PART
FIFTY-THREE
The
South Wales Branch
Updated January 2023
This is the family line of the late
Heather Margaret Holloway (1955-2021) of New Zealand,
formerly Heather Margaret Collett [53S6]
Heather and her cousin Raymond Llewellyn
Collett [53S7] of Australia,
were both instrumental in extending this
family line to New Zealand and Australia.
It was Heather who kindly provided the
old photographs, while Ray provided the details for the appendix,
which is dedicated to the 150th
Anniversary Celebrations in January 2011
When
Ray was working on his family history some years ago, he received information
from the Head Librarian at Newport Public Library that the grandfather of Henry
Collett who settled in New Zealand in 1861 was Walter Collett who was born at
Kempsford in 1767, where he was also baptised in 1771. It has since been revealed that Walter was
the son of Lawrence Collett and his wife Mary Day, who feature in Part 1 – The
Main Gloucestershire Line. This would
place his age at 33 when he married in 1800, and 48 at the time of the birth of
his youngest child. However, Walter’s
wife was younger than him by eight years, so it would be perfectly acceptable
for her to have given birth to son Samuel when she was 40. What is of further interest is that the Head
Librarian at Newport was none other than John Collett, who was a descendent of
Walter Collett, the younger brother of Henry who settled in New Zealand in
1861, he being William John Collett [53R18].
All
of this confirms that Part 53 – The South Wales Branch Line has its origin in
the Gloucestershire family of William Collett [1C1] who was born in 1454. Go to Part 1 - The Main Gloucestershire Line
for more details
WALTER COLLETT [53M1/1M21] was born at Kempsford in 1767 but was
baptised there around four years later on 16th July 1771, the son of
Lawrence Collett and Mary Day. It is
known that he was married to Mary from the baptism record for their youngest
son Samuel, which took place at St Woolos Church in Newport during the June
quarter of 1816, the child having been born either earlier that year or towards
the end of the previous year. It was to
London that Walter had made his way, once he was an adult, and it was there
that he met his future wife. The
marriage of Walter Collett and Mary Marshall took place at St Saviours Church
in Southwark, London on 30th July 1800, the bride being named as the
daughter of John and Sarah Marshall.
Mary Garle Marshall was born at Southwark on 11th March 1775
and was baptised there, at the Church of St Olave on 29th March
1775. It was also at Southwark that the
couple’s first two children were born, who were also baptised at St Saviours
Church, with the next three born and baptised in Streatham, five miles
south-west of Southwark, before the family moved to South Wales, where their
last child was born. This new
information was kindly provided by Helen Collett during 2020
All
of the earlier details had been confirmed, as being correct, by the late Heather
Margaret Holloway nee Collett from New Zealand, the three times great
granddaughter of Walter Collett, and by Raymond Collett of Australia, the great
grandson of Henry Collett. It is also
established that another Henry Collett (Ref. 1M28), a first cousin of Walter
(Ref. 1M20), left Gloucestershire and moved to London where he was married just
eighteen months before Walter Collett married Mary Marshall. There is a further connection with London, in
that it was there also that Walter’s son Henry Collett was married. Another validation came later, when the
children of both families of the brothers Walter and Henry Collett were born at
Christchurch, and both had sons named Walter Collett, after their grandfather. Also, in the census of 1881, Samuel, the son
of Walter, was living at Royal Oak Hill in Christchurch, where Walter, the son
of Henry, was also living at that time. There
is another possible link, albeit perhaps a bit tenuous, in that the wife of
Samuel Collett was from Ireland, and it was in a later generation of the
Collett family that a daughter was taken in by an Irishman and his family,
following the death of the child’s mother around the time that she was born
By
the time of the first national census in June 1841, Walter and Mary were living
at Collett Cottage on Church Hill in Christchurch, the dwelling being on the
south-facing slope, about one hundred yards from the summit of the hill. Living in the cottage next door was the widow
of their late son Henry who had been killed in a tragic accident in 1838. The two dwellings were locally known as the
Collett Cottages. It was there also that
both families were still living in 1851.
t was just after the census in 1851 that the couple’s next-door
neighbour, and daughter-in-law Charlotte Collett nee Bray, married Henry
Price. When that happened, Walter and
Mary took in to live with them Charlotte’s eldest son Henry Collett aged 14,
who worked under the guidance of his grandfather as a butcher and a vet for the
next three or four years. Walter had
retired in 1850, so that occupied his time during his twilight years. By the time Walter Collett had died at
Christchurch in 1858 at the age of 91, his grandson Henry had already emigrated
to Australia during the previous year
By
the time of the census in 1861, Walter’s wife Mary was recorded as a widow at
the age of 84. At that time in her life,
she had living with her at Christchurch, and presumably looking after her
there, her granddaughter Catherine Collett, the eldest daughter of her son
Samuel who was also living nearby with the rest of his large family. The widow Mary Collett nee Marshall died
during 1870 and shortly before the next census in 1871. She was 95 years of age at the time of her
passing. The headstone on her grave,
together with other Collett gravestones, are almost the first ones on the left
as you pass through the gate of the churchyard at the top of Church Hill
53O1
– Walter Collett was
born in 1802 at Southwark, Surrey
53O2
– Emily Collett was
born in 1804 at Southwark, Surrey
53O3
– HENRY COLLETT was
born in 1807 at Streatham, London
53O4
– Susanna Collett was
born in 1811 at Streatham, London
53O5
– William Collett was
born in 1812 at Streatham, London
53O6
– Samuel Collett was
born in 1815 at Newport, South Wales
Walter
Collett [53O1] was born
on 23rd October 1802 at Southwark in Surrey, South London. He was the eldest of the six known children
of Walter Collett from Kempsford in Gloucestershire and Mary Garle Marshall of
Southwark. Walter junior was baptised at
the Church of St Saviour in Southwark on 28th November 1802, when he
was confirmed as the son of Walter and Mary Collett. Nothing further is known about him after that
time, although it is known that his family was living in South Wales by 1815
Emily Collett [53O2] was born on 17th August 1804
at Southwark, where she was baptised at St Saviours on 14th
September 1804, the eldest daughter and second child of Walter and Mary
Collett. She would have been around ten
years of age when her family left London, when they moved to South Wales
HENRY COLLETT [53O3] was born at Streatham in South London
on 11th May 1807, with his baptism conducted nearly four years later
at St Leonard’s Church on 6th April 1811, the third child of Walter
and Mary Collett. He shared his baptism
with his younger sister Susanna Collett (below), in a joint ceremony for the
two siblings. Within the next few years,
the family moved from London to South Wales where Henry followed in his
father’s footsteps, with his occupation also that of a butcher. He was only thirty-one years old when he was
tragically killed in an accident with a horse on 30th September
1838, his death recorded at Newport in Monmouthshire. Just over five years earlier he had married
Charlotte Bray at All Souls’ Church in St Marylebone in London on 20th
May 1833, Charlotte having been born at St Aldersgate in London during 1805
By
the time the census in 1841, his widow Charlotte Collett was 36 and was living
at Collett Cottage on Church Hill in Christchurch with her three children, the
cottage adjoining that of her late husband’s parents. The three children living with her, were her
daughter Charlotte who was seven, and her sons Henry, who was four, and Walter
who was two years old. Six years later
widow Charlotte Collett married Henry Price at Christchurch on 1st
June 1847, as confirmed by the next census in 1851. Part of the Collett family was again living
at Collett Cottage on Christchurch Hill in Christchurch, where Henry Price from
Caldicot was 50 and a butcher, his wife Charlotte Price from Aldersgate in
London was 46, with his two stepsons named as Henry Collett and Walter Collett
who was both born at Christchurch and were 14 and 12 years respectively. On that day, her daughter Charlotte Collett
from Christchurch was 16 and a servant at the Reed household on the High Street
in Christchurch
No
record of Charlotte’s son Henry Collett has been found in any later census,
although it is known that he initially left the family, when he moved
next-door, to stay with his late father’s elderly parents, before finally
leaving England for Australia in 1857.
Furthermore, no trace of Henry and Charlotte Price has been found within
the census of 1861, and nine years later, the death of Henry Price was recorded
at Abergavenny (Ref. 11a 44) during the first quarter of 1870, when he was
64. Charlotte from London lived a long
life and was identified within the census of 1881 and again in 1891. Charlotte Price was living at Royal Oak Hill
in Christchurch in 1881, when she was 76 and an annuitant whose place of birth
was confirmed as Aldersgate. She was
still there in 1891 when she was 86 and living on her own means. Five years after that, the death of Charlotte
Price was recorded at Abergavenny (Ref. 11a 37) during the second quarter of
1896, when she was 91 years of age
53P1
– Charlotte Collett was
born in 1834 at Christchurch, Newport
53P2
– HENRY COLLETT was
born in 1837 at Christchurch, Newport
53P3
– Walter Collett was
born in 1838 at Christchurch, Newport
Susanna
Collett [53O4] was born
at Streatham on 11th January 1811 and was baptised at St Leonard’s
Church, with her four-year-old brother Henry (above) on 6th April
1811, another daughter of Walter and Mary Collett. She was three or four years old when the
family moved to South Wales, where Susanna’s youngest brother Samuel (below)
was born
William
Collett [53O5] was born
at Streatham on 11th April 1812, the fifth child of Walter and Mary
Collett, who was baptised six days later at St Leonard’s Church in Streatham on
17th April 1812. Perhaps his
baptism took place as soon as possible after his birth because his parents
already knew that they were leaving London to start a new life in South Wales,
where his brother Samuel Collett (below) was later born. However, on completing his schooling, William
returned to Surrey where he married Eleanor Marter at Leatherhead on 17th
July 1841, with whom he had at least four children. It is interesting that the banns of marriage
of William Collett and Eleanor Marter were recorded at St Ann’s Church in
Westminster on 15th July 1841.
Eleanor Marter was born and baptised at Banstead in Surrey on 9th
August 1812, the daughter of Edward and Mary Marter
Just
under ten years after their wedding day, William and Eleanor were residing in
Esher where all of their children had been born. The 1895 Census identified the family
residing at Esher Street in Esher where William from Streatham was 38 and a
Post Master and a draper. Eleanor was
also 38 and from Banstead, when only three of their four children were living
with the couple. They were William
Collett who was six, Butterfield Collett who was four, and Mary Collett who was
one year old. Curiously, all three of
them were described as day scholars, who had been born at Esher. Staying with the family that day was
Eleanor’s unmarried much older sister Sarah Marter who was 56, from Banstead,
living on independent means, and described as the sister-in-law of William
Collett. Completing the household was
house servant Elizabeth Fairs from Leatherhead who was 17. That census day the eldest son Walter was
eight years of age who was being educated at the home of his uncle bachelor
Emanuel Marter aged 44 and from Banstead, at Kingston Road in Leatherhead. Emanuel was a brick and tile maker employing
10 men, and it was very likely his sister Mary A Marter, Walter’s maiden aunt,
aged 34 and from Banstead who was teaching him, along with her niece Catherine
Marter. Both Walter and Catherine were
described as scholars at home
After a further
decade, the census in 1861 recorded Eleanor Collett from at Banstead as a
married woman aged 48, and a draper’s mistress, living at the home of her
unmarried older brother Emanuel Marter aged 54, a brick and tile maker
employing 3 boys. Accompanying Eleanor
that day, at Kingston Road in Leatherhead, was her daughter Mary Collett from
Esher who was 11, where the house servant was Sarah Bosale aged 31 and from
Buckland in Surrey. It was a similar
situation in 1871, with William again not living with his wife who, by then had
returned to the place of her birth where Eleanor was again described as a
married woman. So it is possible that
they had separated prior to Eleanor going to stay with her brother Emanuel in
1861. The only member of the family
living with Eleanor in 1871 was her granddaughter Sarah B M Collett who was
five years old and born at Newington in Surrey, South London
Although
no obvious record of the death of William Collett has been found in the Surrey
area, it is possible that he passed away in another part of the country between
1871 and 1881 because, by 1881, Eleanor Collett was a widow living at Sutton
Lane in Banstead at the age of 68, a retired draper from Banstead who had
living there with her, her unmarried daughter Mary Collett aged 31 and born at
Esher, an unemployed certificate schoolteacher.
The pair of them were still together in 1891, but at Portland Road in
the South Norwood area of Croydon, when widow Eleanor was 78 and a retired
draper, Mary Collett was 41 and working at a fancy goods repository. Five years after that, the death of Eleanor
Collett was recorded at Croydon register office (Ref. 2a 149), following which
she was buried at Banstead on 7th November 1896 at the age of 84
53P4
– Walter Collett was
born in 1843 at Esher, Surrey
53P5
– William Collett was
born in 1844 at Esher, Surrey
53P6
– Butterfield Collett
was born in 1846 at Esher, Surrey
53P7
– Mary Collett was born
in 1849 at Esher, Surrey
Samuel Collett [53O6] was born in Newport around the end of
1815 or the beginning of 1816, the last child of Walter Collett and Mary Garle
Marshall. He was baptised on 9th
June 1816 at St Woolos Cathedral in Newport, when he was confirmed as the son
of Walter and Mary Collett. It was on 3rd
May 1843 at St Woolos Cathedral that Samuel Collett married Catherine Dent, a
widow from Ireland, who already had a child.
The licence for the
marriage was signed at Llandaff on 29th April 1843. The marriage produced eight known children
for the couple who, once married, settled in Christchurch, where all of their
children were born. The Christchurch
census of 1851, for the Newport registration district, recorded the family
residing at Christchurch Hill, where they were listed as Sam Collett, aged 34
and born at Newport, who was working as a grazier, while his wife Kate Collett
from Ireland was 36 and, with her, was her daughter Mary Ann Dent, also from
Ireland, who was 15 and a
nursemaid. Their five
Christchurch born children were listed as Walter Collett who was seven,
Catherine Collett who was six, William Collett who was four, Susan Collett who
was two, and baby Emily Collett who was not yet one year old. Completing the household was servant Ann
Watkins from Chepstow who was 15
Within
the next ten years a further three children were added to the family. So, by the time of the census of 1861, the
completed family was again
residing at Christchurch Hill and comprised Samuel Collett aged 45 and a cattle dealer from Newport,
his wife Kate who was 44 and
from Ireland, and seven of their eight children. They were Walter Collett who was 17 and working with his father,
William Collett who was 14 and
attending school, as was Susan Collett who was 12, Emily Collett who was
10, Charles Collett who was eight, Thomas Collett who was six, and
four-year-old Henry Collett. The
couple’s eldest daughter Catherine was living nearby in Christchurch with her
widowed grandmother Mary Collett, whom she was looking after in her old age
During
the next ten years Samuel’s eldest son left home to be married, although he and
his wife were living not far away from the family in 1871. The census return that year recorded the
family of farmer Samuel
Collett, as living ‘near the church’ in Christchurch. Still living with Samuel, aged 54, and
Catherine from Cork who was 55, were sons William aged 24, Thomas aged 17, and
Henry who was 15, together with their daughter Emily who was 20. Head of the household Samuel was described as
having been born in Newport, whose occupation was that of a farmer of
sixty-eight acres of pasture land. All
of his children were confirmed as having been born at Christchurch. The absence of unmarried daughter Catherine
is a mystery, although it is possible that daughter Susan may have been married
by then. Son Charles was also missing
and has so far not been identified in 1871.
Living right next door to Samuel and his family in 1871 was the Collett
family of his nephew. That was the
ship-wright Walter Collett, his wife Mary Ann Thomas, and their family
According
to the next census, in 1881, Samuel Collett of Newport was 65 and was living
with part of his family at Royal Oak Hill in Christchurch, from where he worked
as a cattle dealer. Living with him was
his wife Kate who was 60 and from Cork in Ireland, and three of their unmarried
children. They were their daughter Kate
who was 37, and their two youngest sons Thomas who was 27 and working alongside his father,
and Henry who was 20 and
the third cattle dealer in the family.
All three children were confirmed as having been born at Christchurch. It was only three years after that when
Samuel Collett passed away, his death being recorded at Newport register office
(Ref. 11a 117) during the first three months of 1884 when he was 67. An assumption has been made that he was
already a widower when he died, since no reference to his wife was made during
the probate process, when the following facts were revealed. Samuel Collett, late of the Parish of
Christchurch died there on 23rd January 1884. Administration of his personal effects was
granted on 26th August 1884 to Walter Collett of Somerton, a cattle
dealer, and his eldest son and one of his next-of-kin
53P8
– Walter Collett was
born in 1843 at Christchurch, Newport
53P9
– Catherine Collett was
born in 1844 at Christchurch, Newport
53P10
– William Henry Collett
was born in 1846 at Christchurch, Newport
53P11
– Susan Collett was
born in 1848 at Christchurch, Newport
53P12
– Emily Charlotte Collett
was born in 1850 at Christchurch, Newport
53P13
– Charles Collett was
born in 1852 at Christchurch, Newport
53P14
– Thomas Collett was
born in 1854 at Christchurch, Newport
53P15
– Henry Collett was
born in 1856 at Christchurch, Newport
Charlotte Collett [53P1] was born at Christchurch near Newport
in 1834 and was baptised there on 15th June 1834, the daughter of
Henry Collett and his wife Charlotte Bray.
With the death of her father in 1838 when she was four years old,
Charlotte was living at Church Hill in Christchurch in June 1841 when she was
seven years old. Upon leaving school
Charlotte entered into domestic service and by 1851, when she was 16 years old,
she was working as a servant at the house of the Reed family at 42 High Street
in Newport. Six years later, on 31st
May 1857, Charlotte Collett aged 22 married William Phelps Williams, after
which she had a craft shop in Newport in the latter years of the 1850’s. Her brother Henry (below) had been engaged to
her husband’s sister Sally Williams, but that did not result in them ever being
married. William was a weighing machine
fitter from Newport who, in 1871 was 36 and living in Newport with his wife
Charlotte Williams from Christchurch who was 35. That day, the servant employed
by the couple was Janet Brown Williams from Scotland who was 17. Twenty years later the pair of them was still
living in Newport when William P Williams was 56 and a washing machine mechanic
and a repository keeper and Charlotte was 55.
Sarah Williams aged 18 was their servant that day
HENRY COLLETT [53P2] was born at Caerleon on 17th
March 1837 and was baptised a month later at Christchurch near Newport on 23rd
April 1837, the son of butcher Henry Collett and Charlotte Bray. He was just 18 months old when his father was
killed in a horse-riding accident, and by the time of the census in June 1841
when he was four years old and was living with his mother and two siblings at
Collett Cottage on Church Hill in Christchurch.
In 1851, Henry was 14 and was still living at Collett Cottage on Christchurch
Hill in Christchurch with his widowed mother and younger brother Walter
(below). Four years prior to that, his
widowed mother had married Henry Price, a butcher. When he left school, young Henry moved to the
house next-door, where his retired grandfather Walter Collett, himself a
butcher, taught Henry everything he needed to know about being a butcher and a
vet, which stood him in good stead for later in his life.
