More Info →Page 81 - Levin 75th Jubilee Supplement

Description

Tom Coutie and Son occupied these premises in the Public Trust building in 1961.

Older territorials such as the Levin Troop of the Man­awatu Mounted Rifles also trained here during the horse era. The section often re­sounded to Sergeant Major Jimmy Ryan's stentorian voice as he put a squad through drill. He was not av­erse to using his cane in the right place.

The hall was acquired by the borough about1950.

Turning into Stanley Street, the Masonic Hall was built in 1922 with additions in 1955. It is used as a public hall as well as a lodge head­quarters.

The A.A. Mutual Building was built in 1954, then for the North Island Insurance Union and the Manawatu Au­tomobile Association. Don Sweetzer was the first man­ager.

The building of the court house, across the road, has been variously put at 1903 and 1907. The Levin School log reports that a holiday was declared in 1903 for pupils to see the opening of the post office and the courthouse. However the date 1907 is said to have been painted on the building.

The courthouse served as a police station for many years, with jail cells at the rear. Additions have been made over the years, and the front remodelled in recent times.

The police station, next door, was built about the mid-1940s. Levin's first sergeant was Sergeant Grainger. Previously the highest rank had been Con­stable-in-charge.

Sergeant Grainger served as a constable when he lived in Hokio Beach Road. After working away from the district for some years he returned, with promotion to sergeant, to take charge of the new sta­tion.

EAST SIDE

THIS account now de­scribes the eastern side of the central business dis­trict, All the buildings now in existence from Stuckey Street north to Frost Motors' spare parts have been built from about the 1940s on.

Next to Abel's furniture shop is a burnt-out site. The Reliance Rubber Company traded in the building from 1953 to 1963. The Rosanna Coffee Lounge occupied the building when it was gutted in 1973.

Rixon Manufacturing (for­merly Canton Industries) is built over the site of a skating rink. The rink, on the floor of the pit, operated about the 1950s with Maurie Sounders as proprietor. The operation was not particularly success­ful as the rink was unpro­tected from the weather.

The building used by Doud's Launderette was orig­inally two flats. The Citizens' Advice Bureau used it from 1973 to 1979.

Reidrubber Tyre Service is where Don Cronin and George Sinkinson started Sincro Engineering. The first part of the building was con­structed in 1949, with various additions over the years. The business was shifted to South Road in 1970, in as­sociation with Duthie's Holdings.

Where Wrightson's Appliance Service Department is was built as a joinery fac­tory for Alf Hastedt in 1947. The section cost $140. Later it was occupied by a short-lived produce auction market and later still by Mr Mulholland's upholstery bus­iness.

Electric Refrigeration has been there since about 1958 with appliance repairs. The name was later changed to Wrightsons.

The neighbouring busi­ness, run by Lucas Services automotive electrical facilities since 1971, was started by Colin Taylor in 1951.

Farm Services was built in 1948, after Jack Lines and Dick Collins shifted their firm from Bath Street. Ross Tilson replaced Mr Collins In 1956 and Geoff Spencer joined the firm in 1986. Jack Lines sold out his interest and retired in 1976. Mr Tilson and Mr Spencer now run the busi­ness.

The section to the north used by Farm Services has never been built on.

DAIRY

The school dairy occupied the next section. The site has been empty since the build­ing was gutted by fire.

The original south building of Levin Auctioneering Co. Ltd, was built for Jack George in 1955 - 56. Frank Corbett took over the company in 1361. This is the centre of the present building.

The adjoining building to the south, previously used by N.Z. Farmers Distributors Co. as a hardware etc. busi­ness, was taken over in the 1968 expansion.

The shop to the north, pre­viously Mr Benseman's sad^­dlery shop, was taken over later.

Frost Motors’ premises were built in 1951 for Ron Frost - now and for many years past the president of the Motorsport Association of N.Z. Their spare parts de­partment was a shop in the ­early days, at one time a food shop of some kind.

In my earliest memory, about 1916, that building was the residence of a well-known Maori identity, Mrs Putu Watson.

G.F. Eeles' electrical busi­ness was in this building at least by 1925.

Belmont Furnishings was there at least from 1950 to 1956 and Montgomery's Fur­nishings and Furniture Ser­vices started there, before moving up gown. Frost Motors took over the shop in 1971 for their spare parts department.

First on the neighbouring section was George Thomp­son with a plumber's shop. In 1917 W.H. (Bill) Jepson bought the business and op^­erated it for many years.

