Cambridge was originally a colonial military outpost established in 1864 by the 3rd Waikato Militia, on what was part of the Ngati Raukawa tribal area, part of the Tainui confederation. In 1889 a major fire razed most of the business premises in one block of Duke Street in Cambridge’s commercial centre, including the site of the Legal Chambers (Former). It is generally believed that the building was constructed as legal offices for William Francis (Frank) Buckland (1847-1915) ten years later, in 1899. It was at a time when New Zealand was coming out of the Long Depression and the Waikato was starting to see a property sale boom, a time of rapid growth in the number of land agents, lawyers and insurance agents who both facilitated and benefited from the boom. The use of brick construction is likely to have been a reaction to the frequent fires, preceding the Council edict in 1904 that all buildings in the business district should be constructed of brick. It was also likely chosen as part of an aesthetic that gave the impression of permanence and security.
Buckland had trained as an engineer, but retrained as a lawyer on a bet. Before moving to Cambridge, Buckland was Member of Parliament for Franklin North, then for Manukau, where he was known as a satirical wag, and for supporting women’s franchise. Like many early lawyers in small towns he fulfilled multiple functions in addition to the practice of law, including acting as estate agent, insurance agent, accountant/tax consultant and provider of some banking functions. Buckland served on many committees and boards, including the Auckland Education Board and two periods as Cambridge’s Mayor: 1898-1903 and 1905-1910. He is remembered for his dogged determination that the borough would steadily progress: ‘His Worship said no nation, no people or country could stand still. They either had to go on or go back. He believed in going on and on and on.’ His watch saw the introduction of key infrastructure such as the sewerage system, drainage works, water works including the water tower (NZHPT Record No. 753),the construction of the Victoria Street bridge (NZHPT Record No. 4159), the Town Hall (NZHPT Record No. 4187), the introduction of gas illumination and the construction of a number of other key public buildings.
Buckland’s son, Charles Channing Buckland (circa 1873-1936?) joined his family in Cambridge in 1898 and worked with his father, perhaps prompting the construction of the offices in 1899, and was admitted to the bar in 1904. At some point around this time the firm was known as Buckland and Buckland. However, Charles was restless and spent some time travelling in British Columbia, eventually moving there in 1906.
In 1905 Buckland operated from the top floor. A rear extension to the ground floor for the local newspaper was designed by architect George Sollitt (1834-1912), best known for his architecture in the Hawkes Bay. He had architectural offices in Cambridge during 1903 and 1905, but no evidence has been found of him living there. The entire ground floor was used by the Waikato Independent newspaper when it moved from Lake Street on 17 July 1905. The brick extension consisted of two further brick rooms with skylights to house the composing area and the printing machines. The front three rooms consisted of the business office, the editor’s and reporter’s rooms. It was noted that all areas were well lit and ventilated, and that each room had a fireplace installed ‘a necessary precaution for the comfort of the employees’, reflecting the impact on architectural design of the public health concerns of the late nineteenth century. The newspaper described the offices as ‘one of the most up-to-date newspaper offices in the colony.’ The construction was carried out by Cambridge builders, Potts and Hardy.
The newspaper had only been publishing since November 1904, but was to continue for 90 years. At the encouragement of the editor/owner/founder, David Pirani, the newspaper office was used as a meeting place for many community groups such as the Chamber of Commerce.
In 1909 Frank Buckland’s wife became ill, prompting Charles to return to Cambridge, though not the law firm. In 1910 Frank’s wife died and he retired the same year, devoting himself to horticulture at the family farm, ‘Monavale’ (NZHPT Record No. 4328).
In 1911 the Independent shifted into a new building across the road and in 1912 the building was bought by another lawyer, Samuel (Sam) Lewis (ca.1879-1976). He had been practicing law from at least 1906, and in Cambridge from at least 1910 in Duke Street. It is unclear whether he operated out of Buckland’s building before purchasing it. Lewis went into partnership with Henry Dickens Dallimore (? -1954?) around 1915, using the ground floor of the building. Dallimore had practiced law in London before migrating, and was a Cambridge Councillor from 1915-21, while Lewis was Mayor from 1921 to 1923. During Lewis’ term, electricity was turned on in Cambridge for the first time by his then six year old son, Peter. Lewis also served on a number of other committees, including being president of the South African War Veterans Association and a member of the first Hamilton District Law Society Council. By the time he retired he was one of the oldest practicing lawyers in the country.
Henry (Harry) Roche (1856-1949), a Civil Engineer and Licensed Surveyor, moved to Cambridge by at least 1913, opening an office in Duke Street in 1914. Born in Ireland, he had trained as an engineer in England, migrating to New Zealand with his parents and siblings around 1880. He worked initially on the Rotorua railway layout, before working in Auckland and Sydney, returning to New Zealand to serve as a Government surveyor in the Wellington provincial district. He went on to work for the Whakatane Road Board and became head of the Engineering Works of the Waihi Gold Mining Company in 1896. Between 1910 and 1914 he lived in Horahora where he designed and oversaw the construction of the hydroelectric scheme, described as ‘the first large-scale hydro-electric scheme in the North Island, and the largest generating plant in the country at the time, and the first…on the Waikato River’. Built to supply the internationally significant Martha Mine, by 1921 Horahora supplied much of the Waikato and Thames areas electricity. Roche’s peripatetic lifestyle ended with his private practice in Cambridge being run out of the top floor of the Legal Chambers (Former), where his contracts included surveying and engineering work for the local road boards and the design of a gravitational water scheme for the Cambridge Borough Council. He carried out private and corporate work from Kaiwaka to Tauranga. He served as a Borough Councillor and on the local Electric Power Board. Roche eventually retired in 1946 aged 89. He is buried in Cambridge.
In 1921 Roche advertised rooms to let in the top floor of the Legal Chambers (Former), but he was already sharing the floor with Les Nicols, Land Agent, and the Matamata County Council. The Council used the space until they were relocated to Tirau. Perhaps its best known function was the renewal of driver’s licences.
Lewis’s son Peter Samuel Lewis (1915-2009) joined the firm in 1945 and property ownership was transferred to him, with Dallimore retiring shortly afterward. The legal offices moved from the ground floor in 1947, continuing to use the building as legal chambers until 1962 when the firm relocated elsewhere in Cambridge. Peter was also a Borough Councillor (1947-1951), served with the Cambridge Fire Board and was vice president and councillor of the Hamilton District Law Society. From 1950 the firm operated for 33 years with David Stanley Jecks as ‘Lewis and Jecks’. Jecks was a long serving Coroner for Cambridge and occasionally Hamilton, and was awarded the Queens Service Medal in 1998.
In 1965 the building was sold and altered, including modernising the interior and the removal of the parapet. Its use as professional offices continued; tenants included a dentist, a doctor, and a physiotherapist.
The building was bought in 1988 in a near derelict state by Chris B. La Pine and M.P La Pine. Murray P. Borland and Associates were engaged to design renovations and extensions creating space for a gym for patient use in 1989. Recently the name was changed to Cambridge Physiotherapy and Acupuncture Clinic: La Pine has operated out of the ground floor premises for over 25 years. From 1998 property changed hands several times, with the building leased or rented out.
In 2010 the Legal Chambers (Former) are the oldest commercial premises remaining in Cambridge and the longest continuously used as professional offices, well known to many residents.