Notes

BIOGRAPHY

George Morris SPURDLE was born in Wanganui in 1872. He became a builder, building homes in Wanganui. George was also a lay preacher in the Methodist Church. He married Marion Field in 1899 and they had five children. In 1913 George was building a house in Wanganui, but the clients were slow in payment and George's credit ran out. When the order came for another house, he decided to buy the timber direct from the sawmill and to pay cash for it. One morning he caught the train from Wanganui bound for the sawmills at Raurimu with a briefcase containing sufficient cash to cover the purchase of the timber. He changed trains at Marton, but did not arrive at the mill and no sign was seen of him again. George's disappearance caused hardship for his wife and family. Marion went back to school teaching and worked very hard to maintain her family. Ill health forced her retirement and she died in 1930 aged 62.

The whereabouts of George was unknown to his New Zealand descendants for over a hundred years, but DNA analysis has allowed the discovery of the rest of his story. George left New Zealand, adopted the name George Douglas MORRIS and eventually settled in Washington, United States of America. According to his Declaration of Intention for Naturalisation in 1916, it appears that George travelled to Australia from Wanganui, sailed from Sydney to Victoria, British Columbia. He then sailed from Victoria to Seattle, Washington, claiming to have arrived on 15 July 1912. George gave his occupation as Methodist minister, his birthplace England, and his birth year 1876 instead of 1872.

George married Nettie Elizabeth NICHOLS in 1915 at Bucoda, Washington. According to the 1920 US Census George was working as a school teacher besides his work for the Methodist church. He build a house in Bucoda in 1921-1923. Nettie died in 1925 and George remarried in 1926, to Alida Ruth MERRILL, a school teacher. The couple had a son and daughter. George listed his occupation as insurance agent in the 1930 and 1940 US Census.

Meri Waterhouse, George's granddaughter in Washington has a website, Dead Relatives Club, documenting more details of George's disappearance and life in the USA.

BIOGRAPHY

George Redpath was born in 1892 in Otago, New Zealand, the fifth child of George and Charlotte Redpath. In 1893 his parents and family moved to Gisborne, and eventually to a farm at Rakauroa. George attended primary school at Whakarau and Rakauroa.

In 1905 George won a Junior National Scholarship in the Education Department's examinations which entitled him to free schooling and a boarding grant at high school. He attended high school in Gisborne. While at high school George played rugby in the first fifteen as a forward in 1908 and 1909. The team played Napier High School 2nd XV in 1908 and Napier High School 1st XV in 1909. A photo of the 1909 team is shown above. In 1908 he won a Senior National Scholarship which also paid his high school and boarding fees, and he was able to complete his secondary schooling. George was the first dux of the Gisborne High School in 1909 and he had the ninth highest mark in the University examinations for Senior National Scholarship that year. He qualified for entry into Medical School at Otago University and began his studies there in 1910.

The day after New Zealand declared war on 4 August 1914, George, together with 20 other final year medical students, volunteered to join the Expeditionary Force as medical officers. The students sat their exams, were passed, commissioned, and joined the Medical Corps (UK Army). They were not registered medical practitioners in New Zealand, probably because obstetrics and gynaecology training was incomplete. George completed his medical training while overseas.

George left New Zealand in 1915 and was soon on active service with the Army Medical Corps, becoming a Captain in July 1916. As noted in the newspaper articles he was was wounded three times, was blown up twice, was gassed, and had malaria several times. Following two years with the Imperial Forces in the Royal Army Medical Corps (8 July 1915 to 8 July 1917), George was honourably discharged at his own request in London to join the New Zealand forces. He was posted to Egypt with the NZ Medical Corp but suffered from alcoholism. George was returned to New Zealand on account of alcoholism at the end of January 1918 and was discharged from the army in April 1918.

George's military file (available on Archway) indicates that initially George was so badly affected by alcoholism that it was considered he was unable to practice medicine. Numerous attempts were made to get the Army to provide treatment but this was refused once George eventually agreed to have treatment, because his condition was considered to not be a result of service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The files made no mention of his service with the Imperial forces. The Archway file contains letters from relatives pleading for the Government to provide treatment for George.

George applied to have his name placed on the New Zealand Medical Register on 24 June 1918. Shortly after, in October 1918, George married Mary Mortleman from Matawai, and the couple lived at Rakauroa. During the Flu Epidemic of 1918 George worked day and night doctoring the flu victims in the Rakauroa, Matawai and Motu districts. Only one of his patients died. His recommendation to avoid the flu was a mixture made with condy's crystals and salt be gargled and sniffed up the nose at least once a day. The treatment kept the flu away.

In April 1919 George and Mary moved to the Chatham Islands, where George was a medical practitioner, but also was appointed sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and a member of the Chatham Islands Licensing Committee. In 1920 Mary died in childbirth while George was away attending to another patient. Mary's family never forgave George for not being present for the birth.

From 1921 George's alcoholism resulted in a number of court appearances and a police record. Newspaper articles from 1921 to 1924 reported his court appearances, George twice being convicted of false pretences and prohibited from drinking alcohol. In 1921 he was sent for treatment at Rotoroa Island, with his relations having to provide payment. Rotoroa Island, off Waiheke Island's east coast, was off-limits to the public for over a century as New Zealand's first and longest running alcohol and drug addiction treatment centre.

In 1923 George Redpath married Isabella MacDonald, a nurse who had served overseas during the war with Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Isabella was the Matron at Whitianga Hospital where George was Medical Superintendent. George was Resident Medical Officer at Maungaturoto, Northland, in January 1925. George also practiced medicine in Opotiki and in Henderson, Auckland, but because of alcoholism, was in court from time to time. George became an embarrassment for his family due to the need to get him out of trouble and support him during treatment for alcoholism.

According to electoral rolls, George and Isabella lived in Wellington from 1938 and George did not practice medicine. Isabella died in 1950 and George in 1951, both being buried in Karori Cemetery, Wellington.

BIOGRAPHY

George Redpath, the eldest son of Thomas and Ann Redpath, was born in 1860 on the ship Robert Henderson when it arrived in Port Chalmers after sailing from Scotland to New Zealand. George married Charlotte Walker in Milton, Otago on 28 January 1886.

Charlotte Walker, born on 1 January 1860 in Melbourne, Australia was the eldest daughter of Alexander Walker and Isabella Brough. Alexander and Isabella were from Scotland, and Alexander worked in a flour mill in Milton, Otago. After George and Charlotte married they went to live on a leased farm at Tuapeka West where gold had been found. The land was very poor because it had been dug over deeply by those in search of gold. The couple had five children while living at Tuapeka West.

Because the Tuapeka West farm was not very productive, and a recent crop of barley had been spoiled by rabbits, George decided to find something better. Members of the Hay family, who had also arrived in Otago on the same ship as the Redpaths, had found better prospects in Poverty Bay in the North Island. George decided to try his luck in that direction too and in a ballot acquired a farm, "Waimare", at Rakauroa about 70 km from Gisborne in Poverty Bay.

While living at Tuapeka West, George had been a member and secretary of the Tuapeka Farmers' Union. The following reports his departure from the district.



The family travelled north by steamer to Gisborne in January 1893. The farm at Rakauroa was covered in bush and only had a small whare, so the family settled on an acre of land with a house at Matawhero near Gisborne. George built a house on the farm at Rakauroa and in January 1897 the family moved to "Waimare". Charlotte, the youngest daughter of George and Charlotte, was born in 1902. In 1907 when the first ballots were held in Opotiki for sections of land in the Waioeka Gorge, George drew one at Omakaroa. This section, covered in bush, was developed.

The Poverty Bay Herald reported on 1 Dec 1913 that George had been ill for some time. He died on 28 February 1914 and was buried at Rakauroa. Following the death of George, the Rakauroa farm was managed by his eldest son Thomas until he enlisted in the NZ Expeditionary Force in December 1916. During Thomas's absence during the First World War, George's son-in-law Fred Korte managed the farm and lived at "Waimare". Thomas returned to manage "Waimare" after he returned from the war. The Waioeka farm was managed by George's son Jack, together with land at Wairata.

