THE LIFE & TIMES OF CHARLES HOOK GORDON LOGIE

 

By Evan Tosh of Dunedin, New Zealand

 

Charles Hook Gordon Logie was born in London on August 4th 1810.  He was the third and youngest child of Alexander Mathias Logie and his wife Emma Elinor (nee James).  He was our 3rd or 4th great grandfather depending on your generation.  Here’s the document:

 

His parents, Alexander and Emma had married in Goa, a Portuguese colony on the west coast of India, in 1804.  Their eldest child, Alexander, was born in Bombay in 1805 and their daughter, Emma, in Goa in 1808.  They were back in London when Charles was born in 1810.   Alexander was a Major in the 5th Regiment, Bombay in 1809.  (his son held a commission in 11th Infantry Bombay 1826-1841)   

 

The army of the East India Company found that the younger sons of the good Scottish families made very good soldiers and officials.  These children did not have the money or connections to do well in the British Army or Government.  The Company army paid its officers more than the British army, and commissions did not have to be bought.  Promotion could not be bought and so occurred mainly through ability rather than by family connections.

 

Charles, aged 17, married Ellenor Chalan (sic) on 23rd September 1827 by the Curate Samuel Benson at the Parish of St Saviour, Southwark, in the County of Surrey.

 

A family was soon started - their first four children were born in London (1829, 1831, 1835, 1837), a fifth in 1839 on the way to Australia, two more were born in Wellington (1841 & 1843), fol­lowed by three more in Nelson (1845, 1847 & 1850).  Their elev­enth, and last child, Frederick, was born in Dunedin in 1854.

 

The birth of a daughter (Elizabeth) at sea, in 1839, indicates that for some reason the Logies had decided to leave London and seek their future in the antipodes.  Whether it was their inten­tion to settle in Sydney, or elsewhere is not known.  The family tree claims that Charles had a letter of introduction from Lord Glenelg of the Colonial Office when he went to Australia. The fact that his parents had lived and worked overseas could indicate that Charles Logie, even though he had been born on their return to London, did not have strong ties there.  As his parents had been away from England for some time Charles Logie may not have had the right contacts for success in Lon­don, hence the move to greener pastures.

 

 

COLONIAL

 NEW ZEALAND

 

Britain had not been too keen to extend the Empire to New Zea­land.  After the problems in America it was also loathe to in­dulge in colonisation, although it was quite happy transporting criminals to Australia and to increasingly involving itself in India and Asia.   Despite British indifference the New Zealand problem would not go away.  Traders from Sydney, British and American sealers and whalers increasingly travelled to New Zea­land to exploit its natural resources.  The Maori needed to be converted to Christianity so numbers of missionaries followed the traders.   The Maori who came in contact with the Europeans saw the benefits of the new technology - guns, potatoes and alcohol and in many cases embraced Christianity as way of becoming more European like.   Maori culture was becoming corrupted by the influence of the traders etc, and although the missionaries would vehemently deny it Christianity was also corrupting and destroy­ing the traditional way of life.  Also, by this time word had reached England about what an unpopulated, pleasant and fertile place New Zealand was, and how suitable it would be for colonisa­tion. Australia was still a penal colony, vast areas of Canada were still tied up by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and other British possessions such as India and parts of Africa did not have the same pleasant climate, and small indigenous population that New Zealand had.   A group of keen colonists formed the New Zealand Company to privately colonise New Zealand - with or without official cooperation.

 

The Maori needed protection so with urging from the mission­aries and in response to the moves to privately colonise the country by the New Zealand Company the Colonial Office reluctant­ly decided to claim sovereignty over the country and form a government.  Hobson, an experienced and able officer in the Royal Navy, who had previously visited New Zealand, was chosen to do the deed.

 

Until the legal niceties of claiming sovereignty were finalised New Zealand was to be considered part of New South Wales, and Hobson was made Lieutenant Governor, under the control of Gover­nor Gipps.  New Zealand was to be claimed for the Crown and then, as things settled down it was to be run as a separate colony on a minimal budget and with a minimal and cheap government establish­ment.  Hobson had wanted to bring experienced officials from London, but was instructed to take men from Sydney.  Gipps saw this as an opportunity to get rid of some dead wood and provided Hobson officials drawn from the people he was most keen to be rid of.  This consisted of five high ranking officials - George Cooper was appointed Collector of Customs and Treasury, Felton Mathew as Acting Surveyor-General, Lieutenant Willoughby Short­land RN as Police Magistrate, assisted by J Freeman and S. Grim­stone as second and third class clerks respectively.  This staff increased when New Zealand became a separate colony in May 1841.  At that time the establishment had increased to include an Attor­ney General, a Clerk of Councils and Sheriff, a Colonial Surgeon, a Harbour Master, a Chief Protector of Aborigines, a Storekeeper and two Land Commissioners.

 

Charles Logie was the storekeeper.  It is not certain when he arrived in NZ, but family tradition has it that he was present at the treaty signing in Waitangi in February 1840.

 

Hobson's fledging colonial government had been required to be financially independent.  It needed an income and customs duties were, at that time, the most important and most regular source of funds for any Government.  James Stephen the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (1836-1847) in London had urged Hobson to run his government with the "utmost possible parsimony".  Money was to be raised by firstly a duty on spirits, tobacco, tea, coffee, and sugar; secondly by assessments on land in the hands of pri­vate persons. The New South Wales laws and rates of duty were initially used.

 

On arriving in New Zealand Hobson initially went to the center of European activity in New Zealand  - the Bay of Islands. This was the hellhole of the Pacific - the place the whalers, seal­ers, trader’s etc congregated to trade with the Maori and for the dubious pleasures of rest and recreation.   The British resident, Busby, along with the main body of missionaries also had settled this area. After the treaty signing at Waitangi, Hobson set up his capital nearby at Russell, but he quickly found that this site was not suitable and moved his capital to Auckland in mid 1840.

