Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Article about commemorative street naming in Palmerston North.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. In 1957, the Palmerston North Motorcycle Training School was established in response to concern about the number of fatalities involving motorcycles. Stan Key was its leader for 30 years, overseeing a programme of practical bike riding, learning about mechanics, the way an engine worked and the physics of speed. He maintained meticulous records, keeping an enrolment card for each student. Each card has a record of the student's progress, tests scores and often a personal observation of the student's skills and ability. Key was recognised with a Queen's Service Order, awarded in 1976 for his work with the Training School.

A view of Church Street. The houses which can be seen in this image starting from left with the car parked in front are numbers 472, 470, 466 and 464 Church Street.

This image was taken by Frank Goldingham for Photorama pictorial magazine. It was found among the August 1963 negatives, but not published that month.

The gane was played at the Fitzherbert Park sportsground. The grandstand stands on the Fitzherbert Avenue side of the park.

History

In the years following World War 2 the western suburbs of Palmerston North developed rapidly, during which around 2.5ha of land was set aside by the Palmerston North City Council for recreation in the Awapuni suburb, located largely away from the main roads.

A proposal to construct tennis courts led to a public meeting to be held at Awapuni School hall in Rochester Street on 15 February 1972 with the aim of forming a tennis club. Both adults and children were invited. A steering committee was subsequently formed which aimed to draw attention of local people to the proposed new council-owned facility and generate interest in becoming members.

The courts were expected to be ready for play in early 1973, but construction delays meant that no tennis was actually played on them until December of that year. A community centre was also constructed, extended to its current configuration by 1988.

The club was then known as Awapuni Park Tennis Club, with the first annual general meeting held at the Awapuni School hall on 29 October 1973, chaired by David Gordon while Shirley Heaphy was appointed secretary, replacing the first person to hold that post Carol Dench, who had left the city.

The whole park, including the tennis club would be managed by a park management committee, with representatives from the club appointed to it. This committee received a grant of $1,550 from the Ministry of Sport and Recreation which it gave to the tennis club to provide poles and nets for the courts. There were four courts, and there was a vision to increase this to six courts at a later date and in the longer term to introduce floodlighting. The courts were constructed of rice bubble concrete.

There were 93 family names recorded as wishing to join the club, some of which had several members. By the 1974 annual general meeting there were 130 members, which included  mid-week groups and junior coaching on Saturdays. A committee had been formed and during that first year a constitution for the club was prepared.

For at least the next ten years, the club’s membership hovered around 150, which included the mid-week group and juniors, who played on Saturday mornings, receiving coaching from John Salisbury. Senior club play took place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, while at other times the courts were available for public use.

The popularity of the courts took its toll on the surface, which required ongoing maintenance. They were resurfaced progressively in 1983 and 1984 with Astro Turf, which was more robust and suited to weather conditions that prevail in this region. Again, after maintenance issues arose, they were resurfaced again at intervals with newer and higher quality Astro Turf as the need arose.

The practice wall, or volley board as it is referred to in some documents was established during 1977 with the tar seal run back established shortly after.

In April 1986, a new constitution was drafted, which included a proposal to make the club’s official name ‘Awapuni Tennis Club’ dropping the word ‘Park’. The new constitution took effect at the annual general meeting of 27 September 1986.

Submissions were made to the council to have two additional courts constructed, in 1986 and 1993, but to no avail. Similarly, there were discussions in 1987 and 1993 about installing floodlights, but these also came to naught.

From January 1988 the Manawatu Veterans’ Tennis Club relocated to the Awapuni Courts, where its members played on Sunday mornings, and they continue to use the courts for their activities, now known as Manawatu Seniors Tennis Club.

The early 1990s heralded a significant reduction in Awapuni Tennis Club members for a variety of reasons, including:

Changes in retail trading hours which lead stores and businesses to be open at weekends, coupled with the need for more people to work at the weekends, giving them less time to be involved in sport

The increasing popularity of other sports and interests at the expense of tennis; and

The introduction of video and electronic games, plus a vast increase in the number of television channels, particularly those showing sports from around the world.

Junior tennis ceased around 1995 because there were no volunteers available to coach children. Adult numbers dropped from around 50 in the mid-1990s to around 35 in the early years of the 21st century. Club competitions also ceased at the end of the 1990s with the emphasis remaining on social tennis, supported by an ageing membership profile.

In 1999 the Awapuni club, in conjunction with then Manawatu Veterans’ club approached the Palmerston North City Council to try and have two additional courts constructed. By this time there were fewer tennis players generally in the district, and with its finances already strained, the council did not consider that construction of two further courts at Awapuni was warranted.​​​

During the early years of Awapuni Tennis Club, several members participated in various tournaments and inter-club events, which required those people to pay an affiliation fee. At no time has the club itself been affiliated, although it was considered by members in 1986, even going as far as to put it to a vote. The majority were opposed to affiliation. The Manawatu Tennis Association, now known as Tennis Manawatu have encouraged the club at different times to consider affiliation, but the club has chosen to remain independent, just as its original founders envisaged. It was a club that would welcome everyone of differing abilities, and with social tennis being the order of the day.

