The Mandeville Sports Club is an 80ha block of land situated in the Mandeville district of North Canterbury between Rangiora and Kaiapoi, around 20 kilometers north of central Christchurch.
This piece of land off Tram Rd was originally titled the Ohoka Eyreton Domain and was
designated as an area set aside for recreation and sporting activity by the Government of the day back in 1860.
Initially the block was leased out to a farmer tenant but was soon to stage local sporting and horse racing events on a small portion of its big spread. Organised by a local group, the sporting activity was structured around family involvement, running races, throwing events, (including gumboots), encompassing all ages. Two horse races were also staged.
This annual event, usually on Boxing Day, was soon to be dominated by the horse racing
sector drawing large crowds. From then the 80ha block continued to be leased out to
successive farmer tenants.
It was not until the 1970s, just on a century after it was commissioned and established, that a small group of energetic and determined local people took the time to contemplate the possibility of turning the Ohoka Eyreton Domain into something more specific.
In a little over 30 years, they have certainly stamped their mark as this widely-spread and barren block of land is now almost totally devoted to some branch of the many sporting codes now practiced there. We believe the Mandeville Sports Club carries the widest range of sporting disciplines of any such institution within New Zealand.
Rugby, touch rugby, tennis, cricket, netball, bowls, squash, archery, pony club, western
riding, rodeo, North Canterbury Kennel Club, Waimakariri Kennel Club, and more recently a dog agility group are all active on this site.
There is still land not taken up and different groups are contemplating the possibility of
joining the club. The large reception room of the main host building is often utilized by local groups and committees for meetings and other events.
To date some important fixtures have been staged at MSC. In the 1990/1 cricket season Canterbury played Wellington in a Shell Cup match. All Black teams, the Canterbury Crusaders and the Fijian Rugby Team have made good use of the wide spread of rugby fields for their training.
In 2016 the New Zealand Archery championships were staged here, along with New
Zealand Pony Club championships. These two events actually overlapped by one day which caused some difficulty. Five hundred metres beyond the archery targets was the raised mound holding two jumps on the Pony Club cross-country course. Tight time frames created the need to establish a visual barrier. Material and cloth coverings, prone to wind disturbance on the widely spread course were dismissed. The problem was solved by a local transport company supplying two stock carrying truck and trailer units for a few hours.
The land mass which holds the Mandeville Sports Club is the Waimakariri District Council who hold the authority for its administration in conjunction with a committee of local people who look after the day-to-day hands-on issues.
The Mandeville district is sited in what not so long ago was titled the Eyre County a smaller block of land. Eyre recently joined with neighbouring counties to form the much larger Waimakariri District Council.
Eyre County, then headquartered in the local village of Ohoka has a history dating back to the first settlement of European migrants. Families exist here today who can trace their lineage back to the establishment of the Ohoka Eyreton Domain in 1877.
The history of the Eyre County was researched and recorded by a local group titled “The
Eyre toward 2000 Historical Committee”. This effort culminated in a published book,” Eyre,Wind and Water” penned by Pauline Wood. This detailed recording of local history has been a very useful information source for this publication, along with the historic journal “Beyond the Waimakariri” by Don Hawkins.
Beginnings
The first recorded inhabitants of the Eyre district were of course Māori.
Early Māori mythology and folklore covers a fabled waka journey of Maui and his team as they sailed into the South Pacific and reached New Zealand. They are said to have covered much of the coastal country of the North Island, along with a journey into the central volcanoes where they hoped to meet with this country’s gods.
Maui and his small team were heading into the Southern Alps, launching a further bid to
meet with the gods of this beautiful and challenging land. No record exists as to which side of the Waimakariri they journeyed, but who knows, the fabled and eternal figure of Maui may have been the first to lightly step foot in the old Eyre county.
History clearly records three different Māori tribes having spent time in our district. The first were the Waitaha, who initially settled in the Kaiapoi-large swampy mass for some time but were later to drift to Horomaka (Banks Peninsula) and became established in several of these bays.
