Community Contributed

Harold Henry Podmore, Foxton

Harold Henry Podmore was born in St.Albans, Victoria, Australia in 1890, the second son of Charles Henry and Lousa Podmore.

Date of birth	1890
Date of death	June 1960

Charles Podmore was a blacksmith at sawmills in the backblocks of Victoria and his son Harry went to country schools including a period at Long Warri School.

When Harry was eleven years of age the Podmore family including Harry and his three brothers and one sister left Australia and came to Palmerston North where Harry went to night school. He also worked as a butcher boy and in the Times office.

Two years later in 1903, the family came to Foxton where Charles continued in his trade as a blacksmith assisted for a short while by Harry. However at the age of fourteen he went into the flax industry and continued there for the rest of his life.

He worked at different flaxmills around the district in the days when these mills dotted the river front. He was also a contract paddocker for many years in the fibre fields by the Foxton Racecourse.

He married Annie Harvey in 1916 at the Foxton Methodist Church. They had six children - four sons and two daughters, and fifteen grandchildren.

He served in the 1914-18 - as a member of the 6th Wellington Mounted Regiment and saw service in Palestine and Egypt. On returning home to Foxton, in addition to resuming his flax work, he went into poultry farming at the bottom of Cook Street, and later milked cows and had a daily milk round.

He joined the Foxton Borough Council as a councillor in July 1937, and served as councillor until June 1944. In June 1944 he was elected Mayor and held this office until November 1956.

Besides his work for the council he also worked in many other spheres:

· He was a prominent member of the Foxton Methodist Church, and a collector for the Foundation for the Blind

· He was President of the Flax Workers Union for five years and Director of N.Z. Woolpack & Textiles Ltd. for eleven years

· He was a member of the Foxton District High School Committee and was Secretary for some years

· He was an active member of the Foxton Branch of the R.S.A. and also the Foxton Sunshine Club (Foxton Senior Citizens Club)

· The Palmerston North Hospital Board was another interest from 1950-1956.

He died in June 1960.

Contributed by has daughter Margery Tremewan.

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