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Reid`s Store, Maruia.
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DescriptionAunty Alice built us this. William James (Bill) Lester married Alice Maud Lester,in 1923. Frederick (Senior) who was Alice's first husband died in 1922 and Bill was Fredericks nephew. Bill was 41 and Alice 43. They moved into Phil Norris's house in the Maruia about two miles from where Frederick (Junior) and Constance lived. Bill owned the farm just across Woolley Creek.
Before the butter factory opened the principal industry was grazing. Their best markets were Addington and Reefton as Murchison was a poor market. This also applied to shipping produce as Reefton was the nearest railhead. They could land manure at Station Creek via Reefton about £2 10s per ton cheaper than via Murchison. The Reefton mail service was a week ahead of that via Murchison. He regarded Reefton as the best for medical service. He got similar service there as at Nelson, which was 140 miles away. The rate revenue for Maruia South Riding was £2OO 19s, out of which the Hospital levy was £l2O, leaving £8O to be spent on roads. He did not wish to include Matakitaki in Inangahua County. The roads on the plans had been maintained by Government grant. The road had been made for 14 years, but little had been done on it.
At present they travelled over the river bed, opened 14 gates and crossed the river three times to reach Murchison. They could get to Reefton by motor in two and a-half hours, twenty three and a half miles of the road were in Inangahua County and five and a half in Murchison County. He knew there was a grant for Rahu saddle and when asked why it was not expended was told it was the fault of the engineer and the office. He could not advance one genuine reason why the riding should remain in Murchison County.
1926 Bill and Alice moved to Frederick (Junior) house by the river and Frederick (Junior) family moved up to where the sawmill and cow yard were.
Patience Annie(Lester) Burkitt's Memories.
With the erection of a branch butter factory at Station Creek, a little more activity started taking place. The factory manager and his wife, Mr and Mrs Noel Wadsworth, brought change to the district.
Mrs Wadsworth was largely responsible for getting things started. Soon we were having fortnightly dances in the local school. Mr Wadsworth taught most of the young people to dance. This, of course, brought the people from all over' the valley together and the simplicity and togetherness of these functions still remains in my memory.
Around about this time the erection. of the tea-rooms and boarding house at the Creek made a sort of focal point where people used to gather.
1926 That year we had a real "Old Man" flood. Most of our farm was under water.
8 November, 1926 Nelson Evening Mail The heavy rain last week-end was responsible for a considerable amount of damage in the district by floods. The Maruia district suffered most. Several slips and culverts have been washed out on the Maruia Saddle. The bridge over the Warbeck Creek has been dislodged, and the bridge over the Rappahannock has been washed away, making the road impassable for some time, and settlers on this side of the stream are cut off from the Maruia factory. Arrangements have been made with the Murchison factory to take their cream as soon as possible to get a conveyance over the Saddle. A wash-out occurred near Morel's on the Matakitaki road. The bridge over Doctor's Creek near Mangarata on the main Nelson-Coast road has been washed away and the Public Works Department is constructing a ford. The service cars are getting through from Nelson as usual. But the Coast cars are blocked through bridges being washed away between the Inangahua Junction and Westport, also between the Junction and Reefton. The weather is still bad.
One settler who, despite his misfortune, retained his sense of humour, stated," the only thing not swept away on his farm was the mortgage!"A hardy old pioneer, amazed at the immensity of the flood, eloquently expressed his feelings by remarking " the flood was the biggest for two hundred years !" No one could dispute him! The river rose in places quite thirty feet, broke its banks, rushed down with terrifying force, sweeping away land, every fence in its track, and deposited uprooted trees, logs, fencing, and huge boulders on what was formerly dry land.
Most of the farms were underwater. A mile of the road vanished into the river. The rain covered an extensive area. Even Lake Rotorua rose 3 feet above its previous highest level. The cause of Thursday's flood was not so much the result of the preceding 24 hours; rain as to the fact that the rivers had not receded to their normal level from the flood of the Sunday before. The first flood caused a considerable amount of damage to the roads, but the farm lands were not affected to any extent. The Minister of Public Works telegraphed 15 December that he had authorised 16,000 pounds for restoration of flood damage in the District.