The Waitaha were followed into our district by the Kati Mamoe who were also drawn by the availability of food in the swampy lowlands. Not a big tribe, their wandering instincts ultimately shortened their term in our district.
The third tribe to settle here were Ngāi Tahu. With considerably higher numbers and under the leadership of a strong and wise chief, Tūrakautahi, they soon established a strong base for their families. Tūrakautahi was a warrior chief and also held a strong vision on how to keep his families closely connected within his growing tribe.
The big pa he built was strategically sited on a high point surrounded by water on three sides being part of the Rakahuri (Ashley) and Eyre lagoon. This provided an able defense and an abundant and close food source.
Tūrakautahi, a comprehensive planner, steered different families within his group into
differing roles. Most were centered around gathering, preparing and growing food. Many families were to spend considerable time away from their Pa as they carried out their specific duties; fishing, trapping birds, growing and harvesting vegetable matter.
Agriculture was practiced in the Eyre district by Ngāi Tahu. Our first farmer set a fine
example. His strong ethic of teamwork is abundantly evident across our farming and
business arenas today.
With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 and the termination of the Māori wars, New Zealand began to enter its most significant period of growth. The steadily increasing level of migrants landing saw the necessity for thorough and constant planning.
The Colonisers Are Arriving
Our government at that time was the Provincial Council system, widely spread blocks across New Zealand reporting back to England who held the overall position of governance within the colony. They were to begin negotiations with the Māori to buy tracts of land across the dominion. This was initially further north in some of the districts which had deteriorated into a state of war.
One of the last of the larger areas of New Zealand to be surveyed and developed was
Canterbury. Under the auspice of the Canterbury Association the British government began supplying surveyors and experienced planners who had worked in other countries in this role.
The man to oversee the purchase of this land in Canterbury was Lieutenant Governor
Edward John Eyre. Eyre had been prominent in the exploration of the interior of Australia. His role of governership committed him to a heavy workload, so he appointed the purchase of this land in Canterbury to Mr Henry Kemp.
Kemp paid little attention to Eyre’s detailed instructions and purchase negotiations soon broke down. Strongly opposed by some Māori groups, he simply ignored them and dealt
with those wishing to sell. It soon became evident that Māori rights guaranteed by the
Treaty of Waitangi were not always forthcoming. Misunderstandings were constant, early maps failed to clearly define areas sold and disputes were simply ongoing.
A point of great annoyance to Ngāi Tahu was the British claim that Te Rauparaha who in the 1830’s ventured south from his strong foothold on Kapiti Island to overrun the upper South Island tribes was the man who held the rights to most of the upper South Island. Yes, he certainly dealt a crushing blow but in the minds of Ngāi Tahu held no rights to any land in this district. Ngāi Tahu culture deemed it necessary for families to hold land for two successive generations to claim ownership.
The flamboyant and aggressive Te Rauparaha carried a much shorter and simpler code of practice, perhaps anticipating land sales. One area Ngāi Tahu strongly fought to hold was the Waimakariri block, the eastern portion of the land between the Ashley and Waimakariri. This later constituted a big portion of the Eyre County. These disputes dragged on for some time with negotiations finally involving Governor Grey.
Further reserves for Māori and more robust remuneration in some of the
better areas finally settled the issue (back then). The land ownership issue sorted, the Canterbury Association swung into gear, arranging to send planners over to lay out towns and communications for the pending settlements.
The main town initially was to be Stratford, sited at the head of Port Cooper (Lyttleton Harbour). The second settlement was to be sited at the head of the Avon River. The third town, Mandeville, was planned to be on the southern end of an island back then formed by the braiding of the Waimakariri River. Town number four Lincoln, further south, was sited near the Waikirikiri (renamed Selwyn) River. The fifth town, Oxford, was planned for the base of the foothills north of the Waimakariri. The next town ,Goulburn, was sited south of the Waimakariri River, and finally Buccleaugh was to hold a position on the foothills between the Rakaia and the Hakatere Rivers, somewhere near the Mt Somers settlement of today.
