Mrs Jacques Comes to Town: the Diaries of Ann Jacques 1928-1963

  Ann (affectionately known as Nan) Jacques arrived in Palmerston North in 1928 at 29 years of age, along with her husband William who was employed as a founding staff member at Massey Agricultural College, having been appointed Field Husbandry Assistant. With relatives in New Zealand they may have had more knowledge of the country than some.  Regarding the diaries, Nan utilised a variety of ‘journals’ to record in. Her first is a rather tidy notebook, but the rest are a variety of exercise books, one reused from its former life as a ‘sewing book’. While they are distinctly diaries, where she records her everyday thoughts and happenings, she also treats them as a scrapbook, with recipes and numerous newspaper clippings stuck in, and some correspondence, photographs, and ephemera held between the pages.  

  Ann Jacques did not have the most legible of hand writing styles which she acknowledges in an ‘unposted’ letter she wrote, held in one of the diaries: “I am in bed today but my writing would be just as bad if I were sitting at a table, spelling too.”  

Ann’s first diary starts on board ship to New York, from where she and William travelled overland across the USA and then onward by the Makura from San Francisco to Wellington. A news clipping from the NZ Herald states that it was a honeymoon journey, and that William and Ann (nee Jobson) married November 1 and sailed for New Zealand on 10 November.  

Her first entry on Nov 12th 1928 reads: We both feel so sleepy that one would have thought we’d been drugged – we had a flood in our cabin because the big [?] the waste of the sanitary water and the bath soon flooded and flooded the cabin too and Bill had to wade in to rescue my clothes off the bath side as I was in the bath when it started and then I had to take refuge on the bed whilst the steward put things right and moved all our baggage and put blankets down for us to walk on. It was fun really and now we’ve got a little annex to put our baggage in so that our cabin is lovely – heaps of room. 

And so begins their journey to New Zealand and her life in Palmerston North began.  As new comers to a new land Ann’s first impressions were recorded in some detail: “Wellington looked pretty as we approached – all clinging onto steep hills sides and divided by deep gorges and clefts in the hills. It is very pretty – the buildings are all low with bright red roofs and its very green and wooded – It’s the [complement] of Frisco – but more intimate and friendly looking but just as hilly. After tons of ‘au revoirs’ we landed at about 9.30 and got through customs beautifully – the customs officer recognised Bill’s name from something about him in last week’s papers so he welcomed him to the island and checked all our luggage off without opening any of it….Wellington is quite a small town – hilly and the shops are not very thrilling but it was bright and sunny and thank heaven NOT (underlined twice) American.  

We left at 2 o’clock. The station quite a country one and the railway climbs and climbs through lower hills and over bridges across little rivers where people bathe. There are English trees and also eucalyptus and palms and other semi tropical ones – the ground is not ploughed – but seems to be all sheep and cattle ranches. The cattle looked beautiful big beasts – lots of black and white ones. ….” “We got into Palmerston North at 5.10….We left our luggage and wandered out to find an hotel for the night…..Palmerston seemed a one sided, odd sort of place as we got out of the Station and Bill had lost his luggage ticket and had to search all his pockets over and over again. He found it but seemed a bit depressed and I believe he felt home sick. An old man who we asked the way cornered us like the Ancient Mariner and moaned for us that we should have come to …the place – he warned us against speculators – told us the rates were 12 pound per head per annum and said it was a struggle to live but he hoped we’d continue to struggle on though he seemed very pessimistic about it. He said the country had gone to the dogs etc – we might have been listening yet had we not excused ourselves and dashed into the Midland Hotel…a nice new hotel.”   

“Very clean, good cooking and service – plenty of hot water which is lovely after the “Makura”  – we celebrated our arrival by a bottle of wine at dinner. But it was Australian wine – dear and nothing like so good as French wine…It’s a pretty town….open country, woods and mountains on 3 sides of us….We walked through the gardens and The Square and the trees have a fragrant perfume and English flowers grow alongside palms and fern trees and cactus and magnolia….the Pictures were of the cow boy order, quite amusing and an appreciative audience who cheered the hero heartily and laughed unashamedly….It finished at 10 and when we came out it was a positive fairyland - all the gardens and streets lit up with multicoloured lights like a gala day at Southport – we wonder if this is usual or a special occasion”

  Nan and William settle into the city quickly – move to a boarding house, make friends, go to dances, play tennis, buy a car, rent a house at 4 North Street and get a dog called ‘Tinker Bits’ (Ann was said to be an animal lover all her life. She had further pet dogs, wrote 2 books on animals, was a founding member of Anti Cruelty Society and was a vociferous opponent of live cattle exports.)  

  For the years of WWII Ann firmly expresses her opinions on what is happening, and the ‘we’ she frequently alludes to means Great Britain. 

Sept 2nd 1939 Ears to the wireless most of the day….at 9.45 the Prime Minister in a broadcast from 10 Downing Street told us that we are now at war with Germany….After the announcement instructions as to gas masks and precautions in air raids. Then they played ‘God Save the King’ – God save us all. We are at the end of the old order. Let us hope that it will not destroy the world. 

She writes out Chamberlain’s speech of Sept. 4th in full, followed by:  Last night I knew what Mr Chamberlain meant when he said that everything had collapsed in ruins around him – I couldn’t stop shivering and went into tears when they played old war tunes on the wireless…. America isn’t revoking but declaring her neutrality….if only those Yanks would come in right at the beginning it would make such a difference. Hitler says he is prepared for a 10 years war with Britain. But who could last that long. I was quite thrilled that NZ and Australia are the first Dominions or colonies to declare war on Germany. 

