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NAME:
William Augustine Priestley
BORN:
19th April 1913
MARRIED:
Margaret Mary Maynard
19 Apr 1947
DIED:
18th Aug 1977
(64 years)
Described as a strong man, who naturally commanded a quiet yet powerful presence. Loved by many, especially his devoting wife Margaret Priestley, his five surviving children: Peter, Stephen, Paul, Anthea and Michael, and his many mokopuna.
This then is a tribute to the husband, father and grandfather, whanaunga and friend that we love so dearly. It includes some of the families cherished memories of him which gives a unique insight into his life and why he was such a special person to us all.
Any corrections, additional information, pictures or stories relevant to this chapter can be submitted via the contacts in the footer section of this page. Accreditation is given, where applicable. Many thanks to all those who have contributed.
William Augustine (Bill) Priestley
William Augustine (Bill) Priestley
Collated research by granddaughter Ant Knowles
Collated research by granddaughter Ant Knowles
The Early Years
The Early Years
The day was April 12, 1913, Kate Campbell (the daughter of Sarah (Hera) Campbell and Duncan Campbell), and William Priestley welcomed another bonny baby boy into their life. Even though this baby was number 10 in line to the Priestley throne, he was the first son to bear their dad’s full name; William Augustine Priestley. Born in Gisborne, in his family home on Cochrane Street, he was a beautiful baby and with two more siblings to come after him in the following five years, life was always going to be full - filled with smiles, hardship, laughter, frivolity, challenges and of course love. 1913 was to be a significant year for Gisborne, not only was William (Jr) born, but only one day after his birth, a brand new battery electric tram transportation system was formally introduced into the sunny city; arguably a concept well ahead of its time. Living with a growing whanau of 12 children and 2 adults, life was all about pitching in and helping out where help was needed. Big sister Aunty Sally was incredible and was an excellent cook, although all the Priestley children were capable cooks, it was Aunty Sally who took the reins of cooking for the whanau. Life was busy, where all the Priestley children had chores, did as they were asked and respectfully adopted the concept of whanaungatanga; one for all and all for one. Growing up in this household where respect thrived, William and his siblings were always going to come out the other end strong and capable members of society. These valuable lessons that William learned as a child, were passed on to his own five children.
Siblings Sally, Dine and Harry at rear
Kitty, Billy and Marie with baby Charlie
During the Great Depression, Kate, William and their 12 children learned to live below their means; if you couldn’t afford anything, you grew it, made it or worked hard for it. This concept was ingrained into William (Jr) and this value was taught to his children, that is the values of respect, saving and working hard for your money. All of William’s (Jr) tamariki had their own bank books, which was encouraged through the local schools. Stephen Priestley, a son of William (Jr) remembers his dad’s work ethic, “Dad was out before sunrise and back home after the sun had set”, a testament to his dad’s hard working ethic. Stephen also reaffirms this by saying “Dad was a strong man, he was a truck driver and would shovel his truck load by hand as there were no front loaders to help in those days”. Stephen continues, by expressing that this was literally “back breaking work, but my dad was strong”. William was not only a great at his job, he was a keen sports person in his youth. He had an inner strength that permeated into other facets of his life, such as work, sport, family and life in general.
Wife and Family
Toddler William
Of course we all know that behind every great man, is an even greater woman, and her name was Margaret Mary Maynard. She was a devoted mother to her five children and an adoring wife to her one true love. She actually met her beau, William, after his return from world war two, having fought in company 28th Maori Battalion. She was working at Mackenzies in the Haberdashery Depot. Margaret saw this dark handsome man enter the room, and she did not hesitate to ask this man over for dinner. Soon after this, the two were married in April, 1947. William even converting from Anglican to Roman Catholic, as a symbol of his commitment to Margaret. Considering his family’s original falling away from the Catholic faith, due to his Aunt’s death, this was a solemn and potent measure of their relationship. This conversion allowed the two lovebirds to marry in the St Mary’s Star of the Sea Church, situated on the corner of Lowe Street and Childers Road. In cementing the bringing together of two cultures, the wedding reception took place in the Wharenui of Te Poho Rawiri Marae, the reception dance and breakfast were noted as being gorgeous and very memorable. William and Margaret were to face some heartbreaking challenges in their journey together, arguably one of the most harrowing being the loss of their first born child, Margaret Mary Priestley, dying at the mere age of only two hours. This time was to be enduring for both parents, but they held their mana and decided to adopt.