A
few years later, there was a thriving transport industry taking horses from
nearby Newport to America and there is some anecdotal evidence that Henry
worked on one of those ships. Certainly,
it was not uncommon for boys of 12-16 to be crewing. It was also during that period in his life
that Henry became engaged to be married to his sister-in-law Sally Williams,
the sister of William Phelps Williams who had married Henry’s sister Charlotte
(above). Sadly, about three years before
his grandfather died in 1858, Henry left Christchurch and also broke off his
engagement to Sally Williams. The next
episode in his life found Henry shipwrecked at Alexandria in Egypt, where he
became involved in the Crimea War [1853-1856].
He joined the Transport Service taking mules from there, and from Spain,
to the Crimean Peninsula. At one stage
of the war, the Transport Service was called into action for the attack on
Sevastopol and, although no record has been found to confirm that Henry was
serving ashore at the time of the event, it is possible that he was involved in
some way or other, from the stories that he relayed later to his children
After
the war, he eventually found his way back to England, from where, on Friday 31st
July 1857, he sailed out of Liverpool on board the ‘Annie Wilson’ as an
unassisted emigrant engineer, bound for Australia. He was 20 years and 4 months, when he said
farewell to his family, never to return to his homeland. Just over three months later Henry Collett
arrived at Hobson’s Bay in Melbourne on Tuesday 3rd November, where
the ‘Annie Wilson’ was one of around 300 or 400 ships bringing gold-seekers to
Australia from distance shores. From
that time onwards he worked for last two months of 1857 on a ship taking horses
to Bombay and Sepoy for the mutineers of the Indian Rebellion. Afterwards he sailed to the new Cellular Jail
on the Andaman Islands. The Cellular Jail is one of the murkiest chapters in the
history of the colonial rule in India.
Though the prison was only started in 1896, the history of using the
Andaman Island as a prison dates back to the India Rebellion in 1857. So, it seems highly likely that
Henry’s cargo was one of prisoners captured during the rebellion
It
must have been after that when Henry Collett, with the money he had earned,
settled back in Australia where he first tried his luck working on the
Victorian goldfields with the Mills family, who had been his travelling
companions on the ‘Annie Wilson’. They
all headed to the Daisy Diggings one hundred miles north-east of Melbourne,
where eighteen months earlier the ‘Emu Gold Rush’ had established a make-shift
town of ten thousand miners. However,
they arrived too late to make their fortune.
Melbourne was awash with unemployed miners, so Henry was fortunate in
that he was able to return to the occupation in which he had the most
experience, that of working with animals, when he accepted an animal husbandry
job in Geelong in Victoria. After a few
years raising sheep, it is understood that on Tuesday 7th January
1861 Henry walked onto the wharf at Geelong where he was offered a further job
involving stock husbanding at sea. He
accepted the job of shepherd on board the ship ‘Sarah H Snow’ carrying 3050
sheep to Otago in New Zealand
When
the ‘Sarah H Snow’ dropped anchor at Port Chambers in Dunedin on the evening of
26th January 1861 he was still only 23. It was on the South Island that he finally
settled down to begin a new life and yet another branch of the Collett
family. It was at Te Waimate, a
pioneering sheep station of some 98,000 acres, about 100 miles from Dunedin
that he initially settled, before going to Raincliff seven miles north-west of
Pleasant Point. Raincliff was another pioneering sheep station of some 50,000
acres, and it was there that he fortuitously met Ann Jane Davis, a Welsh girl,
travelling as a companion with Mrs Christie from Scarborough who was to rejoin
her husband, who was a surgeon serving in the North Island Maori Wars, which
were at their height at that time. It was in
1863 that Henry purchased 400 acres, the land being in its native state which,
being good limestone country, was soon brought under his control and
cultivated. Such were his skills that he
generally topped the local market with his sheep, in addition to which he also
bred some excellent hacks and roadsters
It
was during the following year that Henry Collett married Ann Jane Davis on 5th
April 1864 at St Mary’s Church in the small coastal settlement of Timura, which
lies about ten miles south-east of Pleasant Point on the South Island. Ann had only arrived in New Zealand that same
year on board the sailing ship Zealandia, having been born in Glamorganshire during 1838
This
photograph is believed to have been taken on their wedding day.
Following
the tragic death of their first child, Henry and Ann left Raincliff shortly
after. Helped by the Purnell family of
Raincliff, Henry paid eighty pounds cash for 40 acres of land on the Opihi
River, and there he built a wooden hut close to the river where his second
child was born. The new farm that he
established there was White Rock Farm, in Opihi Flats, midway between Raincliff
and Pleasant Point in South Canterbury.
There was high drama on the day that the child was born. The Tengawai, Opihi and Opuha Rivers were all
in a state of flood that day, which caused problems for the midwife to reach
the family. However, it was during the
floods in the following year that the couple’s temporary home, the wooden hut
near the river, was washed away, with Ann and baby Elizabeth narrowly escaping
being drowned, while Henry was hurriedly returning from sheep shearing in the
MacKenzie country
As
a result, Henry built a more substantial three-bedroom limestone cottage on a
rise behind the site of his first house, and a little further away from the
river. He called it ‘Daisy Hill’ after
the goldfield in Australia. The heavy
rain in early part of 1870 ruined the fuel for his horses when the oat stacks
sprouted. To become financial again,
Henry and Ann left White Rock Farm, when they took a small cottage in
Silverstream (now Kimbell) on Three Springs Station, where the couple’s third
child was born at the end of 1870. It
was while they lived there that Henry rode to work on Burkes Pass Station.
The vivid
colours and ornate embroidery on Walter’s suit, suggests that this was a sepia
photograph to which the colours had been added.
Henry’s
three surviving children were all initially educated at home at Daisy Hill,
that is, until a school was built and opened at Opihi Downs in 1879. It was ten years later when Henry, a follower
of the Anglican faith, heard of the plans to build a church at Temuka, that he
offered to provide the limestone for the project which was cut from his Pigeons
Cliff Farm. So, over the following weeks
and months, the parishioners carted 500 loads of limestone to Temuka to build
the imposing gothic Church of St Joseph, which eventually had seating
accommodation for 600 people. Such was
his success, Henry continued to buy more land and, in 1901 and 1902, he
purchased 30 acres along the south bank of the river, and 20 acres alongside
the road to the Point. His last purchase
of 80 acres took place in 1902 and was the most coveted land of all; the
magnificent White Cliffs, so admired by his wife Ann in the Autumn of 1864 when
she passed by as a young woman on her way to Raincliff Station. It was later that same year, on 7th
July 1902, that Henry Collett was carried, unconscious, into the hospital at
Temuka, where died during the next day at the age of 65. The reason for his hospitalisation was that
he had fallen from his horse, when someone was giving him a leg-up into the
saddle
The children of
Henry Collett and Ann Jane Davis were:
53Q1
– Charlotte Ann Collett was born in 1865 at Raincliff, New Zealand South Island
53Q2
– Elizabeth Collett was
born in 1867 at Opihi Flats, New Zealand South Island
53Q3
– WALTER HENRY COLLETT
was born in 1870 at Kimbell, New Zealand South Island
53Q4
– Charlotte Ann Collett
was born in 1873 at Daisy Hill, New Zealand South Island
53Q5
– Mary Emily Collett
was born in 1875 at Daisy Hill, New Zealand South Island
Walter Collett [53P3], who was named after his grandfather,
was born at Christchurch near Newport in 1838 where he was baptised on 16th
September 1838, the son of Henry Collett and his wife Charlotte Bray. Tragically, it was on 30th
September 1838 that his father was killed in an accident with a horse, when
Walter may have been a month old. By
1851 he was living with his mother and brother Henry (above) when he was twelve
years old. Ten years later, Walter had
left the family home and was living at 17 Peel Street in Cardiff at the age of
twenty-two, by which time he was a married man with a wife and child. Walter married (1) Mary Ann Thomas at
Newport, where she was born, during the first quarter of 1859 with whom he had
two children. The couple’s first child
was very likely a honeymoon baby, born towards the end of 1859 when Walter and
Mary were living within the Newport area.
After the initial few months living in Newport, Walter’s work took him
into Cardiff and in April 1861 the young family was living there at Peel Street. Mary Ann was twenty-one and a dressmaker,
while their only child at that time, their son Henry, was just one year
old. It seems likely that Walter was
employed at the Cardiff docks, since his occupation on that occasion was that
of a ship’s carpenter.
According
to the census of 1881, the family was living at Royal Oak Hill in the town, by
which time Walter was 42 and was working as a grocer. His wife was listed as Mary aged 34 and from
Amley (Hamley) who was described as being a former cook domestic servant. Living with the couple were Walter’s two
sons, William who was two years old, and Edward who was just four months old. Ten years later in 1891 the family was still
living at Royal Oak Hill in Christchurch, when Walter was fifty-two and a
dealer in stock, Mary was forty-four, William was twelve, and Edward was ten
years old. Just after the turn of the
century Walter was once again described as a grocer and shopkeeper at the age
of sixty-two when still living at Royal Oak.
At the time of the census at the end of March in 1901 Walter’s wife was
listed as being fifty-four and was a visitor at Caerlicken Farm in Kemeys
Inferior the home of Edward Rosser, where her occupation that was of a monthly
nurse. Both of their sons had left South
Wales by that time and were living and working in London, although they both
returned to the Newport area sometime during the next ten years
Walter
and Mary remained living within the Christchurch / Newport as confirmed by the
census in April 1911 when Walter was 72 and Mary was 64. Living with them was their unmarried son
Edward who was 30 years old. The census
return confirmed that both men had been born at Christchurch. And it was while living within the
Christchurch / Newport area that Walter Collett died in 1920, his death being
registered at Newport during the first three months of the year. His age at that time was given incorrectly as
being 76, when in fact he was around 81 years of age and it was his wife Mary
who was 76. Mary survived as a widow for
a further eight years before she eventually passed away during the second
quarter of 1928, while she was still living in the Newport area. The photograph of the two Collett Cottages
was taken around 1920. The sign on the
top right-hand corner of the property says “M Collett – Grocer”, so it is
possible that M Collett was a reference to the widow Mary Collett, who had
taken on the role of running the business following the death of her husband
Walter, who was known to have been a grocer as confirmed in the previous census
records.
The children of
Walter Colett and Mary Ann Thomas were:
53Q6
– Henry Collett was
born in 1859 at Newport, South Wales
53Q7
– Charlotte Collett was
born in 1860 at Cardiff, South Wales
The following
are the children of Walter Collett and his second wife Mary Walters:
53Q8
– William Collett was
born in 1878 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q9
– Edward Collett was
born in 1880 at Christchurch, Newport
Walter Collett [53P4] was born at Esher in Surrey early in
1843, with his birth registered at Kingston-upon-Thames (Ref. iv 197) during
the first two month of the year. He was
baptised at Esher on 8th March 1843, the first-born child of William
Collett and Eleanor Marter. When his
three younger siblings were born in quick succession, it may have been
overcrowding in the family home, that resulted in Walter being taken into the
Kingston Road, Leatherhead, home of his mother’s unmarried brother Emanuel
Marter and unmarried sister Mary A Marter, with the latter providing Walter’s
‘schooling at home’, along with another young member of the Marter family. At that same time, Walter’s family was
residing at Esher Street in Esher. It
would also appear that things at home may not have been ideal, with Walter not
returning to his family when, in 1861 he was in lodgings at Lawrence Street in
Newington as an 18-year-old compositor from Esher. Just over three years after that census day,
the marriage of Walter Collett and Sarah Amelia Parkinson was recorded at
Newington (Ref. 1d 347) during the third quarter of 1864. Sarah was born at Lambeth where her birth was
registered (Ref. iv 298) during the first three months of 1839. Prior to the next census in 1871, Sarah
Amelia presented Walter with their first three children, two of them born at
Newington, the third at Camberwell who was baptised at Newington with the
second foreman Parkinson, which later changed to Richardson. The remaining children were then born again
back at Newington. On the occasion of
the 1881 census, Sarah Amelia Collett was recorded as Susan Collett
In
1871 the family was residing at 93 Lorrimore Street in Newington where Walter
was 28 and still working as a compositor, Sarah Amelia was 32, and their three
children were Walter who was five, Sarah who was three, and William who was
three months old. According to the
Newington census in 1881, their completed family, at Lorrimore Street, was made
up of Walter Collett from Esher aged 38 and a compositor, his wife Susan Collett
from Lambeth was 40, Walter Collett was 15 and a compositor from Newington,
Sarah Collett was 14 and a scholar from Newington, William Collett from
Camberwell was 10 and also attending school, Frank Collett was eight, Eleanor
Collett was six, and Edward Collett was five years old, all of them born at
Newington and also at school. Lodging
with the family was John Collins aged 38, another compositor. After leaving Lorrimore Street during the
1880s, the family was living at Hill Street in Newington in 1891 where Walter
Collett was 45 and printer compositor, Sarah A Collett was 50, Walter D Collett
was 25 and working with his father as a printer compositor, Sarah B M Collett
was 24 and a tailoress, William R Collett was 20 and an engineer improver, Frank
Collett was 18 and a compositor’s apprentice, Edward E Collett was 15 and a
print reader and errand boy, and Eleanor Collett was 16, with no stated
occupation, so was most likely helping her mother look after the house and home
Another
change of address happened before the end of the century, with the family
living at Hillingdon Street in Newington Green in 1901. Walter from Esher was 58 and a printer’s
broker, Sarah from Lambeth was 60, and their three unmarried sons were William
R Collett was 31 and an engineer, Frank was 29 and a compositor, and Edward E
Collet was 25 and another compositor, all three of them stated to have been
born at Newington. Around eighteen
months later, the death of Sarah Amelia Collett, aged 62, was recorded at
Southwark register office (Ref. 1d 81) during the third quarter of 1902. Probate of her Will was resolved in Surrey on
4th February 1903, which confirmed she passed away on 17th
September 1902, when the main beneficiary was her husband, Walter Collett. The later death of Walter Collett, aged 66,
was recorded at Lewisham register office (Ref. 1d 493) during the third quarter
of 1909. His Will was proved in London
on 17th September 1909, when the main beneficiary was his son Frank
Collett, the probate process confirming that he passed away on 5th
August 1909
53Q10
– Walter Dudley Collett was
born in 1865 at Newington, South London
53Q11
– Sarah B M Collett was
born in 1868 at Newington, South London
53Q12
– William Richardson Collett was
born in 1871 at Camberwell, South London
53Q13
– Frank Collett was
born in 1872 at Newington, South London
53Q14
– Eleanor Collett was
born in 1874 at Newington, South London
53Q15
– Edward Emanuel Collett was
born in 1876 at Newington, South London
William Collett [53P5] was born at Esher during the summer of
1844, his birth registered at Kingston-upon-Thames (Ref. iv 189) during the
third quarter of the year. It was also
at Esher that he was baptised on 4th October 1844, another son of
William and Eleanor Collett
Butterfield Collett [53P6] was born at Esher towards the end of
1846, with his birth registered at Kingston-upon-Thames (Ref. iv 219) during
the last three months of the year. As
with all three of his siblings, he too was baptised at Esher on 21st
January 1847, the third child of William and Eleanor Collett. He was four years of age in the Esher census
of 1851, when he and most of his family were living there on Esher Street. However, after that, no record of any kind of
Butterfield Collett has been found anywhere in the country
Mary Collett [53P7] was born at Esher in 1849 when her
birth was registered at Kingston-upon-Thames (Ref. iv 213) during the fourth
quarter of that year. She was the fourth
and last child, and only daughter of William Collett and Eleanor Marter, and
was baptised at Esher on 15th November 1849. She was one year old in the census of 1851
when living with her family at Esher Street in Esher, where she was very likely
born. As the youngest child in the family,
she was recorded with her mother, no record of her father, at the Kingston Road
home in Leatherhead, of her uncle Emanuel Marter and her aunt Mary A Marter,
her mother’s unmarried brother and sister, in 1861. Where Mary was in 1871, has still to be
determined but, following the death of her father during the 1870s, Mary
Collett aged 31 and a certified schoolteacher not in employment from Esher, was
once again living with her widowed mother in 1881 at Sutton Road in Banstead
During
the next decade they moved to Croydon, where they were recorded in 1891, six
years before Mary’s mother passed away.
It was at Portland Road in South Norwood, Croydon, that they were
recorded, by which time Mary Collett was 41 and working at a fancy goods repository. Five years after losing her mother, Mary from
Esher was living on her own means at Selhurst Road in Croydon at the age of
51. As the head of the household, Mary
employed one general domestic servant, seventeen-year-old Florence M Ball from
Anerley in Surrey. She subsequently,
opened a boarding house in South Norwood where she had eight paying guests,
including five members of the Stanbrook family.
By that time in her life unmarried Mary Collett from Esher was 61 and a
boarding house keeper. Eighteen years
later, the death of Mary Collett, aged 79, was recorded at Surrey register
office (Ref. 2a 781) in 1929
Walter Collett [53P8] was born at Christchurch in 1843, the
eldest son and first child of Samuel and Catherine Collett who was named after
his grandfather. He was seven years old
in the census of 1851 for Christchurch
Hill and was seventeen ten years later in the Christchurch Hill census of 1861, by which time he was a cattle
dealer, as was his father.
Towards the very end of the next decade Walter married Harriet Senior
and by 1871 the childless couple were still living, within the Newport &
Caerleon registration district, when Walter was twenty-seven and his wife was
twenty-six. Harriet Senior had been born
at Bradwich in Devon. During the
following decade Harriet presented Walter with four children and in 1881 the
family of six was living at Somerton Farm in Christchurch. Walter Collett was described in that year’s
census as being 37 and a farmer who was born at Christchurch. Somerton Farm comprised 140 acres and Walter
employed two men to help him manage it.
His wife was confirmed as Harriet of Bradwich and staying with the
family on that occasion was Harriet’s unmarried sister Mary Ann Senior of
Bradwich in Devon. Walter and Harriet’s
four children at that time were Edith who was five, Linda three, one-year old
Arthur, and Ethel who was just one month, all of whom had been born
In
addition to the two men that Walter employed as farm-hands, his wife Harriet
was assisted in the farmhouse by Christiana Merrett who was nineteen and from
Christchurch who was employed as a general domestic servant. Two more children were added to the family
during the next four years and, in the census of 1891, Walter was 47 and
Harriet was 45. Living with the couple
were all six of their children, and they were Edith aged 15, Linda aged 13,
Arthur aged 11, Ethel aged 10, Edgar who was eight, and Frederick who was five
years old. During the following ten
years Harriet died, and it may have been that event which resulted in the
family moving south of Newport to the village of Nash, nearer to the South
Wales coast. According to the March
census of 1901, Walter was a widower at the age of fifty-seven, and was still
working as a farmer. Once again, his
place of birth was confirmed as Christchurch.
