Charles Henry Pitts

Seventy Years in Devonport

Mr. Harry Pitts’ Interesting Reminiscences

Lifetime Spent in Church Street

Mr. Chas Henry Pitts of Church Street, this year of grace 1935, celebrates the 70th anniversary of his arrival in Devonport. With his father and mother and the other members of the family, Mr. Pitts landed at the foot of Church Street in 1864 in a rowing boat, the only mode of conveyance across the harbour in those days.

In a lifetime spent in Devonport, Harry (as he is affectionately known to all and sundry) has seen some marvellous changes and the photographs which accompany this article are proof of the wonderful transformation that has taken place in the ordinary span of a man’s life.

The old parish church was in course of construction when the family took up residence here, and later, parts of this building were transferred to Stanley Bay and Belmont, where they are still standing as testimony to the range of New Zealand timbers for constructional purposes. Old St. Augustine’s has been replaced by a modern brick structure, and the wooden portion is now used as a Sunday school, but St. Michael’s is still in use for Divine Service.

Mr. Pitts senr., soon acquired land in the settlement, and build a number of houses, but all these were lost in the depression which swept the colony in 1890. Contracts for new schools kept the builder and his young family employed for a number of years. They erected schools at Devonport, Northcote, Ohaupo, Paui, Pukekohe, Huntly and Napier Street in Auckland, whilst teachers’ residences were built at Waiuku, Ohinewai, Ardmore and Richmond Road.

At Paui, Mr. Pitts recalls an amusing incident. The chairman of the school committee eked out his existence by keeping fowls, and desiring a change of food, he brought to town a rooster, which he sold to the original Johnnie Walker for 3/6. He returned home with a bird for which he paid the same gentleman 7/6, but to his dismay, and the amusement of his wife and the contractors, it turned out to be the same bird with which he had set out from home the previous day.

In the early days of racing on the North Shore, steeplechases were popular events on the programme. The course was laid up what is now Lake Road, and there was a stiff fence at the top of the hill near the present boundary of the Takapuna Jockey Club property in Empire Road. The field continued on over Allenby Avenue, where there was another fence on the property now occupied by Mr. Penrose. The horses then swept down the valley where the Jockey Club’s stables now stand, to another fence, and before coming back onto the course proper, a natural water jump was provided by the creek which meanders through this gulley. Posts only marked the boundaries outside the limits of the course proper, and the horses were completely out of sight twice during the race, which took two circuits of the rough and ready track. Veteran E. J. Rae, who is till hale and hearty at Ellerslie, won a lot of races during this period.

The Pitts family used to erect the “grandstand” for these race meetings, the seating being arranged for this were those used at a circus, and accommodation used to provide for about 300 people. Temporary booths were erected for the day, and these, with the “grandstand,” would be taken down at the conclusion of the day’s sport.

The first school in Devonport opened where the Parish Hall now stands, and when Mr. Pitts attended it was conducted by the Rev. Scott who was assisted by his son George. The scholars paid 1/- per week for their education. The Rev. Scott suffered from some infirmity, and during his temporary absences, young George, then a youth of about 18 or 19, would “warm up” the class of about 10 boys with the cane, saying that “If they got it in the morning they would not need it in the afternoon” when his father would probably be present. That youth had a very strong romantic strain in his blood, and he eventually ended his days in Australia as the bushranger, “Captain Moonlight”, paying the extreme penalty for his foolhardiness.

As a boy, Harry Pitts and his associates used to swim in the lagoon where the Devonport Lawn Tennis Club’s courts are now formed. There was two or three feet of water, he says, and four or five feet of mud, in which they used to disport themselves. Tiring of this sport, the lads in semi-nudity, used to proceed to a better swimming hole on which the Cricket Club’s pavilion now stands. Here there was four of five feet of water and as much mud, and after liberally be-splashing each other with the swampy mixture, the youngsters would cross over the sward to the adjacent harbour for a general clean up.

Like all swamps, this one was of a peaty nature, and when it caught fire on one occasion, 36 members of the Coastguard Artillery were employed in putting it out. The job was a long, hot one, but so well was the work organised that 30 men were detailed to carry water to quench the fire, whilst the other six were engaged in carrying beer from the nearby hostelry to quench the thirst.

Mr Pitts can remember when there were only 16 houses east of Church Street, and of these, several were occupied by the Harbour Board pilots on the slopes of North Head. Later the pilots’ residences were taken down and erected in Clarence Street, where they are still standing to this day, over 80 years old.

Mr Pitts at one time had in his possession a gun belonging to Patuone, the famous Mari chief who is buried in the Albert Street Cemetery. Working on the demolition of a building in Auckland, he found among the debris copies of the London “Sun” giving exquisite details of the coronation of Queen Victoria. The paper was priced at 1/- per single copy, and he still has several amongst his possessions.

Altogether the family was responsible for building over 120 churches, schools, shops and houses in Devonport. They erected the first four bathing sheds on the front. And one of them which originally stood at the foot of Church Street, now serves the Devonport Tennis Club as a pavilion. Those sheds were built out over the tide on piles, and one was badly damaged by a heavy gale, the front being completely washed away.

Mr Pitts joined Court Victoria A.O.F. in 1889 and he has been a member of the lodge ever since. He was an honoured guest at the jubilee celebrations on Monday night. He has also been a member of the Devonport Bowling Club for over 35 years, and is a member of the Orphans’ Club since its inception.

An article from a newspaper or magazine in 1935. The photocopy is almost unreadable, and there may be some errors in my transcription. Paul Wooding, 12 October 2007.