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Richmond History Group

The Richmond History Group is based at Avebury House. The group maintains a collection of books, photographs and other memorabilia illustrating and recording the history of Avebury House and the development of the surrounding suburb of Richmond. We seek to expand the collection and have begun a project to digitise items from the collection and make them available online. This is a work-in-progress and we will be adding items to this site from now on.

If you have photographs or other material concerning Richmond’s past, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you would like to donate items to the collection, or allow us to view the material and if suitable, borrow items for recording and adding to our digital archive. We would of course return the items to you in the same condition as we received them.

If you would like to learn more about the group, or become involved, please contact Andrea at 381-6615.

Launching the Rondino

12/4/2018

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Picture
The handwritten caption for this photo simply states “Launching the Rondino”. A little more information might be useful!? It turns out that the Rondino was a boat built by Huia Beaumont, a well-known Richmond resident, in the late 1930s. In his autobiography, “Long Time Passing”,* Huia writes at some length about the Rondino, how he built it and the adventures he and his family enjoyed in the boat on the Avon River.

Huia started building the Rondino in 1939, from plans published in “Popular Mechanic” magazine. The boat was 17 feet long with a 6-foot beam and drew only 4 inches unloaded. Even with 16 adults and children on board, Huia says the boat drew only 8 inches and was very stable.

If the photo was taken at the launching, as the caption suggests, the date was 1 February 1940 and the location was just downstream of the Medway St weir. The photo was taken from the north bank looking upstream. The picture reveals more than its nominal subject matter. The old wooden Medway St bridge, built in 1938 and replaced in 1980, is visible, as is the weir, which was removed in the 1950s. The river banks appear to be sparsely planted and the willow trees on the south bank are a lot smaller than today.

The photo is a poor modern copy of an old colour print. Colour film was still unusual in New Zealand in 1940; most photos at this time were taken on B&W film. Large scale colour photography didn’t become commonplace in New Zealand for non-enthusiasts until the 1960’s.

* Beaumont, H.W., “Long Time Passing, the Life Story of ‘Down to Earth Beauie”
Richmond Village Bookshop, 1992.
pp163–173.

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  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Trustees
    • Vision and Mission
    • Richmond Community Garden
  • History
    • Avebury House History
    • Richmond History Group
  • Room Hire
    • Rooms
    • Rates
    • Booking
  • What's On
    • Classes and Groups
    • Past Avebury Events >
      • Matariki in the Zone 2021
      • Avebury Gala 2021
      • Matariki in the Zone 2020
      • Avebury Night Market 2019
      • Teddy Bears Picnic 2019
      • Matariki 2019
      • Avebury Gala 2019
      • Wedding Open Day 2018
      • Avebury Night Market 2018
      • Matariki in the Zone 2018
      • Dementia Walk 2018
      • Teddy Bears Picnic 2017
      • Avebury Gala 2017
  • Newsletter
  • Contact