Charles Hardy's Newspaper Clippings- The D'Ath Family

Greg Austen
Feb 4
19 min read

Among Charles' clippings is the report in the New Zealand Herald of 9 June 1910 of the death of George Death. Charles' interest in George Death connects to his son-in-law Edward (Teddy) Arthur D'Ath married to his daughter Helena. Teddy was one of George Death's 10 sons.

The origin of the surname Death

Teddy altered his surname to D'Ath. He did this by Deed Poll on 18 March 1921. Following is an explanation of the origin of the name.

The name Death is derived from the place named Ath in what was then Northern France and is now Belgium. The De'Aths had been Walloons, (Protestants similar to Huguenots) and had escaped across the channel to Suffolk before the "Pope's Helpers" managed to get them.

In French de Ath meant of Ath but the English rolled the two words together and called them Death, which of course has a very different meaning in English.

Some families called themselves and pronounced their surname as De'Ath but for George and most of his family the name remained as Death. You will also see that some use D'Ath as an alternative to De'Ath.

I knew a little bit of the story of Teddy but nothing of the detail of his family's history. On reading the obituary for Teddy's father I was sufficiently impressed by what I read about George to decide to dig further.

Here is the clipping.

It is clear from his obituary that George Death was a man who made a great success of numerous ventures, in particular the development of several large farms . With a family of 10 sons he had a large group of willing workers to help achieve his success.

In compiling this blog I have been able to make reference to the wonderful family history records created by Don McClure on behalf of his mother Dulcie McClure. Don very kindly shared these records with me a few years ago. We remain in contact and Don continues to respond to my various requests for information. If you are reading this blog Don, again thank you for all your great work over many years.

Dulcie was a daughter of Teddy and Helena. She undertook the compilation of a huge amount of research on the Hardy and Death families during her lifetime. This included trips from her home in Canada to both England and New Zealand. Dulcie met and exchanged information with many of the family members who shared her interest in the Hardy and Death/D'Ath family histories.

During my research on the Death family I noted numerous references to a book written by Helen (D'Ath) Coker called The De' Ath Families in New Zealand- Reunion Book 1882-1992. I have been very fortunate in succeeding in making contact with Helen. I also managed to obtain an inter library loan of the copy of her book which is held at the Victoria University Kelburn Library. Thank you Helen for allowing me to use this book as a resource and to include sections from it in this blog.

Helen wrote and shared this book with her De'Ath family members as a record of their reunion in 1992. A total of 312 people attended this reunion.

The photograph below of the front cover of this book was sent to me by Don McClure. Dulcie has written a very clear instruction on it "Keep- my Family".

I found the photo below in the book. It was taken at the reunion. We are very lucky that these two women spent so much of their time researching and recording the lives of our ancestors.

Below is a copy of Helen's introduction to her book. I have included this as I consider it captures very well the purpose behind recording our ancestors' stories. In particular I identify with her reference to establishing our sense of identity and achieving an appreciation of the lives lived by those who came before us.

The emigration of the Death family to New Zealand

The emigration of the family started with five brothers with their wives and families, namely Henry, George, Samuel, Thomas and Joseph. Their parents George Gooch Death and his wife Mary Ann also came along as well as two of George Gooch's brothers, namely Charles and Robert, and a sister Diana.

In this blog my primary focus is on George Death the father of Teddy and a son of George and Mary. Teddy's brother George Gooch Death also plays an important role in that it is through him that Teddy and Helena met.

The Death family came from Suffolk and more specifically from the towns of Bury St Edmonds, Woolpit and Rattlesden. It is likely their decision to emigrate to New Zealand was motivated by the depressed state of the agricultural sector in England in the mid 1800s. They sought opportunities for a better life in far away New Zealand.

Map showing the location of Bury St Edmonds- it is not very far from Cambridge, the area where the Hardy family lived.

An insight into the very favourable outcomes achieved by the Death family following their move to New Zealand is provided in the letter below. This is a transcript of a letter written in 1885 by George Gooch Death Senior to a dear friend of his back home in England.

