Matthew Barnett (bookmaker)
Encyclopedia
Matthew Frank Barnett (6 June 1859 – 28 January 1935), also known as Mat Barnett, was a bookmaker
and philanthropist from Christchurch
, New Zealand. In his retirement, he became well known in lawn bowls
. He donated the statue of James Cook
in Victoria Square to the city. His family dwelling, Wharetiki House
, was a prominent landmark on Colombo Street
in the Christchurch Central City
until its demolition in July 2011, following a demolition order by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
.
Barnett was born in Avoca, Victoria
, Australia, in 1859. He came from a large family and had ten siblings. His parents were William Barnett, a merchant, and Rachel Barnett (née Mitchell). The family moved to Dunedin
, New Zealand when Matthew was six as his father was attracted by the goldfields. He left school aged 13 or 14 and had a very brief employment as a photographer's apprentice, but did not like that profession. Instead, he was apprenticed to newspapers, first the Otago Guardian and later the Otago Daily Times
. He worked in that profession for about five years. For the next four years, he worked in farming in Otago and South Canterbury. When he came to Oamaru
, he became the proprietor of the 'Star and Garter Billiard Rooms', where he had his first exposure to betting on horse races. He returned to Dunedin for some time.
From there, Barnett's family returned to Melbourne for another two years. He worked as a swagman
in Australia and then had employment as a tram driver in Melbourne for several months. In Melbourne, he married Mary Bridget Barnett (née Whelan) on 18 July 1888.
Mary Barnett (née Whelan)
Mary's father James Whelan (1836–1908) immigrated to Castlemaine, Victoria
from Ireland as a teenager. He married in 1858, but his wife died only ten months later. In 1862/63, James Whelan spent nine months on Otago goldfields during the Central Otago Gold Rush
. He returned to Castlemaine and married Margaret Roughan in June 1863. They knew each other from Kilkishen
, County Clare
, Ireland and met in Melbourne by chance. Soon after, James returned to Otago, with Margaret following him later that year. Their first child, Mary, was born in Gabriel's Gully
in ca 1864. The family moved to nearby Wetherstons and when the goldfields were exhausted (when Mary was twelve years old), the family moved to Dunedin
.
Mary travelled to Melbourne to visit relatives of her parents. In that city, she married Matthew Frank Barnett.
Children
The Barnetts had six children; five girls and one boy:
Bookmaking
Betting and bookmaking in the 1890s need to be seen in the then climate of moral and social change in New Zealand. Women's suffrage
, temperance and anti-betting were strong movements, and gaming houses were banned, which included betting shops. Bookmakers responded to the situation by giving themselves titles like 'commission agents' and 'turf accountants'. Parliament
was strongly lobbied by the pro-betting faction and consequently left decisions to the local level. Beginning with the Canterbury Trotting Club in 1897, racecourses responded by banning bookmakers from their properties. Those not adhering to the ban were being arrested and fined. Christchurch City Council
passed a by-law in 1899 and banned bookmaking in public. Legislation was finally passed in 1908, banning gaming in public places and making it illegal for racing clubs to accept bets by telephone. An amendment to the Gaming Act in 1910 banned bookmaking altogether.
It was in this climate that Matthew Barnett formed a partnership 'Barnett and Grant'. It came about because Peter Grant had been banned from a racecourse for refusing to leave. Barnett, who had earlier been banned from the same course for life, but who had managed to get that decision overturned, offered to Grant to bet on a joint account. A win of £100 resulted and although the two never formalised their partnership, their further wins in this first year ran into the thousands. Luck left them, and after the second year they had lost all their earnings again. Luck was with them again, and some time after Grant's wedding in February 1896, they had sufficient capital to add a branch in Christchurch to their existing betting shop in Dunedin. Initially, the Dunedin business had to financially support the Christchurch branch, but under Barnett's business leadership in Christchurch, the situation changed and Christchurch supported the Dunedin branch. The Christchurch premises were in the central city
at 174 Hereford Street, and from 1905 on the opposite side of the road at 163 Hereford Street.
