My Account
In 1899 a correspondent to the Auckland Weekly News wrote: “ I went on a visit to the extensive poultry establishment of Dr Shoesmith. He keeps about 400 fowls, principally Wyandottes, which he finds quiet, good layers and best all-around fowls for the settlers. He has imported from New York a Cypress incubator for 120 eggs a set.”
The stately residence of Dr John Valentine Shoesmith once stood in the centre of the present domain; it’s sweeping driveway bordered by camellias. Madame Shoesmith was a singer of some note and was said to have received tempting offers from Europe. She certainly was given top billing at Auckland concerts.
The doctor practised medicine and, although he was not certificated, the local people held him in high regard. He became their benefactor when he bequeathed his 11-acre property to the people of Warkworth. After the death of Mary Shoesmith, in 1932, the Warkworth Town Board took control and declared that it would in future be known as Shoesmith Domain. In the meantime, Mr H. Stubbs was granted the use of the land for grazing purposes at a rental of seven shillings and sixpence a week. A close association with Shoesmiths is evident in an interview, which took place in 1990 with Bert Stubbs, son of the above.
“I remember making hay there years ago. It was picked up by Ben Weakly’s old truck and taken to the stack. When it was so high Dad would pour salt on it, the cows loved that. Later on he got it baled with Harry Clayden’s horse baler. The horse would go around in circles. They were good bales, you could hardly lift them.”
The development of the sports fields took place after the Auckland Education Board acquired five acres of the site for the school and playing area. The house was dismantled and some timber recycled for use in a house in Hill St. Almost 30 years after Dr. Shoesmith’s death, Warkworth people subscribed to a fund to care for the Shoesmith graves. Perhaps the Domain itself is memorial enough for a pioneer with the foresight to provide so well for future generations.