After Bill's death his daugh­ter Gladys Jenson managed the business until Dick Thompson was appointed manager in 1953; continuing to 1978.

About 1973, Ballinger Plumbers bought the busi­ness. Since about 1978 it has belonged to N.Z. Plumbers Merchants Society Ltd. wholesale plumbers. The shop was extended to the south in 1954.

The next four shops were built by Merv Wilson in 1951 ^­but were sold soon to various owners.

Where the Wooden Shoe Restaurant is was formerly Barneo's musical instrument shop from 1962 until 1964. The present^-Top Knot hair­dressing salon occupies the shop run by Blair Hammond as a lawn mower business from, 1957 to 1963.

This business has carried through, with various shifts, to Chainsaw Services now in Oxford Street North.

FIRE

And where Don's Pet Shop has been for the last four years or so was first owned by David Yee as a green­grocery and fruiterers in 1951. This shop was gutted by fire about 1956, and re­built.

The last shop in this block, formerly Jarnels and now empty, was used by Gordon Sorenson from 1955 for his accountancy business. Downstairs, on pit level, was his T.A.B. agency.

The town shops occupied by the Levin Motor Cycle Centre are obviously both of different vintages. They must have been built from the 1920s to the 1940s.

The empty section next door had a building from early days. Chapman and Walker, painters and paperhangers, were early occupants with Harry Walker carrying on alone from 1910. His son Billy ran the business from 1916.

Tom Coutie was the prop­rietor of this business from about 1950 to about 1960. The building was destroyed by fire in 1978 and now the site is vacant.

The building occupied by the Night Owl B.Y.O: restaur­ant, formerly Ricardo's Re­staurant, was built by W.H. Walker about 1955. Other uses have been as Herman's Haystack restaurant and as a slot car club.

BLACKS

The Levin Service Station was originally started by Tom Gollans before 1930. He was first in business in what is now Wholesale Furniture in Parker's Building. Hugh and John Black

bought the business in 1930. The firm is still in the Black brothers' estate, but Bill Re­ndell has been manager since 1960.

When petrol pumps were first used in service stations they were nearly all on the edge of the footpath, with the tanks under the footpath. Cases of benzine containing two four gallon-tins were still used into the early 1930s;

The metered parking area at the north end of the service station was the site of Phyl Levy's first used caryard, from 1 952_.to 1967.

The first building on the Dalgety NZ, Ltd. site was Tantrum and Greenaway garage. Bruce Greenaway had the building constructed in 1939, Jack Tantrum was the working partner.

N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd. bought the building in 1947 to establish their stock and station agency and grain and seed business.

The name was changed to Dalgety Loan in 1968, and to Dalgety N.Z. Ltd, later. In 1966 the hardware section shifted from where the Dalgety processing depart­ment is now, next to Levin School, to the above building structure built prior to 1914.

Mr Vincent left the firm when he returned from World War I about 1919 and Frank Parker carried on alone until 1938, when he sold the busi­ness to Joe Trout.

The Public Trust bought the building in 1939 for their offices. The old building was demolished in 1976 and a modern two-storey block built.

PRINTED

During demolition evi­dence of a printing business was found in the back sec­tion. The walls were insulated with sound-deadening saw­dust, much to the discomfort of the demolition workers.

Three commercial travel­lers' rooms were upstarts until the 1939 purchase. These rooms were common in the days when transport was limited.

Salesmen would arrive by train and come into Levin by coach to display their wares to businessmen in these rooms, rented specially for the purpose.

On the north-east comer of Bath and Oxford Streets is the building erected about 1904 as the Arcadia Private Hotel. It was the only building in Levin with three storeys and the largest private hotel between Palmerston North and Wellington. The section cost $68.

It was built for W.H. (Will) Wilson who baked bread at the rear even before the hotel was built. He retailed his goods in the shop later taken over by A.L. Williams (now Woolworths). He probably had a town run with a baker's cart.

At one stage Mr Wilson operated a restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel.

In 1910 Mr Williams took over the bakery at the rear of the hotel and the shop on the west side of Oxford Street. Mr Williams built a new Bakery - in Regent Lane in 1913.

The bakery apparently re­mained out of use until 1933 when Edgar Phelfs and Her­bert Wenham resumed bak­ing, under the name Arcadia Bakery. They shifted to the corner of Devon Street in 1935.

