Early History
Murihiku ki te tonga / Southland has a very long and continuing history of occupation by Māori. Kōrero tuko ihu (oral history) tell us the waka of Aoraki became Te Wai Pounamu / South Island, and its sternpost, Te Taurapa a Te Waka o Aoraki, became Motupōhue / Bluff Hill. The tipua Māui is also recorded in Te Wai Pounamu and his traditions are well recorded in Murihiku, with Māui arriving in his waka Maahunui, and throwing out the anchor Te Puka o Te Waka a Māui or Rakiura / Stewart Island. Māui’s achievements are recognised in place names in the south, particularly Ōmaui near Awarua / Bluff, Te Tapuwae o Māui / Māui’s footstep and Te Rereka o Māui /Māui’s leap in Fiordland. The early tribes of Hāwea, Rapuwai and Waitaha were present on the landscape and were eventually assimilated into Kāti Māmoe, who were in turn incorporated into Kāi Tahu in the 1800s. Shared occupation and whakapapa with these early iwi are always acknowledged.
Awarua is the traditional Māori name for Bluff Harbour as well as the wider Bluff region and refers to the two bodies of water that constitute the harbour. The entire area was rich in resources and kaik, tauraka-waka, nohoaka, mahika kai and mahika toi were established close to them. Tiwai Point, a source of pakohe (argillite), is located on the northern side of the entrance of Awarua. The stone was quarried and worked there, and then traded far and wide.
The name Motupōhue / Bluff Hill is an ancient one, brought south by Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu. Motupōhue refers to the native convolvulus pōhue, Calystegia sepium found in quantity at this place. The name recalls a history unique to the Ngāi Tūhaitara and Ngāti Kurī hapū that is captured in the line, ‘Kei korā kei Motupōhue, he pāreka e kai ana, nā tō tūtae’ (It was there at Motupōhue that a shag stood, eating your excrement). Oral tradition records the Ngāti Māmoe leader, Te Rakitauneke, is buried on Motupōhue; perhaps in fulfilment of his wishes, ‘Kia pai ai tāku titiro ki Te Ara a Kiwa’ (Let me gaze upon Foveaux Strait). Some kōrero also place the burial of another Ngāti Māmoe leader, Tū Te Makohu, here.
With the coming of whalers and sealers the area was a popular haven, and it soon became a multi-cultural society with immigrants from around the globe marrying tangata whenua wāhine. Ōue and Ōmāui were principal settlements at the mouth of the Ōreti in the colonially named New River Estuary in the 19th Century. The Murihiku Purchase, an area of 6,900,000 acres, was orchestrated by W. B. D. Mantell on 17 August 1853 for £2,600. ‘Native Reserves’ were made at the following places within the block: Tūtūrau, Ōmaui, Ōue, Aparima, Ōraka, Kawakaputaputa, and Ōuetoto; the total quantity set apart for the purpose being 4,588 acres. Ngāi Tahu report this equated to approximately 17 acres per person and did not provide the schools and hospitals promised. Stevens acknowledges the relationship between the establishment of Native Reserves in the vicinity of ports like Bluff where Māori men and women lived and worked. More than a century later, the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 saw the name of Bluff Hill Scenic Reserve, changed to Motupōhue Scenic Reserve through a Statutory Acknowledgement. In the 2018 census, 46% of the population of Bluff identify as Māori which is significant compared with the rest of Murihiku which sits at 14%. Traditional practices, like the seasonal tītī (mutton bird) harvest, continue to be treasured and practiced by tangata whenua.
European Settlement
An important place of early cross-cultural encounter, Bluff has been a place of many names. Bluff was first charted in 1806 in O.F. Smith where he named it ‘The Mount’. Some years later it was first described by Robert Williams, a flax dresser and ropemaker, who was part of a reconnaissance party in 1813 aboard the Perseverance who were hoping to identify a location to establish a flax industry. The official representative on board was a Mr Jones who honoured the then Governor by naming the area ‘Port Macquarie’ after him. Nearly ten years later, a similar expedition was launched on the Snapper which made the first record of the place as ‘Old Man’s Bluff Point’. The name was derived from the Celtic alt maen meaning ‘high rock’. The first European settler at Bluff was James Spencer who arrived in January 1824. He obtained permission to work the land, and established a small settlement built around a fishing station. The title to the land he purchased from Tūhawaiki was dated 12 February 1839. This settlement became Bluff and is the longest continually inhabited European settlement in the South Island.
