A word of explanation.
Anne's 'story' has been taken from letters that remain, and her journal. In the first entry of her journal she said "my hand will write what my heart dictates". Some of her journal entries are very sad and personal, others are amazing as she documents her life in 'this savage land'.
We suspect that lump she mentioned was breast cancer.
Her journal and letters were edited initially by a distant cousin, Max Armstrong, and it is credit to him that her story has survived. My narrative is taken from his account of her life entitled "My Hand Will write What My Heart Dictates".
Later I will post 'Maria's Story'. Maria was Anne's sister in law who came to New Zealand to look after the four motherless Wilson children.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Anne's Story - Final installment.
The Elms Mission House
______________________________________________
Meanwhile life went on at the Puriri mission station as usual.
House fires were a real danger to the families, a raupo (NZ bullrush) hut burnt very quickly and fires were needed to help keep away the mosquitoes. Apparently by the time you counted to 20 the house would be burned.
“We have scarcely any excitement here but the other day Mr Preece’s chimney caught fire but providently the wind blew in the contrary direction or the house would not have been long a house. You will find Puriri looking very shabby. The dwellings begin to decay, the garden neglected. All things seem dreary except hope. I hope to see you soon.”
Missionaries children were not all little angels……
“The dear children are behaving remarkably well now. They have lost the bad example of Alex Chapman and the little Fairburns.”
Little did she realise that one her nephews would later marry one of the Fairburn children.
“I am very careful to keep our children from Alex Chapman. I am more and more convinced of the necessity. Mrs Brown begins to see it too and seems very careful also. Little Hawker grows a sweet little fellow. Indeed they are my only solace in this exile from you. John and James are behaving well.”
The other missionary wives provided wonderful support for each other. It wasn’t easy for them, they all came from different backgrounds and often had to share the same dwellings. Anne mentions many of them in her journal.
“Dined at Mrs Fairburns” “Mrs Chapman drank tea with us” “Teaching the children in the morning, Mrs Morgan dined with us” “In the morning sewing for Mrs Preece. Dined at Mrs Fairburns” “The Preeces have been uncommonly kind to us since we came here.”
Sickness was an ongoing problem;
“A miserable Sunday. Unwell and very much distressed not only with anxiety about my absent husband but a sick child. The low state of missionary spirit at this house is truly grievous.”
“Now it is night and dear little James who has shown signs of being poorly several times today, is in a fever and delirious. I fear it may prove the Puriri fever from which my family suffered so much when residing here formerly. The bare idea fills me with an inexplicable horror. I feel inclined to send for my husband but should he come only to suffer what he did before, how can I wish for him. If that illness should attack us again I feel as if I should sink under it.”
“Little Hawker grew very much sicker after I last wrote to you. I looked into Graham* and found an emetic recommendation. I therefore administered one to him, a third of a grain of emetic tartar. He suffered very much from it at the time but has been better ever since.”
In 1837 they shifted to Waimate but again John was often absent. Over the next two years Anne Wilson’s health worsened. Her headaches became more frequent and she discovered a lump under her arm.
Anne writes to her husband;
“Mr Marsden is expected here tomorrow. Everyone seems rejoiced but my poor heart is not in time with theirs. On Friday night I put on a blister which drew amazingly but does not seem to have done my side any good. It is rather worse than before.”
Later:
“Mr Marsden arrived last night. He is staying at Mr Clarkes. There is a doctor of the vessel come over here and Mr William Williams will consult him about me. Since I wrote this I have discovered a small hard lump coming under my left arm and am decidedly worse. I think it my duty to tell you so.”
On New Years Day 1838, with Anne expecting her fourth child, the Wilsons and the Browns embarked aboard the “Columbine” to return to Tauranga. Their fourth son George was born just weeks after their arrival in Tauranga.
Anne’s health continued to deteriorate and on 23 November, 1838, age 36, she died at The Elms in Tauranga. Her grave was the first European grave in the Mission cemetery.
She was nursed with great care and love by Charlotte Brown who later described her as:
“an endeared and highly valued friend and assistant….an affectionate and tender mother and a wife whose worth her husband only could really appreciate”
Anne Wilson became an inspiration to her family for many years to come.
She was my Great Great Great Aunt.
_______________________________________________________
Reference: Max Armstrong 'My Hand Will Write What My Heart Dictates'
*Graham was a medical reference book.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Anne Catherine Wilson - Part Two.
