Charles (Heywood)
Was born at "Knockmaroon" Glenbrook on 3rd September 1869, the fourth child and second son of John Thomas and Charlotte Elisabeth. Heywood's schooling was probably mainly at home and only briefly at Brookside (later renamed Glenbrook) School which opened in 1876, when he was nine years old. He left school of his own accord from standard iv or v after what he described as a feud with his teacher, Mrs James Mellsop (nee Wily) who was also his aunt-in-law. It is understood that a little later, after flatly refusing to go back to school, he was articled
to a surveyor, but the only training he received appears to have been as a chainman. This probably led him to the Gisborne district where much surveying was being undertaken in the measuring of areas of felled bush to facilitate the settlement of contractors' accounts. Bush felling apparently appealed to him as a lucrative occupation and he set up as a contractor undertaking some extensive contracts where quite large gangs were employed. He became well known to be one of the top axe man of his day. While engaged in this work he suffered a serious accident when the limb of a falling tree struck him putting him out of action for some months and leaving him with a permanently stiff neck.
About this time Heywood met and courted Mary Louise Phillips who was a 'pupil' teacher at the Kohekohe school in the Waiuku district.
She apparently fended off his proposal of marriage and whether chargin or for the sake of his health after his accident, or perhaps some of each, he took off for South Africa where he spent about a year. On his return to the Waiuku district he must have engaged in various occupations including building, fencing, draining and road making — you name it, he knew how to go about it. He was essentially a practical person who could do a good workmanlike job of building a cottage or a woolshed, make a chest of drawers with finely inlaid mottled kauri drawer fronts (still
in use in the home of grandson Mervyn Waters) build a bridge, plough a paddock, yoke and drive bullock team or six horse team in blocks (a system of chains and pulleys used to evenly spread the load). He had a "good eye" which no doubt accounted in some measure for his chopping
ability, was a good shot with gun or rifle (like his father before him) and was a top table tennis and billiards player.
Back in the Waiuku district, Heywood again paid court to Mary Phillips and this time was accepted on condition that he took a permanent position with suitable accommodation. Rather than lose her he joined the Police Force in Wellington on 28 July 1898 (No 853) and was duly posted to Masterton.
Heywood and Mary were married in the chapel at Bishopscourt in Parnell, by Bishop Neligan, this being a privilege extended to the
sons of officers who had served their country in the Maori Land Wars. The happy couple settled into their police house in Masterton
and Heywood spent most of his off duty hours building furniture for their home and excellent furniture it was. It was in Masterton that their
two children, Nora and Rex were born.
After a few years in Masterton, longing for more independence, he applied for a sole charge station. He was was offered and accepted a position in Port Awanui, an isolated spot on the East Coast, seaward of Ruatoria. It was quite a busy little port but today the settlement has completely disappeared and you will be lucky to find it even marked on the map. The only access was by the small coastal steamships. such as the 'Haupira', the S.S. 'Mako' (505 tons), 'Pukeko' some of the ships plying between Napier to Auckland. The ships could anchor off the beautiful beach only in calm weather. Passengers, mail and stores for the whole district were put ashore in surf boats, which in turn were met by bullock teams and dragged into shallow water. Wool taken from the neighbouring sheep stations was back loaded. This station combined control of Courthouse and the Post Office with that of the Police Station and so was a focal point in the district. A good house with provision for all functions was provided. It was during Heywood's term there that the notorious prison escaper, Powelka, was believed to be at large in the district and he
had to organize and control extension search parties.
These activities and the isolation from society worried Mary, so a transfer to Whangarei in 1908 was made, a much larger station and town. On her mothers death she left Mary a legacy of several thousand pounds, so they decided that Heywood would resign from the Police Force and invest her legacy in a farm. They found a small property at Takanini near Papakura, on what became the corner of Lupton & Pope Roads. While a home and sheds were built the family lived in what was always referred to as "Rat Cottage". Milking about 30 cows, supplying whole milk to a
dairy factory in Weymouth Road. Soon another 20 acres almost adjoining was purchased. Heywood also ran poultry and supplied dressed chickens, about one hundred per week to the Grand Hotel in Auckland.
