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.
Very great regret was expressed by the members at the projected departure of Mr Geo. Redpath from the district. Mr Redpath occupied up to the present the position of secretary; and it is no exaggeration to say that it would not be possible to find anyone who could bring the same amount of zeal and energy to the discharge of the duties of his position, and for his willing services to the Union the members are all deeply grateful to him.
Source: Tuapeka Times, 22 June 1892, Page 3
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.
Obituary
The late Mr George Redpath, of Rakauroa, was born at Port Chalmers, on board the ship Robert Henderson as she arrived in port from the Homeland, and was identified with pioneering work all his life, haying settled in the Tuapeka district before he came to Poverty Bay. Twenty-one years ago he took up the section at Rakauroa, where he had resided ever since, and he has seen the transformation of the wilderness into fruitful fields and smiling homestead. Two of his sons acquired property in the Waioeka district, which they still hold, he himself taking up another property lying between Waioeka and Rakauroa. He was a man of indomitable perseverance and sterling character, and was ever to the fore in anything that was for the good of the district, being large hearted and generous. He leaves a widow, three sons (one a medical student in Dunedin) and two daughters, and an aged mother, who had been on a visit to see him. Much, sympathy is felt for his widow, who in the short space of ten months has lost a beloved daughter, a mother, and now her husband, a man who was respected and beloved throughout the whole district.
Source: Poverty Bay Herald, 4 March 1914
Chris Korte's New Zealand Genealogy Project
1860 - 1914 (53 years)
Has 23 ancestors and more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
[1, 2, 3, 4] 
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