Centennial Gathering 1958

From the New Zealand Herald April 1958

Descendants see 25 Foot Family Tree

Meiklejohns from as far away as Fiji who gathered on Saturday to celebrate the centennial of the arrival at Big Omaha in 1858 of Captain J S Meiklejohn and his family, from Prince Edward Island, saw a 25 feet long family tree with the names of 362 descendants of Captain Meiklejohn.

Mr L D Meiklejohn, the oldest remaining male member of the family and grandson of Captain Meiklejohn, greeted his kinfolk on their arrival.

The gathering was held at the Big Omaha hall, the grounds of which were part of the 1,000 acre block of bush the Meiklejohns owned.

Swings and see saws were erected for the children, and inside the hall two large tables were covered with relics, many of which came with the family. Around the walls were numerous early pictures, all of great interest to the younger generation.

After the buffet luncheon, Mr L D Meiklejohn traced the voyage of the brigantine UNION, which the family built in Prince Edward Island when they decided to seek a warmer climate. He told of how they left in 1856 and traded in many parts of the world, arriving in Auckland in March 1858, after selling the craft in Sydney.

He later unveiled a stone plaque commemorating the arrival of the original group. This it is hoped may be housed in a permanent building with family records, relics and pictures.

 

 

Family Origins & 100th Gathering Speech

by LDM

 

Captain James Strange Mucklejohn and his wife Catherine (nee Mustard) arrived in New Zealand with six of their seven sons in March 1858. Sometime after their arrival in New Zealand the Mucklejohn name was changed to Meiklejohn.

James and Catherine were both born in Scotland, they met onboard the ship ‘Industry of Dundee’ on which James was second mate and carpenter. The ship had sailed from Inverness and arrived in Pictou Nova Scotia on 17 September 1831. They were to marry there on 28 September 1831 before settling on Prince Edward Island and producing their family – James, John, Alexander (Sandy), William, Robert, Lemuel and Septimus.

James was born on the 1st of January 1807 with his birth registered in the Parish of North Leith. He was the first son of the marriage of William Mucklejohn (Labourer of South Leith) and Isabella Smith who had been married at St Cuthberts Church, North Leith on 5 September 1805. James’ siblings were Robert (b. 18.9.1808), Isabella (b. 17.9.1810) and William (b. 21.11.1811).

James worked for Lemuel Cambridge (Shipbuilders) and for Lemuel Owen at Cardigan and after time as Foreman set up his own yard in 1848 at Three Rivers in eastern P E I. – building four ships the first being the’Success’ and finally the ‘Union’ in which he took his family to New Zealand.

This early New Zealand pioneer family were shipbuilders (they built the first scows which were to have a significant impact on the development of New Zealand), Master Mariners, farmers and builders.

Three of the brothers married and had families and now our family tree contains over 1700 names!

James married Anna Maria Goldsworthy, John married Charlotte Cordelia Alley of P.E.I (referred to as Cordelia) and Septimus married Jane McGechie.

The family settled at Big Omaha, near Warkworth, north of Auckland.

The gravesites where a number of the original family are buried are at Matakana and Whangateau cemeteries. J S Meiklejohn is buried at the Symonds Street cemetery in Auckland and the grave is located at the rear of the Upper Queen Street car park – first grave on the left through the back of the car park building.

The sons and their families –

James Garfield Meiklejohn b. 1832 in Prince Edward Island, occupation Ship builder. On 25 December 1862 Anna Maria Goldsworthy in Auckland. Anna Maria was born 11-Apr-1841 in a Raupo hut, Judges Bay, Auckland, d. 1929, buried in Matakana cemetery. James died 1898. James met Anna at a Presbyterian dance in Warkworth, set up a sawmill with John, sold out to John in return for some of John’s land, and concentrated on farming, although he and his wife spent some years in the goldfields at Thames. They had been married for 14 years without children when they both contracted measles and had to spend two weeks in bed. Children started arriving soon after…

Children and spouses-

Robert Strange Meiklejohn/Catherine Murray

Ernest Wilfred Meiklejohn/Eleanor May Meiklejohn

Bernice May Meiklejohn/William Joseph Buckley

Percy Vivian Garfield Meiklejohn/Clara Lawford (nee Campbell)

 