Barnett and Grant were banned from racecourses, e.g. in Palmerston
in 1892 and in Dunedin in 1894. They had frequent encounters with law enforcement, and they were arrested numerous times. Their Dunedin branch was searched by Police and Barnett, Grant and two employees arrested in September 1897. Between 1901 and 1904, they were arrested three times, including in January 1902, their Christchurch office was raided by Police, with the case going to court the following month. The case went to a jury trial, but all the witnesses refused to give evidence, as they would have incriminated themselves by doing so, as it was illegal to visit a gaming house. Without any witness statements, the jury delivered a not guilty verdict. For a 1906 raid of the Christchurch office, the Police had previously sent an undercover agent to the office to place a bet in order to have some evidence for a court case.
In 1909, Barnett was convicted of having published horse betting details in his publication Daylight that violated the Gaming Act 1908. He appealed the conviction and it was overturned by Justice Sim as being erroneous in point of law. With the passing of the 1910 amendment to the Gaming Act, Barnett decided to officially retire as a bookmaker, but it is likely that he continued to work underground.
Barnett's weekly sport magazine Daylight was taken over by The Press
.
Arthur Barnett's
Barnett's younger brother had been apprenticed as a draper. In 1903, he established a drapery store Arthur Barnett
in Dunedin. Matthew Barnett guaranteed a £900 loan to get the business going. It developed into the leading drapery store in Otago. Matthew Barnett retained a business interest and became chair of the board. At his death, his son Olly took that role, and he in turn passed the chairmanship to his son Gary. The Arthur Barnett department store developed into a national chain. At its peak in the 1980s, it had 19 stores and 1,200 employees.
s. A large family home, which he named Wharetiki
, was built by 1904. The address was 854 Colombo Street, and his friend and business partner Peter Grant had a house built nearby at 901 Colombo Street two years later. Wharetiki was a large and representative dwelling, displaying the wealth of its owner. It had several servants and Mary Barnett's unmarried younger sister Maria (known as Polly) was in charge of them.
Mary's father suffered a brain injury in 1888 and spent the remaining 20 years of his life at Seacliff Mental Hospital
. When he died in 1908, his wife Margaret and the children who were still at home moved to a different house in Dunedin, but later on she and her second youngest child, Bill, moved to Christchurch to live at Wharetiki. Margaret Whelan made many spontaneous trips back to Dunedin when she got nostalgic and would stay there for a few weeks at a time, but she would otherwise live at Wharetiki for the rest of her life.
Mary Barnett fell ill in 1930 and was confined to a wheel chair. The back stairs of Wharetiki House were replaced with a lift at that stage, so that she could move around the house.
After Matthew Barnett's death, the remaining family members put the house up for auction in May 1935. It existed until 2011, when it was demolished after suffering significant damage in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Wharetiki House was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
as a Category II heritage building.
Cook Statue
In 1928, Barnett funded an architectural competition for a statue commemorating the three journeys of James Cook
to New Zealand. William Trethewey
(1892–1956) won this competition and was chosen as the sculptor; this was his biggest commission in his career so far. A 12 ton block of Carrara marble was imported for this work. Barnett also funded the sculpture itself, which was unveiled on 10 August 1932 in Victoria Square by the Governor-General
, Lord Bledisloe
. This commission brought Trethewey much publicity, including coverage on Movietone News. The Cook Statue
is registered as a Category II heritage item by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
.
Barnett Tiki
In his retirement, Barnett had started to play lawn bowls
, and he became well known both as a player and administrator. In bowling circles, he was known as Mat Barnett. The Canterbury Bowling Club was only 100 m down the road on Salisbury Street. Since the early 1900s, Canterbury and Wellington had an annual competition. In 1924, Barnett commissioned a tiki
as a trophy for this tournament and he personally supervised the carving. The mahogany carving was presented at the Canterbury Bowling Club in February 1925. The first annual competition with the Barnett Tiki was held a few days later in Wellington and was won by Christchurch. Whilst it was decided that the winning team should hold the Tiki until the next competition, the trophy was left in Wellington after the first competition in 1925.
Through his will, Matthew Barnett left £35,000 to his brother Arthur as a guarantee for his business.
