Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies inside Otago Harbour, some northeast of Dunedin's city centre.
History
Early Māori settlement
The Māori name for the bay at Port Chalmers is Koputai meaning ‘full tide’ and refers to an incident in which a group of warriors decided to spend the night in a cave that once existed at what was later known as Boiler Point and pulled their canoes well above the high tide mark. Overnight, the tide rose and the beached canoes were set adrift. As some of them swam out to reclaim the canoes those onshore cried out “Koputai!, Koputai!”When a peace was made between Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu, about 1780, Koputai was one of two southern terminuses of Kāi Tahu territory. The chiefs Karetai, Te Matenga Taiaroa and Tūhawaiki and other Māori frequented Koputai.
By February 1839, the Weller brothers of Otago had set up a saw pit on the opposite side of the harbour, which appears to have been at Sawyers Bay. By September of the following year, a 'big boat', supposedly the schooner Anne was apparently under construction there. In 1840, Port Chalmers and the whole western shore of Otago Harbour was included in Te Matenga Taiaroa's sale of land to the French whalers Pierre Darmandarits and Edouard DuBern, brothers-in-law and business partners.
The first Christian service at Koputai was held by the Reverend James Watkin, the Wesleyan missionary at Waikouaiti, in 1842. Taiaroa's cousin, the chief Kohi, was the leader of the last known hapū at Koputai. That year Kohi fell ill, and thinking himself at the point of death, feared that his young son Timoko, would never have any benefit from a sealing boat in which he had a share. He therefore instructed his servants, Kurukuru and Rau-o-te-uri, to burn the boat where it lay on the beach at Koputai. To appease the other partners in the boat who were outraged upon hearing what he had done Kohi after consulting his wife Piro, consented at Otaheiti to be strangled as punishment. Taiaroa was given the task but upon observing his hand trembling as he was tying the knot Kohi exclaimed: "Kahore kia mataa a Taiaroa ki te mea o te taura". Kopi then took the rope, tied a slip-knot, and adjusted the rope about his own neck before Taiaroa pulled upon the rope tight, until he was dead. Kohi was buried at Koputai. By 1844, Koputai was deserted.
Arrival of the Europeans
In 1844, the schooner Deborah under the command of Captain Thomas Wing was chartered by Frederick Tuckett of the New Zealand Company to assist him in choosing a site for the projected New Edinburgh settlement. After sailing for the South on 31 March 1844, Tuckett left the ship at Moeraki on 23 April and made his way south by land in order to gaining a better appreciation of the land. The Deborah continued south independently and anchored near Koputai in the bay now bearing its name, and where the hulk of the vessel remains. It wasn't until 26 April that Tuckett rendezvoused with the ship. Tuckett explored the harbour and its environs, which he now considered more suitable for the purposed settlement than any site he had yet seen. He departed at the end of April to explore the inland countryside, before returning to Koputai on 11 June. By this date, there was established at Koputai a makeshift jetty, two whares and some tents. Mr. and Mrs. Lethbridge were in residence, with David Scott and several others. As a result of his investigations, Tuckett selected an adjoining block of land as the site for the Scottish New Edinburgh settlement and nominated Koputai as its deep-water port. The Deborah departed on 23 June leaving behind Tuckett, who was living in a small three-bedroom cottage made of loose bricks that he had built on the beach. On 15 July 1844, William Wakefield of the New Zealand Company visited, accompanied by John Jermyn Symonds and George Clark.The sale of the Otago Block from the Māori to the Otago Association was concluded at Koputai on 31 July 1844. In December 1844, Tuckett left and returned to England, with William Davidson taking over his cottage and position as the New Zealand Company's local representative. In that same month, Alexander and Janet McKay arrived with plans to establish a public house, to service the needs of the proposed settlement. It eventually opened as the 'Surveyors' Arms' on what is now Beach Street and was licensed by the Akaroa-based magistrate John Watson in 1846. On 23 February 1846, the ship Mary Catherine anchored at Koputai. On board was Charles Kettle, the surveyor to the New Zealand Company, together with his wife and a staff of six assistant surveyors and 25 labourers, whose task was to survey the land that had been purchased from the Māori. Kettle and his wife took up residence in Tuckett's cottage. The survey of the town was completed in May 1846.
At first, the European settlers intended to christen the settlement ‘New Leith’ or ‘New Musselburgh’, as they disliked the Māori name of Koputai; but the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland, desired that the port might be named after Thomas Chalmers, the leader of the Free Church movement in Scotland and this suggestion was adopted.
