George Gardner
(9 May 1856 - 24 December 1886)
Family Roots
George Gardner was the eldest child of William Merry Gardner (1820 - 3 Dec 1911) and his wife Mary Ann Beal (27 March 1825 - 27 April 1910). He was born in Milton, Oxfordshire, in 1856. When George was four years old, his sister Alice Ann Gardner (25 Dec 1859 - 1932) was born.
George was a descendant of a long line of Gardners who resided in Oxfordshire. While his father, William, was originally from Deddington, the 1861 UK Census showed that he lived in Milton and worked there as a baker. He may have taught George the trade because he too worked as a baker for a period of his life!
Early years
Milton was a small town of around 960 people in the 1870s. In the 1871 UK Census, George's father was working as a farm labourer. 14 year old George appears to have already finished his schooling and may have been doing odd jobs. It may have been around that time when George became acquainted with Jane Simmons (baptised 16 Nov 1851 - 9 Jan 1917) who would later become his wife. She had moved from the nearby village of Gagingwell to Milton as a teenager, and worked as a domestic servant to the well-to-do Steel family.
When George was about 20 years old, his parents and 15 year old sister went to New Zealand as assisted immigrants, taking Jane Simmons (25) with them. They sailed on the passenger ship, Lady Jocelyn, first departing London, and then Plymouth, England on 3 November 1874. The ship docked in Lyttleton, Christchurch on 21 January 1875. While it is unclear why George remained behind in England, we believe that he followed his family to New Zealand the following year.
Immigration to New Zealand
George's parents and sister eventually settled in Ashburton. On arrival in New Zealand it is believed that George worked as a labourer in nearby Longbeach for a period. Longbeach was a huge farm of 30 000 acres, developed from reclaimed land. At its hey-day, the owner employed around 200 men on his estate, and it is likely that George was one of them. He may have helped to dig the drains to drain the swamp land, or cut down the bushland to make it suitable to farm. Other labourers were employed to built houses and tend the farm animals and crops.
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| William and Mary Gardner with their daughter, Alice. Photo by Halma & Co, Saunders' Buildings, Ashburton,
c1900-1910.
(Photo courtesy of G J Bland)
|
Marriage & Family
Although they lived miles apart, George must have kept in close contact with Jane Simmons and developed a special bond with her. On 19 April 1877, George and Jane submitted their application to marry. The document stated that Jane had been living in Christchurch for two years while George had been in town for a mere three days.
George (21) married 25 year old Jane on 21 April 1877 in a double wedding ceremony. His sister Alice (17) married her beau, English-born Walter Timms (c1855 - 31 July 1933), on the same occasion. The wedding was held at the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch.
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| The Primitive Methodist Chapel, Christchurch. Date and photographer unknown. (Photo courtesy of G J Bland) |
After their wedding, George and Jane moved to Longbeach in South Canterbury where he worked on the rural estate owned by John Grigg.
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| Longbeach Photographer and date unknown |
Jane gave birth to two children in Longbeach:
- Mary Elizabeth Jane Gardner (1st qtr 1878 - 1961)
- Francis William (Frank) Gardner (4 Feb 1879 - 1943)
Four daughters were born to George and Jane in Waipawa:
- Clara Lorraine Gardner (1880 - 6 Aug 1920)
- Alice Maud Gardner (11 June 1883 - May 1950)
- Emily Annie Gardner (Jan 1884 - 19 Feb 1972)
- Mabel Gardner (1885 - 31 Aug 1968)
The work of the Salvation Army Church began in New Zealand in 1883 and quickly attracted the attention of those who believed in temperance and in giving support to the economically disadvantaged in society. In a relatively short time this message had spread around New Zealand and 21 churches were established in towns and cities all over the country. At the end of 1886, George had a spiritual revival and began attending Salvation Army Church in Waipawa with Jane and the children.
Tragedy in Waipawa
Tragically, when George was 30 years old he contracted encephalitus (inflamation of the brain) and was ill for a 68 hours before passing away on 24 December 1886. His funeral was the first one held in the Waipawa Salvation Army Church. George's death left Jane destitute. The Salvation Army Church, where the family worshiped, and the local community, took a special collection for them, but Jane ended up taking in washing to help make ends meet. At the time of George's death, their children's ages ranged from one and a half years to nine years of age.
The Daily Telegraph, Issue 4800, 28 December 1886 reported the story of George's death and the subsequent hardship that Jane faced:
George was buried in the Waipawa Cemetery, Plot 046. Jane was buried alongside him in January 1917.
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| The Gardner grave in Waipawa Cemetery. Photo by K Bland 2015 |
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| The gravestone of George and Jane Gardner at the Waipawa Cemetery. Photo by K Bland 2015 |
The Salvation Army publication, The War Cry, 15 January 1887, printed the following story of George's death:
Bibliography
Anonymous. (1886, December 28). Waipawa. Daily Telegraph. 2. Retrieved from http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DTN18861228.2.7
Anonymous. (1887, January 15). Gone to Glory from Waipawa. The War Cry. From Heritage Centre and Archives Te Rua Mahara o te Ope Whakaora, The Salvation Army New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. May 2018
Other Sources of Information
- Papers Past
- Ancestry.com
- Family records and photos courtesy of G J Bland
Last updated 27 December 2019
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