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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Farmers

Farmers.

Henley, Patrick, of New Headford Farm, Lincoln. Mr. Henlery was born on the 17th of March, 1827, on the estate of Ower, near Headford, in County Galway, Ireland. He emigrated to America, and landed in New York on the 4th of May, 1851. On the very day he landed, he received an offer of work at the rate of three dollars a day. Of course, he took it, and he remained at it for two years. Then he went to St. Louis, where he remained for four years, and was foreman to a French and German firm. Whilst at St. Louis he was married to Miss Nocalty, on the 18th of January, 1855. However, he had the misfortune to contract fever and ague whilst in the same city, and he tried many remedies, all without effect. He then left St. Louis and went to live at Quincy, in the State of Illinois, but still with no better results as regarded his illness. He next tried a town in Iowa, where he purchased a good block of land, built on it, and got comfortably settled down, but was unable to remain owing to ill-health. A doctor at St. Louis advised him to take a trip Home as the quickest way to get rid of his trouble; and he could, the doctor, said, return to America in the spring. Mr. Henley took his advice as regarded the trip Home, but he never went back to America—not that he did not like the country, but it had its drawbacks. When he returned to Ireland he took back his father's old farm and lived on it for twelve months, and was by that time quite restored to health. Then he had to decide which should become his home—his adopted country, America, or New Zealand. He knew America well, after a trial of eight years, and he knew if he remained in Ireland he would be one of the white slaves, doomed to work from daylight till dark for the landlords, who would leave nothing for him to live on. He made up his mind to go to New Zealand, and wrote to Mr. James Edward Fitzgerald, Charing Cross, London, to secure a passage for himself and his wife. Mr. Fitzgerald wrote back informing Mr. Henley that unless he could pay full passage money, £17 each, for himself and Mrs Henley, the passage could not be secured, but if an advance of £12 for each were sent, Mr. Fitzgerald would secure a berth. Mr. Henley complied with this condition, and he and his wife set out for Bristol on Monday, the 1st of May, 1860. They left there for New Zealand in the ship “William Miles,” on the 6th of the same month, and after a fine passage of 108 days, reached Lyttelton on the 22nd of August, 1860. Lyttelton at that time was a very small place. Mr. and Mrs Henley moved to Christchurch on the 29th, and resided in an old building, named a barrack, near Papanui bridge. Having paid his passage, he was accorded that temporary privilege, but,
Mr. P. Henley.

Mr. P. Henley.

of course, he had to provide for himself and secure a house. On the 2nd of September he obtained work from Mr. Wilson in his nursery garden at five shillings per day; but two weeks afterwards Mr. Wilson raised they pay to eight shillings per day, and at that rate Mr. Henley worked for eighteen months. Mr. Henley bought his first section of land from the Government on the 18th of September, 1860, but did not go to live on it till the 17th of March, 1862. It consisted of twenty-two acres, and he paid £2 an acre for it. Since then he has bought all his land at from £15 to £20 an acre, and he now has 1500 acres of freehold in the Lincoln district. Mr. Henley, while in America, travelled through thirty-two states, but although they were all progressive places, they did not move ahead as fast as Canterbury has done in the matter page 662 of farming. Some of his own land at Lincoln has from time to time yielded as much as eighty-two bushels of wheat and 110 bushels of oats to the acre, and his fat frozen lambs have fetched 17s. 9d. net in the London market. The improvements on Mr. Henley's estate are of a permanent and substantial nature, and include a good two-storey dwelling-house, with the necessary outbuildings, garden, orchard, and plantation, with fences, all in good order. He served for many years as a member of the road board, school committee, and cemetery board. From the time of his arrival in New Zealand, Mr. Henley has shown a warm interest in the Roman Catholic church, and was a cordial helper of the Rev. Father Charegre, the pioneer missionary priest of Christchurch. On the 11th of September, 1860, only a week or two after his arrival, he was present at laying the foundation stone of the first parish church in Christchurch. Though an important, it was not an imposing ceremony, for Father Charegre, Mr. Henley, and Mr. Coxhead, the builder, and his two assistants, were the only persons in attendance. After he settled at Lincoln Mr. Henley gave the church a present of five acres out of the 175 which he possessed at the time, and also headed the list with the highest subscription. This liberality has been characteristics of Mr. Henley in all his dealings with the church, and in April, 1899, he headed the list for the Christchurch Roman Catholic Cathedral Fund with a subscription for £1000. Nor has Mr. Henley's liberality been confined to his own church, for he has from time to time been a generous contributor to the funds of other denominations. Mr. Henley has three sons and three daughters.

