Houses Thames Road Paeroa

Houses at farm ; 7157 Thames Road Paeroa (3674)

House No. 1 nearest to Paeroa. (House named ‘Millwood')

102 Thames Road, Paeroa

Built for Norman and Alice Millar when they were married in 1925. Very basic 2 bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen with coal range, bathroom - cold water only, washouse with copper. In 1939, altered to include separate kitchenette, proper bathroom, hot water etc. extra bedroom. On section which was legally part of the farm. Norman lived there till his death in 1976. (Owen became the owner of the farm.) Alice lived there till 1990 when she moved to Ohinemuri house till her death. It took many years for the farm to be profitable but by thrift and hard work they managed it. This was the registered farmhouse till Owen was able to convert his house to the official farmhouse according to changing council rules. House and section then sold, so no longer part of the fame. Owen’s house separated from land now farm land only. Joyce and Owen brought up here - Joyce till 18 years, Owen till marriage. Farm activities centred here . There was a milking shed -then termed cowshed, pigsty, and pens, fowl house and run, and later an implement shed which also housed calves in season. The farm supplied cream to the dairy factory. Skim milk fed pigs.

House No. 2

104 Thames Road Paeroa

Section sold to Kennedy brothers on the next farm ( nearer to Paeroa.) and lived in by Harold, Madeline and daughter Mary.

House No 3

7157, RD4 State Highway 26. Paeroa 3600

House built on farm, after much angst with Council for Owen and Gloria, when they were married in 1958. As at August 2013 Owen and Gloria still live there, however Owen died Oct 2013 and Gloria now lives at Ohinemuri house. It was built by Lee Brothers the firm of Gloria's Father (and uncle) so was splendid for its day. Three bedrooms and all mod cons, later a forth bedroom was added.

Farm buildings, car sheds, etc. but no milking shed in the picture as not in use from about 1960 still there.

After Norman died, some of the land was leased to I an Wood, and is now leased to the person who bought his farm. It is still farmed. Earlier a piece of land near the road was sold to tan Wood so that he could move cows from his farm to the land he owned across the road from Owen so that animals did not go on the road at all. (This land had belonged to a Maori family, George and Violet Lanfear. Houses have now been built there and Ian Wood lives in one of them.) Near Owen's house an area was given over to Pony Club activities and the neighbourhood children for skateboarding, prompted by the interest Owen's children had in these activities.

House No 4

7181, RD4 State Highway 26, Paeroa, 3600

This was probably the first house built but I do not know that for sure. It was lived in by Una and Ted Pennell, Una being a sister to Cam Millar's wife Ivy, as I remember. ( Colleen, Alan and Lyal)

Farm

Google Map Farm

First farm activity after Millar’s were granted the land appears to have taken place here, around house 4. Presumably there was a lot of land clearing to do and scrub cutting etc. This land is higher than the rest so drainage would be good At this part of the property the cows were milked under the trees still growing near the road, there was a shed and a well, possibly two, in that part of the farm. There were plum trees as well by 1930. The Millar brothers returned from the war to this area because their parents lived in Komata so maybe they worked from there at first. Campbell, Norman and name unknown.