On the 15th July 1915, the first wounded New Zealand World War I soldiers returned from Gallopoli and were greeted in a heroes welcome in Wellington, as their ship ‘Willochra’ came into harbour. Donald Simson looked over his fellow wounded soldiers thoughtfully and saw a great need. These boys were facing a different world now. …
The news of finding coal at Homebush had been pretty exciting for the Deans and all concerned. James McIlraith – Jane Deans’ half brother and manager of Homebush – and Julius van Haast – the founder of the Canterbury Museum – had made the discovery in the late 1870’s. Just two years later, a coal …
William Boag 1828 – 1904 Died of old age The settler behind the naming of the suburb of Burnside. Buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch To read the story of William Boag: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/burnside-william-boag-1828-1904/ *Photo taken by Annette Bulovic*
What made William Boag walk from Lyttelton to Pigeon Bay to seek work straight off his ship in 1851, we may never know. Was it watching the hundreds of pilgrims pile over the Bridle Path, that made him take off in the opposite direction with no money, nothing going for him except the determination that …
