W - William Reuben George Betts

William was born in Chelsea, London on 27 December 1841. His birth is registered as Reuben George, but by the time he was baptised at St Luke, Chelsea in January 1842 his name had become William Reuben. On the 1851 census he was recorded as Reuben. He was the second child and only son of Thomas Betts and Anne nee Horskins. He was a first cousin of my great great grandmother.

William’s father was recorded as a Distiller when he married Ann and a Brewer’s Labourer on the 1851 census. On subsequent censuses he is recorded as a Labourer. William was usually recorded as a Labourer too, but on Christmas Eve 1865 when he married Elizabeth Rice in Wandsworth, he gave his occupation as Engine Driver. At the baptism for his eldest son, he is recorded as a Stoker.

In July 1874, with his wife and three eldest children, William emigrated to New Zealand. His cousin, my great great grandmother had been living in Christchurch since 1860. Did they come because they knew she was already settled there? Or was there other family already here as well? They had five more children once in Christchurch, although only two survived into adulthood.

Christchurch was still a small town in the 1870s, they surely knew each other although I have never heard talk of this family before myself. They lived and worked in the same growing suburbs as well.

In 1900 the family were living in Southampton Street, Sydenham. Their three eldest children Elizabeth, James and Walter were already married. James was employed as a compositor; Walter was a bootmaker and very shortly would have a shoe store on the corner of Colombo and Byron Streets. There appears to be another Betts family living in Sydenham. James marries a daughter from this family but perhaps they are connected some other way too? Potentially cousins of William.

In another potential twist or hypothetical coincidence. Two of my grandfather’s cousins ran a printing and stationery business in Christchurch. Where did they learn this trade? Could it be that they worked for their Betts cousins who were compositors and in the print trade?

A DNA match revealed this surprise connection. Until then we had absolutely no idea anyone else in this family had emigrated. Let alone to the same flourishing city or that William and his wife were buried just a row apart from my great great grandparents.

Do you know this family? Maybe we can collaborate.

Best Dressed Doll 1930 at the 4th Annual Winter Show and Exhibition at the King Edward Barracks, Christchurch

My Mum has a tiny doll in a tiny antique pram which weighs not much more than a feather. Even as a child it felt fragile to me. A not to be played with toy.

There were other dolls from Mum’s childhood that became part of the doll family I had as a child. Darrell (who I renamed Carol) and Josephine, who had been her younger sister’s doll. These two were composition dolls manufactured by a mixture of glue with sawdust which was heavier and denser than papier mâché and easily molded. They had hollow bodies and moveable limbs and head thanks to some contraption inside the body which seemed like rubber or elastic bands and hooks. Their facial features and hair were painted, and they both had eyes that opened and closed if you laid them down to sleep. Josephine was a taller doll and could stand up – if you balanced her feet correctly. Being wood based they were susceptible to damage from moisture though.

This other even smaller and more fragile doll was made of celluloid and first belonged to Auntie Hilda, the youngest sister of Mum’s father.

Celluloid was first created in 1863 and is one of the first synthetic plastics created from wood products that included camphor and cellulose nitrate. Doll makers began experimenting as early as the 1870s. By the early 1900s celluloid dolls were plentiful. Earlier dolls were breakable and fragile made from china and bisque. Celluloid although inexpensive is flammable, so not perfect, and one would imagine there could have been tears with open fires and coal range stoves. Dolls continued to be molded with celluloid as late as the 1950s though the majority were made between 1900-1940.

Hilda, my great aunt, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in the summer of 1914. She was the youngest child with four older siblings. They lived in Middleton Road on a 3 acre block which was part of the original Wharenui settlement. Her father worked for the railways and her mother, most likely assisted by the children, tended the land and home. They had an orchard with fruit trees and rows upon rows of raspberries as well as other vegetables and a cow which supplied milk and butter. I am sure they probably had chooks too.

In my quest to build knowledge of the lives of our forebears, to keep their memories alive, I often search digitised newspapers for snippets about them and clues about their day-to-day life. Recently, while searching to see what I might be able to glean about school life and other social activities of my grandfather and his siblings I came across a couple of pieces of information that seemed connected to the little doll as well.