 

As Hobson was claiming sovereignty, and getting the Maori to sign the treaty the first group of New Zealand Company colonists had left England and arrived at Port Nicholson (Wellington).  They intended dealing directly with the local Maori, buying vast areas of land and establishing their settlement.

 

Two opposing interests now were in position and wanted to con­trol the future of New Zealand.  The reluctant government did not want to do much, but the New Zealand Company had its sights set on colonisation by selected British immigrants.  The best of the best transplanted to New Zealand.   Right from the start there had been friction between the Colonial Office and the NZ Company, who had, despite opposition, managed to establish the settlement in Wellington.  Once the first New Zealand Company arrived in Wellington it became the main population centre of Europeans in the colony, and therefore claimed that it should become the capital.  Hobson, following the Colonial Office precedent and tradition did not get on with the Company, and so when Hobson did eventually make a belated visit to Wellington he was received with little enthusiasm.  There was resentment based on their different agendas for the colony. The Colonial Office, represent­ed by Hobson, and influenced by the missionaries, wished to protect the rights of the Maori as well as look after European interests. 

 

The main point of dispute was regarding land sales.  The NZ Co wanted to colonise the country and so wanted to have the right not only to negotiate land purchases directly with the Maoris, but to keep the land it had already purchased from the Maori despite their knowing that the eventual government would question the legality of such purchases.  The Company gave little thought to preserving the rights of the Maori.  The Government, on the other hand, claimed and insisted that land sales had to be made through it, and that the vast land sales negotiated with the Maori before the treaty were not valid, as the Maori were being disadvantaged and were selling their land without a full under­standing of what land sales meant and with little knowledge of land values.

 

CHARLES LOGIE

 IN WELLINGTON:

 

The settlers did accept the Governments right to collect taxes and the Customs service was active in Wellington from the start.

 

Charles Logie was in Wellington in 1841.  The desire for land soon resulted in trouble between the settlers and the Maori.  The first incident occurred with the New Zealand Company settlers at Nelson.  The settlers wanted the Wairau area, but the local Maori had driven off the surveyors.  A group of settlers decided to sort things out and as a result 20 settlers were killed during the Wairau incident on June 17, 1843.

 

Governor Fitzroy did not send forces to revenge this attack and as a result was seen to be weak by Maori throughout the country.  Relatives of the Wairau Maori in the Wellington area started to become belligerent and settlers were driven off their land.  Wellington felt threatened and troops moved in.

 

Fighting occurred at Boulcott's Farm in the Hutt Valley.  There were further incidents and eventually the situation was resolved when Grey ordered the detention of Te Rauparaha at Porirua on 23 July 1846. 

 

CHARLES LOGIE

IN NELSON:

 

It appears that CL was able to avoid these hostilities - he was in Wellington during the Wairau incident and was living in Nelson in 1846 when Wellington was under threat.

 

The Collector at Nelson, S. Carkeek was transferred to Wellington in July 1849 and Charles Logie was promoted from landing waiter to collec­tor.

 

Changing Government

 

New Zealand was a Crown Colony, controlled by a Governor, from 1840 until the Constitution Act of 1852 took effect in late 1853. The Act provided for a central government (House of Representa­tives and Legislative Council) and provincial assemblies to look after local affairs (at this stage local bodies did not exist).  Elections for provincial councils occurred in late 1853 and the provinces quickly set up their governments.  Governor Grey had placed more power in the provinces than the act intended and Grey was tardy in setting up the General Assembly.  The Provinces were not allowed to raise taxes, thus Central Government controlled revenue, and in order to fund Provincial Governments Governor Grey, in a questionable interpretation of the Act, passed two thirds of customs revenue on to them (plus profits from selling "waste lands") in order to strengthen their power/autonomy.

 

 

 

 

DUNEDIN:

 

Charles Logie arrived at Port Chalmers, from Nelson, on the schooner "Mary Jane" on Christmas Day 1853.  He had been in Nelson for a number of years and had been promoted to Collector of Customs there in 1849 when his predecessor, S. Carkeek had been promoted to collector in Wellington.   

 

 

The Logies would have arrived at a time of the year when Dunedin looked its best.  The hills around the harbour and Dunedin were heavily wooded and the township of Dunedin was centered around the Stafford St - Princes St intersection and the main jetty which jutted out into the harbour from Jetty St.  The town was, by now, five years old, but as it did not have much of an econom­ic base it had not grown much.  Permanent wooden houses had re­placed the earlier primitive buildings and there were a number of larger buildings and businesses along Princes St which at that time, ran more or less along the shoreline, intersected by creeks running down from the surrounding hills.  The town was split by the large raise, called Bell Hill, which cut off the main Stafford St - Princes St area from the flatter, and swampier areas, north of the Octagon.

 

Travelling around the town was difficult, especially in wet weath­er when the few tracks and roads became very muddy.  A bridge across the junction of Rattray and Princes St was a major advance as was the lowering of Princes St by the cutting made through Bell Hill.

 

In 1856, the surveyor John Thomson described Dunedin " ...a hamlet, a ludicrous parody of its great mother [Edinburgh].  At that time, sunk in poverty and filth, it had earned the more appropriate title of Mud-edin."

 

When Logie arrived, Port Chalmers was still the main customs office, despite pressure to have it moved to Dunedin.  Right from the start there had been competition between Port Chalmers and Dunedin over which was to be the main port.  Port Chalmers had the advantage of a deep-water anchorage, and was nearer to the entrance of the harbour, but it had the disadvantage of very little flat land to build the necessary warehouses and buildings required for a port.  Dunedin on the other hand had the areas for buildings, and was the centre of population, but had the disad­vantage of being at the top of the harbour where the harbour was much shallower and larger ships could not berth.  Much cargo had to be unloaded at Port Chalmers and brought to Dunedin in small craft.  If the ship could get to Dunedin it might still be too big to get right up to the jetty and nonetheless have to be unloaded onto small craft for the final trip from ship to shore.

 

Charles Logie was required to board all vessels on arrival and he worked in conjunction with the pilot Capt Driver.

