Stories from Thames
The friendship and the flogging
1769
A dramatic event recorded by Joseph Banks in November 1769, during the 3-day visit by Lt. James Cook and the Endeavour in the Waihou - the Firth of Thames.
The power of Cook’s potato
1769
Horeta Te Taniwha was a boy when he boarded the Endeavour with his Chief.   Why was the 'white potato' such a power to the peoples of Hauraki?
Gunpowder Barrel explosion
1840
John Logan Campbell became the guest of the Tama Te Ra tribe at Waiomu when he first arrived in New Zealand. A tangi (funeral) for a chief went terribly wrong, and Logan Campbell learned the power of tapu - the sacred unseen forces of the Maori people.
Taraia’s utu to Logan Campbell
1840
When a deed is done a deed is owed, either for good or harm. Logan Campbell earned an utu from the feared cannibal chief Taraia
Striking a fortune
1867
Auckland was in trouble, business was closing down, unemployment was crippling the town... was there gold at 'The Thames'?
Lynchmob at Kuranui Bay
1868
The goldfields had been rushed by 1,000's of men, and at first was known as the ‘Honest Goldfields’. When there's a rash of tent robberies a startling event occurs.
The Royal Visit and the Raceday
1869
His Royal Highness Prince Alfred is visiting the colony! Thames extends an invitation to the Prince, inviting him to honour the Goldfields with his presence, and receive a Royal welcome.
The invisible church
1870
The little white church of St John’s sits quietly in Tararu. The stories it could tell about the old timers..
The show must go on
1870
Hard working miners were desperate for entertainment on a Saturday night. The Royal Theatre closed it’s doors one weekend and 1,000 men were disappointed..
Armed Guard at St Georges Church Hall
1872
The new Anglican Church plans to celebrate 'Orange Day'. Religious hatreds from the old country threaten to raise their ugly heads on the streets of Thames.
The Inferno of Shortland
1872
It all started with a bucket of hot coals being just a little too close to the wall.
Jono's forest
1872
An early pharmacist on the goldfield, John William Hall's arboretum 'disappeared' after his death in 1915 - how was it rediscovered?
The wandering goats
1879
The Inspector of Public Nuisances wasn't happy with the goats grazing gardens, and the plan to stop them went horribly wrong.
The heaviest sleeper was woken
1886
The town of Thames was woken to a terrifying night, that clear night in June, and the miners rushed up from the mines.
The man behind the Library
1905
The citizens of Thames were quick to get in the queue when one of the world's richest men of the time offered to fund libraries in the English-speaking world. Who was this man?
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The Bridge across the Waihou
1928
The town of Thames struggled to survive when the gold ran out - and just across the water was a growing number of farmers - if only they could cross the Waihou.