Edward William Mills JP of Palmerston Nth
Born 29 January 1932
Order of children is William Sue John Heather Jo (adopted)
Notes from the internet 12 october 2001 search for EW Mills
E. W. Mills, Lion Foundry, Wellington, NZ
Edward William Mills was an ironmonger and general merchant in Wellington.
Three of his foundry's lokeys were used on bush trams, and one remains
today stored at Shantytown, Greymouth.
E.W. Mills, Wellington
It has been reported that E.W. Mills of Lion Foundry, Wellington, built,
in 1875 a vertical boilered 0-4-0 for Booth & Co. sawmillers of
Clareville near Carterton. This was for a wooden railed tramway. From a
contemporary catalogue put out by Mills, this loco probably had a
vertical boiler with vertical cylinders driving a crankshaft thence by
gearing to the rod-coupled wheels. A drawing of the catalogued lokey is
shown here.
Mills went on to build two other locos that were used on bush tramways,
both 0-4-0 tank locomotives, but these were not geared engines.
marriages http://www.angelfire.com/az/nzgenweb/marriage.html
1854 EW MILLS - LFPE WRIGHT. 1854
MILLS Death - At Auckland, of Mr. E. W. MILLS, Wellington merchant.
source: SMH 13 Mar 1900
nz gen resource
http://www.angelfire.com/az/nzgenweb/index.html
http://www.angelfire.com/az/nzgenweb/teacherscd.html
Palmerston North
The first Palmerston North school.
Bell was donated by E.W. MILLS of Wellington
1st teacher Mr R.N. KEELING 2nd teacher Mr WAITE 1875
3rd teacher Mr LOCKE from Wanganui
1890 Mr F.E. WATSON.
Palmerston North; College St School
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~dchamber/fire1882jan25.htm
Fire at Hunter Street, Wellington 25 Jan 1882
New Zealand Mail Saturday 28 January 1882 page 15
Within a few minutes of seven o'clock on Jan 25th, Big Ben rang
out an alarm, and the "dreadfull bell" was speedily echoed by
the alarm from each fire station throughout the metropolis.
Almost as soon as the first peal was tolled excited persons
hastened towards Hunter Street from adjoining thoroughfares, a
tiny cloud of white smoke being observed ominously ascending from
that locality.
Within a very few seconds a large crowd had assembled around the
pile of buildings which were some time since erected and
tenanted by Mr E. W. MILLS, from the upper portions of which by
this time flames were seen issuing.
The Brandon Street contingent of the Municipal Fire Brigade were
upon the spot in a remarkably short space of time, the
representatives being Branchman WOOLCOCK and Fireman DODSWORTH.
Before their arrival, however, a Mr McGREGOR had effected an
entrance to the first storey of the building by means of a
ladder, and assisted in subduing the flames.
The discovery of the fire appears to have been made
simultaneously by at least half a dozen persons, each of whom
vied in his endeavours to prevent the fire from obtaining a hold.
Mr M. O'BRIEN, the messenger of the Mutual Provident Association
observed what he describes as "whiffs of smoke" curling from
under the eaves of the building and he apprised Mr Thomas GLEW,
lessee of the Central Hotel; and at this juncture, singular to
say, Mr E. W. MILLS the former proprietor of the place, and Mr
HAYES brass founder of Lambton Quay, who were journeying home
in a tramcar, observing indications of a conflagration, jumped
from the car and hastened to the spot.
Mr HAYES directed by Mr MILLS and assisted by Mr GLEW, kicked in
the little wicket gate in the gateway of the building and piloted
by Mr MILLS, who, of course, knew the "run of the place", got
within one or two minutes, the fire hose stationed on the
premises to play, and undoubtedly to this fact is attributable
the salvation of not only the building in which the fire
originated, but also the entire block bounded on the north by
Messrs Joseph NATHAN & Co.s store, the contents of which
irrespective altogether of the building, may be estimated at
40,000 pounds; the Post Office Hotel, the Pier Hotel, the Bank of
Australasia, and the magnificent brick pile situated at the
corner of Custom House Quay and Hunter Street, in the occupation
of the Mutual Provident Association, Messrs BANNATYNE's free and
bonded store, and others, all full of valuable properties.
Providentially the damage occasioned is very small, and that this
is so is in no small degree attributable to the exertions of
those first on the scene.
The fire is supposed to have originated in the corner of the
office of the store and close to the gas meter. This is the
opinion of Mr J. H. KEEPE, who says that his storeman, Mr T.
JENNINGS, locked up the premises at about 10 minutes to 6,
leaving everything then apparently all right, that no fire had
been lighted in the building for some time past, nor the gas
turned on. The gasman, he says, was there during the day to
examine the meter, which is kept in a cupboard built against
the front wall of the building.
