The Wilderness Revisited
J.T. Diamond Essay Competition
The J.T. Diamond Essay Competition is held by Waitakere Library & Information
Services and the West Auckland Historical Society to encourage an interest in,
and the study of, West Auckland history. This annual event is named in honour of
Jack (John T) Diamond, a man who spent a lifetime studying, writing and
documenting the history of West Auckland and the Waitakere ranges.
Judging has commenced for the 2008 competition. The prize giving will be held
in November and winning entries will then be added to this page. The planning
committee would like to thank all of this year's entrants.
About J.T. (Jack) Diamond
Jack Diamond researched West Auckland history for over 60 years. He
accumulated an extensive
collection of photographs, books,
newspapers, research notes and manuscripts. Jack's research focused on the
Waitakere Ranges and the wider West Auckland area, including Maori history, the
kauri timber milling and brick-making industries and their workers, and
pioneering families. He also explored roading, railways, buildings and
vineyards.
Jack Diamond died in February 2001 at the age off 88. Jack's extensive
research collection was donated by his family to Waitakere
City Library and Information Services, and it is available for use by the
public at Waitakere
Central Library.
J.T. Diamond Essay Competition 2007 Prize Winners
Best overall essay: Franich Jewellers Diamond Essay Prize
The 2007 overall winner received diamond earings, kindly donated by Franich
Jewellers in Henderson.
The Bach by the Wharf: Cornwallis Beach - Mia Brown
Judges' comments: Quite brilliant! This talented young author has created a
lasting testimony through this essay of the importance of this dwelling and its
associated people and memories. An original piece of work with a resonance well
beyond the personal to a larger New Zealand experience.
Memories category: Adult
First Place
Crown Lynn Potteries in the 1960s - Tony Goodwin
Judges' comments: Excellent. Gives a valuable insight into technical aspects of
Crown Lynn, interspersed with personal anecdotes. An evocative, entertaining and
interesting essay.
Second Place
Memories of a Huia Lass- Gwen Wilkinson
Judges' comments: Evocative in every way. An essay not only detailing a
particular family, but which also brings to life a sense of the Huia Community
in the 50s and 60s and connects through to the present.
Third Place
A Childhood in New Windsor - Sylvia Thomas
Judges' comments: Well written and nostalgic. A strong evocation of a bygone era
with much local details well recorded.

Memories category: Student
First Place
The Bach by the Wharf: Cornwallis Beach - Mia Brown
Judges' comments: Outstanding. "It's got life, death and everything in between."
Six generations and 100 years of family history, movingly documented in
photographs and personal recollections.
Second Equal Place
Waikumete Cemetary: Photo essay with a quartet of poems - A'aone
Malifa, Caitlin Turnbull, Kirsten Turnbull and Perry Wilton
Judges' comments: A creative and powerful piece of work.
Memories of Arahoe School - Emily Thompson
Judges' comments: Well written and makes effective use of personal narrative, as
well as good connections between the past and the present.
Third Place
Caravans Galore - Jessica Thompson
Judges' comments: Splendid work. Delightful choice of photographs. An original
choice of subject and a fascinating story. A real contribution for the record.

Historical Research: Adult
First Prize
A Man to Remember! - Cheryl Clarke-Jowsey
Judges' comments: A well written essay which documents changing land use and
development of a well known area of West Auckland, it also tells the story of an
extraordinary, but largely unrecognised individual, Bill Miller
Second Prize
There was no second prize awarded
Third Prize
There was no third prize awarded
Highly Commended
Steel Boat-building in Kelston at the Span Farm in the late 50s and
60s - Gerhard Breekvelt
Moderne Houses: New Lynn - Patricia Earl

