The Real Newton King

Newton King once ran the biggest privately owned company in the Southern Hemisphere. He was a general merchant, shipping agent, auctioneer and businessman. He helped out farmers, bought and sold land and now we enjoy the grounds Newton once called home.

Newton King built a magnificent home where Brooklands Park is now. It looked out on what we call today the Bowl of Brooklands. He was an interesting man this Newton King.

Rewind

By the 1900s Newton King's business was going well. Decide whether these things were really happening in the first five years of the last century.

True or false?

1. Young New Zealanders had already marched off to fight in a war in another country.

2. For the first time in nearly 40 years there are more people living in the North Island than the South Island.

3. Children must stay at school until they are 15.

4. The first All Black team to tour the United Kingdom wins every game.

5. The mail is delivered for the first time by a motorised vehicle.

Answers at the bottom of the page.

Sold to the gentleman in the brown hat

Newton King left school at 16 and it wasn't too long before he was working for himself as an auctioneer. He auctioned everything and anything - land, goods, horses and stock. The auction poster above is from 1905 and by then Newton King's business was going very well indeed.

Design the very first auction poster that Newton may have printed. This would have been in the late 1870s. Newton would have been just starting out so he may not have had that much to auction. He may have needed a very catchy headline on his poster just to get people to come along.

See the future?

Adrienne Tatham is Newton King's granddaughter and she says that as a businessman, Newton was quick off the mark. "He was always able to see into the future more than the people around him. He could see an opportunity and grab it."

What if you lived in the days when Newton was building his business? Would you have been able to see into the future and make some clever business decisions?

Study the list of big events from the 1870s to 1900 and think of a business to match each one. The business to match the first date could be a service carrying the mail north from Taranaki to Auckland, for delivery around the world. Have a go!

1870 Auckland to San Francisco mail service begins.

1872 Telegraph communication links Auckland, Wellington and the southern provinces.

1874 The first New Zealand steam engine is built.

1881 Auckland and Christchurch telephone exchanges open.

1882 The first shipment of frozen meat leaves New Zealand bound for Great Britain.

1887 Reefton becomes the first town in New Zealand to have electricity.

1889 The first New Zealand train is built.

1898 The first cars are imported to New Zealand.

The farmer's shopping list

Newton King's businesses once linked the town and country. Newton worked out that that his business would grow as farmers settled on the land. Settlers were hungry for land in the 1880s. The Taranaki of these times has been called "the hungry 80s".

So what would the settler farmers need.? Newton King was ready to sell. Find a classmate and together make a list of things Newton would have probably supplied.

Word watch

All the words and phrases below are in this week's story. Choose the best meaning and check your answers as you read the story.

1. vices (a) undesirable habits or (b) tools to hold things steady

2. gambler (a) a person who takes risks or (b) a person who loses money

3. nicotiny (a) healthy looking or (b) yellow and smelly because of cigarettes.

4. imply (a) hide or (b) suggest

5. prosecution (a) legal action or (b) being bullied

6. a flutter (a) very nervous or (b) taking a bet

7. doubters (a) people who tend to disbelieve or (b) people that tell lies

8. reached fever pitch (a)a very high temperature or (b) a state of high excitement

9. sedately (a) in a great hurry or (b) calmly

10. to seal a deal (a) to make a business agreement official or (b) to win at cards

Answers at the bottom of the page.

The real Newton King

Now that you know a little about the business life of Newton King lets find out what he was like. Read the first part of this story down to "An unsavory vice".

List three clues that tell you Newton King was a successful businessman and then work out what is missing in the cartoon above.

Classic cars

Expanding Empire: Newton King's machinery and car yard in central New Plymouth.

Horses were still very popular when this photo was taken and one reason for this was the state of the roads. They were boggy in the winter and bumpy in the summer.

The two photos below appeared in the New Zealand geographic magazine. One shows a group of politicians on a Northland car trip and the other shows that the early road makers didn't bother with bridges. Cars were expected to cross rivers like horses did.

Now you know the conditions of the roads write a newspaper advertisement to go with the Newton King Car Yard photo.

No smoking?