Listed with him at Nash were five of their six children; Edith 25, Linda
23, Ethel 20, Edgar 18, and Fred who was fifteen, and all of them born. Only his son Arthur has not been traced in
that census or the next, although he was listed living with his family in 1891
as Arthur W Collett aged eleven
By
April 1911 Walter was aged sixty-seven and was still living within the Newport
area, and living with him were his three youngest and unmarried children. Ethel Mary Collett was 30, Edgar Henry
Collett was 28, and Frederick George was 25.
It was just less than nine years later that Walter Collett died on 9th
February 1920 when he was living at 7 Leicester Road in Newport. His Will was proved in London on 6th
May that year when his married daughter Ethel was named as the executor of his
estate of £280 2 Shillings and 8 Pence.
She was described as Ethel Mary Capper, wife of John Herbert Capper
53Q16
– Edith A Collett was
born in 1875 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q17
– Linda Harriet Collett
was born in 1877 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q18
– Arthur Walter Collett
was born in 1879 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q19
– Ethel Mary Collett
was born in 1881 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q20
– Edgar Henry Collett
was born in 1883 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q21
– Frederick George Collett
was born in 1885 at Christchurch, Newport
Catherine Collett [53P9], who was often referred to as Kate, was
born at Christchurch in 1844 and was the eldest daughter of Samuel and Catherine
Collett. It was at Christchurch Hill that
she lived most of her early life and was recorded there with her family as
Catherine aged six years in 1851. Ten
years later she was again living in Christchurch and was listed as Catherine Collett
who was 16 and living as a companion and housekeeper with her elderly widowed
grandmother Mary Collett. Catherine’s
whereabouts in 1871 when she would have been in her mid-twenties, has not yet
been determined, but by the time of the Christchurch census of 1881 she was
back living with her parents at Royal Oak Hill.
The census return recorded that she was Kate Collett aged 37 and from
Christchurch, and that she was an out of work domestic servant. During the next ten years both of Catherine’s
parents died, following which, in the census of 1891, Kate Collett was 47 when
she was sharing the family home with her younger brother Henry (below)
Sometime
later, Catherine left Christchurch when she moved to Oystermouth in
Glamorganshire to be with her youngest sister Emily who had recently been made
a widow. That was confirmed by the
census of 1901 in which she was recorded as Catherine Collett from Christchurch
in Monmouthshire who was a single lady of 57, living on her own means. On that occasion she was a visitor at 1
Victoria Avenue in Oystermouth, the home of her sister Emily Charlotte
Morgan. Also recorded living within that
same registration district was her niece, apprentice dressmaker Elizabeth
Collett who was sixteen and from Newport, the daughter of Catherine’s brother
William Henry Collett, who was still living on the Gower Peninsula at
Oystermouth in 1911. It was just over
seven years later that Catherine Collett died, with her death being recorded at
Bridgend register office (Ref. 11a 457) during the second quarter of 1908 at
the age of 63
William Henry Collett [53P10]
was born at
Christchurch in 1846, the son of Samuel and Catherine Collett, and he was four
years old in the Christchurch Hill census of 1851 and was fourteen by 1861, when the family was still living
at Christchurch Hill, where he was attending school. He was still living at the family home near
the church in Christchurch in 1871 when he was twenty-four and his occupation
was that of a butcher. Within the next
two years, the marriage of William Henry Collett, aged 26, and Elizabeth
Oldridge, aged 22, took place at the Church of St John the Evangelist in
Maindee in Monmouthshire on 25th December 1872. Elizabeth had been born in 1850 at Maindee,
midway between Newport and Christchurch, the first-born child of boot and
shoe-maker Isaac Oldridge from Devon and his wife Janet from Newport. By the time of the next census in 1881, the
marriage of William and Elizabeth had produced the couple’s first four of their
ultimate eight children. The family at
that time was made up of William who was 34, his wife Elizabeth who was 31, and
their children Kate Collett who was eight, Charles Collett who was five, Alfred
Collett who was three, and baby Edmund Collett who was just five months
old. William Collett was a butcher and a
cattle dealer of Christchurch and he and his family were living at Royal Oak
Farm in Christchurch. Living with the
family was the widow Mary Ann Evans, aged forty-four and of Christchurch, who
was curiously described as being William’s step-sister. Supporting the Collett family were two
servants, the widow Hannah Jones 57, and her son Arthur Jones who was 16
During
the next decade the remaining four children were added to the family which was
still living at Christchurch in 1891, although no record of daughter Betty has
been found, when she would have been three years old. William and his younger brother Thomas
(below) were living in adjacent dwellings at No 2 and No 1 Bolton Place,
Beechwood Road in Christchurch. The head
of the household was recorded as William Henry Collett, aged 44 and from
Christchurch, who was a butcher and a cattle dealer. His wife Elizabeth was 40 and from Maindee,
and their seven children were listed in the census return with them. They were Kate who was 17 and supporting her
mother at home, Charles who was 14, Alfred who was 12, Edward (sic) who was 10,
Henry who was eight and Elizabeth who was seven, all of whom were attending
school, while baby Florry Collett was two years of age. Still living with the family and described as
a visitor was widow Hannah Jones from Glastonbury who was 67. It may be worthwhile mentioning here that
William and or Elizabeth, whichever of them assisted the enumerator to complete
the next census in March 1901, appear to have been very confused as regards the
actual ages of their children, which conflicted greatly were their stated ages
in the earlier census returns for 1881 and 1891, and the later one in 1911
Just
after the start of the new century, according to the census of 1901, William
Henry Collett, a butcher and dealer and employer from Christchurch was 53 when
he and his family were residing at 10 Somerton Place on Chepstow Road in Newport. His wife Elizabeth Collett was 50 and from
Maindee in Monmouthshire, and still living with the couple were seven of their
eight children. The census return
confirmed them as Kate E Collett was 23 (instead of 27, who was 17 in 1891
and 37 in 1911), Charles S Collett who was 21 (instead of 24),
Alfred Collett who 19 (instead of 23, who was 3 in 1881 and 33 in 1911),
Edmund Collett who was 17 (instead of 20), Henry Collett who was 15 (instead
of 18, who was 8 in 1891 and 28 in 1911), Bettie Collett who was 13, and
Florence H Collett who was 11, who was 21 in 1911. From this it must be assumed that William’s
third son was indeed called Edmund and, that as Edward Collett, his name had
been incorrectly recorded in the census return for 1891. At that time in March 1901, William’s second
eldest daughter Elizabeth was living at 1 Victoria Avenue in Oystermouth,
Glamorganshire, with two of William’s sisters.
During the next ten years all of the couple’s other children, with the
exception of their youngest daughter, left the family home. So, by April 1911, the depleted Collett
family had left the Newport area and instead was living within the Merthyr
Tydfil registration district where William Collett was 63, Elizabeth Collett
was 60, and the only child still living with them was their youngest daughter
Florence Collett who was 21
53Q22
– Kate Elizabeth Collett
was born in 1873 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q23
– Charles Samuel Collett
was born in 1876 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q24
– Alfred Collett was
born in 1878 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q25
– Edmund Collett was
born in 1880 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q26
– Henry Collett was
born in 1882 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q27
– Elizabeth Jane Collett
was born in 1884 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q28
– Betty Collett was born in 1887 at Christchurch, Newport
53Q29
– Florence H Collett
was born in 1889 at Christchurch, Newport
Susan Collett [53P11] was born at Christchurch in 1848, the
daughter of Samuel and Catherine Collett, and was two years old at the time of
the Christchurch census of 1851 and twelve years old in 1861. By the time of the census of 1871 Susan was
no longer living at her parent’s house in Christchurch Hill and may well have been married
by then
Emily Charlotte Collett [53P12]
was born at
Christchurch in 1850, the daughter of Samuel and Catherine Collett, and was
recorded as being under one year old in the Christchurch census of 1851 and ten
years old in 1861. Emily was still living with her family at Christchurch Hill in
1871 when she was twenty, having
no stated occupation. No record
of Emily has been found in 1881 when she would have been thirty so she may have
been married by then. It is known that
an Emily Charlotte from Christchurch married a David J Morgan and that in 1891
the childless couple were living at Oystermouth. However, sometime during the last decade of
the century Emily was made a widow by the death of David Morgan which was
confirmed by the census in 1901. The
Oystermouth census for Glamorganshire that March recorded her as Emily Charl.
Morgan from Christchurch, a widow of 50 years, who was described as a bathing
machine proprietor having her own account.
The only person living with her at 1 Victoria Avenue in Oystermouth on
that occasion was her older sister Catherine Collett (above) who was described
as a visitor from Christchurch who was living on her own means. In 1911 Emily Charlotte Morgan was a widow
from Christchurch, aged sixty, who was still living at Oystermouth. The only other member of the Collett family
from Christchurch to still be living within the Oystermouth area on that
occasion was Emily’s niece Elizabeth Jane Collett [53Q21]
Charles Collett [53P13] was born at Christchurch in 1852, the
son of Samuel and Catherine Collett. In
1861 he was eight years old when he was living with his family at Christchurch Hill. It is unclear what happened to Charles over
the following year since he has not been positively identified in any of the
subsequent census returns in the United Kingdom
Thomas Collett [53P14] was born at Christchurch in 1854, the
son of Samuel and Catherine Collett. In
the census for 1861 he was six years old and was fifteen years old in 1871, on
both occasions living with his family at Christchurch Hill. By 1881, Thomas was still a bachelor at the
age of twenty-seven and he was still living with his parents at Royal Oak Hill
in Christchurch. His father Samuel was a
cattle dealer and that was also the profession Charles had taken up and, at
that time in his life, he was working with his father and his brother Henry
(below). Sometime during the following
decade Thomas married Mary from Llandegveth in Monmouthshire, as verified in
the next census. According to the census
conducted in 1891 Thomas Collett was living at 1 Bolton Place in Christchurch
where he was continuing to work as a cattle dealer but when curiously he gave
his age as 38 instead of 36 and confirmed he was born in Christchurch. Living there with him was his wife Mary Collett
who was 34, and 19-year-old domestic servant Sarah Duffield. Living in the dwelling next door at 2 Bolton
Place was the family of William Henry Collett (above), the older brother of
Thomas
It
was a very similar situation ten years later in March 1901 when again Thomas
Collett of Christchurch said he was 48 instead of 46. He was still working as a cattle dealer and
was still living in Christchurch with his wife Mary who was 43 and from
Llandegveth. No record of any children
has so far been found, but by April 1911 the couple was still living in
Christchurch where Thomas was 57 and his wife Mary was 56. The census return confirmed they had been
married for twenty-three years, during which time they had given birth to one
child who did not survive. Thomas
Collett was 63 when he died in 1917, his death being recorded at Newport
register office (Ref. 11a 197) during the final three months of that year
Henry Collett [53P15] was born at Christchurch in 1856 and was
the youngest son of Samuel and Catherine Collett. In successive census records for
Christchurch, he was aged five in 1861, fifteen in 1871, and in 1881 he was
still a bachelor living at Royal Oak Hill in Christchurch with his
parents. His correct age would have been
twenty-five, but the census recorded it in error as being twenty, making him
seven years younger than his brother Thomas (above) rather than just two
years. At that time in his life Henry
was working with his father Samuel Collett, and his brother Thomas, who were
all employed as cattle dealers. However,
during the next few years both of Henry’s parents passed away, and by the time
of the census of 1891, Henry was a bachelor of thirty-five and was living with
his older unmarried sister Kate Collett (above) at Christchurch. Ten years later in 1901, Henry Collett of
Christchurch was 45, unmarried, and living at Pleasant View in Christchurch,
from where he was working as a butcher and a cattle dealer, having his own
account – that is being self-employed.
However, a search of the census of 1911 has not been successful in locating
him, although it was over seventeen years later that he died in South
Wales. The death of Henry Collett, aged
72, was recorded at the Gower register office (Ref. 11a 1088) during the second
quarter of 1928. As a footnote, the
graves of most of the people mentioned above can be found in the churchyard at
Holy Trinity Church in Christchurch, Gwent in South Wales, which is not far
from the nearby Royal Oak Hill where they used to live
Elizabeth Collett [53Q2] was born at White Rock Farm, Opihi
Flats, on 14th February 1867, the eldest surviving child of Henry
Collett and Ann Davis from South Wales.
Her birth was dramatic to say the least.
Henry and Ann had recently lost their first child and now, with Ann in
labour in their small temporary home, the midwife, who was some distance away
could not get to the hut because of rising flood waters from the Opihi River,
just 100 metres away, and the Opuha River, which was already in full
flood. Henry found himself in a terrible
predicament and, after an hour’s ride through the sodden countryside he reached
Mrs Gould, a friend and neighbour, who could ride and had a good
water-horse. And so it was, with her
help, that Elizabeth Collett came into the world. More drama occurred exactly a year later
when, in the arms of her mother, Elizabeth was rescued from their table top
shortly before the hut was swept away by another flood. Understandably the fair-haired, blue-eyed
Liz, was always a special girl to Henry and Ann. Elizabeth was three months short of her seventeenth
birthday when she married Frank Octavius Matthews from Gloucestershire in
England on 7th December 1883 at Daisy Hill. It is understood that the family of Frank
Matthews was known to the Collett family when they lived in Great Britain. His married to Elizabeth produced a total of
twelve children for the couple, the first few being born on South Island,
before the Matthews family move across the water to North Island
Through
hard work and determination, Frank Matthews moved from Totara Valley near Opihi
and Pleasant Point to Taranaki where he continued to buy and sell farms. In the end his total holding amounted to
seven farms and a couple of houses. It
was on North Island that he became an established farmer and, in later years,
his sons followed in his footsteps.
Elizabeth Matthews nee Collett died on 24th July 1933 and was
buried at Waverley Cemetery, where she was joined just over four years later,
following the death of her husband on 13th August 1937. The twelve children of Elizabeth Collett and
Frank Matthews were: Bessie Ann Matthews (born at Woolston on 26th
January 1884, who died in 1953); Charlotte [Lottie] Henrietta Matthews
(born at Opihi in 1887, who died in South Africa on 25th April 1977);
Walter [Jack] Matthews (born at Opihi on 25th July 1886, who
died on 4th September 1961); Elizabeth Matthews (born at
Opihi during September 1888, who died at Wanganui on 12th August 1968);
Flora Matthews (born at Opihi on 25th August 1889); Ernest
Frank Matthews (born at Opihi on 6th April 1892, who was killed
in action near Wadi-an-Sir in Jordan on 1st April 1918); Frederick Collett Matthews MM (born at
Opihi on 20th April 1895, who was killed in action at Marfaux in
France on 23rd July 1918); Leslie Matthews (born at Opihi in
1900, who died at Ngamatapouri on 25th October 1937); Henry
[Harry] Robins Matthews (born at Opihi on 4th May 1902, who died
on 9th May 1964); Mart Priscilla Gwendolyn Matthews (born at
Pleasant Mount on 4th September 1905, who died on 23rd
January 1981); a still-born son in 1908; and Frank Raymond Matthews
(born in 1911, who died on 27th August 1959
WALTER HENRY COLLETT [53Q3] was born at Silverstream (now Kimbell)
on the Three Springs Station in South Canterbury on 17th December
1870. He was the only son of Henry
Collett and Ann Davis, and shortly after he was born his family moved to Daisy
Hill Farm which his father had purchase in 1866. It was while he was still living with his
family at Daisy Hill Farm that Walter married Annie Eliza Maxwell on 9th
June 1897. Annie was from a neighbouring
farm, and was the daughter of Alexander Maxwell and Annie Parker, and the
sister of Hamilton Maxwell who married Walter’s younger sister Charlotte
(below). The first of Walter’s and
Annie’s ten children was born later that same year at Upper Waitohi, in Kakahu. He first farmed near Annie’s parents’ home,
from a small timber cottage where today Alan Cones’ cattle yards are
based. He later farmed on the banks of
the Opihi River on the Pleasant Point side of Daisy Hill at Exwick Farm, where
he was mixed farmer. That second family
home is still there today, albeit uninhabited and in a dilapidated stated. Annie Collett nee Maxwell died in 1932, and
was followed nine years later by her husband, when Walter Henry Collett died on
23rd November 1941
Annie
Eliza Maxwell was born on 11th November 1877 at her parents'
Sunnyside Farm near Cannington Sheep Station and had the distinction of being
the first European child born at Cannington.
Around about 1881 her family crossed to Kakahu, and she later attended
primary school there. She lived at home
with her parents, providing help on the farm until, at the age of 19, on
Wednesday 9th June 1897 at Daisy Hill Farm she married Walter Henry
Collett, who was 26. They lived first at
Kakahu about half a kilometre down the road from her parents' house. There she gave birth to eight of her ten
children, with the last two children being born at Daisy Hill. Walter and Annie leased, then bought nearby
Exwick Farm. The following twelve years
saw her family grow into adulthood. In
1932 she became ill and died in Timaru Public Hospital on 16th July
1932 from breast carcinoma. She was only
54 years old. At that time her oldest
child ‘Hap Collett’ was 35, while the youngest, Esther, was only 16. Annie eventually had 22 grandchildren and 57
great grandchildren. She was a bright,
well-spoken, and gentle Christian woman, who was burdened by the Great
Depression and the demands of a large, growing family having to cope in a
dwelling lacking size and everyday comforts
53R1
– Henry Alexander Parker Collett was
born in 1897 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R2
– Estelle May Collett was
born in 1898 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R3
– Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Collett was
born in 1901 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R4
– Walter Hamilton Davis Collett was
born in 1903 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R5
– LLEWELLYN MAXWELL COLLETT was
born in 1905 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R6
– Ann Collett was born
in 1907 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R7
– Mary Victoria Gwendoline Collett was
born in 1909 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R8
– Francis David Collett was
born in 1911 at Kakahu, New Zealand South Island
53R9
– Andrew James Howell Collett was
born in 1914 at Pleasant Point, New Zealand South Island
53R10
– Esther Ruth Collett was
born in 1916 at Pleasant Point, New Zealand South Island
Charlotte Ann Collett [53Q4] was born at Daisy Hill Farm on 21st
February 1873, the youngest surviving child of Henry Collett and Anne
Davis. She was among the first pupils
enrolled at the Opihi School although, at that time, there were no secondary
schools for her to attend. She fully
absorbed the rhythm of farm life and understood it well. It was on 12th April 1909 at Daisy
Hill that Charlotte married neighbouring farmer Hamilton Maxwell, the brother
of Annie Maxwell her sister-in-law, and the son of Alexander Maxwell and Annie
Parker. The marriage of Charlotte and
Hamilton produced three children, the eldest of which, Nancy Maxwell,
compiled the family history in a book entitled The Collett Saga around 1961, to
coincide with the centenary of the arrival of her grandfather Henry Collett in
New Zealand. That fascinating work was
composed using stories handed down by Henry and his wife Anne Collett to their
daughter Charlotte, who then passed it onto Nancy
Charlotte’s
two other children were Alexander Maxwell, who was known as Sandy, and Hamilton
Maxwell, who was known as Young Hammy, his father being called Hammy
Maxwell. Nancy Maxwell, who was baptised
Annie Parker Henrietta Maxwell, was born on 13th February
1910 and died on 15th October 1986, Sandy was born on 14th
February 1912 and was baptised Alexander Collett Davies Maxwell, and he
died on 23rd April 1986 aged 74, while Hamilton Walter Ernest
Maxwell was born on 3rd January 1913 and lived most of his later
life in Christchurch, where he died in 2008.
