TOC Henderson's Mill

Acknowledgements | Dedication | Preface

Chapter 1. 1808-1840. Introducing West Auckland

1808. Chief Murupaenga’s victory at Moremonui
1820. Chief Murupaenga resists Ngapuhi attacks at Wairoa
1825. Chief Murupaenga is defeated at Te Ika-a-ranga-nui
1840. Auckland at Tamaki becomes the capital of New Zealand
The Whau to the west of Auckland

Chapter 2. The 1840s. Henderson & Macfarlane gain land in the Whau
1840. Thomas Henderson and the Macfarlane’s emigrate
1841. Henderson and Macfarlane arrive in Auckland
1842. The Commercial Hotel in Auckland
Henderson & Macfarlane starts trading
1844. Maori chiefs swap land in the Whau for the Lucidian
1845. Notice in the Auckland Times
Henry Macfarlane leaves for Hawaii. John Macfarlane succeeds him.
Henderson & Macfarlane expand into shipping
1847. The Timber Diocese is approved
1848. Henderson’s mill opens at Opanuku Creek

Chapter 3. The 1850s. Henderson’s Mill flourishes and the Circular Saw Line starts
1851. Chinese pheasants at Henderson’s Mill
1852. The Circular Saw Line begins to trade
1853. Governor Grey sells the claimed land in the Whau
William Swanson buys land
1854. Henderson’s Mill expands
1855. Thomas Henderson goes into politics
1856. Henderson’s Delta Farm at the mill
1858. The Commercial Hotel burns down
1852-1856. The first brickmakers on the Whau
The mill site during the 1850s
1859. John McLeod leaves Henderson’s Mill

Chapter 4. The 1860s. The Henderson land claim is finally resolved
1860. John Macfarlane dies
Thomas Henderson and Commissioner Bell’s report
1862. John McLeod’s sawmill at Helensville
1863. The Government shifts to Wellington
1864. Henderson & Macfarlane try to sell the mill and its land
1865. Helensville gets its name
Gibbon’s sawmill at Whatipu
1867. The death of Catherine Henderson
1868. Auckland slumps and Henderson’s Mill closes
1869. Gold in the Waitakere Ranges!
1869. Henderson’s claim in the Whau is finally resolved
1860s. The Swanson area

Chapter 5. The 1870s. Henderson grows
1870. The Parr’s second Orchard
1873. The Oratia Hotel opens
Baxter and Buckland buy land in Henderson
John Sangster MacFarlane and the damage caused by a ‘fresh’
The Government’s Timber Floating Bill
Election defeat in Waitemata
Henderson’s Mill School opens
The Henderson Public Library
The Henderson creeks flood
Henderson Football Club teams
1876. The Henderson Mill Turf Club
1878. The Henderson Cricket Team
1878. The Henderson Creek brickyards
1879. Capt. Theet and the Circular Saw Line

Chapter 6. The 1880s The railway comes to Henderson
1880. The railway finally opens at Henderson’s Mill
Henderson gets its name
The Henderson Railway Store
Beetham’s Sauce and Pickle factory
Auction for lots in the Henderson township
1880s. Other businesses and people
1885. Thomas Macfarlane dies
1886. The Hon. Thomas Maxwell Henderson dies
1886. Capt. Theet and South Sea trading
1888. The Henderson Football Club
1880s. Henderson’s Mill School again

Chapter 7. The 1890s. The final sale of Henderson’s land
1890. The Pomaria Estate orchard
1890-1897. The Oratia Hotel becomes the Falls Hotel
1894. The final sale of Henderson’s Mill land
1896. Blacksmiths again
1890s. The Henderson School
1896. The Henderson Town Hall and Mill Library
1890s. The Henderson Football Club and their stolen banner

Chapter 8. 1900-1931. The strange story of Henry Swan
The yacht Awatea
Henry Swan, the barrister
1900. Swan prepares to vanish
1902. Swan departs from Auckland in the Awatea
Henry Swan in Henderson Creek
Swan builds a storeroom in the river bank
About Edith Swan, his wife
Henry Swan is presumed dead
1910. Henry Swan is ‘discovered’
Edith visits Henry in Henderson
1915. Swan sells most of his land
1921-27. A fire, Swan’s Arch and his swimming pool
1929. Henderson Creek floods the storeroom
1931. Henry Swan dies
The Awatea lives on
Swan’s cave today
References

Chapter 9. 1900-1920. Assid Corban and Don Buck arrive
1900. Tui Glen and Falls Park
Swanson
1904. The Falls Hotel
The township is finally called just Henderson
1900s. Henderson’s Mill School
Te Atatu School
1902. The Corban family vineyard
1908. Don Buck’s camp at Birdwood
The Ballad of Don Buck’s Hill
1911. The Parish Churches
The Coronation Bridge and the1911 flood
1912. The Henderson Post Office
1902. Capt. Theet, Ocean Island and phosphate
1920s. The vineyards and orchards of early Henderson
List of vineyards and orchards in the West

Chapter 10. The 1920s. Telephones and electricity arrive
1920. The first telephones in Henderson
Shops and businesses in Henderson
1922. The Henderson Town Board
1924. The Waitemata Electric Power Board
The first street lighting installations
1926. The Henderson Town Hall
The Henderson Fire Brigade

Chapter 11. The 1930s. The depression and World War II
1931. Henderson Town Board and School Bridge
The Hotel moves twice, and is renamed the Falls Hotel
Henderson Town Board again
The town grows
1933. The annual Boxing Day picnic
1939. The Second World War arrives
Finally

Chapter 12. Massey, Birdwood and Hobsonville. 1882-1930s
Birdwood, Don Buck Road and Lawsonville
Early settlers
Massey Primary School
Hobsonville

TODAY
Waitakere City Council
West Auckland Historical Society
The Henderson Heritage Trail

APPENDICES
Appendix 1. The history of the Henderson & Macfarlane land claim in West Auckland
Appendix 2. Thomas Henderson’s Land Claim Deposition, 21 December 1857
Appendix 3. The pioneers of Henderson (1933)
Appendix 4. The Electoral Roll, Henderson, 1881
Appendix 5. Henderson Primary School
Head Teachers 1873-1975
Appendix 6. Henderson School Roll, 1880 - 1973
Appendix 7. Roll of Honour at Henderson School:
1914-1918. World War I. 1939-1945. World War II
Appendix 8. The Henderson Telephone Book, 1922
Appendix 9. The Henderson Telephone Book, 1927

Sources | Illustration Credits | Index

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