John Meiklejohn b. 1834 in Prince Edward Island. He married Charlotte Cordelia Alley on 30-Jul-1856 in Cardigan, Prince Edward Island.Cordelia was born 4-Dec-1836 in Prince Edward Island, (daughter of William Alley and Margaret Loudden Aitken) d. 28-Jan-1914 in Avondale, Auckland, buried 29-Jan-1914 in Whangateau. John died 5-Nov-1902 in Big Omaha, buried 6 Nov 1902 in Whangateau plot 1section 3. John and Cordelia, with Bertha and Vida, arrived in NZ on the SEVILLA on the 26th Feb, 1861. Heber was born on the 15th March that year. The voyage took 128 days from Queenstown in the Cove of Cork. The ship carried mainly a military cargo. Balance of the 14th Regiment plus stores & armaments. After the death of Sandy in 1868, the brother’s partnership in the shipyard was dissolved, and John took on building ships on his own account. (Another source has J & C leaving P.E.I. on 1st Sept 1860). Cordelia’s paternal grandmother was Catherine Ann Douglas from Douglas Castle in Scotland and Cordelia could remember huge tablecloths woven with the insignia of Douglas Hall folded four times to make them small enough to fit the table set for a family of 14!

 Children and spouses –

Bertha Margaret Meiklejohn/Charles Holder

Drucilla Frances Vida Meiklejohn/David MacKay Darroch

Augustus Heber Meiklejohn/Martha Dunning

Eva Cordelia Meiklejohn/Roderick Matheson

John Milton Meiklejohn/Amy Williams

Isabella Smith Meiklejohn/John Bowden Birdsall

Alexandrina Annie Meiklejohn/Charles Bond

Alexander Lemuel Meiklejohn/Catherine Douglas McDonald

William Douglass Meiklejohn/Clara Annie Goldsworthy

Edgar Jesson Fairchild Meiklejohn/Stella Josephine McLeod

Alexander (Captain) Meiklejohn also known as Sandy, b. 1835, d. 29-Jan-1868. As well as captaining many of the ships built at Omaha, Sandy trained and used teams of bullocks to break in new land.

William Meiklejohn b. 1837, d. 12-Aug-1898. William did not marry. His mother had arranged a bride for him prior to their leaving P.E.I. About 1864 he set out with 500 pounds and the intention of bringing back his bride and buying a new vessel. He considered his bride ugly, bought and twice wrecked a ship called the Lone Star, got stranded in Durban and Capetown for some time and arrived back without ship, bride or money. He worked mainly on the family ships, principally the Success, Twilight and Omaha. Spent his last years at ‘Unionville’, the original homestead.

Robert Meiklejohn b. 1838, d. 0-Jul-1861. Robert did not marry, so did not have issue. He was killed by a falling tree at age 23 while working on the Big Omaha property. His father fetched his two brothers to help cut the tree from him. He was buried on the farm, as there was no public cemetery then.

Lemuel Meiklejohn b. 1845, d. 20-Mar-1864. In 1864, Lemuel, taken to sea by his brother Alexander (Sandy) on the vessel ‘Rapid’, was drowned after a capsize in the Hauraki Gulf. They were returning from delivering a load of firewood to the troops attacking Gate Pa, and had loaded timber at Mercury Bay for the return trip. She foundered after rounding Cape Colville. His father had not wanted him to sail with her. Sandy felt badly and died a few years later after spending his last years farming.

Septimus Meiklejohn b. 1847. He married Jane McGechie married 10-Apr-1876, b. 21-Dec-1851, (daughter of John McGechie and Esther Arnott) d. 27-Feb-1921. Septimus died 16-Feb-1911. Septimus, only 10 when he arrived in NZ, was involved in all the family concerns. He helped to work the shipyard and farm and stayed on working for John when he took over the yard. He later captained several scows and met his wife in Thames on his first trading trip. She was the sister-in-law of James’ wife’s brother. Septimus’ daughter married James’ son, producing an arm of the family which traces back to JSM through two paths.

 Children and spouses –

Lemuel Sydney Arnott Meiklejohn/Elsie Tibbetts

Leslie Douglass Meiklejohn/Catherine Croker

Lewis William Meiklejohn/Ethel Brown

Eleanor May Livingstone Meiklejohn/Ernest Wilfred Meiklejohn

Constance Esther Meiklejohn/Donald Gillies

Verner Roy Meiklejohn

 

 

MEIKLEJOHN CENTENNIAL

 MR L.D. MEIKLEJOHN’S SPEECH AT PICNIC EASTER 1958

 As convenor of the meeting called for December 28 last, and as the oldest Meiklejohn present I would like to say a few words of welcome to you all. I am very pleased to see so many here and hope this will be the first of many such gatherings.

