rock that protruded from the swampy ground, he appealed to the men and was successful in securing a cessation of the hostilities. The rock upon which the Warden stood is still known as ‘Kynnersley’s Rock.’”
Although reference to Orangemen is made in this report, no Orange Lodge existed at any time at Addison’s or Charleston; and none at Westport until 1890, twenty-two years after the riot.
The Westport Times of 8th April, 1868, printed the following letter:
"Sir,—In the report of Addison’s Flat riot, which appeared in your issue of Saturday, it is stated that two ladies riding at the head of the procession were dragged from their horses. I being one of them beg to contradict that statement, as I was allowed to pass through the whole body of men several times, and returned to my home unmolested.
By inserting this you will oblige,
Bella Newton.
Waite’s Pakihi,
5th April, 1868.”
A similar letter, published in the same issue, was signed by Mary McNorton who was the other of the two girls referred to, she asserting that “she hadn’t been dragged, but assisted, from her horse, in kindness, by men who feared that she might receive injury.”
The Warden concerned in this matter was Thomas Alfred Sneyd Kynnersley, Chief Warden or Commissioner of the Nelson South-West Goldfields, a comprehensive title that included a wide range of duties and responsibilities, not the least of which was the control of the Police Force, and carried practically unlimited authority in the matter of law and order. Beginning life as midshipman in the Royal Navy, he reached the rank of Lieutenant, his last service being in H.M.S. Orpheus, a steam corvette which was lost on the South Spit of the Manakau bar on 7th February, 1863, with a loss of 189 lives, including the Commodore’s. Lieutenant Kynnersley had left the vessel before her wreck.
His first position with the Provincial Government was as Warden and Resident Magistrate at Wakamarina; but he was shortly afterwards promoted to be Warden and Commissioner at the Grey, in succession to Mr. Blackett. Later his services were extended to the whole of the South-West Goldfields, where he gained the respect and confidence of men of all classes, creeds, and politics. To mark this respect, the first township of Mokihinui, near the mouth of that river, was named Kynnersley, and the hotel at St. Helen’s nearby was named the Kynnersley Arms. He retired from official life owing to ill-health, and was elected to both the Provincial Council and the House of Representatives, taking his seat in the latter in 1870 as member for Westland North, as the Buller electorate was then called. Later he took a trip to England, returned to Nelson, and died there at the early ages of thirty-five. A monument to his memory has been erected in the Nelson cemetery.
With the Commissioner at the riot was Police Officer Jeffries, later stationed at Charleston, who played his part with the same coolness and tact as his chief. A great part of Mr. Jeffries’ early and official life was spent on the Coast. The following particulars (condensed) are taken from the Evening Post, Wellington, of 29th August, 1930: “There passed away yesterday John Jeffries, once a familiar figure on the West Coast goldfields, and whose long life almost covers the history of New Zealand as a British Colony. His father was an official of the clerical staff of the New Zealand Company, and with his wife arrived at Nelson by the ship London in February, 1842. John Jeffries was born there on 23rd May, 1842, and was, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1869, presented by Bishop Suter to His Royal Highness as the first white child born at Nelson. He served in the Police Force from 1864 to 1907, when he retired on superannuation.” His was the first marriage solemnised at Upper Inangahua, afterwards called Reefton. In addition to holding the position of Police Officer in Charge at several stations, he also acted as Collector of Goldfields Revenue, Clerk of Court, and Registrar.
Like Charleston, Addison’s Flat is now little more than a memory—a deserted village. A tourist highway has replaced the old coach-road, along which passed thousands in the “good old days” when gold was plentiful. A few scattered sluicing claims still carry on, but the golden romance of the field has gone for ever.
One of the landmarks of the old settlement was the coach-stop house, the Shamrock Hotel, established in 1867 by J. Hayes. The premises and license were acquired in 1868 by Mr. Philip McEnroe, a punt owner at the Buller, who occupied them for about thirty-five years. It was taken over by Mrs. McCann about 1904. She conducted it until 1939, although the license lapsed in 1938. McEnroe also owned freight wagons plying between Westport and Charleston, one of his drivers being Alf Hunt, a well-known local cricketer.
From left—J. Buckley, J. McCullough, P. Galvin, T. McCann, J. Douglas, W. Wilson.
The buildings are McPaddon’s cowsheds.
In 1867 a track was formed from Charleston to the new field of Addison’s Flat, but a deputation of Charlestonians later waited upon Mr. Kynnersley and the Provincial Engineer requesting that they “would immediately commence the construction of a good packing-track to Waite’s Pakihi, some eight or ten miles, in order that the inhabitants (of Charleston) might partake of the benefit of supplying these diggings as well as Westport.” The Provincial Engineer later reported that “the deputation was assured by Mr. Kynnersley and myself that the making of this road was totally out of the question, and that it was not needed in any way.” Yet, seven years later there was a good coach-road constructed from Westport to Charleston, via Waite’s Pakihi, as Addison’s Flat was first called.
CRONINVILLE.
This field was discovered by Cornelius Cronin and Patrick Donovan in April, 1878. It was a comparatively small field, and was soon worked out. It lay about five miles from Charleston, and about a mile from the main road. A rush occurred, principally from Westport and Charleston, and from the latter at least one hotelkeeper, James Fitzgerald, of the Templemore Hotel, established a public-house at the new field, naming it the Croninville Arms. A public-house was then considered an essential in a new township, and the first of these at Croninville was opened by Mr. O’Donnell.
The first store was started by Mr. Parker, of Nelson, who, with Mr. Hillyar, of Charleston, financed the first large sluicing claim, or so it is said. Little can be told of Croninville, it was not sufficiently long-lived to make more than local history. The Warden’s report of 1884 stated that 20 sluicing claims were working.
The census of 1901 showed a population of 12. The Warden’s report of 1906 stated that “an Auckland Company has two claims at Croninville, managed by Thomas Radford, and employing eight men.” To-day the field is deserted but for a family of original settlers, the Shines of Shine Hill, who still occupy their land.