History – Life on the Oruawharo River

For the Albertland settlers, the Oruawharo River was their lifeline. It provided food when there was little else to eat and a way to visit friends and neighbours in the isolated settlement. For some, it was also their livelihood, transporting passengers and goods up and down the river.

George Bennett, who was born in Onehunga in 1866, was the eldest child of a very large family. By the age of 13, he was working for his Uncle William, transporting coal and firewood around Newmarket. He met Mildred Shepherd, who was of Albertland descent, while attending church together at the Newmarket Wesleyan Church. After their marriage, they fell on hard times and shifted back to Port Albert buying the local Co-operative store from Mildred’s father John Shepherd after he retired.
George was working at the Raekau Mill owned by Mander & Bradley, across the water from the Port Albert wharf. He was appointed manager when Frank Mander left the district, retaining this position until the mill closed in 1899. George and Mildred had several children and lived in the large boarding house near the wharf, providing accommodation for commercial travellers passing through the district. George loved the river and had a launch built which he called the Ivy after his daughter. He would transport goods and locals up and down the river carefully working the tides. In 1906, he gained his Certificate in Competency as Master of a River Steamer followed soon after by another Certificate which entitled him to be an ‘engineer of a ship propelled by any other means other than steam
with restricted limits’.

As his business grew, he purchased another launch, the Belle, and began transporting scoria and sleepers to Topuni and Te Hana for the railway when it came through Wellsford. In 1910, a tragedy unfolded at Batley when George and another young man named Jack were heading for Kaiwaka. The barge had taken on water and in their attempt to get it further onto the beach a series of events unfolded which resulted in George falling into the water. Unable to swim, he called out, “Hurry up, Jack, I cannot hold on much longer” but before Jack could help him, George had drowned. Jack swam to shore to raise the alarm and after a search of the beach there was no sign of the body so gelignite was used to clear the water. Sadly, George’s body was not discovered until the neap tides came in. He was buried in Port Albert cemetery with a simple inscription on his headstone, George Bennett 1866-1910. The Bennett family continued to run the local store for many generations until its closure in 1991.
Come along and visit our display ‘Oruawharo River – Lifeline of the Albertlanders’ running October 1 to 16 for the Auckland Heritage Festival.