Father Felix Donnelly - Social Activist Priest

Father Felix Donnelly - Catholic priest, academic, writer, broadcaster, supporter of the LGBT community and founder of Youthline.

Born in Christchurch on 23rd November 1929, the son of a journalist, he was educated at St Peter’s College, Auckland, went on to earn a MA from Auckland University and later, in 1977, a Ph.D from the same institution.

The young Felix studied for the Catholic Priesthood at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel and was ordained in 1953. He was Director of Religious Education for the Auckland Diocese 1962 - 1971.

In 1964 - 1965, he studied pastoral theology at the Lumen Vitae Catethetical Institute in Brussels Lumen, which piqued his interest in social support for youth. In 1970 he founded Youthline and also established the Youthline Hostel as a home for troubled youth in Auckland in 1971.

As an academic, Donnelly was director of the Department of Community Health and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences from 1972 until his retirement in 1994.

Often seen as at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church, Father Felix was a supporter of the LGBT community and was a public advocate for homosexual law reform in the 1980's, citing concerns about young people committing suicide after being ostracised or bullied for their sexuality. This contributed to the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986. 

In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Donnelly was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the welfare of youth.

Father Felix was also a talk back host on Radio Pacific for 20 years and a prolific author.

After a full life well led, Father Felix Donnelly died 26th August 2019, aged 89 and is buried in Waikumete Cemetery under his title of Dr Felix Donnelly.

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete Cemetery

Sources:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115495802/felix-donnelly-dies-renegade-priest-was-also-broadcaster-novelist-and-youthline-founder

 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/115539961/father-felix-donnelly-priest-who-clashed-with-church-over-social-attitudes

 https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/felix-donnelly-obituary?pid=193747003

 https://cathnews.co.nz/2019/08/29/controversial-felix-donnelly/

 https://peoplepill.com/people/felix-donnelly

Nicola Astrella - Ice Cream Manufacturer Extraordinaire

 

Nicola Astrella

Nicola Astrella was born 19th January 1871 in Viggiano, Basilicato Italy.  A musical man, with a fondness for the harp (which was brought to New Zealand).  He was also a modeller of plaster of Paris, an inventor and held patents for two inventions – an ice cream churn cover and a bedclothes fastener.  

Emily Rosetta Webb (adopted Craig) was born 30th March 1877, in West Masterton. Her mother was Maud Elizabeth Webb who was born in London, England, came to New Zealand as an 18 year old and worked as a domestic servant.

Nicola and Emily met in Auckland, New Zealand and were married on the 1st of December 1894 at St David’s Church in Grafton. Nicola was 23 and Emily was 17. 

Emily Rosetta Webb

Soon after their son Joseph was born in 1895, the family headed to Tasmania where three more children were born – Adelaide 1897, Venus 1899 and Gioseffina in 1901. Nicola had three siblings and his mother living in Tasmania.

The Astrellas returned to New Zealand and their son Salvadore was born in Invercargill 1902, Mars in Dunedin 1903, Orient in Christchurch 1904 and Angelo in Wellington in 1908.  Yolanda, Stella, Yliva and Nicola Jnr were all born in Auckland in the years from 1910-1915.  Sadly, Yliva died when she was only seven months old.  Nicola and Emily adopted Adelaide’s daughter Doris Stella who was born in 1914.

The Astrella Sons 

The Astrella Daughters

After becoming naturalised in 1908, Nicola settled with his family at 87 Lincoln St, Ponsonby in Auckland and set up what is thought to be Auckland’s first ice cream manufacturer. Producing ice cream by hand churn and selling from a hand cart in 1909, he soon set up a factory and had a thriving business.

Astrella's Ice Cream Carts

A three-way merger of Astrella Dominion Ice Cream Co., New Polar Ice Cream and Robinson Ice Cream Co.was proposed in July 1930. New Polar went into liquidation in September 1931 but the Astrella's brand continued on until at least 1939. Venus and Mars Astrella were involved in registering the Okay Ice Cream Co. Ltd in 1941.

Patent image for
ice cream churn cover

Patent image for Bed-clothes
Fastener

Nicola died on the 30th June 1937, aged 66, at Huia Private Hospital, Glen Eden. His cause of death was given as Pernicious Anaemia (B12 deficiency, damage to nerves and other organs) Stomach Cancer.

Emily passed away 10th February 1939, aged 62, in Auckland.  Her cause of death was given as Toxaemia – days, Acute Cholangitis – weeks, Diabetes Melitius – years and Choledochotomy, cholecystic, gastrostomy for years. Sadly, her diabetes had also caused her to go blind.

Nicola and Emily are buried together in Roman Catholic Division C, Row 22, Plot 83, their baby Uliva (or Yliva) is buried in an unmarked grave in Roman Catholic Division C, Row 4, Plot 32. Their eldest son Joseph died in 1963 and is buried in Service Persons Area J, Row 2 Plot 30.

Salvadore died in 1984, Mars in 1985 and Angelo in 1991. Their ashes are scattered in Waikumete Cemetery.  

The house in Lincoln St, Ponsonby,
where the ice cream business began 

Emily and Nicola

As a footnote, the house in Lincoln Street is still standing and looks very much the same as it did in Nicola and Emily's day.

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete Cemetery

Sources:

A huge thank you to Michelle Ormsby, descendant of Nicola and Emily Astrella, for sharing her family information and photos.

 Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph – Joseph Astrella

https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C107693

 The New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers Association (Inc.)

https://www.nzicecream.org.nz/history-nz-brands.htm

 Papers Past

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19230217.2.42.3

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 41, 17 February 1923, Page 6

 

A Stranger in Hong Kong - Josip Kumarich

Josip Kumarich had come to join his brothers in New Zealand, from the village of Scrucraj, on the Adriatic island of Hvar, in the Dalmatian region of what was then Yugoslavia.

There had been little opportunity for formal education in Yugoslavia and he spoke little English. However, he grew to love New Zealand, worked hard and sent money home to his parents in the old country.

Photo by Kath Kingswood

In 1968, Josip's elderly mother fell ill and it was decided at a family council that the youngest son, Josip, should be the one to go back. A return ticket and a re-entry visa were obtained for him and Josip flew to Yugoslavia. This visit seemed to have the desired effect and his mother slowly regained her health and, with his visa about to run out, Josip made plans to leave.

Although Josip was looking forward to returning to the good life in New Zealand, he was sad to leave his parents and the people of the village. With just 48 hours remaining on his re-entry visa, he said his goodbyes and boarded his plane.

His brothers Tony and Ivan were waiting to meet him at Auckland International Airport. They were looking forward to seeing him again and were puzzled when he did not appear. They were even more concerned when his luggage arrived without him. They made enquiries and were shocked to be told Josip had died in Hong Kong.

The body was flown back and on 5 November 1969 Josip Kumarich was finally able to return to his "lucky country”. With the embalmed body was a death certificate that stated: “The cause of death was pulmonary oedema through excessive intake of alcohol.”

The Kumarich family were so shocked by this that they engaged criminal lawyer Kevin Ryan, who organised a medical practitioner to write a letter seeking information and, with the family’s permission, arranged for Josip’s body to be exhumed and an autopsy performed by Dr Bill Dervan, a very experienced senior Crown pathologist.

Kevin Ryan travelled to Hong Kong in December 1969 to attend an inquest into Josip’s death and seek answers for Josip’s family. Here, he encountered a circus of a justice system. Stories and court testimonies changed constantly: Josip had drunk petrol disguised as whiskey/he was diabetic and ill, he was unharmed in the police cells/he had bruising on his arms and legs, he was alive when he arrived at the hospital/he was dead before arrival, and so on and so on. In addition, several threats were made to Ryan for his trouble.

From his own investigations, Ryan found that Josip’s stop overs in Beirut and Bombay were without incident. However, when he got to Calcutta he was put off the plane and his seat was given to the daughter of a New Zealand cabinet minister who had died, so she could travel home for her father’s funeral.

When at last Josip boarded the next plane to Bangkok, he had 12 hours left on his visa and as he headed to Hong Kong he became extremely anxious that the plane to New Zealand would leave without him.

By the time he arrived in Hong Kong he was in a very distressed state and somehow blundered into a restricted area within the airport. He was taken to the police station, questioned, released and escorted back to the airport, but Ryan believed he was arrested again after intelligence check revealed his uncle was a staff officer with the rank of colonel in the Yugoslav army. Also after speaking to a leading Auckland pathologist, Ryan suspected that Josip had been drugged with a “truth drug”.

The conclusion that Ryan came to, in his own words, is as follows:

“Dr Dervan, the Crown pathologist, examined Josip's body in New Zealand, and discovered bruising to both forearms, to the back of the left hand, to the left knee, the inner left knee, the right knee, the right shin and the left shin. The official photographs reveal a penetrating wound on the rear of Josip's scalp and a cut to his lower lip. They also show that Josip's hair was wet. A police photograph of his cell reveals a puddle of water in front of the wash basin.

 

I believe that, while in a drugged state, Josip was interrogated and beaten by the Hong Kong police. Each time he lost consciousness, they gripped him by the hair and thrust his head into the basin of cold water to revive him.

 

Tired, hungry, frightened and disoriented, Josip felt as if he was in the middle of a nightmare. I believe it was the use of drugs and the shock and exhaustion caused by the police treatment which contributed to Josip Kumarich's death”[1]

 

Although Kevin Ryan was ultimately unable to provide justice for Josip, he did attempt to and at least find some answers for the Kumarich family.

Josip’s headstone reads:

In Loving Memory Of

JOSIP KUMARICH

Dearly Loved Son of

Nikola and Kate

Dearly Loved Brother of

Mate, Ivan and Ante

Born 21 Mar. 1948, Sucuraj, Yugosalvia

Brutally murdered in Hong Kong

31 Oct. 1969, Aged 21

pocivala u miru

Darling JOSIP, You will never be forgotten

by you Mother, Father and Brothers

R.I.P

The reverse simply reads:

KUMARICH

 

 [1] Reprinted with permission from Justice: Without Fear of Favour by Kevin Ryan, 1997, Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited, New Zealand. Copyright 1997 Kevin Ryan.

 

Compiled by Geri Eccles – Discover Waikumete Cemetery

"Trentham: A Marching Song" - Ernest Luks

Ernest, the youngest son of the late Renke and Elizabeth Luks, had trained as a Draughtsman and was also a talented musician. It was this talent that he is perhaps best known.

Ernest worked with the Lands and Survey Department before leaving for a personal tour of the Continent and England. On his return to New Zealand, he took up a position with the Railway Department in Wellington and when war broke out he enlisted to serve his country. Ernest was signed with the 19th Reinforcements and was based at Featherston Camp, where he became “a renowed organiser of concerts”. He married Miss Wendy Lonsdale, a talented performer at the Camp, just before the 19th left for the Front. This was understood to be the first soldier’s wedding held at the Featherston Camp. 

