Morrow Ave, Bucklands Beach
This week we've been digging into the story behind Morrow Ave, named after one remarkable woman.
Morrow Avenue is named after Mariamne Harris Morrow née Buckland, affectionately known as “the grand old lady” of Bucklands Beach.
Mariamne Morrow was born in 1855 in Papatoetoe, daughter of Alfred and Mathilda Buckland. Her family purchased the Bucklands Beach peninsula in the 1860s, and she grew up between the grand historic home Highwic in Newmarket and spent long summer days on this very beach.
At just 15 years old, she made an epic journey to Rotorua, travelling by boat to Tauranga, then by buggy, to visit the famous Pink and White Terraces.
She crossed Lake Tarawera by waka, was poled up Kaiwaka Creek to the terraces, and described them as "wonderfully, beautifully wonderful."
On the way back, her party was guided by the legendary Guide Sophia, and she spent a night in a Māori whare. She recalled an encounter with Te Kooti on the trip; he did them no harm but did demand money.
Sixteen years later, she watched the night sky glow red from Bucklands Beach as Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. The blast was so loud people thought a German man-of-war had arrived in the Manukau Harbour.
And if that wasn't enough, she was a highly skilled marksman, once outshooting her own husband, Lieut-Col Arthur Morrow.
She even had the honour of firing the first machine gun brought to New Zealand, right from the top of Mt Victoria.
She was also personally acquainted with figures such as George Grey, John Logan Campbell, and James Dilworth.
In her later years, after moving permanently to Bucklands Beach in the 1930s, she became well known for her love of motor cars and aeroplanes. Mariamne Morrow passed away in 1957, aged 102.