 

The trip from Port Chalmers to Dunedin by light boat was quite dangerous - after travelling safely around the world to get to Dunedin a number of people ended their journey drowning on the final leg from Port Chalmers to Dunedin.  One of the most notable tragedies being the drowning of the first rector of Otago Boys' High School and his family in 1863 following an collision be­tween the boat he was on and another.

 

Since the Customs Office was located at Port Chalmers the Logie family initially settled there.   Burns visitation book lists the family, living in Port Chalmers as:

 

"Logie Cas, his wife Elleanor Chalan, Louisa R 18, Eliz 15, Georgina 13, Walter 10, Ed 8, Alfred 6, Herbert 3, Fred inf, Emma Logie his sister".  (Our ancestor, Charles Joseph Gordon Logie had already left the family in Australia.)

 

CUSTOMS MOVES TO DUNEDIN:

 

Eventually the pressure from leading merchants such as Macandrew, Reynolds and John Jones to move the Customs Office was great enough for the Government to order that the main office be moved to Dunedin.  So in June 1855 it was housed in a small-galva­nized iron building in Dunedin on the corner of Jetty and Princes St., where the T&G Insurance building now stands.  In the early 1860's the building was described as "a queer low-roofed, strag­gling erection- well remembered as having outlived nearly all the buildings of its genus and generation" 

 

THE GREAT CUSTOMS HOUSE ROBBERY:

 

An office was retained at Port Chalmers, and it was here on 1 June 1855 that the Great Customs House Robbery was discovered.

 

John Monson, son of the Dunedin gaoler, began full time work as the landing waiter that eventful day.  He arrived at the Customs House to find that a hole had been cut in the floor and another in the wall - the safe containing 1,400 pounds was missing.  A search was begun for the safe and the burglars.  A reward of 100 pounds was offered:

 

The Witness of June 2 reports: "A reward of £100 has been offered for the apprehension of the offenders; special constables have been sworn in and despatched throughout the Province both north and south."

 

The June 4th edition reports:

 

"We learn with much satisfac­tion that the chest stolen from the Customhouse on Thursday last has been recovered by Mr James Adam.  It was discovered lying on the rocks below the third point from Port Chalmers where it had evidently been thrown out of a boat.  An endeavour had been made to open it without success, the head of a hammer being found near the chest.  So near were the thieves obtaining their booty that one of the bolts of the lock was sprung, and the other must have given way but for the breaking of the hammer handle.  The chest contained about £1400 which has been recovered with the exception of about 50s which it is supposed must have fallen out when the chest was cast overboard, about £5 in gold and silver having been picked up on the rocks.  It is evident that the thieves were longer over the business than they intended, and that daylight had surprised them before they had fully effected their object."

"The safe was taken to Mr Logie's private house, and when opened the contents (about £1400) were found to be all right...  Poor Mr Logie was so excited, that with the money in his hands, spread out before his eyes, he kept exclaiming, "It's all gone! its all gone!" 

 

The robbers were never found.

 

TRAVEL:

 

Travel and communications by land between Dunedin and surrounding areas was difficult. The following is from the Logie note;

"There was no means of communication between Port and Dunedin in those days.  My father used to walk overland a distance of 9 miles, there was no road, only a track through the bush - on one occasion he lost his way and had to sleep all night in the bush."  Whilst in Port Chalmers he made the journey to Dunedin twice a week.

 

One of the first obstacles on the way to Port Chalmers from Dunedin was crossing the Leith.  Until a bridge was built in 1857 or 1858 travellers, if the Leith was high, had to cross it via the trunk of a tree that had been felled to make a bridge.   At times people had to cross this "bridge" on their hands and knees!! The track then followed North East Valley, then across the saddle and down to Koputai. 

 

The Logie family moved to Dunedin and initially resided in lower Stafford St near where the Cobb & Co eventually had a depot.  In November 1855 Burns visitation book records that the family 8 children, sister & wife) were living in Stafford St.  However in 1858 there are only 7 children at home.  The 1858 ratebook shows them at BLk 6 Sect 14, 1859 has them at Blk 2 Sect 48-50 (this could be Maitland St).   

 

An 1865 directory gives the address as Maitland St - left-hand side between Stafford St and High St.

 

OTHER TRAVEL:

 

Travel around New Zealand was also hazardous.  Travel between centres of population was normally undertaken by ship.  However Logie did travel, in 1857   between Invercargill and Dunedin, by foot - and got lost!  Rev Bannerman accompanied Logie on this journey.

 

"After crossing the Mataura they lost their way, and slept two nights in the open air, with the rain falling heavily, wetting all their provisions (a few biscuits) and with not means of lighting a fire, all around being soaked with rain.  On the third day they reached the hospitable house of Mr Steel, Popotunoa (Clinton), where they rested, and on the fourth day they reached the little house in Wharepa.  Mr Logie was very much exhausted, and both were weary, footsore, and travel strained as well."

 

OTHER DUTIES:

 

As well as being Collector of Customs Charles Logie was expected to under­take a number of other roles.  One of these was Harbour Master, a position that "had been gratuitously undertaken by an officer holding some other salaried position".  The first Harbour Master had been A.C. Strode, the Magistrate.  Strode was the first senior Government officer to arrive in Dunedin and prior to the formation of the provinces he held the positions of Sheriff, Sub-Inspector of Police, Sub treasurer and Resident Magistrate.  He was also a leader of the "little enemy" - a group of non-Scots, non-Presbyterians who were often at loggerheads with Cargill and the Scottish establishment who had left Britain partly to escape control by the English.  When the provincial governments were formed Strode lost control of the police, but remained magistrate.  He took leave of absence in 1857 in order to visit his father in England (Cargill etc were pleased to see him go.) and this could be when Charles Logie took over as harbour master. 

 

 

IMMIGRATION & GROWTH

 

In the late 1850s the Provincial Government started promoting immigration to Dunedin.  The population and economy gradually grew and so did Charles Logie's work load.  He resigned as Harbour Master in 1859, and the position then became full time and salaried.  The new Harbour Master was Capt William Thomson, who had captained one of Cargill's boats, the steamer Geelong.