REMOVED

About 1911 the top storey of the hotel was damaged by fire, and removed. The re­maining two storeys were used for accommodation for many years.

Herbert Barnett had it later as in 1918 he advertised for a cow lost from the block on the southeast corner of Bath and Cambridge Streets.

Later Elizabeth Barnett, Herbert's mother, took over the hotel. Subsequently Mr McFarlane bought the build­ing.
A shop was built in the north corner for His Master's Voice sometime before 1949. This shop sold gramophones and records and was a forerunner of today's record shops.

By the 1930s the accom­modation service had ceased. John Elleray had his dental mechanic's business upstairs in the 1940s, and Mrs Weir had her Sharon Beauty Salon.

In 1949 Allen's took over the Arcadia Building. The store was sold in 1974 and the following year the ground floor of the old Arcadia Build­ing was altered. The Eastern and Central Savings Bank moved into the front premises from The Mall. The Social Welfare Department also moved, from Queen Street, occupying part of the Bath Street frontage as office space.

There was an alleyway then through to what is now the Central Lane. It was left at the insistence of Jimmy Rimmer when he bought Ross's old shop from Mr Allen. Mr Rimmer wanted easy vehicular access to the back of his shop. At that time the Arcadia complex cut off the Bath Street end of the Central Lane.

AITKENS

Next south was a shop oc­cupied by noted musician Ken Aitken, who sold station­ery items and probably musi­cal instruments here prior to 1920.

Mr Hannah's London Pie Shop (early 1930s) and later Mr Webber's undertaker's business were two later oc­cupants. Peacock's fashion shop is now on the site.

And the Investment Store is now on what was the empty section next to the Arcadia up to about the 1930s.

From 1929 Allen's Store extended progressively south, taking over the shops mentioned earlier. Finally in 1949 Allen's took over the Ar­cadia Building, using the two floors for furniture display.

When Alfred Allen retired, his son Jack managed the business. It was sold to a syndicate in 1974 and con­tinued as a department store for only a few months.

In 1975 the store was closed and the building, di­vided into the present shops and offices.

The small shops built on the site of the hotel stables in Bath Street are still there. The best known was the taxi office, with taxi stand outside. In 1974 the taxi office shifted to Chamberlain Street as the council wanted to increase the number of traffic lanes.

Present occupants are an extension of Cornucopia Crafts; the Candy Kitchen; a branch office of a fi­nance company, and S.W. Nockels, Typesetter.

NORTH AGAIN

Returning north along Ox­ford Street, the building hous­ing Doug Hislop's, Fabric Specialist, and G. C. Young's Fruiterers was probably built about 1930 - on the empty section south of Allen's first shop.

The first use of the section next to the Arcadia was as a butchery. John and Walter Ryder opened Levin's first butchery here. Walter later carried on alone.

The site now occupied by Smith’s womenswear to the Eastern and Central bank, was Allen's Department Store for many years. We must go north along the street for this story.

Where Muir's Discount Store (supermarket) and Lady Luv womenswear are now was formerly a drapery, a branch of C.M. Ross of Palmerston North. This existed at least about 1920.

Alfred Allen was the man­ager at that time. In 1929 he bought the business; thus founding A.W. Allen's store. Soon after he moved the bus­iness south, purchasing Stiles and Matheson's drap­ery business and building.

The building was built by George Kenmer Douglas [NOTE: Ken Douglas has confirmed that the corrrect spelling of his middle name is Kenmer - not kenmar as appears in the article - 4 September 2011] in 1904 or earlier as a builder's workshop. The two-storey building stood on the present site of Smith's and probably part of the Blue Moods Ar­cade. The top storey was taken off at some stage. A small shop in the south corner was occupied by A.O. (Bully) Retter's footwear repair business at least in 1930.

Fok Kew Kong, G. C. Young's brother-in-law, was probably the first greengrocer in the shop in the 1930s. Later Mr Young took over as proprietor. It is still a family business, with son Neil Young as man­ager.

Home Handicrafts was in the next shop until 1980, when Lady Luv moved in. Home Handicrafts is now on the west side of Oxford Street, just south of Cor­nucopia, With Mrs Paul Tucker as the proprietress.

Muir's Discount Market was James (Jimmy) Rimmer's grocery store in 1929. After Alfred Allen va­cated his drapery, Rimmer shifted his grocery to the building.

Identification

Date

March 1981