The Thirty Thousand Club: How a 20th-century community group beautified Napier by stealth

The Kennedy Rd Phoenix palms in 1943. Photo / Dave Williams, collection of Hawke's Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi, W212 (b)

OPINION

News that businessmen in Napier had begun a service club in 1912 which would exist until the town’s population was 30,000 was not well received by a Hastings man.

The report on the “Thirty Thousand Club” in the Hawke’s Bay Tribune, said the Hastings man, “is too funny to be allowed to pass unnoticed”. He criticised their remedies to prosper Napier as simplistic: “Weekend excursions from Wellington … planting trees on vacant sections … more gas about the Marine Parade … capture the press association for cheap advertising - these are all forlorn hope.”

The Hastings man – whether it was petty jealously of his neighbouring town’s aspirations or not, couldn’t have been more wrong.

Many of the club’s goals are prevalent in many local authorities today (although the club was independent of council, they acted in many ways like one).

Creating events to attract visitors; beautification of streetscapes; developing the Marine Parade into a renowned visitor attraction and local recreation area; and using the media to publicise events free by way of media releases.

Although the Napier Borough Council, as it was then, didn’t appreciate at times the dictatorial manner of the club, what they managed to achieve was a powerful model of the community working with local government. During the early to mid-20th century, many councils were financially stressed and limited to mostly core infrastructure.

Through the club’s very successful annual Mardi Gras festivals and Art Unions (lottery) they didn’t go to the council asking for money for projects, they went to the council with money, saying (some might say ‘demanding’) they were going to do projects.

The members of the club were particularly concerned with beautification of the entranceways or gateways into Napier.

Charles D Kennedy, who was a qualified barrister and engineer, and member of the Thirty Thousand Club, had Kennedy Rd named for him.

In 1927, the club convinced and assisted landowners on Kennedy Rd and Georges Drive to grass the berms (front part) of their sections to beautify the road.

Reporting to council in 1928, head gardener of the Napier Borough Council, Charles Corner, stated only three residents in Kennedy Rd had looked after the berm grass, while 63 in Georges Drive had. With most of the grass in Kennedy in such a bad condition, it had to be cultivated, re-levelled and re-sown after approval was given by the council.

With the grass berms in great condition in 1929, the club offered to pay for Phoenix palms along Kennedy Rd and to the entrance of Nelson Park if the council would do the planting, which they agreed to do. There were already plane trees on Kennedy Rd, so the palms were planted between them. In 1939 the planes were removed.

Phoenix palms were extended out to Greenmeadows in 1943, but when Onekawa and Parimal suburbs were created, the palms south of Riverbend Rd were removed when the dual road carriageway was created.

The Thirty Thousand Club went past the reaching in the late 1960s of Napier’s population of 30,000, with it being wound up in 1975.

Many throughout other towns throughout New Zealand admired the Thirty Thousand Club and tried to replicate it – but with limited success. Today it still stands as one of New Zealand’s most effective service clubs with many of its projects – such as the Kennedy Rd palms, still with us today.

Michael Fowler is a Hawke’s Bay author and historian mfhistory@gmail.com

Michael will be doing a talk on the history of Napier’s Thirty Thousand Club and their legacy on the Marine Parade. All proceeds donated to the MTG Foundation. Please book at MTG Hawke’s Bay website or at their premises in Tennyson Street, $20. Some door sales. Thursday 2 May, 5.30pm, Century Theatre, Herschell Street, Napier.