For Tongariro River pools associated with ANZAC Day, the following blog commemorates the Major’s association with the Tongariro River.
Who was Major Jones of the Major Jones Pool?
As the Major Jones Pool is one of the most popular Tongariro River town pools with one of the highest ratings – 17/20 – on TRM’s Tongariro River Pool Map, anglers have again asked for background info on ‘who was he?”
There should be tourist information panels at all these world famous Tongariro Pools to explain the history over the last one hundred years… Can you believe TRM even offered to fund them (out of the Tongariro Skulduggery book profits) but the Turangi Community Board would not even consider such a request. They were so negative…
We do not apologise for TRM’s blog from 2018 including a lot of useless fascinating historical background info. As you all know, Tongariro anglers are instinctively inquisitive and they need to know everything – just like SWMBO!
This delightful article is from research conducted by the late Arthur Parish, a local historian.
MAJOR RHYS WYKEHAM JONES
1863 – 1922
This is the story of Major Jones, after whom one of the most famous fishing pools on the Tongariro River is named.
At the time of Rhys Jones’ birth Queen Victoria was on the throne and although the British Empire was in the ascendency, the Industrial Revolution was making many people unemployed. By good fortune however, Rhys and his brother who were orphaned at an early age taken in by a neighbouring family, the Massey family, the head of the household being a surgeon.
It was from this location that the boys grew into their teens, attending Ingham College in Surrey. Rhys, at 18, opted to ‘take the Kings shilling’ by enlisting in the Royal Sussex Regiment of Foot, the famous Thirty-Fifth.
After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, a French-British joint venture negotiated the right to operate the Suez Canal. Although Egypt at that time were part of the Ottoman Empire it became clear that it was London and Paris, not Turkey, that called the shots. In principle, the economy of the country should have benefitted from the Canal, but under Khedive Ismail, the Egyptian Government was chaotic and relied on finance from oppressive taxes imposed on the peasants cultivating the rich soil in the Nile Delta. To ensure Egypt had the benefit of all the income from the Canal the Egyptian ruler was all for privatising the Canal – eliminating both the French and English from the deal. Trouble soon began and 35,000 British, and Indian troops were sent to Egypt to quell the uprising. This included the First and Second Battalions of the Royal Sussex in which Rhys Jones was serving, by now a lieutenant.
These two battalions were initially stationed at Alexandria, as part of General Wolseley’s Expedition and in 1884 became part of the Nile Expedition, an unsuccessful attempt to save General Gordon at Khartoum in Sudan.
Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1876 and the stationing of British troops – to protect British interests and the local population from the renegade Black Mountain hill tribes of the North West Frontier – seemed quite justified.
Thus Lieutenant Rhys Jones returned from Egypt in 1885 with the 1st Battalion, but shortly thereafter left with the 2nd Battalion for India as a forerunner of the Black Mountain Expedition (1888) serving at both Rawalpindi and Gharial. On the 13th of April 1892 (aged 29) he was promoted to Captain.
The records show that Captain Jones was serving in the 3rd Battalion Border and eventually reached the rank of major. In 1906 he would have been 43, having served in the army for 25 years, and it is at this point that he resigned his commission and returned to England.
How Major Jones discovered the fishing potential of New Zealand is unclear. There were books published in the early 1900’s regarding the excellent fishing to be had here, and it is recorded that Indian Army Officers were seen fishing in the Tongariro/Tokaanu area, soon after. No doubt word of their success would have rapidly traveled through military ranks. In addition, the Major would have been aware that ova had been collected some years before from the rivers Wey, Wycombe, and Itchen for transportation to Tasmania and New Zealand to establish new trout fisheries.
Major Jones left England and arrived here in 1910 and either stayed at one or other of the Fishing Camps established on the banks of the Tongariro, or the Tokaanu Hotel which catered for people travelling North or South.
Now, how did the Major Jones Pool get its name? In those days, by gentlemen’s agreement, the first one to begin fishing in a pool each day had the right to remain there undisturbed till midday when someone else could move in. But the Major had an advantage – in that he had a motorbike – which would have enabled him to travel over the rough tracks and reach stretches of the river much quicker than anyone else! It is said that the Major, who stood 6’2” or 6’3” and weighed some 20 stone would bellow like a bull if anyone dared to enter HIS pool uninvited
Major Jones befriended Joe Frost – who was an ex English Corporal from the first world war and was running a tackle shop in Taupehi Rd – later to become Geoff Sanderson’s and was “resited” and moved – see photo below – to the front of Creel Lodge to still trade as Creel Tackle House – the oldest tackle shop in New Zealand.
Taupehi Road was the main highway to Auckland in those days, just a dirt road with very little traffic. A survey conducted in 1922 recorded an average ten cars a day passing through ‘Taupehi Village’ as it was then known. (The original village on the eastern side of SH1 should be renamed Taupehi again!)
Joe, who by now would have been here a while, having moved from Wellington, would have acquainted the Major with all of the local fishing spots whilst acting as both guide and gillie. And it was Joe (a ‘dry Fly’ purist) who related to Vice Admiral Hickling (of ‘Freshwater Admiral’ fame) that “the Major landed all of his fish with the subtlety of a Warship weighing anchor and leaving in a hurry.” In his defence, the AVERAGE Rainbow caught in the Major Jones Pool in those days was recorded at 11 1/2 lbs, so perhaps this was only to be expected! The Major hated brown trout, and would pay small boys to catch field mice during the daytime, which were then floated downstream at night in order to catch these leviathans.
Regrettably, Major Jones became unwell and returned to England in 1922 where he died (aged 59yrs) at the Church Street Surgical Home (in the City of Bath) on the second of August 1922.
