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Jeremiah Mc`Carthys cordial manufacturing business at Notown.ca.1870`s.
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DescriptionJeremiah McCarthys cordial manufacturing business at Notown.ca.1870`s.PhotographerCharles Henry MonktonDate of Photoca.1870Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
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Location (city or town)NotownPersonJeremiah McCarthyLandmark (Place)Cordial manufacturingEvent A cordial manufacturing business at Notown
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Date Created21 December 2014 CommentsJanaka Mary Bartlett Amazing. No OHS in those days
21 December 2014 at 17:41 · Like · 2
Carol Stewart Ah ha, what kind of cordial. Cordial to make one more cordial? The hollow tree would be a good telephone box, but only for trunk calls.
21 December 2014 at 17:45 · Like · 1
Christopher Morresey Yes ,You could get out of your tree in those days or into it
21 December 2014 at 17:48 · Like · 3
Nicola Sutton that is so cool
21 December 2014 at 17:50 · Like · 2
Robert Fay Lemon Griffin The very first Hobbit house. Another westcoast first?
21 December 2014 at 19:08 · Like · 4
Glenn Johnston Was it cordial being manufactured? If so they are using recycled ale and spirit bottles.
21 December 2014 at 19:39 · Like · 3
Glenn Johnston Crerar's West Coast Almanac 1875 list of No Town businesses includes Rhodes CH cordial manufacturer, McCarthy J cordial manufacturer and Campbell and McBeath butchers and brewers. I'm unsure if the photo captures one of these operations or not. There were a number of liquid refreshment retail outlets operated from hollow tree stumps in NZ's pioneering past. The large shed in the back ground was probably the manufacturing site.
21 December 2014 at 20:03 · Like · 1
James Codyre might be a moonshine still for the Hillbillies?
21 December 2014 at 20:29 · Like · 2
Zody Neil William This photo appears on the internet and in books as a cordial operation
21 December 2014 at 21:40 · Like · 1
Helen Hadland Love the photo and hilarious comments! Thanks all.Gill Peters My Grandmother Jessie Robertson was born in Notown
Jenny Marshall My mother in law Margaret Marshall nee Thornton was born in notown in 1896. When she travelled, She used to enjoy customs officers wondering about notown as place of birth on her passport
Peter Harris On my grandfather Richard Comerforfs birth certificate it describes him as a “ native of Notown “
Geoffrey Bell Jeremiah McCarthy and family were close friends of my Molloy family of Clonmore (Kotuku). I have my grandmother's Birthday Book and a number of the McCarthy family are mentioned in it.
Mary Moffitt I knew a Mrs Symes of Notown, who had been a teacher, before marriage. She had six sons, none of whom married - Bill, Jack, Jim to name some of them. They would have been the same generation as my parents, making her the same age as my grandparents or older. eg born c1880 or earlier.
Mrs Symes was a dignified old lady and I would love to find her real history. I wonder if she too lies in the cemetery shown here.
There is a romantic story that her husband thought he had killed a man so he went into hiding in that area. Apparently it was many years before they discovered that the man did not die.
She was a lovely, well-respected person, kind to children, who deserves to be remembered.
Glenn Johnston The empty bottles appear to be mainly spirit bottles awaiting recycling and would fit a circa 1870's date.
Glenn Johnston The empty bottles to the right of the stump appear to be mainly spirit bottles awaiting recycling and would fit a circa 1870's date.
Lois Iacoppi What a huge tree it was
Anne Honey Was Notown quite a large settlement i remember in the 50s being told there was only 1 man living there. In the early 60s we had a very old man bought in to Grey hosp who lived in Notown.
Laura Mills Detlaff Big enough to have a court ...
Anne Honey Laura Mills Detlaff thank you. If the residents could pack up buildings and put them on carts to follow gold and timber guess it is reasonable that they returned to the bush.
James Codyre The church at Shantytown was the Catholic church in Notown before it was shifted to Ngahere then into town.Was a kitset built of kauri in Auckland.
Anne Honey Was that the church that had a marble altar donated by a parishioner.
Pete Muir It was quite a big settlement. My great Grandfather, Clement Parfitt, had a store & was a gold buyer there. I have an old map showing the town.
Anne Honey Pete Muir We were confirmed in the Anglican church up on a hill 60yrs ago. Back then although it was a bigger settlement than it is today so many communities have shrunk as people moved around. Thank you.Brian McIntyre
I try to imagine my Great Grandfather living at No Town.
No showers or maybe no baths either, so bad BO. And being a McIntyre I cant imagine him supporting that local cordial business either. Are you in that photo Malcom. Yes with one L.