1926-27. Bill and Alice decided to diversify. They got some of the timber from Walker's plantation and some from the hill behind the Hall and School. Gus Staid built the house with Bill and Fred's (Junior) help. There was a kitchen, bathroom, sitting room, dining room and bedrooms. Just outside the big front window was the porch with steps and a path going out to the road. Alice was a great gardener and soon had flowers growing along the path. The tea rooms became a focal point where people used to gather. Alice was known locally as “Ma Lester” and could turn her hand to anything. She could sew, do beautiful knitting, garden, and was an excellent cook. .
The "Golden Dawn" butter factory was built just across the road from Bill's home and things started to boom. Bill took time off from his own work to pull logs out of the bush to the sawmill run by Nelson Gibbs.He cut timber for the factory, and later for a hall at Maruia, and even helped to erect the hall. At this time the farm was being run by Alice's eldest son Herman,while Herbert was away,mostly on a transport business, carting stock out and stores back in. Dances at the hall were the main source of entertainment for the residents, all who had quite long distances to travel. Initially by horse and trap and later by car. The whole family would attend, the children bedded down in the cloak room. Some of the non dancers played cards and everyone made their best cakes for supper. Dances were where romances were started. It was really the only place to meet the opposite sex. Everyone dressed in their best and all the females wore long frocks, some trying to outdo each other. Of course the men congregated at one end of the hall and the women at the other. There was also no alcohol present inside the Hall. The two big events of the year were Sports Day on New Year's Day and the dance at night, and the Dog Trials and the dance. This brought in outside people which caused lot’s of interest amongst the young folk. The Sports Day brought in horse events, wood chopping and athletics. The Dog Trials were usually a two day event.
1927-28. Bill and Alice build more bedrooms and a store. They do well out of the store but Bill never had the evenings to himself as people came in at all hours buying goods.
18 March, 1929 At Station Creek Mrs WJ Lester served an excellent dinner to The Hon. W A Veitch and entourage on their way to a meeting of the Inangahua County Council and ratepayers regarding development of the Maruia Springs.
6 May, 1929 Maruia Springs Outing Leave Murchison by lorry at 7 a.m. The cost, assuming you buy your stores at Murchison, is half a sovereign from Murchison to Station Creek. This entails a four hours’ drive over the Maruia Saddle through very fine scenery. When you arrive at Station Creek Mrs. Wm Lester will provide you with a first-class lunch at a cost of two shillings. Having partaken of this Mr Lester will be ready to take you on to the Springs, a distance of about 25 miles, in his car or in his lorry. His charge for one or more persons and their luggage is a sum of £2 10s for the journey. It is strongly advisable beforehand to communicate by wire or letter with him and ascertain if the Maruia River, which has to be crossed, is fordable.
17 June, 1929. It was a dull, foggy day.Bill was coming down the "First Cutting" with a load of cream cans. It had been raining the day before and the water on the road seemed to be coming towards him and the lorry was a bit difficult to handle. He wondered what was going on. A bit of a surprise to find out it was a quake. It was bad in the Upper Maruia, though not nearly as violent as in the Murchison area. All the roads were blocked and all the phone lines were down, but William (Bill) had had someone call on him a week earlier trying to sell him a wireless. That marvellous machine had been left with him for a trial period, and everyone gathered round it to get news from Nelson about outside places. On the night of the earthquake, more than seventy people spent the night at the boarding-house. Alice was up all night making scones, cake and tea to feed and comfort people to the best of her ability. They had no damage except for broken crockery.
A couple of days after the quake, refugees were arriving through here on their way to Greymouth or Christchurch. They had to come that way out of the Matakitaki and the Lower Maruia, as slips and blocked roads prevented them reaching Murchison. A huge slip blocked the Matakitaki at the Six-mile and formed a very big lake, known then as Lake Matakitaki.The lake was six miles (9.6km) long and quite wide, too. It spread all over the road to a depth of about six feet, so that anyone wanting to get past had to take to the bush.Bill with some others, went down over the Maruia Saddle, over slips and rubble on the road and helped the people of the Matakitaki, Glenroy and Horse Terrace over the Saddle to safety, as for days afterwards the ground was hardly still long enough to roll a cigarette. These people stayed the night at Bill's boarding house at Station-Creek and came up the river the next day. Bill brought out a load of women and children on his express wagon. A lot of them were walking, so Alice supplied meals at all hours of the day and night to the quake-stricken families. While they had a crust of bread in the house, someone was welcome to it, as they wouldn't refuse anyone a meal.
