Mary Rowlands (Bell)
By Glenn Rowlands, great, great grandson
Mary is Buried in plot *Ch Eng/x/137 and was buried on the 27th April 1906.
Mary Bell was born on the 17th January 1829 in Wakefield Yorkshire and arrived in Wellington on the Birman in March 1842 along with her family, aged 13. Her family settled in the Johnsonville area and then settled about 1852 on the Porirua Rd and farmed dairy cows there supplying milk to settlers.
She married my Great Great Grandfather William Rowlands (who had arrived in 1841) on 1st May 1847. William was a Goldsmith and Watchmaker and ran a successful general store on “The Beach” which is now Lampton Quay (The Equinox Building now stands on the site), they owned quite a large number of properties around the Mt Victoria Tunnel and Oriental parade area of Wellington as well as Lyttleton in Canterbury.
They ended up with 10 Children the first being born in March 1848 and the last in June 1868.
William passed away in Melbourne while away on business in 1879.
Mary continued on and in later years went and lived with one of the daughters in Paekakariki until she passed away from heart disease on 26th April 1906.
I did find her headstone whilst on business in Wellington recently, and I hope to return at some point in the future to clean the area up and to try and find the lettering which has fallen out over the years from the Pink Marble headstone.
Photos supplied by Glenn Rowlands.
Poster caption
We the undersigned RETAIL STORE KEEPERS, at the request of those in our employment, Agree, on and after 1st April, to close our respective places of business at 7 o’clock, P.M. Saturdays excepted, during the WINTER MONTHS, viz from 1st April to 1st October. 28th March, 1850.. [Miscellaneous ephemera related to selling and advertising of merchandise in retail outlets. 1800s]. Ref: Eph-B-RETAIL-1850-01. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22308484
Painting caption
Holmes, William Howard, 1825-1885. [Holmes, William Howard], 1825-1885 :Lambton Quay 1856. The Beach. Barrett’s Hotel, looking North. 1856.. Ref: B-139-017. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22305665
Email 28.07.25 to Friends of Karori Cemetery from Glenn Rowlands
Hello there, Just come across your wonderful page on Facebook and thought I would write up something about my Great Great Grandmother Mary Rowlands (Bell).
Mary is Buried in plot *Ch Eng/x/137 and was buried on the 27th April 1906.
Mary Bell was born on the 17th January 1829 in Wakefield Yorkshire and arrived in Wellington on the Birman in March 1842 along with her Family aged 13, Her Family settled in the Johnsonville area and then settled about 1852 on the Porirua Rd and farmed dairy cows there supplying milk to settlers
She married my Great Great Grandfather William Rowlands (who had arrived in 1841) on 1st May 1847,
William was a Goldsmith and Watchmaker and ran a successful general store on “The Beach” which is now Lampton Quay (The Equinox Building now stands on the site), they owned quite a large number of properties around the Mt Victoria Tunnel and Oriental parade area of Wellington as well as Lyttleton in Canterbury.
They ended up with 10 Children the first being born in March 1848 and the last in June 1868.
William passed away in Melbourne while away on business in 1879
Mary continued on and in later years went and lived with one of the Daughters in Paekakariki until she passed away from heart disease on 26th April 1906.
I did find her headstone whilst on business in Wellington recently, and I hope to return at some point in the future to clean the area up and to try and find the lettering which has fallen out over the years from the Pink Marble headstone.
