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George POULGRAIN

1852 - 1937  (85 years)

• Name	George POULGRAIN
  Birth	11 Nov 1852	Bendigo, Victoria, Australia   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1885  [2]
  	Bullock Driver, Te Arai, Gisborne
  Occupation	1890  [2]
  	Bullock Driver, Te Arai, Gisborne
  Occupation	1901  [2]
  	Bullock Driver, Te Arai, Gisborne
  Death	29 Nov 1937	Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand   [1, 3]
  Burial	30 Nov 1937	Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand   [3]
  Person ID	I19116	NZ Genealogy Project
  Last Modified	10 Jun 2020

  
  

  Father	George POULGRAIN,   b. 28 May 1829, Fowey, Cornwall, England d. 21 Apr 1898, Thames, Coromandel, New Zealand (Age 68 years)
  Mother	Sussanah SLEE,   b. 20 Dec 1830, East Stonehouse, Devon, England d. 20 Dec 1900, Thames, Coromandel, New Zealand (Age 70 years)
  Marriage	01 Jul 1850	East Stonehouse, Devon, England   [4, 5]
  Family ID	F6539	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Annie Guthriel McCONNELL,   b. 04 Aug 1862, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland d. 17 Nov 1933, Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand (Age 71 years)
  Marriage	28 Dec 1887	Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand   [1, 6]
  Children	1. Jessie Gray POULGRAIN [Tuppy],   b. 07 Nov 1888, Te Arai, Gisborne, New Zealand d. 28 Aug 1965, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand (Age 76 years)   2. Kenneth George POULGRAIN [Ken],   b. 30 Jan 1890, Te Arai, Gisborne, New Zealand d. 25 Feb 1952, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand (Age 62 years) + 3. Gladys POULGRAIN,   b. 26 Jul 1891, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand d. 09 Dec 1942, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand (Age 51 years) + 4. Linda POULGRAIN,   b. 31 May 1893, Te Arai, Gisborne, New Zealand d. 15 Dec 1955, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand (Age 62 years)   5. Robert Nelson POULGRAIN [Nelson],   b. 12 Apr 1895   d. 03 Apr 1965, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand (Age 69 years)   6. Irene POULGRAIN [Renie],   b. 15 Feb 1901, Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand d. 11 Apr 1985, Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand (Age 84 years)
  Family ID	F6492	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Dec 2024

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 11 Nov 1852 - Bendigo, Victoria, Australia Marriage - 28 Dec 1887 - Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand Death - 29 Nov 1937 - Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand Burial - 30 Nov 1937 - Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

