HARRY ELL OF THE SUMMIT ROAD
by John Jameson
An indomitable character who has found a place in the folklore of this city - indeed - into its hall of fame. I accept the honour of being his grandson.
Harry Ell as a youth loved the Port Hills, hated the destruction of its native bush, revelled in the early morning and evening choruses of the native birds then in abundance on the hills above his home in Halswell.
Was it any wonder then, that he pondered these matters until he conceived a plan which from his late 30’s till he died at age 72, he proceeded to implement.
He was to espouse the cause of Temperance, of TB Sanatoria and the Fresh Air Movement, and become interested in the welfare of the patients at Sunnyside.
Yes, he also managed to be a member of Parliament for 19 years, on the sponsorship of the prohibition movement, or the Women’s C.T.U. Until he was seen coming out of the Club Hotel with a bottle of brandy under his arm. He was an avid letter writer to the media. From then on, he espoused temperance as against prohibition.
From 1903 emphasis shifted from Kennedy’s Bush to studying maps to see where the gaps occurred in the road reserves along the Summits to Akaroa.
Talking to landowners and getting support for the road took up time - but by 1909 he was able to say that he could look to his Port Hills-Akaroa Summit Road as a continuous track - to be ultimately a road for wheel traffic.
Owners of land along the route who cooperated included names like; Rhodes, Cracroft-Wilson, Morten, Loe, Gray, Langdale. He knew exactly where to go for support!
Supporters included Thomas Stone, A.G. Allom (Surveyor, Lands & Survey Dept), Dr Chilton (University), W S Baverstock (Society of Arts), L. Cockayne (Eminent Botanist), R Speight (Canterbury Museum), Cora Wilding (Sunshine and Fresh Air Movement), Archdeacon B Julius and every Prime Minister from 1900 to 1934 knew his problems and was asked for assistance - usually forthcoming.
His pet hates - Heathcote County Council, two particular members Scarf and Freeman and any other procrastinators.
It is significant therefore that the three pieces of legislation he promoted in his early days in Wellington related to the provision of Sanatoria, a road closure bill, and Scenery Preservation Acts. You see, it was very easy to close off road reserves in those days, just a decision by majority vote in the local Council. These road reserves on the Port Hills were generally up the spurs from the plains below.
There were Scenic Reserves prior to 1905 but again, no forward policy or provision for maintenance of existing reserves.
From 1900, his eyes were firmly set on the hills above Christchurch - here it was that he returned from his Parliamentary activities - here it was that year by year, month by month and day by day he accumulated finance, gathered support, bought land or encouraged gifts towards his goal.
His goal - a Port Hills-Akaroa Summit Road and access tracks to the Scenic Reserves being accumulated along the route. He planned also a series of quaint resting places along the route for shelter and sustenance for weary travellers.
Never a quitter, never one to procrastinate, he himself couldn't stand quitters or half-heartedness. So it is no wonder that he found it difficult to work with committees and the restraints of proper budgeting and was irritated by restrictive meeting procedures.
This intensity grew as he got older - and towards the end he lived downstairs at the Takahe - fearing closure if he left the work or took a long-overdue holiday.
Any recognition that came now because of his excellent work reaching fruition was offset by this extreme distortion. One suspects that the cancer that was inoperable at the end had been more active and distressing that anyone knew. The family was powerless to intervene in these last intensive battles. I guess they saw this deterioration and tried to counsel him to see his specialists.
On no account was he prepared to leave the Takahe - until he virtually collapsed and died following surgery.
People ask me about this personal life and family loyalties. Read the case of G.W. Ell who was sorely tried by the lawyer Leonard Harper and the Official Assignee. You will find H.G. Ell going to prison rather than testify against his father. Or see him dining with the patients of Sunnyside and eating off plates emblazoned with Sunnyside Mental Asylum - he soon saw that change occurred there. Or with Cora Wilding and W.S. Baverstock developing a strong liaison in the establishment of the TB Sanatorium at Cashmere.
But what of the family? My grandmother was a serene person of very fine features - almost regal in her bearing - volunteered to manage the Sign of the Kiwi and raised it to a profitable undertaking. A nervous breakdown when she lost her voice for several years forced her off the hill. My grandfather visited her each week that she lived with us during her recovery. I well remember the day she received her voice back - her first phone call was to her embattled husband.
Or the times that we would expect him for dinner - with a clean collar and a tie waiting in case he came without - probably via the Rapaki Track, for our home was in Opawa.
Or the times we caught the tram to Barrington St (in the trailer always to that point, because we loved to change to the tram for the grind up the hill to the Takahe). We would call in to inspect progress and he'd then accompany us to the Kiwi to enjoy an afternoon there with my Uncle and Aunt - no trouble for us to walk to Kennedy’s Bush and back.
So the family were always there, understanding the problems (usually of his own creation) - always prepared to salvage something from the wreckage - but he always took pride in his grandchildren’s achievements and was a good listener - at least on family matters.
When he died in 1934, the unemployed were granted a days' holiday from their Summit Road labours and for the funeral lined Opawa Rd as a mark of respect. The last cars were turning off Waltham Rd into Moorehouse Ave when the funeral cars turned into Lincoln Rd for the last journey to Halswell Church yard where he lies buried alongside his father and in sight of the hills he loved.
Harry Ell’s Summit Road today, still has its miles of Scenic Drive, its Rest Houses (12 fewer than he envisaged) and its walking tracks. The Scenic Reserves and farm parks have been vastly increased to more than twice the acreage and eighteen miles of incomplete road are now long distance walking tracks.
A Society of 250 members has four teams of its members busily embroiled putting in more tracks, clearing noxious weeds, fencing, tree-planting in season, putting in plane tables and maintaining the integrity of the fine collection of heraldry at the Takahe. I am proud to be still a member of the Society I formed in 1948.
John Jameson