The fire broke out in the skirting boards, and thence seems to
have been drawn upwards through a pilaster, which acted
admirably as a funnel or flue, and communicated with the wall
of the storey above.
The firemen worked with a will and the Salvage Corps, under
Captain PALMER, was promptly on the scene, and in a very few
moments, assisted by the police under Sergeants ANDERSON and
PRICE, 170 bales of wool and skins were rolled into the street.
The energy displayed by both corps is commendable. The damage
occasioned, whether as regarded the building or the stock, is
slight, and may be estimated at under 150 pounds.
The wool taken taken from the building has been only slightly
damaged by water and will require to be repacked. The building is
insured in the Colonial Insurance Company for 2,000 pounds, the
New Zealand for 500 pounds, the North British for 1,000 pounds,
the National 500 pounds, and the Royal for 1,000 pounds.
The stock some little time since in the building was insured in
the Colonial for 2,000 pounds, in the Transatlantic for 1,000
pounds, the Victorian for 500 pounds and in the United for
1,000 pounds, and some of these policies are still current, but
the stock in the place at the time of the fire was very small,
consisting mainly of hardware.
The wool and skins stored there belong to Messrs JOHNSTON & Co.,
and was insured on a floating policy in the National Company
for 4,500 pounds. It is said that the National Company had only
just accepted an insurance of 3,000 pounds on this portion of
the contents of the building, and had not had time to reinsure,
as usual, a portion of the risk. It will be thus understood that
very many interests were involved in the chances of the
conflagration spreading.
http://203.96.220.9/companies/gastrike.htm
GA Strike
1880 - 1883
In October 1880 Mr. E.W. Mills, a prominent Victorian businessman,
purchased the bankrupt estates of G.A. and W.F. Strike (Strike Bros.) and
he kept George Strike as manager of the new firm, G.A. Strike & Co.
G.A. Strike & Co. commenced trading at the Argyle Street factory and
remained there operating as G.A. Strike & Co. until 1883, even though
Charles Fairlie bought into the company in 1881.
In July 1882, G.A. Strike & Co. purchased the Nelson aerated water
company owed by Mr. G. Dixon and Mr. Blower. This was the same business
which originally belonged to Samuel Rawdon of Nelson and sold to J.
Harley by George's father, John. Mr. G.A. Strike remained the manager of
the Wellington branch, while Mr. Alfred Lewis shifted from Wellington to
manage the Nelson branch of G.A. Strike & Co. until it was sold in 1883
to James Hamilton. Lewis then moved on to Dunedin and the Wellington G.A.
Strike & Co. became Strike & Fairlie.
How long Mr. Mills continued to be associated with G.A. Strike & Co. is
not exactly known, but it is feasible that he had an interest in the firm
through until 1883, when the Strike & Fairlie business started. However,
it is more likely that Mr. Mills' association with the firm was shorter
than this, and the evidence for this is that the factory leases were
reissued on 22 June 1881. The lease for the factory site was reissued in
the names of George Arthur Strike and Charles Archibald Fairlie, and for
all material features.
G.A. Strike & Co. are known to have used two trade marks. The company
applied to make use of it's name as a registered trade mark on 24th
January 1882. They also made use of the Union Jack flag and they
advertised themselves as "The sole proprietors of Flag Brand Cordials
1878 - 1880
Strike Bros. (William Frederick and George Arthur) formed on 24th
September 1878 when a partnership between George Strike and George
Saunders (Strike Saunders & Co.) was dissolved.
George's brother, William arrived in Wellington from Greymouth, where he
was employed as a brewer. He and George formed Strike Brothers and were
the first users of the green Codd patent. Their factory was located on
Argyle Street. (Argyle Street was closed off in 1972.)
The Strike Bros. partnership ended in October 1880 with the bankruptcies
of George and William Strike. However when Mr. E.W. Mills purchased the
bankrupt Strike estate, George was retained as manager of the new firm,
G.A. Strike & Co. William Strike was left to re-establish business on his
own account and set up the Crown Brewery in Wordsworth Street (now Lower
Aro Street).
http://hammer.prohosting.com/~penz/encycl/lipedia.htm
??LUKE, Sir John Pearce
(1858-1931) Mayor of Wellington, NZ.
Co-founded S. Luke and Sons. Apprenticed E.W. Mills, and Petone Railway
Workshops.
http://www.vote.co.nz/PPE/Encyclopedia/ijkl.htm
LUKE Sir John Pearce
(1858-1931) Mayor of Wellington, NZ.