I had not ever really thought about her doll and the history attached to it, other than that it had belonged to her in a bygone era. I don’t know if it had a name and it is so fragile, I can’t imagine it was ever played with as we, or our children play with dolls in more recent times. Hilda like most young girls in her generation and earlier generations was a knitter and a seamstress. Like her contemporaries she will have learned these skills from her mother from a very young age. 

Prize List, Needlework, Winter Show and Exhibition 1930 from Press, Monday 11 August 1930, page 17.

Hilda would have been about 16 at this time, was the doll bought just to be a model for her handiwork? Or was it a treasured childhood toy? I knew that when given to Mum the doll was dressed in clothes which may have been made by Hilda or perhaps her sister or mother. But I hadn’t given it much more thought than that. Now though? Was she wearing those items that had won Hilda the prize? Is that why she had been kept all these years?

Two entries from secondary school students for Hand-knitted baby's jacket; first prize to Hilda (perhaps made for her nephew). Three entries for Most useful article; Very Highly Commended to Hilda (I wonder what it was) and three entries for Best dressed doll; first prize to Hilda.

Can you imagine sewing or knitting these tiny items in a room unlit by electricity? The detail is incredible, smocking, stitched lace, embroidery. The knitting (feather and fan on the cape) must have been at least 2 ply on needles the size of toothpicks!

These days, although she still wears her original undergarments and booties, she has a new cape and bonnet knitted by Mum and a dress knitted in feather and fan found at a craft market or fair. Her original dress, cape and bonnet are showing a little wear and have been carefully packed away to save further damage. Some of the ribbon ties have not survived the close to 100 years. Recently she made a trip back to her hometown of Christchurch and spent a few days being tenderly restored so that her limbs were no longer loose. Maybe with a little luck she will be cherished for another hundred or so years perhaps within the family, perhaps in a museum collection.

Week 2: Favourite Photo #52Ancestors2023

I have been deliberating about photos for two weeks now, trying to pick one.

There aren’t truckloads of photos in our family. Not “old” ones. There are plenty of more recent holidays and adventures as a family as my parents took lots of photos and slides when were kids and to a certain extent that love of photography has been passed on - at least to some. A lot of digital images though, stored in the cloud somewhere or on phones and other devices. Not as easy to pick up and reminisce about.

This one, then, made the cut.

It is taken at Sumner Beach near Christchurch, New Zealand about 1908-1909, I am guessing, based on the ages of the children. Only one person looking at the camera, or at least in the general direction, and the others with faces turned or obscured by hats. Cave Rock and the pier are in the background.

The gentleman standing is my great grandfather, John Fuller. Every photo we have of this man, he is wearing a hat that shades his face. EVERY one! John was born in Christchurch in 1866, the second son of Julius Fuller and Maria, nee Horskins. He worked for the railways and for most of his employment was based at Middleton Station.

The children are his three eldest. Edith (Edie) the eldest born 1902, at the back looking at her father or toward Cave Rock, Frank (facing the camera) born 1904 and Albert (Bert) my grandfather born 1906, bending over studying the sand perhaps.

Who took the photo? Maybe my great grandmother?

The family lived in Upper Riccarton, in the Wharenui Hamlet. To travel from there to Sumner would have been a relatively long, bumpy, probably cramped tram ride. Possibly requiring a change of tram in central Christchurch to continue on the way.

Its hard to tell which season it is from their attire. No bare feet on the sand for those kids! But there is someone in the water down the beach a bit further.

Climbing Cave Rock was a popular pastime for those who made the journey to Sumner. There had been a Yard and Mast Arm on the rock since 1865 alerting ship’s captains to the conditions when crossing the bar to dock at Ferrymead or sailing around the heads to dock at Lyttelton. I imagine climbing the rock dressed in petticoats and long dresses, carrying a parasol might not have been easy.

The pier in the background is crowded with people strolling along its length, taking in the sea air. Toward the end of the pier you can see the roof of the Sumner Lifeboat Institution, along with a slipway. The building was built in 1898, but there had been life savers and lifeboats stationed there since the 1870s.