Hamilton Maxwell was born at Cannington on 2nd February
1881. He was raised at Kakahu and
attended the Kakahu School. He was fortunate in having Miss Jenny McKay, one of
New Zealand's leading poets and feminists, as his teacher. He was also taught by the Meredith sisters
who later were among the first New Zealand women to gain medical degrees. He worked on his father's farm, Greenhills,
and married Charlotte Ann Collett on 12th April 1909. Six months before his marriage, he bought 80
acres lying between Collett's Road and the Opihi River, quite close to the
Hanging Rock bridge
On
the death of his father in February 1912, the Greenhills title was transferred
to him. Hammy, as he was known, was by
then an experienced farmer. Energetic
and determined to make a success of the start given him, Hammy put a lot of
effort into his rather hilly 328 acres.
In July 1923 he bought a further 124 acres running along his northern
boundary. With increasing assistance
from sons Alex and young Hammy, and nephew Andy Collett, Hammy farmed the 452
acres for the next twenty years. With
guaranteed sales of whatever they produced, at long last living standards rose
and as sales soared. The family began to
enjoy the fruits of their success: electricity, phones, automobiles, steam
engines, motor lorries, threshing machines, drills, motorcycles, radio, hot
running water, and a vastly increased choice in clothing and furniture. More years like that would have really
established the family, when suddenly everything was soured by The Great
Economic Depression
The
family business was just kept afloat, but only by the hard labourers of the
family members, and by the late 1930 Charlotte and Hammy had survived the
ordeal. But then they were faced with
the Second World War to upset everything again.
Their sons Alex and Hammy were away from the farm, Alex on Active Service,
while Hammy was deemed not fit for war, and was assigned other work. With no
country having more of its man-power called up for service than New Zealand,
the country's rural labour force evaporated.
Their daughter Nancy waded in and very effectively assumed an increasing
amount of the farm duties.
Understandably Hammy Maxwell, then in his early sixties, was profoundly
stressed by the unremitting overwork and isolation. He died in 1944 and, following the death of
her husband, Charlotte assumed the matriarch role and lived another seventeen
years before she passed away on 10th May 1961 aged 87
Mary Emily Collett [53Q5] was born at Daisy Hill Farm on 9th
June 1875, the youngest of the five children born to Henry Collett and Ann
Davis. Unfortunately, she survived for
only three months, when she passed away during in September 1875, although
there is still a mystery surrounding where she was laid to rest
Henry Collett [53Q6] was born during the first three months
of 1859 and is likely to have taken place within the parish of St Woolos in
Newport, with the birth registered in Newport.
He was the son of Walter Collett and Mary Ann Thomas and was recorded as
living with his parents at 17 Peel Street in Cardiff in 1861 aged one year, and
again in 1871 at the age of twelve years.
At the time of the later census the family was recorded as living ‘near
the church’ in Christchurch and, right next door in the adjacent property, was
the family of the farmer Samuel Collett who had been born in the St Woolos area
of Newport. He was the uncle of Henry’s
father Walter Collett. At twelve years
old Henry Collett was still attending the local school at that time. With the death of his mother in 1876, his
father remarried and it was possibly around that time that Henry moved out of
the family home in Christchurch. So far,
no record of him has been found in the census of 1881, so at the age of around
twenty-two, he may have been out of the country. Around the mid-1880s Henry married the widow
Elizabeth Hall of Bedminster near Bristol, who already had two sons and a
daughter from her previous marriage. By
early 1891 the marriage between Henry and Elizabeth had produced three children
for the couple and in the census that year the family was living at 42 Stow
Hill
Stow
Hill in Newport lies in the parish of St Woolos, so Henry had returned to settle
with the same area that he had been born.
The census return for 1891 listed him and his family as Henry Collett
32, his wife Elizabeth 36, her sons George Hall 19 and Ernest Hall 16, and
Henry’s three children as Edith Collett 4, Henry Collett aged one year, and
Gladys Collett who was just three months old.
By that time in his life Henry Collett was an established groom and cab
driver who was managing his own cab business, for which he employed the
services of his two stepsons as cab drivers.
Whilst the place of birth of his own three children was given correctly
as Newport, Henry curiously stated for some reason that he had been born in
London. In addition to the two Hall
boys, two other cab drivers were boarding with the family, and perhaps were also
employed by Henry. They were Edward
Powell 28 of Newport, and Worthy Gilson 21 from Bath
In
1881 the two Hall sons of widow Elizabeth were living with their grandparents
George and Jane Hall at their Somerset home at 3 Richmond Terrace in Bedminster. George Hall (of Bristol) was nine and Ernest
Hall (of Bath) was five, and also with them was their younger sister Mary Ann
Hall who was two years old. In fact, in
the same census (1881) Elizabeth was a widow at the age of twenty-six, and at that
time she was employed as a night nurse at the Bristol General Hospital in
Commercial Road in Bedminster, not far from where her parents lived with her
three children. Over the next five years
the family of Henry and Elizabeth increased in size and it may have been that
which prompted a move to another house on Stow Hill in Newport. Just after the start of the new century the
family were recorded in the census of 1901 as living at 78 Stow Hill in the
parish of St Woolos. Henry Collett, at
the age of forty-one years, was a cab proprietor and an employer and, on that
occasion, he did acknowledge that he had been born at Newport. With him was his wife Elizabeth who was 46,
but gone by that time were her two sons
Eldest
daughter Edith had completed her education and had since left the family home
for work purposes at only fourteen years of age (see separate details
later). All of the couple’s remaining
children were listed as Henry, aged 12, Gladys, aged 10, Mary Ann who was
eight, and Gwendoline who was five. Ten
years later the same family was listed in the 1911 Census of Newport as Henry
who was 56 (sic), Elizabeth who was also 56, Henry Arnold Collett, who was 21,
Amy Gladys Collett, who was 20, Mary Ann Collett, who was 18, and Gwendoline
Collett who was 15
53R11 – Edith Florence Collett was born in 1886 at Newport, South Wales
53R12 – Henry Arnold Collett was born in 1889 at Newport, South Wales
53R13 – Amy Gladys Collett was born in 1891 at Newport, South Wales
53R14 – Mary Ann Collett was born in 1893 at Newport, South Wales
53R15 – Gwendoline Collett was born in 1895 at Newport, South Wales
Charlotte Collett [53Q7] was born in 1860 at Cardiff when her
parents Walter Collett and Mary Ann Thomas were living at 17 Peel Street. Sometime after she was born her father, who
was a ship’s carpenter, may have lost his job in Cardiff, because the family
was living at Christchurch in a house near the church in April 1871, when
Charlotte Collett of Cardiff was ten years old.
Although not proved, it seems very likely that Charlotte married William
Saunders when she was barely the legal age to do so. If that can be confirmed, in 1881 Charlotte
Saunders was the mother of three children by then. The census return that year placed the
Saunders family as living at 8 Upper Lewis Street in the parish of St Woolos in
Newport, where it is known Charlotte’s father was born. Her husband William was 21 of Newport with no
stated occupation, Charlotte of Newport was 20, and the couple’s three children
were Maud Saunders who was three, Margaret Saunders who was one,
and Annie Saunders who was just six weeks old. More children were added to the family during
the next decade, but at the same time it would appear that eldest child Maud
did not survive. The census in 1891,
recorded the enlarged family living at School Terrace in Newport, where William
Saunders from Monmouthshire was 32 and a painter. Charlotte was 30, and their five children
were Maggie who was 12, Annie who was 10, William Saunders who was
seven, Rose Saunders who was three, and Charlotte Saunders who
was one year old
William Collett [53Q8] was born at Christchurch in 1878, the
birth being registered during the third quarter of the year to parents Walter
Collett and his second wife Mary Walters.
In April 1881 he was living with his parents at Royal Oak Hill in
Christchurch when he was two years old.
He was still there ten years later at the age of twelve. On leaving school William began working with
wood which prompted a moved to London for him and his brother Edward
(below). By the end of March in 1901 the
brothers were both living at 5 Sonardale Road in Wandsworth, where William was
described as a timber merchant’s manager at the age of 22. Within the next year or so, William returned
to Newport where he married (1) Beatrice Harriet Perrett during the final
quarter of 1903 when she was already pregnant with their first child. Beatrice was born at Llangattock near
Crickhowell in 1875, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Perrett. In 1881 Beatrice was five years old and was
living with her gamekeeper father and the rest of her family at Llangrwyney
near Crickhowell. Just prior to her
marriage to William Collett, Beatrice was unmarried and was living with her
family at Abersychan near Pontypool, where she was recorded as being twenty-six
in the census of 1901. The family home
at that time was a hotel in the town, which was being managed by her father
John
Once
married, the couple settled within the Pontypridd area and it was there that
the marriage produced two children for William and Beatrice. However, it would appear that the marriage
only lasted for around eighteen months when Beatrice died during, or shortly
after, the birth of their daughter. The
death was registered at Pontypridd during the second quarter of 1905, when
Beatrice’s age was given in error as being twenty-six which was William’s age,
when in fact she was nearly thirty. The
birth of her daughter Hetty was also registered at Pontypridd during that same
period of 1905. Three years later, and
following the death of his first wife, William married (2) Florence Price from
Maindee in Newport, with whom he had another son, while their wedding was
recorded at Newport during the June quarter of 1908. However, the Newport census return for 1911
only listed William Collett, his wife Florence Collett, and their son William
John Collett. At that time the family of
three was living at 30 Somerton Road in Newport. William was 32 and a coal merchant, his wife
of three years Florence was 30, and their son William John was two years old
and had been born at Maindee in Newport, where his mother had also been born. William’s two earlier children had been placed in the care of two
different families; Roscoe with the King family in Woodchester near Stroud,
Catherine King being the former Catherine Collett (Ref. 64P32) when Roscoe was
said to be her nephew (sic), and Hetty with the Collins family in Pontypool
53R16 – Roscoe Elrick Collett was born in 1904 at Pontypridd
53R17 – Hetty Beatrice Collett was born in 1905 at Pontypridd
The
following is the only child of William Collett by his second wife Florence
Price:
53R18 – William John Collett was born in 1908 at Maindee, Newport
Edward Collett [53Q9] was born at Christchurch in December
1880 when his parents, Walter Collett and Mary Thomas, were living at Royal Oak
Hill where Edward was recorded as being four months old in the census of
1881. Ten years later he was listed as
being ten years old when still living at Royal Oak with his family. Edward would appear to have followed in his
father’s footsteps by becoming a carpenter and a joiner, and during the latter
half 1890s he accompanied his older brother William when they moved to London
to seek work. In March 1901 the two
brothers were living at 5 Sonardale Road in Wandsworth where Edward was
confirmed as being twenty years old. When
Edward’s brother returned to South Wales, Edward also returned to Newport and
at the age of thirty he was back living at the home of his elderly parents in
April 1911. It now seems likely that he
never married since, at the time of his death his personal effects were handled
by Lloyds Bank, rather than any living relative. Edward Collett was living at Colletts Cottage
on Royal Oak Hill in Christchurch, Monmouthshire, when he died on 19th
March 1960 at the age of 79. His death
was recorded at Caerleon register office (Ref. 8c 108) during the first quarter
of that year, following which his estate was valued at £2,616 9 Shillings and
10 Pence
Walter Dudley Collett [53Q10] was born at Newington, South London, in
1865 with his birth registered there (Ref. 1d 203) during the third quarter of
the year. On leaving school, Walter took
up work as a compositor, like his father, as confirmed in the 1881 census
return when, he and his family were living at 93 Lorrimore Road in
Newington. It was as a printer
compositor aged 25 that he was still living with his parents in 1891 at Hill
Street in Newington. At the end of that
year, the marriage of Walter Dudley Collett and Annie Hall took place at St
John’s Church in Walworth on 25th December 1891, when Walter was 26,
the son of Walter Collett, and Annie was 24, the daughter of Charles Hall. The event was recorded at Southwark register
office (Ref. 1d 367) during the fourth quarter of the year. Nine years after their wedding day, Walter D
Collett was 35 and a printer’s compositor living at St Pauls Road in Canonbury
(Islington), where he was recorded as a married man and head of the
household. His wife Annie Collett from
Blackfriars (London) was 33, and their two children were Leonard Collett who
was eight and born at Walworth, and Maude A Collett who was five years old and
born after the family had moved to Highbury.
By 1911, only three members of the family were living at Poplar in Tower
Hamlets, when Walter Dudley Collett was 45 and printer compositor for a general
printer, who gave his place of birth as Walworth, as he had done in 1901. Walworth lies immediately to the south of
Newington. Annie Collett from Southwark
was also recorded as 45, while their daughter Maude Collett was 15 and a
part-time student who has been born at Highbury
The
Electoral Roll for 1910 included Walter Dudley Collett who was residing at 244
St Pauls Road in Canonbury within the London Borough of Islington, in three
rooms on the second floor and basement, unfurnished. Living in other rooms in the property was F W
Hall, a likely relative of Annie’s. The
same two men were also recorded at the same address six years earlier, when the
Collett family’s accommodation comprised a front room on the second floor and a
back kitchen, unfurnished. Leonard
Walter Collett was born at Walworth in 1893, and his birth was recorded at
Southwark register office (Ref. 1d 159) during the second quarter of 1893. Maude Annie Collett may have been born at
Highbury towards the end of 1895, with her birth recorded at Islington register
office (Ref. 1b 426) during the first three months of 1896. It was many years later that Walter Dudley
Collett died at Edmonton aged 83, his passing recorded at Middlesex register
office (Ref. 5e 344) in 1948. For the
last nine years of his life Walter was a widower, following the death of Annie
Collett in 1939, her death recorded at London register office (Ref. 1a 834)
when she was 72.
53R19 – Leonard Walter Collett was born
in 1893 at Walworth, London
53R20 – Maude Annie Collett was born in
1896 at Highbury, London
Sarah B M Collett [53Q11] was born at Newington in 1868, where
her birth was registered (Ref. 1d 227) during the last three months of that
year. For whatever reason, Sarah was not
living with her family in 1871, when three-year-old Sarah B M Collett was the
only person living with her grandmother Eleanor Collett at Banstead in Surrey,
where her grandmother had been born. Ten
years later Sarah was living with her family at 93 Lorrimore Street in
Newington was she was 14 and still at school.
During the next decade her parents moved to nearby Hill Street in
Newington where Sarah was 24 and a tailoress.
Whether because of illness or injury, in 1901 Sarah B M Colett aged 33
and a needle-woman was a patient at Coulsdon in Surrey, while no obvious record
has been found in the next census of 1911.
Sarah never married and was 85 when she died, her death recorded at
Surrey register office (Ref. 5g 279) in 1953
William Richardson Collett
[53Q12] was born at
Camberwell on 19th January 1871, where his birth was also registered
(Ref. 1d 746) during the first quarter of the year. However, on being baptised at All Souls
Church in Newington on 25th February 1872 he was recorded as William
Parkinson Collett, the son of Walter Collett and Sarah Amelia Parkinson of 25
Chatham Road in Newington. That was the
only occasion during his life when his name included his mother’s maiden-name,
which may have been a mistake made on the part of the people recording the
details in the parish records. By the
time his siblings Frank and Eleanor (below) were baptised, the family was
residing at 93 Lorrimore Street in Newington, and it was at that address that
William was ten years old in the census of 1881, his place of birth confirmed
as Camberwell
It
is understood that their marriage produced four children, with the first two
born at Hitcham in Surrey. By 1911 the
family home was in Wandsworth where William Richardson Collett from Camberwell
was 40 and working as an engineer’s fitter.
Although she was known in the family as Carrie, Emily Eliza Caroline
Collett was 28 and had been born in Southwark, and the couple’s two children
were named as Mabel Rosalind Collett who was three, and Sydney Thomas Collett
who was one year old. Five months later,
Carrie gave birth to another son while the family was still living in
Wandsworth and, it was after the war, with most likely William being away on
military service, that their last child was born at Camberwell in 1920
Photo
above Circa 1915 – Carrie and William, with Mabel, Sydney, and Tom
53R21 – Mabel Rosalind Collett was born
in 1907 at Hitcham, Surrey
53R22 – Sydney Thomas Collett was born
in 1909 at Hitcham, Surrey
53R23 – Tom Walter Collett was born in 1911 at Wandsworth, London
53R24 – Lilian C M Collett was born in
1920 at Camberwell, London
Frank Collett [53Q13] was born at 93 Lorrimore Street in
Newington on 13th December 1872 and was later baptised with his
younger sister Eleanor (below) in a joint service on 14th March
1875. He was another son of Walter and
Sarah Amelia Collett, who were still living at 93 Lorrimore Street where his
father was a compositor. The family was
again residing at Lorrimore Street in 1881 when Frank was eight years old and
in 1891 the family was living at Hill Street in Newington, where Frank had left
school and was working as a compositor’s apprentice when he was 18. It is unclear where he was in 1901, but
sometime during the following decade Frank Collett married Elizabeth Ellen
Cunliffe, the daughter of Henry and Jane Cunliffe, with whom the childless
couple was living at Newington in 1911.
By then Frank Collett was 38 and a printing linotype operation, and his
older wife Elizabeth Ellen Collett from Tottenham was 44. Her father, and head of the household, was 70
and an old age pensioner, when her mother Jane was 73. Just under forty years after that day, it was
at Croydon where Frank Collett died in 1950, his death recorded at Surrey
register office (Ref. 5g 15) at the age of 77
Edward Emanuel Collett [53Q15] was born at 93 Lorrimore Street in
Newington in 1876, the last child of Walter Collett and Sarah Amelia Parkinson,
his birth registered at Southwark (Ref. 1d 131) during the second quarter of
the year. It seems that he never used
his second forename, as it was simply as Edward Collett that he was five years
old at 93 Lorrimore Street in 1881, was 15 in 1891 when living at Hill Street
in Newington, by which time he was a printer’s reader and errand boy, and again
in 1901 when he was a compositor still living with his family at Hillingdon
Street in Newington Green, when he was 25.