The first organised European settlers arrived in Otago Harbour on the John Wickliffe, which moored off what was now Port Chalmers on 23 March 1848. Captain Cargill who was the agent for the New Zealand Company and a small party went in the ship's boat to the head of the harbour, while the other passengers went ashore in parties to explore the land around Port Chalmers. The second ship, the Philip Laing arrived on 15 April 1848 to find a settlement surrounded by dense bush to the water's edge except for a small clearing behind the centre of the beach and consisting of the New Zealand Company's store, Tuckett's former cottage and three whare. At the time, Port Chalmers had 400 potential sections available compared with Dunedin's 2,000.
The arrival of the European settlers eventually led to the town superseding the earlier Otakou as the harbour's international port. By 1849, the population had reached 38 and by January 1854, the population had reached 80, but ìt was still less than 130 by 1861.
In 1854, the 220 ton Nelson was the first steamer to visit the port, as Otago harbour was too shallow for large ships to reach Dunedin. Ships initially used to anchor in the stream, and the cargo was transshipped to lighters, which were towed by tugs to Dunedin at the head of the harbour. There was also a connection by steep road from North East Valley to Sawyers Bay, a spur of the main road north.
On 31 May 1855, the customhouse was robbed and a chest, containing about £1,400, was carried away, but was afterwards recovered from the harbour, where the thieves had thrown it on some rocks upon finding that they were unable to open it before daylight exposed them to potential capture.
By the 1860s, a road along the side of the harbour between Dunedin and Port Chalmers had been built, which allowed ships to dock at Port Chalmers with goods then transported to and from Dunedin by road. The Bowen pier was built in 1873, followed by the Export pier, and, later, the George Street pier.
In 1862, Dunedin and Port Chalmers were connected by a telegraph line.
A small community of workers sprang to service the docks. In spite of all this, the port was probably viewed as a temporary solution and an inconvenience, as a round trip to Dunedin took three to four hours by horse and wagon. There was also the option of a sea connection by two paddle steamers, the Golden Age and the Peninsula.
The discovery of gold by Gabriel Read in 1861 lead to the Otago gold rush, which over a three month period saw 16,000 new arrivals pass through the port. This totally transformed Port Chalmers as businesses sprung up to service both the increasing number of ships and their passengers. Despite the development, the streets were still unpaved and muddy following any heavy rain.
This dramatic increase in trade meant that by 1864, Port Chalmers had grown to be the third largest port in Australasia, with a population of at least a 1,000, with five hotels, three restaurants, six general stores, two chemists, two bakeries, two barbers, two blacksmiths, two churches, two schools, and a Masonic Hall.
On 18 June 1865, a large fire consumed an entire block at the corner of George and Grey Streets, destroying a number of buildings. The fire was put out by local citizens and the Naval Brigade. Despite the damage caused, it wasn't until 1876 that a volunteer fire brigade was organised.
Railway connection
In the early 1870s, construction began on the Port Chalmers Branch railway line linking Dunedin and Port Chalmers. Originally, the contractors intended for the tracks to pass down George Street to the port, but following objections from the Town Board it was conveyed via a cutting and a tunnel to emerge on Beach Street before terminating on a new wharf. Soil excavated from the tunnel was used for the reclamation of land for the new wharf on which the railway line terminated. When the railway line opened on 1 January 1873, it was the first 1,067 mm narrow gauge railway in New Zealand. The opening of this line bought to an end the lightering service between Port Chalmers and Dunedin. The branch line was subsequently incorporated into the national rail network through a connection at Sawyers Bay to the Main South Line, which was opened through to Christchurch on 7 September 1878 and Invercargill on 22 January 1879. As the Main South Line passed along the hillside above Port Chalmers, a railway station locally called the “Upper Station” was built to service passengers. The terminus of the branch line on the wharf continued to service freight and was known as the “Lower Station”.Since roads on the Otago Peninsula were non-existent, boats were used to cross the harbour. The first dedicated ferry service was introduced on the harbour in 1859, but it was not profitable. As the region's growth rapidly increased due to the Gold Rush, scheduled ferry services began between Port Chalmers and Portobello and ran from 1876 to 1954.
The development of the town reflected the growth of Dunedin and Otago with rivalry between the city and Port Chalmers over which would handle the bulk of shipping. The establishment of a floating dock and later a graving dock in the 1870s lead to Port Chalmers emerging as a significant ship repair centre.