Some towns made it. Some did not. Stratford was very soon re-sited north of the Port Hills and settlement was to creep up the Avon. The title of Stratford was soon to be exchanged for Christchurch. Mandeville missed by a country mile and then some. No doubt the huge drainage problem and the research into the rechanneling of the Waimakariri north branch were indeed detrimental to any progress.
Recent developments today, within this district have steadily increased, along with the expansion of the local sporting entity.
Lincoln was to be moved closer to Christchurch, now a pleasant town holding a very
significant university. Oxford, then touted as becoming a university town, became a strong foothill settlement with an early start as much needed timber was sourced by several contractors from nearby Harewood Forest, centered around the upper Eyre River. Goulburn and Buccleaugh failed to make it.
The English-based Canterbury Association had planned to dispatch four ships, almost
simultaneously to sail for Lyttleton. The “Charlotte Jane” landed on the 16 th December 1850 followed by the “Randolf” later that same day and the “Sir George Seymour” on the following day.
The “Cressy” arrived 10 days later, completing the passage of 800 migrants. Earlier settlement had tended to be spasmodic as land ownership issues were still being
sorted. With the high number of fresh arrivals, the Canterbury Plains were soon taken up.
The North Canterbury portion, particularly the land beyond the Waimakariri was considerably less attractive at that stage. The huge area of tidal and lowland swamp, estimated to be around 20,000 acres was caused by the lack of satisfactory mouths of the local rivers not reaching the sea. The easiest way into the area was up the Waimakariri River.
Determined and entrepreneurial individuals took up land, some establishing flour mills and flax processing operations across the difficult terrain. Collectively they sought solutions to their drainage problems. It was to be some time before the promising land of the Ohoka,Rangiora and Mandeville districts were satisfactorily drained.
As the migrant numbers grew, the demands for roads, bridges, rail planning and receptive harbours grew, the demand upon government funding rapidly expanded. It simply became a matter of patience.
Dedicated families endured, some still here today. For many their legacy will linger, their names stamped upon our road signs.
The problem of tackling the drainage issue covering the lower Waimakariri district must have been daunting, especially in regard to roading.
In 1863 the first step toward greater responsibility to country districts in roading and drainage matters was taken by the Provincial Council Government when they passed “The Road Ordinance No. 1”. They then asked for the establishment of “Road Districts” within the province. Each was to hold a board of five members, operating under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Council Government carrying the authority to levy a rate for their work.
The area between the lower reaches of the Ashley and Waimakariri Rivers was left in the
hands of the Rangiora and Mandeville Road Board. The first few years of their operation
were extremely difficult, largely tackling drainage issues. Disputes over property damage
relating to some of their operations at times ended up in courts, at times condemning the board’s actions. To their credit they persevered against almost overwhelming odds.
The sheer size of their district along with the seemingly endless portion of it under water and mud began to register on overseeing authorities.
In 1870 a call was made to reduce the workload of these original Road Boards. Smaller boards, now utilizing better equipment were needed to handle the job as local populations steadily grew.
Socialising in any new and sparsely populated district must have been difficult. Initially it was simply neighbours sharing time and perhaps a meal. Dances were occasionally
arranged, often to raise funds for a local school, church or leisure activity as they set about founding our local communities.
As children grow, we know we must have challenging activities ready for them to pursue. Just as animal younglings will romp, chase and tussle with each other, building skills for survival in their world, so too will human youngsters test their level of capability.
The Ngāi Tahu society practiced activities among their children. A game called “Niti”
encompassed dart throwing which must have improved accuracy as the boys matured,
looking ahead to food foraging and/or warfare. A man named Herries Beattie discovered
further Ngāi Tahu games involving flax string activity arrangement of hoops and top
spinning. All of which must have sharpened concentration. Beattie also witnessed strategy games. Ngāi Tahu valued music and song, utilizing it to pass on hapu and tribunal histories.