No record of his has been found in 1911, while it was ten years later
that the marriage of Edward Emanuel Collett and Constance M J Smith was
recorded at Croydon register office (Ref. 2a 800a) during the first quarter of
1921. Constance was born at Maldon Road
in Wallington, Surrey in 1887, the sixth child of William T J Smith and Ellen
Smith. Because of their advanced years,
it is assumed that had no children. They
were married for thirty-one years when, at the age of 76, the death of Edward
Emanuel Collett was recorded at Surrey register office (Ref. 5g 316) in 1952
Edith A Collett [53Q16] was born at Christchurch in 1875 the
first child of Walter Collett and Harriet Senior. In 1881, at the age of five years, Edith A
Collett was living at Somerton Farm in Christchurch with her parents. Ten years later she was still living with her
parents at Christchurch. However,
sometime during the last ten years of the century Edith’s mother died and it
may have been that sad event which prompted her father to leave Christchurch
and move to the village of Nash near the south coast. And it was at Nash that she was living with
her father in March 1901 at the age of twenty-five. It is very likely that she was married during
the next decade, since no record of Edith Collett of Christchurch has been
found in the census of 1911
Linda Harriet Collett [53Q17]
was born at
Christchurch in 1877, and it was as Linda H Collett that she was recorded in
the Christchurch census of 1881 as being three years old when living at
Somerton Farm with her parents. Ten
years later she was 13 and was still at Christchurch, but after a further ten
years she was living in the village of Nash south of Newport with her widowed
father at the age of 23. No record of
Linda Collett has been found in 1911 so it is presumed that she was marred by
then
Arthur Walter Collett [53Q18]
was born at
Christchurch in 1879 and probably took place at Somerton Farm where his family
was living in 1881, when Arthur W Collett was one year old. He was still living there ten years later in
1891 when he was 11. What happened to
Arthur after that time has not been discovered since no record of him has been
found in either of the census returns for 1901 and 1911. This, coupled with the fact that his younger
sister Ethel (below) was the executor of his father’s Will in 1920, may
indicate that he did not survive beyond childhood
Ethel Mary Collett [53Q19]
was born at Somerton
Farm in Christchurch during February 1881, the daughter of Walter and Harriet
Collett, and was recorded as being just one month old in the census that
year. She was still living at
Christchurch with her family in 1891 when she was ten, but, following the death
of her mother, she was living with her father at Nash in 1901 when she was
twenty. Sometime during the next few
years, the family returned to Newport.
The 1911 Census for the Newport registration district included Ethel
Mary Collett of Christchurch as a spinster of thirty years, who was acting as
housekeeper to her widowed father Walter Collett and her two younger
brothers. At the time of the death of
her father in 1920, Ethel was named as the sole executor of his estate, when
she was recorded as Ethel Mary Capper, the wife of Herbert John Capper
Edgar Henry Collett [53Q20]
was born at Somerton
Farm in Christchurch in 1883 and was still living there with his family in 1891
when he was eight years old. Not long
after that his mother died and his family then moved to Nash, south of Newport. By March 1901 Edgar was 18 when he was still
living at Nash with his family, from where he was working as an ironmonger’s
assistant. In 1911 Edgar was a bachelor
at 28 years of age when he was still living with his father Walter, his sister
Ethel (above), and his brother Frederick (below), the three of them having left
Nash and by then were living in the Newport area. Over the years following the Great War Edgar
married the much younger Frances Merab who was born on 27th February
1896. Whether they had any children is
not known but it is established that Edgar Henry Collett and his wife were
living at 48 Brithdir Street in Cardiff when he died on 20th March
1933 at the age of 50. Administration of
his personal effects valued at £231 17 Shillings was granted to Frances Merab
Collett, his widow. That sad event was
recorded at Cardiff register office (Ref. 11a 546) during the first quarter of
that year. Being that much younger than
her husband, Frances survived for a further thirty-nine when she passed away
during the second quarter of 1972 at the age of 76, which was recorded at St
Albans register office (Ref. 4b 687)
Frederick George Collett [53Q21]
was born at Somerton
Farm in Christchurch in 1885 and was five years old in the census of 1891 while
still living there with his family.
Frederick was still very young when his mother died during the next few
years, at which time, it is assumed, the family left Christchurch and moved
south to the village of Nash near the south coast of Wales. Frederick was still attending school in 1901
and was 15 years old while living at Nash with his family. A little while later Fred, as he was referred
to in 1901, and his father and two youngest siblings left Nash and moved back
to Newport. According to the next census
in April 1911, Frederick George Collett from Christchurch was a bachelor of 25
who was living in Newport with his father Walter Collett, and his sister Ethel
and brother Edgar (above)
Kate Elizabeth Collett [53Q22]
was born at
Christchurch in 1873, the eldest child of butcher and cattle dealer William
Henry Collett of Royal Oak Farm and his wife Elizabeth Oldridge. It was as Kate Collett from Christchurch that
she was recorded in the census of 1881 when she was eight years old and living
there with her family. Ten years later,
in the Christchurch census of 1891, she was once again described as Kate
Collett when she was 17, with no occupation, and living with her family at 2
Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in Christchurch.
Curiously, according to the census of 1901, Kate E Collett from
Christchurch was recorded as being 23 years of age (instead of 27), when
she was still living with her family, but at Somerton Place, on Chepstow Road
in Newport. Just over two years after
that census day, Kate Elizabeth Collett and William Richard Matthews were
married at the Church of St John the Evangelist in Maindee on 23rd
June 1903, where her parents were marriage on Christmas Day in 1872
The
couple’s first child, their son Richard Henry Matthews, was born one year
later. However, before she had any
further children, the death of William Richard Matthews was recorded at
Monmouth register office (Ref. 11a 11) during the second quarter of 1909, when
he was possibly 38 years old. That
situation was confirmed in the census two years later, when head of the
household was Kate Matthews, a widow living at 17 Medug Street in Newport with
her son. Kate was 37 and son Richard
Henry Matthews was seven years of age and born at Christchurch. Staying with the pair of them was Kate’s
unmarried brother Henry Collett (below) who was 28, plus two bachelors who were
boarding with the family. They were
Thomas Evans Jones, aged 30, who was a certified schoolmaster, and Reginald
Curtis, aged 22, who was an assistant stationer. Kate never re-married and, at the time of her
death, when she was 63 years old, on 16th October 1937, she was
living at 72 Caerleon Road in Newport.
Administration of the personal effects of widow Kate Elizabeth Matthews,
valued at £206 3 Shillings and 3 Pence, was granted to her son Richard Henry
Matthews at Llandaff on 29th November that same year
Charles Samuel Collett [53Q23]
was born at
Christchurch in 1876, the eldest son of William and Elizabeth Collett of Royal
Oak Farm, where he was most likely born.
In 1881 Charles was five years of age, while ten years later he was 14
years old and still attending school when he and his family were living at 2
Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in Christchurch.
During the 1890s, the Collett family left Christchurch and moved into
the town of Newport, where Charles S Collett was living with his parents in
1901. Rather curiously, his age was recorded
in error as 21 (rather than twenty-four), although his occupation was
similar to that of his father, being that of a pork butcher and a worker,
perhaps working for his employer father
During
the summer of 1905, Charles married Mary Ann Pritchard which was recorded at
Pontypridd register office (Ref. 11a 933) in the third quarter of that
year. The witnesses at the wedding were
Katie Hughes and Richard Thomas. Early
in the following year Mary Ann presented Charles with a daughter and by 1911
the family of three was living in Penarth near Cardiff. Charles Collett and his wife of six years
Mary Ann were both listed in the census return as being 32 – while Charles was
very likely 34, while their daughter Doris Jane Collett was five years
old. Both mother and daughter had been
born at Pontypridd. It was many years
later that Charles Samuel Collett died at Llandough Hospital in Penarth on 28th
January 1949, his death recorded at East Glamorgan register office (Ref. 8b
349) at the age of 72. His Will was
proved at Llandaff on 26th April 1949 when his home address was
revealed as 136 Penarth Road in Cardiff and his widow Mary Ann Collett was
given administration of his estate of £604 8 Shillings and 6 Pence. Tragically, their daughter was only eighteen years
of age when she died at Pontypridd, where her death was recorded (Ref. 11a 457)
during the third quarter of 1925
53R25 – Doris Jane Collett was born in
1906 at Pontypridd
Alfred Collett [53Q24] was born at Royal Oak Farm in
Christchurch in 1878 and was three years old in the census of 1881. He was 12 years old ten years later in 1891
when he was living at 2 Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in Christchurch with his
parents. In the next census of 1901, his
age was recorded incorrectly as 19 when he would have been nearer 22, when he
was a butcher and dealer, like his father, but having his own account. During the next decade Alfred married Letitia
who was around five years older than Alfred.
So, by the time of the census of 1911 Alfred gave a more accurate
account of his age, by saying he was 33.
His wife Letitia was 38 and the childless couple was living in the
Merthyr Tydfil area at that time
dmund
Collett [53Q25] was
born at Royal Oak Farm in Christchurch in October 1880 and was five months in
the census of 1881. He and his family
were still living in Christchurch in 1891, at 2 Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in
Christchurch, when he was incorrectly listed as Edward Collett aged 10 years. Shortly thereafter the family moved to
Newport. On leaving school Edmund took
up the same profession as his father and his brothers (above) by becoming a
butcher. The Newport census of 1901
confirmed that Edmund Collett from Christchurch was 17, and not 20 which was
nearer to his actual age, when he was described as a butcher and a worker,
presumably employed by his father. No
record of Edmund Collet has been located in the census of 1911
Henry Collett [53Q26] was born at Christchurch in 1882 and
possibly at Royal Oak Farm. One the day
of the census in 1891 Henry Collett was eight years of age when he was living
at 2 Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in Christchurch with his family. However, ten years later, after the family
had settled in Newport Henry Collett was incorrectly recorded in the census of
1901 as being only 15 years of age, three years younger than his actual age,
just like his siblings. Upon leaving
school Henry had become a painter merchant’s clerk, as recorded in the census
that year, when he was still living with his family at 10 Somerton Place in Newport. By the time of the next census in 1911 he was
employed as a clerk with a timber merchant and on the day of the census Henry
Collett was 28 and still a bachelor when he was living with his widowed sister
Kate Matthews (above) at 17 Medug Street in Newport
Elizabeth Jane Collett [53Q27] was born at Royal Oak Farm in
Christchurch in 1884 and was named as Elizabeth Collett aged seven years in the
Christchurch census of 1891, when the family was recorded at 2 Bolton Place,
Beechwood Road in Christchurch. On
leaving school she became a dressmaker’s apprentice and by 1901 she had left
the family home which, by then, was at 10 Somerton Place in Newport. Elizabeth had given up life in Newport to
live and work in Oystermouth on the Gower Peninsula. And it was there that she was described in
the census of 1901 as Elizabeth Collett from Newport who was 16 and employed as
an apprentice dressmaker, the niece of Catherine Collett, her father’s eldest
sister. On that occasion she was
recorded as a visitor at 1 Victoria Avenue in Oystermouth, the home of her
other aunt, the widowed Emily Charlotte Morgan.
By the time of the next census in April 1911 Elizabeth Jane Collett of
Newport was 27 and was still living at Oystermouth, where widow Emily Charlotte
Morgan was also still residing
Florence H Collett [53Q29]was born at Christchurch in 1889 and
possibly at 2 Bolton Place, Beechwood Road in Christchurch, where the family
was recorded in 1891, when she was included as Florrie Collett aged two
years. Ten years after that her family
had left Christchurch and were living in Newport, where Florence H Collett was
11 years old in March 1901. Florence was
21 in April 1911 when she was the only member of her family still living with
her parents. By that time, they had
moved from Newport and were living in Merthyr Tydfil, where her older brother
Alfred Collett (above) and his wife were also living on that occasion
Henry Alexander Parker
Collett [53R1] was born
at home in that part of Kakahu known as the Upper Waitohi, South Canterbury on
27th October 1897, the eldest child of Walter Henry Collett, who was
27, and Annie Eliza Maxwell, who was 19.
His named derived from his paternal grandfather Henry, his maternal
grandfather Alexander Maxwell, and his maternal grandmother Annie Parker. He was destined to be a bachelor, when he
dedicated his life to working on the family farm, where he was a sheep
shearer. He also worked on chaff cutters
and became the ‘Water-Joey’. He was a
fine shot with a gun and later took up the position of ‘rabbitor’ for the
Rabbit Board. Tragically, it was that
activity that cut short his life. While
galloping on his horse in 1945, some loose equipment caused the horse to
stumble, throwing Henry to the ground, with the horse then rolling on top of
him. The serious injuries he sustained
resulted in his death, when he died in Timaru Hospital one week later, at the
age of 47. Coincidentally, both his grandfather
and great grandfather were also killed in horse accidents, all three of them
being the first-born male child in their respective families. With the acronym of HAP, and a constant grin
on his face, he was known at home and throughout the district as Happy Collett
and was one of those rare individuals who was universally well-liked by
everyone with whom he came into contact
Estelle May Collett [53R2]
was born at Kakahu in
New Zealand during 1898, the eldest daughter of Walter Henry Collett and Annie
Eliza Maxwell. She attended to the
Kakahu Bush School, with her sister Charlotte, and her brothers Walter and
Llewellyn (all below), following which she later trained as a nurse. She married chemist Les Sarney, but
tragically died during childbirth at Wanganui on 13th October 1933,
when she was just 34 years old. Whether
or not the baby lived, still remains a mystery
Charlotte Elizabeth Mary
Collett [53R3] was born
at Kakahu in 1901, the third of the ten children of Walter and Annie
Collett. She received her primary
education at Kakahu Bush School up to 1913 and thereafter went to school in
Opihi. She married Johann Martin Hullen
who came from a well-known family in the district. Their marriage produced three children for
the couple. Charlotte’s husband, who was
known as Martin, died on 5th September 1976 at the age of 82, while
Charlotte Hullen nee Collett died fifteen years later on 1st July
1991 when she was 90. The couple’s three
children were: Walter Henry Hullen (born at Geraldine on 6th
June 1928, who married Flora Agnes Pearce in 1953); Alexander Martin Hullen
(born at Geraldine on 5th February 1933, who married Elizabeth
Cullen in 1956 and who died on 16th March 2013); and Annie June
Mary Hullen (born at Leeston on 23rd February 1937, who married
John William Woolfe, and who died on 15th January 1995)
Walter Hamilton Davis
Collett [53R4] was born
at Kakahu in 1903 and was the second son of Walter Henry Collett and Annie
Eliza Maxwell. Kakahu lies approximately
two miles to the east of Raincliff where his grandparents first met and
settled, and about five miles north of Pleasant Point where his grandfather
initially settled on his arrival from South Wales in 1861. He attended the Kakahu Primary School up to
1913 and was a pupil at the Opihi School after that date. He became a gun shearer and, on one occasion,
he sheared 300 sheep in a day at Bluecliff Station, creating a New Zealand
record which stood for almost a decade.
Perhaps more remarkable was the shearing of 500 sheep by Walter and his
older brother ‘Hap Collett’ (above), after driving them up from Opihi in the
early dawn to their uncle's shed at Greenhills in Kakahu and returning the
flock at the end of the day
Walter
was more commonly known as Wattie Collett and he was born to be a farmer like
his father. In fact, he worked with his
father and his brothers on the family’s land at Exwick Farm, which he and his
brother Francis David Collett (below) aka Jack Collett, eventually took over in
1935. It was five years later, and just
after the end of the Second World War that Walter Collett married Edith Shirley
Pitt on 13th April 1946. By
that time Wattie was 42 years old and was exactly twice the age of his young
bride, who was known as Shirley. Over
the following five years Shirley presented Walter with four children while they
were still living at Exwick Farm.
However, by 1952 Wattie had relinquished the family’s interest in the
farm, when he sold his share to his brother Jack and, with the money he
purchased a freehold farm on his own.
That was some one hundred miles away at Hedgedale in mid- Canterbury
near Rakaia, approximately twenty miles south-west of Christchurch
And
it was there at Hedgedale where two more children were born to Wattie and
Shirley to make their family complete by 1955.
Walter Hamilton Davis Collett died in 1976 at the age of 72, while
Shirley survived for a further seventeen years, when she passed away in 1993
aged 68. Both of them are interned at
the Ashburton Cemetery, where their eldest daughter is also buried. It was around twenty-three years after Walter
and his brother Jack had broken up their farming partnership, that they were
reunited towards the end of 1975. Not
long after that Walter Hamilton Davis Collett died on 20th January
1976 and, just over one month later, his brother Jack, who was eight years
younger, also passed away. Edith Shirley
Collett nee Pitt survived her husband by seventeen years, when she died on 4th
May 1993
53S1 – Marilyn Ann Collett was born in 1947 at Exwick Farm, Timaru
NZ
53S2 – Jeanette Mary Collett was born in 1948 at Exwick Farm, Timaru
NZ
53S3 – Henry Walter Collett was born in 1949 at Exwick Farm, Timaru
NZ
53S4 – David John Collett was born in 1951 at Exwick Farm, Timaru
NZ
53S5 – Charles Richard Collett was born in 1954 at Hedgedale Farm, Ashburton,
NZ
53S6 – Heather Margaret Collett was born in 1955 at Hedgedale Farm, Ashburton,
NZ
LLEWELLYN MAXWELL COLLETT [53R5],
who was known as Lew,
was born at Kakahu on 8th July 1905, the fifth child of Walter and
Annie Collett. He attended the Kakahu
Bush School with his sisters, Estella and Charlotte, and his brother Walter
(all above). Around 1913 his father and
mother moved the family to live at Daisy Hill, after which he attended the Opihi
School. He later gained his Steam
Traction Engine Certificate and began driving for mill owners Miller Patrick,
Burt Kelburgh and Jack Towzer, ranging over most of the country between Timaru
and the Southern Alps. In 1930 he
married Rubena Mabel Creighton at the Timaru Registry Office, and their
marriage produced three children for the couple. Times were tough for Lew and Ruby during the
Great Depression, but Lew’s previous experience with driving steam traction
engines, secured him a job. It was during
1937 that Lew commenced work with the Public Works Department on the Rangitata
Diversion Race Scheme, an extensive irrigation project. Later, he was involved in land clearance, and
he did further work with earth moving machinery for the PWD throughout
Southland. On 4th January
1970, when he was 64, Llewellyn Maxwell Collett died very suddenly while
visiting his sister Mary (below), and her husband Frank Collins, and their son
Peter Collins at Paeora, just south of Timaru.
