History – Life before Google

In the future we may never take a journey without consulting Google Earth or relying on a GPS receiver to guide us to an unfamiliar destination. By contrast, not only were there no such aids available in the 1850s but place names were rare and sign posts non-existent.

A settler on the Mahurangi river, near Hepburn Creek, received a letter from relatives in Scotland addressed to Mr Sherwin, Up the Creek, New Zealand. The number of stamps on the envelope showed it had been to many other places before reaching the right recipient. Mr Sherwin was perhaps fortunate that on the opposite bank of the river lived Michael Munro, a settler who had made his home Craigieburn available as a collection point for mail before there was any postal network.

As a young man, Munro was a member of the 58th Regiment which came to Australia to escort convicts and was sent on to New Zealand in 1845 to deal with unrest in the Bay of Islands. He was on hand when the first Mahurangi land sales took place in 1853 and purchased land near Duck Creek. He may well have been in the area earlier, as there were a number of squatters living in bush clearings and working the timber trade before the land was surveyed and available for purchase.

At first, mail was brought overland to Orewa and then rowed to Te Kapa and from there up the river. It is recorded that the cutter Frances brought mail up the river on a weekly run dependent on weather and tide. Craigieburn, in its central location, was an important link as mail could be sent on from there by pack horse to Lower Matakana (Sandspit).

By 1870, three post offices were gazetted – namely Mahurangi at Mahurangi Heads, Craigieburn and Warkworth. Steamers such as the Lady Bowen were soon providing a more reliable service up the river to Warkworth, all be it only once a week.

Munro combined his role of Postmaster with rate collector, Highway Board member, secretary to a number of committees and for more than 11 years he was a Special Constable. The Craigieburn post office closed with his death in 1884 but the farm retained the name under various owners. The Munro family continued living there until 1905 when the property was advertised for lease. It was then described as 12 acres orchard, 80 acres grass and 42 acres bush.

In 1921, the owner Mr Coleman made an interesting discovery while renovating the house. Under the floor boards was a copy of the first edition of the New Zealand Herald, dated 1863, which had lain undisturbed for nearly 60 years. When the Robinson family took possession, in 1924, they found the original house was still there and on a wall could still be seen the V R sign which marked it as a designated post office in the reign of Queen Victoria. While the Robinsons lived there, several children were born including Dorothy, a twin who lived only a few hours and was buried under a pear tree close to the house. Craigieburn, as a place name, may now be lost to all but the historian but the first owner Michael Munro left a legacy. His lively interest in the progress of the district he chose to live in, lead to him to furnish the NZ Herald with regular reports. These make interesting reading and can be read on the Papers Past website. They cover the years 1863 to 1884.