"An unsavory vice" tells you about Newton's worst habit. Read on!

People weren't that worried about smoking in those days. They puffed away wherever they liked. Nobody told them that smoking was bad for their health and some doctors even suggested that people take up smoking.

A new anti-smoking law will soon ban New Zealanders from smoking in bars and restaurants. It begins on 10 December, 2004. Imagine if someone tried to ban smoking at the Taranaki Club in Newton King's day. The great man would probably have something to say about that.

So what about the older people that still smoke today? They also began to smoke when people thought cigarettes were harmless. Should they still be able to have a smoke in places like their RSA club?  Talk it over with a classmate and then list some points for and against before reaching a decision. Share your decision with others.

What a house!

Fit for a King:  Brooklands was pulled down because the then New Plymouth Borough Council couldn't find a suitable use for the grand home.

Newton King and his family lived in this huge house. It was bequeathed to the New Plymouth Borough Council in 1933, six years after Newton King died. "Brooklands" was a magnificent house still in top condition but the council sold it for 180 pounds ($360) and it was knocked down.

Imagine if it was still there looking over the Bowl of Brooklands. What could it be used for today? Discuss it with a classmate.

Why do you think this home was so big? What would have been inside that you are unlikely to find in homes today?

I'm watching!

"Under a watchful eye" explains the cartoon above. Read on and then write the words for two speech bubbles to match this cartoon.

The great race

"Behind pub doors" tells a tale on a town policeman. Find out all about this tale and then read about the great race. Read through to "Loyal to a King".

A report on the great race probably appeared in The Taranaki Daily News. These days the story would probably be published with a map detailing the different stages of the race. This type of map is called an explanatory map. These are used for story telling, to show how an event progressed. They use a step by step approach and often have illustrations with labels.

Draw an explanatory map to show Newton's Kings race to Urenui and back. You could draw a little locator map like this one in the corner of your map to show where the race took place.

What a headline

Now write the headline to go with your map and the cartoon above.

Let's seal the deal

Newton King opened branches of his business all over Taranaki and held regular auctions at Stony River, Rahotu, Waitara, Urenui, Awakino, Mokau, Douglas, Ohura and Whangamomona. At Waiwakaiho he built sale yards for livestock. He imported just about everything that farmers needed, sold the goods on long term credit and often lent them money so they could develop their farms.

Finish the story now and find out if Newton King used lawyers and accountants when sealing his deals with farmers.

Do you think the same kind of deals could still be done with a simple handshake today?

A very fine tribute

When Newton King died in 1927, The Taranaki Daily News published his obituary under the headline "Mr Newton King is Dead". The tribute took up the whole of the front page. Some people used to say there were two big things in Taranaki. One was the mountain and the other was Newton King.

Design a business card that represents this businessman. In the middle print his name. Print his date of birth and death in the top left hand corner. You can find this information here. In the top right hand corner list a success Newton King had in his lifetime. In the bottom left hand corner show how his life affected others. In the bottom right hand corner print three words that describe Newton King.

Fast forward

Next year Newton King's old home grounds will rock to the sounds of Womad 2005. It's the World of Music, Arts and Dance and the one time when Brooklands turns into a global village.

Festival fans will hear music from places like Tibet, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Congo, the Australian outback, South Africa, India, England, Scotland, France, Israel, the Ivory Coast, the USA and New Zealand.

Womad has been held in 20 different countries and was here in 2003. Look here for more details on Womad. Just click on Womad New Zealand and work your way along the menu bar.

What if a family of five from Whangamata wants to go to Womad 2005? Where will they stay, how much will it cost, are there extra things for the three kids to do and do they get their money back if it rains for the whole three days? Check it out!

Answers

Rewind

1. True. New Zealanders went to South Africa to fight in what some people call the Boar War.
2. True.

3. False. In 1901 the leaving age was raised to 14.

4. False. The All Blacks did go to the UK but they lost one game. That was against Wales and the score was three nil.
5. True. This happened in 1904.

Click to go back to the questions.

Word Watch

1a, 2a, 3b, 4b, 5a, 6b, 7a, 8b, 9b, 10a.

Click to go back to the questions.