Historical Research: Student
First Prize
The Roundabout: The story of a little community paper that thought
big - Callum Doyle
Judges' comments: An original topic well researched using primary sources.
Second Prize
Dean Buchanan - Sian Loughran
Judges' comments: Based largely on correspondence with the artist, this essay
demonstrates an enthusiasm for the subject and an appreciation of Dean
Buchanan's artistic sensibilities interspersed with personal thoughtful
comments.
Third Equal Prize
Organic Fame - Maisie Leigh Hamilton Murray
Judges' comments: This research into the founders of Phoenix drinks is original
and interesting, and make a real contribution to the field. Wonderful questions,
delightful answers and an authentic child's voice.
The Laingholm Primary School: The greatest little school in the universe - Sam
Maree Wardell
Judges' comments: Well written and based on personal interviews this is a
delightful piece of research.
Highly Commended
Ferndale/Carey Park - Alexander Redman and Sean Donald
Home of the Deaf Lovers: The Karamatura Loop walk, stream & valley - Alisha Hart
and Kulani Nin
Techniques and Transport used in Historical Kauri Logging - Daniel Swann
West Lynn Gardens - Dikun Ong
Bob Harvey Mayor Extraordinaire: Our true Eco-Mayor - Ella Karreback
Church on the Hill - Jordan Curtis and Hannah Curtis
My Rugby Club - Kenny Malolo
Clay, Rock and Sand: The story of the Upper and Lower Huia dams - Lauren Woon
A Little Gem in Huia: The tale of a small farm and museum with big dreams -
Mallory Doherty
Stutzes on Sand: A history of beach racing at Muriwai - Martin Boyle
A Brief History of Glen Eden Railway Station - Michael Boag

Mayor's Prize
The Mayor's Prize is awarded to the essay that vividly portrays personal
memories.
Huia Camp 7th Auckland Boys Brigade - Tony Goodwin
Judges' comments: A strong sense of continuity from childhood to adulthood is
described in this essay. It demonstrates the impact of early experiences in
shaping an appreciation of the natural world, and in particular for the author's
beloved Waitakere Ranges.
West Auckland Historical Society Prize
The West Auckland Historical Society Prize is awarded in acknowledgement of
the author's considerable time and effort.
Shopping in Henderson in the 1930s - Jack Morris
Judges' comments: This 'walking tour' of commercial Henderson in the 1930s
(Maurice Gee's 'Loomis'), is a valuable and well illustrated historical
contribution.
The Bullock Trophy
The West Auckland Historical Society Bullock Trophy is presented to the
school that has made a significant contribution in supporting the competition.
The winning school keeps the trophy for a year.
Henderson Valley School
Judges' comments: This school submitted five entries and three received
recognition, a first, second and highly commended. All were original topics and
used original research. All have made a real contribution to the historical
record for West Auckland. An excellent effort.

J.T. Diamond Essay Competition 2006
Prize Winners
Best overall essay: Franich Jewellers Diamond Essay Prize
The 2006 overall winner received a gold and diamond pendant, donated by
Franich Jewellers in Henderson.
Aunt Dorothy's Memories of Sunnydale - Annemarie Endt
Judges' comments: This essay makes a wonderful contribution to the historical
record, containing information that is simply not available from any published
source. The author has married memories with some solid research and created a
vivid description about family life in the early 1900's. The entire essay is
delightful to read.
Memories category: Adult
First Place
Aunt Dorothy's Memories of Sunnydale - Annemarie Endt
Judges' comments: This very well written, descriptive essay creates an evocative
picture of the period and the people. It draws on the memories of both the
author and long time Oratia resident Dorothy Alice Davidson, known to Oratia
locals as Aunt Dorothy.
Second Place
Henderson - Jewel in the West - Kath Vanderwee
Judges' comments: This essay starts with the author as a child and uses a
timeline through the decades to give a picture of Henderson. The essay contains
delightful and sometimes humorous descriptions and language to convey an
evocative image of Henderson and the west coast.Third Place
Bill Strid: Going Back in Time a Little - Marc Bonny
Judges' comments: This essay is full of both lovely personal tales and
descriptive information on businesses in Henderson during the 1930's.