Colonial Period
In 1856 J. T. Thompson, the newly incumbent Chief Surveyor, made his way to Invercargill and Bluff to plan both the town and port. ‘Bluff Town’ became the first town in Murihiku / Southland to have its survey completed. The name was soon changed to Campelltown to honour the family name of Governor Gore’s wife. Prior to the establishment of the deep-water port at Bluff, Invercargill’s New River Estuary was the major port south of Dunedin. The advantage for Bluff being a deep-water port saw it take precedence as the port of choice for large vessels. Consequently, trade between Melbourne and Bluff was firmly and regularly established in the 1860s, ‘Bluff was a key entry point for goods, people, livestock and ideas central to the lower South Island’s colonial development. In return it dispatched primary products to points throughout the British Empire.’ The flood of gold miners between 1862-64 boosted the town, boarding houses and hotels sprung up to cater for the demand. Infrastructure progressed rapidly. The railway link through to Bluff in 1867 proved to be the beginning of the end for the Port of Invercargill. The Harbour Board first met in early 1877, Southland Frozen Meat established a freezer in 1885, and the Ocean Beach Freezing works were opened in 1891 following which, the Borough of Campbelltown was incorporated in 1897. It was a further twenty years before the official name reverted to Bluff on 1 March 1917. Sir Joseph Ward was instrumental in all these developments.
Sir Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward Bt. K.C.M.G. (1856-1930) remains a significant figure in both Southland and New Zealand’s history. Born in Melbourne, the fifth of ten children of William and Hannah Ward who had immigrated from Ireland, he moved with his mother and siblings to Bluff in 1863. He was educated at Campbelltown School and started as a post office messenger boy at the age 13 years. A precocious entrepreneur, Ward’s lifelong engagement in business began at an early age. He founded the prominent stock and station company J. G. Ward and Co., bought wool, grain, and skins, and later sold grass seed, sheep dip, fertiliser and stock feed.
Ward was a larger-than-life figure. Historian Gavin McLean writes, ‘Ward was a dandy (fine clothes, waxed moustache) and a title chaser (a knighthood in 1901, baronetcy in 1911)’. He apparently loved to be photographed and would present signed photographs and postcards of himself ‘to all and sundry.’ He was loquacious; an observer wrote, ‘Listening to his sentences I always feel like the man who watched the slow procession of the dredge buckets, dreamily waiting for the last bucket to come up... Time disappears, the world fades away.’ His personality certainly enabled his success in business and politics. Ward became deeply involved in business and governance in Bluff, and later, New Zealand – his own prosperity and that of the town and its population were inextricably intertwined. He was relentless in his expansionist ideas and was enormously productive, always endeavouring to obtain the maximum value from government spending and fascinated by the potential of new technologies to enhance and grow business and jobs.
Bassett acknowledges the blurred lines and conflicts of interest inherent in Wards business dealings, the development of Bluff, and his political aspirations. Ward’s first foray into politics was at age 21 when he was elected to the Campbelltown Borough Council in 1878 and was Mayor of Bluff from 1881-88 and again from 1897-98. He was Chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board 1883-8, and again in the 1890s. In 1887 Ward was elected to Parliament, representing Awarua from 1887-1919. He became a cabinet minister in 1891, and, in the same year, Postmaster General, negotiating to stay in Southland which suited him well as he could keep an eye on his business interests. As Postmaster General he reduced the cost of toll calls, and later, reduced the cost of telegrams. As the largest user of these services in Invercargill, his political position certainly benefited his business interests, and no doubt, that of business colleagues. As a buyer of the products of farmers, Ward understood their needs and raised money in London to enable farmers to lend money cheaply to facilitate intensive settlement. Ward launched the frozen meat industry in Bluff in June 1891 in the form of the Ocean Beach Freezing Works – its implementation was facilitated by a rapidly introduced act of parliament – and the business was run through Ward’s private bank account.
By the age of 40 he was the Colonial Treasurer. Ward was particularly close to Richard Seddon (1845-1906) and Jon McKenzie (1839-1901) and was Seddon’s closest confidant until his death; Bassett describes their relationship as ‘symbiotic.’ In 1905 the yet to be founded township of ‘Ward’ on the Flaxbourne estate was named after him. Eventually a railway line would link Ward and Seddon as conclusively as the men themselves were tied. Ward, like Seddon, was a proponent of a ‘White New Zealand’ philosophy and was part of a system that passed discriminatory legislation against Chinese between 1880 and 1920. As Prime Minister, Ward was prepared to ‘exclude all Asians if he thought the imperial government would tolerate this.’ Ward’s political career was building during the governments aggressive land purchasing in the 1870s which facilitated the immigration and public works schemes that were to dominate the next several decades. By the time Ward was Premier, most of the land had passed from Māori ownership, and in many cases Māori did not receive the services, such as schools, that they were promised. Ward’s own policies continued to disadvantage Māori land owners. ‘The Native Land Act of 1909 was described by Finance Minister Sir Joseph Ward in his 1909 financial statement as assisting the purchase of ‘as large an area as possible’ from Maori owners while safeguarding their interests. He hoped that the new system would avoid past difficulties by generally expediting purchasing after negotiation with assembled owners.’
In 1894 Ward resigned as Colonial Treasurer. He was facing financial ruin due to the liquidation of the Colonial Bank by the Bank of New Zealand of which his company, J.G. Ward Farmers Association, was its greatest debtor. In 1897, having become ‘hopelessly insolvent’ he resigned from Parliament and from Bluff Harbour Board. When his financial affairs recovered (with some considerable assistance from his family and friends as well as connections in business and politics) he was voted back into those same posts and in November that year was re-elected Mayor of Bluff.