Sporting activities were steadily fostered within our territory. Rowing in Kaiapoi was
becoming popular in the 1860s, but further inland it was the Swannanoa women who broke the dominance of male preserve on sporting management when they formed their own ladies archery club in the late 1860’s.
In July 1862 something of a ‘bolt from the blue’ saw an illegal prize fight being staged on the north bank of the Waimakariri River. Constable Hillier observed the fight taking place on Charlie Turner’s run. He attempted to stop the fight but was ejected from the ring. The participants, prisoner Henry Jones and George Barton, fought for about an hour. Constable Hillier said both men were stripped to the waist and Barton appeared to be the loser shedding much blood.
The sizeable crowd which gathered were claimed to be the “desolate and depraved” by The Press, suggesting there was heavy betting on the fight. Despite the
popularity of this event there is no record of any further prize fights being staged in this
district.
As numbers grew the traditional English pursuits of cricket and football were quietly pursued, but it was the usually annual sporting day which then drew families into the light-hearted and fun day out.
As alluded in page 1 an 80 H block of land was made available within the Ohoka Eyreton
district. This happened in 1860. It was Reserve No. 1567. In 1874 it was gazetted as a
reserve and in 1878 it was made a domain by George Augustus Constantine, Marquess of Normandy and Governor of the Colony of New Zealand.
Under the 1881 Public Domains Act, committees had the opportunity to set up boards to control domains. The Ohoka and Eyreton Domain Board staged their first meeting on the 10 th June 1884. The first chairman was Richard Hopkins, joined by George Bailey and Thomas Lord.
From its inception the block was leased out to a farmer, Mr Micheal McHugh, at a rate of three shillings per acre. It was in 1877 that the first sporting event was staged on a small piece of the big block.
Many of our country districts staged family sporting days, often on Boxing Day. The Ohoka, Mandeville district staged their first such day, Boxing Day 1872, on the property of Mr Clist, Whites Road, near the Ohoka Junction Hotel. Along with two horse races there was a variety of running events covering various distances and ages, wheelbarrow and walking events, throwing competitions, including gumboots.
The day concluded with a ball in Clark’s grain store.
These popular sports days continued to be held in different farmer’s paddocks in the Ohoka area until 1877 when the day was staged at Ohoka Eyreton Domain.
The organisation of the day was changed as well. The athletic events were held in the morning and the horse racing in the afternoon. Obviously much more planning was undertaken as the race track was marked out with poles and hurdles and 70 pounds was gathered as stake money, in sovereigns, for the seven events staged during the afternoon.
The combined aspect of the sports day came to an end in 1879 with the formation of the
Ohoka Eyreton Jockey Club under the presidency of George Bailey. The entire day of 26
December 1879 was devoted to horse racing. It became obvious as steadily more people
made the journey to the event, that it was the horseracing which drew them, hence the lifting of all other aspects of the meeting.
Many travelled by train from Christchurch and a big number from Springfield, Sheffield,
Oxford and West Eyreton, also by train. The committee kept pace by improving the facilities.
A permanent saddling paddock, a weighing room, an improved committee room and horse yards all streamlined the administrative work load. The Kaiapoi Brass Band provided entertainment between races.
In 1882 the racing club was forced to diversify to race under the Canterbury Jockey Club’s rules in order to run totalizator betting. The president then was W. H. Pearson, although vice-president George Bailey still appeared to chair the meetings. With assistance from the Domain Board the club erected a grandstand and a new totalizator building.
Race meetings were staged annually until 1910 when the Gaming Act reduced permits from 182 held over 212 racing days to 100 permits held over 190 racing days. This was to bring about a period of uncertainty for the club as it was forced to apply annually for the permit and was not always granted one. In the years there was no permit the club reverted to the format of the old sports day/picnics romp with lesser races and more modest stakes.
In 1916 the club held a “patriotic” trotting meeting to raise money for the war effort.
This appears to have been the last race meeting staged by the Ohoka Eyreton Jockey Club. In 1921 it was decided to close the club and transfer its funds to Ohoka Eyreton Sports Club.