Reply
Tom Hartill
Brian McIntyre He was also a brewer Brian. Ended up in Wellington.
Brian McIntyre
Tom Hartill this one died at No Town, either from a stroke or the fall from a ladder as result of the stroke
Tom Hartill
Sorry, I do have the wrong McCarthy. The Wellington one came from Charleston.
Brian Ronson
Tom Hartill , the Wellington one was “Macarthy”, not McCarthy.
Judy Bagnall
Kathie Stanton Jeremiah. Our rellie at Notown!
Kathie Stanton
Judy Bagnall cordial lol
Judy Bagnall
Kathie Stanton I know lol
Diana Clark
Why was it called No Town ??
Caroline McQuarrie
Diana Clark the story is that the surveyor who was drawing up plans for the town commented that ‘you could build it there but it was no town’ and the name stuck. I’ve read that in a couple of books on West Coast history but never with a citation so it might be apocryphal.
Diana Clark
Caroline McQuarrie thank you! That’s quite a hard name to live with - poor lil town!
Peter Robertson
Diana Clark The major gold rush port in Alaska is Nome. An early topographer put ?name. They wrote it up as Cape Nome and Nome stuck .Amazing to know the weird names that came from the early days.
Diana Clark
Peter Robertson thanks Peter
Rhonda Glasson
It’s amazing to know NoTown was like this
Norma Nicolle
My great great uncle was mayor of Notown.
Peter Armstrong
I,ve just been reading and seen this same image, apparently the stump was the Retail Outlet and the factory was behind the stump.
Carolyn Luck
My great grandfather had a General Store at No Town and was also a Gold Buyer.
My great grandmother had 9 boys then my grandmother and then another 3 boys.
When my great grandmother had my grandmother the children at No Town school had a half day holiday as she had a daughter after 9 boys!!
Vivianne Nisbet
Carolyn Luck great story
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck And to think that my Great Grandfather's son's widowed wife later lived next door to your descendants at Tainui St Greymouth
Carolyn Luck
Brian McIntyre Was that my grandparents or my great grandmother or one of her sons?
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck Your Parfitt's lived next door to my Grandmother McIntyre
Carolyn Luck
Brian McIntyre so that would be my great grandmother Emily or her son Clement and his wife Ruby lived next door to Emily.
My grand parents lived across the road May and Fred
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck Clem rings a bell
21 December 2014 at 17:41 · Like · 2
Carol Stewart Ah ha, what kind of cordial. Cordial to make one more cordial? The hollow tree would be a good telephone box, but only for trunk calls.
21 December 2014 at 17:45 · Like · 1
Christopher Morresey Yes ,You could get out of your tree in those days or into it
21 December 2014 at 17:48 · Like · 3
Nicola Sutton that is so cool
21 December 2014 at 17:50 · Like · 2
Robert Fay Lemon Griffin The very first Hobbit house. Another westcoast first?
21 December 2014 at 19:08 · Like · 4
Glenn Johnston Was it cordial being manufactured? If so they are using recycled ale and spirit bottles.
21 December 2014 at 19:39 · Like · 3
Glenn Johnston Crerar's West Coast Almanac 1875 list of No Town businesses includes Rhodes CH cordial manufacturer, McCarthy J cordial manufacturer and Campbell and McBeath butchers and brewers. I'm unsure if the photo captures one of these operations or not. There were a number of liquid refreshment retail outlets operated from hollow tree stumps in NZ's pioneering past. The large shed in the back ground was probably the manufacturing site.
21 December 2014 at 20:03 · Like · 1
James Codyre might be a moonshine still for the Hillbillies?
21 December 2014 at 20:29 · Like · 2
Zody Neil William This photo appears on the internet and in books as a cordial operation
21 December 2014 at 21:40 · Like · 1
Helen Hadland Love the photo and hilarious comments! Thanks all.Gill Peters My Grandmother Jessie Robertson was born in Notown
Jenny Marshall My mother in law Margaret Marshall nee Thornton was born in notown in 1896. When she travelled, She used to enjoy customs officers wondering about notown as place of birth on her passport
Peter Harris On my grandfather Richard Comerforfs birth certificate it describes him as a “ native of Notown “
Geoffrey Bell Jeremiah McCarthy and family were close friends of my Molloy family of Clonmore (Kotuku). I have my grandmother's Birthday Book and a number of the McCarthy family are mentioned in it.