Lockhead, Robert William, “The Springs,” Lincoln. Mr. Lockhead is a son of Mr. John Lockhead, of Leeston, and was born at Lockhead Farm, Leeston. He was educated at Leeston, and acquired a practical knowledge of farming under his father and uncle. “The Springs,” which consists of 314 acres, was originally part of The Springs station, owned by Messrs Cox and Fitzgerald, who so named the place on account of the springs of water abounding on the property. The land has now been thoroughly reclaimed from its original swampy condition. The homestead passed through the hands of successive owners, until 1894, when it was bought by Mr. Lockhead, from Mr. J. P. Mosshead. Mr. O'Callaghan, one of the intermediate owners, replaced the old building by a handsome mansion. However, offices still in a good state of preservation, show the endurance of the early mud buildings used by the pioneer settlers. Mr. Lockhead is a member of the Farmers' Union, and also of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association. He married the eldest daughter of Mr. Forsyth, one of the early settlers of Paihama, and has one son and one daughter.

Mr. and Mrs R. W. Lockhead and Family.

Mr. and Mrs R. W. Lockhead and Family.

Murray, Frederick Charles, Farmer, Walsingham Farm, Lincoln. Mr. Murray was born in Dublin, in 1843, and with his father, the late Mr. John Murray, of Lincoln Road, Christchurch, arrived at Lyttelton, in the ship “Labuan,” in 1851. He began to farm at Lincoln on his present estate, which now consists of 1200 acres of rich, fertile land, with a fine house and all the necessary buildings of a high class farm. Mr. Murray carries on a successful system of mixed farming, and is the owner of one of the finest stud flocks of Leicesters in Canterbury, descendants of the celebrated stud flock of Mr. Every MacLean, of Auckland. His herd of Shorthorn cattle claims an equally distinguished descent. He has always taken a prominent part in all local affairs connected with his district, and has been a member of the Springs Road Board for many years. Mr. Murray has been a member of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and has been a most successful prize-taker with sheep and cattle at Christchurch and Timaru. He is also a member of the Farmers' Union, and one of the directors of the Addington Saleyards Company. Mr. Murray married Miss Roberts, and of a family of seven children, four sons and two daughters are alive.

Mr. F. C. Murray and Daughter.

Mr. F. C. Murray and Daughter.

Rainey, Robert, Farmer, Lincoln Lodge, Lincoln.—Mr. Rainey was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1841. He passed his early years on his father's farm, and arrived at Lyttelton in the ship “Sebastopol,” on the 14th of December, 1861. At first he was farming
Mr. R. Rainey.

Mr. R. Rainey.

page 663 on the Ferry Road, where he resided for some years. His present farm of 331 acres was bought in two lots, and was at first devoted to dairying, but cultivation is now carried on with excellent results, and grain and root crops are grown to perfection. Mr. Rainey has bred some of the best Clydesdale horses, and one of them, “Vanquisher,” has been successfully exhibited at the metropolitan and local shows; his other stock has also taken first honours at all the leading shows. In cattle, Shorthorns of the milking strain are first favourites at Lincoln Lodge and Tai Tapu. Mr. Rainey was one of the prime promoters of the Tai Tapu Dairy Factory, and was the first chairman of the company—a position which he occupied for seven years. He is a Justice of the Peace, a member of the licensing bench, road board, school committee, and Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and he takes a great interest in the Presbyterian church. Mr. Rainey was married, in 1861, to Miss Wallace, of Rasharkin, County Antrim, Ireland, and has two sons and five daughters.

Sharp, John, Farmer, “Newlands,” Lincoln. Mr. Sharp was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1839, and was brought up to a farming life. In 1863 he came to New Zealand by the ship “Evening Star,” and went to the West Coast goldfields in the following year. After a brief stay there he recrossed the ranges and took up 264 acres of heavy swamp land, covered with raupo and flax. He drained, cleared, and fenced his property, and carried on dairying while dairy produce brought profitable prices. Mr. Sharp gradually extended his area to 800 acres, and went extensively into cultivation and cropping. In good seasons, he obtained as much as seventy bushels of wheat, and over one hundred bushels of oats per acre. Root crops grew to perfection, and he sometimes had twenty tons of potatoes per acre, and mangolds and turnips in proportion. Mr. Sharp keeps English Leicesters, and has a large number of sheep and lambs annually available for the export trade. The improvements on “Newlands” comprise seven artesian wells, varying from 16 to 196 feet, a good two-storey dwellinghouse, outbuildings, a garden, an orchard, plantations, and well-cultivated and conveniently-divided fields. Mr. Sharp has served on the local road board, school committee, and Agricultural and Pastoral Association. He was married, in 1864, to Miss Spence, and has two sons and eight daughters.