There would most likely have been tea rooms serving refreshments, a band rotunda and possibly swings and roundabouts near to the tram stop or in the small seaside village. There were definitely donkey rides. You can read more about them here.  I had never thought about them as being an Edwardian family until reading this, but they were, and I think from now on I will try to remind myself of that.

cropped and enlarged from original photo

Reflection

Today, 22 February, has a bit of a reflecting theme in my life.

As a member of GirlGuidingNZ for many years it was a time we thought about the people who had the vision to create a movement for youth over 100 years ago. First for boys and then for girls. We also learnt about and thought about or Guiding and Scouting sisters and brothers around the world. In more recent times there have been global themes to learn about and support too.

It is also the anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake which struck at 12.51pm. There had been two previous large shakes in the months leading up to this one, but this was the event which caused the most devastation to buildings, people and lives. I enjoy revisiting the Garden City to see the rejuvenation of parklands, homes and inner city buildings. There are some real visionary architects and planners at work there, and the people of Christchurch community contribute too in a quietly positive way.

Aside from that reflection though, I can't believe we are almost at the end of the second month this year and I haven't written ANYTHING.

Most of the past six weeks has involved staying hydrated, drinking heaps (water, juice, milkshakes, water, soft drinks, wine) to make up for all the moisture which seems to escape through my skin and then stay on the surface, not evaporating; clammy and sticky in the humidity. As well as drinking, eating iceblocks has become a thing - making our own too with moderate success, but always welcomingly cold and refreshing. It has been warm even at night. In the past couple of weeks there has been a welcome breeze though which makes it seem cooler, even if it isn't. Today it is blustery, reminiscent of Wellington, as Cyclone Oma dilly-dallies off the Queensland coast trying to decide which way she will go.

Searching for work absorbs a lot of my time, or it did until about a fortnight ago when I was placed in a temp position. What a great system is on offer here to support those who have been impacted by a natural disaster. In this case the floods in Townsville and beyond caused by a monsoonal trough. Two years rain in a matter of days. It is incomprehensible.

I'm working shifts, part of a 24/7 team with call teams, and a multitude of administrative support. So weekends aren't the norm now, but I do usually get two days off at a time.

Today is one of them.

I have been trying to make some headway with working out where some of our close DNA matches fit. Most I have been able to work out a rough approximation, but others definitely require some dedicated time as a sleuth. Earning some money has been a bonus for this as I have been able to resubscribe to some things without feeling guilty about spending frivolously.

I started compiling a list of things I'd like to do this year; where did I save that ? I had better get started on some things though it it might end up being a Christmas rush to get it all done.

I'm still reflecting on me decision to not join the #52Ancestors challenge again this year. There have been some GREAT topics, so you never know. There could be some more of them coming soon.

Christchurch: Autumnal Glory and an Air of Renewal

After the frenetic pace of the last few weeks at work, a long planned weekend away was suddenly upon us.

Christchurch has to be one of my favourite New Zealand cities. I really enjoyed living there, even though it was just for 12 months. Returning to visit is always enjoyable. In it's current rebuilding phase, there is always something new to see, always stark reminders of the pain and suffering the city and it's people are still working through.

The autumn colours are much more vibrant than in Auckland where it still feels too warm to be called autumn. The rivers and parks provide opportunities to be amongst nature and to enjoy walking in the fresh air.

Two days was just not long enough really. Time to meet up with friends for meals, and family too as Mum and Dad had come down from Blenheim to see a show. Time for a wander about some of our favourite places - even a drive over the hills to the hidden gem which is Lyttelton, Charteris Bay and Diamond Harbour.

Flowers at the airport

Gorgeous wallpaper at Little Poms - reminiscent of the airport flowers

Street Art is always amazing in Christchurch

 Some houses are still hurting

 Where once there were homes and streets, now there are pathways

 and signs only visible to those in the know - boundary planting and 

 clues on fences where letterboxes once stood, and telephone cabling at the "kerbside"

 Stoddarts cottage - Diamond Harbour

Sunset, back in Auckland

Mother Nature sends us a reminder

So, like I said in my last post, we had made a surprise trip to Blenheim for Dad's birthday.