In April 1921 Charlotte Redpath (nee Walker) moved to Gisborne from Rakauroa with her youngest daughter Charlotte (aged 19). Charlotte had pernicious anemia and was very ill until she died in August 1921 aged 61. George and Charlotte's eldest son Thomas married Marion Picken in May 1921 and they took over "Waimare". The farm is now (2020) owned and farmed by George's great grandson, John Blake Redpath.

BIOGRAPHY

Gordon Berkahn, the fourth son of Chris Berkahn and Matilda Beck, was born in 1904. Gordon married Agnes Isabella Burnett in 1932 and the couple had two children. According to Electoral Rolls, Gordon worked as a labourer at Makotuku until 1938. He then was recorded as a farmer, at Te Mata Road Palmerston North (1946) and later Dannevirke. Gordon died in 1955 and Agnes in 1959. They were buried in Ormondville.

BIOGRAPHY

Grace Kathleen Jane Heavey, the third daughter of James and Fanny Heavey, was born in in 1908 in Halcombe. In 1931 she married Edward Oscar Gibbins (Ossie). Initially Grace and Ossie lived in Feilding, but they moved to Marton about 1937 where Ossie worked as a machinist. The couple had four sons. Grace died in 1996 and Ossie in 2005. Both were buried in Marton.

BIOGRAPHY

Grace Muriel Berkahn, the third daughter of Chris Berkahn and Matilda Beck, was born in November 1902 in Norsewood. She died aged 22 in 1925 and was buried in Norsewood.

BIOGRAPHY

Harriett Spurdle, the fourth child of Oliver Spurdle and Maria Litherland, was born 1861 in New Plymouth. Elizabeth spent her early life in Waitara and moved to New South Wales in Australia as a young adult. She married Charles Miles at Orange in New South Wales in 1891, aged 30. Harriet and Charles had four daughters born in Orange. The family had moved to Lithgow by 1912 when a daughter died. Charles died in 1934 in Lithgow and Harriett in 1946 in Goulburn. They were both buried in Lithgow, New South Wales.

Source: Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle published Spurdle Heritage for the 1992 Spurdle family reunion. Much of the above information, by Carrol Crandall, is extracted from that publication. The book contains considerably more detail. Copies of the book are held at many New Zealand libraries.

BIOGRAPHY

Heinrich Friederich Johann Korte, known as Henry, was the eldest son of Christopher and Mary Korte, born in 1877 at Upper Moutere. Henry attended Beaconsfield School in the Manawatu, and in 1887 completed Standard 3. He never married.

Henry and his brothers, Fred and Christopher, settled in Matawai, near Gisborne, on a 965 acre bush block leased from the government by their father in 1902. They started clearing the land, constructed a small single roomed building to live in, and started farming. The lease was transferred to Henry and his brothers Chris and Fred in 1905. Henry was active in organising local social events while living at Matawai, being secretary of the Matawai Sports Club. The club held annual sports days. Henry, who played the accordion, and other Matawai men provided dance music at local dances. Henry also had a good voice and was reported to have provided songs at the opening of the first Matawai Hall in 1910.

Details of the Matawai farm, called Ruanui, can be seen on a separate page.

Henry returned to Taranaki to run his deceased father's dairy farm at Awatuna, but also continued to visit Matawai regularly and remain involved in local affairs. Henry transferred his interest in the Matawai lease to his brothers Fred and Chris on 15 November 1913.

In August 1935 Henry visited his brothers in Matawai (see report below), before travelling with his brother and nephew to Wellington. Henry died about a month later in September 1935 at the Lenishham Private Hospital, Wellington of cancer in the stomach, and was buried at Kaponga, Taranaki.

BIOGRAPHY

Henry Herbert Berkahn was born in 1898 in Waipawa. He volunteered to join the NZ Expeditionary force in June 1918 but did not begin training until 15 August 1918, by which time he had married Sarah Anderson. Their first child had been born soon after Henry enlisted for war service, in June 1918. Henry was demobilised in November 1918 when the war ended, without seeing active service. Henry was a butcher most of his married life according to electoral rolls. The family lived at Makotuku near Norsewood, and later Woodville. Three further children were born, but the youngest born in 1931 died two days after birth. Sarah died in 1953 and Henry in 1954. They were both buried in Norsewood.

BIOGRAPHY

Henry Matthew Stowell, also known as Hare Hongi, was born at Waimate North in 1859, son of J.S. Stowell, an engineer, and Huhana, a daughter of the Ngapuhi Ariki, Maumau.

Due to the interest of Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, Samuel and Henry received an excellent education. Attending school first at Parnell in Auckland, he continued his education at the Wesleyan Native Institution, Three Kings, where he excelled as a scholar and athlete.

He worked for nearly 3 years with a surveyor's party in the North, during which time he studied Maori language and tribal lore, and was admitted to the whare wananga. He worked later as an interpreter in the Native Land Courts and as a writer for professional journals and newspapers. It is for his school text book "Maori-English Tutor & Vade Mecum" that he is particularly remembered.

Hare Hongi had blue eyes and was taller, with fairer hair than his brother Samuel Asa. Increasingly in the 1920s and 1930s he became a picturesque character around Wellington. Tall, bearded, with a shock of white hair and blue eyes, pipe in mouth, ever-present scarf flicking about in Wellington's stiffer breezes, he was instantly recognisable. His behaviour likewise attracted attention: he was gregarious, convivial (although always courteous), often gleefully theatrical as he recounted at length in clubs and pubs his life experiences. But his intellect remained acute: in 1939, at the age of 80, he assisted researchers for the projected centennial historical atlas with details of Northland tribal locations and affiliations.

In the 1896-1897 Wise's New Zealand Post Office Directory for Hawera Henry M Stowell was the Manager of The Hawera Morning Post. Henry married Rachel Stowell in 1891. Henry and Rachel Stowell seem to have lived apart for some years before her death at New Plymouth in 1939. In later life, Henry maintained close relationships with a number of women.

A licensed Maori-language interpreter, Henry Stowell was an interpreter in a more general sense, one of many nineteenth-century New Zealanders who were genuinely bicultural and who moved easily between and within Maori and Pakeha communities. On one occasion at Orakei, Auckland, playing his violin to lead a local Maori choir in the tune 'Little brown jug', he was delighted at the inadvertent 'Maorification' of the air into a new waiata poi. It is an incident which, although trivial, perhaps signifies the role people like himself played as brokers of cultural values.

Obituary

IT is with great regret that members of the Polynesian Society learnt of the death recently of Mr. Henry Matthew Stowell, of Wellington, who was a contributor to the Journal of the Polynesian Society at intervals over a number of years, beginning as far back as its second volume. Mr. Stowell suffered a severe accident three years ago, and whilst he made a remarkable recovery his strength began to fail about a year ago, and he passed away in the Wellington Hospital, on 23 March, 1944, at the age of 86. He retained all his faculties until the last, and continued to take an interest in current Maori problems. A large and representative gathering of both Maori and Paheka, including members of the Council of this Society attended the funeral.

"Hare Hongi", by which self-chosen cognomen he was so well known, was very proud of his Ngapuhi descent. He was born at Waimate-north, at the headwaters of the Waitangi river, Bay-of-islands, in February, 1859. His father was John Sheppard Stowell, an engineer who settled in the north where he married Huhana (Susan), one of the four daughters of Maumau who was a member of the hereditary ariki family of Ngapuhi people, and who had been married to Matthew Farley, shipwright, in the early days of settlement, by the Rev. Petit-Jean. This ariki family, of whom other well-known members were Hone Heke, Hongi, and Titore, claims to trace its descent back to Toi-kai-rakau (see whakapapa attached). Hare Hongi's only brother, Samuel, died in Australia not long ago.

Hare Hongi as a child was sent to Auckland to be educated, first at Singer's school in Parnell, where he attracted the attention of Sir George Grey, and then, through the intervention of the Governor, at the old Three Kings college, mount Roskill, where he was distinguished for his knowledge of English and history and also for his athletic achievements. He became a first-class rower, wrestler, and runner. In 1876 he carried off the Northern Wairoa championship cup, winning all three distances in the 100, 220, and 440 yards events.