It was a very disturbing time for all the people, as it took several days to find out just what had happened in the outside world. Down in the Lower Maruia and the Matakitaki, a number of people were killed. At the Six-mile at the Matakitaki, the hillsides on both sides just appeared to lift up and slip out, covering people, houses, and very good farm land to a fair depth. Some people were caught as they ran and some were still in the houses. Seventeen people died. Besides forming a lake at the Matakitaki, the slip on the other side formed a dam, blocking the Maruia River, which diverted to another channel, forming the Maruia Falls and leaving the bridge high and dry.
The road in the Buller Gorge was lifted about 15 feet (4.5m) about six miles (9.6km) along the Westport road from O'Sullivan's bridge. Telephone wires and poles were down, most chimneys in Murchison and people lost all their fruit, jam, dishes, household goods and stores.
After the earthquake things really got moving. The valley became very busy. The Buller Gorge was blocked and the only way from the north to the West Coast was through the Maruia Valley. Within a short time Newmans service cars came through the Maruia between Nelson and Westport, for it took eighteen months to reopen the Buller road. Bill and Alice were able to cater for the passengers and drivers, as well as the travelling public.
Soon improvements were being made on the road. The Shenandoah Road was opened and improved the access from the north immensely. Much work was also carried out on the Rahu Saddle for Newmans and Gibbs service cars using this route. Lewis Pass road was also being constructed.
26 February, 1930 A motor truck owned by Mr W J Lester of Station Creek, Maruia, arrived in Reefton on Monday afternoon with one of the first loads of pigs from the Maruia district, consigned to the Addington sale.
About this time the Lewis Pass road was being constructed and many people from all over the country came here to find work. With the added population, a local store seemed a viable proposition, so a store was added to the boarding-house, along with another three bedrooms. Naturally, with the influx of people, you generally find the odd
character amongst them, and in this case there were two of them. One was an old German chap called Gus Staide was a carpenter who helped build the boarding-house. The other was the painter, named Jim Quin. These two used to try and outdo each other in telling yarns.
Well, it's nice to sit in the evening
On the steps of Lester's Store
And listen to tales of the olden days
And of high-flown ones galore.
Gus was telling a tale of an eel he had got down the river below the bluff.
I forget exactly how big it was,
But fifty pounds would be. near enough.
Then the pinter jumped up with a smile;
He said, "Gus I can beat that yarn of yours
By anything up to a mile." ,
Then he told us of how he was fishing one night And was catching them two at a bite,
When dusk quickly descended
And was followed by the darkness of night,
So he went up and off in the murky gloom,
And the going was rough, by frost!
When he had' gone on for a mile or so,
Then he knew he was lost,
So he stumbled on through the briars and brush, For the hour was getting late.
Then an Angel's voice from out of the night, Guided him home to the rustic gate.
This part of the story is true enough, as he did get lost down by the river, and it was Eva Norris who answered his yells and guided him back to the road. '
28 November 1936 Bill Lester sold the store buildings to Doug and Phil Reid.
The boarding house was bought by a German family called Schier,in the 1990ies.The buildings had become so dilapidated it was disappointing to see the state they were in. .When Gunther came into an inheritance he bought the buildings and he has done the most wonderful renovation and brought the building back to how It used to be.They turned it into a Backpackers Lodge. The unfortunate end of this episode was when Gunther was deported back to Germany and his family followed, when one of their daughters was well enough to fly. There has been public outcry over these circumstances but it hasn't softened the stand of the Ministry of Immigration . A German was the builder, a German saved it from demolition.Map[1] ContributorJohn Lester
Before the butter factory opened the principal industry was grazing. Their best markets were Addington and Reefton as Murchison was a poor market. This also applied to shipping produce as Reefton was the nearest railhead. They could land manure at Station Creek via Reefton about £2 10s per ton cheaper than via Murchison. The Reefton mail service was a week ahead of that via Murchison. He regarded Reefton as the best for medical service. He got similar service there as at Nelson, which was 140 miles away. The rate revenue for Maruia South Riding was £2OO 19s, out of which the Hospital levy was £l2O, leaving £8O to be spent on roads. He did not wish to include Matakitaki in Inangahua County. The roads on the plans had been maintained by Government grant. The road had been made for 14 years, but little had been done on it.
At present they travelled over the river bed, opened 14 gates and crossed the river three times to reach Murchison. They could get to Reefton by motor in two and a-half hours, twenty three and a half miles of the road were in Inangahua County and five and a half in Murchison County. He knew there was a grant for Rahu saddle and when asked why it was not expended was told it was the fault of the engineer and the office. He could not advance one genuine reason why the riding should remain in Murchison County.
