7. Family

Mother's Poultry Enterprise

Our mother decided to keep poultry, so Dad bought an incubator that held sixty eggs and three or four clucking hens. They reared thirty or forty pullets. This became quite a large poultry farm during the next few years.

New and larger incubators were bought; two 120 egg models and the smaller ones were used as well. Eventually, Mum was selling six-week-old pullets and dressed hens to some of the hotels in Timaru.

We had a Japanese man (trained in sexing chickens) who, when the chicks were one day old, would sex the chicks, male into one box and female into the other. He traveled around the country for about six weeks sexing chickens. This saved feed as most of the roosters were killed off at one day old.

Relatives and Friends from Cornwall

• Uncle Arthur, Dad's brother, and later Auntie Alma who came out in 1922 to marry Uncle Arthur.
• On 16th March 1922: Auntie Em and Uncle Bill Harper with their son, William (Bill) 11, and daughter Emma 12. This family stayed in New Zealand. Uncle Bill became a policeman and son Bill also joined the police force and eventually became a racecourse detective. Both Emma and Bill
  married, Bill had a family, Emma had one step-daughter, Carol De Dulin.

When the Harper family arrived, they had to sleep in a tent, as we had only two bedrooms. Bill and Emma slept in the house but caused trouble as to where they should sleep so Dad provided them with two small tents and the Harper children slept in these. They loved the tents. After six months, they managed to rent a house. Uncle Bill worked at the freezing works which was very busy. He worked from 7am to Midnight and was amazed when he received ₤13 in his pay envelope the first week. He did not expect so much in 1923.

 Next to arrive were the Steer boys and cousin Amy:

• In 1925: Em and Bill Steer arrived from England and settled here, married and remained here.
• In 1928: Len Allen came from England and in 1929 our cousin Amy came out from England and married Len. They stayed for about 10 years then returned to England to live out their life on a farm in Launceston, Devon.

Mary's Later Life

Myra and Mary

By 1935, I felt there was more to life than slogging on the farm and the bees. I left home in July 1935 to train at Christchurch Lady King Karitane Hospital. I loved the work and became a Karitane nurse.

I worked all around the South Island and Wellington for 9 years then, met and married Charles Wilson in 1943. I worked by the day until the end of the war and then we returned to Christchurch.

Harry and Myra

The End of an Era

Mum passed away on 26th January 1948. Harry took over most of the bees and all the equipment, truck and machinery, and Dawn, Harry's wife, took over the poultry.

Dad died on 6th September 1960 aged 77. The farm was sold for £2200.

Harry passed away a few years ago and Myra and I are still going strong – 2001.