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
and philanthropist from Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand. In his retirement, he became well known in lawn bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
. He donated the statue of James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
in Victoria Square to the city. His family dwelling, Wharetiki House
Wharetiki House
Wharetiki, for some time known as Glenfell House, was an Edwardian timber dwelling in Colombo Street, Christchurch in New Zealand. Built in 1904 for businessman and philanthropist Matthew Barnett, it was damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake...
, was a prominent landmark on Colombo Street
Colombo Street
Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglican bishopric, Colombo, in what at the time was known as...
in the Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the four avenues and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green...
until its demolition in July 2011, following a demolition order by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority is a public service department established by the New Zealand government to coordinate the rebuilding of Christchurch and the surrounding areas following the 22 February 2011 earthquake.-Description:...
.
Early life
Matthew BarnettBarnett was born in Avoca, Victoria
Avoca, Victoria
Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. At the 2006 census, Avoca had a population of 951.-Geography:...
, Australia, in 1859. He came from a large family and had ten siblings. His parents were William Barnett, a merchant, and Rachel Barnett (née Mitchell). The family moved to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, New Zealand when Matthew was six as his father was attracted by the goldfields. He left school aged 13 or 14 and had a very brief employment as a photographer's apprentice, but did not like that profession. Instead, he was apprenticed to newspapers, first the Otago Guardian and later the Otago Daily Times
Otago Daily Times
The Otago Daily Times is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.-History:Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch's The Press, six months older, was a...
. He worked in that profession for about five years. For the next four years, he worked in farming in Otago and South Canterbury. When he came to Oamaru
Oamaru
Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
, he became the proprietor of the 'Star and Garter Billiard Rooms', where he had his first exposure to betting on horse races. He returned to Dunedin for some time.
From there, Barnett's family returned to Melbourne for another two years. He worked as a swagman
Swagman
A swagman is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag...
in Australia and then had employment as a tram driver in Melbourne for several months. In Melbourne, he married Mary Bridget Barnett (née Whelan) on 18 July 1888.
Mary Barnett (née Whelan)
Mary's father James Whelan (1836–1908) immigrated to Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
from Ireland as a teenager. He married in 1858, but his wife died only ten months later. In 1862/63, James Whelan spent nine months on Otago goldfields during the Central Otago Gold Rush
Central Otago Gold Rush
The Central Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand...
. He returned to Castlemaine and married Margaret Roughan in June 1863. They knew each other from Kilkishen
Kilkishen
Kilkishen is a village in southeast County Clare, Ireland. The village is 8 kilometres east of Quin and 14 kilometres north of Shannon.-Demographics:The population of Kilkishen at the 2006 Census was 443. Which was a rise from 324 at the 2002 Census...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, Ireland and met in Melbourne by chance. Soon after, James returned to Otago, with Margaret following him later that year. Their first child, Mary, was born in Gabriel's Gully
Gabriel's Gully
Gabriel's Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River.The discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully by Gabriel Read in May 1861 led to the Central Otago goldrush...
in ca 1864. The family moved to nearby Wetherstons and when the goldfields were exhausted (when Mary was twelve years old), the family moved to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
.
Mary travelled to Melbourne to visit relatives of her parents. In that city, she married Matthew Frank Barnett.
Children
The Barnetts had six children; five girls and one boy:
- Ethel Barnett (19 Apr 1889 – 4 Apr 1945)
- Matthew Oliver Barnett (Olly) (23 Mar 1890 – 14 July 1977)
- Ivy Kathleen Barnett (15 Oct 1891 – 1965)
- Alice May Barnett (Topsy) (15 May 1893–1979)
- Kate Elizabeth Barnett (19 Jan 1900 – 26 September 1972)
- Tui Frances Barnett (21 Dec 1903 – 12 Dec 1962)
Professional life
Some time after their wedding, the couple moved to Otago to farm. Barnett's brother Thomas (Tom) had a business relationship with Peter Grant and they were placing racing bets together. Matthew Barnett joined them and for half a year, they worked together. After a substantial win, they dissolved their relationship and went on their own ways.Bookmaking
Betting and bookmaking in the 1890s need to be seen in the then climate of moral and social change in New Zealand. Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage in New Zealand
Women's suffrage in New Zealand was an important political issue in the late 19th century. Of countries presently independent, New Zealand was the first to give women the vote in modern times....
