Artistic beginnings

A painting by Charles Blomfield (1848-1926) of Southgate Limeworks Mahurangi River, now the site of Robertson’s boatyard.

On the 25 May 1867, The Daily Southern Cross reported that the first vehicle to cross a new bridge over the Mahurangi River, at Warkworth, was a dray laden with paintings owned by artist/settler Mr Horsley. His exhibition was set up in the public hall where spectators were able to satisfy their nostalgia by viewing a panorama of scenes from Dover, Calais, Naples, Venice and Malta while listening to music provided by the Mahurangi Harmonic Society.

The beauty of the landscape around them soon inspired artists to produce uniquely New Zealand art and among them, one with a local connection, was Charles Blomfield (1848-1926). With his mother and siblings, he sailed from London in 1862 on the Gertrude as part of the Albertland settlement.

Like many young men in the colony he was forced to find work where it was available and he tried house painting and gold prospecting. As an artist he was largely self-taught and he travelled widely on painting expeditions, capturing his subjects directly rather than working from sketches. He was most famous for his portrayal of the pink and white terraces which he copied many times from his original works, completed before the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886 destroyed the area.

He was attracted by the native bush and found this subject on our own Mahurangi River. The painting shows Southgate’s Limeworks from which hydraulic lime was marketed in the 1860s to 1880s using coal fired kilns. John Southgate was also Warkworth’s first hotel keeper. Nearby Southgate Road commemorates his contribution to early Warkworth.