39 Manawa Road (Remuera’s Century-Old Homes Project)

Early European land ownership

The dwelling at 39 Manawa Road was built on part of original Allotment 104 of Section 16, Suburbs of Auckland.[1] Measuring just over an acre-and-a-half, the allotment was a
triangular-shaped parcel of land situated between present-day Orakei Road and Victoria Avenue. Access to the site was made via a track off Orakei Road or via the tidal creek that ran alongside the property.

Allotment 104 was originally granted to Hohepa (also known as Joseph) Tarautete in 1856, when much of the land around present-day Orakei, Upland and Benson roads was made available by the Crown at public auction (Figure 2).[2] Described on the land register as an ‘aboriginal native’ of Remuera, Tarautete belonged to the Ngā Oho hapū of Ngāti Whatua of Orakei.[3] He was also known as Joseph ‘Trousers’ (or ‘Trowsers’), the English translation of Tarautete, which it has been suggested may have derived from his wearing Pakeha style trousers.[4] Educated at a mission school, Tarautete was reputedly a lay preacher who also collected shipping dues from Māori and Pakeha traders on the Waipapa Reserve at Mechanics Bay.[5] A year after acquiring Allotment 104 for £52, he secured the Crown grant for a neighbouring five acres of land that fronted present-day Victoria Avenue that later became a primary school reserve.[6] By 1860, a cottage had been built on Allotment 104.[7]

Māori school / Dame school

According to historian Alan La Roche, Tarautete operated a Māori school near the Orakei Basin.[8] It is possible that this was the one-roomed, kauri board and batten building that stood on the property for well over a century (Figure 3). Probably built from a prefabricated ‘kitset’, the school was considered large enough for around 10 to 12 children.[9] Although the date of construction is unknown, it is possible that the modest building was in place before 1857. At that time, a Mrs Mary Young was living on nearby Orakei Road and it is thought that she may have ran a “small school down towards the bottom of the hill” for her daughters and a few other children, which may have been the building on Tarautete’s property.[10]

Such small schools were not uncommon during the early years of European settlement in Auckland and before the passing of the Compulsory Education Act in 1878.[11] During this time, many young children were taught by a local woman for a small fee, either in their own homes or in a building nearby.[12] The term was also used for those schools who taught young ladies fine manners, painting, sewing and elocution lessons.[13]

Other early owners

In 1862, Tarautete sold Allotment 104 to Remuera settler, John Smith Williams for £80.[14] By 1868, the property was valued at £120, suggesting improvements had been made.[15] That same year, Williams’ wife, Mary Ann(e), applied to the police court for protection against her husband, whom she charged with desertion.[16] She claimed that for the past seven months, her husband had not provided any support and she desired protection for her own property. She had since supported herself by keeping a school (presumably the school on the property) and taking in boarders, while paying her husband £1 2s. per month for the rent of the cottage.[17]

In 1874, Williams sold the property occupied by the cottage and small school to Reuben Scarborough, a local farmer who had immigrated to New Zealand from England in 1863.[18] Scarborough already owned five acres of land fronting present-day Victoria Avenue, which he had purchased from Williams three years earlier.[19] There he ran dairy cattle and, as he prospered, built a substantial concrete house known as ‘Avoca’/’Ovoca’ (now demolished). He also went on to form ‘Reuben Scarborough & Sons’, a successful horse-bus business.[20]
In 1882, Scarborough subdivided Allotment 104 into two lots.[21] The northern lot, which measured around three-quarters of an acre and comprised the cottage and school, was purchased by farmer and ‘remittance man’, John Bishop.[22]

The Bishops

Hailing from the historic English village of Rolvenden in Kent, John Bishop, his wife, Kate, and their four children immigrated to New Zealand in 1860, travelling aboard the ship ‘Avon’.[23] They were joined by John’s adult son, also named John, from his first marriage.[24] Initially settling on a farm in New Plymouth, the Bishops later relocated to Auckland and owned 160 acres of land in the Waitakere Ranges.[25] Records suggest that the family may have been living in Remuera from as early as 1868, when John Bishop, a champion marksman, took out a license to shoot game.[26]

When the Bishops took up the northern part of Allotment 104 on present-day Manawa Road in 1882, it was the start of the family’s decades-long connection with the property. By this time, John and Kate had a further three children.[27] Over time, the road leading to the cottage and schoolroom, which was then little more than a track, became known as ‘Bishop’s Lane’, while the neighbouring creek that provided access to the property via the waterways, was named ‘Bishop’s Creek’.[28] One of their younger sons, Alfred (‘Fred’) Mynn Bishop, became a well-known local fisherman and would negotiate his boat up Bishop’s Creek to the family home.[29]

Following John Bishop’s death in 1902, Kate took ownership of the property.[30] Before her own death in 1908, she transferred the property to her two unmarried daughters, Kate Bishop (the younger) and Mary Morris Bishop.[31] For some time, Kate (the younger) had taught local children at the small school on the family’s property, and remained the school mistress until her sudden death in 1917.[32] Mary continued to live at the family cottage until her own death in 1929,when the property was transferred to her brother, Fred who lived there with his wife, Vera Gwendoline Aileen.[33]

Background

The Heritage Studio Limited has been commissioned by Remuera Heritage as part of their ‘Century-Old Homes’ campaign to undertake research and prepare a story that documents the history of 39 Manawa Road, which includes the colonial cottage that stands today and an old schoolroom that was relocated from the site some decades ago.

Research involved viewing online repositories such as DigitalNZ, Papers Past and Auckland Libraries resources; sourcing available information at Auckland Council Archives; and viewing deeds indexes, deposit plans, and certificates of title from Archives New Zealand and Land Information New Zealand. It is important to note that opportunities still exist to explore other avenues of research, which may yield more information.

A site visit was carried out on 5 March 2025, where the place was viewed from the public realm.