Throughout his active service he entertained troops on stage and wrote “Trentham: A Marching Song”, which became very popular with the New Zealand troops in England and France. Ernest was invalided home to New Zealand after three years of service and, in the years which followed, continued to perform, appearing professionally with his wife in musical sketches in Australia and New Zealand. He was described as “one of Auckland's cleverest performers in humorous songs and sketches”. 

Photo by Kath Kingswood

Sadly, he never really recovered from the effects of his war service and died at age 54, after a short illness. The funeral service at Waikumete was conducted by the Rev. Jasper Galder, an old school friend.

Ernest was survived by his wife and siblings.

Compiled by Kath Kingswood

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19360507.2.76

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19360502.2.231

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19360429.2.3

Young Policeman Victim of 1918 Influenza Epidemic - John Joseph O'Gorman

 

Constable John Joseph O’Gorman died at the Vermont Street Temporary Hospital on 13^th November 1918 aged 32.

Being a fit young policeman was no protection from the flu epidemic. In fact, the week before John died, it was reported in the newspapers that 35 members of the Auckland police force were laid up with influenza, including senior members of staff.

In an effort to protect officers and maintain an effective police service, a small vaporising plant was set up at the city police barracks. This machine created an antiseptic vapour spray from which clothing and throats could be disinfected, which they believed protected both officers and the public which they came in contact with.

As if losing her young husband of 2 years wasn’t enough for John’s poor widow Mary, there was more drama to come. When John died Mary purchased 2 plots in anticipation of her and her mother’s interment. 5 years later she employed a monumental mason company to erect a monument over her husband’s grave site, only to discover the company had placed the monument on the wrong site. It took her taking the masons to court to get this rectified and the monument was duly moved to its current site.

Mary was widowed 52 years before she was finally laid to rest here with her husband in 1970 at the age of 83. She never remarried.

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete Cemetery

Sources:

PapersPast

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19181116.2.2.6

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19240627.2.100

"Guilty or Not Guilty".

Join us for our walk on Sunday 28th March 2021 at 1.30pm to hear tales of murder and mayhem. Meeting at the corner of Freesia and Kowhai Roads. $5 per person (proceeds going toward grave preservation).

Photo of Dennis Gunn -
'Sir George Grey Special Collections,
Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19200603-33-1 '

Johanna McCarthy Binning - First Catholic Burial in Waikumete

Although she is buried here as Johanna McCarthy she was in fact Mrs Johanna Binning when she took her own life on April the 16th 1886. Her headstone was paid for by her adoptive parents, which may account for her maiden name being used, and is solid marble.

Photo by Kath Kingswood

Despite her death being a suicide AND the fact that her husband George was Anglican, she was the first Catholic burial in Waikumete. Her funeral was officiated by the kind and compassionate Father Walter McDonald, who wrote in the cemetery records book next to Johanna’s name “So glad to see my old friend”.

Roman Catholic Division A,  Row 1,
Plot 1: Johanna Binning (30) 1886

Of Your Charity Pray for the Repose of the Soul of

JOHANNA McCARTHY

of Co Kerry. Ireland.  

The beloved wife of

GEORGE BINNING.

who died April 12th 1886

aged 30 years.

May she rest in peace.

Source: Paul Gittins – Epitaph

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete

Lottie Le Gallais - Kiwi Nurse at Gallipoli

Charlotte Le Gallais grew up on a farm in the Kaipara, her mother died and her father told her to get off the farm and out into the world.

She went nursing in Auckland and later served on the hospital ship Maheno as part of a medical team, consisting of five doctors and 61 orderlies from the Army Medical Corps, a matron, thirteen nursing sisters, from the newly formed New Zealand Army Nursing Service and chaplains, on the ship's maiden voyage. The Maheno carried casualties from Gallipoli to either Moudros, Malta or Alexandria and later returned patients to New Zealand.

Portrait of Charlotte Le Gallais in nurses uniform.
Le Gallais family.
Auckland War Memorial Museum Library.

Charlotte's younger brother Leddra ("Leddie") was already at Gallipoli when she embarked. He was killed in action on 23 July 1915. Lottie spent over four months on the Maheno, returning home to New Zealand in November 1915.

In 1918 she married Charles Gardner. The Gardner’s were a rather prominent family in New Lynn (Gardner Ave being named after them). Brothers Charles and Rice were brick makers whose firm Gardner Bros and Parker later became Ceramco. Charles and Rice once owned all the land from Links Rd, New Lynn, to the Manukau, including the land which is now the Titirangi Golf Course. Charles Gardner was also the first mayor of New Lynn.

Lottie died on the 26th January 1956, aged 74 years old, 6 months after her husband.

Sources:
Stuff
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/northland/78823316/te-papa-anzac-exhibition-features-northland-nurse
Auckland Museum
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/cenotaph-stories/charlotte-le-gallais

New Zealand History
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/tss-maheno

Karl Wolfskehl - “Exul Poeta” (Poet in Exile)

When Karl Wolfskehl arrived in New Zealand in 1938, aged 69, he had just one suitcase and a mistress half his age. But he carried a thousand years of European history with him - and he looked like it. 6 foot 3 inches tall, with long flowing hair, rolled cravat, and wide-brimmed hat, he seemed like a man from another age. And although the New Zealand Herald reported that a “German-Jewish poet and author” had arrived, few in the dominion had heard of the good Dr Wolfskehl. While the Herald called him a “visitor”, the truth was he was a refugee - a Jew in fear of his life who had fled the anti-semitic scythe spreading across Europe. And he was a man in mourning for his beloved homeland, Germany. “From the very day when the ship left the harbour in Europe, I knew it, I cried for it, I grieved for it, since then, every moment, everything I do is under the sign of despair”.

