CHARLESTON
England, returned to Nelson, and died there at the early ages of thirty-five. A monument to his memory has been erected in the Nelson cemetery.
With the Commissioner at the riot was Police Officer Jeffries, later stationed at Charleston, who played his part with the same coolness and tact as his chief. A great part of Mr. Jeffries’ early and official life was spent on the Coast. The following particulars (condensed) are taken from the Evening Post, Wellington, of 29th August, 1930: “There passed away yesterday John Jeffries, once a familiar figure on the West Coast goldfields, and whose long life almost covers the history of New Zealand as a British Colony. His father was an official of the clerical staff of the New Zealand Company, and with his wife arrived at Nelson by the ship London in February, 1842. John Jeffries was born there on 23rd May, 1842, and was, on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1869, presented by Bishop Suter to His Royal Highness as the first white child born at Nelson. He served in the Police Force from 1864 to 1907, when he retired on superannuation.” His was the first marriage solemnised at Upper Inangahua, afterwards called Reefton. In addition to holding the position of Police Officer in Charge at several stations, he also acted as Collector of Goldfields Revenue, Clerk of Court, and Registrar.
Like Charleston, Addison’s Flat is now little more than a memory—a deserted village. A tourist highway has replaced the old coach-road, along which passed thousands in the “good old days” when gold was plentiful. A few scattered sluicing claims still carry on, but the golden romance of the field has gone for ever.
One of the landmarks of the old settlement was the coach-stop house, the Shamrock Hotel, established in 1867 by J. Hayes. The premises and license were acquired in 1868 by Mr. Philip McEnroe, a punt owner at the Buller, who occupied them for about thirty-five years. It was taken over by Mrs. McCann about 1904. She conducted it until 1939, although the license lapsed in 1938. McEnroe also owned freight wagons plying between Westport and Charleston, one of his drivers being Alf Hunt, a well-known local cricketer.
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