The area in which this property was situated was old peat swamp and at times the parts of it not in pasture were being dug over for kauri gum, which was in great demand for the manufacture of resins, by the Dalmatian Yugosiav) immigrants.
Also during this period Heywood's elder brother Harold was active setting syndicates to purchase and develop land. Heywood invested in "Lockwood" in Palmerston North and in the lease of Motutapu Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, both of which were reasonably successful. This encouraged Heywood to expand and he entered into partnership with teh
Auckland merchant firm A. S. Paterson & Co. in the purchase of 640 acres of mostly unbroken land of 605 peat swamp and 35 nice
undulating country at Tauhei, near Morrinsville, moving there November 1914 just after World War I had been declared. property, was all duly drained, ploughed, fenced, the help of six or eight Dalmatians. Put into grass entailed the operation of six horse teams, spares, drawing huge
swamp ploughs turning a inch wide and ten inch deep furrow to turn in the scrubby manuka and fern, establishing pastures as good as else in the Waikato. When the ground dried out great care had be taken not to staff peat fires, which would smoulder for months. On one occasion
a whole team of six horses was engulfed in one of these fires, two had to be destroyed and two were suitable only for breeding. In four years, just as the war was ending, the property was practically all, in grass and subdivided into about five dairy farms in 1918.
The next move was back to Clevedon where a small sheep farm of about 260 acres was purchased and the family moved in early 1919. The property still had approximately 60 acres of standing bush containing kauri, rimu, large tanekaha, including birch, which was duly lagged out and milled, some of the timber being sold to pay expenses and some used to build a good woolshed and yards. The remaining bush was felled, and the land grassed, by Heywood and Rex, who had now left school. In 1923 Rex left home to start farming on his own account at Matatoki. Within a couple of years the Clevedon property was sold, and a few acres, enough for two cows and some fruit trees was purchased so Heywood and Mary could settle to the quiet life. However Heywood could not rest and commenced to tour the district with agencies for fertilizers, farm machinery and equipment. He succeeded in building up quite a useful little business, but then his health deteriorated and he had to go into hospital for surgery. As the little business could not be left unattended, with orders to process, Rex was called to look after it. Heywood never fully recovered from the surgery and he died in a private hospital in Papakura after spending several months invalidity with Rex and Ruth, along with the help of a nurse.
Charles Heywood's dates: Born 1867, Died 1938
to a surveyor, but the only training he received appears to have been as a chainman. This probably led him to the Gisborne district where much surveying was being undertaken in the measuring of areas of felled bush to facilitate the settlement of contractors' accounts. Bush felling apparently appealed to him as a lucrative occupation and he set up as a contractor undertaking some extensive contracts where quite large gangs were employed. He became well known to be one of the top axe man of his day. While engaged in this work he suffered a serious accident when the limb of a falling tree struck him putting him out of action for some months and leaving him with a permanently stiff neck.
About this time Heywood met and courted Mary Louise Phillips who was a 'pupil' teacher at the Kohekohe school in the Waiuku district.
She apparently fended off his proposal of marriage and whether chargin or for the sake of his health after his accident, or perhaps some of each, he took off for South Africa where he spent about a year. On his return to the Waiuku district he must have engaged in various occupations including building, fencing, draining and road making — you name it, he knew how to go about it. He was essentially a practical person who could do a good workmanlike job of building a cottage or a woolshed, make a chest of drawers with finely inlaid mottled kauri drawer fronts (still
in use in the home of grandson Mervyn Waters) build a bridge, plough a paddock, yoke and drive bullock team or six horse team in blocks (a system of chains and pulleys used to evenly spread the load). He had a "good eye" which no doubt accounted in some measure for his chopping
ability, was a good shot with gun or rifle (like his father before him) and was a top table tennis and billiards player.
Back in the Waiuku district, Heywood again paid court to Mary Phillips and this time was accepted on condition that he took a permanent position with suitable accommodation. Rather than lose her he joined the Police Force in Wellington on 28 July 1898 (No 853) and was duly posted to Masterton.