Photo by Kath Kingswood

Karl Joseph Wolfskehl was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1869, into a wealthy Hebrew family of bankers whose forebears had come from Italy in the Middle Ages. Wolfskehl considered Italy his second home and thought of himself as a blend of Jew, Roman and German. Karl was a physically imposing figure but was very short-sighted from a young age. He did not have to work for a living so, like many wealthy young men of the time, he not only dabbled in writing poetry, he lived the life of a poet.

In 1898 he married his Dutch wife Hanna de Haan and they had two daughters: Judith (born 1899) and Renate (born 1901). When he fled Germany in 1933, fearing for his life along with many other writers, he left his non-Jewish wife and daughters safe in a mansion at the foot of the Black Forest.

He emigrated to Switzerland and then settled in Florence, where he began a relationship with a young Jewish intellectual named Margot Ruben (although he remained on good terms with his wife Hanna). They remained in Italy for 5 years until the rounding up of Jews began in Italy. Wolfskehl then got out an atlas and found the furthest place in the world from Europe (New Zealand).

For mainstream, short-back-and-sides New Zealand, the long-haired poet was a strange apparition. The sight of the tall, long-haired man being led along Queen St by the young attractive Margot prompted more than a few stares. To protect Margot’s good name they always took separate rooms and told anyone who asked that she was his niece.

According to Margot, Karl got along well with working-class Kiwis and delighted in living in a land of true democracy in which everybody is equal to another. He also developed a circle of friends among New Zealand writers and artists, becoming a close friend of Frank Sargeson. But by the mid-1940’s the near-blind, ailing poet began to rely on his friends too much which soured many of his friendships, including Sargeson‘s. Margot moved out of their flat in 1943, although she did stay loyal to him to the end.

After the war Wolfskehl made plans to return to Europe to see his wife and daughters again but was devastated to hear that Hanna had already died, of a blood clot. He never stopped loving her.

As his blindness and general health worsened, he became more bitter and lonely, but also more resigned to his fate. He died on the 30th June 1948 from an intestinal blockage caused by diverticular disease.

Margot died in 1980 aged 72.

Hebrew Division A, Row 2, Plot 101: Karl Joseph Wolfskehl (78) 1948 - Poet - intestinal blockage

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete

Sources:
https://www.jewishonlinemuseum.net/karl-wolfskehl
https://www.waikato.ac.nz/news/archive.shtml?article=29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=pDo-_xpm-u4&fbclid=IwAR2wlXkCoaJtbxMWq1ibU6ObC-ta2FEL5fjR1duS2cH3NAGR05EWsLUvy7Q
https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/arts/the-prominent-poet-who-escaped-pre-war-germany-and-finally-found-his-voice-as-a-refugee-in-new-zealand/

Annie And Her Daughters

Glasgow born Annie married Irishman Matthew Cummings and the couple solved the problem of their different religious allegiances by bringing up their two sons as Protestants and their six daughters as Catholics. When she died in 1930, at the age of 81, she was grandmother to 29 and great grandmother to 14. Annie is laid to rest with 4 of her daughters, one of which became quite famous as a feminist and political activist.

Photo credit: Cathy Currie

Miriam, Annie and Matthew’s 6th child, was born in Thames in 1879. She excelled at school, became a teacher and was posted to Northland. While there she boarded with a Maori family and became deeply interested in Maori culture and was soon fluent in Te Reo.

It was also in Northland that she met her future husband, Petar Soljak. Petar had recently come from Dalmatia to escape conscription into the Austrian Empire Army. Although he had little education, he was a practical man and he and Miriam fell in love. They were married in 1908, upon which Miriam discovered that by marrying an Austrian immigrant, she too, had become an enemy alien. She was forced to register with the police, her activities and possessions were restricted and, because of her enemy alien status, Miriam was refused a bed in a maternity home when giving birth to her 7th child.

It was this that spurred her to political activism, joining the Auckland Women’s Political League in 1920 after meeting a neighbour, Emily Gibson, who was an active worker for the movement.
The Women’s Political league morphed into the Auckland Women’s branch of the Labour Party and through them Miriam made her case for independent nationality. 7 years later Labour Politician, Peter Fraser, presented Miriam with a private member’s bill he had put forward allowing New Zealand women to adopt their husband’s or retain their own nationality when marrying a foreigner. But it wasn’t until 1946 that Miriam’s nationality was finally restored, even though she and Peter had divorced in 1939. In 1977, 8 years after Miriam’s death, New Zealand women could finally pass their New Zealand citizenship to their foreign born husband and children.

Her activism was not confined to independent nationality, as vice president, president and secretary of the Auckland women's branch of the Labour Party in the late 1920s, she was involved in a wide range of contemporary feminist issues, including the campaigns against compulsory military training and the high rate of maternal mortality, and for disarmament, motherhood endowment, child welfare and sex education. She developed a reputation as a trenchant freelance journalist and a compelling public speaker, and worked with urban Maori, explaining Labour's policies to them in Maori. She was also a vocal protester of the Vietnam War, speaking in Albert Park while aged in her 80’s.

Feminist, activist, teacher, wife and mother, Miriam Soljak died on 28 March 1971, aged 91, and her ashes are buried in the Roman Catholic area with her mother and sisters.

Photo credit: Cathy Currie

Annie's obituary:
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19300326.2.131

About Miriam:
uncensored.co.nz/2012/05/02/if-the-houseworks-all-done-de...
teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4s36/soljak-miriam-bridelia/...