On leaving College he worked for nearly three years with a surveyor's party in the north, this also enabling him to study tribal lore and the Maori language as spoken by the great leaders of that era. He was singled out as one worthy to be told the inmost secrets of the northern whare-wananga, and was allowed to reside for about fifteen months with the famous tohunga, Nga-kuku-mumu, at his headquarters at Waitaha near the foot of the Ninetymile beach. Hare Hongi always spoke of this place as one of the most sacred, if not the most sacred, in New Zealand of those days. Here, sitting under a huge old pohutukawa, he learnt ancient chants, secret incantations, the real meaning of words and phrases even then almost forgotten, and the - 108 practice of the traditional artcrafts. That period of tuition under one who had acquired his knowledge in pre-European days, was a turning-point in the young man's life, and from then onward his main purpose was to become a master of the Maori language, to record its traditions and history as spoken from the lips of the great tohunga, and to impart from time to time to the people of New Zealand a small portion of what he knew. He travelled twice from North cape to Bluff, recording and studying tribal speech and tribal lore, and later published a text-book, Maori-English Tutor and Vade-Mecum, which is a classic in its own field. Like most Ngapuhi authorities, Hare Hongi always claimed that Ngapuhi is standard Maori and that the speech of other districts is dialect. He told the writer many years ago that he considered there was some mystery attaching to the scarcity of copies of his Maori Tutor. "One moment", he said, "you could buy it in any bookshop, the next, not a copy to be got for love or money. . . . Now where did all those copies go"?

In the late 'eighties he was Interpreter in the Native Land Courts of Taranaki, with headquarters at Hawera, and in 1891, at the age of 31, he married Mary Rachel Robson, of Ngaere, near Stratford. Her father, James Robson, a sawmiller, came to New Zealand in 1862 in the ship Prince of Wales, and was a member of a Northumberland family whose recorded history goes back twelve hundred years; the remains of a castle built by the family in Hesleyside still exists. Her mother, the wife of James Robson, was Mary Harrison, a half-caste, better known to students of Maori whakapapa records as Mere Ngamai o te Wharepouri. Mere Ngamai's mother was Mereana Ngamai, a wahine-rangatira of Ngati Rahiri section of Te Atiawa tribe, originally of Taranaki, who had migrated to the Wellington district; the chief Te Wharepouri was her first cousin, and her parents were Rawiri te Motutere and Tapaki-marae; Mareana is buried in the Catholic burial ground of Tuara-whaiti at Petone. Te Whiti and Tohu of Parihaka were first cousins of Mere Ngamai.

Mere Ngamai (Mary Harrison) was born on Kapiti island, at Waiorua at the northern end, where there was formerly a large whaling station. Her father had been in charge of a whaling ship, and at one time had eight whaling crews under his command. Mere had one brother, John, who was a sawmiller in the Hutt valley. She herself was educated at the convent of St. Joseph's Providence, Wellington. On the death of her father, her mother married Wi Tako Ngatata, who subsequently upon her death, married both her sisters in turn, and when Mary Harrison left the convent, at the age of sixteen, he decided to marry her too. At that time, about 1858, Mary Harrison was an extremely beautiful and high-spirited girl, and the prospect of becoming Wi Tako's fourth wife was distasteful to her. She ran away from the pa at Waikanae to find her brother in the Hutt valley. Climbing the steep mountain track from Paekakariki over the Pao-o-te-rangi range, alone, she managed to find her way to her brother, and thus met her future husband, James Robson. The family records state that she carried always the scars from the severe lacerations her bare feet had suffered in the flight across the ranges. Mary Rachel Robson, her daughter, was also very beautiful, with hazel eyes and curly chestnut hair, and as a noted horsewoman, dancer, and musician, was the belle of the district when she met Hare Hongi Stowell; the writer's husband remembers the family well and as a small child went with his family to the Robson-Stowell wedding, a great gathering of relations and mid-Taranaki settlers, on the Robson farm which was quite near to the farm his own family had made from the heavy bush-land of the district. At that time Hare Hongi was in the prime of his manhood, well over six feet in height, with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and curly brown hair.

Hare Hongi and Rachel had seven children, six girls, and one boy (James Farley) who died during the influenza epidemic and is buried at Hawera. The girls were Eileen Constance, Doris Maple, Alys Norma, Olive Muriel, Mary, Beryl Charlton, and all are now married. Their mother died in 1939 at New Plymouth and is buried in Te Henui cemetery there.

During the years he spent in Taranaki, Hare Hongi continued the gathering of lore from the older authorities, and the famous tohunga of Karioi, Nakora te Mamu, often stayed with him. After he came to Wellington to take up an appointment with the Native Land department, he spent two years in close collaboration with a very learned old Maori authority from the Whanganui, who had unique knowledge of the Moriori origins, delving into the obscure references and allusions and studying old manuscripts. Unfortunately the kaumatua decided that what they were discovering was too tapu to be placed in the hands of Pakeha or published in books, and he destroyed many valuable papers. It was this belief, that the lore of the Whare-wananga lost its sacred quality once it was transferred to paper, that has caused so much knowledge to be lost during the last century, and research work is now carried on with great difficulty owing to the key to the allusions in old waiata and karakia being lost or preserved orally only and by a very few. In deference to promises made to his teachers, Hare Hongi refrained from setting down much of the esoteric lore of which he had knowledge; further, he considered that, with a few exceptions, the great majority of ethnologists are too materialistic to understand it.

In the course of the years, up till 1920, after which date he did not contribute, Hare Hongi made twenty-five contributions to the Journal of the Polynesian Society, either original articles or notes, translations, or comments upon current research. The Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington has a collection of other work by him, including reprints and typed MSS. Much matter very valuable to the student appears in his articles published from 1909 onwards in various papers and reviews such as the Wellington Evening Post, the Dominion, the Auckland Herald, the Christchurch Sun and Weekly Press, and the systematic listing of this material is a task which, though difficult, would well repay the work involved. In addition, he wrote often to the press on matters of current interest, and many spirited "duels" in correspondence were waged through the years over the work of Dr. Macmillan Brown, Fenton, Newman, Ettie Rout, and others. Again, the collection of this correspondence would be a weighty but valuable task for future historians and ethnologists to undertake. He also wrote some fine fighting letters in defence of the Maori cause generally, and in particular the correct use of the Maori language, place-names, and personal names. In later years he vigorously championed the cause of the Orakei Maoris, with whom he had close relationship through the inter-tribal marriages of Ngapuhi and Ngati Whatua; he had lived for some time with these relations, including his uncle Paora Tuhaere, as a boy, and in addition to knowing the members of the tribe living at Orakei village (or Okahu as the kainga by the beach is called) he knew the branch of the family at Reweti, Kaipara. He had sailed the great war-canoe of Orakei, Tahere-tikitiki, on the Waitemata harbour. He told the writer in 1936 that he had himself carved a tauihu for this historic canoe, which was taken to the Waikato - 110 and abandoned among the reeds and swamps of the lower reaches of the river; one portion of the canoe is said to be incorporated in the structure of the beautiful carved house "Mahinaarangi" at Ngaruawahia pa. The tauihu which Hare Hongi carved is now, he claimed in the War Memorial Museum at Auckland. The writer examined the specimen which he said was his work, but cannot vouch for its identity, although its details tallied with the description furnished by Hare Hongi himself, who had not seen it for many years but remembered the workmanship.

In January, 1929, he began a series of broadcast talks from 2YA, planned to include instruction in the correct pronunciation and meanings of Maori place-names, phrases, proverbs, and so on. Those that were given attracted many listeners, but Hare himself was dissatisfied with the radio as a medium and soon discontinued them; he said that it was not the Maori way to plunge hastily into the exposition of tribal or racial affairs; that the whole technique of modern broadcasting, with prepared script, fixed time-period and so on, was the exact antithesis of the traditional methods of the Maori orator or teacher, and that he could not talk with inspiration and freedom to an audience who could neither see nor be seen.

For many years Hare Hongi was a personal friend of Sir James Carroll, and was associated with much of "Timi Kara's" work, as interpreter, agent, and adviser. It was probably due to the influence and support of Hare Hongi that Sir James Carroll when Native Minister maintained his famous taihoa policy, checking the indiscriminate Europeanization of the Maori race and thus paving the way for Sir Apirana Ngata's later wise and statesmanlike schemes such as consolidation and co-operative buying. It also probably made possible the later remarkable renaissance in Maori craftsmanship and traditions.