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  OBITUARY MASSACRE SURVIVOR MR G POULGRAN DEAD 84 YEARS IN DISTRICT EARLY PAPER FINANCE The death occurred this morning of Mr. George Poulgrain, one of the oldest identities of the district, he having lived here for 84 years. His passing recalls many memories of the hard and troublous times experienced by the early settlers. Born in Bendigo, Australia, in 1853, Mr. Poulgrain was brought as a baby in arms to New Zealand, his parents settling at Matawhero, the centre of the Te Kooti massacre in 18G8. When they arrived 84 years ago, wild pigs, goats and cattle abounded, being a menace to life, but providing a ready supply of meat. In those early days money meant nothing to the settlers, whose finance was all on paper and by the exchange of produce. It was many years before the late Mr. Poulgrain ever saw real coins. Mr. Poulgrain remembered the concern that was felt in the district in 1865 when news was received of the murder of the Rev. Mr. Volkner in Opotiki by Kereopa, and the stir that was caused by the revolting details, such as the mutilation of the body and the swallowing of the dead man's eyes by Kereopa. Escape to Auckland During native troubles in this district, warning was given to the settlers, and Mr. Poulgrain's family, together with others, boarded a boat at Roseland and travelled down the river to Turanga. When Te Kooti escaped from Chatham Island and landed in the district, the family anticipated trouble and decided to leave for Auckland. They arrived in Turanga on the day of the massacre to find that two schooners had left the previous day, the Tarawera and the Success, one for Auckland and the other for Napier. Calm weather held up the progress of the schooners, and the authorities decided, when news of the massacre was received, to attempt to recall the boats and send the women and children away in them. Volunteers manned a whaleboat to go out into the night and signal their return by the use of flares. The burning of Mr. Bloomfield's home was visible to the party as it set out after the boats. The signals from the whaleboat were noticed by Captain Joe Kennedy, who commanded the Tarawera, and he was acquainted of the tragedy. He signalled to Captain Trimmer, of the Success, and both ships put about. The whole of the following day was occupied in transporting the women and children to the boats. The Poulgrain family went by the Tarawera, which took three weeks on the journey to Auckland. The provisioning for the unexpectedly large complement of passengers created a problem, and at intervals on the long trip boats had to be sent ashore to secure fresh supplies of food and water. Vivid Impressions Mr. Poulgrain was only a boy at the time, but many of the incidents of those stirring times were most vividly impressed on his mind throughout his long life. After returning to Gisborne, when the greatest danger from the rebel was past, the family again settled in the district, and Mr. Poulgrain became well known later as a contractor. He retired about 10 years ago, and in later years he had been living in Aberdeen road. He kept in excellent health until about a fortnight ago. The deceased was predeceased by his wife four years ago. Two sons and four daughters, Messrs. Kenneth and Nelson Poulgrain, Mesdames P. Muir and H. Wilson, all of Gisborne, Mrs. E. O'Hagen. Timaru, and Mrs. W. Smyth, Whakatane, remain to mourn their loss. A short service will be held in Cochrane's mortuary, Williams street, at 10.15 a.m. to-morrow prior to the departure of the funeral for the Taruheru cemetery. Source: Poverty Bay Herald, 29 November 1937, Page 6 [3] GISBORNE IN THE 'FIFTIES BEFORE THE TOWN STARTED. ONLY A HANDFUL OF SETTLERS. RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. GEORGE POULGRAIN IT is a far cry back to the days when there was not a single European building on the site of the town area of Gisborne - when the locality was but a wild stretch of manuka scrub and flax, marked by a clump of acacia trees growing on the present site of Messrs. Adair Bros' store. Gisborne then boasted of a single building, Captain Read's old trading store at Kaiti, long since replaced by the extensive buildings of the Gisborne freezing works. Singular as it is to relate, clear recollections of those early days are held by Mr. George Pouigrain, now in his 74th year. Arriving in Poverty Bay as a child of only two years of age, Mr. Poulgrain has spent practically his whole lifetime in the district. He has been away only on two occasions, but for the past 50 years he has not been out of the Bay. Despite his age, he retains a splendid memory, and his story is here published for the first time. Attracted to Australia by the famous Bendigo gold rush, his father, Mr. George Poulgrain, subsequently left Victoria to try his fortune in the young colony of New Zealand, about 1852 or 1853. Carving out a Home. In the early 'fifties Mr. and Mrs. Pouigrain came to Poverty Bay, young George being then but an infant. Taking up land at Matawhero, now held by Messrs. Judd Bros., Mr. Pouigrain set to work to carve out a home for his family. He felled the scrub, fenced some of the property, built a house, planted an orchard, and ploughed up the land for cropping. Wheat was grown for the Auckland market. It was cut by hand with a reaping hook and thrashed out with a flail. The surrounding flats at this time were unfenced and largely unoccupied, except for wild cattle, pigs, goats and horses. It was unsafe to travel on foot in those days for fear of being held up by wild cattle. Two extensive stretches of bush spread across the flats in those early days, the Pipiwaka and the Makauri bushes, together with frequent clumps of white pine. As for schooling, Mr. Pouigrain frankly admits he had none. His early days were spent about his father's farm. The family had to grind its own flour, and young George had to do his turn before breakfast in the mornings. As to his mates, they