 

In 1854 there had been 10 shipping arrivals to the Port of Otago.  This more than doubled the next year, and in 1859 had reached 54.  Wool was the main export cargo at this time.  In 1860 there were 69 arrivals and in 1861, 256.  The gold rush was on - 1862, 395 arrivals; 1863, 983; 1864, 865; 1865, 766 and in 1866, 789.    The amount of customs revenue collected in 1865 was the highest for any New Zealand port. 

 

 

CHARLES LOGIE AND THE POST OFFICE:

 

One of Charles Logie’s many duties was to operate the postal service. 

 

Controlling and coordinating communication within New Zealand and with the rest of the world was an important operation that needed to be the responsibility of the Government.   At the time of the Treaty mail was consigned to any boat that was heading to or from New Zealand - there were no official carriers.  Mail coming to New Zealand was then left at a convenient point such as a store where it was to be later picked up.  Mail was not regular and any and every opportunity was used to get mail conveyed to and from New Zealand.

 

The first and second postmasters at the seat of government (Clayton Hayes & S.E. Grimstone) were deputies of the New South Wales Postmaster General.

 

Once New Zealand became a separate colony it was thought that the New Zealand government would control the Post Office (T. Paton followed by William Connell in charge), however it turned out that it was to be controlled by the British Postmaster-General.  The British took control on 1 Sep 1842 with the Collector of Customs as leader, and the chief postal clerk in Auckland became the working head.  The Collector of Customs was also titled Deputy Postmaster General.

 

It was not until November 1848 that full control reverted to the New Zealand Government.

 

The last Collector to be nominal Deputy Postmaster General was William Young, who held the post until Aug 1853. Between 1854 and 1858 there was no definite head of the post office as the post­masters in Wellington and Auckland tended to act more like pro­vincial leaders rather than national ones.

 

The "Local Posts Act of 1856" gave some power to the provinces to require post offices to be set up and to pay for their operation.  The Provincial Governments were also able to charge an extra fee if they thought fit.  This act was not very successful as was replaced with the  "Post Office Act of 1858" which put the post office on a firm footing. 

 

Henry Tancred became Postmaster General on 2 Nov 1858 at a time when the postal service was growing rapidly.  When he took over New Zealand had 73 post offices, - two years later in 1860 the number had risen to 107.  By 1860 all principal post offices were in separate buildings, except in Dunedin and Napier.

 

When Charles Logie arrived in Otago the main post office was situated at Port Chalmers.   The post office in Dunedin was John Brown's drapery shop on the corner of Princes and Stafford Sts.

 

Customs and the Post Office moved to Dunedin in 1855 and Mr A Barr became the postal clerk in 1857.

 

New Zealand Post introduced the adhesive postage stamp in 1855 (it had been introduced in Britain in 1840).  The "Witness" of 15 Sep 1855 advised, "prepaid mail must have stamps".

 

The first stamps were for one shilling, one penny and two penny.  It became compulsory to use stamps on overseas mail, but it was not until 1862 that it was made compulsory on local mail as well.

 

In 1857 the basic rate to Britain was reduced to 6d, but it took two years from this date before 6d stamps became available.

 

Robinson: "At Dunedin, however, the postmaster had little use for his supply of shilling stamps, and decided to be economical.  He cut shilling stamps in half vertically, and used half a stamp to frank a sixpenny letter to Great Britain.  This was done without specific authorisation, but was allowed.  These bisects are rare, even though this practice persisted at Dunedin from 1857 to 1859."  Stamp usage was popular: 160,000 were used in 1858; 277,000 in 1859; 355,000 in 1860; and 527,000 in 1861.

 

In the 1840s and 1850s communication was very slow. 

 

During the Crimea war communications with Britain were further disrupted by the need for transport, especially by steamers, between Britain and the Crimea.

 

Mail between New Zealand cities was very slow:

 

Robinson gives the example (p91);  "The postmaster, Charles Logie, wrote on 19 January [1856] to the Colonial Secretary in Auckland asking him "to forward at your earliest convenience a quantity of two penny and one penny post­age labels, those formerly supplied being now nearly exhausted".  His letter reached Auckland on 6 March, seven weeks after it was written.  On the fourteenth the stamps were forwarded. Charles Logie acknowledged their receipt on 25 June, three and a half months after they were sent.  The postmaster was able to renew his "nearly exhausted" supply of stamps after a delay of over five months."

It was not until steam powered ships were introduced onto the coastal routes that the postal system could quickly convey mail between the different provinces. The situation improved in 1858 when "White Swan" provided a monthly service.

 

By 1859 Otago Province had found it necessary to provide at its own expense a connection with Melbourne.  Robinson states that in 1858 the "Queen" was hired for 2 years to connect Otago and later Canterbury with Melbourne and the English steamer service. 

 

The "Queen" was owned by James MacAndrew and was the first screw steamer to visit Dunedin.  She caused quite a stir when she arrived on 27th September 1858.  She was greeted with a 20 or 21 gun salute and in reply a display of fire works was launched from her deck that evening.

 

The "Queen" was soon found to be too small for the intercolonial trade, and was used mainly for coastal work.   MacAndrew obtained another vessel the "Pirate" for the voyages to Melbourne and this successful venture opened up a lot of trade between the two centres.

 

By late 1863 there were postal departures from Dunedin every fifth day.  Being a country of immigrants the overseas mails were very impor­tant and eagerly awaited.  In the 1840s mail from Britain could take 120 days to arrive.  The situation did not improve much until steam ships could provide a more reliable timetable.

 

By the 1860s immigrant ships were still taking over 90 days to travel from Britain to NZ.  Communications suffered as NZ was the last link in a very long chain.