Mr. J. Sharp.

Mr. J. Sharp.

Smith, George A., Broom Farm, Lincoln. Mr. Smith was born at Bridport, Dorsetshire, England, in 1839, and as a boy served as a naval apprentice. He saw service in the Crimea and Baltic, and on the declaration of peace, in 1855, was presented with the Baltic medal. Mr. Smith left the navy to join the merchant service, in which he remained for two years on the steamer “Berrit,” trading between England, Greece and Russia. He came to New Zealand in the fifties by the ship “Acasta,” landing at Wellington; and was employed for two years at Otaki by Archdeacon Hadfield, afterwards Primate of New Zealand. After his arrival in Canterbury he was employed at the Springs station, by Messrs Cox and Fitzgerald, and was, later on, at the Longbeach station, then owned by the same gentlemen. On the purchase of Longbeach station by the late Mr. John Grigg, Mr. Smith became stockman there for three years. He then returned to Lincoln, and took possession of a farm of about thirty-seven acres, which he had bought before, and increased his area to 300 acres, which joins the Lincoln Agricultural College; he also bought about 300 acres at Landbrooks, now occupied by his sons, 245 acres at Rolleston, 800 acres at Aylesbury, and 175 acres of Mr. William Pannett's farm. Mr. Smith owned the first reaping machine in the district. He has never taken much interest in local affairs, but has been a member of the Lincoln school committee, and has been associated with the welfare of the Lincoln Presbyterian church since its foundation. Mr. Smith is a member of the Farmers' Union, and a shareholder of the Farmers' Co-operative Association. page 664 He married Miss Munro, of Caithness, Scotland. His wife died in 1895, leaving a family of five sons and five daughters, of whom one son and two daughters are married.

Standish and Preece, photoMr. G. A. Smith.

Standish and Preece, photo
Mr. G. A. Smith.

The late Mrs G. A. Smith.

The late Mrs G. A. Smith.

Stoddart, William, Farmer, Lincoln. Mr. Stoddart was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1834, and was brought up to farming. He emigrated to America in 1852, and lived for number of years with a cousin in the west of Canada. In 1859 he returned to Ireland, and came to New Zealand in 1860, in the ship “Commodore Perry.” Shortly after his arrival he began to deal in cattle, horses and sheep, and carried on the business for many years, with Christchurch as his place of residence. He also bought land in different parts of the district, and sold it again when he saw a suitable opportunity. One of his purchases was made at Tai Tapu, and consisted of a 640-acre farm, which he sold to advantage. Mr. Stoddart visited his native country in 1874, but soon returned to his farm of 130 acres near Lincoln, where he keeps a good herd of dairy cattle. Shortly after his return from England, he purchased 454 acres at Longbeach, where his sons have ever since resided. Some years ago he bred and exhibited some magnificent Clydesdale horses, which carried all before them. Mr. Stoddart has always taken a keen interest in church affairs. In 1853 he was married to Ann, second daughter of the late Mr. Robert Edgeworth, County Cavan, Ireland, who bore him five sons and two daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter are still living. After his first wife's death he married, in 1868, Harriet, second daughter of the late Mr. Samuel Nelson, of Seaforde, County Down, Ireland, and one son has been born of this marriage.

Mr. William Pearson, sometime of Lincoln, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1838, and arrived in Lyttelton by the ship “Cashmere” in 1859. He went to the Springs station, then owned by Messrs Cox and Fitzgerald, and, under Mr. Fitzgerald, helped to survey land around Christchurch. Later on he went with Mr. Cox to the Mount Somers station, which had been taken up by that gentleman. On the subdivision and sale of the Springs estate Mr. Pearson sold some land which he had bought at Rolleston, and purchased the property on which his family still reside. The land was then in its wild native state, partly covered by water, and overgrown with flax and other wild growths; now it is a fine productive farm. Mr. Pearson always took an interest in the affairs of the church, and was churchwarden for several years. After an illness of eleven months he died in 1886, leaving a widow, four sons, and one daughter. The eldest son, Mr. John Pearson, now fills a position in the Central Dairy Company, Mr. Robert W. Pearson is engaged in farming, and Messrs George and Herbert Pearson reside on the family estate. Mr. George Pearson posseses mechanical skill of a high order, and has patented a well-sinking apparatus, which gives promise of signal success. Mrs Pearson, who is a native of Tipperary, Ireland, came to New Zealand by the ship “Zealandia,” in 1862, when she was a fellow passenger with Mr. C. P. Cox, in whose family she remained until her marriage with Mr. Pearson in 1865.