comprised the lads of the Tarr family, who lived at Matawhero. He spent, however, a good deal of his time with the Maori boys, who were fairly numerous around the flats in those days. Lived Near Te Kooti. The height of their ambition was often to paddle about in an old canoe. This they used to do in the old riverbed at Matawhero, long since drained and under cultivation. Away back in those days it contained 8ft. and 10ft. of water, and its banks were lined with raupo. On the far side of the bank (and approaching the Bridge Hotel) stood a number of Maori whares. It was a small settlement of friendly natives, and it was from here some of his mates came. Resident amongst these Maoris was a young man. He was not a bad man, but evidently a serious-minded individual for he was never known to smile. His name was Te Kooti - afterwards the notorious rebel who instigated the Poverty Bay massacre - that sad page in the district's early history. "Te Kooti never interfered with us." explained Mr. Pouigrain in narrating his experiences to a Herald representative. As far as he knew Te Kooti was a law-abiding person. He was a very determined character, and his anger against the pakeha residents of Poverty Bay, as far as Mr. Pouigrain could gather, and he knew the natives well, arose from Te Kooti's deportation to the Chatham Islands. Earliest Impressions of Gisborne. The earliest impressions of Gisborne - as it then stood - were gained by young George when he accompanied his father to sell wheat to Captain Read. The grain was conveyed by sledge all the way from Matawhero. The track lay across to the Taruheru river at U'Ren's, now the site of the Kia Ora dairy factory, at Makaraka; thence to "town" it followed down the bank of the Taruheru river. It was a long day's journey, the sledges being drawn by two bullocks, which were also used for ploughing. Wending its way across the manuka flat, where Gisborne now stands, the track came out by a little creek opposite Captain Read's store at Kaiti. The locality is marked to-day by the Harbor Board office. Passengers and produce were ferried across the river by boat. The store itself was not an elaborate building. It stood on the riverbank at Kaiti, with a small wharf in front. The grain disposed of and groceries purchased, Mr. Poulgrain, senior, and his lads would set off with the bullock sledges on his journey back to Matawhero. Captain Read owned a trading boat called the Tawera (Captain Joe Kennedy). This vessel was lost in the Bay of Plenty and was replaced by the Julius Vogel. Captain Read, he added, used to round up some of the wild stock on the flats and ship the animals away to Auckland. Kaiti, in those days, boasted of a Maori church adjoining the Kaiti pa. The Maoris were fairly numerous. Settlers on the Flats. There was but a handful of settlers scattered on the flats. Poverty Bay settlers in those days did not number many more than a dozen, according to Mr. Poulgiain, as he proceeded to enumerate the different families as he called them back to mind. There were the Tarrs at Matawhero, the U'Rens at Makaraka, the Dunlops at Opou, up the Arai creek, and the Wyllies across the Big river on the Patutahi side. Then there was his uncle Richard Poulgrain, at Makauri, Archdeacon Williams at the Waerenga-a-hika mission school, with between 200 and 300 students. Other settlers included the Harris, and Bloomfield families, at Matawhero, Burns (a shoemaker) and he has some recollection of a Dr. Smith and the Benson family. Escaped the Massacre. As those early years went by the Te Kooti troubles arose to cast a on scattered settlers of Poverty Bay. It so happened that Mr. Poulgrain had a practical knowledge of boat building and had built a yacht on the upper reaches of the Taruheru river at Makauri. The rumours regarding the notorious Te Kooti occasioned grave alarm and one night the Poulgrain family boarded their craft and quietly slipped down the river, boarding the schooner Tawera in the Bay. After remaining out there for several days the danger was reported to be over. This was the second "scare" Mr. Poulgrain had experienced and so unsettled was the family that he decided to leave Poverty Bay. He sailed the yacht to Napier, where the little vessel was sold, the family proceeding to Auckland. George Poulgrain followed subsequently, making the journey with Captain Kennedy in the Tawera. Thus, he and his people were actually in Auckland when the dreaded raid occurred, and the massacre of the Poverty Bay settlers took place. Shortly afterwards George Poulgrain, undaunted by the sad affair, returned to the district, obtaining work mainly in the backblocks. He was employed first in the Ngakaroa valley at Ormond, and afterwards on different properties, including 21 years on the Te Arai station under Mr. Chas. Evans. He was employed at fencing, driving bullocks, and general pioneering. Of the growth of the town of Gisborne, he could speak but little, as he had spent most of his time in the back country. Only once since had he been away from the Bay, and then on a visit to Christchurch. Despite his advancing years, Mr. Poulgrain is hale and hearty. He is now a resident of Aberdeen road. A Long-Lived Family Mr. Poulgrain comes of a sturdy family. His father and mother died in the Thames district, both having reached over 80 years of age. His seven brothers and sisters, who all resided in Poverty Bay in the early 'fifties, are still alive. They comprise Mesdames Cox and Dunn, of Auckland and the Waikato, Messrs, Richard (Auckland), John W. and Albert Edward, of Thames, and Fred. Poulgrain, of England. Mr. and Mrs. George Poulgrain have lived to see their family of six children grow up and settle in this district. The old and respected couple will be the recipients of many congratulations, and especially Mr. Poulgrain upon his 72 years' residence in Poverty Bay. Source: Poverty Bay Herald, 9 May 1927, Page 9 [3]

  
  

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