On The Buses
Kia Ora, Uncle Peter. It’s Maori language week.
Kia Ora to you too.
I’ve been dredging the internet and my old files for more historical delights. What can you tell me about your father’s brother, your Uncle Fred Leyland?
Not much, except he was said to be Old Phil’s second child — after Florrie.
There’s a bit of doubt about that, seeing that his father was a bit slack about registering births. But, go on.
Now Uncle Fred always seemed a reclusive one. I don’t remember him showing up at any family ‘do’. According to Dad that brother of his was ‘the best of the Leylands — very decent’.
I don’t think Fred ever owned property or land. He worked as a humble farm labourer, up Waipawa way. Fred married Minnie Limpus, and they raised four children, as far as I know. Aunty Florrie liked that group of the family.
One of his boys was Arthur. ‘Arty’ was what we called him — about my age, or a few years older than me. He was known to us — a real cousin. He was quite a hero — almost famous to us boys. You see, when Old Phil’s wife, Grandma Leyland died, back in 1928, buses were becoming the thing. The bus services were taking over from horses and coaches. And Arty was a driver for Newman’s Bus Company.
Newman’s, the bus company, they started off in the South Island — Nelson perhaps. Then they expanded into the North. They set up a service between Napier, Palmerston and Wellington. I think Arty was still in his teens, and he landed the job as Newman’s first bus driver in the North Island.
Now Arty was an unusual character in a way — and he liked to tell a story, and he had quite a few. He told me how he had a run in with another driver — they had a barney — up in Hawkes Bay, and Arty told this bloke — he warned him — he finalised the barney — put an end to it by saying, ‘If you carry on like you are doing, I’ll take you out in the yard and plant one on you!’
It was just one of Arty’s stories, and he had a way with words. ‘Plant one on you’. That’s a good expression.
Well I don’t recall ever meeting Arty’s father, my uncle Fred, not even at Grandma’s funeral, but I do remember Arty. This Arty created a stir that day.
He arrived at the service in a Newman’s bus. See, he told his bosses he had to go to a family funeral but he had a problem, he only had a bus, and didn’t have a car. So the bosses told him to take time off and go to the funeral, AND he could take the official company bus!
So, after the service I rode with Arty in his bus from the church to the Terrace End Cemetery. What I remember of that funeral was Arty and his bus.
Previous story. 27. Cougars. Next story. 29. Scratching.
Kia Ora to you too.
I’ve been dredging the internet and my old files for more historical delights. What can you tell me about your father’s brother, your Uncle Fred Leyland?
Not much, except he was said to be Old Phil’s second child — after Florrie.
There’s a bit of doubt about that, seeing that his father was a bit slack about registering births. But, go on.
Now Uncle Fred always seemed a reclusive one. I don’t remember him showing up at any family ‘do’. According to Dad that brother of his was ‘the best of the Leylands — very decent’.
I don’t think Fred ever owned property or land. He worked as a humble farm labourer, up Waipawa way. Fred married Minnie Limpus, and they raised four children, as far as I know. Aunty Florrie liked that group of the family.
One of his boys was Arthur. ‘Arty’ was what we called him — about my age, or a few years older than me. He was known to us — a real cousin. He was quite a hero — almost famous to us boys. You see, when Old Phil’s wife, Grandma Leyland died, back in 1928, buses were becoming the thing. The bus services were taking over from horses and coaches. And Arty was a driver for Newman’s Bus Company.
Newman’s, the bus company, they started off in the South Island — Nelson perhaps. Then they expanded into the North. They set up a service between Napier, Palmerston and Wellington. I think Arty was still in his teens, and he landed the job as Newman’s first bus driver in the North Island.
Now Arty was an unusual character in a way — and he liked to tell a story, and he had quite a few. He told me how he had a run in with another driver — they had a barney — up in Hawkes Bay, and Arty told this bloke — he warned him — he finalised the barney — put an end to it by saying, ‘If you carry on like you are doing, I’ll take you out in the yard and plant one on you!’
It was just one of Arty’s stories, and he had a way with words. ‘Plant one on you’. That’s a good expression.
Well I don’t recall ever meeting Arty’s father, my uncle Fred, not even at Grandma’s funeral, but I do remember Arty. This Arty created a stir that day.
He arrived at the service in a Newman’s bus. See, he told his bosses he had to go to a family funeral but he had a problem, he only had a bus, and didn’t have a car. So the bosses told him to take time off and go to the funeral, AND he could take the official company bus!
So, after the service I rode with Arty in his bus from the church to the Terrace End Cemetery. What I remember of that funeral was Arty and his bus.
Previous story. 27. Cougars. Next story. 29. Scratching.