User:Noracrentiss/sandbox/Sali Mahomet

Sali Mahomet

 is…

Early life
Sali Mahomet's date and place of birth are uncertain. Family tradition states that he was born in 1866 and named Mohammed Khan. His marriage certificate states his birthplace as Ceylon. His father, Sultan Mahomet was born in 1836 in Northern India. Father and son travelled through Australia and arrived in New Zealand in about 1894. Initially settling in Dunedin, they travelled on horseback selling household wares throughout rural Otago, Canterbury and Westland.

Reference

https://lostchristchurch.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/icecream-charlie-cathedral-square/

Ice cream trade
In 1903, Mahomet began selling ice cream from a cart pitched in Cathedral Square, Christchurch. The ice-cream business thrived and in 1907, Mahomet was able to buy land at 69 Caledonian Road where he erected a single storey dwelling. At that time electricity did not reach Caledonian Road so Mahomet had a lead extended to the “dairy” where he made his ice-cream. Initially ice was brought by horse and cart (later by truck) in one hundredweight blocks from the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company. Slabs of ice were packed around the ice cream in the “dairy” and Sali broke up ice with a mallet to keep the product cool while being transported to the Square.Trading occurred from August to the following April. Mahomet became known as "Ice Cream Charlie". The ice-cream cart is part of the Ferrymead Heritage Park collection. Citation required

Ice-cream was made before dawn initially in a hand-operated churn. In later years a Westinghouse machine was used, capable of producing four separate batches at once.Vanilla ice-cream was sold in tub-shaped cones. Sundaes were sold in glass dishes with silver spoons. The product range included take-home packs and customers could bring their own containers. Ice cream cost between one penny and one shilling.

Local institutions were recipients of copious amounts of ice cream on special occasions.

Mahomet operated strictly on a cash basis, had no dealings with banks and kept his money in a chest in the “dairy”. Loans made by Mahomet were on trust with no paper trail showing where his money had gone.

Personal Life
On 5 January 1906, Mahomet married domestic servant Florence Henrietta Johnston (sometimes "Johnstone") who was aged 19 at the Registrar’s Office in Christchurch. He stated his age as 27 but it is more likely that he was about 40. Note Groom's name given as "Sally" Image is under copyright

The couple had four daughters: Rahona (sometimes rendered Rahanie) Rupee, Tulah and Florence.

Racial attacks on Mahomet included calling him a “Turk” during World War I. Youths were heard to shout “Ching Chong, Indian” at him.

Cartoon of Sali Mahomet,

Press, 28 January 1939

In 1939 Sid Scales drew a cartoon of Mahomet picture who commented: “You know Sid, I told you I was not an Indian”.

Although Mahomet did not observe Islamic rituals, he kept a copy of the Koran and avoided pork, bacon, sausages and alcohol.

He had a keen interest in trotting and purchased two horses “Trooper Dillon” and “Will o” the Wisp”.

His knowledge of Asian languages was put to use in the courts where he acted as an interpreter often for foreign seamen.

His daughters read newspapers to him since he could not read English despite an excellent command of spoken English. He had a telephone well before they became commonplace in the city. He encouraged his daughters to gain good education.

In 1942, he suffered a stroke, The house and associated business premises were advertised for sale in Auckland and Wellington.

It appears that a legal firm defrauded him.The family had to sell the family home and moved to 55 Ward Street, Addington, Christchurch.

In April 1943 Sali moved to the Old Men’s Home, "Tuarangi" in Ashburton, where he suffered a second stroke and died on 7 October 1943. He was buried, with his father Sultan, in Linwood Cemetery.

Mahomet's wife and daughters managed to recover some of the family fortune.

His daugher Florence Wylie died in 1968 and is buried with Sali Mahoment at Linwod Cemetery, Christchurch.

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Ice-cream business to be sold (16 Jan 2022)

https://www.odt.co.nz/business/plan-take-ice-cream-charlie-nationwide

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19321210.2.140.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 293, 10 December 1932, Page 12

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Thiird Ice Cream Charlie

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/106276721/life-story-ice-cream-charlie-santas-helper-and-magic-man-ken-barnes-dies

Ken Barnes died 15 July 2018

"After meeting at a dance, Ken married Joan Wilkinson in 1948.

Joan's father, Victor James Wilkinson, was the city's second Ice Cream Charlie, taking the well-known role over from his competitor, Sali Mahomet. Sali founded the company with ice cream made in a hand-cranked churn and sold it from his red, white and gold ice cream cart in Cathedral Square from 1903. The frozen dessert was sold in cones, with flavoured sundaes served in glass dishes with silver spoons. When Sali died in 1943, Victor bought the lucrative business. After they married, Ken and Joan ran the cart alongside Victor for three decades

In the early years, the couple lived on Clarkson Ave and manned a new cart built by Ken under the name Vanilla Ices. The couple had three children together, Pam Richardson, Max Barnes and Lynne Baldwin, with Max joining the family ice cream business in 1986"

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$th owners of ICC (2014)

https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/blog/behind-the-scenes/2014/11/the-return-of-ice-cream-charlie

"Official encouragement to Raewyn and George Taylor, the proprietors, to try another site in the reopened CBD came to nothing: "We always wanted to go back to the spot," said Raewyn. "People know where we are."

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https://billiongraves.com/grave/Tulah-Toni-Wilson/30854296?referrer=myheritage