From left: Susan (born 1941); Dawn (b. 1938); Betty (b. 1944); Zilla (b. 1939). Their mother, Zilla Prebble (nee Brooke-Tayor), born in 1909, was raised in the Palmerston North area. Information suppied by Zilla Torrance (nee Prebble).

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1950

This cart was originally owned by Chung Lee who sold vegetables and fruit in the Dannevirke area in the 1960s.

The cart was bought by Tom Daulton when Chung Lee retired in 1966. Daulton then donated it to the Manawatu Horse Drawn Preservation So...

Creator:      Ruahine Echo
Place:          Tararua District
Date:          November 24, 1974

Training of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade was carried out at Rangiotu Camp and the Hokowhitu Rifle Range, prior to service in World War One.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          August 1915

The Meteor theatre was located on the west side of The Square, it operated from 1937-1964. This photograph shows the exterior of the building in the late 1950s. Gregory Peck starred in Moby Dick in 1956. Seating capacity was for 940 - 990 people, ...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1957 to 1959

'The Wattles' was built for William Park, Stationer, Councillor and Mayor of Palmerston North, and his family in 1887, on 4 acres of land. The dining room of Mr. Park’s house was situated on the ground floor, facing Linton Street. The house was de...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Corner of College and Linton Street, Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1890

This was the second bridge over the Manawatu River in Palmerston North, replacing the original structure built in 1877. It was constructed by Fletcher Construction and remained until 1986 when it proved too small for the volume of traffic, particu...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Fitzherbert Bridge, Palmerston North
Date:          1934

The Duke of Gloucester visited Palmerston North 3-4 January 1935, as part of his New Zealand Tour. Accompanied by A E Mansford, Mayor, and other officials, HRH Prince Henry walked through The Square lined by a flag waving crowd.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          January 1935

The annual A & P Show took place in Palmerston North in November each year. The first show of the Manawatu and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held in Palmerston North November 1886.

Creator:      Petch
Place:          The Showgrounds. Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1950

These palm trees which were planted in the mid-1930s were designed to line the road into and through the Victoria Esplanade. The Begonia Hothouse can be seen in the background, to the right of the children's paddling pool.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Victoria Esplanade, Palmerston North
Date:          1944

The school opened in 1902. The original school burnt down in 1910 and was replaced by a brick structure in 1911. This building was built in the 1920s.

Creator:      Manawatu Evening Standard
Place:          263 Featherston Street, Palmerston North
Date:          1974

Mr 'Lofty' McIntosh of the Manawatu Supporters Club present the Manawatu footballer Kevin Eveleigh with the trophy for the most consistent player of the year.

Creator:      Manawatu Evening Standard
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1974

Pictured are aeroplanes 'Kereru' and ZK-AEH, "Korimako", one of the original aircraft of Union Airways of New Zealand Ltd who set up headquarters at Palmerston North's Milson Airport in 1936.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1940

The Chief Palmerston North Post Office was built 1905-1906 and was extended in both the 1920's and again in 1937, as seen in this photograph. It was designed by Mr J Charlesworth and built by James Trevor and Sons. The clock and chimes were instal...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1937 to 1939

Looking west to the Mangaone Stream workmen lay a concrete road on Rangitikei Line, near the corner of Boundary Road (now Tremaine Avenue). The railway now passes through the centre of this site and the concrete road has been replaced by the appro...

Creator:      Charles Allen
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1917

Saint Patricks School was built in 1916 in Pirie Street and was Palmerston North's Convent School. The brick building contained three classrooms and a hall. St Patrick's closed at the end of 1969 and this building has since been demolished.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1920

Thordon Station was the end point of the Wellington - Manawatu Line. Men are shown waiting for a train.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Wellington
Date:          circa 1900

This was the second Ashhurst Bridge to cross the Manawatu River at the lower end of the Manawatu Gorge. The first was washed away in 1895 and due to disputes its replacement was not opened until 1909.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Ashhurst Bridge, Ashhust
Date:          1908 to 1909

The old Fire Station was constructed in 1910. In 1926 the Brigade was moved into new premises in Cuba Street when this building proved to be too small for its needs. Currently [2015] the Fire Station is located in Church Street.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1967

This photo shows the timber groynes built by the Palmerston North Borough Council in an attempt to prevent riverbank erosion, c 1909-1910. The river moved south-westward at at this bend between the 1890s and the 1940s and serious erosion took place.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1909

Looking from West to East, Milson Airport, lower left Manawatu River, top right. The Square is just visible, lower right.

Creator:      New Zealand Aerial Mapping Ltd, Hastings
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          1979

This wooden factory was replaced by a brick building in 1911, so the excavations in the foreground may be the foundations of the new factory. The Rongotea Co-op Dairy Co. Ltd was established in 1895 and was amalgamated in 1960 with the Awahuri Co-...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1910

The rose gardens in The Square were laid in the early 1900s. Also shown in this photograph are the Statue of Te Peeti Te Awe Awe (built 1907) and to the left of that the old Post Office. This was Palmerston North's fourth Post Office and was built...

Creator:      H Billens and Co.
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          circa 1915

A family picnic in the countryside, complete with tent.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Manawatu
Date:          circa 1900

A new civic centre was constructed for the Palmerston North City Council 1976-1980, with Council staff moving in January 1980. It consisted of Council offices, Council Chamber and Convention Centre.

Creator:      Manawatu Guardian
Place:          The Square, Palmerston North
Date:          June 11, 1975

This photograph shoes the opening of the new Rongotea School building in April 1927. See 'History of Rongotea' by Pamela Benson for a detailed history of the school.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Rongotea
Date:          1927

Burbank House operated as a private hotel/boarding house on the corner of Andrew Young Street and Cuba Street. The building was demolished in July 1977, after being condemned for several years.

Creator:      The Tribune
Place:          Palmerston North
Date:          July 3, 1977

Shown here is a function conducted by the Manawatu Board of Control regarding the widening and straightening of the Manawatu Gorge road. Mr J.A. Nash is standing on the left holding notes, and seem to be addressign the group.

Creator:      Whalley and Co., Crown Studios
Place:          Manawatu
Date:          circa 1908 to circa 1923

The Tait-Jamieson cowshed and homestead at the end of Koehler Road, surrounded by the huge flood of late January 1953. This flood holds the record as the largest on thee Manawatu River since records began [time of statement 1999]. Normally the riv...

Creator:      Auster Air Services
Place:          Whakarongo
Date:          January 28, 1953

The writing on the back of the original postcard reads, "For over two miles this beautiful (?) is placed in a veritable beautiful setting, especially on a clear day when the reelections are very beautiful indeed". The Mangahao Power Station is a h...

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Horowhenua Region
Date:          circa 1922

The name "George Bartholomew" is stamped on the back of the print. The name "Feilding Sash and Door Co. Ltd." was not adopted until 1909, so this photograph was probably taken after that date, despite the label on the photograph itself.

Creator:      Unknown
Place:          Feilding, Manawatū
Date:          circa 1910