John Kennedy

INTRODUCTION

Captain John Kennedy was my great great great grandfather, and he was born on the 24th of November 1871 in Argyllshire, Scotland, he moved to the Isle of Mull where he grew up and became a farmer. He came to New Zealand at some point before 1896 and he settled in Queenstown. He was Master of the Queenstown steamship the T.S.S. Earnslaw for many years in the 1900s.

PARAGRAPH TWO

While I have very little information about John Kennedy, The Kennedy Clan (which may be his relatives but we are not sure) is believed to have originally come from Ireland. They gained very high honours and distinction, being granted the lands of Dunure in Carrick, as a reward for their support of King Alexander 3rd in his victory over the Danes at the Battle of Largs in 1263. The chief of the Kennedy clan owned Culzean Castle (which is said to have at least 7 ghosts including a piper and a servant girl.) In 1945 the Kennedy clan gave the castle and its grounds to the National Trust for Scotland and in April 2011 the castle reopened after being refurbished using funds that American millionaire Willam Lindsay gave to the National Trust of Scotland.

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In Scotland, John Kennedy was a farmer but at some point before 1896 was when he came to New Zealand and settled in Queenstown. He married Florence Augusta Matilda Nickless on the 23rd of June 1896 in Invercargill and had five children, Jessie, Eileen, Nellie, John who was also known as Jack, and harry. Queenstown is where he became the Master of many ships on Lake Wakatipu. He mastered boats like the steamship T.S.S. Earnslaw, “Ben Lomond” and “Mountaineer” all through the 1900s. The T.S.S. Earnslaw (also known as the “Lady Of The Lake”) is one of the world's largest and oldest coal-fired steamships. The T.S.S. Earnslaw has been on lake Wakatipu since 1912 and even featured as an Amazon riverboat in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

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A Newspaper, called The Lake Wakatipu Mail, wrote on Tuesday, April 14th, 1914 about a test the T.S.S. Earnslaws captain and passengers had to face. On a return journey from a Regatta with 1056 passengers, a group of intoxicated male passengers made the other passengers very uncomfortable, particularly women and children. The newspaper stated “The officer in charge of the Earnslaw, captain Kennedy, is to be congratulated on the way he handled the vessel during the biggest test to which she has been put through since she was bought to commission”

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During World War II, John Kennedy retired to Auckland and was master of Waiheke Ferry Company’s ship the “Baroona” running to Waiheke Island from Auckland.

In Auckland, he lived at 1 Turama Road, Royal Oak. He died on 8th December 1947. John Kennedy is very special to my family because he was the master of one of the greatest steamboats in New Zealand, the T.S.S. Earnslaw and my middle name are named after him… Kennedy!