Memories category: Student
First Place
History of Crum Park - Caitlin Davey
Judges' comments: This essay combines well written historical information with
amusing anecdotes to paint a picture of children playing at Crum Park.
Second Place
John Thompson - Lucy Dixon
Judges' comments: This well written biography uses personal information from the
pre and post war period to tell the story of long time Laingholm resident John
Thompson.
Third Place
Woodlands Park School - Alexandra Holt
Judges' comments: The author has made good use of dates, a brief interview and
general information to produce a nicely written history of Woodlands Park
School.
Historical Research: Adult
First Prize
Willie Sharp - Paul Thurston
Judges' comments: The research for this essay has been skilfully undertaken and
a very readable and well written biography has been produced. It tells the story
of Willie Sharp of Oratia who enlisted under his brother Gordon's name so he
could fight in World War One.
Second Prize
Auckland's First Settlement at Cornwallis - Julie Redman
Judges' comments: This well written essay uses a number of resources to create
an evocative story that describes the hardships the early settlers faced and the
history of the settlement in the wilderness that was Cornwallis.Third Prize
There was no third prize awarded
Historical Research: Student
First Equal Prize
The History of Whatipu Wharf - Georgia Harris
Judges' comments: This essay is well written, well researched and uses a variety
of resources, including a personal interview, to provide interesting and
comprehensive information about the Whatipu wharf.
First Equal Prize
The Timber Industry in 19th Century West Auckland - Louisa Shen
Judges' comments: This is a well researched and well written essay that draws
together a large amount of information from a wide variety of resources to
describe the development of the timber industry in West Auckland. Third
Prize
The Nihotupu Dams - Georgia Rae
Judges' comments: This essay is both interesting and nicely written, with a good
bibliography and appropriate photographs.
Mayor's Prize
The Mayor's Prize is awarded to the essay that vividly portrays personal
memories.
Wine Makers and Their Labels - Jack Morris
Judges' comments:
This entry combines comprehensive historical information with lovely anecdotes.
It is a valuable contribution to the history of the vineyards and wineries of
West Auckland.
West Auckland Historical Society Prize
The West Auckland Historical Society Prize is awarded in acknowledgement of the
author's considerable time and effort.
Fond Memories of West Auckland - Elizabeth Elphinstone
Judges' comment: This interesting essay creates an evocative description about
growing up on a farmlet in Titirangi.
J.T Diamond Essay Competition 2005 Prize Winners
To request copies of the essays contact
Waitakere Library & Information
Services.
Prize Winners
Best overall essay: Franich Jewellers Diamond Essay Prize
For 2005 the recipient received a gold and diamond pendant donated by Franich
Jewellers of Henderson.
Emma Louise Joyce
Tenuous tenancies: a history of the Cornwallis baches
Judges' comments: A very polished essay that combined research with evocative
writing. Everything about it was 'top class.'
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Tenuous tenancies: a
history of the Cornwallis baches (Size 1030K)
Memories category
First Place
Dianne Cooper
Holiday memories: Piha in the 50s to mid 60s
Judges' comments: An evocative essay that created a strong sense of time and
place with emotional resonance.
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Holiday memories: Piha in
the 50s to mid 60s (Size 18K)
Second Place
Dick Endt
A new life in New Zealand: fond memories of the clay-adobe house on Parker Road,
Oratia
Judges' comments: A delightful read which created a clear picture of an historic
building, now sadly destroyed.
Third Place
Glennys McGlashan
Memories of Te Atatu in the 1960s
Judges' comments: A well written and fascinating account of the often ignored
subject of the life of women at home.
Highly commended
Mayor's Prize
Cyril Kelleway
A mini supermarket comes to West Auckland
Judges' comments: The writer developed a strong sense of time and place which
created an appealing essay.
Historical research category
First Prize
Emma Louise Joyce
Tenuous tenancies: a history of the Cornwallis baches
Judges' comments: The essay contained a tremendous amount of research that
was both well presented and an enjoyable read.
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Tenuous tenancies: a
history of the Cornwallis baches (Size 1030K)
Second Equal Prize
Nigel Brookes
From Green Bay to Gondwanaland
Judges' comments: A simple question was answered using an unique and
informative approach.
Second Equal Prize
Carolyn Melling
The lonely grave
Judges' comments: An evocative essay that drew together research from a diverse
range of resources.
Highly commended
West Auckland Historical Society Prize
Rob & Patricia Carr
Pinesong in Green Bay
Judges' comment: This essay crafted considerable research into an enjoyable
read.
Children's Prize
Mercedes Bishop
History of West Auckland bush land
Judges' comments: The writer drew together some interesting concepts through a
combination of primary research and secondary resources.
Copies of all the essays are available to view at the J.T. Diamond Research
Room, Henderson Library.