In his middle years, Hare Hongi published much verse, distinguished by its enthusiasm and stirring quality. Examples of the work of this period are his poems "The Defence of Orakau", and "Maori Hymn to the Creator".

So in 1944 passed this remarkable character whose life spanned nearly ninety years in time but nearly nine centuries in racial tradition. He had known and talked with the great chiefs and warriors and tohunga-priests who preserved the racial records of the Maori people. He maintained throughout his life the belief, founded on those contacts and teachings, that the Maori people were autochthones; that New Zealand, or Nukuroa as it is called in the old chants, is part of a now vanished land, reduced to its present dimensions and aspects through great cataclysms and gradual alterations in the land levels. These views he was accustomed to maintain with a wealth of detail gleaned from his teachers of old, lore astronomical, geological, mythopoetical, and etymological. He was not alone of course in these beliefs, as a perusal of the files of the Polynesian Journal will disclose. Hare Hongi felt that time would justify his statements and demonstrate the accuracy of the esoteric knowledge of Nga-kuku-mumu and others, and he was prepared to wait for the day when research or accidental discovery would support the contentions of the secret science of the Maori people.

M. Chapman-Taylor, Silverstream.

Source: Rootsweb tree by Lindy Dawson - Dawson/Talbot/Fye/Stowell Families.

BIOGRAPHY

Henry Spurdle, known as Harry, was the eighth child of Oliver Spurdle and Maria Litherland, born 1869 in Waitara. Harry spent his whole life in Waitara. After leaving school he entered the Post and Telegraph Service, but did not like the indoor work. He then became a wheelwright, a trade he was involved in for the remainder of his working life. In 1892 Harry married Emily Holmes and they had five children. Harry was involved in sport and sport administration, being secretary of the Waitara Jockey Club, the Rowing Club, the Waitara Football and Athletic Club, and the Taranaki Annual Regatta Club. Harry died in 1938 and Emily died in 1937. Both were buried in Waitara Cemetery.

Source: Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle published Spurdle Heritage for the 1992 Spurdle family reunion. The above information, by Carrol Crandall, is extracted from that publication. The book contains considerably more detail. Copies of the book are held at many New Zealand libraries.

BIOGRAPHY

Herbert Belgrave GROSVENOR was born in 1910 at Fremantle, Western Australia, the son of Frederick Augustus Grosvenor (1866-1930) and Minnie Florence Davies (1881-1957). He was known as "Gra", pronounced Gray. Gra was married to Norma Joyce Wilson. Gra was best known for his contribution to the administration of amateur Australian Rules Football in Western Australia. Honours awarded to Gra included the National Football League merit award and a MBE for contribution to amateur sport. Gra died in 1980 at Fremantle. In 2004 he was inducted into the West Australian Football Hall of Fame.

BIOGRAPHY

Horace Oakley was born in 1877 at Portland, Victoria, the son of Nicklaus and Eliza Wirth. Like his siblings, he used the surname Oakley after his mother remarried Thomas Oakley in 1883. Horace worked as a labourer and was an excellent axeman. He married Elsie May Melinda Newton in 1902, but it appears the marriage was not a happy one and the couple separated, with Elsie going to live and work in Melbourne while Horace continued to work and live in Portland. Horace died in Portland in 1959.

The following articles from the Portland newspaper report Horace competing in chop competitions, an assault on his wife, and an accident.

BIOGRAPHY

Irene Berkahn, the fifth daughter of Chris Berkahn and Matilda Beck, was born in 1906 at Wakarara (west of Waipawa). She attended Makotuku School near Norsewood where her parents settled and farmed. Irene worked as a maid and cook in a home near Woodville after leaving school. This was where she met her future husband, David Jones, who delivered mail from the Woodville Post Office. David also played rugby with Irene's older brother Francis and their team, the Woodville Seniors.

Irene married David Jones in 1925 at Makotuku near Norsewood. David obtained work at the Woodville Dairy Factory where he became butter maker. David and Irene had four children while living at Woodville: Desmond, born 1926; Clarence, born 1927; Valerie, born 1929; and Margaret, born 1931. In 1931 the Jones family moved from Woodville to Rangiwahia when David was appointed manager of the Rangiwahia butter factory. The family lived in the factory manager's house beside the factory. Irene was a skilled dressmaker and made clothes for her children. Other Rangiwahia mothers saw the children wearing their new clothes and asked Irene to make clothes for their children. The family had an automobile which allowed visits to grandparents in Woodville and Norsewood. Irene was a member of the Country Women's Institute. The children attended Rangiwahia School and both Desmond and Clarence worked in the dairy factory when they left school. Desmond was butter maker at the factory in 1955.

About 1950 Irene developed rheumatoid arthritis which gave her severe pain and limited her mobility. She undertook a year's treatment at Rotorua Hospital, including injections with ACTH and cortisone, but this did not improve her condition. Irene was restricted to a wheelchair when she returned from Rotorua and the District Nurse visited to assist with bathing.

In 1955 David and Irene moved to Gloucester Street in Palmerston North where David had built a house and shed. The shed was used as a factory for a knitwear business. Both Desmond and Clarance also moved to Palmerston North after having a house built, in Gloucester Street and Liverpool Street respectively. The knitwear business was managed by David, employed family members (Desmond, his wife Phyllis, and Clarence) plus two married women who lived in Gloucester Street and a traveller who sold the factory's clothing to retailers. Margaret, who married Graham Wallace in 1955, visited every day to do the housekeeping for her parents and cook a mid-day meal.

Irene died 11th January 1968 in Palmerston North Hospital and was buried in Kelvin Grove Cemetery, Palmerston North. David retired in 1970, closing the knitwear business. He died in 1991 in Palmerston North and was buried with Irene.

Source: Margaret Wallace, 2019.

BIOGRAPHY

Isabella Brough was born in 1837 in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, the youngest daughter of William Brough and Christian Drummond. William was a farmer and miller in Comrie. Isabella married Alexander Walker who was employed by her father in 1858, then migrated to Melbourne, Australia (1858), with a daughter (Christina) born on the voyage. Christina died soon after the family arrived in Melbourne and their second daughter was born in Melbourne the next year. In 1861 the family mirgrated to Otago, New Zealand (1861) in hope of finding gold, but instead settled in Milton where Alexander obtained work as a miller. Isabella had six more children while living in Milton. She died in 1914 aged 75 and was buried in the Fairfax Cemetery at Milton.

BIOGRAPHY

Isabella Walker, also known as Bella, was born in Milton in 1868. She attended school in Milton, and in 1896 married William George Griffin, known as George.

George was born in Macraes Flat, Otago, and he farmed there in 1902. The couple had five children, including two sets of twins. Based on their school attendance, the family lived in a number of locations in Otago and Canterbury. George and Isabella eventually settled in Dunedin, Otago. George died in 1935 and Isabella in 1938. Both were buried in Dunedin.

BIOGRAPHY

James Darling Redpath was born in 1862, the second son of Thomas and Ann Redpath. James was named after his father's former employer in Scotland, James Darling. In 1890 James was working as a ploughman in Waitahuna according to the Electoral Roll. James married Mary Ann Blaikie on 25 January 1893 at Waitahuna. Mary had gone to school with James. The couple had four children between 1893 and 1900.

James and Mary moved to the North Island after their marriage. James successfully balloted for a block of land at Rangiwahia in the Manawatu on 26 May 1893. They developed and farmed the block until September 1899 when it was sold. The Rangiwahia district was newly settled and farms were being developed, with the Rangiwahia Dairy Factory opening in 1898. Postal directories indicate that the family remained at Rangiwahia until 1902.

By 1903 James and Mary had moved to Kimbolton near Fielding were James continued to work in farming. From 1905 until 1917 the family lived in Feilding where James worked as a storeman and later as a salesman. In 1918 James and Mary had moved to Auckland where James initially worked as a salesman.

James died in 1928 and Mary in 1937. They were both buried in Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland.

BIOGRAPHY

James George Olive Alphonsus Heavey was born in 1901 in Patea. James was an engine driver for the NZ railways. In 1934 he married Nina Berge and the couple lived in Taumarunui. They had five children. About 1950 the family moved to Napier where James continued to work as an engine driver until he retired. James died in Hawkes Bay in 1975 and his body was cremated in Hastings.

