O - Olive Laura Hammond

Olive was born in Appleby or Richmond near Nelson New Zealand in 1893. Her parents Walter and Eva were first cousins. Her grandfathers were brothers who had come to New Zealand in the early 1840s with their parents who were following other members of the family.

Olive was the eldest child of the marriage, although she did have an older half brother from her father’s first marriage. She had two younger brothers and a younger sister by 1899.

She grew up with her siblings in the Waimea area where her father worked for Hon. J. Barnicoat on his estate. He was the third generation of the Hammond family to be employed by Mr Barnicoat. His grandfather had travelled to New Zealand on the same ship as Mr Barnicoat who was tasked with surveying the Waimea plains. On Mr Barnicoat’s death he was able to buy part of the estate and farmed there for the remainder of his life. He was a founder of the Waimea Dairy Company and director for twenty years. He was also well known for his pedigree Friesian herd who won prizes at shows and produced superior milk for use in cheesemaking.

Driving through that area today, you can imagine it must have been a carefree and enjoyable life in those early days in the colony, when you were fortunate enough to have a successful farm providing a good income.

Olive’s brothers all married but she and her sister did not. Olive became a schoolteacher, sitting an entry examination in 1911 when she was eighteen. Her sister Vida became a nurse, training in Nelson and in 1940 was appointed Matron at Whangarei Public Hospital. Born in the year of the 3^rd Suffrage petition perhaps she was meant to be a strong independent woman.

When she died in 1964, she left £300 to two nieces (nothing to nephews?) and the remainder of her estate to her sister.

She and Vida are buried together at Richmond cemetery, in Richmond.

I am connected to Olive through her great grandfather. He was one of the three brothers of my great great great grandmother who also settled in Nelson in the 1840s.

Do you have these people in your family? There are LOTS of Hammond descendants in the Appleby, Waimea, Richmond, Nelson and Marlborough area – maybe we can expand our trees together. Please reach out if you are a cousin no matter how distant.

#52Ancestors, Fire

An open fire on a cold winter night invokes thoughts of cosiness, comfort food, a book to read snuggled under a blanket. An outdoor campfire brings back memories of fun times at camp or at the beach with friends.

But fire, was much more of a necessity to our ancestors than it is to us today with electricity or gas connected right to our homes. There have been several instances of fire wreaking havoc on the lives of my own ancestors.

I mentioned one in a previous post which I had only recently learned of. A fire in Kaikoura in 1935 which destroyed three cottages in the night. Something left on a cooker ? An ember that landed on some fabric or a wooden floor ? A bird’s nest in or on top of the chimney ? No-one appeared to have been harmed in that fire, but two people lost not only their cottage but also their belongings.[1]

In Wellington on 22 August 1869 my 3 x great grandmother Elizabeth Cooper (nee Hill) died aged 70. The cause of death is given as “Accidentally burnt”.[2] Was she cooking a meal ? Did her shawl drop into the flame ? Did her skirt brush lightly across the fireplace ? Did a sudden gust of wind or breeze force the flames without warning in a different direction to where she was expecting ?

In Nelson in the early hours of 7 August 1866 there was a great fire.[3] Twenty buildings were burned at the four corners of Bridge and Collingwood Streets. The fire was discovered at the Nelson Hotel, one of three hotels on or near that intersection to be burnt. Ironically the Temperance Hall was also burnt and the YMCA rooms as well as some dwelling houses and shops. It was later established to have started in a bedroom of the Nelson Hotel.[4]

One of the shops destroyed was the bakery of Edward Laney, my 3 x great grandfather, which was adjacent to the Royal Hotel. He had been in business for twenty four years with premises in Richmond, on Nile Street East and on Bridge Street throughout that time.[5] On the night of the fire there was a strong south westerly wind which caused the flames to take hold on all corners of the intersection. This was the first great fire to occur in Nelson since the arrival of the first English settlers in 1842.[6] No lives were lost, but many lost all their belongings. Later in the day an inquest was held to determine the cause of the fire.[7] A meeting was held in the evening of the same day to raise subscriptions or pledges from the townsfolk to assist those who had suffered in the fire.[8]

The fire, which by sheer luck was the first of its size since settlement began was also the impetus for organising a Volunteer Fire Brigade.[9] The Nelson Evening Mail ran a series of editorials in the days after the fire lobbying for action and responsibility to be taken. This had been attempted once before, and the town even had two fire engines available.[10] But the disorganisation, delay and lack of available men on the night of the fire, meant that it was at least 20 minutes after the alarm had been raised that the smaller engine had been pulled to the scene of the fire.[11] Time which may have saved some of the premises which were lost.