In 1834 they were transferred from the Bay of Islands to Puriri, near Thames, a station opened only the previous year. It was built on a swampy area and the mosquitoes swarmed and feasted on a diet of new blood.
On 30 July Francis Hawker Wilson, her third son, was born. Once again Anne was kept occupied with family and teaching in the mission school.
In the unhealthy climate the children of the missionaries were often sick and Anne Wilson was most unhappy. She had difficulty mastering the Maori language and found it difficult to express anything spiritual. Her health began to deteriorate and she was very lonely with the often long absences of her husband.
Her journal details many of the struggles and frustrations she had to deal with.
28 October Anne writes:
“My beloved husband has gone to the Bay of Islands in an open boat. May the lord support and comfort us both under the separation.”
“Heard of Mr Gordon Brown’s boat being overturned in the river. Spent a restless night thinking of my absent husband.”
In 1836 the Wilsons were sent to Tauranga to join Rev Brown and Mr. Stack. However there was tribal unrest and there were many anxious nights for Anne and the other missionaries at Tauranga. She was constantly separated from John who saw it as his duty to attempt to make peace between the warring factions.
She wrote:
“Eight hundred arrived – passed through the settlements at night on their way to Maketu.”
“Mr Wilson gone to preach to the army. Waharoa promised at his request to save the women and children.”
“Mr Wilson and Mr Wade came home with horrid accounts of warfare and cannibalism and as the fights were on their return, we ladies were dispatched with a few valuables on board the Columbine (CMS supply ship) then laying off (just offshore in Tauranga harbour).”
“It is decided Mr and Mrs Wade return to the Bay and that I and my children are to go to Puriri, I feel it is a severe affliction to be separated from John, neither do I see the necessity of such a shift.”
Anne was very disappointed to be sent back to Puriri with the children. She remained in Puriri until 1837 and this was a most unhappy time for her.
Here are some extracts from her journal and letters to her husband.
She worried, and with cause, that John might be in danger……..
“I feel every day a week, and every week a month, during this long separation. Oh I do hope and pray that these native wars may shortly come to a peaceful end.”
“In the evening preparing for my husbands departure tomorrow, feel very poorly but wish to be submissive as it is his duty to go, not to distress him by any expression of sorrow.”
“Do not fail, my dear, to let me return as soon as possible. This exile is extremely painful to me. I know you sent us away, from the affection you have towards us, yet the love I have for you makes me unhappy away from you – particularly when I think you are in danger. These moonlit nights make me afraid they may attack the Papa.*”
To be Continued.
Footnote
*The 'Papa' (Te Papa) was the name of the mission station at Tauranga. Now it has been renamed The Elms
On 30 July Francis Hawker Wilson, her third son, was born. Once again Anne was kept occupied with family and teaching in the mission school.
In the unhealthy climate the children of the missionaries were often sick and Anne Wilson was most unhappy. She had difficulty mastering the Maori language and found it difficult to express anything spiritual. Her health began to deteriorate and she was very lonely with the often long absences of her husband.
Her journal details many of the struggles and frustrations she had to deal with.
28 October Anne writes:
“My beloved husband has gone to the Bay of Islands in an open boat. May the lord support and comfort us both under the separation.”
“Heard of Mr Gordon Brown’s boat being overturned in the river. Spent a restless night thinking of my absent husband.”
In 1836 the Wilsons were sent to Tauranga to join Rev Brown and Mr. Stack. However there was tribal unrest and there were many anxious nights for Anne and the other missionaries at Tauranga. She was constantly separated from John who saw it as his duty to attempt to make peace between the warring factions.
She wrote:
“Eight hundred arrived – passed through the settlements at night on their way to Maketu.”
“Mr Wilson gone to preach to the army. Waharoa promised at his request to save the women and children.”
“Mr Wilson and Mr Wade came home with horrid accounts of warfare and cannibalism and as the fights were on their return, we ladies were dispatched with a few valuables on board the Columbine (CMS supply ship) then laying off (just offshore in Tauranga harbour).”
“It is decided Mr and Mrs Wade return to the Bay and that I and my children are to go to Puriri, I feel it is a severe affliction to be separated from John, neither do I see the necessity of such a shift.”
Anne was very disappointed to be sent back to Puriri with the children. She remained in Puriri until 1837 and this was a most unhappy time for her.
Here are some extracts from her journal and letters to her husband.
