Richard Battson has continued a family tradition by placing a recently published Valley Profile article in the same spot where a 130-year-old ad for his Thames family plumbing business was recently found.
The Profile reported on November 30 that Richard’s workmate Gareth Scott had found a newspaper advertisement for Francis Battson Plumbing inside the bathroom wall of an old Thames miner’s cottage on November 14.
The advert was published in the The Evening Star newspaper in 1892 for the business, which was established in 1890 by Richard’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Francis Battson.
Richard, who is the current director of the plumbing business, told The Profile placing the article about the find inside the wall on December 1 was a “fitting touch”.
“We thought that hopefully one day down the line if they do a rennovation or something like that again on the property you just never know, it might be a future generation Battson plumber who might stumble across it,” he said.
“My old man [Gordon] was pretty chuffed with it and I’ve still got quite a few friends and family members saying they’ve seen me in the paper, so it’s been a bit of fun really.
“I put it in a zip lock plastic bag to keep it preserved.”
Richard said the 130–year-old remains of The Evening Star newspaper was “in pretty average condition” when it was found. He had passed it on to Gareth’s father, Jim Scott, to keep it preserved.
“I think Jim’s on the case to make a frame up for it from some of the kauri that was on site,” he said.