Turns out we surprised more than just Mum and Dad - the nephews had been kept out of the loop as well ! We all went out for dinner that evening which was enjoyable. We spent Sunday - birthday proper - catching up, sharing morning tea with other family...and inevitably discussing a bit of family tree. 

It had been pretty wet on Saturday, but was looking a little brighter on Sunday. Lauren was keen to go see "her" cob cottage. She even mentioned it as we had crossed the Wairau River on our way from Nelson to Blenheim on Saturday. But the river was so high with all the rain I didn't fancy driving along the riverbank. On Sunday, the river levels had begun to drop but the road up to the cottage is unsealed and alongside a small stream (including a ford) which was likely to have been running higher than normal - so again the opportunity was lost.

And so to bed - late as usual. Only moments after I had turned off the light, but long enough to have been half asleep, I suddenly became aware that the earth was moving. Initially, I lay in bed listening to the coathangers clinking against each other in the wardrobe, then it became more violent. The house felt like it was twisting and turning and trying to lift itself off its foundations. I remember thinking in blurry half asleep thought "where is this happening if I can feel it this strongly in Auckland ?" and then "Gah !! I'm not in Auckland, I'm in Blenheim". About the same time things began banging, and crashing and falling. I decided then that the door frame might be where I should be, so I shot out of bed and stood there, holding the frame while the house bucked and twisted and things crashed about. I'm usually a freeze on the spot person, wait and see. Earthquakes don't scare or terrify me. They are just one of those things that happen. It's where we live. But I had never felt anything like this one in all my time living in Wellington or Christchurch. And then it stopped.

The power was out, so the light on our cellphones came in very handy. We all checked on each other - no injuries - and began checking to see if anything was broken. Miraculously just a few cd cases were casualties having been thrown across the floor when the cd towers had fallen over. An orchid in a pot was strewn across the floor as well, and the vases of flowers on the dining room table had fallen over and emptied water over the table and onto the floor. Ornaments had fallen or been thrown from the large wall unit, but landed without breaking on the carpet. Glasses of water on bedside tables had tipped their contents on the floor or on the beds. All the while we could feel aftershocks. Since there was no power, there was no wifi either. Dad had his little radio on. Radio New Zealand were great - imagine doing that show !! So 7.8 near Culverden. Crikey.

Eventually we managed to get some signal outside - yay for mobile data. I text everyone I could think of in Wellington, Marlborough and in Christchurch, checking they were all okay and reassuring them that we were. Neighbours checked on each other and nephew #1 called by to check that we were all okay on his way home to be with his Mum and brother. An hour or so later, with things tidied up and other things moved to the floor - just in case we headed back to bed to try and get some sleep. There was some sleep, but it was interrupted with the earth wobbling constantly. 

In the morning on the tv we began to see the effects and damage. Kaikoura, Waiau, Mt Lyford, Ward, Oaro. Small rural and coastal communities, completely cut off from the rest of the country. Just crazy. I had a few messages from rellies overseas checking in to be sure we were all okay. 

We didn't have time to look at much as we needed to fly back to Auckland. It felt odd leaving it all behind. If not for work, we'd have preferred to stay and help in some way. It felt even more peculiar to be so far removed from it all that we couldn't even feel the shaking - having been in the thick of it initially.

Over the next few days as the media were able to get access to the impact zone our newspapers, online and tv news, social media were flooded with images and stories. The force of Mother Nature is just awe inspiring, yet freaky. Great chasms forming new valleys, monster landslides, uplift of the land and seabed in place up to 2 metres ! giant boulders tossed to the ground, the railway line thrown across the coastal highway and on to the beach, the road subsiding and cracking, the movement north, east and west of parts of the country.

Slowly things are returning to whatever normal is, some roads have reopened, the trip from Picton to Christchurch now takes 7 1/2 hours instead of 4, the earth is still moving. Many buildings in Wellington were damaged and some are being demolished - that was a surprise since the quake wasn't felt as strongly there as it was in North Canterbury and Marlborough. Doesn't bode too well for that big quake they are still expecting. 

