Peter Arcus
- Description
A native of the Shetland Isles migrated to New Zealand as a 14 year old with his family in 1875. They established a boad building yard in Oriental Bay in Wellington. Peter qualified as a builder and joiner. In 1889 he was allotted a 10 acre block of land at Levin by the Wellington Manawatur Railway Company at the cost of 4 pounds an acre. It was standing bush situated between Weraroa Road and Salisbury Street. Later two and a half acres were sold to Mr W. M Clark, a name that still lives on in Levin as the owners of the Levin drapery firm. Another two and a half acres were sold to Mr H. Walkley. He built himself a house and created a large orchard, married Ellen Howan, a school teacher in 1895 and raised three sons, Colvin, Leslie, Gilbert and a daughter Vera. Peter built many houses in Levin, the first Wesleyan church in 1985, the Century Hall in 1900 and the Muhunoa School in 1902.
About 35 years ago I asked my Aunt Vera to write doen some of her memories of her early days in Levin. This is one extract.
Because of the shortage of teachers in 1916 because of the war and with her tow older suns serving in France Ellen Arcus returned to teaching. With her 12 year old daughter Vera they moved into the school house at Muhunoa East. She taught school until 1920.Vera’s memories –
1918 – we were both very ill with what we thought was a very bad cold. However we recovered without the assistance of a doctor. Mother was always good with home cures.
Then we heard about this dreadful influenza which was raging all over the world and people dying in the thousands. We were told of an emergency hospital being set up in the Levin School and volunteers were being called for to do nursing and to do chores associated with it. Schools were closed and people were discouraged to meet in groups or public places, no pictures, concerts or even church. So Mother and I drove the gig up to Levin calling in on the way to see how a young family of friends were. The man called to us for help as we arrived, their little boy wa having convulsions and the mother could hardly raise her head from her bed. The baby was sitting in a filthy pram, there was no one fit to attend her. The father too was very ill and no one passing was willing to enter a house of such sickness.
Mother set to work nursing them all and I was able to clean the baby and feed her. We stayed for three days then Mother went on to the temporary hospital and I continued to look after the family. I was about 13 at the time.
Mother did night nursing with as many others who remained fit to do so. Patients and nurses were dying all the time. You can imagine the primitive conditions of the schoolrooms.
One of the helpers Mother most relied on was Hector McDonald who just slept when he was able night or day and did the worst chores, the dirtiest jobs in the most cheerful way. And when there were deaths only Hector offered to do the necessary jobs. At the time he was on reprieve from serving a sentence for assault on a policeman whose face was scarred when Hector was in a brawl. As he was o desperately needed at the hospital they left him there to help. The day the hospital was closed the Police and Hector’s cousin Ronald came in Ronald’s smart new car to take Hector to jail. His sentimental send off by the nurses, doctors and patients was the highlight of the exercise!
Identification
- Date
- 2006
Creation
- Created By
- Unknown
Object rights
Taxonomy
- Community Tags