George Senior is thought to have been semi-retired at the time he and Mary Ann arrived in New Zealand. They settled into Wellington initially living with their son George at his hotel the Coach and Horses. They subsequently moved north of Wellington to Taita in the Hutt where they lived for the remainder of their lives. George was involved in wool exporting and with a background as a butcher also had an interest in the meat trade.

George died 29th October 1886 at age 83 and his wife Mary died 10th February 1890 aged 81.

Henry (later known as Harry) Death

Henry was the eldest son of George and Mary. He was born 19 April 1829. At age 24 in 1853 he emigrated to New Zealand and settled into Wellington. Initially he developed a coach or "omnibus" business operating between the Hutt and Wellington. In the notice shown below he refers to this business as "the Hutt Vans". In February of 1856 he married Eliza Ridler.

Eliza was also from an emigrant family. The Ridlers came from Eastington in Gloucestershire and arrived in Wellington on 31 January 1843. They settled on some farm land just north of Petone. Eliza was only age 15 when she married Henry.

In 1863 Henry bought the Coach and Horses Hotel in Manners St, Wellington. Henry announced his new venture as shown below.

The Coach and Horses Hotel is the long light coloured single story building in the middle of this photo.

Henry's brother George arrived in Wellington from England in 1856. Initially he worked with Henry on the coach run from the Hutt. In 1864 he took over the licence for the Coach and Horses Hotel. Henry went back to the coach business and was also farming a property at Waiwetu in Lower Hutt. He subsequently bought 800 acres of land in Rangitikei near Marton which he developed into a substantial property. In 1882 the family moved to another property known as Monte Video in Waitotara. This had a large wooden homestead of some 15 rooms.

Henry continued to extend his farming interests and by 1885 owned some 2100 acres and grazed 4000 sheep. In 1884 Henry was elected as Councillor in Waitotara.

Henry suffered a financial set back in 1887 as evidenced by the notice below.

Henry died at age 72 on 8 December 1901. Below is a copy of Henry's Obituary as shown in Helen D'Ath's book.

In his Will dated 9 November 1901 Henry left to Eliza the farm known as Monte Video with all its livestock and implements and furniture and effects so long as she was alive. On her death this farm was to go to his sons Herbert and Percy as tenants in common. This was subject to Herbert transferring his interest in the Mata Mata Onga thousand acres to son Robert. He left 798 acres called Block x Mata Mata Onga plus its stock and implements etc to Ernest and Robert as tenants in common.

The above indicates that there were three farming ventures within Henry's family, namely Monte Video, Mata Mata Onga and Block x Mata Mata Onga. It is also suggestive of the survival of these interests despite the bankruptcy announced in 1887.

In addition to the above Henry left a sum of 100 pounds to each of his 5 daughters and to the 2 of his 6 sons who did not inherit any of the farm properties.

George Death

George left England in June 1856 aboard the Sailing Ship 'Hastings', landing at Lowry Bay, Wellington 14 October 1856 some three years after his brother Henry. He resided in Wellington 10 years. During this time he worked for his elder brother Henry in his coach business and on his farm at Waiwhetu, near Lowry Bay Wellington.

On 10 December 1856 George married Philipi Jane Poad at St James Church the Hutt. Philipi (also known as Philippa) was the second daughter of Thomas and Sarah Poad.

George and Philipi would have a total of 14 children. The first born was named George Gooch after his grandfather.

In 1864 George bought the Coach and Horses pub at Manners St owned by his brother. It is said he was known as `Devil Death' It is reputed he sold sly grog (bootlegged) to the workers building the railroad between Hutt and Wellington.

In 1865, George purchased a large block of land at Rangitikei which was then wilderness. This eventually became one of the best farms and homes in the district. In 1885, he moved to Patea buying farms along the coastline between Fielding and Hawera. Henry and George worked closely together buying large areas of farm land in similar areas at similar times.

The Rangitikei Land Purchases

The availability of land in the Rangitikei and Wellington areas for purchase by new settlers arose from the significant land purchases from the then Maori owners made by the government during the early 1800s. In looking into this aspect I came across an excellent history of the Rangitikei land purchases in the book Early Rangitikie by James G, Wilson, published in 1914.