My heart is with Kaikoura though, it is where my family settled after first being in Wellington - and leaving after the 1855 quake. Some of them where already there though as they are referenced in diaries and accounts of that quake and its damage to Flaxbourne (Ward) and the Clarence.

Check out these sites if you are interested in seeing the destruction that can be wrought in minutes, by natural forces
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/86416304/Live-7-8-New-Zealand-earthquake
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/75-north-canterbury-quake-shakes-new-zealand-ck-196636
http://www.sciencealert.com/new-zealand-s-earthquake-was-so-powerful-it-dragged-the-sea-bed-2-metres-above-ground
http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/2016/11
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/21/502889609/watch-drone-footage-shows-aftermath-of-new-zealand-quake
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11757659
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/kaikoura-earthquake/318101/the-earthquake-aftermath-in-pictures
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/nz-earthquake/86460020/Earthquake-More-cows-stranded-on-an-outcrop-of-land-after-three-saved

and many more - and in case you are wondering, the cob cottage at Bartletts Creek is still standing.

Change

I'm being a bit rubbish about keeping up to date with all the happenings lately.

So, here goes:

1. Christchurch is no longer my home - it was great while it lasted, but circumstances made it hard to want to try and stay. Jobs with a predetermined end date, rents which were out of my reach if it was just going to be me.

2. I think Marlborough/Nelson/Tasman could be my home one day - so much amazing scenery.

3. Auckland is my home now. Just as expensive as Christchurch for not as great quality, so we are still housemates for as long as it takes to get on our feet separately.

4. There are new places to explore.

5. My life is still in boxes...

So anyway, today we went on a bit of an explore because we have to go driving to get used to the traffic, and check that the Navman can cope with it even when we can't.

So first we went to Parnell for Pizza. At Sals. We'd tried it once before on the Shore, but this was closer, and we just wanted one slice. 

'Cos that is all you need believe me.

Then we went for a walk up through the shops. It still has that village feel which is nice, so close to the craziness that is the CBD. We happened upon these guys painting a mural. SO clever.

 then we had us some gelato

and went on a l-o-n-g drive to find the lighthouse at Manukau Heads. 

It would have been prettier on a nicer day, but it was on the list of free things to do in Auckland - so we have done it now. It was free (well a donation to go in to the lighthouse) but there isn't anything else much to do once you get all the way there...and then there is the cost of petrol. Hmmm.

Winds of change

Well gosh darn it - I haven't been here for what seems like eons.

I have been taking photos and making mental notes to update life's happenings, but woops.

This time last year I was an emotional mess which resulted in making what now seems like the dumbest decision in my life. However, life goes on and in the past 12 months I have experienced many new things. New jobs, new cities, new journeys, new friends and new beginnings.

But those winds of change have blown in again and unsettled barely formed plans. Christchurch has been farewelled, and home looks like it could be further north than ever before - in this country at least.

Sometimes this seems like a half baked idea, but then I think..."My job was just not doing it for me anymore, and the likelihood of my contract being extended past the end of the year felt pretty remote. So best to cut bait and run now ahead of everyone else hitting the job market" I also don't think I ever considered that Christchurch would be my forever home - though I am open to returning if the time was right.

We had some winter weather - even a teeny bit of snow - not enough to cause chaos, or even to hang around for long and look pretty, but snow after all. Another new experience.

We had a spur of the moment road trip to Dunedin (for lunch) as you do. If I had realised how close this great city was to Christchurch I would have made many more regular trips. We found this yarn-bombed tree.

and this on the way back

Spring was definitely in the air over our last few weeks in Christchurch, but we ended up missing the best part of our beloved rental property's garden -the Magnolia tree and Cherry trees coming into flower.

...and definitely going to miss this drive to work,

and the fun times with new friends. It's been great. What will the next 12 months bring ?

Ferrymead - A Glimpse of the Past

Ferrymead Heritage Park. A bit like MOTAT in Auckland but less crowded and a great place to reflect on life as it used to be. Simpler.

hehe - not so old - a bit of my everyday in Wellington until just a couple of years ago