Following his death, he was buried in the Pleasant Point Cemetery
53S7 – RAYMOND LLEWELLYN COLLETT was born in 1931 at Dunedin, NZ
53S8 – Robert Maxwell Collett was born in 1936 at Tuatapere, NZ
53S9 – Elaine Margaret Collett was born in 1937 at Timaru, NZ
Ann Collett [53R6], who was known as Annie, was born at
Kakahu in 1907, and was another daughter of Walter and Annie Collett. She never married and died at Timaru on 23rd
April 1986 at the age of 79, following which she was buried at Pleasant Point
in New Zealand. When she was still very
young, sometime around 1911, Annie suffered a terrible horse accident, but
despite that incident she remained a cheery and likeable person who carried out
farm worker duties and domestic work at the family farm, and later on, at the
farms of her two sisters
Mary Victoria Gwendoline
Collett [53R7] was born
at Kakahu on 21st June 1909 and was the seventh child of Walter
Collett and Annie Maxwell. It was at
Timaru on 6th May 1931 that she married Daniel Francis Collins who
was born at Geraldine on 16th December 1906. Over the following years Mary presented Frank
with three children while they were living at Timaru. Mary and Frank spend the rest of their lives
working as a couple on various farm properties.
During the years from 1933 to 1945 they worked the Raincliff and
Rockwood Stations, and both of them were well known in the South Canterbury
district dance scene. Their three
children were: Donald Francis Collins who was born on 9th November 1936
and who married Carol Elizabeth Lyne; Rosemary Ann Collins who was born on 16th January
1941, and who married Trevor Prentice on 1st September 1962; and Peter John Collins who was
born on 1st March 1948 and who married Yvonne [Bonnie]
Titterton on 9th January 1971. Mary Gwendoline Collins nee Collett
passed away at Timaru on 8th May 1970, following which it was there
also that she was interned. It was
nearly ten years later that her husband Frank died on 4th January
1980
Their
son Don Collins, died on 28th June 2021 and was laid to rest in the
Timaru Cemetery, where his wife Carol and their two sons had previously been
laid, all as mention in the death notice (below) published in the Timaru
Herald. “COLLINS, Donald Francis
(Don), passed away peacefully at Greenwood Home on Monday June 28, 2021; aged
84 years. Dearly loved husband of the
late Carol for 58 years. Much loved dad and
father-in-law of Kevin, Daryl and Robyn, the late Paul, and Gary. Loved grandad of Sean, Renee, Lisa, Michael,
Krystle, Nick, Josh, and Andrew.
Great-grandad of Tara, Bradley, Damion, Kruz, and Charlie. Loved brother, brother-in-law, and uncle to
his extended families.”
Francis David Collett [53R8]
was born at Kakahu on 4th
July 1911 and was known as Jack. He was
the fourth son of Walter and Annie Collett.
He attended the primary schools at Opihi and Pleasant Point and, once
his education was completed, he continued to work on the family’s Exwick
Farm. However, during the difficult time
of the Great Depression, the farm business was nearly lost, and in 1932 Jack’s
mother also died. And so it was, that in
1937 Jack and his older brother Wattie (Walter Collett, above) entered into a partnership
to take over the farm from their father, who died four years later in 1941. It was also in 1937 that Jack married Hazel
Turner, who was born at Kingston on 25th July 1917. Seven years later, and towards the end of the
Second World War, Hazel presented Jack with the couple’s only child. In 1952 the farming partnership between the
brothers, Jack and Wattie, came to an end, when Wattie sold his share of the
farm to his brother so that he could purchase his own farm around twenty miles
from Christchurch
The
break-up of the family partnership, and the resulting one hundred miles that
then separated the two brothers, meant that they remained distant to each other
for many years, without any communication at all. It was only just prior to their passing that
they were eventually reunited, after almost twenty-four years of being
apart. Francis David Collett worked the
land at Exwick Farm right up until his death on 25th February 1976,
and just one month after his older brother Wattie had passed away. His widow Hazel Collett nee Turner survived
for another twelve years, when she died during 1988
53S10 – Claire Irene Charlotte Collett was born in 1944 at Exwick Farm, Timaru
NZ
Andrew James Howell
Collett [53R9], who was
known as Andy, was born at Daisy Hill, Pleasant Point on 2nd May
1914, the fifth and youngest son of Walter and Annie Collett. He lived at Daisy Hill until he was five
years old, when his family moved to Ettrick Farm. He attended Opihi and Pleasant Point Primary
Schools, after which he supported himself with seasonal work on the farm. That involved ploughing with big teams of
horses, the tough life of a mill-hand, and chaff-cutting to fuel the horses
which, at that particular time, were considered still to be superior to the
new-fangled kerosene tractors. He later
worked at the Smithfield Freezing Works and was a Great Opihi River
fisherman. One of his talents was that
he played bagpipes. In 1941 he married
Dorothy Isabel Harvey, who was born on 10th May 1921, with whom he
had five children. The family lived at
Timaru, where all of the children were born, and where Andrew James Collett
died on 10th September 1997 at the age of 83. His widow, known as Dot, was still living at
Bouverie Street in Timaru in 2010, where she died on 17th March 2013
at the age of 91. She was a wonderful
potter and left behind many of her sculptures for others to treasure
53S11 – Brian Collett was born in 1942 at Timaru NZ
53S12 – John Robert Collett was born in 1944 at Timaru NZ
53S13 – Allan James Collett was born in 1945 at Timaru NZ
53S14 – Beverley Ann Collett was born in 1947 at Timaru NZ
53S15 – Shirley Collett was born in 1950 at Timaru NZ
Esther Ruth Collett [53R10]
was born at Daisy Hill,
Pleasant Point in 1916, the youngest child of Walter Collett and Annie
Maxwell. The first three years of her
life were spent at Daisy Hill, before her family settled at Ettrick Farm. Esther was twenty years old in June 1936 when
she married James Robert Cartwright, who was known as Bob, and with whom she
had a daughter Roberta [Robbie] Ann Cartwright.
Bob Cartwright, who was born during 1909 into a well-known South
Canterbury pioneering family, was a widower and already had a son, James Robert
Cartwright (born 1933), by his first wife Amy Stocker. Once they were married, Bob and Esther
initially leased ‘Rockwood’, but later purchased ‘Highlands’ at
Cannington. Many of the extended Collett
family recall happy memories of some great holidays there. Bob, who was a Highland Games competitor, and
a judge, died in 1963 when he was only 54.
Esther tragically followed two years later. Their daughter Robbie Cartwright, who
was born in 1943, today is Robbie Preston who was the lead co-ordinator, with
her cousins Heather Margaret Holloway nee Collett, and Raymond Collett, for the
150th Collett Anniversary Celebration at Timaru in January 2011
Edith Florence Collett
[53R11] was born at
Newport in 1886 and was the eldest child of Henry Collett and Mrs Elizabeth
Hall. In 1891 Edith was four years old
and was living with her family at 42 Stow Hill in Newport. After leaving school Edith had the
opportunity of entering the teaching profession but required her to move north
to Longton near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. And it was there that she was recorded as
Edith F Collett, an elementary school teacher in 1901 at the very young age of
fourteen. Whether she secured the
position with the help of a distant family relative living in the village of
Longton at that time has not been confirmed.
That may have been Josiah George Collett, aged 31 and from Wednesbury in
Staffordshire, and his wife Alice Maud Mary Collett 29 of Hanley,
Staffordshire. Their family at that time
comprised sons George Ernest Collett who was six, and William Edward Collett
who was four, both born at Longton.
Edith was still a single lady ten years later in April 1911, when she
was still living and working in Longton.
In the census return she was recorded as Edith Florence Collett aged
twenty-four from Newport
Henry Arnold Collett [53R12]
was born at Newport in
1889 and was the eldest son of Henry and Elizabeth Collett. He was one year old in 1891 when he was
living with his family at 42 Stow Hill in Newport, and ten years after in 1901
he was twelve years of age and was living at 78 Stow Hill with his family. It was as Henry Arnold Collett that he was
recorded in the census of 1911 when he was twenty-one and still living with his
family in Newport
Amy Gladys Collett [53R13]
was born at Newport in
January 1891 and, as Gladys Collett, she was three months old at the time of
the census in April that same year when she was living at 42 Stow Hill with her
family. It was again as Gladys Collett
that she was listed in the next census in 1901 when she was ten years old and
living with her family at 78 Stow Hill in Newport, from where her father Henry
operated a cab company. Ten years later,
in the census of 1911, she was recorded as Amy Gladys Collett who was twenty
and unmarried, who was still living with her parents in Newport. Four years after that, Amy G Collett married
Thomas G Hyndman at Newport with the event recorded at the register office
(Ref. 11a 545) during the third quarter of 1915, when the witnesses were Fred
Ball and Edith Harris
Mary Ann Collett [53R14] was born at Newport in 1893 and the
birth may have taken place whilst her parents were living at 42 Stow Hill in
Newport. However, sometime after she was
born her family moved to another house on Stow Hill, that being number 78,
where they were living in 1901 when Mary Ann was eight. Ten years later Mary Ann Collett was eighteen
and was still living with her parents in Newport
Gwendoline Collett [53R15]
was born at Newport in
1895 and possibly at 42 or 78 Stow Hill in Newport. It was at the latter that Gwendoline was
living with his parents in 1901 when she was five, and she was still living
with them at Newport in 1911 at the age of fifteen. It would appear that Gwendoline never married
since it was as Gwendoline Collett that she died at Portsmouth where her passing
was recorded (Ref. 20 0846) during the fourth quarter of 1974 when she was 78
Roscoe Elrick Collett
[53R16] was born at Mountain Ash on 17th
April 1904, with his birth recorded at Pontypridd register office (Ref. 11a
580) during the second quarter of that year.
He was the son of William Collett of Christchurch (Newport) and his
first wife Beatrice Harriet Perrett, of Llangattock, who died shortly after the
birth of his sister Hetty (below), when Roscoe was one year old. His father eventually remarried a few years
later but, before that, Roscoe and his sister Hetty were taken into care. In 1911 his father, his new wife and his
half-brother were living at 30 Somerton Road in Newport and, by that time, his
sister Hetty had been adopted by the Collins family of Pontypridd - see details
below
However, rather curiously, after the
death of his mother, Roscoe was taken from Wales and placed in the care of the
King family in Gloucestershire, where the wife of the head of the household had
a connection with the Collett family.
According to the census in 1911, Roscoe was incorrectly recorded as
Rocoa Collett from Mountain Ash, Glamorganshire, South Wales, who was six years
old when he was living at the Selsley Hill home in North Woodchester, just
south of Stroud, of general farm labourer Sidney King aged 52 and from
Beverstone near Tetbury. His wife was
Catherine King aged 43 and from Norton in Wiltshire, formerly Catherine Collett
(Ref. 64P32). Sidney and Catherine
already had nine children, ranging in age from two years to twenty-one, with
Roscoe stated to the couple’s nephew, which may not have been an accurate
description. There are details within
Part 64 – The Upper Swell Oddington (Glos) Line that connect the family with
South Wales, but still no obvious link between the two branches of the family
has been found
A search has been conducted to identify
other members of the family who were also born at Mountain Ash, and these are
the results. In the census of 1901, a Stephen
Collett of Llangynwyd, Glamorganshire, was 72
and a coal hewer, living at Aberdare Road in Llanwonno with his wife Jane, aged
63 and from Merthyr, together with four of their unmarried children and one
grandchild, all five of them said to have been born at Mountain Ash. The four children were sons Stephen
Collett who was 41 and working as a pumper in a coalmine, Benjamin
Collett who was 39 and a boot and shoe shopkeeper, (Thomas) James
Collett who was 24 and a carpenter, and daughter Elizabeth Collett
who was 29 but with no stated occupation, most likely helping her elderly
mother with domestic duties. The
granddaughter was Jennie Collett who was 13 and was no longer at school, so
probably assisting Elizabeth wife the housework.
Surprisingly, of the Mountain Ash
people named above, only James has been identified in other records. The birth of Thomas James Collett was
registered at Pontypridd (Ref. 11a 425) during the first three months of
1877. Although he had the marital status
of an unmarried man in 1901, ten years later he was married with children, two
of whom were born prior to the census day in 1901. The marriage of nineteen-year-old Thomas
James Collett and Sophia Jane Jones, also nineteen, took place at St John’s Ystrad-dyfodwg on 25th May 1895. It was at Bedwellty, Aberbargoed,
in Monmouthshire, that Thomas James Collett was 34 and a coal hewer, and his
wife Sophia Jane Collett from Aberdare Town was 34. The three children living with them were Amelia
Alice Collett who was 13 and Edith Margery Collett who was 12, both
born at Mardy in Glamorganshire, and William James Collett who was nine
years old and born at Merdare in Glamorganshire. Later on, the marriage of Amelia A Collett
and William G Nicholls was recorded at Bedwellty register office (Ref. 11a 204)
during the summer of 1920. It was also
at Bedwellty that the births of their two children, Blodwen
I Nicholls and William J Nicholls were recorded in 1921 and 1923
respectively, when their mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Collett. Frustratingly, no other record of this
unknown branch of the family has been found
Roscoe
E Collett was thirty years of age when he married Doris Mason at Gloucester, either at the end of 1934, or the start of 1935, with
the event recorded at Gloucester register office (Ref. 6a 11) during the first
quarter of the latter. The couple are
known to have they lived at Middleyard in Kings Stanley near Stonehouse in
Gloucestershire, and it was at Gloucester register office (Vol. 22 2312) that
the death of Roscoe Elrick Collett was recorded during the first three months
of 1976 when he was 71, when his date of birth was confirmed as 17th
April 1904. Doris survived for
twenty-six years as a widow, until her death during 2002. Roscoe was known as Ross, while Doris Collett
nee Mason was referred to by the family as Dolly. She was the great aunt of Keith Brown of
Australia, whose wife Judy kindly provided much of the information for the
compilation of this family line, as well as some details for her own line in
Part 35 – The Melksham to Wisconsin Line.
Dolly Mason was the daughter of Oliver Mason and his wife Miss Cox,
whose parents were Thomas and Eliza Cox.
It was the couple’s other daughter, Louisa Cox who married Thomas Lewis,
and in turn it was their son William Lewis who was the grandfather of the
aforementioned Keith Brown
Hetty Beatrice Collett
[53R17] was born on 28th
May 1905, the birth being recorded at Pontypridd register office during the
second quarter of that year. Following
the death of her mother Beatrice during the following year, Hetty and her
brother Roscoe (below) were taken into care.
By April 1911, Hetty was incorrectly recorded as being five years old,
when she was living at 3 Prosser Street in Pontypridd with the Collins
family. Her place of birth was given at
Penrhiwceiber, which lies about five miles to the north of Pontypridd and under two miles south of
Mountain Ash where Roscoe was born.
Head of the household was Meredith Collins, aged 33, a coalminer from
Lurgan in County Armagh. His wife May
Jane from Veryan in Cornwall was 34 and they had been married for eight years
and had a daughter Selina W M Collins who was four years old, who was born at
Tideford in Cornwall. Hetty Beatrice
Collins was described as the couple’s adopted daughter. Hetty B Collins married Leslie S Steed at
Pontypridd, with their wedding recorded at Pontypridd register office (Ref. 11a
675) during the first the months of 1928.
Leslie S Steed died in Cornwall in 1966 at the age of 63 when his death
was recorded at Bodmin register office (Ref. 7a 2) during the third quarter of
that year. It was seventeen years later
that Hetty Beatrice Steed passed away aged 80 with her death recorded at Truro
register office (Ref. 21 0549) during the third quarter of 1983
William John Collett
[53R18] was born at
Maindee, Newport in 1909 – see below. He
was the son of William Collett from Christchurch and his second wife Florence
Price from Maindee. At the time of the
census in 1911, William John Collett was three years old and was still living
with his parents in the Newport area. It
would appear that he lived all his life in Newport, since in 1953 he was the
Head Librarian of the Newport Public Library.
He was a good librarian and much liked by his staff and, although he had
no particular interest in family history, he did confirm that his South Wales
family came originally from Gloucestershire.
This valuable snippet of information was passed to Raymond Collett
(below) during a family visit to octogenarian William John Collett in
1990s. During his time at Newport
Library and towards the end of his working life, one of the librarians there
with William was the mother of Dale Chappell who, from 1984 to 2011, was the
owner occupier of ‘Marandellas’ the former Collett Cottages at Church Hill in
Christchurch, even though she was unaware of the Collett connection. In the census of 1841, the cottages were
occupied by Walter Collett (Ref. 53M1) and it was there that his grandson
Walter Collett (Ref. 53P3) died in 1920
Footnote:
There were two births recorded at Newport register office, the second of
which would appear to be this particular William John Collett. The first was William John Collett whose
birth was recorded there (Ref. 11a 254) in the first quarter of 1907, while the
birth of the second William John Collett was recorded there (Ref. 11a 303)
during the first quarter of 1909. It was
the first of these who therefore must have died in 1974 at the age of 67, his
death recorded at Newport (Ref. 28 0504) when his date of birth was stated as
being 16th January 1907
Tom Walter Collett [53R23] was born on 31st August 1911
at Wandsworth in London, where his birth was recorded (Ref. 1d 1147) during the
last quarter of 1911, when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as
Spiers. He was the third of the four
children of Walter Collett and Sarah Amelia Parkinson. He was baptised at the Church of St George
the Martyr on Borough High Street in Southwark on 1st October
1911. Ten days before he reached his
twenty-first birthday, he became a married man when the marriage of Tom Walter
Collett and Rose Ellen Burkin took place in Camberwell on 21st
August 1932, the event recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d
1741). Rose was born at Southwark during
1912, where her birth was recorded (Ref. 1d 26) during the last three months of
the year, the eldest daughter and fourth child of Henry Burkin and Rose Ellen
Green. The marriage resulted in the
birth of two children, both born at Camberwell during the following six years
With
the coming of the Second World War shortly thereafter, Tom served King and
Country as Thomas Walter Collett, service number 77635, a sergeant with the
Royal Army Service Corp and, less than two years into the war, Tom was
tragically killed off the coast of Crete on 28th May 1941, aged 29,
when the supply ship he was travelling on was sunk in the Mediterranean
Sea. His name is included amongst those
listed on the Athens War Memorial – Face 8.