This book is some 260 pages in length. I have selected a small section and copied it below. These pages provide an insight into the process by which Mr Donald McLean the Land Purchase Commissioner went about his negotiations with Maori.

Te Rauparaha

James Wilson also covers the history of tribal fighting over the land in the Rangitikei. In particular he looks at the involvement of Te Rauparaha who came to have "ownership" of most of the land in this area and in Marlborough in the South Island. Te Rauparaha was born in Kawhia around 1760 and died at Otaki 27 November 1849. In his later life he lived on Kapiti Island.

I have included the pages below to provide further insight into this important Maori leader and his role in the history of the Rangitikei.

George and family lived for 15 years at Upper Tutaenui (Marton) and named their

home `Pine Park'. George sold this property in 1885 and then went to live at Waverley.

The following taken from 'Cyclopedia of N.Z. Volume 1, 1897 of Wellington Provincial District. (In part)'

...settling in Waverley in 1885 he took up his present property of 850 acres. The Homestead ('Lake Farm') has about 15 rooms and is recognised as one of the finest residences between Wanganui and Hawera. Mr. Death has been a member of the Patea County Council for 9 1/2 years and has filled many other offices on local boards.

The Electoral Roll below from 1896 shows the size of the family at that time (21 Deaths listed on the Roll) and the extent of their involvement in farming. In 1896 they were in Patea Electoral District in Taranaki. As mentioned in George's obituary there were a number of farms owned by the family in this district. The Electoral Roll lists the locations of Marton, Waitotara, Whenuakura, Waverley and Rangitikei.

The two family group photographs below came to me from Don McClure. Don has applied the ID numbers that enable identification of the family members. They are the children of George and Philipi.

The first photo dates from 1894 and the second photo possibly the 1930s or 1940s.

The names and numbers are as follows:

83 Walter Allen

81 Minnie Ettie

78 Frederick Charles

82 James Owen

75 Thomas

79 Albert Ernest

85 Horace Oswald

84 Lucy Maud

74 George Gooch

77 Henry John

80 Emma Jane Alice

8 Edward (Teddy) Arthur

76 Joseph Edward

In 1901, George purchased the 9000 acre Hora Hora estate in the Waikato area which his three younger sons farmed. This farm was apparently not very productive due to the land being of poor quality.

The Electoral Roll below indicates the farm or farms were spread across a wide area from Cambridge to Tirau. Maungatautari is a mountain about midway between the two towns.

This map shows the general area in which the Hora Hora estate was located and its proximity to Karapiro.

By the time of the 1908 Roll shown below we can see that son George Gooch Death is located in Karapiro. Teddy is recorded as being "near Tirau". George's location in Karapiro is a factor in how Teddy Death met Helena Hardy. In the record of their marriage in 1906 Teddy's home is recorded as being at "Rangapai, Okoroire". This is near Tirau.

Below are George Gooch Death and his wife Sarah and three of their daughters. They had a total of six daughters and two sons.

George Gooch was the first born son of George and Philipi Death. He was named after his grandfather George Gooch Death born in 1808. He married Sarah Ann Mulholland 26 December 1886 in Fielding. George was farming in partnership with his father in Marton in 1884 and by 1887 and 1888 was farming at Kiwitea and Cheltenham. He and Sarah moved to Taranaki next and about 1900 they travelled to Cambridge where initially they lived at Monavale and then for 5 years were faming on the Gorton Estate, Karapiro. The Gorton Estate was a large area of some 8000 acres situated alongside the Karapiro River. It was divided into farming blocks around 1904 and George was among the group of initial settlers in the area. George and Sarah left Karapiro in 1909 and moved to Favona Park in Mangere. This was a subdivision development on land that had been a well known horse breeding property owned by Australian politician and horse breeder and racer Hugh Mossman.

George died 15 September 1924 at Favona and Sarah died in Auckland in March of 1957.

Below is a later photo of George and Sarah and their family.

The report below was published in the Waikato Independent of the 15 December 1904. It shows the connection between George.G. Death and the Taotaoroa School which served the Karapiro area. Helena Hardy taught at the school and was appointed as the Head Teacher.

The list below of pupils at the school in years up to 1908 shows the members of the Death family who were pupils during this period.

