DESCRIPTION:
Swan's Arch and its builder remain an enigma despite having been the subject of several articles on local history.
Henry Charles Swan was born at Gateshead, near Newcastle, England about 1856. Swan's father's profession is not known although it is suggested that he was a major shareholder in the London and Great Eastern Railway Company. Swan, a solicitor by profession, joined the Newcastle law firm of Arnott and Swan as a partner in 1880, where he remained in practice at least until 1891 and probably until 1895.
The exact year of Swan and wife Edith's arrival in New Zealand is not known. In November 1989 [1898] Swan purchased sixty-nine acres bordering the Henderson Creek. In 1915 he subdivided his land, keeping just thirteen acres for his own use.
In 1901 he left Devonport where he and his wife had settled, and went to live permanently at Henderson Creek on his yacht Awatea. The yacht was purchased by Swan in 1900 with the intention, it is believed, of making a solo voyage around the world. After preparation and provisioning in February 1901 Swan was farewelled by his wife and friends, but sailed to Henderson Creed instead. Mrs Swan continued to live at Devonport until her death in 1940.
Once settled in Henderson, Swan resumed an interest in botany and fruit growing. His efforts were mainly directed to experimentation on combating fruit pests and propagating new species but he did not regard the orchard as a commercial proposition. Swan dug caves and tunnels into the banks of the creek where apples were stored. The orchard and caves system is believed to have been destroyed by floods during the spring of 1929. A brick cellar built by Swan between 1921 and 1927 (which survives a few metres away from the arch) is believed to have been Swan's fireproof library. Swan's hut had previously been destroyed by a bush fire in about 1921.
An obituary for Swan refers to the brick arch only as "a remarkable arch of masonry" fashioned with bricks and mortar. It reported that Swan was also building a special pond for teaching children to swim although this was never completed. The son of an adjoining land owner recalls that the arch was the head of what was planned to be a swimming pool and that bricks lined the bottom to the mid-point where Swan intended building a fountain, although the work was never completed.
Likely to have been built progressively during the first thirty years of this century, the exact date of the arch's construction is not known. It was already in existence prior to 1923 according to the date of a photograph, the accuracy of which cannot be verified.
Swan is remembered as a learned but retiring person interested in theology and astronomy, a recluse. He was Chairman of the Plumer Domain Board, however, from its inception in 1907 until 1923 when the Henderson Town Board assumed administrative responsibility for the Domain. The exact extent of Swan's involvement as Domain Board Chairman is not known. A man of education and a former law practitioner, but by nature extremely retiring, Swan may have been but titular head.
Swan's Arch and its builder remain an enigma despite having been the subject of several articles on local history.
Henry Charles Swan was born at Gateshead, near Newcastle, England about 1856. Swan's father's profession is not known although it is suggested that he was a major shareholder in the London and Great Eastern Railway Company. Swan, a solicitor by profession, joined the Newcastle law firm of Arnott and Swan as a partner in 1880, where he remained in practice at least until 1891 and probably until 1895.
The exact year of Swan and wife Edith's arrival in New Zealand is not known. In November 1989 [1898] Swan purchased sixty-nine acres bordering the Henderson Creek. In 1915 he subdivided his land, keeping just thirteen acres for his own use.
In 1901 he left Devonport where he and his wife had settled, and went to live permanently at Henderson Creek on his yacht Awatea. The yacht was purchased by Swan in 1900 with the intention, it is believed, of making a solo voyage around the world. After preparation and provisioning in February 1901 Swan was farewelled by his wife and friends, but sailed to Henderson Creed instead. Mrs Swan continued to live at Devonport until her death in 1940.
Once settled in Henderson, Swan resumed an interest in botany and fruit growing. His efforts were mainly directed to experimentation on combating fruit pests and propagating new species but he did not regard the orchard as a commercial proposition. Swan dug caves and tunnels into the banks of the creek where apples were stored. The orchard and caves system is believed to have been destroyed by floods during the spring of 1929. A brick cellar built by Swan between 1921 and 1927 (which survives a few metres away from the arch) is believed to have been Swan's fireproof library. Swan's hut had previously been destroyed by a bush fire in about 1921.
An obituary for Swan refers to the brick arch only as "a remarkable arch of masonry" fashioned with bricks and mortar. It reported that Swan was also building a special pond for teaching children to swim although this was never completed. The son of an adjoining land owner recalls that the arch was the head of what was planned to be a swimming pool and that bricks lined the bottom to the mid-point where Swan intended building a fountain, although the work was never completed.
Likely to have been built progressively during the first thirty years of this century, the exact date of the arch's construction is not known. It was already in existence prior to 1923 according to the date of a photograph, the accuracy of which cannot be verified.
Swan is remembered as a learned but retiring person interested in theology and astronomy, a recluse. He was Chairman of the Plumer Domain Board, however, from its inception in 1907 until 1923 when the Henderson Town Board assumed administrative responsibility for the Domain. The exact extent of Swan's involvement as Domain Board Chairman is not known. A man of education and a former law practitioner, but by nature extremely retiring, Swan may have been but titular head.
