Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The pristine and the collapsed at Waikumete


Charles Oliver Bond Davis, Maori interpreter, writer and land purchase agent for the NZ Government, certainly left his mark on this country. An encycolpedia entry, reference in the Journal of the Polynesian Society (regarding the establishment of a printing press and stores for Thames and Poverty Bay Maori), deeds  and land sales records.

One one side of his memorial pillar is English text.


On another, Te Reo.  The other two sides are blank.



There's also this example of time's unkind collapses.


David D Roberts died in 1907. His widow must have loved him dearly, to place not only a pillar of brown marbleof his grave, but an inlaid portrait of her dearly departed.


Just sad, though, how things just fall away.

9 comments:

  1. Wow, that's so cool! My great, great ..... Great grandfather was Capt William Young who married Elizabeth Davis who was C.O.B Davis' sister! I didn't know his grave was still around! I think its interesting that the grave stone says he came to NZ in 1830, as everything else I've been able to find points to them coming over on the Tranmere in 1827... They lived up at Hokianga.
    Thanks for posting!

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    1. Wow you know more of our tupuna that I do. I am Donna Waipouri-Baxter, Maria Rudolph, Maraea Hunia, Walter Hunia,..........Cpt William Young

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  2. You're welcome! I'm surprised to have seen a reaction so quickly. If you'd like higher res photos of his gravestone (free!), just flick me an email. The address is in the profile.

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  3. Oh that is a great result Lisa! :-) so satisfying when someone comes back to you about a photos isn't it!

    I LOVEEEEE Waikumete :-)

    That is sooo tragic re David Roberts headstone :( I just love that grave ceramic..what a fabulous photo.


    S

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  4. Yes Sandy, I felt so sorry for Mr Roberts. At least we can see what he looked like in life, though, with that great ceramic.

    Waikumete is certainly addictive. Come the autumn, armed with water and sandwiches, hopefully I'll head out there again.

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  5. Fabulous photos, just sorry to see these wonderful creations to memories of a life fall into disrepair like this.

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  6. Have you checked the Waikumete Cemetery database for his name and location? If you track down his block/plot number, I could try sending you a map of where he his.

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  7. Waikumete Cemetery map. This shows the blocks. Next time I'm in the central library, I'll look up the records books there. They're based on burial records.

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  8. Surnames passing through Britain (and America) tend to undergo metamorphosis. Officially, one of my grandfathers was Jewish (unofficially, Mum's father was an Irish policeman). In terms of my Jewish grandfather, the surname I have to go on is Smith ...(sigh)

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