Heywood and Mary were married in the chapel at Bishopscourt in Parnell, by Bishop Neligan, this being a privilege extended to the
sons of officers who had served their country in the Maori Land Wars. The happy couple settled into their police house in Masterton
and Heywood spent most of his off duty hours building furniture for their home and excellent furniture it was. It was in Masterton that their
two children, Nora and Rex were born.
After a few years in Masterton, longing for more independence, he applied for a sole charge station. He was was offered and accepted a position in Port Awanui, an isolated spot on the East Coast, seaward of Ruatoria. It was quite a busy little port but today the settlement has completely disappeared and you will be lucky to find it even marked on the map. The only access was by the small coastal steamships. such as the 'Haupira', the S.S. 'Mako' (505 tons), 'Pukeko' some of the ships plying between Napier to Auckland. The ships could anchor off the beautiful beach only in calm weather. Passengers, mail and stores for the whole district were put ashore in surf boats, which in turn were met by bullock teams and dragged into shallow water. Wool taken from the neighbouring sheep stations was back loaded. This station combined control of Courthouse and the Post Office with that of the Police Station and so was a focal point in the district. A good house with provision for all functions was provided. It was during Heywood's term there that the notorious prison escaper, Powelka, was believed to be at large in the district and he
had to organize and control extension search parties.
These activities and the isolation from society worried Mary, so a transfer to Whangarei in 1908 was made, a much larger station and town. On her mothers death she left Mary a legacy of several thousand pounds, so they decided that Heywood would resign from the Police Force and invest her legacy in a farm. They found a small property at Takanini near Papakura, on what became the corner of Lupton & Pope Roads. While a home and sheds were built the family lived in what was always referred to as "Rat Cottage". Milking about 30 cows, supplying whole milk to a
dairy factory in Weymouth Road. Soon another 20 acres almost adjoining was purchased. Heywood also ran poultry and supplied dressed chickens, about one hundred per week to the Grand Hotel in Auckland.
The area in which this property was situated was old peat swamp and at times the parts of it not in pasture were being dug over for kauri gum, which was in great demand for the manufacture of resins, by the Dalmatian Yugosiav) immigrants.
Also during this period Heywood's elder brother Harold was active setting syndicates to purchase and develop land. Heywood invested in "Lockwood" in Palmerston North and in the lease of Motutapu Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, both of which were reasonably successful. This encouraged Heywood to expand and he entered into partnership with teh
Auckland merchant firm A. S. Paterson & Co. in the purchase of 640 acres of mostly unbroken land of 605 peat swamp and 35 nice
undulating country at Tauhei, near Morrinsville, moving there November 1914 just after World War I had been declared. property, was all duly drained, ploughed, fenced, the help of six or eight Dalmatians. Put into grass entailed the operation of six horse teams, spares, drawing huge
swamp ploughs turning a inch wide and ten inch deep furrow to turn in the scrubby manuka and fern, establishing pastures as good as else in the Waikato. When the ground dried out great care had be taken not to staff peat fires, which would smoulder for months. On one occasion
a whole team of six horses was engulfed in one of these fires, two had to be destroyed and two were suitable only for breeding. In four years, just as the war was ending, the property was practically all, in grass and subdivided into about five dairy farms in 1918.
The next move was back to Clevedon where a small sheep farm of about 260 acres was purchased and the family moved in early 1919. The property still had approximately 60 acres of standing bush containing kauri, rimu, large tanekaha, including birch, which was duly lagged out and milled, some of the timber being sold to pay expenses and some used to build a good woolshed and yards. The remaining bush was felled, and the land grassed, by Heywood and Rex, who had now left school. In 1923 Rex left home to start farming on his own account at Matatoki. Within a couple of years the Clevedon property was sold, and a few acres, enough for two cows and some fruit trees was purchased so Heywood and Mary could settle to the quiet life. However Heywood could not rest and commenced to tour the district with agencies for fertilizers, farm machinery and equipment. He succeeded in building up quite a useful little business, but then his health deteriorated and he had to go into hospital for surgery. As the little business could not be left unattended, with orders to process, Rex was called to look after it. Heywood never fully recovered from the surgery and he died in a private hospital in Papakura after spending several months invalidity with Rex and Ruth, along with the help of a nurse.
Charles Heywood's dates: Born 1867, Died 1938