She worried, and with cause, that John might be in danger……..
“I feel every day a week, and every week a month, during this long separation. Oh I do hope and pray that these native wars may shortly come to a peaceful end.”
“In the evening preparing for my husbands departure tomorrow, feel very poorly but wish to be submissive as it is his duty to go, not to distress him by any expression of sorrow.”
“Do not fail, my dear, to let me return as soon as possible. This exile is extremely painful to me. I know you sent us away, from the affection you have towards us, yet the love I have for you makes me unhappy away from you – particularly when I think you are in danger. These moonlit nights make me afraid they may attack the Papa.*”
To be Continued.
Footnote
*The 'Papa' (Te Papa) was the name of the mission station at Tauranga. Now it has been renamed The Elms
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Story of Anne Catherine Wilson. Part One
In the mission cemetery in Tauranga, straight ahead as you walk up the path, is the grave of Anne Catherine Wilson. The inscription reads:
Anne Catherine Wilson,
wife of John Alexander Wilson.
23 November 1838 age 36.
“I shall soon be beyond that star and be with Him”
Anne Wilson nee Hawker was a gentle born ‘well–connected’ young lady with a very serious nature. She was born in Ireland but the family was living on Jersey when she met and married John Alexander Wilson. He had been in the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer and was also, like Anne’s parents, from a family with a background in the military. They were married in 1828.
Under the influence of Anne, John Wilson was converted to the Christian cause and they began to consider becoming missionaries. The Wilsons were different from many other missionaries, Anne’s family had ‘connections’ with gentry and her husband was a former naval officer and ‘gentleman’. They were accepted by the CMS (Church Missionary Society)and to the horror of Anne’s family were posted to that ‘outlandish place’ New Zealand*1.
In 1832 with their two small sons John age 3 and James age 1, they left for NZ via New South Wales (Australia)on the convict ship Camden. The trip was not without incident, Anne wrote in her journal;
“This has been an eventful, awful day. This morning I spent nursing little James who is poorly from the extreme heat. While we were at dinner a dreadful squall arose and carried away a sail and boom. It appeared as if the ship would overturn. I cannot say I felt the least alarm although most on board were greatly frightened. No one but a person in such a situation could conceive such a scare, convicts, soldiers, sailors, pulling ropes, running to and fro, the Captain and the First Mate bawling, cursing, and swearing in the most horrid manner. Women and children crying, and in about half an hour there was a calm."
“There is some talk of the convicts rising and taking the vessel, if there has been any plot its being discovered will prevent it, but some of the Officers we feel look at John supposing him to be the cause. Much is the prejudice against missionaries.”
For the next 6 years of her life Anne kept her journal in which she unburdened herself of her worries and fears. Her husband also kept many of her letters. Her journal and letters show her isolation, loneliness and devotion to the evangelical cause. The originals are in the Alexander Turnbull Library.*2
They arrived at the Bay of Islands*3 in April 1833. In the Bay of Islands John learnt some of the practical work expected of a missionary which he sometimes found difficult and distasteful. Anne was kept busy in the schools and they both began learning the Maori language.
She wrote in her Journal:
“We have thus begun housekeeping in this savage land. I have schools to attend to and girls under my charge, besides my own children”*4
Footnotes.
*1 New Zealand at that time was not an organised colony. The only people of European descent living here were transient whalers and sealers and the occasional European trader.
*2 The Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington is a repository for historical documents and other important historical data relating to early NZ.
*3 The Bay of Islands in the North of the North Island was the 'headquarters' for the Church Missionary Society's operation in NZ. Their mission stations there at Kerikeri and Paihia and Waimate had been established around 1818.
*4 The missionary's wives were expected to teach the Maori children to read and write and to also teach the women cooking, sewing etc in the English style.
To be continued...........
Anne Catherine Wilson,
wife of John Alexander Wilson.
23 November 1838 age 36.
“I shall soon be beyond that star and be with Him”
Anne Wilson nee Hawker was a gentle born ‘well–connected’ young lady with a very serious nature. She was born in Ireland but the family was living on Jersey when she met and married John Alexander Wilson. He had been in the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer and was also, like Anne’s parents, from a family with a background in the military. They were married in 1828.
Under the influence of Anne, John Wilson was converted to the Christian cause and they began to consider becoming missionaries. The Wilsons were different from many other missionaries, Anne’s family had ‘connections’ with gentry and her husband was a former naval officer and ‘gentleman’. They were accepted by the CMS (Church Missionary Society)and to the horror of Anne’s family were posted to that ‘outlandish place’ New Zealand*1.
