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Richard Fenn, 1943 -
My father Jack Edward Fenn arrived in Tauranga from Southfields London on the the s.s.“Wakanui" with his parents Edward John Fenn and Martha Minnie Fenn and his elder sister Nora in December 1908. Dads younger brother Herbert Charles Fenn was born in Tauranga on 2 August 1912.
My grandparents lived most of their lives on the corner of Edgecumbe Road and Fourth Avenue and he was a carpenter and builder. My grandmother's side of the family were builders going back some generations.
I went to Tauranga primary where my father was educated, and Tauranga Boys College which was a co-educational School when I was in the third form. While I was at college I represented the school as captain of the hockey team and also competed in short distance running. Discipline was very strict at college and enforced by the teachers using a cane which in my view happened all too frequently. Pupils were expected to have their socks pulled up and always wear a cap when leaving the school grounds. Because of a shortage of money and teachers class sizes were quite large probably up to 42 children per teacher.
I started work as an apprenticed Joiner and Carpenter
I started an apprenticeship in carpentry and jointly in 1958 at Tauranga joinery Co. I was fortunate to have covered in my apprenticeship timber processing, treatment, handling, machining, joinery and kitchen cupboards manufacturing. When I started in the trade all timber was handled by hand including the loading of trucks. Houses were entirely constructed on site by the builder who would cut the studs and framing by hand. All roof components were cut with a hand sour and nail together by hand. Internal doors were hung on site and some builders made their own cupboards on-site using imperial measurements.
Tauranga joinery had the first forklift in the district apart from the Lumber Company at the wharf. The forklift was made by a local company using a Ferguson tractor reversed which worked very well. We also were the first company to pre-cut timber frames which were made from gauged Radiata pine for Beazley homes. The studs were cut using two skills saw simultaneously on a saw bench, at that stage most of the framing for house was rough sawn hart Rimu. Everybody worked productively and it was quite common for the builders to meet in the pub on Thursday before six o'clock closing and talk about how much work they had accomplished in the day because they were proud of their achievements.
On completion of my apprenticeship I worked for a shop fitting and staircase manufacture. Then I decided to have a crack at building which I enjoyed. I started my own building coming Fenns Builders Ltd which I own for 30 years, I also started a paving company called Bay Pavers Ltd and a drafting company House plans Ltd. The most rewarding business I had was Fenns Trading which exported a wide range of building materials to Korea including Gibboard, construction brackets, treated timber, retaining walls and we also exported a small quantity of cosmetics.
From small beginnings
Tauranga population was 1000 when my grandfather arrived in 1909 and 6000 when I was young and now it is 126,000. If you consider how much work has been done over the last 50 years of my working life not just house construction and commercial buildings but services including roading, power, drainage and water.
I think that we can be proud of what we have achieved with very little equipment, no safety gear just the sheer determination to get through everyday the best one could. It will be interesting to see if future generations will take up the mantle of hard work and achieve the same goals that we did.
The first job I had being self-employed was making kitchen cupboards on-site for a friend. My father said that you go into business not for money but because of what you can add to the community through honesty, hard work and service, he owned Fenns Jewellers.
Entertainment
I went with my elder sister to dancing classes and then on to competition dancing, I compete in the national competitions held at the Peter Pan Ballroom in Auckland with a wonderful partner.
At 16 years of age I went to my first dance which I can remember was the most wonderful experience. Dances were very popular and there was a lot to choose from (up to 5 on a Saturday night) and very well patronised. It was a wonderful experience to meet so many people in a happy and safe environment with no alcohol or drug problems. Tauranga has gone from one restaurant called the San Francisco to over 30 and a large number of cafes serving excellent food and great coffee, which I really enjoyed.
Bay Court replaced the old town hall with no increase in setting numbers but a better stage at huge cost to the community. I was involved with the Coral and
Tauranga Operatic Societies shows “New Moon” and “The Music Man” which took place in the old town hall and I was one of the dancers, a marvellous experience with wonderful people.
I enjoyed swimming at the Mount Beach and around different parts of the harbour which had no seaweed or mangroves. Snapper could be caught from People's front lawns and shellfish were very plentiful, in fact the Mussel bed stretched the full length of Tauranga harbour.
I have not painted a picture for 30 years because I found that being in business and working at least 50 hours a week left me with no spare time for myself. I have retired now and have started to do some artwork again which I really enjoyed.
My overall experience living in Tauranga.
Tauranga has changed a lot, not just the size of the town but the people who no longer have that neighbourly refreshing attitude of always wanting to help and share with one another. It's not that people are uncaring nowadays, they have just become more isolated, less involved as a family unit and in many cases do not know their neighbours at all.
I could walk down town on Friday night when the shops closed at 9 p.m. and recognise pretty much everybody I past in the street. Now days apart from the fact that the population has grown people move more frequently. Tauranga has grown very quickly with people arrive here from all over the country and from around the world bringing different cultures ideas and values. New arrivals have bought a wide range of cuisine which can be found in many different types of restaurants which fortunately are in easy walking distance from my home.
My earliest recollections.
St Mary's had a large swamp adjacent to the school which is now a playground where we used to play games and make huts in the bamboos, it was a wonderful wilderness. There were also many undeveloped blocks of land and abandoned Pā sites. I pushed my bike up the partly formed Hairini Road and drove my Morris eight over the Kaimai Range and around the district on roads which could only be described as challenge.
I remember seeing coal being loaded on to a truck by hand and Watersides loading goods with slings from the ships crane.
My dad stopping his car before crossing a one-way bridge and walk to the centre to meet somebody who had stop their car at the other end of the bridge. After a short discussion my dad walked back to his car with a smile on his face. He said that the other gentlemen was in more of a hurry than we were so he was pleased to let him cross that bridge first.
Changes that I have seen
The development of sewage treatment plant, the port, airport expansion, black-and-white television from one radio station that close at 11 p.m. when the street lights went off to 23 radio channels. The upgrade of Cameron Road to 4 lanes, footpath and street lights in new subdivisions, a tremendous increase in crime violence and drunkenness ”we never used to shut windows or locked doors because the community was safe”. People use to sing, whistle and be generally much happier because they had realistic expectations which meant living within one's means.
The construction of the Reclamation, for a downtown car park, the development of Sulphur Point for the Tauranga Wharf, construction of the Mount Wharf, Ferguson Park and the industrial area at Judder were reclaimed from swamp land. The construction of the Hairini,Maungatapu, Otūmoetai and the Harbour Bridges.
The future for Tauranga
Tauranga will change from a community where the majority of people owned their own homes to living in apartments which will be owned by overseas companies. The mix of population will continue to change and the general standard of living will improve however the number of street people will continue to increase and the divide between rich and poor will be significantly greater. Whereas most businesses were owned by Tauranga residence, they are now owned outside of our community taking profit from the town and leaving a low-wage structure for employees with little or no training.
