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- 1 - He sold Achray property in Amuri County which he purchased from his father to his brother Alexander in 1892.
2 - Councillor James Macfarlane , J.P., who has been Chairman of Cook County since 1895, and has represented Tolago riding since 1892, is also a member of the Hospital and Charitable Aid and Harbour Boards. He was born in North Canterbury in 1853, educated at the Old High School, Christchurch, was brought up to station life, and became a runholder at Amuri. Mr. Macfarlane removed to Gisborne in 1892, and has acquired 10,500 acres of freehold land, 4,500 acres of leasehold land, on which he runs 22,000 sheep and about 1300 head of Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Macfarlane is president of the Agricultural and Pastoral Society. Before leaving Canterbury he served for a good many years on the Amuri County Council, and was for nine years its chairman.
[ The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]-Gisborne pub. 1902 ]
3 - James Macfarlane (born in North Canterbury in 1853) took up a run in the Amuri district. For nine years he was chairman of Amuri County Council. In 1892 he bought Takapau (10,470 acres). He served on Cook County Council, the Hospital Board, the Farmers' Union and the Poverty Bay A. and P. Association. The Government acquired Takapau in 1903.
[ Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z. by Joseph Angus Mackay published 1949, Gisborne ]
4 - I am trying to trace connections, descendants and / or background of the
following settlers in the Takapau / Arataha area inland from Tolaga Bay who
took up or later took over leases in the Wigan Settlement. This 10,400 acre
subdivision into 17 farms was the result of the Liberal government's policy
of breaking up the big estates and was purchased in early 1903 from James
MACFARLANE, a son of John MACFARLANE, Canterbury runholder. I am writing a
history of the Wigan Settlement for the centennial later this year.
1. Robert Clark CRAIG 1903-1919, address given as Waerenga-a-kuri on 1903
lease document. No other details known
2. Alexander AITKENHEAD 1903 - ? shown in item on original selectors as from
Wellington. I have yet to track down the lease of this farm as it has been
subdivided and resurveyed as forestry land, so have no further details.
3. Alexander Fletcher TAYLOR 1924-1954 - married man with probably no
children?
4. Alfred MOORE 1903-1914 - address given as Rotherham on 1903 lease - no
other details known
5. Hugh MACKAY 1903-1915 also from Rotherham, and could be the same Hugh
MACKAY who was a storekeeper in that settlement and originally worked on
Achray Run for the MacFarlanes (Cyclopedia of NZ)
6. Wilfred PERRY who farmed the adjacent 'West Ho' Station and effectively
held two sections in the Wigan Settlement through his wife Mabel PERRY and
daughter Mary Maud PERRY - there are other PERRY families in the Gisborne
area but I cannot find any trace of this family.
7. William J. McDOUGALL 1903 - ? - yet to track down the lease as block has
been resurveyed. My father thinks that there is a connection between this
McDOUGALL and a later MACKAY and MCNABB families in the area?
[Rootsweb post by Stephen Donald Gisborne NZ 21 June 2003]
5 - The following notice appeared in the "Auckland Herald" after the death of James MacFarlane :-
The death occurred at his residence at Waipukurau on Good Friday, April 3rd, 19311 of Mr. James MacFariane, third son of Mr. John MacFarlane, late of Coldstream, Rangiora, Canterbury, who was among the first pioneers of New Zealand settling in Canterbury. Mr. James MacFarlane was born at Lobum, Canterbury, in 1853, and was educated at Christchurch. Soon after the completion of his school days he took over Achray Station in North Canterbury. Coming to the North Island later he took over the Takapau Station in Poverty Bay.
In the course of a very active life he held many public offices, including for many years the chairmanship of the Poverty Bay Council. After disposing of his northern station in 1904 he purchased the well-known Clive Grange property, which he held until recent years, finally cutting it up for closer settlement. He then retired to
Napier in 1914, residing there until February last, when the earthquake shattered his home on the Bluff Hill and compelled him to leave the town.
With his daughter. Miss Lillie MacFarlane, he took up residence at Waipukurau. There he developed bronchial pneumonia.
Before his retirement Mr. MacFarlane was always an enthusiastic breeder of stock, chiefly concentrating on Leicester sheep. Polled Angus cattle and utility horses, and many of his exhibits will be remembered in the show ring.
Quiet and reserved, and of cultured literary taste, he possessed a generous heart, and his genial and kindly disposition won him many friends, to whom the news of his death will come as a shock.
His wife (nie Stephana Tyiee) pre-deceased him in 1914, - his second wife (nie Louise Scully) also pre-deceased him. He leaves five daughters, Mrs. Walter Raymond (Hastings) and Mrs. H. V. Hoadley and Mrs. Cuthbert Raymond (Waipukurau), and the Misses Jessie and Lillie MacFarlane (the former being a resident in New South Wales), and two sons, Mr. Donald MacFarlane (Rotorua) and Mr. Jack MacFarlane (of Wanganui). The interment will be private at the Havelock North Cemetery.
3 - I am a local history researcher with no MacFarlane family connections and so what I have collected and collated mostly relates to the farming activities of James and D.D. MacFarlane in the Tolaga Bay area - that is my interest in the MacFarane family. Both brothers owned Takapau Station at different times and James sold to the Crown in 1903 for land for subdivision for individual farmers - this became the Wigan Settlement, 8 mile inland from Tolaga Bay (my gt grandfather and two of his sons were amongst the original 17 selectors - along with at least two former staff members from MacFarlane south island properties)
I have a lot of information from various family members (mostly in the south island and few of the direct descendants of James MacFarlane and his son James Donald) - some of this comes from the books you are referring to from what I can see. Have you checked the Canterbury public library and Canterbury museum? They hold lots of material on this significant pre-Adamite (i.e. before the first four ships) Canterbury family.
Stephen Donald in sunny Tolaga Bay (actually freezing this a.m.!)
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