In 1832 with their two small sons John age 3 and James age 1, they left for NZ via New South Wales (Australia)on the convict ship Camden. The trip was not without incident, Anne wrote in her journal;
“This has been an eventful, awful day. This morning I spent nursing little James who is poorly from the extreme heat. While we were at dinner a dreadful squall arose and carried away a sail and boom. It appeared as if the ship would overturn. I cannot say I felt the least alarm although most on board were greatly frightened. No one but a person in such a situation could conceive such a scare, convicts, soldiers, sailors, pulling ropes, running to and fro, the Captain and the First Mate bawling, cursing, and swearing in the most horrid manner. Women and children crying, and in about half an hour there was a calm."
“There is some talk of the convicts rising and taking the vessel, if there has been any plot its being discovered will prevent it, but some of the Officers we feel look at John supposing him to be the cause. Much is the prejudice against missionaries.”
For the next 6 years of her life Anne kept her journal in which she unburdened herself of her worries and fears. Her husband also kept many of her letters. Her journal and letters show her isolation, loneliness and devotion to the evangelical cause. The originals are in the Alexander Turnbull Library.*2
They arrived at the Bay of Islands*3 in April 1833. In the Bay of Islands John learnt some of the practical work expected of a missionary which he sometimes found difficult and distasteful. Anne was kept busy in the schools and they both began learning the Maori language.
She wrote in her Journal:
“We have thus begun housekeeping in this savage land. I have schools to attend to and girls under my charge, besides my own children”*4
Footnotes.
*1 New Zealand at that time was not an organised colony. The only people of European descent living here were transient whalers and sealers and the occasional European trader.
*2 The Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington is a repository for historical documents and other important historical data relating to early NZ.
*3 The Bay of Islands in the North of the North Island was the 'headquarters' for the Church Missionary Society's operation in NZ. Their mission stations there at Kerikeri and Paihia and Waimate had been established around 1818.
*4 The missionary's wives were expected to teach the Maori children to read and write and to also teach the women cooking, sewing etc in the English style.
To be continued...........
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Early Images
These are two images of some early ancestors of mine. They were taken using a light to project the image onto a screen and then filled in. Both were taken before the more popular method at the time, the daguerreotype, was widely used.
The first image is of Anne Catherine Wilson. She and her husband John Alexander Wilson and their two children travelled to New Zealand in 1832 to become missionaries. They had two more children in New Zealand and in 1838 Anne died, we think of breast cancer.
Anne and John Wilson were my Great Great Great Aunt and Uncle.
Her sister in law, Maria Williams Wilson,(the second image)was asked to journey out from England and help to look after the children. No doubt, being the only sister of John, and an unattached female, she was told it was her duty to come and help. She arrived in New Zealand in 1939 and accompanied her brother and the children to mission stations in Tauranga and Opotiki.
In 1843 Maria married Henry Tacy Kemp, eldest son of the missionaries James and Charlotte Kemp of Kerikeri.
Maria and Henry were my Great Great Grandparents.
Sadly there is little oral history that has been passed down in our family about her. She is remembered as a kindly woman, she spoke French, and was very homesick for England. She never ever returned there.
We are lucky though as many letters written by both ladies have survived. These give us an idea of what life was like in early New Zealand for the European women.
They had many different things to cope with - firstly the long and sometimes dangerous voyage out here, the lack of the type of housing they would have been used to, the difficulty in keeping the standard of dress that society still demanded of them, coping with sickness and also childbirth in primitive conditions etc.
.....to be continued
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Changing Face of New Zealand
I am a fifth generation New Zealander, or fourth generation, depending which branch of the family tree I choose to follow.
People have immigrated to New Zealand throughout our history, beginning with the Maori people. Māori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, probably in several waves, most likely between AD 1280 to 1300.
Apart from Maori, many New Zealanders are of European descent - or lately Asian. Like the Maori these people have come in 'waves'.
It is interesting to meet many 'new' New Zealanders now in every day life. Here are some I come into regular contact with.
When renovating out house recently - our builder was Welsh (North Wales and Welsh speaking too - love that language!), our electrician was Swiss.