In 1888 the Ohoka Eyreton Domain board began a tree planting program, using Pinus
Insignia. This was no doubt in order to secure future funding. Eight acres were planted on the western boundary, along with smaller blocks on other boundaries. Tenders registered in 1920 and 1923 for the available wood certainly endorsed the wisdom of the board in pursuing this operation.
It was the Ohoka and Eyreton Jockey Club who dominated the use of the big domain for
many years. Their activities certainly changed and improved the layout of the area for
further recreational activity.
By 1909 the Domain Board had accumulated sufficient funds to buy around 15 acres from James Gudsell in Ohoka to establish a second domain, at a cost of 500 pounds. The
Domain Board contributed 300 pounds, the remainder lent by Mrs R W Wright, wife of the board’s secretary. The minister of Crown Lands approved the purchase although in his report to the Under Secretary for Lands he commented that the reserve at Mandeville covered everything the youth of the day needed. He concluded “A new recreational ground at Ohoka is not a necessity – it is a luxury”. The only evidence the community appeared to provide as support for permission to buy the land were the numbers of children attending the surrounding schools.
Flaxton 105, Swannanoa 35, Eyreton 34, Clarkville 60. There was no Ohoka school then,
the local children were predominantly educated at Flaxton on the districts south-eastern
boundary.
As with the first domain at Mandeville, the Ohoka Domain was leased, along with a cottage for 25 pounds per year. The lease agreement insisted that the ground was to be made available for recreational purposes on a pro-rata basis.
Leasing income over the years made money available for steady improvements of the
domain for recreational purposes. In 1910 the lease was reduced to 20 pounds, but the
domain was to be ploughed, levelled and sown in grass. 872 trees at a cost of 20 pounds 11 shillings and 4 pence were bought from Edward Ivory in August 1910. These included 150 Laurustinus along with 50 Wellingtonia Gigantea. The following year an up-market fence was erected, including a metal gate from Cooper and Duncan engineers, iron and brass founders. The fence line carried jarrah posts holding molded kauri tops. All uplifted from the Mandeville Racecourse.
In 1912, Te Waipounamu College girls were granted permission to play hockey on the
ground. The Domain Board were asked by the trustees of the Ohoka Town Board to allow the building of a new hall upon the domain. As the Domain Board did not hold the power to lease the land for building purposes, the request was refused. They did, however, offer to approach a near neighbour, Jessie Gudsell, with an offer to buy her property for building purposes.
In 1916 the Domain Board continued with the landscaping programme, planting trees from A.W. Buston’s Opawa Nursery. This order contained both exotic and native species, lifting the overall appearance.
Further clubs joined the domain in the 1920’s. The Ohoka Eyreton Athletic Club applied for help in building a cycle track on the southern end. The Ohoka Tennis Club sought help in the laying of two tennis courts, to the east of the current site adjacent to Mill Road.
The Board worked hard in supporting the different clubs joining them, who also worked very hard running their own fundraising.
In 1924 part of the old racing stables were moved from Mandeville to Ohoka, providing a pavilion for the tennis club, which joined the jockey clubs once Secretary’s office,
requestioned by the cricket club in 1922. In 1924 the board also marked out a hockey field and erected goal posts for the local club.
The local football club in 1927 succeeded in its request to lay out a rugby field as well as the provision for lights. The rugby field had to wait until 1928 to be worked down and sown.
Now very active with sporting commitments the areas were still being leased out which
obviously was not an ideal arrangement. In the 1930s problems arose and the lease of Dunlop was terminated and the land offered rent-free to Mr Doug Dalley, provided he grub the gorse and generally tidied up the domain.
Let’s not forget the entire country was then in the grip of a deep depression. The energy and dedication displayed by the entire community exhibited their level of commitment.
In the 1940s the clubs were again unhappy at the decline in the level of maintenance. This was understandable with so many of our young men then overseas on war duty.
