Google alert: Cynthia Hundleby

Rather a coincidence that, on the day I was half way through transcribing Evelyn's sketch of Joseph Hundleby's journey to a new life in New Zealand, I received a copy of (John) Grant's book, Hundlebys in the Antipodes.

And also a google alert about Cynthia's (Grant's wife - am I right?) art exhibition:

http://www.artguide.com.au/exhibition/cynthia-hundelby-angela-van-wyk-and-genifer-williams-views-and-nudes-and-other-things/

Joseph Hundleby (1853-1923)

This article on the life of Joseph was written by Evelyn. I’ve added a few thoughts of my own in italics.

Joseph Hundleby was born on 26 June 1853 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, the son of John and Ann Hundleby (née Jarvis). His father died in August 1857 and his mother remarried, to a Henry Brough.

From Joseph’s short account of his life, written around the 1920’s, we know that his father was a farmer and this was the occupation that he followed ‘in my boyhood’. As time went on, farming became a less profitable business and there were too many men chasing too few jobs on the land. The 1870’s saw many people leave Lincolnshire for greener pastures, and Joseph was one of those people.

He sailed from London on 24 September 1874 aboard The Clarence, a barque of 1105 tons. Captain Emmett was in charge and the Surgeon Superintendent was W D Murphy. Joseph is shown on the passenger list with the occupation ‘shepherd’. He states that the voyage was ‘a very rough experience, the ship at times almost going under but always happened to come up again.’

How scary was that! Looking at the passenger list we see that there were 350 migrants on board and that there were 21 deaths during the voyage. Children were born on the ship and died before it reached port. One passenger, Hugh Spence of Armagh, labourer, was lost overboard, probably during a storm. The Clarence arrived in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, on 5 January 1875.

Scary indeed. A journey of about 100 days - a clipper could do it in less than 30 - with the ship going as far south towards Antarctica as it dared to make use of the shorter 'great circle' and the stronger winds.

The first job Joseph got was that of installing sheep-shearing machinery for John Ormond, possibly the first such machinery in New Zealand. He worked continuously for him for 20 years; then for a man named Henry White for 12 years; and finally six years for John Canning. In all of these jobs he did farm work.

At the age of 60, Joseph gave up farming and started up on his own as a contractor for the extermination of rabbits. Which sounds like a good steady job.

In 1888 he had married Mary McKinney, cook on the station of Henry White. They had two boys by the marriage: Edward Grant (Alexander Grant ‘Edward’, b. 2 Sept 1899) and Basil (b.17 July 1901). Today there are Hundlebys, Joseph’s descendants, in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Solomon Islands, home of Corinne Hundleby, who is the 7th cousin of my own children, one of whom by strange coincidence is also called Corinne.

The picture of Joseph was taken at Porangahau Post Office in about 1916. Porangahau is a small township close to the Pacific coast of the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand. It is in the southernmost part of Hawkes Bay, 45 km south of Waipukarau, and close to the mouth of the Porangahau River.

The township is close to a famed insubstantial hill with a substantial name:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwheuakitanatahu – did I transcribe that correctly? (19 Aug 2009 - this was described on Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz as the longest geographical name in the world, longer even than that Welsh railway station).

Joseph passed away on 9 April 1923 at Waipukarau.

More information on Josph's life, his antecedents and descendants, is available in Hundlebys in the Antipodes, published by his grandson Joseph Grant.

The Hundleby Brewery

I'm told that the brewery in Hundleby village was registered as a limited company in November 1900. The business was carried on by Frederick Thomas Maltby, with 30 licensed houses.

It went into voluntary liquidation on January 4th 1921. The brewery and the public houses were then sold as separate lots.

I believe that one of the pubs, located in Hundleby itself, was called 'The Maltsters'.

More information, such as where the pubs were located, would be appreciated.