Styx History Group
Belfast History & Genealogy
Canterbury
New Zealand

"The Walton-Richardson Family" (Born on the Ballarat Goldfields)

Dennis & Helen Hills

After a lifetime of being prevented from knowing the history of her Richardson family, Helen was able to research a rich Australian heritage, with a convict (repeat offender!), an Irish Potato Famine orphan, and a Swedish sailor who jumped ship in Melbourne. The 137-page 2016 book was originally made available to descendants in Australia, but will be of general interest to readers wanting an overview of life in a new colony.

$40 posted in a bubble bag to New Zealand addresses. Australian orders will of course be sent by air, requiring prepayment of NZ$55. We cannot accept Australian cheques or other payments where we might be required to pay bank fees. The pick-up price is $30 from address below, but please telephone first!

"Rivers That Shaped My Life"

Dennis Hills

A 123-page book on the author's experiences (camping, fishing, tramping, fossil collecting, learning about flora and fauna, etc.) over more than 80 years, with 16 rivers/waterways, mainly in North Canterbury. The book is a "bucket list" item, and does include Swifts Creek in Australia. The Waimakariri, Avon, Heathcote, Styx, Waipara and Ashley Rivers feature, along with Ashley tributaries (Grey - West & East Branches; Karetu and Okuku Rivers), Saltwater Creek, Weka Creek, Weka Pass Stream, North, Middle and South Brooks near Rangiora, and Flaxton Road Creek.

$40 posted in a padded bag, after advice payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $30 from address below, but please telephone first!

"Radcliffe" & Beyond

Dennis Hills

This 68-page book (the 9th on the Styx catchment) looks at the history of the former Radcliffe Estate, to the east and south of Belfast, which was one of the properties owned by brothers Samuel and John Bealey until the 1880s. The book also examines the confusion between European and Maori names in parts of the Styx River catchment. The author notes that he respects the rights of Maori people to apply a new Maori name to the river (although there appear to be two new names, one of which - Puharakekenui - is well-documented as being the name of Maori Reserve 892 adjacent to Brooklands Lagoon) and pleads for consistency, and asks people to stop trying to rewrite European history!

$21.00 posted in a padded bag, after advice that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $15 from address below, but please telephone first!

Thomas Hills & His Family

Dennis Hills

This 109-page book was prepared in 2007 in readiness for the reunion held in Rangiora to mark 150 years since the arrival there of Thomas & Jane Hills (& son Walter) in 1858. The book has long-since sold out, and no reprint will be made. Following many inquiries, the book is now offered as a Portable Document Format file on CD for reading with Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar - not as convenient as a hard-copy book, but at least it is available!

CD $16.00 posted, after advice payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz and we will supply the bank account number. If SD card or flash drive is preferred to a CD, the price is $21 posted.

The Styx Mill - Myths & Mysteries

Dennis Hills

This 73-page book looks at the Styx Mill (or more correctly, the "Styx Mills") which opened in 1861 as a flour mill, but later also processed flax, and carried out a range of milling operations in the same building. The building burned down in 1897, and no photographs have ever been found. Owners, managers or millers included Samuel Treleaven, Samuel Orchard, Cyrus Wilson, John Leaf Wilson, William Lilly Hawkins, Robert John Mackenzie, Francis Pavitt and William Moir.

$21.00 posted in a padded bag, after advice that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $15 from address below, but please telephone first!

Remembering The Styx

Dennis & Helen Hills

This 141-page book (2014) includes pre-earthquakes memories of the Styx River catchment. Reminiscences of long-term residents (John & Margaret Bashford, Arthur Bishop, Rona Black, David Boyd, George Hutcheon, Bill Morris, Trevor Nunweek, Dorothea Richards, Kelvin Treleaven, Nancy Wells & Florrie Wright) recorded in 2002, now appear - with slight editing - for the first time. Earlier memories are those of James Ashworth, Hilda Berry, Edward Hack, Arthur Patchett, Edward Spencer, Charles Yeatman & Johanna Wolff. The authors share some memories of their 56 years in the area, and the book concludes with photographs showing post-earthquakes changes to the land/river.

$41.00 posted in a padded bag after advice that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $30, but please telephone first!

At The Ashley River Mouth

Dennis & Helen Hills

Published in 2013, this 143-page book goes outside the Styx Area to look at the history of Waikuku (township & Beach) and Saltwater Creek, the latter a thriving port in the 1860s. It had two wharves, two hotels, a school and a range of businesses; few signs remain today. Early settlers in the two areas are listed, and a chapter is devoted to camping at Waikuku Beach. Historical sites of interest are listed in one Appendix.

OUT OF PRINT! We do not intend to produce a reprint of this book, but it is available as a Portable Document Format file on CD ($16.00 posted after advice received that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; If an SD card or flash drive is preferred to a CD, the price is $21 posted).

