More Info →Main Street Plaque

Description

This plaque reads:

PHOTOGRAPH: Main Street c 1922. The Memorial to Fallen Soldiers is in place but the water tower is not. The new Ihakara Gardens fence is still to be built but note there is no sign of the marked burial plots of the 1878 photos.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The early 1920s saw several changes at the northern end of Main Street. Noticeable in this photo is the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial on the triangle reserve. The fence around the memorial was later replaced by a concrete one which has since been removed.

On the let stands St Andrew's Church which was erected as a result of the fund raising efforts of Rev Duncan. Beyond it are the brick buildings replacing those destroyed in 1912 fire. The first of these is the general store of Barr and Tyer. Behind is the two storied Whytes Hotel.

On the right is the two storied McColl plumbers building and next to it is the home of the Manawatu Herald (now Manawatu Print), which was built 1879. This publication began in 1878, in a building next to All Saints' Church. It served the district well, although not only from this site, until 1996. There is no building next to the Herald as in 1920 the Racing Club office was burnt down and was not replaced until 1922.

The first verandah denotes Bauckhams store. This business was moved in 1924 to a new building on the corner of Clyde and Main Streets, which was built after a fire in that area. Bauckham's store was the forerunner of Foxton New World which was opened accross the street in 2002.

The picket fence in the photo was replaced by the present roughcast one as part of the Beautifying Society's upgrade in 1921-22. The present day plantings in Ihakara Gardens were part of a 1990s clean up by te Historical Society and Keep Foxton Beautiful, using funds from the sale of the Band Hall in Cook Street.

Identification

Date

February 28, 2010