In Loving Memory
Of
ANNIE CUMMINGS
Also her daughters
CHARLOTTE, BERTHA
VERONICA & RUTH

MIRIAM SOLJAK
nee Cummings
1879 – 1971
worker for peace and freedom

Roman Catholic Division A, Row 3
Plot 39: Dorothy Cummings (23 months) 1888 – Bronchitis
  Bertha Cummings (39) 1922 – Miss
  Annie Cummings (81) 1930 – Widow
  Miriam Bridelia Soljak (91) 1971 – Activist for womens rights (ashes)
Plot 41: Kathleen Veronica Cummings (57) 1948 – Miss
  Charlotte Mabel Cummings (78) 1952 – Miss

Alexander Scott - Friend and Murderer

William Thompson of Oratia, which in 1892 was a small country town, died under suspicious circumstances.

It was known to many in the neighbourhood that his wife Alice & his best friend Alexander Scott, who had moved into the neighbourhood approximately 18 months earlier, were having an affair & being less than discreet about it.

Alice fell pregnant & as her time drew near moved into the city where she stayed for 6 weeks, as either she or the baby was considered to be too weak to return to the country.

William started to feel ill during this time & asked Alexander to stay with him, Alexander moved in & William's health seesawed. Bill Carter, one of William's friends who knew of the wife's affair, went so far as to suggest to him that it was possible that Alexander had been poisoning him. William, who considered Alexander to be his best friend, would not consider the notion.

On the 31st of October James Parker, a neighbour who had visited 3 weeks earlier, felt uncomfortable & resolved not to visit William alone, received a call from a Mrs Carter. She told him that William was looking bad & that she thought he might be dying. He arranged for a John Moorhead to join him & when arrived they discovered that he had died. James felt that it would be in their own interests to write up a list of the contents in the room apart from ordinary household furniture. Scott had also drawn sketches to alert doctors to the presence of a silver-topped vial, which he suggested Thompson may have been using to commit suicide by poison.

An autopsy was performed, proving that William died of strychnine poisoning. A number of witnesses then came forward saying that there was a relationship between Alexander & Alice & several letters were produced where the couple expressed their love for each other.

At an inquiry into the death of William Thompson, Alexander Scott was arrested on the grounds that he had been purchasing a number of poisons under an assumed name. He was found guilty, hanged on the 23rd of May 1893 & was buried at Waikumete Cemetery.

William was buried with his infant son at the Oratia Cemetery. His wife returned to England taking their 2 children.

Footnote:
I found it very interesting that at the end of the article in the last link supplied Alexander was asked what inscription he would like on his headstone.  It would have been very unusual for a person hanged for murder to have such a marked grave.

Sources:

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18921102.2.59

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18921111.2.67

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18930523.2.31

Anglican Division A, Row 4, Plot 24: Alexander Scott (35) 1893 – unmarked

Compiled by Kath Kingswood - Discover Waikumete Cemetery

Unknown bodies from Symonds St Cemetery

Source Auckland Star, 7/11/1907

 GRAFTON BRIDGE.
PROGRESS OF THE WORK.

The face of the Cemetery Gully has changed considerably since the Ferroconcrete Co. commenced its contract for the erection of this high level bridge.   The line of the bridge, formerly covered with native, shrubs and trees, is now bare of vegetation, and is scarped and scarred by the foundation works, which precede the erection of the huge mass of steel and concrete which will span the ravine. So far all the work put in hand has been of an excavatory nature, the sinking of the foundations of the ten piers which will later support the superstructure. Tomorrow, however, the work of actual construction will be commenced, with the erection of the retaining wall at the Symonds-street approach to the bridge. This wall, which will be erected on the inner line of the footpath, will extend beyond the thirty-six feet included in the width, of the bridge to form a stairway on either side from the level of the street to that of the cemetery. It will, like the whole of the structure, be of re-inforced concrete, laid in a trenched foundation, curving away from the line of the bridge to form a very handsome approach.

Showing the preparation of the pillar
foundations for the ferro-concrete
Grafton Bridge spanning
Grafton Gully.
 'Sir George Grey Special Collections,
Auckland Libraries, 7-A8256'

Up to the present the work has been hampered by delays in arranging the formalities necessary to the exhumation of the six bodies which had been interred on the site of the present piers. The necessary permission was, however, received on Monday last, and the remains were then exhumed and re-interred at Waikumete. It was found during this process that the nature of the ground, assisted by the water soaking through from the surface, had resulted in the complete decomposition of the bodies, all that remained being a few of the larger bones and traces of the wood from which the coffins were constructed.

This necessary work being accomplished, the sinking of the foundations for the piers is now proceeding. There will be five pairs of piers on the Karangahape-road side of the gully in addition to the main supports of the great central span of 340 feet, while on the further side the number of piers is two, each with a considerably longer span than on the town side. The first span from the Symonds-street approach is a short one of 20 feet, followed by two others under 40ft., and then three of 75ft., while the spans beyond, the main arch are 81 feet long. The shafts for the first pair of piers have been sunk to a depth of 60 feet, the last twenty being through the solid sandstone. An excellent bottom has thus been secured, while it has been found that further down the side of the gully the sandstone approaches nearer the surface, so that the remaining shafts will not require the same depth. The piers will be of ferro-concrete filled in with tamped clay, the dimensions being three feet by four in the case of the smaller spans, and three feet by five in the larger. At a spot not far from the bottom of the gully, an excavation fifty feet by-twenty-six feet has been made for the base of the main arch while a similar work is now proceeding on the other side of the gully. Fortunately an entirely satisfactory foundation has been found at a suitable depth, the stratum just below the surface soil, consisting of hard sandstone veined .with clay and very similar to the papa rock met with in the harbour works. A better foundation could not be wished for to take the enormous thrust of the arch. The foundations of this arch will be exceptionally massive, and will extend for seven feet on either side of the line of the bridge, many tons of iron and cement being required for this work alone The construction of the bridge will proceed from both sides simultaneously, and when the junction is effected in the main arch the temporary work used in the filling in of the concrete will have to be sufficiently strong to bear the weight of the structure. This will necessitate the erection of strong supports which will be removed on completion of the work. A good deal of excavation will be necessary to provide a solid foundation for the temporary work, and some difficult engineering will be accomplished before the permanent work is commenced.