   Bill became part of the Home Guard and was away in camp at Dannevirke at one stage and Ann was very involved in the war effort on the home front through various activities. Particularly she was a prime mover in the Polish Army League as Secretary (Their archive is also held in the Ian Matheson City Archives, donated by Ann herself in the 1970s). The League began in Palmerton North and branched out to other centres. Its initial aim was to adopt Polish soldiers who joined the Allies – to correspond with them, send parcels etc. She was part of the group that was instrumental in the arrival of the Polish Children who came to NZ for the duration of the war, to live in a camp in Pahiatua, and the topic receives a lot of comment in her diary of the time.  

  Oct 30th 1944  “Myra rang to say it will be Wednesday at 1.32 and the stop in The Square is approved. However I’ve changed it to a ‘crawl’ as it seems safer – no chance of losing or gaining a passenger that way.” 

Nov 1st “The most perfect summer day ….and over 500 on the platform and The Square lined with children. The Intermediate School had a half holiday and the others let out all scouts, guides and Junior Red Cross. I felt like Aladdin when I saw them all on the Station – as if I had rubbed my lamp for scouts and all the scouts of the world were there….I just had to keep things on as even a keel as possible…Trust in God and the Police and scouts that no one got pushed under the train or anything untoward. However the sun shone and everyone seemed full of the will of human kindness and the kiddies gave the kiddies a terrific reception….saw very little of the children, but the little boys seemed to be the most pathetic….So the day passed and I am still seeing oceans of scouts and guides flooding past my eyes….Today is our 16th wedding anniversary and we were recalling that bitter cold winter’s day in Derbyshire – I think that had we been able to look forward to this anniversary how very, very strange it would have seemed.”  

Jan 23rd “Today we had our little Polish child for a visit…..she was just lovely. She can only say ‘cat’ and ‘dog’ in English but we got on very well and she is simply wonderful with a needle- in fact I’m sure she is going to exceptionally clever all round. I got Joan (aged 11 years) to come along to help keep her amused but really she needed no stage managing and she made dolls clothes and threaded beads and played…but most of all she had a good look at the house and all that is in it- mirrors gave her a huge thrill. I think perhaps she never saw herself full length before. It was quite funny to watch her surprise and excitement. She just laughed… Bill is very taken with her and is hoping that in the end we will be able to adopt her.”  

William and Ann did not have children but this adoption does not appear to have come to pass.

Moving to the 1950s, Nan became involved in the Royal visit to Palmerston North in 1954, particularly the Civic dinner held in the tearooms of the C M Ross department store.
Jan 7th “Helping to set the royal table….the royal table looked lovely. Mr Rogers had had a long kauri table made and we set it with exquisite mats and lovely silver lent by about 8 families – three side tables laden with beautiful things – coffee sets and salvers, fruit sets etc etc and the Yates’ beautiful Minton dinner set – tomorrow we have to set it all out again for the General Public to see at 1/- each – proceeds to local orphanages….”
She writes her diary for the day of the dinner in the afternoon when she is at home resting but continues the next day:
“Bill has gone along to get a glimpse of the Queen as she drives along Te Awe Awe Street – I’m not bothering as Mr Rogers has got me a pass for the Building tonight – as a shareholder he was able to work that out, unfortunately not for Bill too. But Bill doesn’t mind. He will take me in and we can get the car into George Street with this pass - so that will take him into the heart of things.”
“I sent a wee verse ‘Royal Tour’ into the Standard this morning and it is in tonight’s paper.”
“It was amusing last night seeing all the guests arriving, behind the banks of flowers, from the door on the left of the stairs. Some lovely frocks and some awful. Vee’s frock was delightful as was Mrs McKenzie’s but many of the most expensive were the least effective. But even the Queen’s gown left me cold and she had none of that girlish glamour which was so noticeable in London – frankly if she had been one of the guests the only thing that might have caused comment was a diamond coronet. The Duke looked bright and interested in things but the Royal entourage was not an impressive lot – may be because there were none of them in full evening togs (not the Duke either, everyone else had to dump tails at the last minute)….but it was fun seeing it all and other passholders were very nice and good company and we went to the windows during the dinner to look down onto the huge crowd – youngsters even up the trees. Screaming ‘We want the Queen’ until their throats must have ached – and after the dinner she did go out on the balcony…They kept up their ‘We want…’ in front of the Grand until the police sent them home to bed after 11 so that the Queen might rest.”
“We saw her go off in the Royal train from a stand near the Post Office – she still looked unanimated but the Duke was radiant. The nicest view of the Queen was when she stood on the platform as the train moved slowly off and waved to the people who lined the railway lines. But she was very lacking in animation and I never saw the smile the papers talk so much about – evidently Palmerston North didn’t rate the smile. But Mr Holland says she does in some places – However smiling is very hard work and she must hate these perpetual processions and presentations etc. My reaction to the whole visit is that its as well over and I hope royalty won’t make a habit of coming round any closer intervals than they’ve done in the past – it’s far too wearing.”

  Towards the end, in the last diary that we hold, Nan writes intermittently, and mainly about world events. It would seem fitting that I finish with this entry, closer to home, on Oct. 12th 1959 “The Ross – Mr C, merge has gone through. There was a really good party on Thursday night at Rosses – the staff, shareholders and the Milne Brothers….and on Saturday the cash bonus came to hand ‘money for dust’. They paid 7 ½ % on C M Ross shares, but could have paid more, only they made provisions for old staff members.” (The Palmerston North City Library is housed in the former C M Ross department store) 

William Jacques died in 1979 but Nan lived on for many years, and into her 101st year.  She still lived in her own home for her 100th birthday and received a telegram from the Queen. Her birthday was marked in the Manawatu Standard, where she was quoted as saying the key to longevity was ‘having plenty to do and wanting to live and enjoy life’. She died in Palmerston North, in 1994.