Children Stephen, Paul, Anthea, Michael
Wife Margaret
They adopted Peter, and soon after this, William and Margaret would give birth to four children, Stephen, Paul, Anthea and finally Michael. Michael being the Priestley baby, was infamous in Gisborne for his blonde locks, or what many referred to as the Priestley kid with the blonde afro. Anthea being the only girl growing up among four boys, meant she too was strong and fervent, much like her dad. Anthea stated “My dad was a fair man and I would describe him as fun loving”. Anthea remembers when her dad was sick in hospital, she had the most amazing time with her dad, “Just me and Dad, we had a heart to heart, I treasure that moment and I’ll always remember it, it was quite precious to me”. Anthea had been at the Burnham Military Camp and travelled specifically to spend time with her dad, who was ill in hospital. She remembered when her Dad would visit her when she was a toddler in hospital, he was a taxi driver and “Every single day Dad would visit me in hospital”. This memory shared by Anthea, was yet another challenging period for the both Margaret and William. Anthea their only daughter, had contracted Osteomyelitis, a very rare, yet extremely serious bone infection, that has the potential to spread into the bloodstream, which can cause death. Luckily for the Priestley whanau Anthea was to survive this, and William and Margaret were able to breathe a sigh of relief, and watch their beautiful daughter grow into a strong and independent woman.
Work, Community and Country
Later in William’s job with the corn picking, he would take on the rather complex challenge of clearing corn from when it was playing up, often using his foot to kick the side of it. On one occasion the corn picker decided to fight back...the corn picker fought a smashing battle, literally. Needless to say, on this eventful day using his foot once again to clear the corn, the corn picker decided to wrangle William’s foot.
After the war,, William bought a 2nd hand war surplus Chevy truck and started his own driving business. This involved delivering a variety of goods but he still made time to pick up his nieces and nephews to keep him company.
1939 announced the start of World War II and an interruption to normal civilian life. William enlisted to join the army and served in the 28th Maori Battalion where he attained the rank of Corporal. As with many veterans of such conflicts, he preferred not to divulge his war experiences to family or friends, but the whanau were sure happy that he came home from the war safely.
William had quite a varied working life. He initially helped his father in the family firewood business. They had an old flatbed truck and a motorised saw bench. The pariri wood they would gather with his Uncles Stephen and Charlie from further up the coast. This is where he learned his driving skills, skills that served him well for the rest of his life. Father William died in 1937 when son William was only 23 years old.
He later moved to Tokomaru Bay where he took up a diving job for Chaffey's Transport which involved delivering stock up and down the coast. . Bill always had a lot of time for his nephews and nieces, and would quite often look for one or two of them to keep him company on these deliveries. Traveling in those days was not very common so it was always a treat for the children. He was a favorite Uncle to many.
William was obviously a very talented man, both on the sports field and off of it. He was strong and very good at sports, building and anything physical, a trait that was undeniably passed down to his children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. He enjoyed playing rugby, hockey and was known to partake in the odd kani kani here and there. His inner strength allowed him to get through many tough obstacles in life, from that of fighting in the war, surviving the Great Depression, losing a child, nearly losing his daughter, taking on the infamous corn picker, and many more. It is with honour that we portray the mana of our Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather, William Augustine Priestley (Jr). His legacy can be found in his children and mokopuna. Much like the electric tram that came to Gisborne at the same time as his birth, William Augustine Priestley was well ahead of his time. His children echo the wealth of character their dad possessed, and notably their dad “Never held a grudge” - he was a wise man. His character attributes of humility, determination, resilience and grit are disappearing in this progressively self-serving, and often consuming society. William, however, knew better, he learned through his life, that helping those around you and getting in and getting dirty, doing your best and all without moaning or holding a grudge, is the secret to a content life. Wise words Koro thank you and we endeavour to retain your legacy surrounding these values.
On Aug 18, 1977, our Koro Bill tragically left this world, at only 64. On 15 January, 1998 he was to be reunited with his one true love Margaret Priestley, Gran died peacefully ready to reunite with her dark handsome beau, once again - this time for eternity. They are buried together at Taruheru Cemetery, Gisborne (Block: 38, Plot #: 486).