Below is a report on a Fancy Costume Ball held in 1908 at Mr Death's property in Karapiro.

Helena is the Miss Hardy who came as Columbia.

As mentioned above there were both No 1 and No 2 Taotaoroa schools. They catered for children in the Cambridge and Karapiro areas. The schools were in due course merged into one and although quite small for many years they dramatically increased in size when the Karapiro hydro scheme was developed.

Helena was not the only Hardy family member to teach at Taotaoroa. In December of 1912 there was an announcement in the Auckland Star of school appointments recording that Florence Hardy had now been appointed to the Taotaoroa No 1 School at Karapiro. It appears that Florence taught at Taotaoroa for the period from 1912 until around 1920. This is an assumption made from Electoral Rolls that record her with an address during this time of Karapiro.

The marriage of Helena Hardy and Teddy D'Ath

The bridal group. Ada Hardy seated on the right (Helena's left).

Following their marriage it seems that Teddy and Helena remained in Tirau until around 1911. There is a census record indicating that in 1911 they were living on New North Rd, Mt Albert. Teddy is said to have "retired" from being a farmer in around 1916 because of his health. He suffered from asthma since age 14. I have seen a record indicating that Charles Hardy regarded Teddy as "a sickly man with too much money" and did not seem to get on with him.

I have not seen any information on what happened in relation to Teddy's ownership of the farm at Tirau. However I assume that Teddy received something from sale proceeds reflective of his interest in this family farm, enabling him to live comfortably in his retirement.

Teddy and Helena's first child Edward (Teddy) Hardy Death was born 27 August 1910. Very sadly young Teddy died of pneumonia in Auckland on 21 July 1916. This was two years after Charles Hardy's death on 16th January 1914.

The question of where Teddy and Helena lived following their move to Auckland is connected to some complex arrangements relating to the Hardy houses built on Mt Albert Rd and the 3 acres of land that Charles Hardy owned. This was the subject of one of my earlier blogs.

Charles and his family moved to Mt Albert around 1900 after a few years living in Helensville. The land in Mount Albert was purchased in June of 1899. The first house built by Charles on Mt Albert Rd was located at what became 30 Mt Albert Rd and was referred to as Montana. Montana was the initial Hardy family home. A second house called Kirtland was later built at what became 34 Mt Albert Rd. These house names were related to Charles' connections to the Mormon church.

Teddy entered into a deal with Charles dated 12 June 1912 under which he would buy Montana and some 2 acres of land for the sum of one thousand six hundred and twenty five pounds. He agreed to pay a deposit to Charles of four hundred and twenty five pounds. Teddy and Helena moved into Montana around 1913 and Charles and Alice then moved into Kirtland.

It seems that Charles did not execute the sale to Teddy and there was some doubt over whether the initial deposit was in fact paid by Teddy. These questions arose when Charles Hardy died at age 82 on 16 January 1914.

The executors of Charles' estate, namely his son Charles Lingham Hardy and son-in-laws Albert Beazley and Edmund Spencer subsequently resolved the matter of the deposit and enabled Teddy to proceed with the transaction. On 3 December 1920 Edward Death transferred his interest in all the said land to his wife Helena.

The photo below is dated 1920 and shows Montana on the left, Kirtland to its immediate right and a house further to the right at 36 Mt Albert Rd that was not owned by the Hardy family.

The photo below is from an earlier date ( possibly around 1913 ) and is from the opposite side of the houses looking up towards Mount Albert mountain. Note that Montana which is the large house on the right was built facing away from the mountain. It faces the north which is of course the sunny side of the house.

Below is the advertisement for the auction of the subdivision including the sale of Montana being the residence of 6 spacious rooms. You will see that this auction did not occur until November 1925. I hold a copy of the Certificate of Title that records the transfer of title to Edward Arthur D'Ath and Ellen Melville on 2nd July 1926 of the 2 acres of land that made up the subdivision. It also records that a mortgage for the sum of 1200 pounds then existed to Charles Lingham Hardy, Albert Beazley and Edmund Spencer as Trustees of Charles Hardy's estate, being the means of financing the purchase. I also have a copy of the surveyors plan of the subdivision. This is dated September 1925.

