Michael Fowler

Aug 30, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Fowler

Reverend Frederick Augustus Bennett (1871-1950). Photo / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge BankTHREE KEY FACTSTahupotiki Wiremu Rātana founded the Rātana Church on May 31, 1925, causing Anglican Church concerns. Frederick Augustus Bennett, born in 1871, became the first Māori Bishop of Aotearoa in 1928. Bennett’s consecration united Māori and Pākehā, improving relationships and reconnecting Māori with the Anglican Church.

Aug 2, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Fowler

Corunna Bay, Napier, from 1949 to 1960 was the site of Tuck Bros timber yards. Credit: Michael TuckMichael Fowler is a Hawke’s Bay writer and historian [email protected] Driving over the unsealed old Napier-Taupō Road in a family car was bad enough in the early 1950s, let alone in a truck hauling 23 to 24 tons (tonnes) of timber.

Jul 19, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Fowler

Soldiers recovering their artillery after the March 1924 flood in the Esk Valley where they were camping. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank Townshend Collection 007A piano to provide entertainment to the 100 territorial artillery soldiers of the F Battery at their annual camp at Eskdale on F. Lopdell’s property was swept away in the March 11, 1924 great flood of Esk Valley. The piano, however, was the least of their worries. It was later recovered, but no sing-alongs would occur on it again.

Jun 21, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Fowler

The Blythes ladies 50 yard dash at Eskdale Park in 1924. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank Townshend collectionI often get asked how I think society today is different from 100 years ago. There are of course many differences, but a striking one to me is the paternalistic approach by the male owner of a business to his employees – in other words, they were treated as an extension of his family.

Jun 7, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Fowler

Arthur Dillon’s butcher shop in Middle Rd, Havelock (North) in 1898. Dillon is holding the horse’s reins, and near him is an unidentified employee. The position of the butcher shop, and the Presbyterian church on its right, is where Gilmours Pharmacy is today. Havelock (North, 1910) and Hastings butchers Arthur Dillion and Thomas Hoy advertised in 1896 that there would be “no flies on their meat”. This would not have been an easy task, especially during a hot Hawke’s Bay summer.