Co-founded S. Luke and Sons. Appr'd E.W. Mills, and Petone Railway
Workshops.
http://www.wcc.govt.nz/wellington/heritage/inventory/pg403.html
William Chatfield was known to be always impeccably dressed and a figure
demanding respect, sporting a wide white moustache and rimless glasses on
a black ribbon. His buildings were characterised by much heavy masonry
and enormous strength, achieved by the prodigal use of railway rails, 40
and 60 lb weight distributed alike in foundations, cornices and columns.
So strong were the foundations of the P Haymans Building that was gutted
by fire that in building the Dominion Life Building on the same site
extensive use was made of the old foundations. Demolition contractors
have had some headaches in reducing some of his building rubble. During
the building of the E.W Mills Ltd Building architect W.J McKeon writes
(in 'Architects I Have Known') that he distinctly remembered as a small
boy seeing the excavations to the old sea bed and the enormous masses of
railway iron and concrete in the foundations. Chatfield's work did not
have the skill or charm of Charlesworth's but he certainly built to
endure.
Snelson, George Mathew (~1837 - 1901) - male
b. ABT 1837 in Ashby de la Zouch
d. 31 OCT 1901 in Palmerston North, New Zealand
father: Snelson, James (1798 - 1866)
mother: Halford, Mary (1801 - <1851)
Mayor and founding father of Palmerston North.
He was an auctioneer and estate agent. His gravestone reads :-
" In grateful recognition of the many public services
rendered to this community by George Mathew Snelson, born
at
Ashby de la Zouch, England, died 31 October 1901. "
Georgina, James, Bonnie and I visited the town on Saturday
20th December 1991, and we were impressed by the layout of
the vast Square and the civic and shopping area of the
central business district. Somebody ( probably the
Government Surveyor John Tiffin Stewart of whom more later
), had a great deal of foresight and vision. A monument in
the Square reads
" The foundation stone was laid on 9 August 1902 to
mark the foundation and 25th Anniversary of the
incorporation of the Borough of Palmerston North -
the office of Mayor being held by George Mathew
Snelson etc ".
At the Public Library, I discovered evidence suggesting
that
his wife was aged 75 and the entry relating to her burial
suggests her age at 63. This is somewhat confusing, as
other
records indicate that he was aged 33 years when he arrived
in the colony in Wellington from England in 1861 - making
his date of birth circa 1828. This would also mean that he
was aged about 73 when he died. I have a copy of her death
certificate which indicates that she was 77 years old when
she died in 1919.
He spent his first nine colonial years ( 1861 to 1870 ) in
Wellington in the ironmongery establishment of E.W. Mills
&
Co and then, encouraged and assisted by Mr. Mills he
decided
to try his luck in the yet to be established township of
Palmerston - at the time, an almost unknown wilderness.
The
town site had previously been identified and planned by
the
aforementioned Surveyor John T. Stewart in 1866.
On 30 December 1870, Palmerston received in the person of
George Mathew Snelson its first substantial citizen. His
was
the first building to show itself above the flax and scrub
of the Square. According to most authorities and
historians
George was in more ways than one, the first citizen of
Palmerston, being a man of sterling integrity, unbounded
energy and absolute faith in the town's future. He became
a
leader of every movement for progress and the benefit of
the
citizens. George Snelson and his wife Louisa Matilda
showed
the greatest courage in risking their all in this
precarious
venture, but having made the decision, they stuck
unswervingly to their selected course and cast all their
efforts into helping their fellow pioneers through early
difficulties, hardships and development. In turn, they
elected him as their first mayor and to every other civil
dignity the township had to offer over a period of 30
years.
In February 1901, he decided to contest for the position
of
Mayor for a fourth time and was installed as Mayor on 8
May
1901. He was Mayor in 1877-79, 1883-84, 1889-92 and
finally
in 1901.
He arrived to set up business on The Square in December
1870
and was the first to settle there. When he made the
journey
from Foxton to Palmerston he came by canoe and bush trail.
George has been described as the Father of Palmerston
North
and was the leading figure in the affairs of the bush
community. He was Mayor for four separate terms, a real
estate agent, postmaster, auctioneer, lay preacher in the
Anglican Church, Chief Magistrate of the Borough, general
storekeeper, warden and then later Chairman of the
Manawatu
Highways Board ( the first local body in the Manawatu )
and
Palmerston Schools Committee as well as the first captain
of
the Rifle Volunteers.
He was appointed Bishop's churchwarden, conducted services
and carried out the Minister's functions for the three
years
that the town was without a Vicar. At the Bishop's request
to name the first church, Mr. Snelson called it after All
Saints in the parish of Ashby de la Zouch in
Leicestershire.
Mr E.W. Mills of Wellington donated the bell and Mr.