The competitive element of both rugby and cricket was generally stalled across New
Zealand during the war years and in many districts so too was the maintenance of these
venues. In Ohoka, poplar shoots had forced their way up through the hard surfaced tennis courts and the open field carried a wide range of weed matter and gorse. Post war It was decided to clear the entire block, mole drain it and then work to sow it down in a new variety of grass. All of this was to keep the domain closed until 1948. During the war years and through to 1948, sporting activity had been staged on the property of Mr Gill Cottle, on Bradley’s Road, the western edge of the Ohoka village.
The Eyre district held two further domains, at Swannanoa and Eyreton. Both of these
entities were labelled sub-domains and were under the administration of the Ohoka Eyreton Domain Board, elected on 7-year terms. It was at this time the big Ohoka Eyreton Domain was labelled as “Mandeville Domain” to avoid confusion with the new smaller Ohoka Domain.
The Swannanoa Domain was purchased from Mr Burgin, six acres in 1921 and a further 4 acres in 1922. This was to earn a reprimand from the Minister of Lands for the Ohoka and Eyreton Domain Board who had not sought permission prior to the purchase.
The Swannanoa Domain was gazetted on 31 st July 1924, although it had been home to the local cricket club for 2 years. The Cricket Club applied to the Domain Board for a concrete pitch in 1922 which was granted on the understanding that the club supply the labour. The old totalizator building, specifically sought by the Canterbury Jockey Club some 40 years earlier, was uplifted from the Mandeville racecourse site and transferred up to Swannanoa to become the cricket club’s pavilion. A section of post and rail fencing to serve as horse-hitching posts accompanied this.
The construction of a swimming pool at the Swannanoa Domain was contemplated in 1946 and a considerable sum of money was raised. The Eyre County Council offered to evacuate the site but the proposition was withdrawn. The education board offered a heavy subsidy for the complete project and the baths were then established on the school ground across the road.
The Eyreton Domain was a seven-acre block of land bought from Mr H. C. Clothier in 1933. He had offered land previously to the local cricket team. The Domain Board rebuilt the club’s pavilion in 1934 along with laying out a concrete pitch. The Eyreton Tennis Club approached the Domain Board for courts but were turned down as the cricket club’s cost had been excessive. The Board however relented, inviting the Tennis Club onto the domain with adequate assistance. A great effort during those tough depression years.
A basketball club was formed and they played on a grass court in front of the tennis court. All three of the newly established local domains within the old Eyre district were to experience some difficulty in their early days. The Ohoka Domain taken up in 1909 had to contend soon after with a World War which removed the bulk of the district’s young men as its development plan was under way. The war was followed by several years of uncertainty and fluctuating prosperity which ultimately descended into a deep depression. Just as the economy was beginning to recover after riding out the uncertainty of the depression the world was once again plunged into a second World War. Four decades of tight financial times and uncertainty weighed heavily on non-essential entities. By way largely of its bigger clubs, cricket and rugby, the Ohoka Domain survived. Similarly, the Swannanoa Domain has ridden out the tough patch with its cricket and tennis teams still intact.
The Eyreton Domain, the last to setup in 1933, is still intact but seldom used. By way of the difficult years surrounding its launch and of course its lightly populated location, the Eyreton Domain struggled hard. Their initial cricket team were not able to hold a lengthy term, but latterly suppled strong support for both of their neighbouring districts; Swannanoa and Ohoka. The district’s rugby team, launched in 1925, lasted only a few years, obviously short on player numbers. They did attract interest from neighbouring Clarkville but post war appeared to drift to Ohoka and Mandeville.
Another reason for the domain’s chequered early history was a rather sad occasion. In
September 1934 the tennis club application for courts was granted if local residents raised 25 pounds to be paid to the board within 2 years. Messrs. R. Bennett and H C Clothier guaranteed this amount and were finally required to pay the outstanding sum to the board in May 1936.
The Eyreton Domain is still there today used by local families and groups for picnics and
sporting encounters. Similarly, the Swannanoa Domain has ridden out the tough patch, with its cricket and tennis clubs still intact. Their tennis club is no longer competitive as the strong nearby Mandeville development has dominated. A group from Christchurch pursuing American Football utilizes the domain over the winter.