 

After such a slow transit, it was important to get the incoming mail sorted as quickly as possible.  H. Logie describes the scene:

 

"The arrival of an English mail at Dunedin in those days was a big event, all mail matter was carried in boxes, screwed down and sealed and with cross bands of yellow. The crown waiting for letters from home, local and otherwise was great.  ...On these occasions the clerical assistance was not equal to sorting the mail expeditiously, so my two elder brothers were sent into the mailroom and made to sort the newspapers.  The aiming of newspapers into different sections or groups apparently not very carefully carried out, for the chief clerk (Mr Barr) had to complain once or twice of being hit on the head with a stray newspaper - at last he had to make a final appeal to the chief Postmaster - "These boys must be turned out" which was immediately done!"

 

The Witness described the scene in 1860.

 

The arrival of mail was heralded by the town bellman, Sandy Low.

 

The office was besieged by a large crowd ". And there they may be seen hour after hour, waiting to get their letter, which appear to be distributed at the rate of about one in five minutes; and as for newspapers, they are not to be obtained for days after the mail has been received.  We are informed that the office is rigidly closed to the public at five o'clock, notwithstanding that a person may have been waiting for an hour".  The paper called for a postal delivery within the town.

 

Getting mail to settlers living outside Dunedin also presented problems.

 

"The first mails from Dunedin to Clutha were carried by an Aus­tralian aboriginal "Black Andy".  He could neither read nor write, and, when he came to a settler’s house, would say "I have a letter for you boy". The letters were emptied and the people would take out theirs, when the rest would be reparcelled up and directions given to Andy how to proceed to the next house."

 

 

"[In 1856] ..John Graham, or "Jock", as he was usually called, agreed to carry a weekly mail to and from the Molyneux for £150 per annum.  As there were no public funds, this sum was raised by subscription from the settlers along the line of road, and out of it he engaged to provide himself with two horses.  Jock was quite a character, an excitable restless Scotchman, brimful of energy, so that his somewhat perilous contract was entirely congenial.  Bedecked in a scarlet coat, and furnished with a load resounding horn, he woke up the echoes and created a sensation wherever he went.  

 

Logie's postal duties were eventually taken over by A. Barr, who was gazetted chief postmaster in 1861.  He inherited the huge increases in mail caused by the gold rush.  In 1861, 36,000 let­ters left Otago for Victoria, in 1863, 155,000.  Robinson comments, "The gold miners, largely responsible for this great in­crease, were not so rough, illiterate, and fancy free as is sometimes assumed."

 

During the early 1860’s, 97% of mail leaving New Zealand went to either Britain or Australia. In 1868 mail from Wellington to Southampton was taking 48 days via the Pacific route.  This route went initially via Panama where it was transported across the isthmus by land, then onto another ship for England.  Later mail went by rail across USA from San Francisco, and across Canada via Vancouver.  The Canadian route was favoured as Canada was Brit­ish, and the USA was not.  By this route a letter could be sent and a reply received within four months.

 

By 1877 the trip to Britain was taking on average 45 days via the Pacific route, and by 1893 the time taken for mail from London to Auckland had been reduced to around 33 days.

 

 

LOGIE AND THE LAW

 

 

As well as being a magistrate Logie was also responsible for initiating some cases:

 

The Witness of 18/10/1856 reports that Logie prosecuted John Mann, the master of the barque "Strathmore" for committing a breach of the 14th section of the Passengers Act 1855  "...in that a greater number of passengers were carried in the said barque than in proportion of one statute adult to every fifteen clear superficial feet of deck allotted to their use in the voyage from London to Otago” Mann was fined £17.10.o and Logie was criticised for taking too much time in bringing the prosecution.

 

From this same ship the first and second mate were imprisoned for desertion, as well as three sailors.

 

John Wright kept a diary of this voyage.

 

In 1858 he prosecuted Captain Tierney of the ship Strathfieldsaye for breaches of the Customs Act.  The breaches were: (1) That the life boats were not in their proper positions - fined £5.oo (2) That the allowance of water etc according to the Act was not provided for the passengers - fined £5.oo (3) For selling or allowing to be sold spirits and strong waters to the crew and passengers - fined £25.oo (Witness 2/3/1858)

 

The crew of this ship later were jailed for desertion after they refused to sail with the Tierney as they claimed he had threat­ened them whilst drunk, fired a musket along the deck whilst in port and did not provide sufficient accommodation for the crew.

 

 

The Witness of 6/6/1857 reports that Logie was, along with on the bench for the preliminary examination of an accused murderer, George Crawford.  The examination took 6 days and Crawford was committed for trial.

 

In 1861, Logie, in his position of Receiver of Customs, along with the Superintendent, Mr Hyde Harris, the harbour Master (Capt Thomas) and Justices Taylor and Hogue formed an inquiry into the grounding of the "Victory" at Wickliffe Bay.

 

The steamer "Victory" left Port Chalmers, bound for Melbourne on a cold afternoon in July 1861.  Prior to her departure there had been much partying, and owing to the gold rush it was difficult to get reliable crew for ships leaving Dunedin. 

 

"The vessel steamed down to the heads where the pilot left in his whale boat and the captain then set course which he said should have taken the ship to three miles outside Cape Saunders.  The weather was unpleasant; a cold nor'easter was thrashing the wintry sea while heavy rain fell.  There was a slight haze, but the land was visible at two miles distance.  Having told the third mate, who was an uncertified officer recently promoted from the position of bos'n, to call him if the land seemed too near, the noble captain left the bridge and went to have his tea.  The third mate told the first officer, and unable to withstand the pangs of hunger, also went to have his tea. ......The chief engi­neer also felt the desire for refreshment and having sent a mes­sage to his second, left the engine and descended the companion ladder to have his tea.  Only the first mate was left on deck and he admittedly was drunk and unfit to look after the ship."

 

There was no look out.  Whilst the officers were all having tea the ship took a curved course from the heads and ran aground in a sandy part of Wickliffe Bay - narrowly missing the rocks on either side of the beach.

 

As there had been no loss of life the captain and engineer, having been found guilty of negligence, were only reprimanded, but the mate was found guilty and sentenced to three months hard labour.

 

The Daily Telegraph of May 28, 1863 reported:

 

The Provincial Government Gazette of yesterday intimates that His Honor the Superintendent has received and accepted the resignation of Charles Logie Esq as one of the visiting justices of Dunedin Goal."

