story

The Tamahere Cross Roads, consisted in the 1880's of Camps Hotel on the Western Corner, with Blacksmith's shop on Narrow's Road. Saint Stephen's Church and graveyard on South Corner and the store on the main road, a chain away from the Hotel.
The school was further along the main road towards Hamilton - erected and opened May 1884.
Camps hotel was burnt down, as recorded in Grahams following diary, with loss of two children.
The Hotel was the usual meeting place for the Cambridge Road Board referred to as at Hautapu.

Tamahere and the surrounding district as from the time of the Maori War.
The district consisted for this survey of the Cambridge Road Board and part of Tamahere Road Board. The Boards were later incorporated into the Waikato County ridings. The area concerned - Leslies Gully at the cities Boundary, west to river, south beyond Bald Hill, east covering an acreage on north side of Mangaone Stream, which includes Leslies farm "Wartle" and all the land to Crawford Gully on the Matangi Road.
The Cambridge Riding extended to the Borough Boundary, but the far end I will omit.

Notes by one the first pupils of Marsh Meadows School
(Extracts reprinted from 1950 Jubilee Book)
I remember, as children, how thrilled we were to have a school of our own. Several of us from the district had been attending a private school in the vicinity of the present school. Sixpence per week was the fee.

But the story of a district is never finished. Life must go on and things must change.
As the years after the war passed, the great wave of prosperity steadied as it had always done over the past century. The scientists have shown "How to manage Waikato peat" and the grass grows lush and green. More and more butter and cheese can be produced, but the markets do not increase as quickly and the cry "Diversify, diversify or perish" is echoeing over New Zealand.

1946.....
Don Harrison and his wife looked at the list of Rehab. farms included in the schedule of the latest ballot.
"It's time I got one, "Don said, "I want to get started on my own farm."
"Yes dear, " agreed Beth absently, kissing the soft cheek of the baby she held in her arms. Madeline chuckled and reached out her little hand grab the paper that was interesting her parents so greatly. Her father shifted the paper out of her reach saying, "There are 65 farms in this ballot, surely one will do for us."

"The hay will be ready to cut soon," said Fred one evening as he picked up the paper after tea. "It will be the thirtieth time we have made hay on Okoropong."
"This should have been the year we went home to England," observed his wife, her needles clicking on the balaclava she was making to send in the parcel the Gordonton women were preparing for the navy.

"Smoky Hollow", Puketaha R.D.
Hamilton.
27/J/36.

"I hate rushes," muttered Bill as he sat down to tea.  "Their roots are so tough.  And if you make a hard jab and get through them, the dirty water splashes all over you or the swamp seems to suck the shovel down and you fall on your face."
"I know," said Fred sympathetically.  "But there doesn't seem to be any way of getting rid of rushes except digging them up and stacking them to dry. Next summer we'll be able to burn them."
"It would be much easier to help milk the cows." said Bill.