“Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever” (Job 19:24)
Our third photo from the Berry & Co collection features the grave of John David McLean (1850-1904). John David McLean was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia and arrived in New Zealand sometime before 1882. He married in Hawera in 1882 but his marriage ended in 1887 after his wife confessed to being involved with another man. Following this confession John was arrested after he threatened to kill the other man. A dramatic court case followed resulting in the charges against John being dropped.
After his divorce John lived in Napier, Whanganui and Wellington. John worked as a builder/carpenter and at the time of his death he was working as a builder at the Meat Export Company in Ngauranga Gorge. Sadly an accident at the Meat Export Company led to his sudden death in 1904. John was buried in Public 2 (Gum Gully).
In his will John left all his possessions to his brothers and sisters but frustratingly none of them are identified by name. His headstone states that his family were in Canada and the United States. Was the photo taken by Berry and Co sent to his family in Canada and United States?
Died 1901 aged 66 years and buried in Public Section. He has a very handsome gothic style headstone. His brother, Rober McGiffert Cleland is buried at Bolton Street.
From NZETC: Mr. Joseph McGiffert Cleland, who represented Thorndon Ward on the City Council from February. 1875, to September, 1877, was born near Belfast, County Down, Ireland, in 1835. His father, a North of Ireland farmer, sent him to the National Schools near Belfast, where he was educated. The subject of this notice was then apprenticed for four years to the grocery and provision trade in Birmingham, England, and was employed in general business till 1858, when he embarked for Wellington per ship “Robert Small.” Among his fellow passengers were Mr. (afterwards Mr. Justice) Johnston and other notable colonists. On arrival on the 13th of October of the same year, Mr. Cleland joined his brother at the Hutt, whom he assisted for some time in his business. For about a year subsequently he acted as manager of the late Mr. David Anderson’s store in Wellington, and for a like period he was employed as chief clerk to the late Hon. J. Martin. Mr. Cleland entered into business in Wellington as a storekeeper in 1862, which he conducted successfully till 1874, when he retired. In 1871 he was married to Miss Annie, daughter of the late Mr. George Dixon. His family numbers four, one daughter and three sons, of whom two are farming at the Hutt.
This is the information we can piece together on Rose: she was born Rosina Hazelwood in 1868 in Islington, London. She came to New Zealand with her family on the ship “Otago” in 1874.
Rose was aged 16 when she was married to Uriah James Williams, aged 42 in 1884. Uriah and Rosina’s daughter, Mabel Hannah, was born on 20th July 1884 at Lyttelton. It can’t have been an easy life for Rose, she was only 20 when her husband was sentenced to two years’ hard labor for indecent assault. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in trouble with the law.
Rose died aged 24 in 1892 and as the Cemetery opened in 1891, she is one of the early burials at Karori.
On the 1896 Electoral Roll, Uriah is recorded as living in the Benevolent Home, a laborer. He died aged 59 in 1901 and is buried in a separate plot.
The Hanratty monument in the first Catholic section has a poignant memorial above the inscription. Two angels are supporting a woman whose eyes are raised and hands are clasped in prayer. Perhaps the angels represent the two young daughters of James and Mary Hanratty – Kathleen who was only 6 months old when she died in 1899, and Kitty, only 5 weeks old when she died in 1905. Worse was to come for the family though – James died in a ghastly accident at work in 1913, crushed by a goods lift.
CRUSHED TO DEATH.IN A GOODS ELEVATOR. A shocking accident, resulting in the death of James Hanratty, head storeman, occurred at the Victoria Street bulk store of Messrs. E. W. Mills and Co. at about 10.45 a.m. yesterday. A large 3-ton electric goods elevator, about 8 feet square, runs through the building. The lift merely consists of a square wooden platform, connected with runners on each side, and is used to convey all the bulk goods stored above the ground floor, through different floors. Hanratty had just brought down a number of casks of plaster of Paris from the top floor, which were to be taken away in a cart which was backed into deposition near the lift well. To make the connection in order to run the casks directly into the cart, the unfortunate man stopped the lift when its floor was about four foot from the bottom, and bridged the space between the lift and the cart, with a board, on which he rolled the casks down. He was so engaged when, by some means or other, the lift commenced to ascend, and Hanratty was caught between the top of the lift well opening, and the floor of the moving elevator, and was crushed badly about the chest and abdomen. He was heard by the driver of the cart to groan “I’m done!” and almost immediately afterwards the man died. No one could for a time get at the lever to drop the lift and so release his body. An employee, Mr. Charles Perry, slid down the lift well, but could not get the lift to work owing to something having been thrown out of gear by the stoppage of the lift whilst the power was still on. It was only after strenuous efforts on the part of Mr. Archibald-Forbes, the manager of the department, that the lift was lowered sufficiently to allow of the release of the body half-an-hour after the accident. Mr. W. T. Bray, secretary for Messrs. Arthur Cock sandCo.. wholesale opticians, whose offices are on the first, floor of the building, heard the thud and an unusual noise made by the lift gear. On looking down the well he saw Hanratty’s position, and opining that something serious had happened he rushed downstairs and found Hanratty dead in the lift, at once ran off to summon medical assistance, and Drs.Begg, Fyffe, and Ewart were soon on the spot. Hanratty has been in the employ of Messrs. E. W. Mills for about a quarter of a century and was regarded as a careful, steady, and reliable man. The deceased, who was about 48 years of age, had resided at Wadestown for over 20 years and was a member of the local school committee. He leaves a wife, three sons, and a daughter.Dominion 6 February 1913
This portion of headstone was recently found in the stream some distance from the cemetery. It appears to have been in the water for a long time.We’ve been trying to figure out what the inscription says. Any suggestions?