1926 Bill and Alice moved to Frederick (Junior) house by the river and Frederick (Junior) family moved up to where the sawmill and cow yard were.
Patience Annie(Lester) Burkitt's Memories.
With the erection of a branch butter factory at Station Creek, a little more activity started taking place. The factory manager and his wife, Mr and Mrs Noel Wadsworth, brought change to the district.
Mrs Wadsworth was largely responsible for getting things started. Soon we were having fortnightly dances in the local school. Mr Wadsworth taught most of the young people to dance. This, of course, brought the people from all over' the valley together and the simplicity and togetherness of these functions still remains in my memory.
Around about this time the erection. of the tea-rooms and boarding house at the Creek made a sort of focal point where people used to gather.
1926 That year we had a real "Old Man" flood. Most of our farm was under water.
8 November, 1926 Nelson Evening Mail The heavy rain last week-end was responsible for a considerable amount of damage in the district by floods. The Maruia district suffered most. Several slips and culverts have been washed out on the Maruia Saddle. The bridge over the Warbeck Creek has been dislodged, and the bridge over the Rappahannock has been washed away, making the road impassable for some time, and settlers on this side of the stream are cut off from the Maruia factory. Arrangements have been made with the Murchison factory to take their cream as soon as possible to get a conveyance over the Saddle. A wash-out occurred near Morel's on the Matakitaki road. The bridge over Doctor's Creek near Mangarata on the main Nelson-Coast road has been washed away and the Public Works Department is constructing a ford. The service cars are getting through from Nelson as usual. But the Coast cars are blocked through bridges being washed away between the Inangahua Junction and Westport, also between the Junction and Reefton. The weather is still bad.
One settler who, despite his misfortune, retained his sense of humour, stated," the only thing not swept away on his farm was the mortgage!"A hardy old pioneer, amazed at the immensity of the flood, eloquently expressed his feelings by remarking " the flood was the biggest for two hundred years !" No one could dispute him! The river rose in places quite thirty feet, broke its banks, rushed down with terrifying force, sweeping away land, every fence in its track, and deposited uprooted trees, logs, fencing, and huge boulders on what was formerly dry land.
Most of the farms were underwater. A mile of the road vanished into the river. The rain covered an extensive area. Even Lake Rotorua rose 3 feet above its previous highest level. The cause of Thursday's flood was not so much the result of the preceding 24 hours; rain as to the fact that the rivers had not receded to their normal level from the flood of the Sunday before. The first flood caused a considerable amount of damage to the roads, but the farm lands were not affected to any extent. The Minister of Public Works telegraphed 15 December that he had authorised 16,000 pounds for restoration of flood damage in the District.
1926-27. Bill and Alice decided to diversify. They got some of the timber from Walker's plantation and some from the hill behind the Hall and School. Gus Staid built the house with Bill and Fred's (Junior) help. There was a kitchen, bathroom, sitting room, dining room and bedrooms. Just outside the big front window was the porch with steps and a path going out to the road. Alice was a great gardener and soon had flowers growing along the path. The tea rooms became a focal point where people used to gather. Alice was known locally as “Ma Lester” and could turn her hand to anything. She could sew, do beautiful knitting, garden, and was an excellent cook. .
The "Golden Dawn" butter factory was built just across the road from Bill's home and things started to boom. Bill took time off from his own work to pull logs out of the bush to the sawmill run by Nelson Gibbs.He cut timber for the factory, and later for a hall at Maruia, and even helped to erect the hall. At this time the farm was being run by Alice's eldest son Herman,while Herbert was away,mostly on a transport business, carting stock out and stores back in. Dances at the hall were the main source of entertainment for the residents, all who had quite long distances to travel. Initially by horse and trap and later by car. The whole family would attend, the children bedded down in the cloak room. Some of the non dancers played cards and everyone made their best cakes for supper. Dances were where romances were started. It was really the only place to meet the opposite sex. Everyone dressed in their best and all the females wore long frocks, some trying to outdo each other. Of course the men congregated at one end of the hall and the women at the other. There was also no alcohol present inside the Hall. The two big events of the year were Sports Day on New Year's Day and the dance at night, and the Dog Trials and the dance. This brought in outside people which caused lot’s of interest amongst the young folk. The Sports Day brought in horse events, wood chopping and athletics. The Dog Trials were usually a two day event.
