George Frederick Allen (1837 to 1929), arrived in New Zealand from England in 1860 and managed the ‘Great Barrier Kauri Timber and Copper Mining Company. However, the company did not thrive, and he left after about 18 months and returned to his old profession of architect and surveying.

The following material is provided with the permission of Val Burr, his great-granddaughter, and is copyright to her and Aroha Allen, another great-granddaughter. Thank you Val and Aroha. The material has been abridged to include mainly that related to Great Barrier Island.

 

The Allen family of Wanganui, August 1889. Back Row (from left): Fred and Charlie or (more probably) Charlie and Fred, Frank. Front Row: Maude, George Frederic, Carrie, Ralph.

 

George Frederic Allen was born at 69 Tooley Street, London Bridge, on 15 February 1837, the eldest son of George Allen and his wife Marie, nee Day. George Frederic later wrote: "My father, George Allen, was the second son of a private gentleman of Brentford, Middlesex. His elder brother was named Charles, his younger brother was named William - there was one sister." Unfortunately he did not think to tell us her name - or that of his father.

He continued: "My father was articled to Mr Sames, (an) architect, and succeeded to his business, which was also at 69 Tooley Street. He was District Surveyor of Rotherhithe and Halcham; Surveyor to the United Parishes of St. Olave, St., Thomas and St. John; and Surveyor to the Honorary Company of Haberdashers."

The firm, called Allen, Snooke & Stock, designed many of the principle warehouses on the Thames Embankment and amongst the works attributed to George Allen senior were the facades at each end of the London Bridge, which had been rebuilt in the 1820s. It is not known if his work was included in the bridge parts which were taken to Arizona in the 1960s. George senior died on 28 June 1848, leaving his wife and a young family of six children, then aged between one and eleven years

In October 1853, sixteen-year-old George junior left his family home in Brighton to board in London, where he studied architecture and surveying in his late father's business. He was a pupil of Henry Stock, one of the partners. In 1856, the family moved to 'Sydenham Cottage' in Epsom, where the household consisted of George, his mother, two brothers, three sisters, and their two servants, Susan and Harriet.

Friends of the Allens' by this time included the family of the Reverend George Loudon Hanson and his wife, Frances Jane, nee Surridge. Reverend Hanson was the vicar of Great Burstead, Essex. His mother, in turn, was Elizabeth Browne, from the lineage of the Viscounts' Montague. Elizabeth's brother, John Browne, had declined to become the tenth Viscount Montague and therefore this title had lapsed.

The Hanson family was apparently quite well-off. They had servants, a coachman, gardeners and all the trappings of middle-class Victorian affluence. The teenage children from the Allen and Hanson families spent a lot of time together. Tom Hanson was a particularly close friend to George, who had clearly also taken notice of Tom's sister, Caroline Frances. Caroline, who was known as 'Carrie,' had been born at Felstead, Essex, on 31 August 1840.

It had been arranged that George would be taken into his late father's firm as a junior partner when he completed his articles. However, he had a friend, Captain Young, who had visited New Zealand, and who suggested they both go there and start a sawmill to mill kauri for sale in Auckland. As such, while still in England, he had accepted the position of engineer to the 'Great Barrier Island Kauri Timber & Copper Mining Company.' Accordingly, George arrived in Auckland on the Egmont in July 1860.

In reminiscences he wrote for a St. Andrews Kilwinning meeting, he stated that he: "then went to Great Barrier Island ... where I worked for eighteen months, spent £145 on my work, and came back to Auckland owing £20 and having £5 in the Bank." They had purchased all the necessary sawmilling equipment for the operation and employed both Maori and European labour. They had also built a dam in a stream on the island that was said at the time to be the largest dam in New Zealand.

© 2001 Aroha Allen, Foxton, NZ

George Frederic Allen wrote the following caption on the back of this painting - which measures around 20 cm x 13 cm:

"Captn. Young and I boarded at the cottage of an old Swedish sailor named Robinson, during the first 3 months we were at the Great Barrier Island in 1860. He was a ship's carpenter till about 50, when he married a London woman of about 40, who was an excellent cook and housekeeper. When we got our first cottages built, Mrs Robinson used to do our washing and bread baking.

This view is sketched from the track leading from Robinson's Cottage, at the head of Kai-arara Bay at Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, to Kiwi-riki Bay.