Later, as leader of the Liberal Party, he became New Zealand’s 17th Prime Minister between 1906 and 1912, and again 1928-1930, this time as leader of the United Party, before resigning because of poor health. His first tenure was enormously productive and included a change for New Zealand from a colony to a Dominion in 1907. Ward was instrumental in connecting the country and building the economy through the Post and Telegraph, and Railway Services – the latter enabling the settlement of people and the movement of products from source to city and port. The postal changes resulted in 13 million more letters were posted in the first year that penny postage than the previous year. By 1912 there were an additional 33,000 telephones in the country. Passenger fare on the railways were reduced resulting in a marked increase in use – aided by the opening of the North Island main trunk line in 1908.
In 1929 Ward suffered a series of strokes and he died on 8 July 1930. Ward, his wife Theresa and other family members are buried at the old Bluff Cemetery. Ward’s record of public service spanning 52 years, 23 of which where he was a minister of the Crown remains unmatched.
The statue of Sir Joseph Ward
After Sir Joseph Ward died, William Handyside (1848-1935) commissioned Auckland sculptor William Henry Feldon (1871-1945) to create a sculpture of Ward. Handyside was a gentleman, and a prominent figure in Invercargill’s business life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With Sir John Roberts he started the Nightcaps Coal Company in about 1882 and acted as general manager for some 25 years and was then managing director for the next 18 years until the company ceased operation in 1925 when the coalfield closed. He was a generous benefactor to many charities as attested in his will. A clear connection between Handyside and Ward has not been established, however they may have had dealings through the business community. One event does stand out. The Troopship Orient was rumoured to be holding a passenger with smallpox in 1902. Handyside was a Lieutenant on the ship whose men were decanted onto Matiu / Somes Island, and Ward is reported as initiating an investigation into complaints about the Orient, ‘with commendable promptitude’. Bassett notes that following his financial collapse Ward was particularly self-conscious, at times paranoid, and consumed with recognition of his achievements and to retore his reputation. It is possible this statue was one of several honours for Ward that was organised on his behalf although Handyside requested his involvement remain anonymous.
Handyside had already commissioned Feldon, who was based in Auckland, to produce statues of Lord Kitchener and Lord Jellicoe, both prominent British World War One figures. Kitchener was Field-Marshal of Britain’s first mass army and quickly became the face of the War. Jellicoe became Governor General of New Zealand in September 1920 and quickly became a popular contributor to New Zealand society through sporting pursuits, his role in charitable organisations, continued interest and involvement with ex-servicemen, and his position of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. Handyside intended to gift the statues of these three prominent men to the people of New Zealand, and the government agreed they could be erected in the square in front of the Invercargill Post Office and were installed in January 1931. The statue of Ward was completed in October 1931 and shipped to Invercargill. Feldon travelled south to supervise the installation.
What motivated Handyside to commission the sculptures remains unknown, he was a private individual, and as his obituary states, ‘The statues of Lord Jellicoe, Lord Kitchener, and Sir Joseph Ward in the Post Office square, Invercargill were gifts of Mr Handyside, who, with characteristic modesty, would permit no public reference to these gifts during his lifetime.’ The inscription on the rear of the statue simply states it was ‘erected by a citizen’.
Following Handyside’s death in 1935, and his widow offered the statues to the Invercargill City Council. There was a condition that the statues be removed from the Post Office square should the land be required for future building projects. The Council had requested that the statue of Ward be positioned in the vestibule of the new Post Office as a tribute to Ward, who had been Postmaster-General for many years, however this request was denied. Plans for a new post office on the site progressed and saw the statues relocated to the Gala Street reserve (renamed Memorial Park) by MacDonald Weston between 28 December 1935 and 11 January 1936. They were arranged in a triangular formation against a background of trees, with Ward at the apex of the triangle.
In 1969 Invercargill City Council offered the statue to the Bluff Borough Council. This was accepted with ‘much pleasure’ on 23 December 1969. An article from the Southland Times reported that the Invercargill City Council offered the statue to the Bluff County Council. The sculpture was seen to be coming ‘home’, and that it was a fitting offer to the town. When the statues of Lord’s Jellicoe and Kitchener were shifted to the western end of the reserve behind the Cenotaph, Ward’s statue was removed to Bluff on 16 April 1971 and installed to, ‘stand vigil over the entrance to the island harbour’. The Bluff location is fitting given Ward’s strong association with the town, having moved there in 1863 with his mother, who ran a hotel in the town (Club Hotel, List No. 2241) and through his many and various business and governance roles in Bluff. In recent years, discussions to relocate the statue resulted in heated community debate, reflecting the importance of the statue to the town. An information plaque was installed in by the Bluff History Group and Bluff Community Board in 2001.