Mary Moffitt I knew a Mrs Symes of Notown, who had been a teacher, before marriage. She had six sons, none of whom married - Bill, Jack, Jim to name some of them. They would have been the same generation as my parents, making her the same age as my grandparents or older. eg born c1880 or earlier.
Mrs Symes was a dignified old lady and I would love to find her real history. I wonder if she too lies in the cemetery shown here.
There is a romantic story that her husband thought he had killed a man so he went into hiding in that area. Apparently it was many years before they discovered that the man did not die.
She was a lovely, well-respected person, kind to children, who deserves to be remembered.
Glenn Johnston The empty bottles appear to be mainly spirit bottles awaiting recycling and would fit a circa 1870's date.
Glenn Johnston The empty bottles to the right of the stump appear to be mainly spirit bottles awaiting recycling and would fit a circa 1870's date.
Lois Iacoppi What a huge tree it was
Anne Honey Was Notown quite a large settlement i remember in the 50s being told there was only 1 man living there. In the early 60s we had a very old man bought in to Grey hosp who lived in Notown.
Laura Mills Detlaff Big enough to have a court ...
Anne Honey Laura Mills Detlaff thank you. If the residents could pack up buildings and put them on carts to follow gold and timber guess it is reasonable that they returned to the bush.
James Codyre The church at Shantytown was the Catholic church in Notown before it was shifted to Ngahere then into town.Was a kitset built of kauri in Auckland.
Anne Honey Was that the church that had a marble altar donated by a parishioner.
Pete Muir It was quite a big settlement. My great Grandfather, Clement Parfitt, had a store & was a gold buyer there. I have an old map showing the town.
Anne Honey Pete Muir We were confirmed in the Anglican church up on a hill 60yrs ago. Back then although it was a bigger settlement than it is today so many communities have shrunk as people moved around. Thank you.Brian McIntyre
I try to imagine my Great Grandfather living at No Town.
No showers or maybe no baths either, so bad BO. And being a McIntyre I cant imagine him supporting that local cordial business either. Are you in that photo Malcom. Yes with one L.
Reply
Tom Hartill
Brian McIntyre He was also a brewer Brian. Ended up in Wellington.
Brian McIntyre
Tom Hartill this one died at No Town, either from a stroke or the fall from a ladder as result of the stroke
Tom Hartill
Sorry, I do have the wrong McCarthy. The Wellington one came from Charleston.
Brian Ronson
Tom Hartill , the Wellington one was “Macarthy”, not McCarthy.
Judy Bagnall
Kathie Stanton Jeremiah. Our rellie at Notown!
Kathie Stanton
Judy Bagnall cordial lol
Judy Bagnall
Kathie Stanton I know lol
Diana Clark
Why was it called No Town ??
Caroline McQuarrie
Diana Clark the story is that the surveyor who was drawing up plans for the town commented that ‘you could build it there but it was no town’ and the name stuck. I’ve read that in a couple of books on West Coast history but never with a citation so it might be apocryphal.
Diana Clark
Caroline McQuarrie thank you! That’s quite a hard name to live with - poor lil town!
Peter Robertson
Diana Clark The major gold rush port in Alaska is Nome. An early topographer put ?name. They wrote it up as Cape Nome and Nome stuck .Amazing to know the weird names that came from the early days.
Diana Clark
Peter Robertson thanks Peter
Rhonda Glasson
It’s amazing to know NoTown was like this
Norma Nicolle
My great great uncle was mayor of Notown.
Peter Armstrong
I,ve just been reading and seen this same image, apparently the stump was the Retail Outlet and the factory was behind the stump.
Carolyn Luck
My great grandfather had a General Store at No Town and was also a Gold Buyer.
My great grandmother had 9 boys then my grandmother and then another 3 boys.
When my great grandmother had my grandmother the children at No Town school had a half day holiday as she had a daughter after 9 boys!!
Vivianne Nisbet
Carolyn Luck great story
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck And to think that my Great Grandfather's son's widowed wife later lived next door to your descendants at Tainui St Greymouth
Carolyn Luck
Brian McIntyre Was that my grandparents or my great grandmother or one of her sons?
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck Your Parfitt's lived next door to my Grandmother McIntyre
Carolyn Luck
Brian McIntyre so that would be my great grandmother Emily or her son Clement and his wife Ruby lived next door to Emily.
My grand parents lived across the road May and Fred
Brian McIntyre
Carolyn Luck Clem rings a bell
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West Coast New Zealand History (29th Aug 2023). Jeremiah Mc`Carthys cordial manufacturing business at Notown.ca.1870`s.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 26th May 2026 23:16, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/430