Times Past.....

.... And events of long ago

I found this dried Arum Lily flower and feel it follows derelict Thursday well.
It was once fresh and full of life, like the house in yesterday's blip and like the house, it is now just a memory of the beauty it once was.

I'm pleased so many of you found yesterday's blip of my great Grandparent's derelict house so interesting.
The farm no longer belongs to descendants of the original family. This house has been used as a shearing/storage shed as long as I can remember. I think it is possibly past renovation, but if someone was enthusiastic - who knows!

Thomas was born in Riwaka. His parents arrived in Nelson, NZ, from Kneeton, Nottinghamshire, England with four young daughters. Soon after arrival they moved to Riwaka and started their new life in this new land. A further five children were born, Thomas being the youngest child.

John, an older brother kept a diary which includes details of the building of the house featured yesterday. It was amazing to think it was built in less than two months, but of course water was from a well and the colony was far too young for electricity. Originally the house had a verandah along the front and back and hand cut wooden shingles covered the roof.

This house sits close beside the road to Kaiteriteri beach and not far from the Riwaka River and the sea at Pah Point.

Clara's father was a fifteen year old lad when he left Alton, Hampshire, England with his mother, stepfather and sisters for the long voyage to Nelson. They settled in a rural area north of the town of Nelson, but at some stage he moved to Motueka, married and settled in this area. Clara was the sixth child in her family.

I am proud of my ancestors who were prepared to sail to the other side of the world in search of a better life for their families. They faced a long and daunting sea voyage and most would never see their families back 'home' again. And life wasn't easy in those early days.