Artwork Information

Charles Brookes was born in 1840 at Great Alne, in the County of Warwick, England. Together with his wife Eliza and daughter Mary Eliza, he immigrated to New Zealand aboard the ship Golden City arriving in Auckland in March 1864.

By 1869 Charles had set up business at 127 Queen Street as a bootmaker, trading under the name “Blue Boot” and in 1887 the business moved shop to Jervois Road in Ponsonby. In those days, the roads and pavements were gravel so there was a demand for boots for men, women and children.