The Pub at the Seven-Mile Peg, Belfast

by Dennis Hills

Published in 2013, this 95-page book looks at the first 100 years of the hotel at the seven-mile peg, known as "Bridge Inn", "Belfast Hotel" and "The Peg". Seventeen licensees identified for the period (1858 - 1958) were Samuel Orchard, Samuel Treleaven (and sons John and Charles), Henry and son Kentish Henry Smith, David Marshall, Manvers Edwards, John & William John Barry, William Martin, Bert Smith, John Burgoyne, Vince McDonald, Albert Empson, Darcy Uren & William Gifford. Genealogical notes on those families are included. Licensees of other early hotels in the area are listed, and ferries that operated prior to bridges over the Waimakariri River are also mentioned.

$21.00 posted in a padded envelope, after advice received that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $15 from address below, but please telephone first!

Heslington - Belfast's Forgotten Neighbour

by Dennis Hills

Published in 2010, this 80-page book records the rise and fall of Heslington, established along with the township of Belfast, in 1882. There are advertisements relating to this settlement, and extracts from the diary of Johanna Wolff, whose family lived there. There was a Heslington General Store on the corner of Johns and Main North Roads, and a blacksmith (wheelwright and coachbuilder) next door. The book includes newspaper cuttings and entries from electoral rolls. The use of the name Heslington died out around 1920.

$16.00 posted in a padded envelope after advice payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account; "pick-up" price $10 from address below, but please telephone first!

The Belfast Meat Factory Pre-Dated The Township

by Dennis Hills

Published in 2009, this 46-page book shatters the myth that 'James McNeight Watt named Belfast'. The subdivision of a township was announced in 1882, when the frozen meat industry began, almost a decade after W H Mein established a boiling-down works in the area, which was uninhabited, with few people to complain about the smell! Watt became involved in 1873, and was probably responsible for the introduction of the Belfast name to the factory. Even earlier, there was a Belfast Boarding House near central Christchurch. The book provides details of the processes carried out at the Belfast Meat Factory, has extracts from newspaper articles and advertisements from the 1870s, and has profiles of Mein, Watt, Longman, Nicholls and other meat industry pioneers.

$10.00 posted, after advice received of payment. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank number; "pick-up" price $5 from address below, but please telephone first!

Settling Near The Styx River

by Dennis & Helen Hills

Published in 2006, this 259-page book covers general aspects of the Styx River catchment, but concentrates on the history of settlement, mainly prior to 1900. About 150 individuals or families are mentioned, some in detail. In the area that is today's Belfast district, the names Abbott, Adams, Allen, Ashby, Ashworth, Bartlett, Bealey, Blake, Brown, Cabot, Chapman, Dearsley, Duncan, Dunnage, Easterbrook, Englefield, Farquhar, Gifkins, Gimblett, Gray, Guthrie, Hadler, Harris, Heaphy, Hickman, Hillier, Hopkins, Inch, Johns, Kolkman, Low, Main, Maindonald, Marshall, Mason, Mein, Mills, Moir, Monk, Morris, Nicholls, Orchard, Patchett, Preston, Reid, Savill, Sleeman, Tisch, Tombs, Treleaven, Waites, Wilson and Wolff are some of those that appear. Rural Section ownership in 1863, and names extracted from electoral rolls to 1893, are included as appendices. Winner of Shirley Papanui/Rehua Heritage Award (Education & Awareness Category) 2008.

$52.00 posted in a padded bag after advice that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $40 from address below, but please telephone first!

The Styx Story, A Study of a Christchurch River

by Dennis Hills

This 98-page book was the first on the Styx River catchment, and was published in 2002 as a combined information/history book. It covers such topics as water, landscape evolution, flora and fauna, recreation, visions for the future, and history of seven sections of the catchment. Winner of Shirley Papanui/Rehua Heritage Award (Education & Awareness Category) 2003.

$29.00 posted in a padded bag, after advice that payment has been made. Email your order to info@styxhistorygroup.nz, and we will supply the bank account number; "pick-up" price $20 from address below, but please telephone first!

The Old Schoolmaster's House, Belfast

by Dennis & Helen Hills

This 44-page book gives the history of the house, a prominent landmark in Belfast, and there are profiles of the headmasters who lived in it until the 1970s. Saved from demolition, the building is now a feature on the Kapuatohe Historic Reserve. There is mention of the house being involved in secret World War II research on long-range air warning technology! There is also background information on other buildings on the Reserve. These are an old crofter's cottage and the Belfast District Museum. Winner of Shirley Papanui/Rehua Heritage Award (Education & Exploration Category) 2008.

Sorry, sold out!! We sold the last copy in September 2023, and as this book was not produced by digital printing, we have no pdf file, nor any need to produce one as the Styx History Group will be winding up in the near future!