Letter, Fred Hamshar
Maker
Hamshar, Frederick
Production date
04 Mar 1888
Current rights
Public Domain
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Object detail
Brief Description
Letter written by Fred Hamshar at Barrack Hill, Napier, to his brother Tom and sister-in-law Lucy in England, dated 4th March [1888]. Fred announces that he and his wife now have a daughter, born Sunday 15th January, named Alice Louisa. The summer has been very dry; "if you drop a match in the grass the fire runs for miles, at times, a month back, the sky was quite red with smoke and the heat would have been awful but for the winds, then the dust was worse than heat. The winds often make our house rock and the crockery chatter." Fred continues his description of working at the breakwater, as Tom has indicated his interest. There are 40 men employed there now. Fred has been selected to work the concrete boards. Although there are machines for mixing the concrete, turning by hand reduces flaws in the blocks. A crane is used to lay them when set. Where the bottom is rough it is levelled with bags and bales of concrete by a diver. Another 40 ton crane is coming in for the next contract. "It (breakwater) is getting quite a fashionable promenade for the Napier people in fine weather now." Two hopper barges have just arrived. Fred says he is glad he didn't stay in England, despite being robbed and cheated when he first arrived in New Zealand.
Production date
04 Mar 1888
Production place
Production period
Media/Materials description
Two bifold pages and one single loose page
Media/Materials
Measurements
Height x Width: 203 x 133mm
Classification terms
Subject person
Subject period
Subject date
1888
Current rights
Public Domain
Credit line
gifted by Robyn Kunaiti
Other number(s)
2018/10/14, 95295
Accession number
2018/10/14
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