The highest hill is Hirakimata (2,330 ft.), called on the Admiralty Chart, Mount Hobson, and the sharp peak on the right is Steeple-peak, and the hill with the flat top Tower-peak. In the middle distance, to the right of Tower-peak is double peaked Mount Young, so called after my partner, Mr John Young.

Immediately under Hirakimata is Allen's Peak. The climb to this is difficult and somewhat dangerous. I was glad when I had got down from it. I afterwards climbed Hirakimata, the ascent of which was not dangerous, but very difficult on account of the countless trees and shrubs blown down by the wind. I got to the top at sunset, and made a fire and slept there. - Nothing to eat since breakfast. In the morning there was a magnificent view in all directions. I had a telescope, and could make out the Windmill at Auckland, St. Paul's Church, and (of course) Mount Eden. I got down to where I had left my lunch at 11:00 a.m., and to the Bay by 2:00 p.m. rather hungry. I was accompanied by my faithful Newfoundland, Flora.

The surface of the foreground and middle-distance is stunted bracken (rarahue) which to the left has numerous isolated rewarewa trees. The dark 'blobs' in the forest below Allen's Peak are kauri trees many of the 4 and 5 feet in diameter. The green flat below Mt. Young is a raupo swamp."

(Signed:) "Geo. Fred. Allen, Sept. 1862."

 It appears that he brought his dog Flora to New Zealand with him. Certainly he was training his dog Flora in London in 1856, and it appears a number of times in the diary. The 1856 Flora was a male dog, probably named as in 'flora and fauna'. He still had the dog when he reached Wanganui in 1863.

With most of their capital gone, they paid off their men and headed back to Auckland. George eventually obtained work for a few months as an assistant in the Church of England Grammar School, until an opening came up for him to return to his own profession. In conjunction with his new partner, James Orme Barnard, he won £20 in a competition to design the first St. Matthews Church in Auckland.

In winter 1862, "Mr Barnard and I were offered appointments in the Province of Wellington, as District Surveyors, by the Prime Minister, Mr William Fox. We had worked 16 hours a day and had earned, in the six months of our partnership, £350. We were loath to leave Auckland, but the certain salary of £300 each, decided us to accept. In (November) 1862 ... I was sent to Whanganui (sic) for the summer months - and have been here practically ever since" (ref: Kilwinning).

While George made himself at home at Wanganui, Carrie, his fiancée, was sailing for New Zealand aboard the Ganges. She arrived in Auckland on 12 October 1863. The couple were married in Auckland nine days later, in the newly-built St. Matthews Church, which George had designed. George had asked his employers for three months off for a honeymoon. When they refused and would only permit him one month's holiday, he rather unwisely resigned. He then took up private surveying. All went well for a while, the second of the New Zealand Wars occurred and all surveying ceased.

Carrie, who is recalled as "a typical English gentlewoman," soon had other diversions though. The couple's first child, Frederick Hanson Allen, was born in October 1864. With his birth started the trend of giving each child the second name 'Hanson,' after Carrie's rather distinguished family. This trend continued into the subsequent generation, but for sons only.

Carrie was buried at the front end of the Matarawa Church, in the tiny Matawara Cemetery, just down the road from 'Oneida'. Her grave is now unmarked, but is locatable in the church's records. After the funeral, George was taken to the resort town of Rotorua to recuperate.

George died at Masterton, aged 92, on 28 February 1929. He also is buried in an unmarked, but locatable, grave at Masterton Cemetery.  

 

Compiled by Val Burr (their great granddaughter) 

 

George Frederic Allen's Reminiscences

Prepared for a meeting of St Andrews Kilwinning, but not used.

Notes: This article is undated, but pre-dates G.F.A.'s departure from the Wanganui area in the early 1900s. It is copied in this instance from an imperfect  typed sheet (complete with holes punched through a couple of words), which in turn is copied from G.F.Allen's original pencilled notes presently held in the Wanganui Museum. 

The article, which excludes the author's name, is clearly in G.F.A.'s handwriting. It belonged to his son Ralph Allen, and was conveyed to the museum by Trevor Hoskings, formerly Ralph's neighbour in Palmerston North.  It is typed almost exactly, having been broken into somewhat smaller paragraphs than the original for this mode of presentation. Occasionally obvious errors in the typed version have been corrected. Sometimes commas have come or gone, while rarely a word has been 'corrected' or an underlining of a word has been dropped - the original having been prepared as speech notes. 