I hope there will be Meiklejohns in Big Omaha for at least another century and then some. It is a lovely little valley and I wish that some of the original family could only see it as it is today, with its good farms, good pasture, good stock and good roads.

When they arrived there were no houses, no grass and no roads. There was not enough grass to feed the cow they brought with them, and she had to be led on a rope from the landing place at Big Omaha Harbour, through the bush on old Maori tracks to the bush farm and tethered and hand fed for some time.

As there are many here today that were not here at the first meeting, held last December, I will briefly run over my speech on that occasion.

As convenor of this meeting I would like to state briefly my reasons for calling it. It is to consider the advisability of holding a Centennial Celebration of the arrival of the original family in 1858 and of erecting some suitable memorial to commemorate their arrival. I would like to relate the circumstances that led up to the emigration of the family.

As most of you are aware, the founder of our small clan, the late Captain James Strange Meiklejohn followed the sea and shipbuilding all his life. He served his time in Leith, Scotland, and then went to sea for a number of years. On one of his voyages to Canada, with Scottish emigrants (he was the First Mate at the time) he and a Scottish lassie decided to emigrate properly. They hopped from the ship and got married.

By doing this he forfeited his pay and only had a few shillings left to start married life on: but a Scotsman is never downhearted, especially if he has a lassie by his side. He took a job in a store, for a start but soon got tired of that and got work in a shipyard in Pictou. Later on he went to Prince Edward Island and got a job there and was soon foreman of the shipyard.

He and his lassie raised a family of seven sons and naturally the sons followed their father to the yard. One son, William, went to sea as soon as he was old enough and followed the sea nearly all his life. As his sons grew to manhood he decided to start building on his own account and built various vessels to order and for sale. I have a letter over one hundred years old relating to the sale of one vessel which he built and sailed over to Great Britain for sale there.

About this time the family must have got the sailors roving spirit and they decided to build a vessel of their own and tramp the seas and look for greener pastures, instead of the snow and ice of their island home which was and, I suppose, still is, ice bound all the winter.

The vessel was finished in May 1856, and called the ‘Union’. She was manned almost entirely by the family; even Grannie was signed on as cook and took her trick at the wheel; and sailed for Belfast in June 1856 with a cargo of timber. After coppering their vessel, which could not be done on the island, they accepted a charter to run a load of coals from Cardiff in Wales, to Alicante in Spain, so it was down the Irish Sea in ballast to Cardiff. They loaded the coals and left Cardiff on September 4th and took 20 days to reach Alicante.

As they approached the Straits of Gibraltar, they caught up with 22 other vessels trying to make their way through to the Mediterranean Sea. There is always a strong current running out through the Straits and often wind also so the old fashioned sailing vessels had top be well sailed to get through. The little UNION, well sailed, beat all other vessels through the Strait, much to the crews delight.

At Alicante they loaded wine for Rio de Janeiro and left Alicante on October 19 arriving at Rio, South America on December 8th. While at Alicante, the Captain hit the shippers of the wine up for a case of wine for the cabin and also some for the crew. The owners readily gave some for the cabin but demurred about any for the crew as they said the cargo is always broached by the crew. The captain assured the merchants that the cargo would not be broached as they were mostly his own family so a large barrel of wine was put on board for them. When discharging at Rio the ends of the barrels seemed to be swelling so much that James and Sandy bored a little hole in the end and took about a bucket full out of each container, thus easing the pressure. By doing this they nearly filled up the cask again for their home trip. Because they used the coopers trick of putting a square peg into a round hole, nobody except themselves knew this and the merchants gave them a certificate to the effect that it was the best cargo that they had ever received and had not been broached.

James always maintained that if they had not done this quite a number of the barrels would have burst open.