A club which provides social tennis in Palmerston North. This club meets at its four courts located in Newbury Street every Saturday year round from 1.30pm until around 5.00pm, and on Tuesdays from 4.00pm until around 7.00pm during daylight saving and until dark during the winter months.

The location of the property captured in this panoramic image is believed to be of the Manurewa Children's Home, Auckland, which opened in 1914.

This image was taken by Frank Goldingham for Photorama pictorial magazine. It was found among the August 1963 negatives, but not published that month.

The demolished building is believed to have been the premises of several retailers on the corner of Te Marae o Hine/The Square and Main Street. The site was being prepared for construction of the new Palmerston North library building, which opened in 1965.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. In 2020, the prospect of large numbers of citizens catching Covid-19 and dying as a result drove the government to mandate a nationwide lockdown to halt the spreading of the virus. Five years later, Te Manawa Museum is capturing the pandemic in a different way; gathering objects that symbolise life in lockdown. The objects aim to show how Manawatū residents adapted to exceptional circumstances, traversing the social world without being physically in it.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Victory in Europe (VE Day) was declared 8 May 1945, and celebrated in Palmerston North. Large crowds of people gathered in Te Marae o Hine/The Square over the following two days with bunting fluttering from shops and flags decorating bicycles and vehicles. People watched a large procession from the streets, on top of buildings and at every vantage point.

Card indexes to all major entries in Council and Committee minute books. These include volume 35 to 39 of subseries 1/1/1 and indexes to volumes 39 to 48 of subseries 1/1/2. Council and committee minute books have not been digitised and can be viewed in person on the 2nd Floor of the Palmerston North City Library. Please note the minute book number and folio number references of any topics you wish to view and talk to a Heritage Team member.

File index cards created to sort scheme plans (SPs) by developer(s) name. Includes the scheme plan number, street name and address of the development. Covers scheme plan number 4000 to 6056 and was utilised until the late 1980s by the City Planner's Department.

If you wish to view any of the scheme plans, please note the scheme plan number and contact the Heritage Team at Palmerston North Central Library.

Card indexes to all major entries in Council and Committee minute books. These include volumes 18 to 20 of subseries 1/1/1 and indexes to volumes 18 to 21 of subseries 1/1/2. Council and committee minute books have not been digitised and can be viewed in person on the 2nd Floor of the Palmerston North City Library. Please note the minute book number and folio number references of any topics you wish to view and talk to a Heritage Team member.

Card indexes to all major entries in Council and Committee minute books. These include volumes 15 to 17 of subseries 1/1/1 and indexes to volumes 14 to 17 of subseries 1/1/2. Council and committee minute books have not been digitised and can be viewed in person on the 2nd Floor of the Palmerston North City Library. Please note the minute book number and folio number references of any topics you wish to view and talk to a Heritage Team member.

This image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 13 February, 1959. "The arrival of the teenage idol (Johnny Devlin) in Palmerston North this morning caused considerable interest. He was driven from the railway station around the Square in "Moriarty" an ancient car owned by nurses at the Palmerston North Hospital."

In 2025, the driver of the car in this photo visited the Ian Matheson City Archives and identified herself and the other passengers. Back: Rangi McGregor, Johnny Devlin, Judy Lang (obscurred). Front: Driver Mandy Harris and passenger Jan Longbottom (obscurred).

This map of inner-city Palmerston North has been colour-coded to designate the zoning or land use of different properties. Areas in red are zoned commercial, white are residential and purple are industrial. Recreational areas and open spaces are coloured green, while yellow signifies a community, government of council facility.

Scale: 3 chains to 1 inch. Drawn O.M.R. 28/7/1966, amended O.M.R. 13/3/1968. Plan no: 39/2. Map approved by Council on 23 September, 1968, and operative on 4 October 1968.

The Pohangina County Council was created in 1895 from the Pohangina Road Board and the part of the Oroua County that it covered. In 1989 Pohangina amalgamated with other councils to form the new Manawatū District Council.

This map features the printer’s code in the lower right hand corner, which reads "250.2.17.31" indicating that that the map was issued in February 1917 (although based on a 1916 survey) and 250 copies were printed.

The map is inscribed with the printer’s code in the lower right-hand corner, which reads "1000.2.04.933" indicating that the map was issued in 1904 and 1000 copies were printed.

The Oroua County Council was first formed in 1883, but its powers were in effect dispersed to the Manchester, Kiwitea and Manawatū Road Boards and the Halcombe Town Board leaving the County Council effectively as a figure head with no staff or funds. By 1902 the Manchester Road Board and the Halcombe Town Board were the only remaining boards in Oroua County, the others having formed the Kiwitea, Pohangina and Kairanga Counties.

