This tiny plot is tucked at the very end of Row K in Public2. It is for the four week old son of Stanley Oliver OBE and his wife Frances (nee Anglin).
The couple were married in Burlington, Vermont, USA in February 1934.
Stanley was the conductor of the Montreal Choral Society.
In April 1934 the couple departed for Australia and New Zealand reportedly on a ‘holiday and health tour’. Their first stop was Wellington where he was an invited guest conductor of several concerts. They were rather taken with the city and in June 1934 Stanley was elected conductor of the Royal Wellington Choral Union. He was one of 27 applicants for the post. He also founded the Schola Cantorum.
Their son William Stanley was born on 15th September 1935. He died at Wellington hospital on 13th October, ‘dearly loved infant son of Stanley and Frances Oliver’. He gradually faded away, the doctors did not know why.
While researching William, we came across this wonderful website created by his sister, Mary Knox, who was born in 1940, six years after his death. We asked Mary if she was happy for us to share it. If you want to read more about the Oliver family and their emigration to New Zealand, please follow this link:
https://suitcaseofmemoriessite.com/part-one-the-oliver-and-hawkes-families-of-kent-england/8-stanley-oliver-1881-1964-the-making-of-a-musician/
In 1952, Stanley was awarded an OBE for his services to music. He died in 1964 in Lower Hutt. Frances died in 1975. She was also a talented artist.
Our recent Tuesday working bee cleared his plot of weeds, and we hope in time that we will have some new plant cover for it. Mary hopes to visit the plot for the first time one day soon.
Plot: *Public 2/K/590