The Eyreton Domain, the last to set up in 1933 is still intact but infrequently used today. By way of the difficult years surrounding its launch and of course it’s lightly populated location the Eyreton Domain struggled hard. Their initial cricket team did not have an active existence, their matches largely friendly encounters. Eyreton Domain was also used by the Clarkville Cricket Club when they launched in 1960.
How the Local Children saw their District
In 1943 the children of Ohoka School, standard II to form II undertook the project of writing the history of colonial settlement within the Ohoka district. Too young to harbour any prejudice or bias, their straight forward comments make interesting reading.
The following are some random extracts from their book:
“From about 1870 to 1900 Ohoka was quite a thriving village centre with a large population and a school holding around 200 pupils and several teachers. There was also a big hotel and many different shops etc.
The wool wash in Ohoka was where many of these men were employed, but when it was
closed down the men were out of work and most of the houses were pulled down and shifted to Kaiapoi.
At one time Mr P G Threlkeld and Mr J S White owned nearly all the land in Ohoka between them, from about Mandeville to Jacksons Road. Mr White’s estate covered a large block of country which is now broken up into the following farms owned by Matson, Brown, Mytton, Lucas, Pickles, Mossman, Hunt, Power, Scott, Ashe, Stede and Dalley.
The village is laid out into small narrow house sections along both sides of the street. In
Ohoka from 1870 to 1900 there was a blacksmith, two butchers, a hotel, several cheese
factories, a shoe-maker and a general store.
Where the garage is now there was a hotel of two stories, owned by Mr John Clist. All that is left now being part of the bottom floor in which Mr Dunick lives.
To show that Ohoka was a busy little place, there used to be many sporting activities. Some of these were tennis, basketball (netball), rugby, athletic sports annual meeting, horse racing and cricket. All have died out partly owing to the war and partly to the lack of people and interest in them in general.
In past years crowds of men used to gather nightly to gossip at the mill, or at the store, but that is no longer so. The local meeting place now for men of leisure seems to be the garage where several men can usually be seen talking or arguing with the proprietor, Mr Dunick.
There are no interests here now (1943) for young people, no sport and no amusement
except an occasional dance.
The nineteen hundreds, to this district have brought a slow decay. The day of the village is now past.”
Better times now lie ahead
The war now finally over and the heavy load of anxiety and grief removed, the district
welcomed home their lads and began preparing their playing pitches for some long over-due activity. Understandably this was to be a major task after such a long stretch of inactivity.
The young men called up meant our women and older men had to fill that breach. Obviously little or no time for anything else but determination now to see our lads enjoying something denied them for so long.
The Ohoka district were then to experience some spells of wet weather around this time
which created problems for particularly their rugby team. A tight-knit district, over-seen by a strong Council, saw many options unsuccessfully play out but Mother Nature will always dominate.
There became a strong move to see if the local club could be transferred to the big domain within their community which had been made available for recreational activity many years ago. Led by the Ohoka Rugby Club, a small committee of strong and experienced men set out to examine the possibility
An Attempt to Make Progress
The Ohoka Domain, established in 1909, has consistently been dogged by drainage
problems. This was at times to deny any activity whatsoever as the mud level dominated.
This of course was to create many problems for the Ohoka Rugby Club. When the field was un-playable, they staged their home encounters on the lighter soils of the neighbouring Swannanoa Doman, seven kilometers away. With very limited shedding available and no showers on this venue, the players changed and showered in Ohoka.
The 1970s featured several spells of increased rainfall and the Ohoka Rugby Club decided to search for another venue. It was initially suggested that the sizeable expanse of the Mandeville Domain, then being leased to a farmer tenant, be investigated. This venue was still in close proximity to Ohoka village and its surrounding districts.
Of greater significance the lighter soils were considerably more free-draining.
Around this time the mere mention of the Mandeville Reserve often questioned its lengthy existence and its total lack of any sporting activity.
