After returning from the war in September 1919, HD Williams settled into farming in Tauhei, where he brought up the family.
The demand for land from returning soldiers had doubled the price of land and furniture and just about everything else. Unable to get any government assistance (because he had transferred out of the NZ Army and into the UK Royal Flying Corps), his borrowing ability was limited, so he went into partnership with his brother Griff. This, along with his fathers long standing reputation allowed him to borrow enough to buy larger blocks of land.
He and his brother Griff purchased a large block and also leased land, including Maori land for growing crops (wheat, oats, barley). They also bought other land in the Morrinsville area and further afield.
Over time, blocks were sold off as working dairy farms.
In 1944 the partnership was split, with each taking control of separate parts of land.
(see Memoires p27 Memoires p30 Memoires p31 )
Google Earth link to Seifert Rd.
The 550 acre farm ( Memoires p27 ) and 4 bedroom homestead was on flat, peat land to the West of Tauhei, off Seifert rd, to the West of Valentine rd.
It originally included a shearing shed, which was pulled down and replaced with a milking shed. There was enough timber from the shearing shed to mostly build a sharemilker’s house.
Over time, other additions such as an implement shed and stables were added.
Eventually the homestead was renovated and extended and also included a tennis court (prior to the Tauhei Tennis club being formed at the Memorial Hall / School) and pool (which Clive remembers as needing frequent repairs for leaks -probably because the whole area was once wet peat and the ground slowly settled as the water was drained from the plateau. Also it had been constructed using plaster over chicken wire, and since it was close to a hedge of trees, the tree roots forced their way through the plaster.)
The homestead was the base for all the children:
Zetta Gwenith Lumley (previously Sutton)(1919-1993) 74 yr
Harry Keith (1920-1944) 23 yr
Mona “Meryl” Sage (1925-2020) 95 yr
Clive Daniel (1929-2024) 94 yr
Pauline Anne Bolton (1932-2022) 89 yr
who went to Tauhei school, and lived their early lives around Tauhei / Morrinsville.
Tauhei Scool
Tauhei History (50 page PDF)
Page 36 states Williams rd became public in 1944 (although even today Google streetview shows it is still a gravel road. At the fork, the right side went to Zetta’s and the left side went to the rest.
See page 46 for HD Williams history.
Over time, the 550 acre block retained by Henry was sold / transferred to his children, Zetta, Meryl and Pauline who employed managers to run the farms until they were eventually combined or sold.
(Clive worked on Zetta‘s farm after her husband Arthur was killed in a shooting accident in 1947, then eventually (1957) took over Parahiwi). Meryl also bought / took over Zetta‘s, Keith‘s and Paulines parts of the block. (Pauline and Peter had worked it for a few years, presumably from the time of their marriage 1959 to the mid 60’s)