BIOGRAPHY

James Heavey, the second son of John Heavey and Mary Cullen, was born in 1866 in Multyfarnham, Westmeath, Ireland. He migrated to New Zealand about 1875 with his parents. James's father John worked for the railways in Otago as a platelayer (a workman who lays and repairs railroad tracks). James's parents settled in Oamaru.

James worked for the NZ Railways. He was living in Wellington in 1900 when he married Fanny Maria Haylock in Wellington. The couple raised eleven children, at least 5 of their own and 6 possibly adopted. Their children were born at various locations in the southern North Island where James was based with the railways. From 1914 to 1928 James was a bridge keeper at Ngawapurua south of Woodville. James and Fanny retired to Palmerston North. James died in 1938 in Palmerston North, and was buried in Terrace End Cemetery, Palmerston North.

BIOGRAPHY

James McLaren, known as Jim, was the eldest child of Thomas McLernon and Elizabeth Duxfield, born on 17 March 1890 in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand. He attended school at Devonport and moved with the family to Manawaru in the Waikato. Jim was a farmer. In 1918 he married Jeane Le Lievre, a widow born at Akaroa. They had one daughter, June, born in 1922.

Jim purchased a sheep farm at Okoroire in the Waikato. Jim and Jean farmed at Okoroire until they retired to Matamata about 1950. Jim died in 1967 and Jeane in 1976. They were both buried at Matamata.

BIOGRAPHY

James Wallace was born in 1846, the son of Esther Maise and John Wallace, during the voyage of his mother to New Zealand on the "Sir Robert Peel". James spent his early life in the Wanganui district and married Caroline Chitham in 1868. Caroline was born in Auckland, the daughter of English immigrants William Chitham and Sarah Smith.

James and Caroline lived in Wanganui until about 1880, where their first six children were born. The family then moved to Hawera where the remainder of their children were born. James and Caroline lived the remainder of their working life farming in Taranaki according to Electoral Rolls: 1896 Eltham, 1900 Hurford, 1905-1919 Frankley Road, Hurworth. By 1928 James and Caroline had retired to New Plymouth, and subsequently they moved to Hamilton where Caroline died in 1935 and James in 1936. Both were buried in Hamilton East Cemetery.

Main sources: The Wallace Family History manuscript by Doreen Corrick and Spurdle Heritage edited by Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle.

BIOGRAPHY

Jessie Ann Walker was born in 1876 in Milton, the youngest daughter of Alexander Walker and Isabella Brough. In 1920 she married Reginald Richardson Hooper. Electoral rolls show that Reginald was a tram conductor in Gisborne in 1900. He worked on farms in the Gisborne district from 1905 until 1928, and then worked as a labourer in Gisborne until he retired about 1954. They had no children. Jessie died in 1952 and Reginald in 1967. Both were buried in Gisborne.

BIOGRAPHY

Johanna Maria Margaretta Gertrude Korte, known as Hanna, was the second daughter of Christopher and Mary Korte, born in 1879 at Upper Moutere. Hanna attended Beaconsfield School in the Manawatu, and in 1887 completed Standard 2. The family subsequently moved to Taranaki where a bush block at Awatuna was developed into a dairy farm. After her mother died, Hanna returned from Taranaki to Upper Moutere and lived with her uncle Heinrich Korte and family. It is thought she was unable to get along with her step-mother, her father remarrying when she was 16.

In 1900 Hanna married Christopher Carl Dietrich Drogemuller. Hanna and Christopher had eight children. They lived at Upper Moutere where Christopher farmed. Hanna died in 1962 and is buried in Upper Moutere with Christopher who died in 1956.

BIOGRAPHY

John Alexander McKane Wallace was born in 1819 in Antrim, Ireland, the second son of William Wallace and Catherine McKane. He married Esther Maise in 1840 in Antrim before he enlisted in the 48th Regiment on 21 December 1840. On 1 February 1842 he transferred to the 65th regiment at Dublin and in 1845 was ordered to Foreign Service. On 24 February 1846 John and his brother Arthur sailed as guards on the "Palmyra", a convict ship bound for Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). After the convicts had disembarked the "Palmyra" sailed on to Sydney and members of the 65th regiment assembled for transport to New Zealand on the "Java". The "Java" arrived in the Bay of Islands on 19 November 1846 and Auckland on 27 November 1946 where John disembarked. The regiment was sent to New Zealand because of outbreaks of fighting in the Bay of Islands and in the Hutt Valley.

John served at Wellington until 1848 when he was transferred to Wanganui. Soon after his transfer he sought and was granted discharge in May 1849. John received a land grant and took up farming on No. 2 Line at Matarawa, east of Wanganui. Later he bought the adjoining farms as well, which had belonged to the Gilfillan family. John and Esther named their farm "Fir Grove" after a district in Antrim, and lived there for 40 years. In 1892 John sold the farm to Nils Manson, his son-in-law, and after some years of subletting, share milking etc., in 1938, after 43 years, "Fir Grove" finally passed from the Wallace family.

In later life John and Esther lived at Ridgeway Street, Wanganui. John died on 29 December 1895 and was buried with Esther in the Old Public Cemetery, Wanganui.

Main sources: The Wallace Family History manuscript by Doreen Corrick and Spurdle Heritage edited by Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle.

Obituary

The following obituary was published in the Wanganui Herald. The name of the ship that took convicts to Hobart differs in the obituary from details above taken from "Discharged in New Zealand" by Hugh & Lyn Hughes 1988. John Ballance, who is refered to in the Obituary, was elected to Parliament in 1875 and was Premier of New Zealand from January 1891 to April 1893. John Ballance was born 27 March 1839 in Glenavy in County Antrim in Ireland.

BIOGRAPHY

John Day TEALL was a kind man who was born in Jamaica in 1859, the son of William TEALL and Hannah EASTOE. His father had gone to Jamaica in 1843 from England to work as a Baptist missionary. John's mother was orphaned when her parents and six younger siblings died of cholera in Canada. John was one of thirteen children, but only seven survived infancy. In the 1871 Census John Day was attending the Missionary School in West Keal, Kent, England. In the 1881 Census he was living in London, out of employment as a warehouseman. In 1891 he was living in London and working as a warehouseman, probably in a drapery warehouse based on notes on the census form.

John Day TEALL became a lifelong friend and confidant of his later employer, William (Bill) Fletcher for whom he worked as a bookkeeper, at Fletcher and Cartwright, drapers, the firm that William (Bill) Fletcher took over from his father. In 1887, John was presented with a gift of a small religious booklet called "Heavenward", by William Henry Fletcher's daughter, Ethel. The booklet contains 31 stanzas for each day of the month and is beautifully illustrated with lovely coloured pictures. In the booklet there is an inscription by Ethel Fletcher "J D Teall from E.M.F. - May 1st 1887". The next signature in the booklet (undated) is that of Johanna Hendrina Geldenhuys (15/10/1908 - 16/06/1996) with her address as 69 Kloof Street Cape Town, which at the time was Saasveld Training College where she studied as a school teacher. It appears that Johanna acquired the booklet shortly after the death of John Teall.

John moved to South Africa in the 1890s, initially to Cape Town where he worked as a bookkeeper for William Fletcher. William Fletcher was a millionaire. He owned the Cape Town department store Fletcher and Cartwright on the corner of Adderley and Darling streets, retailing men's clothes and materials imported directly from Britain. William Fletcher purchased Ratelrivier, a historic farm property near Bredasdorp, Cape of Good Hope in 1898. When William Fletcher bought Ratelrivier, the estate stretched from Hagelkraal (Pearly Beach) to and including Brandfontein, a total of 20,806 ha with 22.6 km of coast. Here the Fletchers continued their gracious lifestyle. William Fletcher imported stock and bred race horses and built a large stable complex on the farm, with individual Oregon pine stalls for the stallions. John Day Teall was instrumental in the purchase of Ratelrivier for the Fletchers. When the Fletchers moved to the farm, he moved to Bredasdorp, traveling between his home, the farm and the business in Cape Town on their behalf.

