SPECIAL VILLA #2:
9 Mays St, Devonport. Built 1908 by Selwyn Mays, son of Oliver Mays. Selwyn was a Chief Crown Prosecutor and younger brother of my Grandfather, Howard Mays (see tomorrow's "Special Villa"). The street was known then as Grey St but was renamed after the Mays brothers who were well-known identities in Devonport The house was owned from 1926 to 1985 by the Mason family who were related by marriage to the Mays family.
Classic features of the villa include a distinctive filigreed facade and upper and lower balustraded veranda with cast iron decorations. The tower was built by the present (2007) owners but something similar had apparently had been planned by Selwyn. (photographs by Paul Knight.) Purely by coincidence, Helen and Catherine Knight, daughters of my Father's brother Denis, each lived here while they were at university, not knowing anything of the admittedly indirect family connection. About 1926, Selwyn dived off the Devonport wharf to rescue a drunk and scraped his arm on barnacles under the wharf lavatory. He almost died from the resulting septicaemia and, unable to make a full recovery, his career ended.
Unwanted lawnmowers
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Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.9% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.1% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else? 🌟🎁🌲
I dance in the sky with green and gold, a spectacle few are lucky to behold; I’m best seen in the south, a celestial sight—what am I, lighting up the New Zealand night?
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