Captain Noyes is in charge of the work, and under his direction the progress made has been rapid considering the circumstances, and there is every reason to anticipate that within the contract time, two years, the public will be able to make use of the bridge The work will not be subject to delays due to bad weather, as in the case of harbour works, where the operatives on the punts are frequently unable to work in the winter time owing to the heavy seas raised in the harbour.”


Anglican Division E, Row 6
Plot 1: Unknown Bodies from No. 5 Pier Symonds St Cemetery 4.11.1907 – unmarked

Wesleyan Division D, Row 3
Plot 3: Unknown name from Symonds St 4/11/1907 – unmarked
Plot 4: Unknown 2 bodies ex No. 3 Pier Symonds St 4/11/1907 – unmarked

It appears that very shortly after this article was written it was found necessary to remove 3 more bodies as the following day 3 more arrived at Waikumete Cemetery.

Wesleyan Division D, Row 3
Plot 1: Unknown 3 bodies from Symonds St 8/11/1907 – unmarked

Frederick Parker - Seaman drowned

The body of a man was found washed up on the framework of the Ponsonby wharf 14 September 1916 and later identified as Frederick James Parker aged 30 years.

Frederick had been employed on the scow Jane Gifford and had been reported missing when the dinghy he had rowed from the scow was found at the wharf with an oar was missing .

Dragging operations had commenced when the news of the discovery of a body was received.

Photo by Kath Kingswood

At the Inquest, several witnesses described having seen Frederick drinking in several hotels in the City. Frederick had been known to be a rather heavy drinker, but it was said that of late, he had not been drinking as much.

Alfred Charles Hansen, Captain of the Hauiti, stated that he had known Frederick for some months, and they had drinks together the previous evening. When he left Frederick at about 7.45 p.m, Captain Hansen stated that his companion was slightly under the influence of drink.

A verdict was returned to the effect that death was due to drowning. It was determined that Parker had fallen from the dinghy when returning to his vessel while under the influence of liquor.

Anglican Division A, Row 1,
Plot 55a/b: Frederick James Parker (34) 1916 – Deckhand
                  William Parker (90) 1929 – Surfaceman
Plot 55b: Hannah Maria Parker (66) 1906

PARKER

In Loving Memory of

Mother, Father

& brother FRED

https://www.flickr.com/photos/discoverwaikumetecemetery/33144247131/in/album-72157670867731623/

Sources:

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19160914.2.28

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19160915.2.50

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19290115.2.15

Compiled by Susan Reid - Discover Waikumete

Discover Waikumete Cemetery Armistice Day Walk - 11th Nov 2.30pm

One hundred years ago, on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11a.m. 1918, the Great War ended but behind the celebrations tragedy loomed. Tales of young men returning wounded and broken, families torn apart and the 1918 influenza pandemic sweeping the nation just as people were looking forward to a brighter future after many years of hardship and sacrifice.

Join us as we explore some of the stories behind the soldier's gravestones at Waikumete Cemetery.

Meeting at the cenotaph in the Service Persons Area, corner of Great North and Glenview Rds, weather permitting.

Please dress for the weather and possible boggy terrain, bring a drink and sensible shoes. The walk will take approx. 2 hours.

The cost for these walks is $5.00 per person. No booking necessary.

This is a wonderful time to visit this cemetery as it has the biggest range of South African wildflowers outside of the Savannah Desert and the most outstanding of all, the Ixia, tends to be coming well into bloom.

If you have the time, you may like to bring a picnic and enjoy the ambience of this magnificent cemetery, which at this time of the year showcases spring at it's very best.

Ixia in Bloom - 12 November 2017
https://www.flickr.com/photos/discoverwaikumetecemetery/38398169446/in/album-72157689617974045/

For enquiries please phone 625-1750

Sarah Thornton - Fatal boat accident

A man called into the Water Police station Sunday 10 October 1887 to report a fatal boat accident which had taken place near the Hobsonville Wharf the evening before.

Nicholas Hand was the sole survivor, having been able to swim ashore after the boat capsized. He advised the Police that Alexander Lynch and Sarah Thornton had drowned and that the body of Sarah had been recovered, and was lying on the Hobsonville Wharf.

Under direction of Sergeant A. Clark, the Water Police boat was launched and the dead body of the woman located, and placed in their boat.
They also searched the beach for the body of Alexander Lynch, but failed to find any trace of him.
The body of Sarah Thornton was brought to the morgue pending an inquest, and several witnesses were also brought to town.

Hand was interviewed and gave an account of the previous evening.
He told the Police that a party including himself, Alexander Lynch, Sarah Thornton, and a man named James Williams, left the Queen Street Wharf at 4 p.m. on Saturday, bound for Riverhead where they intended to go gumdigging.

The boat was a small open keel and about 13 feet long. They had food supplies on board and also alcohol, although Hand added that they were all fit to sail.
They reached Hobsonville Wharf about 6 p.m, and Williams got off the boat there.