Adrian Louw Ackerman, from Sedgefield South Africa, has provided a story of the kindness of John Day Teall. Mr Teall to all intents and purposes was a kindly and quiet sort of gentleman and a mentor to my mother (Johanna Hendrina Geldenhuys). Because her parents were very poor, Mr Teall helped to pay for my mother's education at Saasveld Training College in Cape Town, as well as for her brother who also studied to be a teacher. For this she was ever grateful and always spoke of affection about Mr Teall.

John Day Teall never married. He died on 28 April 1929. The grave stone for John Day Teall was erected by Ellen (Nellie) Fletcher, widow of William Fletcher. It reads: IN AFFECTIONAL MEMORY OF JOHN DAY TEALL WHO DIED 28 APRIL 1929 AGED 70 YEARS. AT REST.

Acknowledgement - Adrian Louw Ackerman, South Africa.

Also see post about on Wordpress.com.

BIOGRAPHY

John Duxfield McLaren, known as Jack, was the second son of Thomas McLernon and Elizabeth Duxfield, born in 1893 in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand. Jack was a farmer in the Waikato: at Manawaru (1914-16), Te Mawhai (1919) and later Mangaiti (1928-1935).

Jack married Frances Barron in Te Aroha on 21 June 1916. Jack and Frances had two daughters. Jack abandoned his young family in 1936 and lived with Matoa Te Ota Ormsby, known as Martha, for the remainder of his life. Jack and Martha lived in Te Kuiti where Jack worked as a carpenter until he retired.

Frances and Jack divorced. Frances and her daughters never forgave Jack for abandoning them. Frances died in 1950 and is buried in Te Aroha.

Jack and Martha adopted a child in 1936 and had a daughter in 1941. Jack and Martha are buried at Pirongia in the Waikato.

BIOGRAPHY

John James Trueman was born in Pahiatua in 1910, the youngest son of Alfred William Trueman and Clara Fullford. He died during infancy.

BIOGRAPHY

John Rushbrooke, the youngest son of Ernest and Sarah Rushbrooke, was born in 1901 in New Zealand after the family had migrated from England. In 1925 John married Dorothy Florence Paul (known as Dorothy Blanshard) in Te Aroha. The couple had a son and daughter. John drove horse and carts and in the Electoral Roll was listed as a labourer until 1938. Later John was a share milker and dairy farmer in the Te Aroha district until moving to Otahuhu in the early 1950's. He then worked as a mechanic. John's probate file lists him as a mechanic from Otahuhu in Auckland, previously a farmer at Waihou. John died in 1959 at Hamilton and was cremated in Auckland. Dorothy died in 1994 at Auckland.

BIOGRAPHY

John Walker, the only son of Alexander Walker and Isabella Brough, was born in Milton in 1863. In 1890 he married Mary Muir Reid in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia. John gave his occupation as a merchant when he married. The 1890 electoral roll listed him as a storekeeper in Milton. John and Mary had their only child, James Keith Walker, in 1892 while living in Milton.

The family later moved to Taranaki in the North Island, where according to electoral rolls, John worked as a clerk in Stratford (1893-1900) and a sawmill manager at Te Kiri (1905). From 1911 John and Mary lived at Mangare Bridge near Auckland, where they farmed a property called "Favona" (now a suburb between Mangere Bridge and Onehunga). They had retired to Onehunga by 1922.

John died in Auckland Hospital in November 1927 and Mary died in 1946. John and Mary were buried in Auckland.

BIOGRAPHY

Joseph Wallace was born on 9 May 1853, the second son of John Wallace and Esther Maise. As a child he lived at Firgrove, No. 2 Line, Wanganui, with his parents. He went to Matarawa School. In 1873 Joseph married Sarah Spurdle at Springvale, Wanganui. Sarah, born 1854 in New Plymouth, was the daughter of Oliver Cook Spurdle and Maria Litherland, immigrants from England.

Joseph and Sarah had a large family of sixteen children, three died in infancy. Morris died at 2 months, Maria at 7 weeks and Emily aged 3 months. Leonard was accidentally drowned in the Wanganui River aged 15 and Agnes died aged 19. Joseph initially worked for his father on his farm "Fir Grove" and appears to have moved into Wanganui about 1880 where he worked as a labourer and carter. In 1900 he had a thigh broken accidentally when six bags of oats being winched up to a first floor store-room slipped from their sling and fell on Joseph standing in the cart beneath.

Joesph and Sarah struggled financially from at least 1876 when he was declared bankrupt and was reported to have been in debt in the local Wanganui newspapers. After the death of Joseph's father in 1895, Joseph and his siblings immediately began to receive a share of the rent from "Fir Grove", the family farm on No.2 Line, and eventually a proportion of the proceeds when the farm was sold.

Sarah died in 1921 and Joseph in 1948, both in Wanganui. Joseph and Sarah were buried in Aramoho Cemetery, Wanganui.

Main sources: The Wallace Family History manuscript by Doreen Corrick, Spurdle Heritage edited by Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle, Notes on Joseph Wallace and Sarah née Spurdle by Laurence Hay, 2013.

BIOGRAPHY

Katrine Walker, also known as Catherine, Kitty and more commonly as Kate, was born in 1866. She attended Tokomairiro School in Milton and won a secondary scholarship in 1881 so she could attend Girls' High School in Dunedin. While at secondary school she met her future husband, James Reeve Wilkinson, who had recently graduated from Canterbury University and who coached girls for University Junior Scholarship. The couple became lovers. James Wilkinson did not get his teaching certificate promotion and took on an assistantship to Professor Shand at Otago University. Two 'breakdowns' followed so he went to Higham, Canterbury, where his brother was farming. In 1889 Katrine obtained a teaching position nearby in Canterbury, so she was close enough to ride regularly by pony to see him at the weekends.

James moved to live with another brother in Christchurch, and Katrine obtained a teaching position at Riccarton. Under the pseudonym "Theta", she regularly wrote the ladies page in the 'New Zealand Wheelman', and on 14 October 1893 she commented in relation to both cycling and women's franchise "...as the dainty wheel gives her a larger world to live in, so the wheel of progress has now given her a larger world to think in." The couple became involved in dress reform, and jointly wrote a pamphlet called 'Notes on Dress Reform and what it Implies'. In it they used aesthetic, moral and feminist argument to recommend change in women's undergarments and outer clothing.

In 1894 Alice Burn, who was to become the President of the New Zealand Rational Dress Association, advised that James and Katrine should marry. The couple married in Christchurch and a photograph of the wedding published in the 'New Zealand Graphic' apparently shocked its readers because of the very prominent knickerbockers, a public statement by the wedding party of their strongly held principles of the necessity of rational dress for women. The wedding attracted national attention as the Dress Reform Wedding.

James and Katrine had a daughter in 1903. In 1911 James was appointed Clerk to the Ashley Country Council, based at Loburn in Canterbury. There he and Katrine remained until his retirement twenty-five years later. Katrine died in 1941 and James in 1951.

BIOGRAPHY

Kenneth (Ken) Heavey, born in 1922 when Fanny Heavey was 51, was presumably a grandchild or adopted. Ken married Florence Ethel Christine Livett in 1947 and they had two children. The family lived in Palmerston North where Ken worked as a soldier (1946-1954), a driver (1957-1969), a storeman (1972-1978), a baker (1978) and a production manager (1981). Florence (also known as Christine) died in 1988 and was buried in Palmerston North. Ken died at Chiswick Park Rest Home, Palmerston North in 2013.

BIOGRAPHY

Leonard Martin Waterreus was a child of Martinus (Martin) Antony Waterreus (1862-1895) and Ellen Maude Reynolds (1867-1928), born in 1889 at Moeraki, Otago. His birth does not appear to have been registered, but his date of birth, provided when his death was registered, was 4 April 1889. His parents were married on 31 Dec 1890 at Hampden, Otago. The family subsequently moved to the North Island following Martin being charged with larcency in 1891. Martin was sent to prison at Masterton in 1894 for abandoning and failing support his family. By September 1895 the family had moved to Taranaki, and on 20 September 1895 Martin was sent to prison for theft from a shop in Stratford. Martin died in New Plymoth Prison on 18 October 1895, leaving a widow and several children, Leonard Martin Waterreus was six years old at the time of his father's death. As noted in the newspaper report below, Leonard was subsequently adopted by the Old family of Lepperton and used the name Leonard William OLD for the remainder of his life. Some details of his life are given in the newspaper article.

