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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Farmers

Farmers.

Cousins, Richard, Farmer, Waikuku, Mr. Cousins was born at Ambleside, Windermere, Westmorland, England, in 1831. He came to New Zealand in 1858, and first started business in Christchurch as a painter. Seven years later he moved to his present home at Waikuku. The land was then in a state of primeval roughness, but Mr. Cousins' industry and perseverance have brought the farm to a high state of cultivation.

Mr. R. Cousins.

Mr. R. Cousins.

Griffiths, Thomas, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Griffiths was born in Staffordshire, England. In 1832, and came to New Zealand in the ship “Canterbury,” in 1864. After staying for a time in Christchurch, he went to Templeton and started the first chicory works in Canterbury for Mr. Trent. Subsequently, he took up his farm at Waikuku, Mr. Griffiths was one of the first elected members of the local school committee.

Gill, Robert, Farmer, Waikuku, Mr. Gill was born at Distington, near Whitehaven, Cumberland, England, in 1855, and came to New Zealand in the ship “Hawarden Castle,” in 1879. He settled with his uncle, Mr. Thomas Wilson, at Waikuku, and has continued to reside in the same district. Mr. Gill is married, and has five children.

mr. R. Gill.

mr. R. Gill.

Ligget, Robert, Farmer, “Tullyhue,” Waikuku. Mr. Ligget was born in 1838, in County Armagh, Ireland, where he was educated, and spent his early years on his father's farm. He came out to the Colony in 1861 in the ship “Sebastopol,” and after gaining colonial experience for a few years with the Rev. John Raven, he purchased part of his present holding.
Mr. R. Ligget.

Mr. R. Ligget.

The first portion of the property, which contains 340 acres in all, was purchased in 1863. A small herd of Shorthorn cattle was established over thirty years ago, and Mr. Ligget has annually carried off a fair share of honours at local shows. His light horses and sheep are no strangers to the showground, and are always a credit to their owner. The buildings on the property are of a most substantial kind, only the most durable timber having been used in their erection, and the stock-yards are laid down in concrete. At an early period Mr. Ligget did a good deal of tree-planting, and now reaps the benefit of his foresight, as his plantations supply fencing material and fuel, which is cut with a circular saw driven by his own portable engine. Mr. Ligget has always taken an active part in anything that tends to advance the district, as member of the road board and school committee for twenty years, and as life member and vice-president for two years of the Kaiapoi Agricultural and Pastoral Association. Mr. Ligget was married in 1861 to Miss Ross, and has one son and seven daughters.

Morriss, William, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Morriss was born at Eaton, Leicestershire, England, on the 11th of February, 1832, and arrived at Lyttelton by the ship “Joseph Fletcher,” on the 23rd of October, 1852. He found employment in connection with the laying out of the road from Lyttelton to Governor's and Charteris Bays, and was afterwards working on the road from Christchurch to Papanui. In 1858 Mr. Morriss settled in Waikuku, and was the first to erect a house on the Woodend side of the township. The original building still forms part of his residence. Mr. Morriss farms altogether about 140 acres. He has for many years taken an interest in school committees, and has served on the Woodend and Waikuku committees. In 1858 Mr. Morriss was married to Miss Elizabeth Stokes, who arrived in the colony by the ship “Randolph” in 1850. They have had four daughters and seven sons, of whom two daughters and two sons are dead.

Tolputt and Clarke, photo. Mr. and Mrs W. Morris.

Tolputt and Clarke, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. Morris.

Orchard, Hiram, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Orchard was born in Tamworth, Warwickshire, England, in 1839, and came to New Zealand with his parents in the ship “Randolph,” in 1850. In those rough times page 479 of early settlement the settlers had to depend on their own natural resources, and Mr. Orchard, senior, camped with his family in a blanket tent. The timber for their first house, which was built in Cashel Street, had to be carried on their backs from the bush at Riccarton, and Mr. Hiram Orchard, the eldest son, packed bread and provisions for the family on his back over the hills from Lyttelton.

Mr. H. Orchard.

Mr. H. Orchard.

Skevington, Charles, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Skevington was born in Turvey, Bedfordshire, in the year 1828, and arrived in New Zealand in the ship “Zealandia.” He is one of the very earliest settlers. Soon after his arrival, be walked with his wife and two children from Lyttelton, and pitched his tent where his homestead now stands, the country at that time being in a very wild state, without roads. This old colonist has now a beautiful home with 450 acres of first-class land. Mr. Skevington has always taken a great interest in church and school matters for upwards of forty years.

Skevington, Charles Edward, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Skevington was born in Bedfordshire, England, in 1859, and accompanied his parents to the colony, where he was brought up to country life. He engages in mixed farming, and is a member of the Northern Agricultural and Pastoral Association. Mr. Skevington was married, in 1884, to a daughter of the late Mr. R. Whitaker, of London, and has two sons and two daughters.

Wilson, Thomas, Farmer, Waikuku. Mr. Wilson was born in Heighray, North Lancashire, England, in 1829, and arrived in Lyttelton on the 31st of July, 1852. After a few years of station and bush life, he and his brothers engaged in the timber trade. Mr. Wilson then took up his farm at Waikuku, and has now one of the best homesteads in the district. He has always been an energetic church and Sunday school worker, and also an advocate of the temperance cause.

Mr. T. Wilson.

Mr. T. Wilson.

Mr. John Clark Andrews, sometime of Waikuku, was born in Dorsetshire, England, and arrived in New Zealand in 1880 by the ship “Langstone.” A few years afterwards he established the rope and twine factory at Waikuku, with the latest improvements in machinery. Mr. Andrews died in February, 1902.

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