After discharging the wine they took a cargo of salt down to Montevideo and then up the Uruguay River for a load of bones and bone ash for Liverpool. In the Atlantic Ocean on the voyage to Liverpool, they struck a very sever storm and most of the crew were battened down in the cabins. Grannie did not want to stay down below and said if Grandad had to stay on deck, she would stay also. “Well”, said Grandpa, “if you will stay on deck, you will have to be tied.” So he tied her to the mast and lashed himself to some stanchions by the wheel and they saw the night through like this. A lot of the bulwarks and top gear was stove in and some of the provisions spoiled, but it wasn’t long before everything was shipshape again and they bowling along again towards Liverpool.

In their two years of wandering, mostly in the Atlantic Ocean; which they had crossed three times, they had got to Cape Town, where they met Sir Georg Grey, who was then Governor of South Africa.

Sir George had just finished his first term as Governor of New Zealand and strongly advised them to make for there as he considered it was the best country in the world, plenty of good land, good climate and plenty of good timber to build with.

They tried to get a cargo to New Zealand but did not succeed and accepted a cargo of sugar, from St Louis in the Mauritius, to Brisbane Australia. They had to go in ballast from Cape Town to St Louis load the sugar and then away to the East across the Indian Ocean, down south of Australia, through the Bass Strait and up to Brisbane. No cargo from here so down to Sydney; still looking for a cargo to New Zealand. Not being able to get a cargo and receiving a good offer for the vessel they sold her and took passage in the schooner SYBIL, for Auckland and arrived in New Zealand on March 16 1858.

On enquiring for land in Auckland they were offered 1,000 acres in what is now known as Big Omaha. The father and some of the older sons came up and had a look at it. There was only a small clearing of a few acres and a whare on the corner of it, just opposite where Alan Whitaker now lives. The fact that there was a small tidal river almost touching the property and plenty of timber on it made them decide to take it and they arrived with all their belongings on May18, 1858. The whare had been enlarged and this did for a home until a better house could be built.

Most of the Big Omaha Valley was in heavy bush at this time and remained so for many years but the main flat from Alan Whitaker’s up to Doug Meiklejohn’s had been burned and cropped by the Maoris or the Maoris before them and was in high fern but with very few stumps. They cleared and burned of a few acres and started building a house; and a vessel, as soon as they could get some timber pit sawn and they must have been good men as the vessel was launched just over a year and the house nearly ready also. There couldn’t have been a 40 hour week then.

In the next few years, they turned out an average of one vessel a year and did some farming as well. A team of bullocks was bought and a plow and every spare minute Sandy had would be spent plowing. The work was lined out in 5 and a half yard ridges or lands and finished with an open furrow in the centre. This helped to dry the land, which was worked down (still with the bullocks) with tine and brush harrows made out if teatree. I wonder what Sandy would think of the tractors, wheeled plows and machinery used today by his nephew and grand nephews. Sandy only lived here for 10 years but he plowed all of this flat. They ploughed in a lot of this tall fern and fifty years afterwards I plowed this ground again and turned up this fern just as it went under, but it fell to pieces as soon as it was exposed to the air.

In 1861 John and his wife, Cordelia Alley, for whom he had jumped overboard from the Union when it sailed and swam to shore to go back to marry, and his two daughters Bertha and Vida arrived to join the others. John had stayed back in P.E.I. to marry his girlfriend and he practically took over the management of the shipyard, which left Sandy more time for farming although Sandy came back into the yard to build the little schooner “DAYDAWN” a model of which is in the old colonists museum, Auckland.

In twenty years since vessels were launched, practically all the timber was pit sawn by hand. Included in these vessels were the first scows ever built in New Zealand. These were a very useful vessel for the shallow rivers and harbours of the Auckland Peninsular. They were practically flat on the bottom with centre boards to act as keels. These could be raised or lowered as required.

All the sons worked in the shipyards and on the farm as occasion warranted and sailed the vessels when needed. As I said before, William followed the sea all his life and was Captain in the Foreign Trade. Sandy had his Coastal Certificate too and Septimus often sailed with William in the TWILIGHT and the SUCCESS, and for a time partly owned and sailed some of the early scows.

Two grandsons, Alex and Bill, sons of John, worked in the yard and owned and sailed their own vessels, the BEE and the NOR WEST. The sea is calling and the two great grandsons, with mixed Meiklejohn and Matheson blood are at present sailing the ocean blue. These are Captain Keith Matheson and his brother Ronald. They could hardly do otherwise as the Mathesons were all sailors and ship builders the same as the early Meiklejohns.