This charming wee house in Mt Victoria came on the market today. It was built in 1910 for Mrs Catherine Gray who is buried at Bolton Street. This house is a: “fine example of a New Zealand adaption of the Federation Queen Anne style in timber” – WCC Inventory Report. The architects were Thomas Turnbull & sons, a practice that made significant contributions to the built fabric of our city. As a father and son team they produced the General Assembly Library (1899), former Bank of New Zealand Head Office (1901) and Dr Henry Pollen’s House (1902) amongst many other well known buildings.The Turnbull family plot is located at Karori Cemetery in Public 2 section. It is a substantial plot but like its neighbours, has its back to the road. Have any of you spotted it?
Well done Public Trust for getting the professionals in to refurbish the T G Macarthy headstones. Vlad was doing some detailed work on the lead lettering this morning – fiddly and time consuming but necessary to protect it for decades to come. T G Macarthy made a fortune from brewing and hotels and did many quiet philanthropic works during his lifetime. He married very late in life a much younger woman. They had no children and when he died he left half his fortune in trust with the Public Trust, and the other half to his wife. If she remarried and had children her portion was to pass to them. She did remarry but again there were no children so when she died her portion was returned to Public Trust who have been administering it wisely and well for more than a century. Many schools and local organisations throughout the greater Wellington region are still benefiting from grants from the Trust to this day. The Trustees are the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Wellington, and the Catholic Bishop of Wellington. https://www.publictrust.co.nz/…/thomas-george-macarthy…
Deep in Public2 section is this fine headstone to 28 year old George Henry Athea who “met with a fatal accident whilst in the execution of his duty”. He had been married to Kate for for two years and they had a young daughter, Olive. The tram had only been running to Kilbirnie for two years and George had been working as a conductor for one year.On 10th September 1908, George was serving as a tram conductor on a ‘Palace Car’ between Kilbirnie and the Government Railway Station when he fell from the back steps of the car before it pulled up to the Kilbirnie Hotel. He continued the journey as a passenger and then was conveyed to his home in Farm Grove Berhampore, by Archibald Butters who had been in charge of the Tram Car. When the doctor finally saw him George was “deeply unconscious” and died at 7pm that night. The inquest concluded the death was caused by a fall from a tramcar resulting in a fracture of the skull and that the death was purely accidental. George’s father, George Athea Senior died suddenly on the 19th September. On the 7th October, a benefit concert was held by the Zealandia vaudeville company to raise money for his widow. In 1910 Kate remarried to Henry Barraclough.
This angel standing adrift from her plinth caught our eye and the wistful words recorded beneath. Gladys was the daughter of Albert Edward Neilson and his wife Alice Maud Nicholls, who were married in 1903. Gladys died aged 19 months in 1908. Their second and only other child, Albert Kenneth, was born in 1910.
Sadly there is not much more that can be shared about Gladys, but we can report that her father Albert featured often in the Evening Post – first covering his contribution to the Boer War as Sergeant Farrier, but mostly in his role as rugby referee. In this line he refereed the Ranfurly Shield on occasion and also the Springboks Tour of New Zealand in 1921, was Secretary of the Wellington Rugby Union and was a member of the New Zealand rugby council.
Alice was a member of the National Women’s Reserve which was set up in 1915 to support the War. Alice represented the organisation at burials of returned soldiers.
Both Albert and Alice are interred in the same plot with Gladys in 1965 and 1966 respectively.