He would leave this fight with much of the flesh from his foot gone and his ankle down to the bone. This lost battle with the corn picker earned William a limp, crutches, eventually a cane and a great tale to tell. With this new addition of a cane, some of his mates mistakenly thought it was a war wound; arguably a story that created a more noteworthy reaction than that of a corn picker fight. Regardless this was to be a time that the Priestley children would never forget, and a tale that is told many times over. On a humourous note, another memory shared by the Priestley children was around William (Jr) and his job as a bus driver, driving between Putatahi and Gisborne. One day Paul Priestley, one of Williams son’s, who was on the bus at the time, proclaimed - “Dad they can’t spell six, Dad why can’t they spell six - it says S.E.X kittens - they can’t spell”. Paul apparently was reading a sign across the road and at a decibel higher enough for all those on the bus to hear, he hten proceeded to spell out the word sex. While at the time it was, and still is, amusing to his siblings, William was gentle in his response. He calmly replied to his son, “Yes son, you’re right they can’t spell”. Of course the sign was referring to Marilyn Munroe being one of the sex kittens, not a for sale sign for six kittens that Paul had originally thought. This is a rather famous story among the Priestley Whanau, and his siblings are still laughing to this day. A nother memory that the children have is their dad’s carpentry skills. William Augustine Priestley (Jr) built with his own hands a house for his family, a deed commonly seen among his siblings. This house was 101 Birrell Street, he made it out of totara planks that he found under a wool shed, and that house still stands to this day. This would have been no simple feat, however for a skilled and determined man such as William this was a challenge worth meeting and conquering.
Epilogue
Whakatauki (Proverb)
Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te touhu koe me, he maunga tei tei.
(If you bow your head let it be to a lofty mountain.)
Koro hit many mountains, but he kept climbing and we know he is now on the mountain top watching down on us gleaning over all of our accomplishments, hopefully with amusement and satisfaction. We love you koro, not just for what you did, but mostly for who you were, and what you lived for… your whanau and your community.
Bill Military Record
Brothers Bill and Pat's Postcard home to sister Dine (click to enlarge)
Bill Timeline
Bill Timeline
> 1913 - BORN: 19th April 1913
1913: Trams started operating in Gisborne 20th April 1913
1914: 28 Jun 1914: Start of World War I
> 1915- Sister born Maraea "Marie" Priestley b. 7 Dec 1915 (2 years)
> 1918 - Brother born Charles (Charlie) Priestley b. 28 Aug 1918 (5 years)
1918: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918. Refer also to New Zealand History online
1918: End of World War I.
1927: World population reaches 2 billion.
1931: Napier earthquake.
> 1933 - Sister died Rangi Priestley d. 9 Mar 1933 (20 years)
> 1936 - Father died William Augustine Priestley d. 19 Dec 1937 (23 years)
1939: Start of WWII. Germany invades Poland.
> 1945 - Mother died Kate (Rangikahiwa) Campbell d. 24 Mar 1945 (31 years)
1945: End of World War II. V.E. Day.
> 1947 - MARRIED: Margaret Mary Maynard m.19 Apr 1947 (33 years)
> 1947 – CHILD BORN: > Margaret Mary Priestley b. Aug 1947 (33 years)
> 1947 – CHILD DIED: > Margaret Mary Priestley d. Aug 1947 (33 years)
> 1947 – CHILD ADOPTED: > Peter John Priestley b. 7 Jan 1947 (33 years)
1950: Korean War. (1950-1953)
> 1952 – CHILD BORN: > Stephen Maynard Priestley b. 1952 (38 years)
1952: New Zealand's population reaches over two million.
1952: Reign of Queen Elizabeth II
1953: Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay conquer Mt Everest
1953: Tangiwai rail disaster
> 1954 – CHILD BORN: > Paul William Priestley b. 14 Jul 1954 (40 years)
> 1955 – CHILD BORN: > Anthea Mary Priestley b. 21 Aug 1955 (41 years)
> 1957 – CHILD BORN: > Michael Joseph Priestley b. 23 May 1957 (43 years)
> 1959 - Brother died Chris (Karaitiana) Carrington d. 14 Nov 1959 (45 years)
1959: Auckland Harbour Bridge opens
1960: World population reaches 3 billion.
> 1963 - Brother died Harry Jones Priestley d. 16 Dec 1963 (49 years)
1965: Vietnam War. (1965-1975)
1968: Wahine inter-island ferry disaster.
> 1969 - Brother died Wi Kepa Priestley d. 14 Jun 1969 (55 years)
1969: Man walks on the moon. Apollo 11 mission.
> 1973 - Brother died James Patterson (Pat) Priestley d. 18 Nov 1973 (59 years)
1973: New Zealand's population reaches three million
> 1974 - Sister died Katherine (Kitty) Priestley d. 13 Aug 1974 (61 years)
1974: World population reaches 4 billion
> 1977 – DIED: 18th Aug 1977 (64 years)
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