In summary we have a proposition put together between Teddy and Charles back in June 1912 to develop and sell some 2 acres of land inclusive of Montana. However the idea did not come to fruition by the time Charles died in 1914. It was some 11 years later that Teddy and the trustees of Charles' estate actually had the land surveyed and offered the land for sale.

Teddy and Helena had a second son Harold Charles who was born in June of 1915. Two daughters followed being Dorothy born 4 December 1917 and Dulcie born 27 November 1918.

The tragic deaths of Helena and her son Harold

On 27 July 1924 a terrible tragedy occurred at the home on Mt Albert Rd. I will not go into the detail in this blog. However the deaths occurred that day of both Helena and Harold. This was related to severe depression suffered by Helena for a significant period of time. I hold copies of the formal records and will share this information with family members on a private basis if requested.

The auction of the sections and the house Montana conducted 27 November 1925 seems to have not been very not successful. The record of the sale dates of the various sections show one in December 1928, one in November 1935 which was when Charles Lingham Hardy bought Lot 13, another two sales in 1937 and 1938 and in August of 1939 solicitor Ellen Melville bought lots 11 and 12. Lot 11 was sold on to the State Housing department in 1939 and Albert Beazley (husband of Alice Hardy and a highly successful builder) purchased Lot 12 and the house Montana off Ellen Melville in September of 1942.

Ellen Melville was acting as the solicitor for Teddy and on Helena's death became the sole trustee of her estate. In addition she was appointed Guardian of Dorothy and Dulcie following Helena's death. I believe she was acting on behalf of Dorothy and Duclie in her capacity as their Guardian when she purchased and subsequently sold lots 11 and 12 and the house Montana.

Teddy moved out of the Mount Albert Rd property Montana with his daughters in 1926. He married Nellie Shaw on 25 October 1926 and they lived at 8 Pukehana Ave, Epsom.

Alice Hardy died at age 91 on 4th November 1934. She had been living at 34 Mt Albert Rd. On her death this property passed to her daughter Florence. Alice's final Will was dated 25 January 1926. Alice's signature was witnessed by Solicitor Ellen Melville. My assumption is that she prepared the Will.

Alice took great care to share her estate equitably amongst her children and grand children. Her daughter Alice was given her mother's table silver, Ada was given her dinner service and her grand daughters Dulcie and Dorothy were given her upright Piano by Simon of Stuttgert. Florence received all the rest of her mother's house-hold effects and furniture and linen.

In addition her daughters and sons were each gifted 50 pounds. Each grandchild was gifted 10 pounds with the exception of Dorothy and Dulcie who each received 50 pounds.

The Will also mentions a house at Paice Avenue off Dominion Rd owned by Alice which was left to daughter Alice Maud Beazley. In a variation dated 17 December 1928 instead of this house simply being gifted to Alice Maud it was given to the trustee of Alice Hardy's estate, namely Albert Beazley, husband of Alice Maud, to be held in trust for Alice Maud "to have and enjoy whilst alive" and on her death the trustee was required to sell the house and to equally divide the proceeds between the grandchildren Bertie, Fred and Roy Beazley and Dorothy and Dulcie D'Ath.

I have not seen any information about how Alice Hardy came to own this property. Perhaps it was an investment made using money inherited from her parents. I have not seen any indication that it was property owned by Charles.

Dulcie's Recollections

I recently received from Don McClure a copy of recollections that were written by Dulcie covering her life in New Zealand. I have copied some selected parts of this below. They provide some interesting insights into her early years.

.......My sister and I would spend a great deal of time playing with our cousins, who lived next door with grandmother; (grandfather having passed away before I was born). Our two cousins were Stanley (Stan)and Frances (Francie) Spencer, and their mother was Aunt Ada Spencer, who was the jolliest of all in her Hardy family. Francie was born about 6 months prior to me, and all through life we were always great friends. If she wasn't over at our home playing with my sister and I, we were over at grandma's place (34 Mt. Albert Rd) having great fun, climbing huge trees etc. and eating the coconut-ice candy grandma made especially for us children......

