A is for Alexandra ... and Appleyard


Princess Alexandra of Denmark and Princess of Wales from 1863, following her marriage to Queen Victoria’s son Albert Edward, gave her name to two early New Zealand settlements. Lower Dunstan or Manuherikia in Central Otago was renamed Alexandra in 1863. Just a year later, in a meander of the Waipa River, about 30km south of where it flows into the Waikato River at Ngaruawahia, another settlement was named Alexandra. This was a strategic military settlement: a short way to the south, the Punui River joined the Waipa and formed part of the demarcation line of the area that is known as the ‘King Country,’ following the decisive battle of Orakau. The 2nd Waikato Regiment built redoubts in Alexandra from which to defend the demarcation or confiscation line, and settlers who had fought in the regiment were granted land. The Waipa was navigable as far as Alexandra so in the mid-1860s the settlement was seen as a potentially thriving future communication and supply link between Auckland (from the Manukau Harbour and the Awaroa-Waiuku portage into the Waikato River) and the settlements around Alexandra. And in fact, in the 1860s Alexandra did bustle and thrive. Having served as a sergeant in the 2nd Waikato Regiment, SHALIMAR passenger William APPLEYARD opened a hotel in the village on the corner of Franklin Street (today’s SH 39) and Crozier Street. As a Yorkshireman, it is fitting that Mr Appleyard named his hotel the Doncaster Arms. It was an imposing building with accommodation in 8 upstairs bedrooms and downstairs, as well as the bar, the parlour and dining room, there was a venue for concerts and balls. Attached there were kitchens, stables, a butcher’s shop, a blacksmith’s and sundry other buildings. There was great revelry when the hotel opened, with celebrations continuing almost until daybreak. On 26th April 1866, the New Zealand Herald commented that Mr Appleyard had ‘spared neither trouble nor expense to provide for the comfort of his customers’. In January 1867, on race day the Herald again mentions the Doncaster Arms, noting that its veranda served as a sort of grandstand for the ‘fair sex’ who radiated cheerfulness and an ‘air of home’. That day, in the half-mile hack races, Mr Appleyard’s Catch Me won a saddle and bridle worth £3.10s.
Old photos of the hotel show its distinctive shaped corner, with horses and carriages drawn up outside.
Sadly, William Appleyard seems to have suffered from ill health. After his death in 1869, just 10 years after coming to New Zealand, his widow, Hannah, took over the hotel license. One of their sons remained in the district and another, William junior moved to south Taranaki. In September 1865 various newspapers reported an incident in Alexandra involving a young son of William and Hannah Appleyard. The boy (unnamed) had been playing with another boy a short distance from the Alexandra redoubt. They were chased by Maori and young Appleyard was taken captive while the other boy escaped. Days later the newspapers all reported that the search for him had been unsuccessful. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who can tell me how this episode ended.
In 1896 the New Zealand postal service realised that 2 Alexandras was creating confusion and the Waipa Alexandra was renamed Pirongia. Although the settlement grew quieter when river transport eventually gave way to rail, and this was routed through Te Awamutu, the Pirongia of today is enjoying a come-back, as a popular area for life-style blocks. The Doncaster Arms burnt down in 1932, but there is a hotel, of more modest proportions but still offering accommodation, on the same corner.
Special thanks for information for this article to Wendy at Te Awamutu Museum, to Rowan Miller, the Museum Administrator for Waipa District Council and to Alan Hall at Pirongia Heritage and Information Centre.
Historic Alexandra – A guide to historic sites in Pirongia Village compiled by Pirongia Heritage and Information Centre
Footprints of History, no. 14 May 1995, pages 16-17, the journal of the combined Te Awamutu, Otorohanga and Te Kuiti Historical Societies; the Waitomo Caves Museum Society and the Piopio Museum Society
www.pagespast.natlib.govt.nz

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