Eva Ede & Joy Webb Oral History

Audio recordings on Recollect may not play correctly on smartphones or other mobile devices. We recommend using a  laptop / desktop and a standard browser to listen to these interviews.

00’ 40” Introductions from Eva who will be “99 next month” (born in 1894). She was born in Thorndon. Her family moved to Ngaio from Brooklyn when she was aged about 10 or 11. There was no school in the suburb at the time so Eva and her siblings attended Khandallah School. 

02’ 46” Eva’s family moved to Station Road (now Waikowhai Street). Later she and her husband [Walter Henry Ede, c. 1893 – 1962] built a house at 29 Waikowhai Street after getting married. The family house had no running water, sewerage or electricity connected. Cooking was on a coal range. There were very few houses in Ngaio at the time and there were no churches had been built until the Methodist church. An Anglican church hall was built that eventually became the first Ngaio School with Mr Clark as headmaster. This was later replaced with the current school. Memories of picking mushrooms before land subdivisions

06’ 55” Children entertained themselves as best they could (singing around a piano, hopscotched). Eva’s grandparents, (the Eagles family) had a farm in the area and Eva helped deliver milk. Eva’s mother was very ill when Eva was a child so she and her brother would do many household chores before leaving to school.

09’ 55” Before marriage, Eva worked in Kirkcaldie & Stains as a tailoress at the age of 14 after leaving school having had no secondary education. She started as a messenger within the store and heating irons.

13’ 00” Joy started work in the office at Dominion Motors at the age of 15 but Eva would have liked her daughter to have stayed at school for longer. Eva feels that the family were poorer than many other families as her neither of her parents were in very good health. Her father was as a storeman but often could not work due to illness.

16’ 55” Despite everything she felt her childhood was a happy one. Eva’s mother would foster children to help with the family’s finances as the government would pay a small amount for each child looked after. Strong memories of one of her foster brothers who ended up dying young because of alcoholism and was very disturbed as a child. Children would arrive and then be adopted out including the children of solo mothers. Eva’s mother worked extremely hard as she have five children of her own. Despite their poor health, both her parents live to the age of 80. Strong memories of her mother’s death from asthma and her younger sister Betty who was disabled with one leg longer than the other. 

29’ 50” Another sister, Mavis, is born when Eva was 15. She had one brother, Horace Alexander McInnes who worked for the BNZ in Lambton Quay (where he was known as Tommy) but he was killed in World War I. He signed up in his late teens after feeling humiliated when he was anonymously sent a white feather (an accusatory symbol of cowardice). His death was devasting for Eva’s parents (Horace was their only son).

33’ 40” Eva’s elocution teacher had a daughter called Roselyn and she was keen on introducing her to Horace in hope that they might be a good ‘match’. They went to the BNZ so that they could meet but Horace happened to be out of town on business. Eva believes that it was probably a blessing that they never actually met as Roselyn died young from cancer and Horace was killed in the war. Horace actually really liked one of Eva’s friends who lived in Wadestown but nothing came of it before the war started.

35’ 40” Eva recites from memory the verse / lyrics ‘Remembrance’ [by Carl / Karl Reber] which he wished to send to Eva’s friend but he never returned from the war.  He was declared “missing in action” in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and no sign of his remains were ever found.

38’ 50” Memories of the influenza epidemic in 1918. Eva caught a mild dose but one of her sisters became very ill from it and one of their young cousins was killed by it. Puddings and other meals were distributed by the church to help people who were unable to cook due to illness. Joy talks about how the Great Depression impacted family life and how beggars wandered the streets of Ngaio.

40’ 37” Joy recounts her memories of World War II which saw the rationing of butter, other foodstuffs, clothing and petrol. ‘Blackouts’ were imposed in the suburb (tight fitting curtains being compulsory) in case of Japanese invasion. Joy remembers participation in EPS drills (“Emergency Precaution Scheme”) and caring for soldiers before they embarked for service overseas. The US soldiers stationed in Wellington had a big impact and she went out on a date with ‘Jess’. “Betty’s stepsister”, Kathleen who grew up with Eva married a US Marine and emigrated to the United States but the marriage did not work out and she and her disabled (blind) son were repatriated back to New Zealand with the assistance of the Red Cross. She later died of cancer. Huge numbers of the marines who were stationed in NZ were later killed in the Pacific.

48’ 00” Joy’s father Walter was in the Home Guard which had a big contingent in Ngaio, many of whom were veterans of World War I. He had been ‘gassed’ in the WWI which impacted his health and likely led to his early death.

49’ 12” Memories of when Ngaio was part of the ‘Main Trunk’ railways and steam trains came through the suburb followed the ‘cutting’ of the line at Johnsonville and the introduction of electric trains in 1938 (rides were free on the first day). Eva recalls travelling into Wellington by train to do shopping which was a real treat. In her early years she can even recall horse-drawn trams.

52’ 45” Joy recalls movies being screened at the Ngaio Town Hall every Saturday night and one evening a week. Dances and concerts were also held at the Town Hall. A discussion about the churches in the area and how seriously religious education was taken.  The library wasn’t frequented simply because they didn’t have the time but Eva’s husband enjoyed reading the newspaper every day. He would purchase a treat for Eva every pay-day. He eventually became a factory manager for ‘Nathan’s’. Being Jewish owned, he also got days off on Jewish holidays. He lost his job during the depression when he was aged in his 50s but managed to get another which was very fortunate.

1hr 00’ 25” Eva’s youngest son Trevor worked in a grocery store which he eventually managed but hurt his back from lifting heavy goods so his father (Walter) got him a good office job which he kept through to retirement.

1hr 4’ 00” Eva loved living in Ngaio and misses the house that she lived in