Jim McBride

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Biography

This profile is part of the Macbryde Name Study.

James Burt McBride was the middle son of three born to Mary Murray and Alfred Millar McBride. He was born in Hunterville, a rural village in the Rangitikei Region of the Wellington Province in the North Island of New Zealand. Known to all as Jim, (other than his mother, she called him Jimmy) he spent his early years in that town and began schooling there. The Main Trunk railway line of the North Island passed through Hunterville and Alfred, Jim’s father was employed by the New Zealand Railway. Some information suggested he was a porter but there is a suggestion that he was a surfaceman, one who regularly patrols the lines to ensure there were no issues. Between Hunterville and the next settlement, Ohingaitai, there were tunnels and a very high viaduct.

At some stage, the family moved to Palmerston North with Alfred McBride now employed by the railways as an engine cleaner at the engine sheds. Palmerston North was growing largely due to farming in surrounding areas and increasing demand for timber from several sawmills in the town and surrounds. All three boys attended the College Street School at some stage. A School Jubilee photograph shows all three boys at the reunion and their particular decade. Their education path was the same – Hunterville School, then College Street Scholl prior to secondary education at Palmerston North Technical College. Neither Jim nor his brothers went on to higher education. Jim was mechanically inclined while his brothers eventually managed grocery stores in the days before supermarkets.

Jim’s mechanical inclination led to him working for motorcycle distributors. Motorcycles were primarily the transport of single young men and newly married couples. They were cheaper to buy and maintain than the small cars then available prior to World War 2. The demand for these meant the importation of second-hand motorcycles mainly from the United Kingdom. Two of his motorcycle employers are known. He worked for Tolley and Spence who were based in Willis Street, Wellington. One of the partners was Howard Tolley. Howard was a champion motorcyclist in circuit racing, grass track, beach racing and speedway. In the pre-war years, there were weekend events at this racecourse or that beach and they drew large crowds. There was, therefore, plenty of work for motorcycle mechanics on weekends supporting riders and maintaining their machines. The other employer was Midland Motors in Palmerston North. Sadly the great depression dealt a fatal blow to that business.

Someone has said that with a little patience Midland Motors could have survived but details are long gone. Suffice to say that this was, while it lasted, an excellent business and traded well. There were agencies for new motorcycles from both English and American manufacturers as illustrated by a photograph of their showroom. In pride of place was a 350cc Indian Board Racer. This bike was known as the Midland Special and was regularly raced against larger capacity machines on grass tracks, hill climbs and speedway. What it gave away in capacity the regular rider made up for with his tenacity.

Both Jim and his older brother Bill were declared unfit for overseas service. However, Jim was determined that he was going to serve in some capacity and became a Home Serviceman. He reached the rank of Corporal and his Sergeant was Howard Tolley. They were part of the Wellington West Coast Regiment and he and his colleagues maintained the vehicles used by members of the Regiment in training for overseas service. Another task was as despatch riders.

Sources

• First-hand knowledge of Barrie McBride.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Barrie McBride for starting this profile.

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