When I was a young manager on the “relief circuit” for Amalgamated Theatres I never knew where my next port of call would be. With Easter fast approaching, and without any instructions, I thought I might be home in Auckland for the holiday break. But it was not to be. “This time It’s […]
Investigating what makes up the 1930 Dennis Dart fire engine, I found interesting stories: not just from Dennis Brothers themselves, but from various makers whom the Dennis company trusted to supply the appliance’s top-quality mechanical and electrical equipment. “Top quality” was held important by Dennis because the company long had a policy that its appliances […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-05-15 07:57:482021-08-07 23:00:34The Making of a Dennis Fire Engine… the Components
This story was inspired by a stay at the Orua Bay Motel in 2015. Reading the in-room almanac I found a list of former proprietors of the harbour-side accommodation since it was first opened by the Ritchies in the late 1890s. Researching finer details of these pioneers led to an appreciation of the history of […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-05-14 08:13:042020-05-14 08:13:04Ritchies and Company of Orua Bay on the Manukau
It is unusual to dismiss a fire chief who couldn’t do his job because the equipment he was given was deficient. To discharge two chiefs within three years for the same reason is exceptional. In hind-sight it can be seen for what it was: Auckland City Council was derelict in its care of, and support […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-05-13 05:19:292020-10-07 22:01:48When Fire Chiefs were Scapegoats
On two occasions over the decades, in 1902 and 1927, Aucklanders have been rattled by a series of arsons and false alarms to the fire brigade, not knowing when and where the incendiarists would strike next. Both in 1902 and 1927 the fires continued and the brigade was given the run-around for weeks before it […]
Charles Alexander Woolley was from a “fire brigade family” and began his career as a talented fireman in Auckland but who swapped his fire uniform and went to fight in World War One. He returned to rejoin the fire service and eventually become Superintendent at one of the country’s biggest brigades. His story was first […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-05-02 04:47:402020-05-02 23:46:48A Fireman Who Served in Two Uniforms
In the late 1920s Shorters of Shortland Street, in Auckland’s central business district, offered rental cars in what was fast becoming a lucrative business, the hire-car industry. The “Drive Yourself” innovation differed from taxis and chauffeured trips, giving renters utmost liberty in their travels. Advertisements, for instance, enticed tourists to “see New Zealand the interesting […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-04-30 00:30:412020-05-02 02:34:25(Mis)-Adventures in a Rental Car 1928
This is the unlikely story of two successive Wellington fire chiefs whose personal lives cost them their jobs. It was almost incredible that not one, but two, Superintendents resigned from the same brigade around the same time after falling for women outside their marriages. The first, in 1912 was William O’Brien and then the same […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-04-29 06:45:222020-04-29 06:45:22The Tale of Two Fire Chiefs
In 2014 the person of John Gildroy Grant was rediscovered, a young volunteer firefighter from Hawera who enlisted to serve in the First World War – and returned from the Front in France with the highest award possible – the Victoria Cross. In 2014 it was a no-brainer: John Grant would be the focus for […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-04-28 07:23:362020-04-28 07:23:36John Grant, The Firefighter Who Won the VC
The New Zealand Fire Brigade Old Boys’ Association was preparing for its centenary in 2006 and found in its records the almost-forgotten, well-preserved, photo of the grave of Salvage Corps member William Godwin. What made it stand out was the elaborate memorial that Godwin’s friends had organised at the time of his death in 1878: […]
https://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.png00Ric Carlyonhttps://dispatches.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Dispatches-Logo.pngRic Carlyon2020-04-26 02:55:242020-04-26 02:59:14The Story Behind William Godwin: Auckland’s First Fire Brigade Fatality
Napier, 1965
My FileWhen I was a young manager on the “relief circuit” for Amalgamated Theatres I never knew where my next port of call would be. With Easter fast approaching, and without any instructions, I thought I might be home in Auckland for the holiday break. But it was not to be. “This time It’s […]
The Making of a Dennis Fire Engine… the Components
DennisInvestigating what makes up the 1930 Dennis Dart fire engine, I found interesting stories: not just from Dennis Brothers themselves, but from various makers whom the Dennis company trusted to supply the appliance’s top-quality mechanical and electrical equipment. “Top quality” was held important by Dennis because the company long had a policy that its appliances […]
Ritchies and Company of Orua Bay on the Manukau
From Afar, Miscellaneous, PeopleThis story was inspired by a stay at the Orua Bay Motel in 2015. Reading the in-room almanac I found a list of former proprietors of the harbour-side accommodation since it was first opened by the Ritchies in the late 1890s. Researching finer details of these pioneers led to an appreciation of the history of […]
When Fire Chiefs were Scapegoats
FireIt is unusual to dismiss a fire chief who couldn’t do his job because the equipment he was given was deficient. To discharge two chiefs within three years for the same reason is exceptional. In hind-sight it can be seen for what it was: Auckland City Council was derelict in its care of, and support […]
Junior Fire Lighters
FireOn two occasions over the decades, in 1902 and 1927, Aucklanders have been rattled by a series of arsons and false alarms to the fire brigade, not knowing when and where the incendiarists would strike next. Both in 1902 and 1927 the fires continued and the brigade was given the run-around for weeks before it […]
A Fireman Who Served in Two Uniforms
Fire, PeopleCharles Alexander Woolley was from a “fire brigade family” and began his career as a talented fireman in Auckland but who swapped his fire uniform and went to fight in World War One. He returned to rejoin the fire service and eventually become Superintendent at one of the country’s biggest brigades. His story was first […]
(Mis)-Adventures in a Rental Car 1928
Miscellaneous, PeopleIn the late 1920s Shorters of Shortland Street, in Auckland’s central business district, offered rental cars in what was fast becoming a lucrative business, the hire-car industry. The “Drive Yourself” innovation differed from taxis and chauffeured trips, giving renters utmost liberty in their travels. Advertisements, for instance, enticed tourists to “see New Zealand the interesting […]
The Tale of Two Fire Chiefs
Fire, PeopleThis is the unlikely story of two successive Wellington fire chiefs whose personal lives cost them their jobs. It was almost incredible that not one, but two, Superintendents resigned from the same brigade around the same time after falling for women outside their marriages. The first, in 1912 was William O’Brien and then the same […]
John Grant, The Firefighter Who Won the VC
Fire, PeopleIn 2014 the person of John Gildroy Grant was rediscovered, a young volunteer firefighter from Hawera who enlisted to serve in the First World War – and returned from the Front in France with the highest award possible – the Victoria Cross. In 2014 it was a no-brainer: John Grant would be the focus for […]
The Story Behind William Godwin: Auckland’s First Fire Brigade Fatality
FireThe New Zealand Fire Brigade Old Boys’ Association was preparing for its centenary in 2006 and found in its records the almost-forgotten, well-preserved, photo of the grave of Salvage Corps member William Godwin. What made it stand out was the elaborate memorial that Godwin’s friends had organised at the time of his death in 1878: […]