BIOGRAPHY

Lillian Ivy Heavey was born about 1901, the eldest child of James and Fanny Heavey. Details of her birth have not been located. In 1919 she was listed on the NZ Electoral Roll as living in Napier, but no occupation was provided. In 1925 she married Walter Frederick Andrews, and her name was given as Ivy Lillian Anderson. On the 1928 NZ electoral roll Walter's occupation was cheese maker. Ivy and Walter lived in Sydney, Australia from about 1930. Walter was a salesman. Walter died in 1971 and Ivy in 1983. They were both buried in Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland.

BIOGRAPHY

Lily GraceTrueman, daughter of Alfred William Trueman and Elizabeth Ann Humphreys, was born in Wellington. She attended Te Aro School and Mount Cook Girls School in Wellington. In 1906 Lily married Alfred Evans in Palmerston North. The report of the wedding in the Evening Standard said that Lily's father was still living in Wellington in 1906, and Alfred was from Marlborough. Alfred and Lily had five sons. According to electoral rolls Alfred worked as a surfaceman for NZ Railways, with a period of share milking in 1928. Lily died in 1954 and Alfred in 1961. Both Lily and Alfred were buried in Taihape.

BIOGRAPHY

Margaret Irene Jones was born on 7th September 1931 at Woodville, the fourth child of David and Irene Jones. Shortly after she was born the family moved from Woodville to Rangiwahia where her father managed the Rangiwahia Dairy Factory.

Margaret attended school at Rangiwahia. Her first job, in the Rangiwahia Dairy Factory was wraping butter with her older sister Val. In 1948, when she was 17, Margaret moved to Palmerston North to start her nursing training at Palmerston North hospital and she lived in the nurses home. Before she had completed her training she returned to Rangiwahia to care for her ill mother, but worked night shifts from 6 PM until midnight at the Rangiwhia post office telephone exchange, connecting calls and sorting mail.

Margaret was able to move back to Palmerston North to resume her nursing career, but had to restart her training as it was not possible to continue from previous training. She also started to train as a midwife. Margaret met Graham Wallace at the Astoria Ballroom in George Street Palmerston North. They married in 1955 at Palmerston North.

Graham and Margaret initially lived in Palm Avenue, then moved to a new house in Ashford Avenue. The house was one of the very first State houses built in Palmerston North. While living in Ashford Avenue four children were born: Katherine, David, Michael and Heather. In 1963 Graham and Margaret brought a house in Wood Street with a large section where Graham had a vegetable garden. While raising the family Margaret also cared for her mother, looked after her parent's house, as well as working in her father's knitting factory. Andrew was born while the famuily were living at Wood Street.

Margaret started working for Smith & Waldings event catering in 1972, where she would prepare food for events. After that she had a short stint working in a local café in the Regent arcade and then as the Breakfast Cook at the Sherwood Motor Lodge in 1977. Later, in 1979, she was able to return to her first love of the medical profession when she got a job at Palmerston North Hospital, first as a Courier, then a Ward Clerk in Ward 23 & 24 (which was the orthopaedic ward), then finally to her dream job as a Ward Clerk in the Maternity Ward. As Margaret did not drive, she would bike to and from work.

In 1980 Graham and Margaret moved to Paradise Place where grandchildren were entertained. In 1992 they moved Droylsden Place again with regular visits from grandchildren. When Andrew and Miriam were working, Graham and Margaret would collect their grangchildren and care for them until after work. Margaret was devoted to her family, first as a daughter, wife and mother and then later as a grandmother and great-grandmother.

After Graham died in 2016, Margaret moved to Summerset Village in Aotea, Wellington. She died in Wellington on 23 November 2021.

Source: Family members memories from Margaret's funeral service.

BIOGRAPHY

Margaret Redpath, known as Maggie, was born in Milton, Otago in 18641. Maggie married William Ellis in 1885 and the couple moved to their farm at Seaward Downs, Southland where three children were born. William died in 1889. William's probate file shows that the 123 acre farm produced milk and some oats.

Maggie remarried in 1892, marrying David Dreaver and continuing to live on the farm at Seaward Downs. Maggie and David had a daughter and a son, but David died in 1894.

In 1900 Maggie remarried again, to John Henry Kitto and they had a son. Maggie and John farmed at Seaward Downs until September 1908 when the farm was sold and they moved to Invercargill, Southland. Maggie died in 1941 and was buried in Invercargill. In her will Maggie allowed her husband John to occupy her house in Invercargill for the rest of his life and her four living children inherited her wealth. John died in 1955 and was buried in Invercargill.

1 Maggies son Raymond stated in her Probate file that Maggie was born at Ettrick, Otago.

BIOGRAPHY

Maria Litherland was born on 6 March 1828 in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire. Maria was born illegitimately, the daughter of Elizabeth Litherland aged 21. Maria's mother died when she was nearly 3 years old and she was brought up by her aunt Lydia Litherland and her husband Thomas Wilson. Maria, her uncle, aunt and four young cousins migrated from England to New Zealand on the ship Berkshire, arriving in New Plymouth on 18 January 1850.

Maria married Oliver Spurdle in 1854 in New Plymouth. They lived in New Plymouth until 1867 before moving to Waitara. They had nine children, six children while they lived in New Plymouth, and three were born in Waitara. In 1896 Oliver and Maria moved to Inglewood where two sons also settled. After Oliver died in 1911 Maria moved to Fielding and lived with her daughter Elizabeth. She died 3 months after Oliver in December 1911 and was buried in Inglewood Cemetery.

Source: Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle published Spurdle Heritage for the 1992 Spurdle family reunion. Much of the above information, by Carrol Crandall, is extracted from that publication. The book contains considerably more detail. Copies of the book are held at many New Zealand libraries.

BIOGRAPHY

Maria Louisa Frederika ROGGENKAMP was known as Mary ROSE when she married in 1875, having taken the surname of her stepfather Hans Friedrich Franz Rose in Germany. Mary was the daughter of Katherine Dorothea Heinatz, born in Lübeck (now Germany) in 1851. In the 1857 Census of Lübeck, her name is given as Marie Roggenkamp, aged 5; in the same household as her stepfather Hans Rose, her mother Dorothea Rose and half brother Johannes Rose aged 1.

Mary migrated from Lübeck to New Zealand with her mother, stepfather and half brother (Johannes Joachim Heinrich Rose) in 1869 on the ship "Halcione". The family sailed to Wellington on the "Halcione", then by the steamer "Ahuriri" to Nelson. When they arrived in New Zealand, Hans Friedrich Franz Rose had family already living at Upper Moutere.

Mary married Christopher Korte and had six children. She had a miscarriage in 1889, and died a month later aged 38 years on 4 October 1889. Mary was buried at Manaia, South Taranaki.

BIOGRAPHY

Martha Louie Margareta Korte was the third daughter of Christopher and Mary Korte, born in 1887 at Kiwitea in the Manawatu. Her mother died when she was an infant, soon after moving to Taranaki. Martha grew up at Awatuna in South Taranaki. Martha married Joshua Mellor Gatenby in 1908. The couple had nine children.

Joshua and Martha initially farmed at Te Kiri, about 5 km west of Awatuna. About 1919 they moved to Mangatoki, about 15 km east of Awatuna. They had a dairy farm on the Eltham Road at Mangatoki. Joshua died in 1927 and Martha in 1970. Both Joshua and Martha are buried at Eltham.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Ann Spurdle was born 1856 in New Plymouth, the second daughter of Oliver Spurdle and Maria Litherland. In 1879 Mary married Charles Astley in Wanganui. Charles and Mary lived in Whangarei 1886-1888 (based on school admission records), then moved to Australia where their younger children were born, and later returned to New Zealand. When Charles died aged 51 in Rotorua in 1908 he was a boarding house keeper. Charles and Mary had at least eight children, of whom six survived into adulthood. Mary died in 1928. Charles and Mary were both buried in Rotorua Cemetery.

