Stratford and Blair, Kaimata Sawmill, 1913.

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DescriptionStratford and Blair, Kaimata Sawmill, 1913.
In the photo are: Back Row, L to R, Unknown, Fred Stratford, Bill Hartigan, Jack Griffin, Jack Nestor.
Front Row: Unknown, Unknown, Bert Stratford with his daughter Edna, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown.
Jack Nestor was the Blacksmith.

Bruce Knight
Sandra Quick Thanks Sandra.
The “unknown” guy second from the left, front row, is Edmond Stratford II, the father of my maternal grandfather Edmond Stratford III (one of Edmond III’s daughters, Mary (Knight) , was my mother). Edmond III (who I can’t see in the pic) married my maternal grandmother, Emma nee Quick, who was a sole charge teacher at the nearby Patara school.
Edmond II built the Holy City in what was Stratford Street during the Great Depression of the early 1930’s, mainly to give people some work and income. He and his wife Catherine (nee Blewman) also lived there, I can recall visiting my great grandmother in that location.
He was a hard taskmaster, one of his favorite sayings was “When it’s dork (“dark”, spoken in his English tongue), it’s five”. In other words, you worked until the sun went down. He owned the mill along with a Mr. Blair, who was the business side of the partnership.
I can recall my grandparents talking about “Uncle Fred” and “Uncle Bert”.
The “Kaimata” mill was close to the western entrance to the Kaimata tunnel (there’s “Stratford Road” that runs from the Stillwater to Moana road to the point where this mill stood). The remains of the mill are still there, mainly broken up concrete foundations.
Date of Photo1913Map^[1]ContributorGeoffrey Bell

Shown in this image

Location (city or town)KaimataPersonFred StratfordBill HartiganJack GriffinJack NestorBert StratfordLandmark (Place)Kaimata SawmillOrganisation (eg business)Kaimata Sawmill

Category Information

Category TagForestry

From Facebook

Date Created7th July 2026CommentsSandra Quick
Bruce Knight and Jill Ryder

Bruce Knight
Sandra Quick Thanks Sandra.
The “unknown” guy second from the left, front row, is Edmond Stratford II, the father of my maternal grandfather Edmond Stratford III (one of Edmond III’s daughters, Mary (Knight) , was my mother). Edmond III (who I can’t see in the pic) married my maternal grandmother, Emma nee Quick, who was a sole charge teacher at the nearby Patara school.
Edmond II built the Holy City in what was Stratford Street during the Great Depression of the early 1930’s, mainly to give people some work and income. He and his wife Catherine (nee Blewman) also lived there, I can recall visiting my great grandmother in that location.
He was a hard taskmaster, one of his favorite sayings was “When it’s dork (“dark”, spoken in his English tongue), it’s five”. In other words, you worked until the sun went down. He owned the mill along with a Mr. Blair, who was the business side of the partnership.
I can recall my grandparents talking about “Uncle Fred” and “Uncle Bert”.
The “Kaimata” mill was close to the western entrance to the Kaimata tunnel (there’s “Stratford Road” that runs from the Stillwater to Moana road to the point where this mill stood). The remains of the mill are still there, mainly broken up concrete foundations.

Sandra Quick
Bruce Knight thanks Bruce. I thought you would find your great grandad in this photo, as I think I've looked at this with your Mum before.

David Coach-man
cool as!!! ? expensive camera used I recon! a very crisp shot for that area ?

Kay Button
Dad and Daughter xxxxxxxx
Awesome ?❤️

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Stratford and Blair, Kaimata Sawmill, 1913.

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