BAIKIE Thomas Alexander

Personal Details

NameThomas Baikie Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

Also known asTom Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

Life dates1907-1990 Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

BiographyTom arrived in Tauranga from Scotland with his parents and six of his eight siblings in 1907 when he was just a baby. The family settled in 9th Avenue. Tom was educated in Tauranga but moved to Stratford to start his apprenticeship as a baker. There he met Winnie and the couple were married in 1930, just as Tom returned to Tauranga where he briefly operated a bakery on the Strand. The couple shifted to Thames in 1933 and finally settled in Te Puke in 1936 where Tom operated a bakery and tearooms until he retired in 1968.
During WWII Tom was instrumental in in providing free catering for servicemen going off to war, and it was said that no soldier ever paid for a meal on his premises for the duration of the war. Tom was made an honourary member of Te Puke RSA for his services to to the organisation. He catered for balls and weddings in Te Puke, and was also a keen aviator from the time he went up with a man they called "Mad Mac" McGregor in Hawera. He became the first student with the fledgling Tauranga Aero Club and went on to become the first private owner of an airplane in Tauranga - a Sparten biplane - in 1933.
He was a member of Te Puke's Masonic Lodge and supported a number of community organisations in his lifetime.
Tom Baikie Lane in Te Puke was named after him in 2003. Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

Place of birthOrkney Islands, Scotland Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

OccupationBaker Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

Place of ResidenceTauranga, Te Puke. Last edited by: Sandra Haigh

Photographs