Sarah Harris was the daughter of Luke Harris and Charlotte Newman (see Charlotte Harris profile in this cemetery). Born around 1838 in East Chinnock, Somerset, Sarah and the family obtained…
Charlotte Harris
Charlotte Harris (nee Newman) Charlotte was born and married Luke Harris in East Chinnock, Somerset. In the 1841 census they are listed as living there with Luke’s parents, Luke and…
Sylvia Tesoriero
My Zia Sylvia, she was my mum’s elder sister. She was 4 years old when she passed in 1944, and my Mum was born the year after. My Nonno ran…
William Higgins
William “Bill” Higgins was born Jan 2 1894 in Mangatainoka, the town in which his mother Bertha’s family eventually settled after fleeing persecution in Prussia (now Poland) in 1875. Bertha…
Sophia Ashley
Sophia Ashley was born Sophia Roberts in 1824 in Ideford, Devon, England to William Roberts, Shoemaker and his wife Elizabeth Bottrell. She was baptised on 2 September 1824 in the…
Percy John Wilkinson
Percy John Wilkinson was born 16 February 1873[i] in Adelaide, Australia. His father, Charles Wilkinson, had emigrated from England in 1850[ii] and after an unsuccessful stint at the Victorian goldfields,…
Herbert Baillie
With the re-opening of the city library in March 2026, we thought we would share a little about one of our early city librarians: Herbert Baillie. Herbert was born in…
Henry Harness
Grave Digger On 24th July 1918, the gravediggers at Karori Cemetery wrote a letter to the Mayor (John-Pearce Luke) requesting the following: The following men signed the letter: H. (Henry)…
‘My Renegade Brother’
The bizarre story of the Bezar plot. ‘I shall be pleased to have your explanation as to why your Council permitted an unauthorised person – my renegade brother – to…
Bridget Wilkinson
Bridget Wilkinson nee Colgan was born approximately 1864[i] into a large Catholic family in County Offaly, Ireland. Two sisters had already emigrated to New Zealand in 1879[ii], marrying Irish farmers…