, temperance and anti-betting were strong movements, and gaming houses were banned, which included betting shops. Bookmakers responded to the situation by giving themselves titles like 'commission agents' and 'turf accountants'. Parliament
Parliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
was strongly lobbied by the pro-betting faction and consequently left decisions to the local level. Beginning with the Canterbury Trotting Club in 1897, racecourses responded by banning bookmakers from their properties. Those not adhering to the ban were being arrested and fined. Christchurch City Council
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...
passed a by-law in 1899 and banned bookmaking in public. Legislation was finally passed in 1908, banning gaming in public places and making it illegal for racing clubs to accept bets by telephone. An amendment to the Gaming Act in 1910 banned bookmaking altogether.
It was in this climate that Matthew Barnett formed a partnership 'Barnett and Grant'. It came about because Peter Grant had been banned from a racecourse for refusing to leave. Barnett, who had earlier been banned from the same course for life, but who had managed to get that decision overturned, offered to Grant to bet on a joint account. A win of £100 resulted and although the two never formalised their partnership, their further wins in this first year ran into the thousands. Luck left them, and after the second year they had lost all their earnings again. Luck was with them again, and some time after Grant's wedding in February 1896, they had sufficient capital to add a branch in Christchurch to their existing betting shop in Dunedin. Initially, the Dunedin business had to financially support the Christchurch branch, but under Barnett's business leadership in Christchurch, the situation changed and Christchurch supported the Dunedin branch. The Christchurch premises were in the central city
Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the four avenues and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green...
at 174 Hereford Street, and from 1905 on the opposite side of the road at 163 Hereford Street.
Barnett and Grant were banned from racecourses, e.g. in Palmerston
Palmerston, New Zealand
The town of Palmerston, in New Zealand's South Island lies 50 kilometres to the north of the city of Dunedin. It is the largest town in the Waihemo Ward of the Waitaki District with a population of 890 residents...
in 1892 and in Dunedin in 1894. They had frequent encounters with law enforcement, and they were arrested numerous times. Their Dunedin branch was searched by Police and Barnett, Grant and two employees arrested in September 1897. Between 1901 and 1904, they were arrested three times, including in January 1902, their Christchurch office was raided by Police, with the case going to court the following month. The case went to a jury trial, but all the witnesses refused to give evidence, as they would have incriminated themselves by doing so, as it was illegal to visit a gaming house. Without any witness statements, the jury delivered a not guilty verdict. For a 1906 raid of the Christchurch office, the Police had previously sent an undercover agent to the office to place a bet in order to have some evidence for a court case.
In 1909, Barnett was convicted of having published horse betting details in his publication Daylight that violated the Gaming Act 1908. He appealed the conviction and it was overturned by Justice Sim as being erroneous in point of law. With the passing of the 1910 amendment to the Gaming Act, Barnett decided to officially retire as a bookmaker, but it is likely that he continued to work underground.
Barnett's weekly sport magazine Daylight was taken over by The Press
The Press
The Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
.
Arthur Barnett's
Barnett's younger brother had been apprenticed as a draper. In 1903, he established a drapery store Arthur Barnett
Arthur Barnett (department store)
Arthur Barnett is a Dunedin, New Zealand-based department store operator. Established in 1903 by Arthur Barnett the store first began as a drapery for men and boys, progressing over the years to become one of Dunedin's most successful department stores.The 1924 Arthur Barnett building designed by...
in Dunedin. Matthew Barnett guaranteed a £900 loan to get the business going. It developed into the leading drapery store in Otago. Matthew Barnett retained a business interest and became chair of the board. At his death, his son Olly took that role, and he in turn passed the chairmanship to his son Gary. The Arthur Barnett department store developed into a national chain. At its peak in the 1980s, it had 19 stores and 1,200 employees.