Snelson
sent home for the books and altar cloth. He was appointed
the first chairman of the elected Palmerston North
Hospital
District in 1894. He was the first secretary of the
Manawatu
& West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association. He
came
to Palmerston as a poor man and he died a poor man - yet
the
early success of Palmerston was in many ways due to his
efforts.
"Never Ending, Still Beginning" is the title of a
centennial history of All Saints Church by R.P. Wigglesworth,
indexed by Mike Foster. The index contains the entry " SNELSON
Geo Churchwarden 1875/85, d.1901 aged 64 p74". I am indebted to
Tom Miller in Ontario, Canada for this gem.
Soon after he arrived, he had an iron store built on a
section he purchased on the western side of the Square
adjoining what is now in 1991 the site occupied by the DIC
Ltd, using materials he had brought up from Wellington -
by
ship to Foxton and the sledge to Palmerston. The store was
constructed of galvanised iron nailed to a wooden frame.
This store became the focal point of the small bush
settlement and by the end of 1871 had been replaced by a
more substantial wooden construction - a replica of this
building has been erected next to the Museum opposite All
Saints Church - proudly bearing the name in very large
letters " G. W. SNELSON ".
Soon, others began to arrive, and as there were only four
rooms in the hotel built after George's arrival, the
overflow was hospitably entertained in the back of his
store. ( Later, Snelson's store was purchased by Mr. John
Waldegrave who re-erected it on the corner of the Square
and
Main Street as the Royal Hotel. That site eventually
became
occupied by the Commercial Hotel ).
One journalist wrote that " the principal store in
Palmerston is kept by a Wellington man, Mr. Snelson, who
appears to be doing a thriving trade. He is perhaps the
most
popular man in the place and deservedly so as he is
indefatigable in his efforts to promote its advancement. "
When Snelson decided to stake his future in Palmerston,
the
only evidences of civilization in the Papaioea clearing
were
Stanley's "pub", Menzies' whare ( a Maori hut or home ) in
Rangitikei Street, the surveyor's two slab huts and rows
of
survey pegs largely hidden by the prevailing fern and
scrub.
Snelson's only assurances of obtaining a living in the
future were his farsighted sagacity and the Government's
nebulous promise of some kind of communication with the
outside world that would encourage settlers and enable the
export of the only commodity the district had to offer,
timber.
During 1876, the new Town Board performed well considering
its limited powers and jurisdiction, but the people under
George Snelson's active leadership petitioned for the
proclamation of the township as a borough. Snelson
explained
to the townspeople how this could benefit the local
population. Money raised by the borough could carry a
subsidy of two pounds for each one pound, rates could be
levied, a jail could be built, itinerant pedlars selling
rubbish controlled, the Square cleaned up and a real
township established. To the universal satisfaction of its
inhabitants, their town was proclaimed a borough on 12
July
1877 and Mr. G. M. Snelson was proclaimed by the Governor
as
its first Mayor after being elected by the people
unopposed.
The population had 247 entitled voters when they voted
George into office for the first time.
Within a short time after his last election as Mayor in
1901, he was reported as being ill and died in office as
Mayor in his fourth stint in that position on 31 October,
a
poor man but leaving the town of his adoption greatly
enriched as a result of his unselfish sacrifices in time
and
work. A memorial service was held on 4 November 1901 at
the
congregational church perhaps organised by his wife who
also
commenced the Snelson Memorial Fund. We saw the Memorial
Plate in the All Saints Church which he helped to found
which was unveiled on 30 October 1922. It reads
" To the Glory of God and to Perpetuity
the Memory of George Mathew Snelson
Lay Reader and Church Warden
A Consistent Benefactor of this Church and Parish
He was the First mayor of Palmerston North and Promoted
its Welfare by All Means in his Power
1901
Laura Matilda Snelson his Wife and Helpmeet
who Died in 1919. "
His name appearts in a book about The Fitzherbert Bridges
1877-1987, available from Rosina Palmer, Mouse Cottage, Mt
Stewart, R.D.9, Palmerston North 5321.
Residence - [date: ABT 1885] [place: Fitzherbert St., Palmerston N.]
Christening - [place: Ashby de la Zouch]
Burial - [date: NOV 1901] [place: Terrace End Cty, Palmerston N.]
Immigration - [date: 1861] [place: Wellington, New Zealand]
Probate - [date: 23 AUG 1907]
Probate - [date: 23 AUG 1907]
at the Lands & Deeds Office||||
spouse: Buck, Louisa Matilda (1844 - 1919)
- m. 06 JUL 1865 in St. Pauls, Wellington, NZ
----------child: Snelson, Frances Mary Halford (1866 - 1867)
----------child: Snelson, George James Halford (1868 - 1871)
