Gwen Montgomery

Memories \ Gwen Montgomery

My Wife's Grandmother (Gwen Montgomery)

This page is still under construction.  We have a few varying accounts, so I have tried to cobble things together from multiple sources.  Some of the Information on this page comes from: The Davidsons of Te Kopuru by Mary and Jill Davidson, 2021 Jill Mutch Gumtree Gully but we already know that Gwen's story in that book is almost entirely incorrect.

A Little History

Gwendolyne Muriel (Gwen) Davidson was born on 25 Jul 1921 in Te Koparu, Auckland, New Zealand. 

Her parents were Christopher Davidson (1874 - 10 April 1930) and Mary Louisa (Warner) Davidson (12 March 1881- 1 September 1961).  Her father was of Scottish descent and her mother had Canadian roots. Both were born in New Zealand. They had married in Te Kopuru, Kaipara, Northland New Zealand on 9 May 1899. Gwen's grandparents on her mother's side,  

The Davidson Children

The Davidsons had eleven or twelve children. This includes twins who did not survive birth and were not registered. Their names may have been Barbara and Bertha.

The children were:

• Christopher John Warner (John) (1900-1962) M

• Eva Christina Davidson (1901-1962) F

• Charles Lester Davidson (1902-1949) M

• Alice Margaret Davidson (1905-1987) F

• George Seddon Davidson (1907-1907) M (Aged 10 months)

• Mary Ann Elvina Davidson (1909-1988) F

• William Howard Davidson (1910-1965) M 

• Alfred Norman Davidson (1916-1938) M 

• Raymond Leonard Davidson (1918-1991) M 

• Juanita Mae (Nita) Davidson (1919-1995) F

• Gwendolyne Muriel Davidson (1921-1978) F

Early Life

Gwen was born in Te Kopuru, 12 km south of Dargaville on the Wairoa river in 1921. It was a turbulent time for the area. World War 1 had ended but the Spanish flu epidemic had ravaged the country (Hobson County) for two months with 31 Eupopean and 52 Maori deaths. Her father was registered as a Millhand in the 1919 census but the Kauri mills closed in 1920 ending 45 years of the Davidsons in the milling industry.  It seems that Chris turned his hand to Kauri Gum after this but there were issues marketing the product. In 1926, Chris Davidson was elected to the Gum control board and the government took control of the gum trade. 

When Gwen was five, her brother William, then aged 16 was involved in a shooting accident when his friend, Dick Shepherd closed a gun he was cleaning and it went off and shot William in the kneecap. Bill lost his leg and was in and out of hospital for the next 12 years which placed a huge financial strain on the family. 

The Davidsons were very active on the social scene in Te Kopuru and are mentioned in the papers regarding fashion. They were involved in fundraising and participated in a project to get an X-Ray machine for the hospital. 

Gwen attended the Te Kopuru school and then Dargaville District High School.  She was described as a very happy child and there's letter where she writes about how much she loves her flower box full of dahlias and her dog Skye.

On April 10, 1930, when Gwen was almost nine, Gwen's father travelled to Westmere, Auckland to visit his son John (this is Christopher John Warner Davidson but he used to be called John). He died suddenly of myocarditis. Apparently John was out when it happened and Chris was with John's wife Nancy when it happened. (this will probably be the clue to who John is). 

The will was a simple one but it took a long time to process and Gwen's mother Mary Louisa was unable to access the money or sell the farm until the money came through, two and a half years later. Some of the elder children returned home (from Auckland) to help with the bills. Gwen's two young brothers, Alf and Ray, who were by then aged 15 and 14,  were pulled out of school to work, they worked on farms but were  working for a mean farmer and soon left the area. 

Gwen was described as shy and gentle in nature and was loved by everyone. Apparently she was quite good at tap dancing too. She was mentioned by name in a local newspaper dated 24 March 1934 as being part of a "delightful eurhythmic display". She would have been aged 13 then. 

Manning Street

We don't quite know when Mary Louisa Davidson moved from the farm but it appears to be around 1936-37.  In 1937, when Gwen was 16, her brother Alfred (aged 21) joined the army and gave his mother's address as 1 Exeter Street, Newton, Auckland. (Exeter street is opposite Manning street). His records from 1938 show that his mother had moved to a council house at 2 Manning Street, Newton.  Alfred died shortly later on November 20, 1938 in Wanganui when a lorry he was in skidded into a truss on a bridge over the Hautapu river. He and two other soldiers were crushed beneath the water by the lorry. 

Gwen worked in an office in Auckland for a fruit and vegetable company and then at the Farmers Trading Co. Hobson Street, where she moved into the accounts department. 

Gwen and Charles

Gwen married Charles Leo Brown (1920-1982), a US Marine on 15 June 1944 in All Saints Church, Ponsonby Auckland, New Zealand. At the time of the marriage, Gwen would have been 23 and Charles would have been 24. Charles was in New Zealand as part of the World War II conflict. 

Gwen and Charles had two sons with the eldest, Christopher born in Auckland, New Zealand on 16 Oct 1944. 

Charles continued fighting in WWII and was involved in the battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945), considered to be one of the fiercest battles of the war. The battle resulted in over than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead.

Paul Robert Brown was born in New Zealand on 15 February 1947.

Gwen kept in touch with Charles' family, via one of his sisters, for the rest of her life  but she used the address of her childhood friend (Esme McEwen from New Lynn) when writing to the US. This would probably have been so that she could pick letters up without family reading them. 

Charles eventually remarried (I don't have the details) and had a son who now lives in Canada (TBC). 

Return to New Zealand

When Gwen arrived back in New Zealand, she went to live with her mother, her brothers Charlie and Bill and her sister Alice at 2 Manning Street in Newtown. This was apparently state housing. (TBC) 

Gwen registered herself as a spinster (an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage). She also reverted her name from Brown to Davidson. This was shown in the electoral rolls for New Zealand November 1946 and 1949.

Family Life

Gwen was very active in the early sixties and got her driver's license and owned her own car. Apparently this was mainly to spend time with her friend Esme in New Lynn but she would also take Paul and Chris up to the family farm for holidays as her brother, Raymond's family still lived up there.

Owen was an engineer in the pacific. He later worked for Reid Rubber and became a waterside worker for the port of Auckland.  In the late 1960s, New Zealand entered a period of hardship. They were reliant on good prices for their wool, which made up a third of their total exports.  Changes in the market saw the export price for wool fall by 30% in 1967 which created a lot of unemployment and inflation.  Times were hard and Gwen needed to supplement the family income with work of her own. 

Gwen had an industrial sewing machine at home and took in a lot of sewing for the Auckland businesses. This included, Jeans for AMCO in Manukau and plastic pants that went over nappies for babies. 

Gwen lived for many years next door to German-speaking Dutch immigrants, Bep and Koos Fels. They both remembered Gwen as a kind soul who helped them settle into an area where they were struggling with the language. Gwen was such a talker that if she saw Bep, she would wave out the window and start talking (for hours). It would distract her from other duties, particularly cooking and Paul and Chris would frequently have their toast burnt. 

Gwen was always writing letters and even her comments on the back of photos are quite vivid. She referred to her son Paul's wife Agnes as "a big girl" but also said that she was lovely.  She got on very well with Agnes and taught her how to sew. She got to meet at least the first three of her eleven grandchildren, with Joanne the daughter of Paul and Agnes Montgomery getting to spend six years with her. She was devastated when Paul's family moved to live in Australia.