In 1902 the Manchester Road Board petitioned for the Counties Act to be reinstated in what remained of the Oroua County. This was granted in 1903, the Road Board was dissolved and was used as the basis for reforming the Oroua County Council. This new council later took over several boards and committees in the township of Ashhurst. Oroua County Council remained in existence until 1989 when several councils merged to form the Manawatū District Council, except for the land containing Ashhurst which was absorbed into the Palmerston North City Council.

This map shows Kairanga County as it stood in 1916.

The Kairanga County Council was established in 1902 as a result of the amalgamation of the Manawatū Road Board and the Fitzherbert Road Board. The County amalgamated with the Manawatū County in 1988 to form the first Manawatū District Council. In 1989 most of the former Kairanga County territory was amalgamated into the Palmerston North City Council boundary.

The Pohangina County Council was created in 1895 from the Pohangina Road Board and the part of the Oroua County that it covered. In 1989 Pohangina amalgamated with other councils to form the new Manawatū District Council.

This map features the printer’s code in the lower right hand corner, which reads "1000.9/03.712" indicating that that the map was issued in 1903 and 1000 copies were printed.

This map has been created by collaging together cadastral maps of various boroughs and counties in the vicinity of Palmerston North, including the areas around Shannon, Foxton and Tokomaru.

College Street School was established in 1893. Although it achieved its 50th anniversary in 1943, its jubilee celebrations were postponed until March 1946.

This Jubilee souvenir features a history of the school, including lists of past headmasters, duxes and teachers, together with an outline of the jubilee celebrations. It also features advertisements for several Palmerston North businesses, including: Manhattan - Man's Shop Ltd; C. M. Ross Co. Ltd; Co-op Bread; Collinson and Cunninghame Ltd; Millar & Giorgi (P.N.) Ltd; Hopwood Hardware; Watchorns; Begg's; J. B. Gerrand & Sons Ltd; Scoth Wool & Hosiery Shop Ltd; and Latta & Gooding.

This image comes from a collection of glass negatives found in the attic of a Palmerston North home.

Set in upper Queen Charlotte Sound, this is a view of Picton taken from the inlet, Picton Harbour. The wharf and waterfront buildings are visible in the foreground. Picton is situated on a rolling flat and is surrounded by hills and mountains.

This image comes from a collection of glass negatives found in the attic of a Palmerston North home. The people in the images are possibly the Lovelock family, but their identities have not been confirmed.

The gothic style valve tower was constructed c.1872-1878 for the lower dam at the Wellington Waterworks at Karori. Nicolas Marchant, a civil engineer, was the architect. The earth dam was the first of its kind built by a municipality in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This is now the site of the Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne urban ecosanctuary.

A set of photographs taken on a Box Brownie showing various views of The Square covered in snow.

The Manawatu Times covered the event with the following report:

"Snow in the City

VEHICLES SKID IN SLIPPERY STREETS

Some 15 years ago there was a comparatively heavy fall of snow in Palmerston North, but there has not been such a visitation in tho city in recent years until this week, when there was a light smattering on Tuesday, and a slightly heavier fall yesterday morning. A severe frost, readings of 9½ degrees at the Boy's’ High School and 10½ degrees at Massey College being recorded, formed a thin skin of ice on the snow. Nine frosts have been experienced in Palmerston North during the past 14 days."

See the full article on Paperspast.

This image was taken for a story that ran in the Manawatū Evening Standard on 19 January, 1967. “A man was seriously injured on Saturday evening when he fell 10ft into the old subway on the disused railway land. He is Mr R. G. Wallace, aged 22, of Kent Terrace, Palmerston North.”

From 1890 a level railway crossing ran across the Main Street end of Pitt Street. In 1903, due to Railway Station alterations and platform extensions, this section was closed to through traffic and accessed via a pedestrian subway constructed under the railway lines.

After the opening of the new Railway Station in Tremaine Avenue in 1963, trains ceased travelling through the city centre. The subway was filled (apart from the entry stairs and ramp), and Pitt Street reverted to its former length.

This fountain was located in the western quadrant of The Square - this photograph shows it before the Coronation monument for Edward VII was shifted to sit within the fountain in 1925. The spire on the far left is that of the Catholic Church, then situated in Broad Street. The building with the clock tower on the far right is the Post Office. Built in 1906, the Post Office on the corner of The Square and Main Street was Palmerston North’s fourth, and replaced a small wooden building on the same site. In 1988, when Telecom and Postbank became separate entities, the building ceased to be the Post Office.

The CEPO was established in 1957 by a coalition of unions and women's organisations including: the National Council of Women; Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs; Federation of University Women; Young Women's Christian Association; and Public Service Association. It campaigned for women to receive equal pay in both the government and private sectors. The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1972, with equal pay to be introduced in stages, so that by 1 April 1978 there would be one rate of pay for all workers employed in any given job. In 1977, the passing of the Human Rights Commission Act outlawed discrimination in employment on the grounds of sex. Soon afterwards, the district committees of the CEPO disbanded, and the parent council went into recess.

Anti-apartheid demonstrators outside the NZI (NZ Insurance) building in Palmerston North.

Anti-apartheid demonstrators outside the NZI (NZ Insurance) building in Palmerston North.