A short time later, a sudden squall caused the boat to gibe, and being very low in the water she quickly filled with water. Hand, Thornton and Lynch were thrown into the water. When Hand came to the surface, the sail was on top of him and when he got out from under the sail, he found Lynch and Sarah Thornton holding on to the boat.

Both Lynch and Hand were able to swim, but it was not known whether Sarah could swim or not. The men succeeded in righting the boat and put Sarah inside, but the sail was still up and the boat capsized again. The men got the boat steadied, only to be overturned again and all three were once more thrown into the water. At last they succeeded in righting the boat once more, and put Sarah inside, and with Lynch on one side and Hand on the other, they started swimming with her towards the shore. Not long after, Sarah leaned too heavily on one gunwale and the boat capsized again, leaving the three in the water again. Several more attempts to right the boat and keep it upright failed, and it was decided by Lynch that they should abandon the boat and swim for the Shore.

Lynch called out for help several times, but heard no response, there was no other boat in sight.

Lynch and Hand told Sarah to place her hands on their shoulders and they would swim ashore, one on each side of her. She did so, being at this time extremely exhausted and unable to support herself.

They proceeded this way towards the Shore, but then Lynch’s tiredness overcame him, and he began sinking in the water. He pushed the woman towards Hand who continued to do the best he could with the woman, but had to leave Lynch behind. A desperate Sarah clutched Hand with both arms causing them to sink together. He tried to loosen Sarah’s grasp on him, but he was exhausted himself, and when she kept him under water longer than he could stand, he gave her a shove, and she floated a few yards ahead. She managed to keep herself afloat, and Hand tried to recover a little strength. He tried again to assist Sarah towards the shore, but had to leave her, his energy was spent.

Hand then saw Williams on the Wharf and kept swimming until he could tread the nearby mudbank, and as soon as his feet found firm ground, a boat containing two young men came alongside and picked him up. They then returned for Sarah who had drowned.

By this time a crowd of people had gathered, and Hand was advised to remain at Hobsonville that night, and inform the police of the accident the following day. He remained with the two young men who had picked me up and obtained from them some dry clothes.

Two young men named McLeod came down from Hobsonville to give evidence at the inquest. They stated that they saw the boat containing Lynch, Hand and Sarah Thornton capsize, and launched a small boat to proceed to their rescue as speedily as possible. They had however to convey the boat over the beach for some considerable distance, and were unable to render much assistance beyond picking up the dead woman.

Sarah Thornton was a married woman, 33 years of age who was discharged from Mount Eden Jail on Saturday, having been on many occasions convicted of drunkenness.
Sarah was the wife of a scenic artist who was also well known as an actor. At the time of the accident and inquest, Mr Thornton and their  daughters were on a tour in Australia.

Sergeant Clark advised that Sarah Thornton was well known to the Police, and had just been released from Jail from a month's sentence for habitual drunkenness. He received information of the drowning at half past twelve on Sunday morning from the witness Hand and went up to Hobsonville to retrieve the body as described. They could find no trace of Lynch's body, or of the boat, and from his knowledge of that part of the harbour, a sudden gust of wind could easily account for the upsetting of the boat.

Without retiring the jury returned a verdict of accidentally drowned.

Some weeks later the decomposed body of a man was found on the beach near Lucas' Creek. This was identified as Alexander Lynch and was taken to the mortuary. As all the facts of his death were related to the recent inquiry it was not considered that an inquest would be required.

Alexander Lynch was also a noted character. He was a single man aged about 53 years of age and lived at Riverhead. He had also been a “guest” of arrangements of Mount Eden Jail.

Anglican Division C, Row 3,
Plot 41: Sarah Thornton (35) 1887 – Domestic – unmarked grave

Sources Papers Past Evening Post Volume XXXIV issue 87    10/10/1887
                                   Auckland Star volume XV111 issue 238   10/10/1887

Compiled by Susan Reid, Discover Waikumete

Milne & Choyce - Auckland Business Pioneers

In 1867 Charlotte joined her sister Mary Jane Milne in buying a business that was to change their lives.  It was a millinery and drapery shop situated on the corner of Wyndham and Albert streets. They gradually built the business up and in 1874 they moved to larger premises on the corner of Queen and Wellesley streets. Later that same year, Charlotte married Charles Choyce who took over Charlotte’s interest in the business and the new partnership was named Milne & Choyce.

 34-M7H-8, Sir George Grey Special Collections,
Auckland Libraries.

The business continued to grow in the Queen Street premises with Milne & Choyce claiming to have the largest stock in Auckland. In 1901 Milne & Choyce became a public company with Choyce as managing director. Mary Jane Milne was not on the board, but she remained active until her retirement in March 1908. She held a large shareholding and remained influential in the business all her life. [1] [2]

Although there is no longer a family interest, Milne & Choyce remains today a leader in glamour department stores in Queen St and a place to visit.

In 1966, to celebrate 100 years of Milne & Choyce as a retail business in Auckland, Bob and John Milne (descendants from the Milne line) opened an extravagant exhibit that they called Centenial Street.  This featured many of the businesses on Auckland‘s golden shopping mile in Queen St and attracted 30,000 visitors in the first two weeks.  After 6 months the whole street was disassembled and installed at the Auckland Museum.
This was closed after 48 years in 2015, it was known that this would not be a popular move and much was made of the closure. However, as a result we now have on-line coverage of the closure where descendants of the businesses featured talk about the past and share memories. [4]

[1] teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m49/milne-mary-jane
[2] www.remueraheritage.org.nz/people/henry-choyce
[3] www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/spectrum/audio/2017...
[4] www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/t...