Wharetiki House
In 1901, Barnett bought a large section in the Christchurch central city, fronting onto Salisbury and Colombo StreetColombo Street
Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglican bishopric, Colombo, in what at the time was known as...
s. A large family home, which he named Wharetiki
Wharetiki House
Wharetiki, for some time known as Glenfell House, was an Edwardian timber dwelling in Colombo Street, Christchurch in New Zealand. Built in 1904 for businessman and philanthropist Matthew Barnett, it was damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake...
, was built by 1904. The address was 854 Colombo Street, and his friend and business partner Peter Grant had a house built nearby at 901 Colombo Street two years later. Wharetiki was a large and representative dwelling, displaying the wealth of its owner. It had several servants and Mary Barnett's unmarried younger sister Maria (known as Polly) was in charge of them.
Mary's father suffered a brain injury in 1888 and spent the remaining 20 years of his life at Seacliff Mental Hospital
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Seacliff, New Zealand. When built in the late 19th century, it was the largest building in the country, noted for its scale and extravagant architecture...
. When he died in 1908, his wife Margaret and the children who were still at home moved to a different house in Dunedin, but later on she and her second youngest child, Bill, moved to Christchurch to live at Wharetiki. Margaret Whelan made many spontaneous trips back to Dunedin when she got nostalgic and would stay there for a few weeks at a time, but she would otherwise live at Wharetiki for the rest of her life.
Mary Barnett fell ill in 1930 and was confined to a wheel chair. The back stairs of Wharetiki House were replaced with a lift at that stage, so that she could move around the house.
After Matthew Barnett's death, the remaining family members put the house up for auction in May 1935. It existed until 2011, when it was demolished after suffering significant damage in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Wharetiki House was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
as a Category II heritage building.
Philanthropy
On journeys from Christchurch to Dunedin, Barnett would throw half-crowns to the swagmen working on the roads, as he would remember the hard times that he had when he worked on the roads in Victoria.Cook Statue
In 1928, Barnett funded an architectural competition for a statue commemorating the three journeys of James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
to New Zealand. William Trethewey
William Trethewey
William Thomas Trethewey was a sculptor and monumental mason from Christchurch, New Zealand. His best known work is the Citizens' War Memorial in Cathedral Square, where Christchurch's annual Anzac Day service is held....
(1892–1956) won this competition and was chosen as the sculptor; this was his biggest commission in his career so far. A 12 ton block of Carrara marble was imported for this work. Barnett also funded the sculpture itself, which was unveiled on 10 August 1932 in Victoria Square by the Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
, Lord Bledisloe
Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe
-External links:*...
. This commission brought Trethewey much publicity, including coverage on Movietone News. The Cook Statue
Cook Statue, Christchurch
The Cook Statue in Victoria Square, Christchurch, commemorates the three journeys of James Cook to New Zealand. The statue, sculpted by William Trethewey, was unveiled on 10 August 1932 by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe...
is registered as a Category II heritage item by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
.
Barnett Tiki
In his retirement, Barnett had started to play lawn bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, and he became well known both as a player and administrator. In bowling circles, he was known as Mat Barnett. The Canterbury Bowling Club was only 100 m down the road on Salisbury Street. Since the early 1900s, Canterbury and Wellington had an annual competition. In 1924, Barnett commissioned a tiki
Tiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
as a trophy for this tournament and he personally supervised the carving. The mahogany carving was presented at the Canterbury Bowling Club in February 1925. The first annual competition with the Barnett Tiki was held a few days later in Wellington and was won by Christchurch. Whilst it was decided that the winning team should hold the Tiki until the next competition, the trophy was left in Wellington after the first competition in 1925.
Death
Margaret Whelan died on 24 February 1926 at Wharetiki, aged 89. She was buried at Bromley Cemetery in block number 27. Mary Barnett died on 1 March 1931 at Wharetiki, aged 66. She was buried at Bromley Cemetery in block number 24 in plot 1 two days later. Matthew Barnett died on 28 January 1935, aged 75, also at Wharetiki. He was buried next to his wife the following day. There are white marble chippings scattered on their grave, which are remnants from the production of the Cook Statue.Through his will, Matthew Barnett left £35,000 to his brother Arthur as a guarantee for his business.