November 1916

Wednesday 1st   It was fine in the morning but showery in the afternoon.  The men went out to the back mustering and they brought home a lamb in the evening which they killed, it was nice & plump & fat.
Mr Phipps came in the evening, he and his wife are to be the married couple here, the wife who is chamber maid at the Hotel at Te Araroa cannot leave there until next Sunday.
Harry was digging and wheeling out stones. I commenced to sow Brown Spanish Onions, but was not able to plant many rows as I had to do the cooking for the men.

Thursday 2nd   It was very fine in the morning, but it poured with rain in the afternoon.  Mr Phipps took charge of the cooking until his wife arrives and I was very pleased to be relieved of the job.  Harry was digging and wheeling out stones.  I was sowing Onions.

Friday 3rd    It was fine in the morning, but it rained in the afternoon.
The ground was too wet to sow Onions so I weeded the Onion bed (Suttons) & forked sorrell round the gooseberries. Carpenter came in the evening from Te Araroa with a dray load of goods for this station.  He also brought two men who came from Auckland for the other station.  They staid here the night.

Saturday 4th    It was a very fine day.  Henry took the buggy down to Te Araroa to fetch a cultivator, he did not get back until about 10 pm.
I finished sowing the Onions, and then I planted out 90 Onion plants from the bed that Connelly sowed.
The men were working at the back.

Sunday 5th   It was a fine day with the exception of some misty rain in the pm.  Mr Phipps took the buggy down to Te Araroa and brought his wife up here to keep house for Henry.

Monday 6th   It was raining in the morning, but it turned out fine in the afternoon. The men were out at the back pulling foxglove.  The ground in the garden was too wet to dig so I got three barrow loads of horse manure and afterward forked out sorrell between the strawberries.

Tuesday 7th   It was fine ‘tho there was a strong wind blowing, it threatened for rain in the evening.
The men packed the cultivator out to the cultivation to work between the potatoes but it did not act.   Mr Phipps was mending fences near the homestead. Carpenter came over in the afternoon and was snigging logs for firewood.
I planted out 20 Onion plants and sowed 2 rows of Drumhead Lettuce.

Wednesday 8th   It rained a little last night but it was very fine to day.  The men were out at the cultivation hoeing Potatoes.  I sowed some clumps of Convolvulus round a matai stump, a bed of Radishes, 1 Tomato & forked out sorrell.

Thursday 9th   Henry’s 43rd birthday.  A showery day especially in the pm. The bowling & tennis season was to be opened at Te Araroa to day and there was to be a dance & supper in the public hall this evening, Carpenter went down to it.
The men were weeding the potatoes at the cultivation, I was weeding the strawberries.

Friday 10th   It was very showery in the morning but finer in the afternoon.
I finished forking out the sorrel between the strawberries, the men were weeding the Potatoes in the cultivation.

Saturday 11th   It was a very fine day.  Carpenter returned from Te Araroa bringing the mail.
The men were weeding the Potatoes at the cultivation.
I sowed a long row of Suttons Plentiful Dwarf Beans, 10 Tomatoes and re sowed Suttons Peerless Pea.

Sunday 12th    It was fine in the morning, but it came on a misty rain in the pm.  None of us went out anywhere.

Monday 13th   It rained heavily last night and a misty rain this morning.  The men were working in the shed, they went out to the back in the afternoon to pull foxglove.  It came on heavy rain after 5 pm.  In the morning I wrote a letter to Mr Wallace and in the afternoon I cut grass and dug out docks near the fowl yard.

Tuesday 14th   It was a fairly fine day only a few slight showers.
The men were weeding the Potatoes in the cultivation.  Harry Williams left to day.  I dug the piece of ground round the Fig trees near the fowl yard.
Henry went down to Bristows in the evening to get some Kumera plants but Mr Bristow had not come home so he could not get them.

Wednesday 15th   There was misty showers first thing in the morning, but it cleared up and it was very fine in the afternoon.  The men were cleaning the Potatoes at the cultivation.  I was forking out sorrel round the orange trees and between the Potatoes.

Thursday 16th   It was showery in the morning, but fine in the afternoon.  The men were cleaning and started to mould up the Potatoes.  In the afternoon I cleaned between the potatoes & beans & transplanted Onions to fill up blanks in the bed (Suttons).