1927-28. Bill and Alice build more bedrooms and a store. They do well out of the store but Bill never had the evenings to himself as people came in at all hours buying goods.
18 March, 1929 At Station Creek Mrs WJ Lester served an excellent dinner to The Hon. W A Veitch and entourage on their way to a meeting of the Inangahua County Council and ratepayers regarding development of the Maruia Springs.
6 May, 1929 Maruia Springs Outing Leave Murchison by lorry at 7 a.m. The cost, assuming you buy your stores at Murchison, is half a sovereign from Murchison to Station Creek. This entails a four hours’ drive over the Maruia Saddle through very fine scenery. When you arrive at Station Creek Mrs. Wm Lester will provide you with a first-class lunch at a cost of two shillings. Having partaken of this Mr Lester will be ready to take you on to the Springs, a distance of about 25 miles, in his car or in his lorry. His charge for one or more persons and their luggage is a sum of £2 10s for the journey. It is strongly advisable beforehand to communicate by wire or letter with him and ascertain if the Maruia River, which has to be crossed, is fordable.
17 June, 1929. It was a dull, foggy day.Bill was coming down the "First Cutting" with a load of cream cans. It had been raining the day before and the water on the road seemed to be coming towards him and the lorry was a bit difficult to handle. He wondered what was going on. A bit of a surprise to find out it was a quake. It was bad in the Upper Maruia, though not nearly as violent as in the Murchison area. All the roads were blocked and all the phone lines were down, but William (Bill) had had someone call on him a week earlier trying to sell him a wireless. That marvellous machine had been left with him for a trial period, and everyone gathered round it to get news from Nelson about outside places. On the night of the earthquake, more than seventy people spent the night at the boarding-house. Alice was up all night making scones, cake and tea to feed and comfort people to the best of her ability. They had no damage except for broken crockery.
A couple of days after the quake, refugees were arriving through here on their way to Greymouth or Christchurch. They had to come that way out of the Matakitaki and the Lower Maruia, as slips and blocked roads prevented them reaching Murchison. A huge slip blocked the Matakitaki at the Six-mile and formed a very big lake, known then as Lake Matakitaki.The lake was six miles (9.6km) long and quite wide, too. It spread all over the road to a depth of about six feet, so that anyone wanting to get past had to take to the bush.Bill with some others, went down over the Maruia Saddle, over slips and rubble on the road and helped the people of the Matakitaki, Glenroy and Horse Terrace over the Saddle to safety, as for days afterwards the ground was hardly still long enough to roll a cigarette. These people stayed the night at Bill's boarding house at Station-Creek and came up the river the next day. Bill brought out a load of women and children on his express wagon. A lot of them were walking, so Alice supplied meals at all hours of the day and night to the quake-stricken families. While they had a crust of bread in the house, someone was welcome to it, as they wouldn't refuse anyone a meal.
It was a very disturbing time for all the people, as it took several days to find out just what had happened in the outside world. Down in the Lower Maruia and the Matakitaki, a number of people were killed. At the Six-mile at the Matakitaki, the hillsides on both sides just appeared to lift up and slip out, covering people, houses, and very good farm land to a fair depth. Some people were caught as they ran and some were still in the houses. Seventeen people died. Besides forming a lake at the Matakitaki, the slip on the other side formed a dam, blocking the Maruia River, which diverted to another channel, forming the Maruia Falls and leaving the bridge high and dry.
The road in the Buller Gorge was lifted about 15 feet (4.5m) about six miles (9.6km) along the Westport road from O'Sullivan's bridge. Telephone wires and poles were down, most chimneys in Murchison and people lost all their fruit, jam, dishes, household goods and stores.
After the earthquake things really got moving. The valley became very busy. The Buller Gorge was blocked and the only way from the north to the West Coast was through the Maruia Valley. Within a short time Newmans service cars came through the Maruia between Nelson and Westport, for it took eighteen months to reopen the Buller road. Bill and Alice were able to cater for the passengers and drivers, as well as the travelling public.
Soon improvements were being made on the road. The Shenandoah Road was opened and improved the access from the north immensely. Much work was also carried out on the Rahu Saddle for Newmans and Gibbs service cars using this route. Lewis Pass road was also being constructed.