1866 had been quite a year for the Laney family. William, the eldest child, who like Edward was also a baker, had died in April of Bilious Fever aged 24, leaving a widow and two young children.[12] In June, Edward’s wife Mary passed away.[13] Around this time it is possible that, Ann, Edward’s step-daughter returned to live with the family. Ann was a widow with three young children; in early June she was living in Hope Street when she placed an advertisement advertising a business premise in Trafalgar Street to let.[14] Before her marriage Ann had also worked in the bakery, running her own business since the age of 15 at the premises in Bridge Street.[15] After the fire Ann placed a thank you notice in the Nelson Evening Mail, thanking the “Ladies and the Public generally” for the kindness shown by them by supplying clothes for herself and her sisters since the fire.[16] Those sisters were Edward’s youngest children Sarah and Mary, whether his younger son Edwin was also there is unknown.

Edward’s premises were insured and by October 1866 he had rebuilt on the same site – in a slightly more expansive manner.[17] Just a few short years later he closed up shop and removed to the Wairau Valley.[18]

---

[1] ‘Three Houses Burnt’, The Press, 28 June 1935, p.18.

[2] ‘An Old Woman Burnt to Death’, Taranaki Herald, 4 September 1869, p.3.

[3] ‘Serious Fire Eighteen Houses Destroyed’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 7 August 1866, p.2.

[4] ‘Inquiry into the Cause of the Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, 8 August 1866, p.3.

[5] ‘Old Established Bakery’, Nelson Evening Mail, 17 October 1866, p.4.

[6] ‘Serious Fire Eighteen Houses Destroyed, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, p.2.

[7] ‘Inquiry into the Cause of the Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, p.3.

[8] ‘A Public Meeting’, Nelson Evening Mail. 7 August 1866, p.3.

[9] ‘Meeting of Committee Appointed to Organize Fire Brigade”, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 16 August 1866, p.3.

[10] John Wilson, Thematic Historical Overview of Nelson City for the Nelson City Council as part of the Nelson Heritage Inventory Project – Final Draft, October 2011, J Wilson, Christchurch, pp. 40-41. http://www.nelsoncitycouncil.co.nz/assets/About-nelson/downloads/1176312-thematic-historical-overview-of-nelson-city-OCT2011.pdf

[11] ‘Disastrous Fire’, Nelson Evening Mail, 7 August 1866, p.2.

[12] ‘Deaths’, Colonist, 17 April 1866, p.2.

[13] ‘Died’, Nelson Evening Mail, 1 June 1866, p.2.

[14] ‘Desirable Business Premises’, Nelson Evening Mail, 4 June 1866, p.1.

[15] ‘Established Eighteen Years’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 23 February 1861, p.4.

[16] ‘The Undersigned’, Nelson Evening Mail, 21 August 1866, p.3.

[17] ‘Local Improvements’, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 14 December 1866, p.4.; ‘Old Established Bakery’, Nelson Evening Mail, p.4.

[18] ‘News has been received in Nelson’, Nelson Evening Mail, 21 August 1882, p.2.

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.

Revelations and discoveries

While we have been staying in Blenheim, we've also been planning things and trying to make sure we have done things we want to do, and been to places we want to go to before we leave for that other hemisphere.

We've been to Mapua and briefly to Nelson. All going well we want to revisit Nelson again this week. We have become a little more familiar with Blenheim and Picton, and have had a couple of days in Christchurch.

Last time we visited Christchurch was six months after the February 2011 earthquake. The city and it's people were still in shock and the inner city was completely closed, shut down and no access for anyone. Organised demolition hadn't even started and aftershocks were a normal part of life. It was sad. It seemed empty and soul-less. We felt a little ghoulish taking photos of the damage, while trying to recall how it had looked before.

Things are changing though, albeit too slowly for some. We were heartened to see a new vibrancy emerging in the inner city. The Re:START mall, the transitional (cardboard) cathedral, art installations of different kinds and people. People enjoying their city again and embracing the changes, while still honouring and respecting the event that has changed them all.

On our way home, since it want as stormy and wet as our trip south we stopped to photograph the seals near Kaikoura. There were more than I have ever seen on other trips. We also walked up the stream which is a playground for seal pups. They were gorgeous, so close to us and so unafraid (until a train went over the bridge). we could have stayed for hours if it hadn't been so cold.

Then today we went exploring and found the cob cottage lived in by our ancestors. It is on a private farm, on a road which only has public access in weekends. I'm not sure which of the ancestors actually lived in it though. I am sure my great great grandfathers brother and his wife lived there and raised a large family but I'm unsure whether the generation before also lived there. They lived somewhere there though after moving from Nelson with their young family in the late 1840's or early 1850's. My great great great grandfather was drowned in the nearby river in 1860. One of their sons also drowned nearby. Perhaps there were other cottages and this one is the only surviving one. But their name (Bartlett) lives on in the creek which runs through the valley to join the Wairau River, and the name of the road.

They must have been a tough lot of people, determined and stoic. So different to us with our gadgets and sometimes first world problems. I'm proud of them and what they achieved. I hope they look down on us and are proud of what they see too.

Funny that soon we will be making the journey back to the country they all left. But we will travel in just over a day the distance which they travelled in three months by sail.