The Athens War Memorial stands within Phaleron War Cemetery, which lies
a few kilometres to the south-east of Athens, at the boundary between old
Phaleron district and Kalamaki district, on the coast road from Athens to
Vouliaghmen
The
Will of Tom Walter Collett was proved in Surrey on 9th December
1942, when the main beneficiary was his widow Rose Ellen Collett. Five years after being widowed, Rose Ellen
Collett married Reginald William Clout at the Epsom register office on 28th
April 1948. Reg was a bachelor of 37, a
shop assistant in a jewellery shop, living at 177 Gillingham Road in
Gillingham, the son of shepherd John Clout, deceased. His bride was 35, a widow, and a mantle
machinist, of 90 Grennell Road in Sutton, the
daughter of Henry James Burkin, deceased, a former fishmonger. The later death of Rose Ellen Clout was
recorded at Hertfordshire register office (Ref. 10 0114) during 1975, at the
age of 62, when her date of birth was recorded as 7th November 1912
53S16 – Tony Collett was born in 1933 at Camberwell, London
53S17 – Sheila Collett was born in 1938 at Camberwell, London
Marilyn Ann Collett [53S1]
was born at Exwick Farm
in Timaru on 9th April 1947, the eldest child of Walter Hamilton
Davis Collett [Wattie Collett] and Edith Shirley Pitt. She first lived at Opihi where she attended
Rakaia Primary School and later went to Ashburton Technical College where she
trained as a chef. It was after that
when she worked as Head Chef for the Ashburton Licencing Trust for a time. It would appear that Marilyn gave birth to a
son prior to her marriage to Harold Poyntz, with whom she had a further three
children while the family was living at Ashburton and Geraldine. Harold was born on 2nd June
1932. Marilyn’s first-born child was Bevan Clarence Smith who was born on 25th
September 1964, who later married Tina Glassy, who was born on 27th
June 1966. The three children that
Marilyn had with Harold Poyntz were: Brent
Murray Poyntz who was born at Ashburton on 17th June 1966, but
who tragically was killed on 21st March 1968 in a tractor accident; Anthony [Tony] Ross Poyntz who was born
at Geraldine on 13th November 1968; and Julie Ann Poyntz who
was born at Ashburton on 2nd May 1970, who married Graeme Perkinson
on 20th February 1995, but who was not still marriage in 2010. Marilyn Ann Poyntz nee Collett died at
Ashburton on 4th April 2003 and, it was there also, at the Ashburton
Cemetery, that she was laid to rest with her parents
Jeanette Mary Collett
[53S2] was born at
Exwick Farm in Timaru on 25th July 1948, the daughter of Wattie and
Shirley Collett. She attended Rakaia Primary
School, and in 2010 was residing at St. Alisa Rest Home in Christchurch, New
Zealand. She was known to family and
friends as Ginny, and she died from a heart attack on 14th January
2019. The family gathered together on 6th
February to intern her Ashes with those of her late brother David John Collett
(below) - who passed away in 2001, at Rakaia on the South Island of New
Zealand, where all siblings grew up. The
obituary read as follows:
Henry Walter Collett [53S3]
was born at Exwick Farm
in Timaru on 19th September 1949, the eldest son of Wattie and
Shirley Collett. He was known as Harry
and was a pupil at Rakaia Primary School and later attended Ashburton Technical
College. He married (1) Sandra Mary
Chatterton at Ashburton on 17th April 1976 and they had two
sons. Sandra was born at Darfield on 26th
October 1956. Over thirty years after he
was first married, Henry married (2) Buawkaew [Gail] Phenpien on 22nd
July 2008, although by then they a set of twin daughters. It was on 26th April 2021, at the
age of 71, that he died and the following obituary was published. COLLETT, Henry: On Monday, April 26, 2021, at
Christchurch Hospital, aged 71 years.
Dearly loved husband of Gail, loved father and father-in-law of Ben and
Wendy, Nick and Jennifer, Kimberley, and Michaela, loved grandad of Sailor,
Cruz, Natalie, Jax and Zoe. A
celebration of Henry’s life will be held at the Harewood Crematorium Chapel, on
Friday April 30th at 10.30 a.m.
That was followed by an ‘In Memory’ notice from the family “Henry
Walter (Harry) Collett, loved son of the later Walter and Shirley Collett of
Rakaia. Loved big brother and
brother-in-law of Marilyn (deceased), Jeanette (deceased), David (deceased),
Charlie, Heather and Jim Holloway (Christchurch. Loved uncle of all his nieces and
nephews. Big in life, big in character”
53T1 – Benjamin Davis Collett was born
on 3rd April 1981 at Ashburton, NZ
53T2 – Nicholas Lloyd Collett was born
on 1st April 1983 at Ashburton, NZ
The
following are the two children of Henry Walter Collett and his second wife Gail
Phenpien:
53T3 – Kimberley Pardthana Collett was
born on 24th April 2002 at Christchurch, NZ
53T4 – Michaela Parichut Collett was
born on 24th April 2002 at Christchurch, NZ
David John Collett [53S4] was born at Exwick Farm in Timaru on 4th
May 1951, the fourth child and second son of Wattie and Shirley Collett. From Exwick Farm, David and his family moved
to Hedgedale near Rakaia when he was only a couple of years old, and it was
there that he went to Rakaia Primary School.
His higher education was completed at Ashburton Technical College. It was in the mid-1980s that David purchased
a 540-acre farm at Pendarves, and in 1994 he bought a third farm comprising 300
acres at Dorie. It was on 10th
December 1994 that David John Collett married Carmen Lee Cunningham who was
born on 21st October 1968, who already had a son from a previous
marriage. Eighteen months later Carmen
gave birth to daughter Grace, who was born at Lincoln where her son had also
been born who, later took the Collett surname.
Tragically, the couple had only been married for just under seven years
when David John Collett died at Christchurch on 18th June 2001, at
the age of 50. It was his daughter Grace
who kindly provided the new information for this family line to be update in
November 2014 and again in 2018, and later in 2021
53T5 – Nathan James Collett was born in 1990 at Lincoln, south-west
of Christchurch NZ
53T6 – Grace Lee Collett was born in 1996 at Lincoln, south-west
of Christchurch NZ
Charles Richard Collett
[53S5] was born at
Ashburton on 7th May 1954, the youngest son of Wattie and Shirley
Collett. Just like his older sibling he
too went to Rakaia Primary School, and also attended Ashburton Technical
College. He was later a prolific sheep
shearer and was well-known for shearing up to 300 animals in a single day. One day he attempted to break the then record
of 400 and finished a very long hard day just three-short of a new record. However, undeterred on another day he
achieved the grand total of 412 sheep sheared in a day. Charles married Trudy Helen Williamson at
Ashburton on 11th March 1978, but they were later separated after
the birth of their two children. Trudy
was born at Ashburton on 27th June 1959. In 2010 Charles was living near Rakaia while
his two children were still live at Ashburton at that time
53T7 – Clinton Andrew Collett was born
on 22nd February 1983 at Ashburton, NZ
53T8 – Emma Helen Collett was born on 31st
March 1986 at Ashburton, NZ
Heather Margaret Collett
[53S6] was born at
Ashburton on 29th August 1955, the youngest child of farmer Walter
[Wattie] Hamilton Davis Collett and Edith Shirley Pitt. Heather grew up on the family farm at
Hedgedale near Rakaia, where she attended the Rakaia Primary School. On leaving Ashburton Technical College, she
trained in nearby Christchurch as a tailoress in the rag trade. Heather married James Gordon Holloway at
Ashburton on 7th April 1979, James having been born at Winchester in
England on 14th November 1944.
Over the six years following their marriage, Heather presented James
with two sons, while the couple were living at Darfield.
In
2010, Heather was living in the city of Christchurch with her husband Jim, who
had his own taxi business, together with their two sons, James Robert
Holloway, who was born on 11th November 1982, and Matthew
Walter Holloway, who was born on 16th January 1985. Both sons were talented rugby players and in
2010, James was working in London as a builder.
The initial contact relating to the compilation of this family line was
made by Heather Holloway nee Collett during 2010, whose cousins are Robbie
Preston (above) and Ray Collett (below) in Australia. It was these three cousins, led by Robbie,
who were the organising committee for the 150th Anniversary
Celebration of the arrival of Henry Collett on New Zealand soil, which took
place at Timaru on 21st to 23rd January 2011. Just over ten years later, Heather Margaret
Holloway nee Collett died at Christchurch on 14th September 2021,
when she was only 66. Over the previous
decades, many family details had been received from Heather, who had a great interest
in her Collett ancestors, for which we will be forever grateful
RAYMOND LLEWELLYN COLLETT
[53S7] was born at
Dunedin on 7th April 1931, the eldest of the three children of
Llewellyn Maxwell Collett and his wife Rubena Mabel Creighton. He received his early educated at Pleasant
Point, Montalto, Tuatapere, and Colac Bay Primary Schools, and for his
secondary education he attended Riverton District High School, now Aparima
College, where he was Head Prefect, Dux Scholl, and Southland Boys High School. After all of these he studied at Otago
University, Dunedin Teachers' Training College, and Sydney University. Ray later married (1) Dianne Clark of
Pleasant Point, from whom he was later divorced. He became an Administrative Master in various
Sydney High Schools and lectured at New South Wales University. He then married (2) Lorraine Gaye Jarrett of
Northmead, Sydney, who was a teacher, and the marriage resulted in the birth of
two children. Sadly, when the youngest
child was three years old, Ray’s second marriage ended in divorce during
1978. The life of Henry Collett and the
four generations that followed him, has been documented by Ray using the
information previously gather by Nancy Maxwell, and it is this information that
has been used to bring this family line up to date. In 2011, his two cousins and Ray organised
the 150th Anniversary Celebration at Timaru of the arrival of Henry
Collett in New Zealand in 1861. He lived
at Paddington, Sydney in Australia, and over the years Ray had invested in
property there, had enjoyed yachting, and also carried out administration work
for CYC’s Sydney to Hobart Race
Ray
passed away during the morning on 4th October 2016 at about 8 a.m.
having suffered a long year of recurring illness and faded away very quickly
during the last week of his life. His
son Glenn, his wife Heidi and their four children, were among many members of
the extended family who visited Ray during the previous day, one of whom was
his younger brother Max Collett (below).
The following obituary appeared in the Timura Herald: “COLLETT, Raymond Llewellyn: 7.4.1931 - 4.10.2016
late of Paddington, Sydney (formerly of Pleasant Point, NZ). Loving father and father-in-law of Glenn and
Heidi; Philippa and Matthew. Cherished
Grandpa Ray to Ebony, Hannah, Jana, Henry, Elijah and Anton. Ray will be sadly missed by all who knew
him.” Ray’s funeral service was held
at St George's Anglican Church, 245 Glenmore Road in Paddington
53T9 – Glenn Llewellyn Collett was born
in 1973 at Whangarei, NZ
53T10 – Philippa Gaye Collett was born
in 1975 at Hornsby, Sydney, Australia
Robert Maxwell Collett
[53S8], who is known as
Max, was born at Tuatapere on 2nd January 1936, the son of Llewellyn
and Rubena Collett. He attended primary
schools at Tuatapere, Colac Bay, and Riverton, all in Southland, and after went
to Riverton District High School and Nightcaps High School. He held various jobs including working at the
coal mines, aerial top dressing, car sales, and at Cromwell Council. He married Dawn Woodward at Invercargill on
30th September 1958. Once
married the couple initially lived in Invercargill, where their first two
daughters were born, before moving the forty miles to the north-east to Gore,
where a further two girls were added to the family. For some years they lived at Cromwell in
Central Otago. Following Dawn’s untimely
death on 14th January 2004, Max lived at Invercargill where he is
now retired
53T11 – Sandra Ellen Collett was born in 1959 at Invercargill, NZ
53T12 – Carol Ann Collett was born in 1961 at Invercargill, NZ
53T13 – Julie Marie Collett was born in 1963 at Gore, Southlands NZ
53T14 – Jane Elizabeth Collett was born in 1966 at Gore, Southlands NZ
Elaine Margaret Collett
[53S9] was born at
Timaru on 14th May 1937, the youngest child of Llewellyn Maxwell
Collett and his wife Rubena Mabel Creighton.
She lived with her family at Pleasant Point, Montalto P.W.D. camp,
Tuatapere, and Colac Bay, where she attended Colac Bay Primary School. One of her childhood memories was the homecoming
at Colac Bay of World War Two hero John Daniel Hinton, who was awarded the
Victoria Cross for leading an assault in Greece during 19841. “Jack
Hinton, as he was known, was born in
Colac
Bay, Southland, on 17th September 1909. He was a sergeant with the 20th
Battalion, the Canterbury Regiment, and was twice captured and imprisoned by
the Germans during the war, but escaped both times. He died on 28th June 1997. He received his Victoria Cross from King George VI on 11th May 1945, at Buckingham
Palace in London”
Elaine
attended Riverton Primary and Secondary Schools and Nightcaps District High
School. While there she was awarded ‘Best All-Round Pupil’. She also represented Western Southland at
netball. She married Frank Anthony Coory of Dunedin, who sadly died on 20th
December 1973, when the couple’s eldest child of four was only eleven years
old. Elaine worked in histology, and was
a supervising technician at Otago Medical School, from where she is now
retired. In her retirement she enjoys
playing croquet, Tai Chi, and Probus.
Today she lives at Normanby in Dunedin.
Just five years before she was made a widow, there was an earlier
tragedy in her live, when her youngest daughter died the day after she was born
on 1st November 1968
Her
three surviving children are: Denise
Coory who was born at Dunedin on 21st May 1962, who was married
at Dunedin to Paul Killen who was born on 13th August 1960, and
today lives at Concord, Sydney where she is an accountant; Richard Anthony Coory who was born at Dunedin on 25th
March 1964, who married Bronwyn Kathleen Wilson at St. Mary's Church, Mosgiel,
on 8th April 1989. Richard
has a Bachelor of Horticultural Science Honours degree, and they have a
vineyard and successful landscaping business in Tuki Tuki
Valley near Hastings, where they live with their two Hastings born children
Georgia and Tessa; and Louise Coory
who was born at Dunedin on 26th December 1966 and now lives in
Sydney. She has Bachelor of Commerce and
Applied Sciences. In a career change she graduated Juris Dr and has since been
admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney
Claire Collett [53S10] was born at Exwick Farm on 24th
May 1944, the only child of Francis David (Jack) Collett and Hazel turner. She attended primary and high school at the
Point and took an agricultural short course of study at Massey. Being good a sport, Claire was a South
Canterbury tennis rep. She was also a
livestock judge, and eventually inherited the family farm, although she was not
able to properly work the 283-acre farm, as a result, her living standards
dropped. There was a suggestion that she
was helped through those difficult times, by family, friends and neighbours
alike. Claire Collett died on 21st
February 2008 at the age of 64.
Following her passing, the bulk of her estate was bequeathed to five
South Canterbury organisations with which she had been involved, together with
another bequeath to the Orana Wildlife Park
Brian Collett [53S11] was born at Timaru on 6th
October 1942, the eldest child of the five children of Andrew James Collett and
Dorothy Harvey. He attended Main and
Marchwiel Primary Schools, and later Timaru Technical College. He also completed university courses at
Melbourne and Canterbury. He then worked
for three years in London for architects Howard Sants Partnership. It was after that, when he returned New
Zealand to work largely in layout and design projects, involving shop
fit-outs. Brian has won nine New Zealand
‘Shop of the Year’ awards. It was during
1968 that he married (1) Christine Roper who was born on 24th
December 1948, and with whom he had two sons.
A few years after the birth of their second son, Brian and Christine
were divorced, following which Brian married (2) Galina Kim, a talented
exhibiting artist and Moscow trained pianist.
They both have studios in the Sumner district of Christchurch, where
they live with their two sons. The
younger son, Sasha, is a talented musician like his mother, and plays the piano
and the clarinet
53T15 – Rohan Allen Collett was born in 1976 at Christchurch NZ
53T16 – Shaun Roderick Collett was born in 1978 at Darfield, Canterbury
NZ
The
following are the two sons of Brian Collett by his second wife Galina Kim:
53T17 – Max Kim Collett was born in 1986
at Sumner, Christchurch NZ
53T18 – Sasha Kim Collett was born in
1996 at Sumner, Christchurch NZ
John Robert Collett
[53S12] was born at
Timaru on 22nd February 1944, the son of Andrew and Dorothy
Collett. He attended Timaru Main and
Marchwiel Primary Schools, followed thereafter by Timaru Technical College
where he took part in the South Canterbury Art Course. He also played rugby for South Canterbury at
school level. On completing his
education, he became a sign writer and a designer of sign graphics. Today John lives in Vancouver where he
collects, and restores, and writes about, vintage motorcycles
Allan James Collett
[53S13] was born at
Timaru on 13th November 1945, the third of three sons of Andrew and
Dorothy Collett. He attended Marchwiel
and Grantlea Primary Schools and Timaru Technical College. He Qualified as a draftsman and on 16th
January 1981 he married Elizabeth Ann Waters at St. Stephen's Presbyterian
Church in Invercargill. And it was at
Invercargill that they continued to live after they were married, and where
their two children were born
53T19 – David Edward Collett was born in 1983 at Invercargill, NZ
53T20 – Anita Melanie Collett was born in 1986 at Invercargill, NZ
Beverley Ann Collett
[53S14] was born at
Timaru on 24th January 1947, the eldest of the two daughters of
Andrew and Dorothy Collett. Like her
older brother Allan (above), she also attended Marchwiel and Grantlea Primary
Schools and Timaru Technical College.
She played netball for South Canterbury and worked for Telecom. She was a skilled craftsperson and an
accomplished artist and won NZ awards.
Today, she is a diversional therapist at Calvery Hospital. It was on 7th October 1967 at
Timaru that Beverley married Ivan John Harvey who was born at Haldane on 13th
July 1945. Over the following six years
Beverley presented Ivan with three children, while the couple was living at
Invercargill. They are: Lisa Daphne Harvey who was born on 20th
November 1970, who married Alan McDowell with whom she has two children Jessica
Amy McDowell (born 14.09.2001) and Laura Ella (born 09.05.2007); Wendy Sheree Harvey who was born on 4th
March 1972, who married Brent Stirling with whom she has three children
Danielle Renee Harvey Low (born 29.03.1990), Damien Stirling (born 02.09.2005),
and Dominic Jake Stirling (born 10.12.2007); and Andrew John Harvey who
was born on 5th December 1973, and who lives in Adelaide. He has a Bachelor of Science (Hons 1), and
has a Chemistry doctorate, and is vice-president of Bionomics, an advanced
medical research company
Shirley Collett [53S15] was born at Timaru on 3rd
March 1950, the youngest of the five children of Andrew James Collett and
Dorothy Harvey. As with her two siblings
before her, she also attended Marchwiel and Grantlea Primary Schools and Timaru
Technical College. She then trained as a
kindergarten teacher and later, at Teachers College, she undertook a diploma
course at the University of Canterbury.