J.T Diamond Essay Competition 2004
To request copies of the essays contact
Waitakere Library & Information
Services.
Prize winners
Amateur Historian
First place
Ray Ryan (of Porirua)
Winning Posts
Judges comments: This essay about one man's efforts to build a boundary fence
through part of Centennial Park is a well-written anecdotal account. It touches
on what makes life in West Auckland especially unique. The writer, a young boy
at the time; recounts these days with his great uncle Horace Mobbs.
The essay, accompanied by photographs, combines personal memories with
well-researched information and faithfully represents the pioneer spirit of
yesteryear.
Note: You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Winning Posts (Size
1532K)
Second place
David Peppiatt (of Henderson)
A Time to Die - How Destruction Gully got its name.
Judges comments: Any effort to document a pre-European history of Maori is
ambitious. The accuracy of available resource material is totally reliant on the
oral tradition as there were no written accounts. This means the lines between
fact and fiction are often blurred. This has been acknowledged in the writer's
preamble where he refers to several "quite contradictory accounts" found during
his research. However, he settled for the two most probable versions to assist
with his writing. The result is a thorough and well researched essay, with an
impressive bibliography that documents the events leading to an infamous battle
involving Te Kawerau a Maki.
Third place
Graeme Gummer (of Papatoetoe)
A Bach in the Waitakere Ranges in the 1930's.
Judges comments: This is an account of a visit to a remote Bach or shelter
with the most primitive of facilities spread over a period of a few days. All
the comforts of home were left behind and the writer took on survival mode at
the mercy of his companion's knowledge of the area. A delightfully written,
personal account of a time gone by.

Highly Commended
Winston Hansen (of Glen Eden)
Alf's Purpose, Alf's Way
Juliette Patterson (of Henderson)
The Man who brought a Special Sparkle and Unique Sound to West Auckland
Yvonne (Sally) Willmot (of Hobsonville)
Whenuapai Airbase, Up, Up and Away
Judges comments: These entries were chosen for a highly commended prize
because they told their stories so well, with good backup research where needed.
All delightful stories of unique characters and places in our West Auckland
history.

Intermediate Category
First place
Thomas Brockwell-Parker (of Acorn Academy)
Travel Through Time
Judges comments: This entry contained original research with a wide breadth
of well-written and logical progression. A well presented chronological history
of the Glen Eden railway station between 1876 and 2004. It contained a good
selection of photography to give further colour. Very well done.
Second place
Loi Fuimaono (of Acorn Academy)
The Old Methodist Church in Glen Eden
Judges comments: A very well researched and detailed essay with good
resources and excellent use of oral history. This entry, accompanied by an
excellent set of photographs, puts the resulting information to good use as a
comprehensive history of the church since its early days in the old mortuary
chapel at Waikumete Cemetery. Congratulations for the attention to detail while
researching this topic.
Third equal
Siobhan Vanwaas-Doyle (of Glen Eden Intermediate)
The Story of the Cornwallis Wharf
Judges comments: Evocative writing style and good photographs that
compliment the story. Much detail of the work needed to upgrade and rebuild the
wharf. Covers the history of the wharf to present days.
Arielle Wakelin (of Henderson)
The Falls Hotel
Judges comments: This entry refers to many jottings and research, including
work by Jack Diamond before updating the old buildings, as well as more recent
history of its relocation and upgrade. It also covers the paid car parking
system. This entry was well presented and thorough, with good accompanying
photographs.

Audio / Visual
Krystle Barnes (of Te Atatu Peninsula)
Westie Winemakers
Judges Comments: Krystle's entry was the one that most fitted the criteria.
There were some very interesting extracts and it was well researched. The whole
presentation was well edited and thoughtfully put together, providing a good
overview of a local industry.
West Auckland Historical Society - Bullock Team Trophy
(for a school project)
Glen Eden Intermediate
The West Auckland Historical Society presented this trophy to Glen Eden
Intermediate for their excellent work and accurate portrayal of the on-going
history of the area. This entry followed the spirit of Jack Diamond's work.

West Auckland Historical Society Prize (most promising essay and an
acknowledgement of time and effort)
W N Bishop (of Glen Eden)
Memories of Titirangi
Judges comments: A lengthy account of life in Titirangi, this essay covers
many topics which would all make good subjects for individual essays.
Mayor's Prize (presented to the essay portraying personal memories most
vividly).
Annemarie Endt (of Oratia)
148 Edmonton Road
Judges comments: Memories that tell an immigrants point of view and first
impressions when relocating to another country. It recounts the need to bring
and build their house.
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