1851: Rangiora’s First House
November 15, 2018
By AHNZ
1851, First house in Rangiora is built by Charles Torlesse who died 152 years ago yesterday, 14 November 1866.
I like old Charlie just based on his record for exploring, pioneering, and surveying. Spends his New Years Day (1849) climbing up a mountain which is just the sort of thing I’d do except in his time and place it ends up being named Mt Torlesse after him.
Rangiora’s first house; April 1851
Until reading Discover the Delights of Pealing Back History’s (Disco) post it seemed quite clear that the site of Charlie’s old homestead was marked by a 1950 centenary plaque. The Rangiora Borough Council inscribed the following about 200m away from this site:
“This is the site of the first house in Rangiora erected by C. O. Torlesse.'”
Untrue: ‘Site of First House in Rangiora’
Yet, unchanged, the entire plaque was shifted to make room for the roads and ‘Castle Park’/Torlesse Park was only created in 1971 anyhow! So that’s a load of bullshit. Remember not to accept the history as told by The State.
Old Google street image of the park as I knew it with a photo below of how I find it now. Earthquake having nuked the old playground
Oh, and another thing…
“This park is often called ‘Castle Park’ by locals, because of the wooden fort structure it contains.” – waimakariri.govt
More lies. ‘Castle Park’ is not named for the new and inferior ‘equipment’ but for the classic old (1971) Castle playground now removed!
If a regular private history writer like me set down errors like this it wouldn’t be so bad. The State sets itself up as supreme authority and credibility but this is an impossible standard it cannot realise; As we see here, once again.
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