In the first decade of the 21st Century Shirley was living at
New Brighton and has two children. John
Payne was born on 14th February 1972 and is now a builder; and Jodi
Van Roose who was born on 14th November 1976
Tony Collett [53S16] was born at Camberwell in London on 15th
August 1933, his birth recorded at Camberwell register office (Ref. 1d 865),
when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Burkin, the first of the two
children of Tom Walter Collett and Rose Ellen Burkin. He was an accountant and married Patricia
Hall at Watford in 1959, where their wedding was recorded (Ref. 4b 745) during
the third quarter of that year. Patricia
was a nurse, and gave birth to three children, each born at a different
location within England. Their daughter
Helen is a midwife, her birth recorded at Hemel Hempstead register office (Ref.
4b 172) during the third quarter of 1960.
Son Tim is a civil servant, whose birth was recorded at the Lincolnshire
Boston register office (Ref. 3b 45) during the third quarter of 1962. In all three cases, their mother’s
maiden-name was confirmed as Hall. In
the new century, Tony and Patricia were residing at Hartley Wintney in
Hampshire, where widow Patricia was still living in 2020, following the earlier
death of husband Tony in 2007 when at a hospice in Basingstoke. And it was their daughter Helen who, in 2020,
generously provided the details to enable her family line to be switch from
Part 2 – The Second Gloucestershire Line, to this extended line of the
Gloucestershire family of Colletts from Part 1 – The Main Gloucestershire Line. In 2022, Helen has three children and a
grandchild, while Tim has two Collett children, and Joe three, thus keeping the
line going
53T21 – Helen Collett was born in 1960 at Hemel Hempstead,
Hertfordshire
53T22 – Timothy (Tim) Collett was born in 1962 at Boston,
Lincolnshire
53T23 – Jeremy Collett was born in 1966 at Meriden,
Warwickshire
Sheila Collett [53S17] was born at Camberwell on 24th
January 1938, with her birth also recorded there (Ref. 1d 789) with her
mother’s maiden-name confirmed as Burkin.
She later married Brian Haggett at Sutton in Surrey on 17th
November 1956, their wedding recorded at the Surrey Mid-Eastern register office
(Ref. 5g 430). Their four children are Martin
Roy Haggett born on 12th July 1962, Alison Jane Haggett
born on 23rd December 1963, Christine Lesley Haggett born on
25th December 1964, and Colin Peter Haggett born on 29th
September 1966. Sheila was 76 when she
passed away on 31st October 2014
Nathan James Collett
[53T5], who was born Nathan James Cunningham, was born on 5th November 1990 at Lincoln, the
son of Carmen Lee Cunningham and her first husband, who later married David
John Collett in 1994. Nathan attended St
Andrews College and later, Lincoln University, to pursue Agriculture and Farm Management,
following in the footsteps of his stepfather David. In 2018, Nathan was gainfully employed at
Bailey's in Canterbury, as a Real Estate Agent specialising in rural property. It was three years later, that Nathan James
Collett and Bethany Morrow were married on 5th June 2021
Grace Lee Collett [53T6] was born at Lincoln, twenty-two
kilometres south-west of Christchurch, on 16th June 1996, the
daughter of David John Collett and Carmen Lee Cunningham. She attended Selwyn House from 2003 to 2009, followed
by Rangi Ruru Girls' School from 2009 to 2013.
It was during the following year that she began four years at Victoria
University. In 2014 Grace kindly
provided new information about her family, then in 2018, her aunt Heather
Holloway, nee Collett, generously shared with us some new information on Grace
herself, of whom she says, “This young lady is a shining star for our Collett family”. Grace’s father, Heather’s brother, sadly died in 2001 when
Grace was just five years old. He left a
handsome legacy for his daughter, who put it to good use with a private
education. As result of her endeavours,
after four years studying at Victoria University in Wellington, Grace graduated
with a double degree in law and art on the 16th May 2018. Three weeks later, on 8th June,
she was admitted to the bar as a barrister and a solicitor, to practise in the
High Court of New Zealand. At the moment
she is working in a family law firm in Wellington. And all of this was achieved two weeks short
of her twenty-second birthday. Two
and a half years later, Grace Lee Collett married Jed Friel at Christchurch on
19th December 2020, and says that she is retaining her Collett
maiden name
Glenn
Llewellyn Collett [53T11] was born at Whangarei in New Zealand on
21st June 1973, the eldest of the two children of Ray Collett and
Lorraine Jarrett. He attended primary
schools at Pennant Hills in Sydney and Taree, after which he attended Dover
Heights and Vaucluse High Schools. He
married Heidi Genevieve Carmel Graham on 16th December 1995 and they
have four children. Glen is a
certificated refrigeration mechanic and has worked for Coco Cola and other
similar companies. He and his wife
recently purchased 200 hectares of land near Bega in New South Wales, in order
to raise their family in a rural environment
53U1 – Ebonny May Carmel Collett was
born on 14th April 2003 at Hornsby, Sydney, Australia
53U2 – Hannah Lucy Genevieve Collett was
born on 6th March 2005 at Hornsby, Sydney, Australia
53U3 – Jana Heidi Ruby Collett was born
on 8th January 2007 at Hornsby, Sydney, Australia
53U4 – Henry Llewellyn Collett was born
on 14th June 2008 at Hornsby, Sydney, Australia
Philippa
Gaye Collett was born
at Hornsby in Sydney on 28th January 1975, the younger of the two
children of Ray Collett and Lorraine Jarrett.
She was educated at Taree High School, and followed that by attending
the Charles Sturt University, where she gained a Bachelor of Education
degree. From there she went on to take
up the occupation of a teacher. She purchased
an historic stone cottage in Broken Hill where she taught. She later moved to Sydney with Matthew Simon
Palmer and they married at Blackheath in August 2007. They now have a house at Glebe, and their
son, Elijah Samuel was born on 30th June 2008
Sandra Ellen Collett was born at Invercargill on 2nd
August 1959, the eldest of the four daughters of Robert Maxwell Collett and his
wife Dawn Woodward. She attended East
Gore and St George Primary Schools, and Tweedsmuir Intermediate School, and
Kingswell High School. Sandra works in
Mental Health at Southland Hospital Board.
Her partner was David William McClutchie who was born at Hasting on 13th
May 1951 but who sadly passed away on 26th January 2000. The four children of Sandra and David were
all born at Invercargill and are: Wade Nicholas David McClutchie, born
on 25th December 1979, who lives at Invercargill with his partner
Kim Mortimer and their daughter Ella Jan Taylor McClutchie (born 10.10.2007); Morgan
James McClutchie, born on 25th March 1982, who lives with his
partner Chloe Matahaere-Cleaver and their daughter Alexus Mia Dawn McClutchie,
(born 11.10.2007); Kurt Maxwell McClutchie, born on 28th
December 1988; and Jayton Frank McClutchie, who was born on 28th
November 1992
Carol Ann Collett was born at Invercargill on 16th
August 1961, the daughter of Robert and Dawn Collett. She also attended the same schools as her
older sister (above), following which she became a nurse aid. She married John Junior Henare who was born
at Wairoa Hawkes Bay, and they have three children who were all born at
Invercargill. Kelley Dawn Henare
was born on 20th March 1979 and has a partner Jonathan Walker and a
child, Jurnee Walker (born 01.05.1997). Jarad
Robert Henare was born on 10th December 1980, but tragically
died on 14th June 1981, and Janna Tehei Henare who was born
on 16th March 1983
Julie Marie Collett
[53T13] was born at
Gore on 28th April 1963, the daughter of Robert and Dawn
Collett. She married (1) Larry Brent
Howley of Invercargill, but they were later divorced, after the birth of their
five children. It was at Riverton on 9th
October 1997 that Julie married (2) Nigel McWilliams with whom she now has a
daughter who was born in 2003. The five
children from her first married were all born at Invercargill and are: Michael
Brent Howley, born on 5th July 1982; Brendan Lawrence Howley,
born on 30th July 1983; Tracey Marie Howley, born on 19th
December 1985; Tamara Jane Howley, born on 10th May 1989; and
Eva Leigh Howley, who was born on 28th May 1992
Jane Elizabeth Collett
[53T14] was born at
Gore on 28th April 1966, the youngest of the four daughters of
Robert Maxwell Collett and his wife Dawn Woodward. After attending Cromwell College, she worked
at Kyeburn Station with her then partner Michael John McKee. In February 2003 she qualified as a sawyer in
New Zealand’s first ever women’s bushcraft team, which went on to beat the USA
2-1. She now works at Alliance FW. Jane and Michael have two children. Casey Ahlan Collett, who was born at
Invercargill on 21st January 1989, and Riley Donovan who was
born on 5th November 1990
Rohan Allen Collett
[53T15] was born at Christchurch
on 14th May 1976 and was the older of the two sons of Brian Collett
and his first wife Christine Roper. He
attended Sheffield Primary School and Darfield High School. He later achieved a First-Class Honours
Degree as a Bachelor of Architect, and now has his own architectural practice
in Christchurch. His partner is Kirsty
Simpson, and together they have two sons
53U5 – Fergus Collett was born during
2010 in Christchurch NZ
53U6 – Beau Collett was born during 2012
in Christchurch NZ
Shaun Roderick Collett
[53T16] was born at
Darfield on 15th February 1978, the second of the two sons of Brian
and Christine Collett. Like his older
brother Rohan (above), Shaun also attended Sheffield Primary School and
Darfield High School. At Canterbury University
he received his degree, a Bachelor of Commerce, following which he became a
computer engineer based in Queenstown
David Edward Collett
[53T19] was born at
Invercargill on 23rd November 1983, the eldest of the two children
of Allan James Collett and Elizabeth Ann Waters. He attended Grasmere Primary School,
Collingwood Intermediate School and James Hargest High School. He was later awarded an Honours Degree in
Surveying from Otago University. Today,
David works for Land Information NZ in Wellington, and his interests including
tramping and cycling, and during 2012/2013 he was cycling through England,
Wales and France
Anita Melanie Collett
[53T20] was born at
Invercargill on 2nd July 1986, the youngest of the two children of
Allan James Collett and Elizabeth Ann Waters.
She was educated at Grassmere Primary School, Collingwood Intermediate
and James Hargest High School. She later
achieved a Bachelor of Science Degree at Otago University. She holds a Teaching Diploma in Secondary
Education, and currently is teaching in Invercargill. Her interests include conservation and music
Timothy
Collett [53T22], known as Tim, was born in 1962 at
Boston, Lincolnshire, his birth recorded at the Boston register office (Ref. 3b
45) during the third quarter of 1962. The only other known detail for
Tim, is that he is a civil servant
Jeremy Collett [53T23], known as Joe, was born on 5th
April 1966 and was the third and last child of Tony Collett and Patricia Hall,
whose birth was recorded at the Warwickshire Meriden register office (Ref. 9c
58) when his mother’s maiden-name was confirmed as Hall. When Joe was around seven years old, his family moved south to Farnham
in Surrey, where he still lives today in 2023. It was at the age of twenty-four when Jeremy
Collett, a carpenter and builder, married Tracie Ann McDonough, the event recorded at
Durham Central register office (Vol. 1 1157) during the summer of 1990. Their wedding was conducted at St Luke’s
Church in Ushaw Moor, to the west of the City of Durham, on 33nd September 1990. It was also within that same area of the
country that Tracie was born on 10th March 1971 in the village of Broompark, three miles west of Durham, and it was at
Farnham in Surrey, where Tracie had settled just prior to their wedding day, and
where they were residing when Tracie presented Joe with their three children
It was during the following year that
their son Joel was born at the Louise Margaret Hospital in Aldershot, just across
the county boundary in Hampshire, as was the couple’s second child, who was born
two years after in 1993. The hospital at
Aldershot was the former military hospital, which was closed during
1994-95. As result of the closure, the
nearest maternity hospital to Farnham was the Frimley Park Hospital, Portsmouth
Road in Camberley, twelve miles north of Farnham, and that was where the
couple’s daughter Lace was born. So,
unlike her older brothers, Lace’s birth was recorded at the Surrey North-Western
register office (Vol. 7582b 75b) during the first quarter of 1996. For all three cases, their mother’s
maiden-name was confirmed as McDonough. Having
been called Joe all of his life, it was on 2nd October 2019 that he
changed his name by deed poll to Joe Jeremy Collett
53U7
– Joel William Collett was born in 1991 at Aldershot, Hampshire
53U8
– Kane Thomas Collett was born in 1993 at Aldershot,
Hampshire
53U9
– Lace Tasmin Collett was born on 30th January 1996 at Frimley Park
Hospital, Camberley
Joel
William Collett [53U7]
was born on 5th
April 1991 at the Louise Margaret Hospital in Aldershot, Hampshire, when his
parents Joe and Tracie Collett were living at Farnham in Surrey. His birth was recorded at the North-East
Hampshire register office (Vol. 20 page 411), when his mother’s maiden-name was
confirmed as McDonough. It was on 2nd
March 2022 that Joel married Tincuta Moscaliuc, the event recorded at Bath register office. Tincuta was born at
Radauti in Romania on 22nd July 1991 and,
once they were married, they settled in High Littleton, North Somerset, midway
between Bath and Bristol
Kane
Thomas Collett [53U8]
was born on 2nd
September 1993 at the Louise Margaret Hospital in Aldershot, Hampshire, the
second of the three children of Joe and Tracie Collett. Just like his brother Joel (above), Kane’s
birth was also recorded at the North-East Hampshire register office (Vol. 4951b
56b), with his mother’s maiden-name confirmed as McDonough. Near the end of 2022, Kane and his partner
Nicole Avery, born at Frimley Park Hospital on 8th July 1992,
celebrate the birth of their son Arlo Oliver Collett who was also born at Frimley
Park Hospital on 17th December 2022 when they too were residing in
Farnham, Surrey
53V1
– Arlo Oliver Collett was born on 17th December 2022 at Frimley Park
Hospital, Camberley
APPENDIX
January
2011 – 150th Anniversary Celebration at Timaru
|
BACK
ROW: |
Andrew
Hunter, Allan Collett, David Collett, Richard Coorey, Glen Collett Lester
Groundwater, Don Howard, Matthew Holloway |
|
THIRD
ROW: |
Virginia
Hunter, Anita Collett, Elizabeth Collett, Heidi Collett Bronwyn
Coorey, Caroline Groundwater, Faye Howard nee Woolfe Roberta
Preston nee Cartwright, Flou Hullen, Heather Holloway nee Collett |
|
SECOND
ROW: |
Logan
Hunter, Sam Preston, Tessa Coorey, Georgia Coorey Grace
Collett, Hannah Collett, Ebonny Collett |
|
FRONT
ROW |
Raymond
Collett, with his grandson Henry Collett Nicola
Hunter, James Holloway, Max Collett, Jana Collett Jeanette
Collett, Walter Hullen, Donald Collins |
During
the evening of the 26th January 1861, Henry Collett, aged 23 years,
a South Canterbury pioneering farmer arrived at Port Chalmers. On the 22nd and 23rd of
January 2011, the sesqui-centenary of that event, 120 of his 440 descendants
assembled at the Grey Way Lounge, Phar Lap Racecourse, in a combined family
reunion. Families Collett, Matthews and
Maxwell, in buses, over two days visited the farms, former homes and schools of
family members in the Opihi, Kakahu, Cannington and Pleasant Point areas. Henry Collett from Christchurch in South
Wales and his Welsh wife Ann Davies had three surviving children: Elizabeth
Collett born 1867 who married Frank Octavious Matthews; Walter Collett born
1870 who married Annie Eliza Maxwell; and Charlotte Ann Collett born 1873 who
married Annie’s brother, Hamilton Maxwell.
Elizabeth Matthews had 12 children, Annie Collett had 10 children, and
Charlotte Maxwell had three children.
It
was the descendants of these three family lines who gathered at the Point
Cemetery on the 23rd January, 2011, to witness the unveiling of a
bronze plaque (next page) to commemorate the arrival of Henry Collett in New
Zealand 150 years earlier. The actual
unveiling was done with surprising success by the latest Henry Collett,
calculated the eighteenth, or thereabouts, Henry since 1450, although it was
preceded by some anxious training moments, since he is only 2 years and 7
months old
The
combined families’ reunion was called by descendants Robbie Preston,
‘Rhoborough Downs’ Station, McKenzie country, and Heather Holloway,
Christchurch. Together with Ray Collett
from Sydney, who wrote a short book and web pages for the occasion, they met
several times to plan venues and cover costs for venues, meals, buses,
printing, plaque and invitations. The
reunion was judged to be a great success and well worth attending, which is
just as well because it may be 50 years until the next gathering, the
bicentennial, is held. The last one was
held in 1969 at ‘Daisy Hill’. The
organisers are particularly grateful to John McKercher and John and Heather
Gunn for access to the still standing, just, Maxwell Cottage, Rolly Hill, the
new owner of Daisy Hill, and Alan Cone and Judy for allowing us to visit their
wonderfully restored, Maxwell former home, and wander at will around their
magnificent gardens. Attending the
reunion was Roger Maxwell, a former minister in the Jim Bolger Government who
is going to explore the heritage situation of Alex Maxwell’s ‘Sunnyside’
Cottage
The
family believes that, especially today, when home entertainment, the internet
and mobile phones are isolating people from personal contact, it is more
important than ever to meet together and rekindle our links with the past. The event was covered by the local newspaper,
which also included a much larger group photograph of all of those who
attended, not just those with a Collett link as shown in the photograph at the
start of this appendix
The following was the
programme of events
Friday Night.
6.00 pm onwards. For the early
arrivers, at the Grosvenor Hotel, 26 Cairns Tce Timaru. Meet old friends over a
drink or a cuppa. Drinks to be paid for,
platter food included in registration. Pick up Registration Pack
Saturday Morning. 9.15 am at Grey Way Lounge,
Phar Lap Race Course, Washdyke. Pick up
Registration Pack. View charts, old
photos and memorabilia. Morning tea,
notices. Photographs taken, pay then
pick up at dinner or picnic. Lunch box
provided for those who have ordered it.
Buses to Pleasant Point Cemetery.
Commemorative plaque placed on Henry’s grave. Toilets at the Point
Saturday Afternoon. 1.00 pm
buses to ‘Daisy Hill’, Kakahu School, ‘Green Hills’, site of Walter’s first
home, site of Frank and Elizabeth’s first home
Saturday Evening.
Dinner at Grey Way Lounge. From
5.30 a social hour, bar available.
Seated by 6.30 Dinner, cutting the sesquicentennial cake, an opportunity
to join in a combined family microphone chat.
Photographs taken
Sunday Morning. Free time. Suggest trip to Cannington to visit Alex and
Annie Maxwell’s amazing first home, still standing, just. It’s an 1875 pioneer’s cottage, rarely seen
now. Visit baby Charlotte Ann’s grave at
‘Raincliff’
Sunday Afternoon. 12.00 midday. Pleasant Point Domain. Picnic, Spit Roast, games. Concludes about 3.00 pm