Source: Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle published Spurdle Heritage for the 1992 Spurdle family reunion. Much of the above information, by Carrol Crandall, is extracted from that publication. The book contains considerably more detail. Copies of the book are held at many New Zealand libraries.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Ann Spurdle was born in 1836 in Beaminster, Dorset, England. In 1841 she travelled with her family on the ship Timandra from Plymouth, via Cape Town, to New Plymouth in New Zealand; a journey that lasted 113 days. Nothing is known of her childhood in New Plymouth.

Mary Ann married Charles Sutton, a farmer, in New Plymouth in 1853 just before her seventeenth birthday. Charles was born in London, England and had immigrated to New Plymouth in 1845 on the ship Ralph Bernal. Their first child Elizabeth Annis was born in 1854, followed by two sons, Clement Laurence in 1856 and Frederick William (stillborn) in 1858.

Charles joined the army and was stationed at Karaka when Frederick was born. Charles was the Chief Supplies Officer with the Army. At the conclusion of hostilities in the Land Wars the family moved back to Taranaki where they owned a general store.

Mary Ann contacted scarlet fever and died in 1864. Charles and his two children shifted to Raglan where he subsequently married a widow Mary Elizabeth Kescel (nee Wilson).

Source: Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle published Spurdle Heritage for the 1992 Spurdle family reunion. Much of the above information is extracted from that publication. The book contains considerably more detail. Copies of the book are held at many New Zealand libraries.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Jane Wallace was born in 1851 in Wanganui, second daughter to John Wallace. and Esther Maise. She grew up at Firgrove and went to Matarawa School. She was reputed to be in love with her cousin Richard Wallace, second son of her uncle Arthur Wallace. Richard, who was enlisted in the 'Wellington Rangers', was killed in action against Maoris at Te Ngutu-o-Te-Maru near Hawera in 1868. Mary and Richard were both only 17 when Richard was killed.

In 1870 Mary married Richard's older brother William Wallace, at Firgrove, Matarawa. William had been in the Armed Constabulary and as a member of the Colonial Forces was involved in fighting in the Taranaki area, Wanganui, and Te Ngutu-o-Te-Maru where Richard was killed. Later William took part in engagements at Otautu, Moturoa, Taurangaika, Fraser Road, Whakamaru, Opotiki and Te Porere. Reports of these engagements can be found at The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period.

William received a land grant of 80 acres at Mokoia in Taranaki (the regulation amount for a sergeant) but the land was abandoned to the Maoris for a time. After their marriage Mary and William lived on the Mokoia farm which had been returned from the Maoris in 1868. Then they moved to Hawera where William worked on road and railway construction. In 1890 the Mokoia property was sold, and William then brought a farm inland from Hawera at Meremere on the "Lease Lend West Coast Scheme". At first the family lived in a small cottage but in 1910 moved to a larger home built on the property.

Mary and William had eleven children. Mary died in 1912 and was buried in Hawera. William remarried in 1918, to Rosamund Woodford. William died in 1925 and was buried in Hawera.

Main sources: The Wallace Family History manuscript by Doreen Corrick and Spurdle Heritage edited by Janette Howe and Robyn Spurdle.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Louisa Rushbrooke, the daughter of Ernest Edwin Rushbrooke and Alice Mary Wright, was born in 1898 in Hamilton, soon after her parents migrated to New Zealand from Norfolk, England. Mary Louisa's mother was the sister-in-law of father and her birth was registered as Mary Louisa Wright, with the father's name not recorded. However Louise, as she was known, was raised by her aunt and father and used the surname Rushbrooke until she was married.

Louise was educated at Epson Diocesan School and after her formal education worked for the Auckland Gas Company in office administration.

Louise married her cousin John William Pearson, known as Bill, in 1937 at Patumahoe in South Auckland. Bill's mother was a sister of Alice Mary Wright. Bill and his brother George farmed successfully in partnership at Patumahoe. Bill and Louise had no children. They retired from the Patumahoe farm to Manurewa where they died, Louise in 1988 and Bill in 1992.

BIOGRAPHY

Matilda Maria Beck, the third daughter of Mathias Peterson Beck and Anna Maria Hansen, was born in Norsewood in 1876. Her parents and older two sisters and brother had migrated to New Zealand from Denmark. The family departed from Hamburg on 16 December 1874, on the sailing ship Fritz Reuter, and arrived in Napier on 18 March 1875. Mathias was a farm labourer in Denmark, and the family had a farm at Norsewood.

Matilda married Chris Berkahn in 1894, and had 13 children. Matilda died in 1922 and was buried in Norsewood Cemetery.

BIOGRAPHY

May Wood Redpath, the youngest daughter of Thomas and Ann Redpath, was born in Waitahuna in 1875. She was a resident of the Waitahuna and Mount Stuart districts all her life. In 1901 May married Hugh Blaikie Ross Crozier and went to reside in the Waitahuna township until, in 1903, Hugh Crozier took over Ann Redpath's farm at Mount Stuart. After 18 years farming there, May and Hugh retired and returned to their former home at Waitahuna. May was a bright and attractive personality, and was much-loved friend of all the children of the district. She was a staunch supporter of the Presbyterian Church, and took a keen interest in all branches of church work. During her 38 years of church membership May missed only one communion service, and this she was prevented from attending by her last illness. May was for many years an active and energetic member of the local Horticultural Society and was for some years one of its vice-presidents.

The couple had no children. May died in 1939 and Hugh in 1950. Both are buried in Waitahuna.

Details above from the obituary in Otago Daily Times, 26 July 1939

BIOGRAPHY

Mervyn Mathias Berkahn, the twelfth child of Chris Berkahn and Matilda Beck, was born in 1911. Mervyn worked as a labourer according to electoral rolls, at Makotuku, Norsewood and Dannevirke.

Mervyn married Elsie Doris Bassenden in 1942. Mervyn and Elsie lived in Norsewood. Elsie moved to Eastbourne, Lower Hutt about 1949. She died in 1962 and was cremated and buried in Karori.

Mervyn remarried Margaret Thelma ? about 1965 and the couple lived in Dannevirke. Margaret died in 1990 and was buried in Dannevirke. Mervyn died in 1999 and was cremated in Palmerston North. His ashes are buried with his second wife's ashes at Mangatera Cemetery, Dannevirke.

Any additional information on Mervyn, his wives and descendants would be appreciated.

BIOGRAPHY

Nevill Graham Heavey, born in 1928 when Fanny Heavey was 54 and was an adopted grandchild. According to Allan F C Heavey, Nevill's father was James G O A Heavey and his mother was Nell (Ellen Mary O'HALLORAN), who later married William (Bill) Heavey.

Nevill married Ruth Gladys Barnes in 1954 and they had two sons. According to electoral rolls Nevill worked in various jobs in Palmerston North: sick bay attendant (1949), seaman (1954), machinist (1957). In 1970 the family lived in Melbourne, Australia. Neville died at Monash Gardens Nursing Home, Mulgrave, Melbourne in 2017.

BIOGRAPHY

Norma Joan BERKAHN was the daughter of Louisa EVANS who died in November 1930 in Wellington, and was buried at Karori. The headstone on the grave has the following inscription:

In loving memory of Louisa Evans, mother of Norma Joan Hope and Veronica Evans. Madge Elaine Brockie, daughter of Lousia Evans, beloved wife of James (Jim) Mitchell Brockie. May they rest in peace.

Norma Alva Joan BERKAHN's birth was registered in 1935, presumably when she was adopted by William Landt and Caroline Berkahn. Her birth date was 9 February 1920. Norma married Douglas Lee HOPE in 1944. They farmed at Dannevirke then Napier, before separating. Douglas moved to Northland where he farmed, and Nora to Wellington where she obtained factory work. Nora died in 1974 and her ashes were buried in her mother's grave.

Norma's sister Madge Elaine, born in 1925, died in 2001 and her ashes were also buried in her mother and sister's grave. When Madge married in 1950, she gave her maiden surname as EVANS.

BIOGRAPHY

Norman Edward Trueman was born in Palmerston North in 1903, the third son of Alfred William Trueman and Clara Fullford. He died during infancy aged six months and was buried in Terrace End Cemetery, Palmerston North. The following report of the inquest was published in the Manawatu Standard.