Many factors play out here but it’s important to maintain logic and pragmatism. There,
obviously was little chance of our first settlers being able to achieve anything which
demanded significant time or capital. So many of these folks arrived here with high hopes, big hearts and little else, but were determined to make the very best of whatever
opportunities arose. They were building their own properties, as well as their own
communities. Neither did the government of the day expect them to spend excessive leisure time on the wonderful asset so generously allotted to them.
As we know these early folk ran their own sporting family picnics upon the domain
accompanied by a few horse-racing events. Horse racing rapidly gained popularity as it
became more established and more controlled and in less than a decade from its inception the Domain was staging an annual event which drew well over 1000 visitors. A strong club existed to stage these events for over 30 years, when World War I finally crushed them.
Followed by a decade of uncertainty the World was then plunged into a deep depression.
This then was followed by a second World War. Understandably any non-essential entity or proposition simply stood in wait for some time.
From day one the initial big domain was leased out to a farmer tenant. The successful jockey club worked with him in staging their events. The sheer size of the big block, domineered by a successful club and its ongoing tenants lease would not enhance its appeal to be further utilised for any further specific events. It may be that is a possible reason for the seed to be sown for a smaller, much more accessible local domain within the Ohoka village. Very easy to contact the local stalwart who held the authority to stage whatever, whenever.
This much smaller and much easier scenario obviously appealed to other districts within our wider coverage. All three of our new domains worked hard to keep afloat during the War and Depression periods of uncertainty. It was not until post WWII that our district began to steadily build its population, creating the opportunity sought by the Ohoka Rugby Club in 1975.
The rugby club engaged three of its members, Mr Ron Dalley, Mr Gordon Fulton and Mr Bob Ralls to undertake this proposition. As is often the case with Crown land there was difficulty establishing just who held ultimate authority governing the constitution. There was a committee, the Ohoka Eyreton Domain Board who attended to the everyday matters. These issues were largely overseeing land tenants and collecting the rentals.
Housekeeping matters involved checking out the fences, any weed infestation, storm
damage, tree debris and road verges inspection etc. The local county at this time was the Eyre County, head-quartered in Ohoka. The principal authority however was the New Zealand Government. The investigating group, however, found little or no support from anyone holding any authority with the big block of land. It was a 5-year operation to establish the necessary protocol to set up the big domain to start building the superb feature it is today. The patience and determination of this small group was superb.
Obstacles were continually placed in their path, perhaps to gauge their level of
determination. Initially, they had asked for a small section of the huge block to be made available to the Rugby Club. This alone may have concerned councilors and/or committee members. The Mandeville Domain had been in existence for over 100 years within our district and the depth of its origin along with its magnitude had certainly created an aura of presence.
For so long, before so many minders, there had been no changes in the protocol of the big block. There had to be ripples of concern among management teams when any changes whatsoever were being contemplated.
To their credit the three-man team driving this proposition clearly read the warning signals and paused to review their plan. They then decided to consider the response if their objective was to cover all or any sporting recreation wishing to use the big domain. More simply put, it was a wish to put into place just what was intended for the unit upon its inception. For close on a century almost nothing for which it had been intended had taken place. The meagre sum of rentals gathered paled into insignificance alongside this
wonderful asset.
Now with a firm and clear objective they placed their revised plan before the 0hoka domain Board and awaited their summation. To their great relief the Rugby Club had finally got their objective across the line and grounded.
This was of course the opening whistle for the very long match which lay ahead. The local public had been aware of the request and those keen to assist were promptly on board.
There was just so much necessary in getting the big project moving. Dare we ask retrospectively what may have been the outcome of Mandeville Sports Ground had not the rugby club fought so hard to put their case? It would not have cost the Ohoka Rugby Club a fortune to set up simple facilities upon the Swannanoa Domain.
Messrs Dalley, Fulton and Ralls did not relax in pursuing their hard-won proposition. They were in fact the driving force behind the creation of the club they worked so earnestly to establish. To these three gentlemen, the sporting population of North Canterbury pass on their sincere thanks for a comprehensive piece of work.