Lena Marion Buckley (known as Marion) and her brother Stanley were born in Greenwich, Kent, England. They left London on the Athenic on 4 March 1910 along with their mother Mary and sisters Nelly and Florence. Their father Harry, a stonemason, travelled to New Zealand separately.
On 21 February 1914 (107 years ago) Marion Buckley had travelled from her home in Ngaio to Tawa Flat for a Sunday School picnic. The boys in their party had been swimming, so Marion and her three friends borrowed swimming costumes from the boys and went for a swim. All the other girls except for Marion could swim. It appears that the girls all entered the water together and when they got to deeper water Marion’s friends warned her about trying to cross the stream but the current grabbed Marion and washed her into a deep hole. Her friends tried in vain to rescue her but sadly they were unsuccessful. Marion was 14 years old.
Following Marion’s death Harry and Mary continued to live in Ngaio but in 1922 their lives were struck by tragedy again.
On 16 August 1922, 18 year old Stanley Buckley left his home in Ngaio on his way to work at James Smith Department Store. In Lambton Quay he jumped onto the wrong side of the running board of the Lyall Bay tram. He stepped off the tram again and was hit by the tram. He initially survived his injuries but passed away on 24th August 1922.In their later years Harry and Mary lived in Ponsonby Road, Karori. Harry died in 1953 aged 83 and Mary died in 1956 aged 85.