 

LOGIE AND THE CHURCH

 

Charles Logie was also involved with the Wesleyan/Anglican church and was a lay reader.  At times he travelled to Port Chalmers to "read the Church of England service and a sermon, when no minister of his church was able to visit" The Presbyterian Church was made available for such services since at that time there was no Anglican Church in Port Chalmers.   When Charles Logie left Port Chalmers to live in Dunedin in 1855 he was presented with a large family bible in recognition for his conducting Sunday services and Sunday school. Logie was also one of the three people who helped pay for the section the church was located on.

 

Logie on one occasion took his children with him to see Bishop Selwyn, when he visited Port Chalmers in his Schooner Undine .

 

"My father was as usual visiting and happened to take his two boys with him – Mrs. Selwyn was on board and insisted on supplying the boys with refreshment - and the Bishop offered Capt Driver the pilot a glass of grog - He assured the Bishop he never touched the stuff "on Principle"!"

 

GOLD!!

 

The big boost to Dunedin's fortune occurred once people realised the importance of Gabriel Read's discovery of commercial quanti­ties of gold at Tuapeka (Lawrence).  Read announced his discovery in the "Witness" on 8 June 1861.  By July people were taking notice and a gold rush began initially with people from Dunedin, and later from Victoria Australia, heading off to seek their fortunes at the diggings.

 

From an administrative viewpoint the rush created many problems that required a rapid solution.  Even before any viable gold fields had been discovered the Government had passed laws to regulate gold fields - the "Act to Regulate the Goldfield" was passed in 1858, as well as an act imposing an export duty of 2s 6d per ounce on gold. 

 

Responsibility for the gold fields administration belonged to the Provincial Council and they formed a Gold Field Commissioners Department to look after claims etc and also set about increasing the size of the police force in anticipation of gold induced crime.

 

Dunedin was a fairly peaceful town with very little serious crime.  It had a goal and a small uniformed (from 1860) police force. The gold rush produced a number of problems for the then small Dunedin police force.  Keeping the diggers under control at the gold fields was the most immediate problem, then came the job of protecting the gold as it was transported to Dunedin, and finally it was thought that the gold rush would result in an influx of criminals and other undesirables from Australia, and in particular from the gold fields in Victoria.  There had been a number of major problems in the Victorian goldfields that culmi­nated in the shoot out at the Eureka Stockade, between diggers and the armed police.  Dunedin's leaders were very mindful of the potential problems and resolved that they would not occur in Otago.

 

Charles Logie played a part in the rush, as he was the Gold Receiver.  This job entailed weighing and receipt of the gold and crediting the miner with its value much like a deposit in a banking account.

 

Protecting the gold as it was moved from the gold fields to Dunedin was the job of a hastily formed armed gold escort.  The gold escort, formed in July 1861, was a separate force from the goldfields police.  The first (possibly third) escorted shipment of 5,056 ounces of gold reached Dunedin on August 21, 1861  "In gallant cavalcade order, there being included other riders from the diggings about twenty horses, two abreast"  

Despite the escort many diggers preferred to take their chances and brought their own gold back to Dunedin independently.

 

The Logie note recounts:

 

"About this time [1862] many people, diggers etc were coming and going to and from Melbourne.  Diggers were bringing in their gold and then going back to Victoria - and for fear of being stuck up would sham to be down on their uppers, would come up to the Customs House to declare value and pay duty - one fine afternoon one of these apparently down and outs, came to the Custom House to declare and pay duty - and began to dislodge his parcels, clothes, boots and almost in a state of undress produced a good pile of the yellow dust.  As he proceeded to pile upon the Custom House counter the little hoard, the Collector was greatly con­cerned at the unceremoniously manner of his disrobing manoeuvres remonstrating him for such an unseemly exhibition and display - However the old digger maintained his ground, had his gold weighed and paid duty - packed up his belongings and cleared."

 

At this stage the Gold Receiving Office was at the Bank of New South Wales.

 

 

The Provincial Council, with Richardson as Superintendent, rea­lised that its police force did not have the experience to con­trol the gold fields and the numbers of people arriving in Otago seeking gold.  They therefore had to import police with gold rush experience and so looked to Victoria, Australia for help. An experienced police officer, St John Branigan, was employed first as Inspector then Commissioner, to form and lead a new Otago force of armed constables.

 

Branigan arrived in late 1861 and immediately set about his task.  The Gold Escort became part of one reorganised Otago police force.  But there was problems employing, training and retaining enough police so to reinforce security the Superintendent, wor­ried about public order, asked the Central Government for troops to be stationed in Dunedin.  These arrived in September.

 

There were no real roads into Central Otago and the gold was initially transported on packhorses:

 

"The escort consisted of a dozen troopers, eight of them leading packhorses, two forming the advance guard - riding about 100 yards in front, the non-commissioned Officer in the rear, and the Officer on either flank.  The duty of the advance guard is to examine and ride round every bush, rock, or other cover with carbine in hand before the main body approaches".  As roads were formed a wagon was used to carry the gold.

 

The Logie notes recount: 

 

"The Gold escort used to come into Dunedin from the goldfields once a week.  It consisted of [a] four-wheeled light wagon, four horses, accompanied with 4 or 6-armed constabulary.  They galloped into town, pulled up in front of the Gold Office. [The} wagon was discharged by local officers while Constabulary drawed up six abreast with rifles at the ready in case of disturbance."

 

By 1862 it looked like the early discoveries were not going to be repeated elsewhere in Otago and many diggers left the area during that year's very harsh winter.  It was so cold that year that Lake Waihola froze.  The ODT of 21 July reported:

 

"The Waihola Lake has become completely frozen over, and in parts the ice would bear skating.  People have skated from Claredon to Waihola, a distance of about two miles."    

 

But more gold had been discovered - on 15 August 1862 Hartley & Reilly lodged over 1,000 ounces of gold at the gold office and received a two thousand pound reward for discovering and divulg­ing the new source of gold, - below the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers.