As the typed version may not have been perfect in the first place, cautious researchers should either quote this web-based version as their source, or refer to the original at Whanganui Museum. Comments in bold type are mine. The spelling "Whanganui" is most certainly G.F.A.'s, and the original may prove to have a few more example's of "Whanganui" (the correct spelling) instead of "Wanganui" (the 'modified' spelling). The only likely museum reference shown is Historical Record Vol. 14, No. 1, May 1983, p. 17-19. - Val Burr (2/1/2001)

 

I arrived in Auckland by the good ship Egmont on August 7, 1860;  [the Egmont arrived on 19^th July-dja] and soon after then, went to the Great Barrier Island 45 miles northeast off Auckland where I worked hard for about 18 months, spent £145 on my work, and came back to Auckland, owing £20, and having £5 in the Bank. I got employment as assistant in the Auckland Church of England Grammar School for a few months, when an opening occurred by which I was able to return to my own profession as an architect and surveyor.

In conjunction with a Mr James Orme Barnard I gained a premium of £20 in a competition against 5 other architects, for a design for the first St. Matthew's Church, a building which is now as sound as ever, being built of Kauri, and is now used as the Parish Hall.

80 Years in New Zealand

Chapter One - School Days

By Chas E.H. Allen (written c1944)

 

 

I was born at Wanganui on 25th June, 1866. My father was George Frederic Allen, Architect and Surveyor. He served his articles with his father's firm, Allen, Snooke and Stock, London. This firm designed many of the principle warehouses on the Thames Embankment. Allen Senr. designed the beautiful facades at each end of London Bridge across the Thames.

It had been arranged that when my father had completed his articles, that he would be taken into the firm as a junior partner. However, my father, then at 21 years of age, preferred to venture. He went to New Zealand with a friend, Captain Young, who had been to New Zealand a few years before. Young proposed that they should start a sawmill on the Great Barrier Island, to mill kauri timber to send to Auckland or elsewhere as seemed best.

They collected all the money they could between them and bought large steam boilers and sawmilling machinery, firebricks, etc., that were required for the purpose and brought them by sailing vessel, arriving at the Great Barrier Island in 1860. The boilers were plugged to keep the water out and then lowered from the ship, into the sea and floated ashore. The machinery etc. was landed in due course and after a lot of hard work and worry the mill was finally got into working order, with the help of white men and Maoris.

They erected whares for the men, also a cook house, but while they were camped in the tents, my father said to Captain Young that there was a curious fungus on his blankets. On inspection, Captain Young said, "Fungus be blowed. It's fly-blow," much to my father's disgust. Of course, new blankets seem always to attract the blowflies, no doubt due to the dressing used in the manufacture.

The sawmill was getting on nicely until the first Maori (New Zealand) War broke out about 1864 (sic - the mill closed early in 1863). After this there was no possibility of them carrying on the mill, as there was no sale for the timber. They managed to pay off their men and, having no money left, they decided to throw up the mill and go to Auckland. Arriving there, work was almost unobtainable and they had to take anything they could get. 

(Note: Charlie's brother Ralph commented on 25 November 1951 that "By this time, Allen and Young had spent most of their capital and owing to this, and probably also to the first Maori War coming on, decided to close the mill and seek work in Auckland instead." He added that, regarding the sawmill on Great Barrier Island of 1860, "Father [GFA] told me that he and Capt. young built what was then the largest dam in New Zealand on a stream, some miles from the sea. [The} then started their men felling kauri trees - cross-cutting and rolling logs into the streambed. For some eighteen months there was no rain to fill the dam, [but] they kept the men going, hoping to get all the logs washed down to the sea when it did rain. Then it started to rain, and went on and on - filled up the dam, which overflowed and broke away. All the kauri logs went down to the sea in one wild rush, broke the boom which had been prepared to hold them, and went out to sea. A few of the logs were salvaged and towed to Auckland, but the majority scattered far and wide, and were lost.")

Compiled by Val Burr (their great granddaughter) 

 

 

The Children of George Frederic Allen & Caroline Frances Allen, nee Hanson, who were married in Auckland, in October 1863.

1.    Frederick Hanson ('Fred') Allen: Fred was born on 7 October 1864 at Wanganui, NZ. He was a farmer, a surveyor, and later a local body politician. He married Ethel Elizabeth Barns in April 1894 and their children were Roy Arnold ('Eric') Allen, Nita Allen (McCallum), Rupert Neville Barns Allen, Keith Allen, Grant Allen, and Nancie Allen (Frizzell). 