Charlotte Choyce – Old colonist's death – Anglican Division A, Row 4, Plot 58/60
30/5/1929
OLD COLONISTS DEATH.
MRS. CHARLOTTE CHOYCE.
OVER SIXTY YEARS IN N.Z.
We regret to announce the death of another old and highly-respected member of the community in the person of Mrs. Charlotte Choyce, wife of Mr. Henry C. Choyce, who passed away peacefully last evening. Mrs. Choyce was a resident of over 60 years' standing, having arrived in the Dominion in the Queen of the Mersey in 1863, from the North of lreland. The sympathy of a wide circle of friends will be extended to Mr. Choyce, the two sons, Professor C. C. Choyce, of London, Mr. H. V. Choyce, of this city, and Mrs. Wyvern Wilson, of Hamilton, daughter of the deceased. The funeral, a private one, will leave her late residence, 10, Lucerne Road, Remuera, to-morrow at 11 o'clock. As a mark of respect the premises of Messrs. Milne and Choyce, Ltd., will be closed to-morrow from 10.30 until noon.
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19290530.2.91

Henry Charles Choyce – Pioneer Draper – Anglican Division A, Row 4, Plot 58/60
21/8/1937
LONG LIFE ENDS
MR. H. C. CHOYCE DEATH AT NINETY-SEVEN Y DRAPERY TRADE LEADER OVER 70 YEARS IN AUCKLAND One of the best-known and probably the oldest of Auckland's business, men, Mr. Henry Charles Choyce, died at his home in Lucerne Road, Remuera, yesterday, aged 97. Mr. Choyce was a founder and for a long period managing director of Milne and Choyce, Limited. He retired from active business 16 years ago, but remained a director of the company until his death. Born in Leicestershire in February, 1810, some months before the founding of Auckland, Mr. Choyce received part of his education in France, and at the age of 16 was apprenticed, to a whole-sale draper in London. At the end of his apprenticeship he found himself a well-equipped salesman, but his inclinations were toward a wider field than that which a London warehouse could offer.
Bushfelling and Prospecting
Hearing in 1866 that a party led by the Rev. Mr. Hall was leaving for New Zealand in the ship Mary Shepherd, he joined it and eventually landed at Auckland. The passage-money which he had paid entitled him to a grant of 40 acres of land. However, when the Mary Shepherd arrived the chosen area was not ready for settlement and her passengers, who were given temporary quarters in the Albert Barracks, had abundance of time for looking round. Auckland was then suffering from one of the periodical slumps of the early days, and for newcomers employment was hard to find. As the town's drapery trade offered nothing to the young colonist, Mr. Choyce was obliged to seek some other occupation. With another new arrival as resourceful as himself, he took to bushfelling, and, although his life up to that point had little prepared him for such work, he persevered and earned a living at it for 12 months.
Then, in 1867. came the opening of the Thames goldfield. Mr. Choyce and a friend sailed to the field in a cutter, sleeping on straw in the hold. For 5 years they prospected the ranges and had varying degrees of luck, but did not make a fortune.
Establishment of Business
A happy marriage was the foundation of the business which Mr Choyce established and directed for the greater part of his long life. Returning to Auckland in the early70's, he obtained the position of buyer to one of the departments of Archibald Clark and Sons, then in business in Shortland Street. Not long after this he married Miss C. Milne who, with her sister, Miss M. J. Milne, had conducted a millinery business in the city.
Leaving his employment in the warehouse, Mr. Choyce entered into partnership with his sister-in-law under the style of Milne and Choyce. The partners bought out the business previously carried on by Mr. Berry Cass at the corner of Queen and Wellesley Streets. Their enterprise was increasingly successful during the next quarter of a century, and in 1901 it was formed into a limited liability company, with Mr. Choyce as managing director. As the business was rapidly growing beyond the capacity of its premises and the directors felt justified in moving to a site further down Queen Street, the company in 1909 purchased the building situated between the B.N.Z. and the B.N.S.W., paving the then very high price of £5OO a foot.
Modern Store Erected
Trade continued to expand, and in due course, it was decided to erect a modern department store to the full height that the city by-laws permitted. This had to be done without interrupting the company's business, but in 1923 the task was completed and the eight-storey structure was in full occupation. Large as it was, the building proved before long to be inadequate, and after purchasing from the B.N.Z. an additional piece of land fronting Mill's Lane, the company erected on it a large wing of equal height, topped by a fine reception hall, which is a favourite meeting-place for many Auckland social organisations.
 A Veteran Bowler
After his retirement Mr. Choyce continued to interest himself in the conduct of the business, and on his 90th. birthday he was presented with a clock by the older members of the staff at a gathering in the company's tea room. On that occasion he gave his recipe for a long life: "First of all, it is necessary to choose healthy parents. Have plenty of exercise and do not worry. Leave your worry behind in the office at night, and if it is still there pick it up again in the morning. Mr. Choyce devoted much of his leisure to bowls, and lived to be the oldest player in New Zealand taking part in tournaments and club games. He was for many years a member of the Remuera Club, and was a familiar figure on its green until a few months ago, playing in many veterans' matches there and elsewhere. Mr. Choyce is survived by a son, Mr. H. V. Choyce, a director of Milne and Choyce, Limited, and a daughter, Mrs. Wyvern Wilson. His eldest son, Professor C. C. Choyce, professor of surgery at London University, died in England last April. The funeral to-day will be private.
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19370821.2.157

Compiled by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete