Henry and Jane

On the 31st of May 1869, Henry (36) married Jane James a 43 year old widow. The wedding took place at his home in Polhill Gully.

Jane (nee Coombs) and her first husband, Charles James had arrived in Lyttleton on 5 August 1860 on the ship William Miles with their three children: Sarah Jane (9), Elizabeth (5), and Caroline Louisa (3). Two more children were born in New Zealand: Charles Robert on 8 August 1861 in Christchurch, and Thomas Abraham on 4 November 1864. It appears they lived in the Canterbury area and that Charles was a farm labourer.

The family moved to Wellington in 1867 / 1868 and lived in one of the cottages in Polhill Gully. In August 1868, the highly contagious disease diphtheria struck the family. Symptoms include a sore throat, fever and swollen neck glands. In serious cases, there may be difficulty breathing or swallowing, double vision, slurred speech, paleness, cold skin, rapid heartbeat, sweating, heart failure, paralysis or death. With no vaccinations or effective treatments for diphtheria, young children and old people were particularly at risk as were those living in crowded or unsanitary conditions with poor diets. Three of the five James children died over a three month period along with their father. Charles' death notice, printed in the Wellington Independent on Saturday November 14, 1868, read: "JAMES. - On November 9, at Polhill's Gully, Charles James, aged 43 years. Canterbury papers please copy." It is quite likely that Jane herself caught diphtheria while nursing her children and husband. Although she recovered, the disease may have weakened her heart.

Jane Mitchell's grave

 

In November 1868, Jane found herself without a husband and with only two of her five children: Sarah (17) and Charles junior (7). There were no welfare benefits in those days so Jane and Sarah would have looked around for domestic work (or husbands!). On 8 December 1868 Sarah married James Futter, aged 31, at St Peter's Church, Willis Street. James owned the White Horse Hotel in Ngauranga. The following May, Jane married Henry Mitchell.

Tragic family deaths were to continue to haunt Jane. In 1882 her daughter Sarah died aged 31 leaving four dependent children. On 8 January 1889, Jane's only remaining child, Charles, now a 27 year old painter, married Emily Winnifred Lloyd (20) in the Nelson Cathedral. Nine months later on 11 October, the couple's first child, also called Charles Robert, was born in Mitchelltown. The baby lived for thirteen days and then died of Syncope on 24 October. He was buried the same day in the Church of England part of Bolton Street Cemetery.

 

Jane's headstone

 

Five days later on 29 October, Jane (63) died of "heart disease" from which, it is recorded, she had suffered for "some years". She was buried with her infant grandson Charles Robert James. Also in the same grave was another baby Edgar Mitchell who had died the year before. Edgar had been born to Martha Mitchell daughter of Sarah and the late Joseph Mitchell. The grave was one of those disinterred for the Wellington motorway in the 1970s. The headstone (referring to Jane and her grandson) has been reinstated in the Bolton Street Memorial Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Henry, William and James Mitchell

[Photo kindly provided by Mavis Murray
via Janice Middlemass]

 

 

Photo of Jane Mitchell’s grave:  Plot 620 Bolton Street Cemetery, Reference No: 35 mm - 25494 - 13A; Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

 

Sheep Farming

In the 1850s and 1860s the average export price of wool rose from fourteen shillings five pence to fifteen shillings per pound. As the Polhill Gully site was cleared of firewood, the idea of using the land for sheep farming seemed more and more attractive.

Sheep Inspectors' Reports in the NZ Government Gazette (Province of Wellington) record the number of sheep on each farm in each region. All sheep were inspected "To Prevent the Extension of the Infectious Disease called the Scab, as well as the Disease called the Influenza or Catarrh, in Sheep or Lambs" (1849 Ordinance). The number of sheep recorded on the Mitchell farm in Polhill Gully from 1863 to 1875 ranged from 161 to 523. Each year the sheep in Polhill Gully were given a clean bill of health.

The NZ Government Gazette (Province of Wellington) of 20 October 1868 reports that J. and H. Mitchell took 197 sheep to the slaughter house in August.

From 1867 wool prices began to fall averaging only thirteen shillings three pence through the 1870s. By 1881, the price had dropped to ten shillings and four pence per pound declining slowly over the next 20 years to reach an all-time low of four shillings and seventy-five pence in 1902. The decrease in prices must have caused Henry to rethink sheep farming. There is no mention of his name or that of Polhill Gully on Sheep Inspector Reports after 1875.

 

 

Gold Mining

In the 1850s and 1860s there was a growing interest in gold and quartz mining in the Terawhiti and Makara areas west of Wellington. Every so often the NZ Government Gazette (Province of Wellington) would announce a ₤1,000 reward for the discovery of a 'gold field' in the Province of Wellington. A 'gold field' was defined as 'capable of affording employment to a body of not less than 600 diggers at a remunerative rate of wages'.

Mining companies sprang up with interesting names like: The Hardworking Company, The Never Despair, Try Again, and The Dauntless. By 1869, interest had spread to the Kaiwarra Stream and surrounding farm land. Part of this was the Mitchell land owned jointly by Henry and Sarah following the death of her husband, Joseph, the year before.

W. H. Bennett recalled being taken by his father one Saturday afternoon to see the 'Karori Gold Rush':

"The whole of the valley was studded with tents and huts and alluvial workings. The scene on the flat now occupied by the two reservoirs as I saw it was a lively one. On the return journey that afternoon my father and I crossed the range by Mitchell's track which passed through his sheep run. Near the top of the hill I was told to fill my handkerchief from a seam of quartz at the side of the track. I carried it home and put it through a pestle and mortar and my father washed out a good sample of gold which I proudly carried about with me in a small phial."

[Ref: Brodie, James (1986) Terawhiti and the Goldfields, Karori Historical Society, pg 106]

The Baker's Hill Mining Company was formed to mine in the Upper Kaiwarra area. In July 1869, the Company obtained a 21 year lease from Henry and Sarah for 20 acres (about 12 square chains) of land that extended eastwards from the Kaiwarra Stream up to the Northland-Highbury ridge.

"The area included what is now part of the lower waterworks reservoir and the present dam site. In return for a 2/6d per ounce of 'all gold and blended gold and silver metal sold under the name of gold' and one fiftieth part of the profits from all other metals the company was able to 'dig, sink, drive and make pits, shafts, drifts, headways, levels, soughs and sluices and to build and make furnaces, stamping mills, smelting houses, ore and store houses, hovels and stables'."

[Same Ref]

In the first week of August 1869 Henry placed an advertisement in The Wellington Independent:

"All persons trespassing on the ground of H. Mitchell, Polhill's Gully, will be prosecuted and all dogs trespassing on the above grounds will be destroyed." The newspaper commented "We think this is only right as the gully has been amply prospected and further efforts would only be damaging to what little pasture there is without serving any good purpose."

[Ref: The Wellington Independent, 7 August 1869, pg 4f]

On 18 April 1870, the Evening Post reported that "a very rich reef" had been discovered on the Mitchells' land. Another positive report followed a few months later. However by early 1872, the Baker's Hill Mining Company's cash balance was ₤5-19-4 and it owed ₤54-19-5. Nothing is on record about the company after this time. Its machinery site, the works on the stream and the lower tunnel are all now submerged about 16m below the waters of the lower Karori Reservoir.

Another equally unsuccessful company, Morning Star, took up a lease of 10 acres upstream from the Baker's Hill Mining Company. Henry Mitchell was one of the directors. An ingenious plan was put into effect to build a dam 36m across to pond the Kaiwarra Stream. The water was then channelled downhill in an 80m long flume to a water wheel and four-stamper battery complete with a set of riffle-boxes to recover the gold.  The flume eventually discharged back into the stream-bed downhill.

The Morning Star Company’s mine in the Waiariki failed in March 1872.  Despite a “good crushing” at its Kaiwarra Stream mine in April, “interest died away and raising money to continue to work the mine proved difficult.  By 30 April only 1057 of the 3000 new shares had been taken up, ₤1600 had been spent and the cash in hand was ₤2-18-2.  Between 19 July and 14 August four attempts to have the shareholders meet to discuss the problem all failed for lack of a quorum.  A fifth attempt on 20 August 1872 only succeeded after vigorous canvassing for proxies produced a notional quorum… those at the meeting were called on to support a resolution to borrow money from the shareholders at 10 per cent ‘in order to thoroughly prospect the mine’.  Those lending were to have preferential repayment if payable gold was not found, ‘from the proceeds of the sale of machinery’. 

Although Henry Mitchell and Captain Williams, the two retiring directors each put down ₤5 ‘to enable the work to proceed uninterruptedly’ the outlook was clearly not one for optimism.” [Ref: Brodie, pg 115]  Ever enterprising though, in August 1872, the company was working on 10 tons of stone brought all the way from the Never Despair mine at Terawhiti.  The Morning Star’s machinery site is now submerged under 5 metres of water in the Lower Karori Reservoir.

Miners from the Wellington Golden Crown mine
about 1872. Henry is on the right.

Henry and his brother William were amongst the 80 shareholders of the Wellington Golden Crown Mining Company formed in 1871 [Ref: NZ Government Gazette (Province of Wellington), 11 October 1871, pg 140].  Little gold was discovered and nothing was heard about this company after 1873.  The company’s tunnel can still be found about 5 metres above the Kaiwarra Stream about half way between the Karori Road tunnel and the north boundary of the waterworks reserve.

[Photo kindly provided by Mavis Murray
via Janice Middlemass.]

 

Karori Reservoir

Karori Reservoir

Photo: Overlooking the area around the Karori Reservoir, Wellington, Reference No: 1/2-020096;-F.  The house in the foreground was probably a Mitchell homestead.  The land around and behind this house had been part of the Mitchell farm.  Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any use of this image

 

Photo: Overlooking the area around the Karori Reservoir, Wellington. The house in the foreground was probably a Mitchell homestead. The land around and behind this house had been part of the Mitchell farm.  Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any use of this image, reference No: 1/2-020096;-F.

 

 

Wellingtonians obtained their water from wells, streams, and rain water caught on galvanised iron or shingled roofs and preserved in plain or zinc-coated iron tanks or in wooden barrows.

In 1871, the City Council commissioned a report on the quality of the water supply. The report revealed a high level of organic material in wells and tanks due to sewage from houses, stables etc. It noted

.."the misery and suffering entailed, especially on the children ... from the prevalence of intestinal worms". It concluded that "no water collected from within the crowded parts of the city either from wells or house tops is safe or proper for human consumption."

[Ref: 'Report on the Chemical Properties of the Water Available for the Supply of the City of Wellington' in the Reports and Proceedings of the City Council on a Water Supply to the City 1871, held in Wellington City Archives, pg 10]

The City Surveyer proposed a dam on the Upper Kaiwarra Stream from which water would be piped down to the city.

 In June 1871, the Government Gazette published an application to bring in a Bill to supply Wellington with water and for power to take 228 acres of land along the Upper Kaiwarra for the purpose.

[Ref: Brodie, James (1986) Terawhiti and the Goldfields, Karori Historical Society, pg 118]. The list of the thirteen owners of the land affected included Joseph and Henry Mitchell. [Note: Joseph's share of the joint ownership was at that time held by his widow, Sarah.]

The likely-to-be-affected gold mining companies protested loudly with the result that the new legislation allowed for a two year period before the dam was built. The City Council commenced buying land from the thirteen affected land owners. In 1872, Henry was offered ₤1,200 for his part of the required land but ever the shrewd business man, he thought it was worth more than that. The case went to court. Here is how it was written up in The Wellington Independent on Saturday 24 August 1872:

The case of Mitchell v. City Corporation commenced in the Supreme Court yesterday before Mr Crawford, as sheriff, presiding, and a special jury of twelve ratepayers. Mr Brandon appeared for the claimant, and Mr Travers for the Corporation. The facts of the case are that the Corporation offers some ₤1,200 to Mr Mitchell for that portion of his farm required for the waterworks, while he demands some ₤4,000, alleging that the property will at no distant day be worth more than that to him.

At the request of Mr Travers, after the Court opened, the jury were instructed to view the ground. They did so, and came back steaming after their walk over the ridge in a soaking rain. The case was then adjourned till half-past two.

On resuming, Mr Brandon explained the nature of the claimant's demands, and quoted several authorities to show that his client was entitled to considerably more compensation than the mere market value of the property, as it possessed peculiar advantages for carrying on the business the owner was engaged in; and although the Corporation might offer a reasonable price - as a market price - for the land they wished to take, yet by taking that particular portion they made what remained comparatively useless.

The claimant was then examined as to the details of the property, and how he justified his own appraisal of it. Several witnesses on behalf of the claimant were also examined. Mr Wright of Goathurst Farm, in the course of his evidence, said he considered that if the price paid to Campbell (₤500) for his land was taken as a basis on which to ascertain the relative value of Mitchell's, his land would be found to be worth about ₤6 an acre more. He also thought from the judicious manner in which Mitchell managed his farm it ought to yield an income of at least 30s per acre.

The remainder of the evidence referred chiefly to fencing, roads, and other mining matters. The Court sat till nearly six o'clock, Mr Brandon having concluded his case. The hearing will be resumed to-day at ten o'clock, when Mr Travers will lay before the jurors the arguments and evidence in favour of the Corporation's offer." The outcome was that the jury awarded Henry ₤150 more than was offered by the Corporation.

On 24 January 1873 the Wellington City Corporation took the Mitchells' land under the Wellington Waterworks Act 1871. One of the terms of the transaction was that "Henry and Sarah Ann Mitchell ... their servants, tenants, tradesmen, workmen, friends ... alone or in company with others ... [were allowed] ... full and free liberty of ingress, egress and regress way and passage as well on foot as on horseback as for carts or carriages loaded or unloaded into, through over and upon all. 