Fred died on 21 September 1946, at Raetihi. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1864/233; Marriage Reg. 1894/1447]

 

2.    Charles Ernest Hanson ('Charlie') Allen: Charlie was born on 25 June 1886, however, his birth registration details are followed by "A. Act 1920" which is not yet explainable (it seems highly unlikely that he was adopted). He was a farmer and surveyor and local body politician, and was twice mayor of Frankton Borough (now part of the city of Hamilton), after it became a borough in 1913. He resigned the mayoralty in 1916 when he left the district.  

He wrote the unpublished book Eighty Years in New Zealand, a copy of which is deposited at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. After an engagement that failed even though he had paid for his fiancée to take a trip home to England before the planned marriage (1897), he married Julia Caldwell in 1901, but there were no children. 

He died at Wanganui on 18 July 1953. A railway suburb and a street in Frankton are named after him. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 11866/150; Marriage Reg. 1901/1921; Death Reg. 1953/640]

 

3.    Barnard John Hanson Allen: Barnard's birth appears not to have been registered, however, he was born in late September 1868.  He died at Wanganui on 10 November 1868, aged six weeks, from Inflammation of the (lungs?). There appears to have been a whooping cough epidemic passing through the town in early November, judging by other death registrations at that time. 

Possibly he was named after Mr J. Barnard, his father's partner in the architectural and surveying firm 'Barnard & Allen.' [Reference details are: Birth Reg. none found; Death Reg. 1868/222 as "Barnard Allen"]

 

4.    Arnold Hanson Allen: Arnold was born at Wanganui on 30 November 1870 (or possibly it should be 1869), but died on 10 March 1875, with his death certificate stating that he was then five. He died of acute laryngitis. A photo exists of him with his mother and older brothers. 

Both Fred and Maude gave the name Arnold to their sons, presumably in his memory. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1870/395; Death Reg. 1875/100]

 

5.    Francis Dillon Hanson ('Frank') Allen: Frank was born in 1872 or 1873, but his birth registration has not been traced. He was a farmer at Koriniti on the Wanganui River and married Louisa Mary Dykes on 19 March 1913, at Putiki Mission. They had either one or two children, but the child or children died very young, and the name's are not known. 

He died in 1942, aged 68, and was buried at Aramoho Cemetery, Wanganui, on 21 April 1941. Louisa died in 1942, aged 69, and was buried on 2 September 1942. Their grave is Block C, Row 10, plot 546. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. None found under Allen or Hanson or spelling variations; Marriage Reg. 1913/1034; Death Reg. not researched]

 

6.    Maude Olive Hanson Allen: Maude's birth was not apparently registered, however she is understood to have been born on 29 June 1875 at Wanganui. 

She married Oliver Taylor on 5 April 1899, at Te Pohue, Wanganui, and had ten children, of which the first and last died at birth. The other eight were: Arnold Edward Taylor, Vernon Ellis Taylor, Evadne Moana Taylor (Ball), Edith Olive Taylor (Skinner/Oldfield), Cedric Hanson Allen Taylor, Theodore Ernest Selwyn Taylor, Rowena Gweneth Taylor (Mann/Webber), and Viola Ngarete Taylor (Walsh). Maude's marriage then broke up. 

She died at Auckland on 4 November 1968. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. None found under Allen or Hanson or spelling variations; Marriage Reg. 1899/1854; Death Reg. not researched]

 

7.     Ralph Hanson Allen. Ralph's birth was born on 11 September 1879, at Wanganui. He also worked as a surveyor and farmer, but for many years (c1920) he was a Rural Land Valuer for the Government, based at Palmerston North. He married Mary Jones at Fred's home at Mangamahu on 1 January 1904, but they were divorced on 10 May 1917. There were no children. 

He then married Ida Constance Holland at 'Tayforth', her sister's Wanganui home, on 29 September 1920. They had four children: Vivian Hayward Allen (Taylor), Neville Hanson Allen, Adrienne Jean Allen (Burr) and Warwick Hanson Allen. Ralph died at Palmerston North on 8 May 1958. [Reference details are: Birth Reg. 1879/227; Marriage Reg. (certificates held); Death Reg. not researched]

 

 

English Shipping

The Egmont left Gravesend on the 5^th April for Auckland with a full  cargo and 102 passengers.

Otago Witness 30 June 1860. p4.

 

July 19 - Egmont, ship, 800 tons, Gibson, from London. - Passengers Cabin: ……. John B. Young, G.F. Allen. ……..

Daily Southern Cross 20^th July, 1860 page 2