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.
Mr John Alexander McKane Wallace.
One by one the old settlers who have borne the heat and burden of pioneering life in the colony, are being called to their last resting place. There was probably no more familiar figure in Wanganui than Mr John M. Wallace, who passed away very peacefully yesterday morning. The deceased was born in Belfast, and came out to the colony half a century ago in an old East Indiaman, the Peranjeo Bomanjoe (Captain Austa), as one of the guard of the second convict draft, he then being in the 65th Regiment. Having taken the shipment of convicts to Hobart, Mr Wallace came on to New Zealand, landing in Auckland where he was in the D Company under Captain Snow, Charles Robinson, another well-known local identity, being then in the same regiment. At the time of the Gilfillan tragedy on the No. 2 Line a despatch was sent to Auckland to Governor Grey from Wanganui, and 60 men and three officers of his Regiment were despatched here, Mr Wallace having to remain behind as he was standing orderly to Brigade-Major O'Connell, of the 99th Regiment. Shortly after the tragedy, however, Mr Wallace came to Wanganui, where he bought his discharge for £20 and settled down with Mrs Wallace on the same section where he passed away yesterday. For a few years he worked as a sawyer, and about 40 years ago he bought 50 acres of land on the No. 3 Line, afterwards purchasing 100 acres adjoining from Messrs Taylor and Watt, and later on he acquired another 100 acres, the latter the scene of the dreadful tragedy that was always remembered with horror by the early settlers. About three years ago Mr and Mrs Wallace came to town to live, but shortly afterwards he had the misfortune to lose his wife. Three months ago Mr Wallace met with an accident by falling downstairs, which confined him to his bed, and he has been declining since then, till yesterday morning, as before stated, he passed peacefully away, being conscious right up to the last.
Though not taking an active part in public life, Mr Wallace was intimately associated with the late Hon. John Ballance, both gentlemen having come from the same town, and was a firm supporter of Mr Ballance right up to the time of his death. He was always known as a hard working industrious settler, and very highly respected by all who knew him, and what little property he acquired was got by honest toil. The deceased leaves a grown family of eight children - all of whom are alive - James Wallace (Eltham), Mrs C. Revell (Taranaki), W. Wallace (Hawera), Joseph Wallace (Wanganui), Mrs A. P. Manson (Bushy Park), John Wallace (Turakina), Mrs J. Hosking (Okoia), and Thomas Wallace (Wanganui). There are also over 80 grand-children left to mourn his loss. The funeral of the deceased will leave his late residence, Ridgway Street, next Wellington House, to-morrow afternoon at 3.30 o'clock.
Source: The Wanganui Herald, 30 December 1895, Page 3.
Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1819 - 1895 (76 years)
Has 6 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
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