26 February, 1930 A motor truck owned by Mr W J Lester of Station Creek, Maruia, arrived in Reefton on Monday afternoon with one of the first loads of pigs from the Maruia district, consigned to the Addington sale.
About this time the Lewis Pass road was being constructed and many people from all over the country came here to find work. With the added population, a local store seemed a viable proposition, so a store was added to the boarding-house, along with another three bedrooms. Naturally, with the influx of people, you generally find the odd
character amongst them, and in this case there were two of them. One was an old German chap called Gus Staide was a carpenter who helped build the boarding-house. The other was the painter, named Jim Quin. These two used to try and outdo each other in telling yarns.
Well, it's nice to sit in the evening
On the steps of Lester's Store
And listen to tales of the olden days
And of high-flown ones galore.
Gus was telling a tale of an eel he had got down the river below the bluff.
I forget exactly how big it was,
But fifty pounds would be. near enough.
Then the pinter jumped up with a smile;
He said, "Gus I can beat that yarn of yours
By anything up to a mile." ,
Then he told us of how he was fishing one night And was catching them two at a bite,
When dusk quickly descended
And was followed by the darkness of night,
So he went up and off in the murky gloom,
And the going was rough, by frost!
When he had' gone on for a mile or so,
Then he knew he was lost,
So he stumbled on through the briars and brush, For the hour was getting late.
Then an Angel's voice from out of the night, Guided him home to the rustic gate.
This part of the story is true enough, as he did get lost down by the river, and it was Eva Norris who answered his yells and guided him back to the road. '
28 November 1936 Bill Lester sold the store buildings to Doug and Phil Reid.
The boarding house was bought by a German family called Schier,in the 1990ies.The buildings had become so dilapidated it was disappointing to see the state they were in. .When Gunther came into an inheritance he bought the buildings and he has done the most wonderful renovation and brought the building back to how It used to be.They turned it into a Backpackers Lodge. The unfortunate end of this episode was when Gunther was deported back to Germany and his family followed, when one of their daughters was well enough to fly. There has been public outcry over these circumstances but it hasn't softened the stand of the Ministry of Immigration . A German was the builder, a German saved it from demolition.Map[1] ContributorJohn Lester
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Location (city or town)MaruiaPersonWilliam LesterAlice lesterOrganisation (eg business)Reid`s Store, Maruia
From Facebook
Date Created13th August 2025CommentsMark Caldwell
Emily Caldwell - Nana’s family
Beryl Karena
My Nan, May Harris (Lester), had many many fond memories growing up in The Maruia, she would tell us of the wonderful community picnics at the back of the farm (Bill and Alice) there were beautiful well established plum trees, brought out from England. The community were invited to help themselves, it would be a fun day of picking fruit and picnicking. Nana would also work the farm in the morning while the men built the lodge and then crossed the river on a dray horse to bring them lunch, made by Alice. She would spend the afternoon priming the weather boards.
Sikandar Sahib
Is there still a little community church next to Reid's Store?
Sarah Caldwell
Beryl Karena Marlene Coleman Mark Caldwell more stories of Nana's family
Kevin O'Regan
Fantastic story. Much I've never heard of.
Rick Wills
Lots of good memories,, pumping petrol by hand
Kevin O'Regan
New it well.
Dorothy Wills
Know it well went to the Maruia School just over the paddock behind as did my children
Emily Caldwell - Nana’s family
Beryl Karena
My Nan, May Harris (Lester), had many many fond memories growing up in The Maruia, she would tell us of the wonderful community picnics at the back of the farm (Bill and Alice) there were beautiful well established plum trees, brought out from England. The community were invited to help themselves, it would be a fun day of picking fruit and picnicking. Nana would also work the farm in the morning while the men built the lodge and then crossed the river on a dray horse to bring them lunch, made by Alice. She would spend the afternoon priming the weather boards.
Sikandar Sahib
Is there still a little community church next to Reid's Store?
Sarah Caldwell
Beryl Karena Marlene Coleman Mark Caldwell more stories of Nana's family
Kevin O'Regan
Fantastic story. Much I've never heard of.
Rick Wills
Lots of good memories,, pumping petrol by hand
Kevin O'Regan
New it well.
Dorothy Wills
Know it well went to the Maruia School just over the paddock behind as did my children
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West Coast New Zealand History (16th Aug 2025). Reid`s Store, Maruia.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 21st Mar 2026 06:13, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/35095