Cypress, Bower Avenue

16/05/2020

Plans for a new subdivision at New Brighton presented a corner section and the tram line (apparently), around October 1899 ,at the time that Mrs E Calvert's 31 acre property that bordered Racecourse and New Brighton road, near the Bower Hotel, was being sold off for between £10-£15 a piece.
The land was covered with dense gorse and broom so the land agent conducted an experiment and employed 10 unemployed men (out of 150 who responded to his advertisement for workers) and spent 3 months clearing it and sowing grass. He achieved a handsome profit which well covered the outlay, and set the scene for using the unemployed to turn 'cheap land into valuable land' - and land agents to make handsome profits!
The unemployment Difficulty, Timaru Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 3060, 19 September 1899, Page 4.
Images taken from building allotments plan of subdivision of land situate in New Brighton district, the property of Mrs. E. Calvert, Alexander Turnbull Library, Cartographic MapColl 834.4492gbbd 1899 4394

16/05/2020

Mrs Hucks Ozone Tea and Luncheon Rooms in North Brighton, circa 1918 before a fire burnt the building down in April 1922 and it was rebuilt in March 1923.

North Brighton Gala
North Brighton held its first gala on Saturday under most auspicious circumstanccs, for though the weather was cold, and the evening before threatened adverse elements, the sun shone forth jubilantly, and the clouds retreated to the distant horizon. The gala was promoted by the North Brighton Surf and Life-saving Club (a branch of the New Brighton Surf Club), in aid of their new pavilion, which has cost over £300 to erect, and as the result of Saturday's successful effort a substantial sum will be secured towards assisting in wiping off the debt on the building. The cash receipts amounted to £130, and the tramway returns are expected to yield between £25 and £40. There was a large attendance of the public at the gala, and many attractions were provided for them, including sand designing competitions, land races, life saving competitions, a fire brigade competition, and Maori poi songs and danccs by 30 Maori ladies and children. In the evening a bonfire was lit on the beach, and a concert held on the Ozone Cafe roof.
Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15841, 5 March 1917, Page 2

25/02/2019

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF STORIES TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE MARCH MUSEUM NEWSLETTER. SALT WATER BATHS AND THE EARLY NB WORKING MENS CLUB. FULL NEWSLETTER IS AVAILABLE AT THE MUSEUM.

HISTORICAL SITE- Corner Marine Parade and Hawke Street

The site where the New Brighton Club sits is quite an historical site, having been the place where the trams would stop for
servicing and water, and then from 1923, the then famous “Howeys Salt Water Baths” were built.

Mr J Howey, an elderly Englishman, was a qualified masseur, and he lived next door on Hawke Street. The bath house was a long narrow building with single bath rooms off a central tiled
corridor. The tiled floor was often awash as patrons splashed around in their baths.
Very popular with the local rugby players who would have a hot salt bath, then a
massage and finally it was part of the treatment to actually drink some hot sea water, which it was reported was vile.

However the glowing
testimonials from the papers of that time claimed cures for all manner of pains and
problems, some even saying they could walk again after
being bedridden.

The New Brighton Borough Council had granted
permission for sea water to be piped across to the baths.
At low tide this pipe could be seen above the sea level and intrigued visitors.

The business operated for about 20 years under different owners, and then the building was demolished to make way for the New Brighton Working Men’s Club.

10/05/2015

20/01/2015

17/01/2015

The 18th of January 1894 was an unseasonably wet day for those who gathered for the opening of the New Brighton Pier. The ceremony was led by General Governor Lord Glasglow as he took shelter under an umbrella. Talks about the need of a pier started amongst New Brighton residents as early as 1888. T…

24/11/2014

The ice skating waiters of the Grand Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland were a popular attraction in the 1930s.

16/09/2014

the Margetts family at Cypress, originally Racecourse Road - New Brighton.