Stories of Interest
Message from John Coplestone about Coplestone Peak
Coplestone Peak is the Eastern most peak on Fanthoms, and the one which looses its snow cover first as seen from the Stratford Side.
The East side of the peak is a very good single rope pitch in winter, with the Western side an easy doodle to the top from the Fanthoms plateau in all seasons.
The peak has many different spellings on all maps - Ive got a collection of them - which mirror the same variation in spelling of my own surname. As far as I know, the peak name has never been gazetted.
The peak was named after my grandfathers brother - Gordon (Tups) Coplestone, who climbed all over the mountain in the early1920's when the family was farming near Stratford, Later, he purchased his own farm at Ohura, where he lived until retiring to New Plymouth.
Another interesting note - my grandmother Constance White (later Coplestone) was one of the first women to summit the mountain. I think she said she was 18 years old at the time. She went with a group of men one of which was her father, and I assume the others were family and close friends. She wore a long dress which she had to hold up the whole way, and her good shoes, which she wrecked on the trip. The men wore suits and ties. They went up the Stony River bed then up the Western side. This would have been in the early 1920's and before she married my Grandfather. Both families farmed at Pukengahu
Grandmother often recalled this story, as it was something which women just didn't do in those days, and she was obviously proud of her achievement.
Hope you find this interesting
Cheers,
John Coplestone
Puniwhakau and the Daffodil Patch
Cora Street nee Godkin - this is her story
This is the story of a former NPTC member who's childhood life began in the soldier settlement of Puniwhakau and after joining NPTC September '85, took trampers out to her former home on Mt. Humphries Road, in particular the 'daffodil patch'.
We start the story with Cora's grandfather John B Godkin and his wife Jane Strachan, who migrated to New Zealand in the 1880's. John Godkin started felling the bush on Auckland's Southern motorway, becoming very good at it. He had four sons and three daughters. Then, by invitation relocated to South Taranaki in the Ngaere area where he joined the local Stratford County Council. He became a JP. His children were schooled at Ngaere. Sons - Thomas, William (Bill), Jack and James after schooling were sold beautiful land by their father John, who gave them equal amounts of money in Trust to make a good start to life. [Makahu Districts Journal 1980 page 48] We now turn to Bill Godkin, Cora's father who owned land at Tututawa East of Douglas in 1911, which he farmed. He then later owned land on Mt Humphries Rd; Puniwhakau.
Puniwhakau
In the very early days of the pioneers, plans were made to build a village with 31 sections, a police station, hall site, cemetery and a reserve. A shop and post office combined - its site is where the Lawsonianas are now. No electricity, lighting was by candles or kerosene. In October 1903 a contract was let to Boon bros. for £348/-/- on Govt. land at the Puniwhakau village to build a school. It measured 24' x 23'6", school site 8 3/4 acres, playground 2 acres, 2 3/4 acres horse paddock, 1/4 acre garden, the rest in bush! Throughout its history weather and terrible road conditions quite often closed the school with slips and flooding. Parents at times being indifferent to schooling in the early days with farm and seasonal work 'seemed to take priority' as recorded by one teacher in the school register. Truancy forms were regularly filled in and sent to the school board! There were many excuses taken to have a school holiday - Empire Day, Dominion Day, Kings birthday, Prince of Wales birthday to mention a few. Then add in the various schools in the district with picnics, dog trials, A&P show, etc. schooling was fragmented. The children often going to school bare-back on a horse, sometimes several on one animal. [Makahu Districts Journal 1980]
Bill Godkin responded to a 'call to arms' to serve his country in WWI. Whilst overseas he met and married a Scottish lady named Ellen. Whilst overseas Bill was injured during the war, returning as a wounded soldier to Stratford Hospital where he recovered. After the war, returning soldiers were balloted land and in Bill's case land on Mt Humphries Road Puniwhakau. This was about 1919. Here Bill and Ellen lived for a while in two large tents, one for themselves and one for the two children until Bill built his Whare. [NZ Papers Past, Taranaki Herald] The home was simple, the wooden walls carved out of the bush and had a corrugated iron roof painted orange. A hard packed dirt floor was the norm in these 'shacks', as they were termed. It was located about 7 miles up the road from the combined general store and post office. The combined building was located on the junction of Puteore and Manga Roads. This corner turnoff became 'letterboxes' which were dug into the grey papa bank to take mail and grocery packages from Douglas, when the services to the settlers was abandoned. Cream was taken to Douglas by the same method when the creamery at Puniwhakau closed. Access to the properties was by truck in summer and horse and gig in winter. They always carried a shovel and an axe as road blockages were common! Bill Godkin helped the local council by servicing the Whanga and Mt Humphries Rd - this latter road was right up to the Mt. Humphries tunnel, giving them stock access into an adjoining valley.
Bill, Godkin along with the other men in the region felled bush over a wide area for grazing sheep, sometimes staying away for several days. Cora Godkin, who was born in 1921 lived with her brother in the Whare for about 9 years. Their father dug a large swimming hole at his house and made a wooden plug so that it could be drained. The property included a wide range of fruit trees and gooseberry bushes, there were several little fenced paddocks around his house with beautiful sweet peas. Days were very full for the children with lessons at the local primary school, then later on by correspondence. Nightly entertainment was with their parents playing the piano - not even a radio. Quoted from Mrs. Sue Tipler in the Makahu celebration journal. NPTC member Vivian Green's mother, Miss Pennell taught at the Puniwhakau School.
Then, about 1929, with the recession taking hold, William Godkin had had enough and joined the many other settlers to abandon their settlements. Wool value was the biggest problem. Bill and family relocated back to his property in Tututawa continuing as a farmer. He was 50 years old and lived there until he died about nine tears later. After this event in 1938, the Godkin family moved to Lemon Street New Plymouth. Here we see Mrs. Ellen Godkin and family. Cora was then eighteen and a very capable young lady who went on the meet her husband Robert [Bob] Street, who was a building contractor. They lived in Clawton St. New Plymouth raising a family - NPTC member Mark Street being one. Upon retiring Bob and Cora moved to Mission Street in Moturoa New Plymouth where Cora died July 2015 aged 94. Bills 'shack' is no more, the field today is the daffodil patch. [images] It is sad when we look back at all the love and effort that went into their place, now reverted to scrub and secondary growth.
Two of the last settlers to leave were Charlie Reichardt and his brother Otto. Otto had married and lived at Taurakawa, Charlie living in a Whare he had built in a clearing on Puteore Road. This is near to the junction of the Waitotara Valley Road. He walked eight miles once a week to get the mail and if wished to go to town, had to walk a further eight miles to catch a ride with one of the locals. No radio or modern communications.
In March '79, Mark Street joined NPTC becoming one of the very active members of the club, who joined in with the outings to the 'daffodil patch' with his mother Cora and the many members of NPTC, who combined with the Stratford Tramping Club to learn from Cora the stories of yesteryear. The Stratford Tramping Club under the stewardship of Isobel Walters and her husband David, conducted a series of trips called 'no one went to town', The name coined from the stories of the Tarrant family and the length of time it took by horse to reach town. There were staging posts at Strathmore and Douglas, each with a boarding house and stables to accommodate the travellers to and from Stratford. Today we rush past these areas not realising that at one time thriving communities lived there, carving out a living and raising families.
Two members of NPTC, Joe and Vivian Green come from the wider part of Makahu - Joe Green from Toko and Vivian Hintz from another abandoned settlement, Kiore. Joe hunted in the area becoming very familiar with the terrain and its former roads.
