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Dovedale and its History

(April 28th 2012)
Report by Coralie Smith

If you've never been to Dovedale then it's well worth making the effort and going for a drive. On a recent autumn Saturday the Motueka and District Historical Association travelled via Neudorf to the peaceful valley named for the bird of peace.

The occasional rattle of a cattle truck and the roar of a boy racer car broke that peace, otherwise it was only the sound of chatter that could be heard as we perused the many archives the newly formed group already hold and asked questions of the locals.

Dovedale history stalwarts

If you are a descendant of one of the families who lived in Dovedale, you will be happy to know there is a small but enthusiastic group who are collecting the history of the area before it disappears. A meeting held three years ago saw the Dovedale Hall packed to the rafters, the interest is so high in preserving the history of this valley.

Some of this history can be seen on the walls of the hall; for example a map showing where the various families lived and what area of land they had. Using the map as a base, the aim is to find documentation such as newspaper reports, school records, family histories and photos of the houses and the people to make a complete history of the area between Woodstock and Awa including the Win and Lloyds Valleys, Thorpe, and Churchill. Place names such as Brandy Creek, Sunday Creek and Jacobs Ladder have you wondering how they got their name and now the Dovedale Hstory Group can tell you.

In typical country fashion the Dovedale ladies welcomed us with a delicious morning tea. The local names were soon tripping off tongues as we looked at rugby and cricket photos, school photos and family photos - Thorn, Hawkes, Tunnicliffe, Burnett, Douglas, Bensemann, Batt, Silcock and Win to name a few. School records displayed the same names. The amount of material there was enough to keep the tongues wagging until lunchtime.

Dovedale Methodist Church

We walked across the road to sit under the oak trees by the Methodist Church to eat our picnic lunch. The church is something else saved by the local residents and it is kept in good order. It is being repiled at the moment so we could only look at the outside.

In February it was used to display wedding dresses as part of the popular Dovedale Fair. We admired the autumnal colours and the views before strolling round the cemetery. More names - Hocton, Stringer, Sixtus - names from marriages between the families of the districts nearby.
On the way home we went searching for old homesteads. After searching for 40 years one couple found remnants of an old family home recycled in a woolshed. Others saw the two homes that were in the Hocton family.

The story of Appo Hocton's journey from China and how he came to live and flourish in Dovedale makes for interesting reading. The book will be in your library. It is only one of many that have been written and more are in the pipeline.

Of particular interest to the Dovedale group was a folder of photographs that a gentleman from Wakefield had rescued. Largely unnamed, he had asked us to take the folder with us and see whether anyone could put names to faces. Suzette James, who is writing the Thorn family history, kindly obliged with some names.

We have scanned the photos and put on them on disk so we can continue the search. If you have family from Dovedale then pay us a visit at the research room at the Motueka Museum on Tuesdays and we can display the photos and hopefully you can name them.

Likewise, if you have anything that can be added to the archives of the Dovedale group then please get in touch with us and we will pass you on.

Time ran out on us and we need to go back to explore the surrounding valleys to find the old houses, hop and tobacco kilns and other remnants of a bygone age.

Don't let time run out on you - pull out of the cupboards, the sheds, from under the beds, the history you have been meaning to give to the historians of Dovedale.

Picnic country style

Historical Society life members Jennie Askew, Pam Fry, Eileen Stewart

 
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