 

Diggers again flooded into Dunedin and set up camps on any avail­able land prior to setting off to the gold fields.

 

Logie notes: "a tremendous rush set in and every body who could muster up sufficient courage went.  At this time Dunedin was a sort of canvas town -Tents galore.  Thousands and thousands of diggers came over from Victoria, stayed a few days in town to get gear ready and off they started for Tuapeka.  So every day you would see streaming with pack horses on which were packed the bil­lies, buckets, frying pans, jugs, blankets, axes, and sacks of victuals, stores [etc] Individuals - humped their blues, tin dishes and trusted to luck for the rest.  It was a lively scene - The diggers were a happy go lucky chaps - tents were pitched anywhere - I remember well going to church one Sunday morning my sister had [lost] her bonnet in contact with the guy ropes.  Dunedin by this time was nearly deserted - lands, shops, houses, were unsaleable - and property bought in those days and hung on to are the millionaires of today"

 

Pkye states:

 

"The immediate result of these discoveries was that the exports of gold, which had fallen to 10,375 ozs in July, advanced to 37,260 ozs in December, and to 72,000 ozs in the following Febru­ary.  In all 332,430 ozs were exported in the year 1862."

 

The newfound wealth resulted in sudden growth for Dunedin.  Old temporary buildings were replaced with new, permanent, architec­turally designed grand buildings.  The centre of development in Dunedin was the Exchange area, and it was here that along with banks etc the new Customs House was built.  This area is now some distance from the harbour but in the 1850s it was the muddy edge of the harbour.  By the 1860s reclamation was being undertaken, with at times, hundreds of men taking the soil and rocks from the Bell Hill area.  Flat areas were being created at the harbour side of Princes St. 

 

By the middle of 1862 three jetties had been completed, or were in the course of construction to accommodate the extra shipping.

Dunedin had grown from a small and insignificant harbour side village to the commercial capital of New Zealand.

 

By mid 1864 the gold fields were starting to decline and diggers were moving to other fields or settling down in Otago.  Pyke:

 

"The number of miners in Otago attained its greatest height at the beginning of 1864.  By the census returns of December in that year the total population of the goldfields was enumerated at 15,700 persons; and of these it was estimated that 10,000 were actually gold miners.  But in April, May and June over 6,000 miners left Otago for the Wakamarina rush in Marlborough, whence many proceeded to Auckland, and others returned to Australia, but the majority went over to Hokitika and the Grey River. .....As the diggings there extended, still more followed them, and on 31st March, 1865, the total number remaining on the Otago Gold­fields was estimated at 7,000." 

 

Agriculture was now to become the leading producer of wealth in the Province.

 

 

DEVELOPMENT OF DUNEDIN

 

There are a number of descriptions of Dunedin, and of its rapid growth in the gold era.  Probably the most critical is that of Capt Henderson who wrote a very scathing book "Otago and the Middle Island, a warning to emigrants" in 1866.  Henderson had had a dispute with John Jones and printed his book as a reprisal.  Jones in turn bought up and destroyed as many copies of the book as possible and only a very few managed to survive.  Dr Hocken obtained the copy that the following quotes come from after many years of searching.

 

Henderson describes Dunedin, before the gold rush.  "When I arrived in the colony, in 1861, I found the capital, Dunedin, to be a little township, something like a fishing vil­lage at home; inhabited by a population consisting chiefly of the very needy, "rigidly righteous," but whiskey-loving, unprincipled Scotchmen. With these were mixed a few of the worst specimens from England and the neighbouring colonies; not omitting a sprin­kling of the convict element from New South Wales."

 

Once gold was discovered the town changed.  Henderson tells:  "The town of Dunedin immediately became a busy place, instead of a "sleepy hollow," as formerly; and it is now of considerable size, and to some extent, improved, though still a dirty, muddy slough."

 

"The town of Dunedin consists of a large number of wooden houses scattered over a piece of very hilly broken ground on the edge of the bay, and over an adjoining swamp.  there are also a few stone houses here and there, and one compact mass of wooden buildings in the centre of town.  One long street (with a few short branch­es), has been formed and partially paved.  Still it is a fearful­ly muddy place; and when not muddy is swept by hurricanes and clouds of dust.  The climate is detestable.  It is generally raining and blowing, sometimes for months together.  A lady told me she had been prevented from going to church by the rain for seventeen Sundays in succession.  One is never sure for half an hour that it will remain fair, however fine it may look.  The high hills attract the clouds; and the somewhat funnel shaped bay at the head of which Dunedin lies, nearly meeting the sea as it does, and skirted on both sides by lofty hills, entices the winds to rave along its windings.  If by accident it does not blow a gale during the day, the wind never fails to rise suddenly about four or five in the afternoon, blowing from the sea.

 

 ...Altogether a more unpleasant place to live in than Dunedin, cannot be conceived, with its rain and its mud, its wind and its dust; its rickety wooden houses, with the wind howling, and the rain pouring through them; its close packed blocks of houses, hotbeds of fever, and devoid of all water supply; its frequent fires, its dalliance, its low tone of morality, its insecurity, and the impossibility of obtaining justice, its want of good society, and its generally low style of population."

 

 

LAST FEW YEARS:

 

The extra work of the 1860's resulted in the need for new build­ings for the Customs Dept.  In 1862 work was started on a new Customs House in Port Chalmers.  In April the Otago Colonist reported:

 

"Customs House at Port Chalmers:  The first stone of this build­ing was laid yesterday morning and the artizans are commencing work with a spirit which bids fair for the speedy completion of the structure.  The design was furnished by Mr Greenfield."

 

The old Dunedin Customs house was replaced in 1863.

 

It was also designed by George Greenfield, one of the lessor known of the architects that operated in Dunedin in this time of growth, and was a "pleasant little customhouse with a classical portico and the collector's name over the door".  It was complet­ed in April 1863 and the area it faced became known as Custom­house Square.  This building also housed the Gold Receiver's Office. 

