Celebrating the Collections & Archives of Otautau Museum

Commemorating 100 Years of WW1: Today’s  100 Years of WW1 Commemoration Blog Post is a little different - it combines the Centenary of 125 years of Women's Suffrage with WW1 History! “Farewell To New Zealand’s Sons” – the story behind the WW1 poem by the controversial Mrs (Bessie) Harrison Lee Cowie, of Australia, NZ and the USA: FAREWELL TO NEW ZEALAND’S SONS. (By Mrs Harrison Lee Cowie, Invercargill.) There’s a rushing of feet, a springing to arms, A wondrous response since the war’s wild alarms. Our brave boys are leaving, they’ve heard the loud call, “Lads, come back with honour, or come not at all.” Be noble and fearless, be gallant and true; The women will watch for tidings of you; Protect your own manhood, brave sons of the brave, There are worse things to shun than a patriot’s grave. Be dauntless in fighting the fierce foes within, Tread down, without mercy, temptations to sin, Protect every girl, ne’er cause one to fall, Oh, come back...

The Land, Buildings, Surveys & Township - There have been claims made in some publications, that Otautau was founded and grew during the 1860's, in response to the Central Otago Gold Rush. During the last four years of in-depth research, I have found nothing at all to substantiate these claims, which appear to have originated in a book on the Western Southland area, been repeated in a book which touches on early Otautau history, then copied again and cited in a paper on Otautau in more modern times. However, there are no original citations or sources for this information, and no early sources were found anywhere, that verified it. While ‘The Otautau’ as it was known, definitely had its first building by 1862 – namely the Otautau Accommodation House (built on the 10acre block where the Flour Mill and later Crown Hotel were situated), it was not until 1872 that the township was surveyed. Interestingly, the original survey map shows only the Otautau Accommodation House, it...

Land & Family history information from Otautau District: EARLY LANDOWNERS 1. William and Agnes Johnston farmed one of the largest sheep runs in the Otautau District - Wrey's Bush run 153 (approx. 30,000 acres), around 1869. They purchased the freehold land (around 10,000 acres) and signed up for the rest of the leasehold land (another 20,000 acres) and then named this run "Annandale", after the valley of the Annan, south of Moffat, where William and Agnes had lived in their early days in Scotland. In 1871, the records show that Annandale ran 10,500 sheep and that in 1875 this had increased to 15,000 sheep. The boundaries of this huge Annandale block were: on the north - the boundary between Wairio and Wairaki (an extension of Crampton Rd); on the west, run 143 (Birchwood Estate) and run 133 (Waicola Estate), including the Wairio stream in the north as part of that boundary; to the south - more or less a straight line from Wairio Hill to the Allenby ...

Rifleman Tui George Groves E Horner #42667 – NZRB: and Clifford Charles Horner #74579 – Mounted Rifles: These two first cousins were both in WW1. Their family was originally from Papanui, Christchurch, but they moved here to take up land in Heddon Bush before the onset of the war, which was on the Oreti Plains. Both the boys had this as their address on enlisting, and both were farming at the time. Tui who was called ‘Tim’, was born in 1894 in Christchurch. His parents were George Groves and Eliza (nee Bishop) Horner of Heddon Bush. On enlisting, Tim left NZ on 26/4/1917 bound for Plymouth, Devon, England, on board the ‘Pakeha’. He signed up as a Rifleman with NZRB, J Company Reinforcements. He looks rather dashing in his uniform, below!                                        ...