Friday 17th   It was a very fine day,  the finest we have had for several weeks. The men were over at the cultivation weeding the Potatoes, I stuck the first svion [?] Peas, prepared 4 hills for Cucumber and forked out sorrel where carrots were growing.

Saturday 18th   It was very fine during the day, but it came on to rain in the evening.  The men went out to the cultivation to finish weeding and moulding up the Potatoes.  Henry came home for lunch and then he drove down to Te Araroa and he is not coming home to night.
I finished digging the piece of ground I started yesterday.

Sunday 19th   It was a fine day.  It was very quiet here, I spent the time in reading.  Henry returned from Te Araroa in the evening bringing the mail, I had a letter from Arthur Greenwood and my son Willie.

Monday 20th   It rained last night and nearly all to day, it cleared up a little in the pm.  Henry & the men planted 800 Kumera plants in the cultivation near the wool shed.  Carpenter went over to Jack’s place to fetch a horse.

Tuesday 21st   It was a very fine day.  Henry & Carpenter went to Tokomaru, they took 5 horses with them, they are gone to fetch a wagon home that Henry has bought.  Mr Phipps and the two fellows went over to Pembertons to repair fences.  I was forking out sorrel and stones.

Wednesday 22nd   It was a very fine day,  very hot in the morning and cloudy in the pm.  Mr Phipps and the two Schneidemans were fencing out at Pembertons.   I stuck the row of Peas (Suttons) and forked over the piece of ground I intend for carrots.  I got two barrow loads of stones out of it.

Thursday 23rd   It was a very fine day.  The men were fencing at Pembertons.  I sowed seeds of St John’s Day Cabbage & Drumhead Lettuce in boxes, and forked out sorrel & weeds out of the piece of ground next to the asparagus.

Friday 24th   It was a very fine day.  Mr Phipps & the two Schneidermans were fencing at Pembertons.  In the morning Jimmy Hayes to get some gear for the shearers that Jack had sent down there for him, in the afternoon he mustered some sheep in the sheep yard.  The Maori shearers came here late in the pm, they are going to start tomorrow.
I was digging out sorrel between the Cabbages (Henderson’s succession) that I planted.
In the evening Carpenter arrived from Tokomaru with the wagon that Henry bought there.  Jack came late in the evening to help muster tomorrow.

Saturday 25th   It rained last night and nearly all to day.  It was too wet to muster sheep.
The Maori shearers commenced shearing this morning with the sheep that were put in the shed last night, there are five machines but some of them would not work.  I was not able to do anything outside.  Jack returned home in the evening.

Sunday 26th   It was a very fine day.  Mr & Mrs Phipps drove down to Te Araroa returning in the evening, they brought the mail, there were two Weekly News for me and a letter from Jane.
I spend a very quiet day at home.

Monday 27th   It was very dull in the morning and we thought it was going to rain, but it turned out a fine day.
Henry & the men got up very early and went mustering the sheep, but the maoris did not commence to shear until the afternoon.  John and Miss Kirvell came over just before lunch and both staid the night.
I was working in the garden, I finished digging out sorrel between the young cabbage plants, I earthed up the 3 rows of Potatoes & 4 rows of Beans, dug out the sorrel round an Apple tree and wheeled a lot of stones out of the garden.

Tuesday 28th   It was a very showery day.  The shearers finished shearing all the sheep that were in the shed before lunch.  Jack went out early in the morning and brought some Rams in from the other side of Pembertons and put them in the yard at the cultivation, he returned home in the afternoon leaving Miss Kirwell here. I was not able to do much outside.

Wednesday 29th   It was a very fine day.  Henry & Miss Kirvell drove to Te Araroa.  Henry was going on to Hick’s Bay.  I rode with them as far as Mr Halliwells where I spent the day.  I walked home arriving just before dinner. The men were at the back pulling foxglove.
After I got home it came on a misty rain.  I stacked & tied up 12 Tomato plants before it started this morning.

Thursday 30th   It was a fine day ‘tho dull.  Henry & the men were pulling foxglove.  Jack came over in the afternoon and took Miss Kirvill back home with him.
I was working in the garden, I replanted the Cucumbers as the slugs had eaten them.  I sowed a long row of Stratagem Peas and was digging out stones.
Mr Ross, Inspector of noxious weeds called.