 

The Daily Telegraph described it as:  "..a spacious building outwardly in the style of a Balgravian mansion, possessing inwardly and extensive long room and ample accommodation for the innumerable ramifications of the Customs Service."

 

The Weekly Colonist described the interior in a Julyissue:

 

" An opportunity has recently been afforded us of inspecting the interior of the new Customs House in High St and although the exterior exhibits unquestionably a very chaste and elegant de­sign, we were not prepared to find the interior of the building so tastefully furnished as it is.  On entering the hall from the porch, immediately on the right is the "Long Room" fitted up with counters, desks and presses, so arranged as to best meet the convenience of the clerical staff as of the general public.  The counters are extensively ornamented with carved trusses, scrolls, pateras, etc., with raised panels, and a bold plinth running along the bottom.  The desks are fitted up with draws, after the most approved fashion and the presses contain an inconceivable number of those very essential conveniences yclept (sic) pigeon holes, so divided as to contain the various forms used in this depart­ment, and enclosed with doors sliding on rollers.  On the left, on entering, is the Gold Office, fitted up plainly, but neatly, with counters, desks and presses.  Leading out of the room is the Gold Receiver's Office, containing at one end the large iron safes for securing the precious metal.  Passing through the hall we come to a room for the Landing waiters, Lockers &c, also on the left hand; this room being occupied only by out-door clerks, is fitted up with one large desk, running along the end.   Leading out of this room and communicating with it, is the Land­ing Surveyor's Room.  Passing up the handsome stone staircase, we find on the first floor a room of corresponding size and situat­ed immediately above the Long Room, which at present is unappro­priated.  On the other side are the Collector and Accountant’s rooms, with apartments adjoining each for their respective clerks.  The whole of the rooms are fitted up with register stoves, and marble mantelpieces.  All the numerous desks, tables, presses, and cedar chairs have been made in Dunedin, and reflect great credit on the contractor.  The whole of the rooms are of ample size, and lofty, with bold cornices and centre flowers to the ceiling, and are lighted with gas from ornamental pendants and brackets.  Under the whole of the building run extensive vaults and cellars, intended to be used as a Queen’s Warehouse and Bond.  The works have been carried out by the contractor, Mr R Dalton in a very creditable manner, under the superintendence of Mr George Greenfield, architect, Princes St.  The total cost of the building, including fittings, has been about £13,000.

 

The old Customs House was then completely taken over by the Post Office - with an important addition, a clock!

 

"A want long experienced in Dunedin has been supplied, and we can now boast a town clock.  It is placed over the entrance of the old Customs House which building is soon to be converted to the Post Office.  Great disputes used to take place between the Government officials and the general public before the advent of the clock.  As in other places the Government offices are closed at four o'clock, but although it appears simple it was really a most difficult thing to get both parties to agree as to when this particular time occurred.  All such disputes, should any arise, are now to be settled by referring to the town clock."

 

 

It was later reported that the clock's position on the front of the building was inconvenient because it could only be seen by stand­ing in the middle of Jetty Street.  At this stage there was no standard New Zealand time.  Each area set its own time based on astrological observations.  Thus noon was true noon and in Dunedin the observations required for set­ting the time were made by the watchmaker and keen amateur astronomer Arthur Beverly.  People could check their watches by the mid day time signal from Bell Hill.   This situation lasted until March 1868, when the Postmaster-General announced that Wellington time would henceforth be the official time.  This meant that the people of Dunedin had to set their timepieces back 20 minutes.  This imposition of Wellington rules caused quite a bit of controversy.

  

Logie was also busy at this time with civic affairs - in mid 1863 he helped organise the festivities to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales.

 

These festivities consisted of street decorations, triumphal arches made of ferns and cabbage trees, and a quarter mile pro­cession from the town to the botanical gardens where the Superin­tendent planted memorial oak trees (at this time the botanical gardens were located between Albany St and St David St. in the area now occupied by the University.   This ceremony was followed by a public luncheon and further celebrations at Vauxhall Gar­dens.

 

Within a week of these celebrations the town was in mourning for the drowning of the newly appointed principal of the Boys High School, Mr Campbell, his family and others who were killed when the harbour steamer on which they were travelling (Pride of the Yarra) collided with the Favourite.  The Campbell’s had only just arrived from England.

 

There must have been general concern about the need to quarantine immigrants and arrangements were made:

"The Collector of Customs has formally proclaimed the two islands known in official maps as Halfway Islands, a quarantine station for the Port of Otago.  There can be no doubt that these islands are more suitable for a permanent Quarantine Station than the dreary spot originally fixed upon."

 

Charles Logie was ill in 1864 - the Daily Telegraph of 12 Jan 1864 reported:

 

"We have learnt with much concern that Mr Logie, the Collector of Customs, has been confined to his bed for the last few days by an attack of illness of a very serious nature.  On enquiry at a late hour last night, we were gratified to find that Mr Logie was no longer considered to be in a precarious state."

 

In 1865, as well as being Collector of Customs Charles Logie was listed in the Harnet directory as being Sub Treasurer (for Colo­nial Govt), Chief Gold Receiver and Receiver of Land Revenue.

 

In August 1866 the Custom House was broken into:  Otago Punch described the incident:

 

THE NEW RUSH

 

Oh! Who has not heard of the Otagan Gold,

And the Escort of Bobbies that brings it to town,

The hardships, the dangers, the storms and the cold,

It so bravely endures, each time it comes down.

Thro’ Dunedin to see the waggon come thumping,

Mounted troopers behind, mounted troppers before,

Each one in his saddle, so gracefully bumping;

(PUNCH wonders if ever their ride makes them sore,?)

‘Tis a sight which indeed all people admire,

As they think what these troopers endure,

And complacently hint at catstrophes dire,

If the Gold were not made so secure.

At the Treasury doors, with accourtrements bright,

A policeman stands sentinel all through the night,

(While the soft arms of Morpheus the miners enfold,

Composed by the thought of how safe is their Gold),

But where was he on Sunday last

When thro’ the window some one passed,

And opened the Iron Chest,

And left behind on the topmost stair,