International award winning photographer Henry Winkelmann who settled in Swanson in 1917, was a notable figure in the community. English-born Winkelmann’s credentials included the grand prize at the Panam-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. His photographs covered a wide range of topics, well-known individuals and their families and residences, workers and their work-places, and significant events. In 1917 Read more...
Of John and Lavinia Mettam’s 12 children, six were born in Swanson. John’s father and brothers helped build a house on a 41 acre block (which Tram Valley Road and the railway now cut through). The land was issued to John Tunnard Mettam in September 1886, for an annual rent of 12 3s Od, under the Village Settlement Scheme. John Read more...
– Build 1893 – in 1988 relocated to Welsh Hills rd. No? [Rugged Determination, p133] Anthony Christian was born in 1862 at Matakana, son of Emanuel and Christina Christian, farmers of Tokatu Point near Warkworth. On 3 December 1884 Anthony married Maria Taylor, born in 1863 at Kawau, daughter of Samuel and Eliza Jane Taylor. Anthony took over his 500-acre Read more...
‘Honest Willie Swanson’ tried his hand at many things and perhaps his proudest achievement, although now largely forgotten, was his contribution to writing the revolutionary Education Act of 1877. In the name of that far-sighted Act of Parliament, New Zealand led the world with education that was “free, secular and compulsory”. It even paved the way for women and Maori Read more...
Arty Strother ran a garage on this site for almost 30 years. After returning from World War II he bought a house (through the rehabilitation programme) next to the present garage and in 1947 accepted the offer of a job from Doug Mattson who had just built a new garage on the corner of Swanson and O’Neills Rd. After working Read more...
Built in 1914 for Arney Robertson and family (H A Robertson later developed Redwood Park). In 1937 Milan Babic Yozin put a deposit on this property, as well as leasing the adjoining railway land. The house is still owned by the Yozin family and one of Milan’s daughters lives here. Milan was very active in the Swanson community and always Read more...
In 1926, 16 year old Milan Babic Yozin came to New Zealand from the coastal village of Padgora in Dalmatia, a poverty-stricken area. An uncle with an orchard at Oratia paid his passage over; Milan worked for two years to repay him. After this he went to work on a dairy farm in the Waikato, preferring to find work with Read more...
The Knox Memorial Park is named after the Knox family who ran a general store on the opposite corner for over 50 years. Robert Knox had brought the business from James Patterson Sinclair who had set it up in about 1886. In January 1889 James Sinclair added a bakery and confectionary. The district’s bread was previously brought by train from Read more...
Mr Church ran a dinkum store, which was also known as Church’s Cash Store. There is reference to this store in the Women’s Institute minutes of 16 October 1930 when the following supplies were noted for the Mad Hatters Ball: Leg of mutton, Calverts; Tomatoes & Lettuce, Mrs Winters; 1lb of tea, Miss Guy; large loaves/4lbs butter, Corey & Thompson; Read more...
In 1924 a butchery was established in Swanson by William (Bill) Calvert, who ran a farm on No 1 Road (now Coulter Road). A small shop was built where The Trusts retail shop, Swanson Village Wine and Spirits, is today. In 1935 the Calverts built a new shop on the site where it still is today. The Calverts initially had Read more...