Other people we know: our lawn mowing man is English but came here from South Africa, our neighbours are Scottish, another is Malayan Chinese, another is Tongan, our dairy (corner store)owner is Indian, my friend is Australian, my sister in law is German, my neice is married to a Fijian, my nephew is married to a Dutch woman, another to an English woman, other friends are Swedish and English, - I could probably add to this list all day!
I always tend to think of NZ as being rather isolated but we are no longer.
People have immigrated to New Zealand throughout our history, beginning with the Maori people. Māori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia, probably in several waves, most likely between AD 1280 to 1300.
Apart from Maori, many New Zealanders are of European descent - or lately Asian. Like the Maori these people have come in 'waves'.
It is interesting to meet many 'new' New Zealanders now in every day life. Here are some I come into regular contact with.
When renovating out house recently - our builder was Welsh (North Wales and Welsh speaking too - love that language!), our electrician was Swiss.
Other people we know: our lawn mowing man is English but came here from South Africa, our neighbours are Scottish, another is Malayan Chinese, another is Tongan, our dairy (corner store)owner is Indian, my friend is Australian, my sister in law is German, my neice is married to a Fijian, my nephew is married to a Dutch woman, another to an English woman, other friends are Swedish and English, - I could probably add to this list all day!
I always tend to think of NZ as being rather isolated but we are no longer.
Plant Hardiness Zones
I have been meaning to post this for a while in response to a question once about our local temperatures and zone classification.
We are in Zone 10 which means that we can grow plants that can withstand winters where the temperature goes down to a maximum of -1 Celsius. Our area of zone 10 is just a small niche on the coastline.
This is how I am able to grow, in a sheltered position, Frangipani, Poinsettia, Fruit salad plant, and many other semi tropical plants. They still need to be in a sheltered position and covered occasionally.
The New Zealand zone temperatures differ slightly from the American classifications which are:
Zone 1: below -46 C (below -50 F)
Zone 2: -46 to -40 C (-50 to -40 F)
Zone 3: -40 to -34 C (-40 to -30 F)
Zone 4: -34 to -29 C (-30 to -20 F)
Zone 5: -29 to -23 C (-20 to -10 F)
Zone 6: -23 to -18 C (-10 to 0 F)
Zone 7: -18 to -12 C (0 to 10 F)
Zone 8: -12 to -7 C (10 to 20 F)
Zone 9: -7 to -1 C (20 to 30 F)
Zone 10: -1 to 4 C (30 to 40 F)
Zone 11: above 4 C (above 40 F)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Elvis Presley - I Cant Help Falling In Love With You
Time for a snippet from the past..........
It's amazing how music can take us right back to where we once were.
Wherever that place was - a restaurant, in class, on a flight, etc.
Hehe, even in my case in a cowshed! My Dad always had the radio going full volume when he was milking the cows. The cows loved the music and would gather around, jostling to be the closest. On a rare time when the radio was silent they would be restless and unsettled.
And here is one of the songs from that era that they listened to.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Bay of Plenty - history lesson.
Putz has asked the meaning of the name of the region I live in - the Bay of Plenty.
Here is a short history/geography lesson!
________________________________________________________________________________
On 26th August 1768, the ship Endeavour set sail from Plymouth,England, stocked with 18 months supplies, with 94 men aboard and captained by James Cook.
On 6th October 1769, Nicholas Young, the surgeon's boy, sighted the coastline of New Zealand from the masthead of The Endeavour.
On 8th October the Endeavour sailed into a bay, and laid anchor at the entrance of a small river in Tuuranga-nui (today's Poverty Bay, near modern Gisborne). Cook named a peninsula in this bay "Young Nick's Head" after Nicholas Young.
The ship proceeded to sail around New Zealand and they charted the waters of the new country. Many places were named along the way and many of these names are still used to this day ie Poverty bay, Cape Kidnappers, Mercury bay etc.
The Bay of Plenty (Māori: Te Moana-a-Toi), often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. The bay was named by James Cook after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to the earlier observations he had made in Poverty Bay.
The region spans the area from the base of the Coromandel Peninsula to Cape Runaway. Several Islands are situated within the bay, the most notable of which is White Island, an active volcano.
Today, Tauranga is the commercial centre of the region and enjoys a warm, dry climate.
Whakatane is the main centre in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and is the departure point for exploration of White Island, New Zealand's only active marine volcano.
The city of Rotorua is a geothermally active area, where spouting geysers, boiling mud pools and warm geothermal springs come to the Earth's surface.
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