[Ref: Burch, Judith (1997) The Karori Reservoir Area A Brief History, The Karori Historical Society, Wellington, pp 20-21]

 

 

Building

In 1868, Henry bought Town Acre 17 on the corner of Aro and Epuni Streets for ₤150. In those days, reasonably priced housing was desperately needed. Many families could not afford to buy their own house and cheap rental accommodation was of a low quality. Overcrowding was rife (one family per room was not unusual).

In the 1870s, Henry began erecting cottages to be sold or leased as part of a "working man's village" on the Aro/Epuni Streets property which he subdivided into 13 sections, and on his own farm land in Polhill Gully. The cottages were of varying size ranging from three rooms and scullery, to ten rooms.

Another slice of the farm was sold to a Mr Tait, who founded Taitville, and by degrees, the remainder of the property was disposed of and the 'Gully' rapidly built on and populated. Streets were formed and the first small beginning of the era of local politics were inaugurated in a meeting of the leading men of the district, held in Mr Mitchell's old shearing shed. Mr Mitchell presided, and the meeting resolved that the community should be named Mitchelltown, and the main thoroughfare be henceforth known as Holloway Road and Highbury Road.

Then began the serious business of local government. A school was wanted, and after long and persistent agitation, granted. Mr Mitchell was closely identified with the school for many years, and was a member of the first school committee, the chairman being Mr J Collins. One of the first gifts to the school was the emblem of punctuality, to wit, a clock, presented by Mr Mitchell.

[Ref: Henry Mitchell's Obituary in The Dominion 21.2.1913]

 

61 Holloway Road

 

Number 61 Holloway Road was built for Henry Mitchell around the 1880s. The old house is still there today (see photo) with various additions including a gabled facade and bay window.

 

Holloway Road, Mitchelltown, c1890s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo of Holloway Road: ref F-104809-1/2, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ

 

 

 

Henry's Death

Henry sold his homestead on Mount Pleasant fronting the Upper Kaiwarra Road and came to live in town. His health began to fail soon after, and he retired from active work. In his last few years he stayed in the home of his nephew Frederick Mitchell (son of William) at 25 Abel Smith Street. Frederick had been an architect and was probably retired by then.

Henry's Will

Henry appointed William John Gandy as his Attorney on 10 February 1911 to manage and transact his affairs. In November the next year, he became seriously ill with cancer of the hip and died three months later, on 19 February 1913. Henry's Will was dated 15 November 1912 (3 months before his death) with a Codicil added two months later. The two witnesses were a painter, and a brickmaker's wife. William Gandy was one of the Executors.

On 27 February 1913, William Gandy signed a declaration that according to his belief, Henry's estate and effects were "under the value of ₤7,850". It was not till 1927 that the estate was finally wound up. By then, receipts of capital, income, rent, interest and other sundries came to ₤9,574. Twenty-nine family members were beneficiaries some receiving amounts up to ₤300 but most, along with the Primitive Methodist Church, received an equal share of the balance which amounted to ₤26 each. The only other beneficiary was a labourer employed by Henry who was to receive "tools, paint and material used in repairing my buildings at Mitchelltown, and all my wearing apparel".

Henry's grave

What were these amounts worth? What would ₤26 buy in 1926? The average value of a new house in New Zealand in 1925-1926 was ₤861 so a legacy of ₤300 was a substantial gift for the four grandnieces who each received this amount. The Inflation Calculator in the Reserve Bank of New Zealand website shows that, overall, ₤9,574 would buy the same amount of goods and services in the third quarter of 1927 as $811,905 would in the third quarter of 2008. This would be the value of the estate in today's terms. Similarly ₤300 would be worth $25,441 and ₤26 would be worth $2,205.

Leaving an estate of over $800,000 was a significant achievement for the youngest child in a family of assisted emigrants. During his lifetime Henry had been generous in his financial support of needy family members and of various community organisations.

An obituary in The Dominion newspaper on 21.2.1913 stated:

...The Yorkshire Society loses one of its oldest members by the death of Mr Mitchell. He took a warm interest in its affairs, and some time ago, contributed ₤50 to its funds. Deceased was also a great supporter of cricket, and made various donations to the fund of the Cricket Association and affiliated clubs. Since the death of the late Mr Edward Dixon who gave the clock now in the Basin Reserve pavilion, Mr Mitchell had paid the cost of keeping the timepiece in good order. He also showed practical sympathy with many other organisations in the city.