......A few years later I recall my sister and I being invited to Aunt Alice's for afternoon tea, she had a table set outside, with her maid Jess, standing at the back of the table. Aunt Alice having Dorrie and I stand closer to where she was sitting, but on opposite sides. According to the picture taken at that time, it appears Aunt Alice was giving orders to Jess.

Whenever we girls referred to Jess it was as 'old Jess', this expression came from Aunt Alice and Uncle Albert Beazley and their sons.

Aunt Alice Beazley had a Movie Theatre built in the Point Chevalier area, Auckland. Dorrie and I along with our father and stepmother attended the "Special Opening Night" of this Movie Theatre, it was so special to me, and for once made me feel important. We sat in the front row of the Dress Circle with Aunt Alice, Uncle Albert and their family members. Later, whenever Dorrie and I planned on being in the vicinity of Aunt Alice's Theatre, she would give us a free (written) pass to attend whatever was showing. It was at those times, when presenting the pass to the lady cashier, I felt very proud I had an aunt who owned a movie theatre.........

........It would be remiss of me, if I didn't mention what a 'Grand Old Lady', our maternal Grandmother was. We always called her, Grandma. She dearly loved children and always made a 'fuss' over Dorrie and I,whenever, we visited with her. On Grandma's 90th birthday, I asked her to play the piano for Dorrie and I. Grandma agreed, she walked over to the piano, took a key from out of the pocket to her full-type dress, then sat down at the piano and unlocked it, then played "Nearer My God To Thee", it was lovely. When she had finished playing, she closed and locked the piano, putting the key back into her pocket; we

had been told that no one else was allowed to play her piano. Our late mother was a classical pianist and probably, the piano was locked after her death.

......Dorrie & I inherited the piano but, not having any place to keep it after our home in Epsom was sold, we left the piano with our Aunt Minnie. Later the piano was sold, due to high cost of insurance, and as we were living in Canada, we never gave a thought to having the piano shipped to Canada. That would have been too costly.....

......Our Mother apparently, was a very talented person and whatever she undertook she did well. She was an accomplished pianist, of classical music, and it is thought that after Mother's death, that is when Grandma locked the piano. A very large painting of N.Z.'s Clematis, hung in the foyer of our Epsom home, this had been painted by our mother.....

......We left our Mt. Albert home in 1926 and moved to 8 Pukehana Ave., Epsom, a suburb of Auckland.

After living in our new home for a few months, our father hired a housekeeper the same Nellie Shaw who nursed our father whenever he was in a Mt Eden Private Hospital. Much later his 2nd marriage took place to this Nellie Shaw, who was approximately 28 years younger than our father. Both my sister and I were junior bridesmaids for the wedding.

......I next attended Pittman's Business College, taking the evening classes, to learn shorthand, but that did not suit me so chose to learn all about business machines and I became a Burroughs Statement machine operator. My sister Dorrie, was Secretary to the Manager of Bond & Bond Ltd., a large wholesale business. When I had finished the course, at Pittman's, the Firm Bond & Bond Ltd. employed me. The firm's main business was in wholesale groceries, and specialized in various different blends of teas, which the firm blended and packaged themselves. This firm employed a large staff, - office, warehouse workers, sales people, and management. In later years Bond & Bond dealt in electronics, TVs etc. and sold them retail.

Teddy Death died on 24 March 1939. It is apparent from various comments in Dulcie's recollections that she and Dulcie had a difficult relationship with their stepmother Nellie.

Dorrie met a Canadian Harold McClure in 1939 and married him in New Zealand. Harold had travelled to New Zealand in 1936. He visited Wellington and then returned to Auckland where he worked at the Parnell Rd Service Station.

The photos that follow were very kindly supplied to me by Don McClure. They come from his mothers family photo album.

After meeting and marrying Dorothy, Harold returned to Canada with her on the ship Monterey which left Auckland on 1 April 1940. Dulcie joined them on the journey which included stops at Suva, Western Samoa and Los Angeles before reaching its final destination of San Francisco. Then bus and rail took them to Harold's home town of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada on 24 April 1940.

Dulcie met Harold's brother Claude on their arrival in Kelowna. Their relationship blossomed and she married Claude on 28 April 1941. Both sisters settled into a new life in Canada with the McClure brothers.