Just about the time the Meiklejohns arrived, a law had been passed enabling any one that came and settled in the country at their own expense, to claim 40 acres of land free. They promptly claimed this privilege and that is how they got the land on which Viv Meiklejohn now lives. They also got hold of the section by the top wharf, Big Omaha, and used it for a shipyard. John Meiklejohn and his family also claimed their share and were granted some sections alongside the original family and called it Hillside. This land is now owned by Mr Schollum.

In the early 1860’s the Williams family arrived and were granted all the land alongside the Meiklejohns (now occupied by Mr Jenkins and Mr Auld). In the middle sixties some Maori prisoners, taken in the Maori Wars in the Waikato District, escaped from Kawau island where they had been imprisoned and came over and camped themselves on Mt Tamhy and alongside the Meiklejohn’s property. These were strong men, much tattooed about the face and spread fear into the hearts of the Meiklejohn women and children but they were a fairly decent lot and did not cause much trouble. They were starving and the settlers helped them with food etc. Even in my young days (1885-1890) there was a tough Maori, old Turi, who used to travel around cadging tobacco etc. He was well tattooed and only wore an old blanket over his shoulders. He used to get the houhou grubs out of the rotten logs and roast them on top of the ovens. They were a great delicacy. One day he came to our house looking for my uncle. My elder brother and I were playing in the open shed. I was about 4 and Lem 2 years older. My brother had a tomahawk in his hand. He had been using it in our play and he stood in front of me with upraised weapon as if he would strike the old Maori. I can remember it as if it was yesterday and I have often wondered what the old fellow thought of us. He only gave a grunt and walked away and left us to it. I can tell you we ran off home pretty smartly.

In the 1860’s disaster struck three times at the Meiklejohns. In 1861 Robert was struck by a falling tree and killed instantly. Lemuel and Septimus (only lads of 13 and 15) had to help their father to cut the tree off him and carry the body home. Three years afterwards

Lemuel was lost at sea, when the RAPID, one of their vessels, was capsized in the Hauraki Gulf, during a heavy storm. Only three out of nine people on board were saved.

Four years later Sandy died suddenly after a short illness. His illness would probably be diagnosed as appendicitis today. After this the father felt the loss of his three sons so much so that he went to Auckland to live and is buried in Symonds street cemetery.

Very few people who travel the road from Matakana to Leigh nowadays have any idea of what a busy part of the coast this was in the later 1850’s, 60’s and 70’s, right up, in fact to 1929.

The Meiklejohns had two shipyards and sometimes two vessels building at the same time. These were mostly schooners but one, the OMAHA, was a fine brigantine. She was built on the same lines as the UNION. They built 21 vessels in about 20 years and sailed most of them.

I used to enjoy nothing better than to get under a vessel at launching days with a pot of copper paint and a gang of others with a pot of copper paint and 5lb hammers and wedges and lift her off the blocks to get ready for launching. If at all possible, I made one of the crew that sailed her to Auckland to hand her over to the new owner.

One who has never worked in a shipyard can have no idea of the sound of the work. After the vessel has been decked, one would think she was a living thing. There was an echo from each blow struck with the hammer, axe, saw or mallet or maul that seems to travel right through the vessel and all the sound make music to shipwrights ears. I would like to have it recorded for you instead of this speech.

D M Darroch followed the Meiklejohns and built 36 vessels, mostly scows but some fine schooners up to 250 tons. At Matheson Brothers, in the next bay, they built fine vessels also. One of these was the THREE CHEERS, a very fast sailer who could show a clean pair of heels to most of the inter-colonial steamers.

 

From Notice of Meeting prior to the 1958 reunion.

 

A meeting of the Meiklejohn descendants was held on December 28th. At this meeting sufficient money was promised to pay for a memorial plaque in permanent materials, which we hope will be on view for the picnic on April 5th, 1958.

One suggestion was made that a suitable memorial would be to build a small porch in permanent materials at the Big Omaha Hall, in which the plaque, souvenirs and photos of the family could be displayed. This matter will be discussed at the picnic and a decision arrived at in accordance with contributions made before or on that date.

If you have any old photos or souvenirs of the family, would you please bring them along to show other members of the family.

There must be a number of family treasures the rest of the clan would like to see. Please wear a ticket with your own and your parents’ on.

L D Meiklejohn,

Chairman, Warkworth