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NAME:
William Augustine Priestley
BORN:
24th Sep 1871
MARRIED:
DIED:
19th Dec 1937 aged 66 years
Gisborne, NZ
Charles and Taraipine had several children, of which the 3rd eldest was William Augustine, the founder of our whanau, as we know it.
William was born on the 11th January 1871 at Puatai Station, Waihau Bay Beach which was a sheep farm of some 4000 acres owned by his father Charles.
William and some of his brothers had part of their education at a Catholic Boys College in Hawkes Bay as the father, Charles, was of that faith. We are told that the brothers walked away from that college when their sister Amelia, aged 10 years, died in an adjacent convent school. Her death was caused by the negligence of the nuns who left her standing in a corner with a Bible on her head in punishment for some offense. She was forgotten about, collapsed, and died of pneumonia. As a result the family abandoned the Catholic Church and became disciples of the High Church of England.
This chapter is dedicated to the Priestley family father, William Augustine Priestley. It has been researched and written by Bill Paku through early family records and his own childhood memories of his grand father.
With this unique personal insight, we are able to get a good sense of William's hard work ethic and his unwavering dedication to family and community.
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 Priestley
William Augustine Priestley
by Bill Paku
In our whakapapa the name Priestley first appears when Charles Priestley arrived in New Zealand at the Port of Auckland on 6 February 1854. Records show that he later married widow, Taraipine Tatua of the Aitanga-a-Hauiti iwi from Tolaga Bay in 1869. Taraipine was the daughter of Ani Patene and Hori Patihana, two well-respected families in that era.
The caretaker’s house was adjacent to the racecourse and after a length of time was purchased by William and became the family home. The address was 47 Cochrane Street and the house still stands till this day. It was where the rest of the family was born – two more sons and four more daughters, making 11 children in all.
William is listed on this Electoral Roll as residing in the Tolega Bay area in 1893. He worked in his early days as a general farmhand and fencer in and around the Gisborne area, and it was during those years that he met and married Rangikahiwa (Kate) Campbell of the Rongowhakaata iwi of Te Arai, Manutuke.
We do know that William and Kate settled for a period in the Whangara area as a family photo has them in their first home, a manuka and raupo thatched whare somewhere up the Waimoku Road. It must have been around 1898 as the baby on William’s knee in their firstborn Wi Kepa b.1896.
William and Kate moved into Gisborne township about 1904-1905, at which time they had three sons and two daughters. William obtained work with the Gisborne Borough Council as caretaker of "The Park" Racecourse.
When the racing at the Park Racecourse was moved to the Makaraka course, the Park was used only as a training course and stables. William continued as caretaker and a camping ground was established behind the grandstand, he was also custodian of this for the Council. He also ran sheep and grew hay and crops in the middle of the racecourse. His income was not great so he was always searching for a way to supplement it to make ends meet.
The Old Park Racecourse as Bill remembers in the 1930's / 2011
The Old Park Racecourse as Bill remembers in the 1930's / 2011
For some time he ran a firewood business with his two older brothers Stephen and Charles, who remained bachelors all their lives and lived and worked as fencers to the farmers in the Whangara area. In those days the Puriri forests were thick in Whangara and Panikau. They filled and split them for posts, battens and firewood. The firewood would arrive by truck in 7-foot lengths at Cochrane Street where William cut them into stove lengths to sell around the town.
William's other brother George Patterson married Mary Francis Steele and moved to Auckland at some stage.
Brother Stephen
b. 28 Jun 1867
William
Brother Charles
b. 11 Jan 1869
Always a hard worker and a popular man with all who knew him, he was a loving, gentle man, much loved by his family and grandchildren. He used to finish work sometimes at the racecourse and in hot weather would shower in the grandstand and change before returning home.
It was after showering one day that he died suddenly. He was late arriving home one evening and Charles, the youngest son, was sent to find him. He found him lying on the grass verge, his clothes and towel folded as a pillow, his hands clasped on his chest. He obviously felt it coming, but his posture indicated that he had passed away quite peacefully. It was December 19th 1937.
William A Priestley Memorial Notice
William A Priestley Memorial Notice
The Gisborne Herald 20th Dec. 1937
Mr. W. A. Priestley
The death occurred suddenly yesterday afternoon of Mr. William, Augustine, Priestley of Cochrane St. Te Hapara at the age of 66.
M r. Priestley who was the caretaker of camping ground at the domain more commonly called the Park racecourse, left his home at about 6:30 P.M. to have a shower bath at the grandstand. Expecting him to return shortly the family sat down to tea, and about an hour after that a son, Charles found Mr. Priestley lying on the Path apparently on the way home. A doctor was summoned and pronounced life extinct.
An inquest will probably be held to-day. The time of the funeral has not yet been fixed.
One of the best known and respected residents of the district, Mr. Priestley who had lived at Cochrane St since 1904 was for many years the caretaker of the Park racecourse, during which he gained many friends in the sporting community. His integrity and sense of duty earned him the esteem of owners and trainers. Later as caretaker of the motor camping grounds, he became known to hundreds of motorists from all over the Dominion who found him a courteous and obliging officer.
In addition to his widow the late Mr. Priestley leaves 5 daughters and 5 sons to mourn his loss, the daughters being Mrs G. Leach of Wanganui, Mrs J. A. Scott of Waimata, Mrs D. Paku of Wairoa, Mrs H. D. Robinson of Gisborne and Miss M. Priestley of Gisborne. The sons are Mr/s Harry of Ngapuke, Kepa of Te Araroa, William of Ruatoria, Pat of Pouawa and Charles of Gisborne.
William Augustine Timeline
William Augustine Timeline
> 1871 - Born: 24 Sep 1871
1881: Parihaka community forcibly broken up by troops.
1886: Mount Tarawera eruption
1887: Reefton becomes the first town to have electricity
1893: Women granted the right to vote. New Zealand
> 1896 - Child Wi Kepa Priestley b. 23 Jan 1896 (24 years)
> 1898 - Child Amelia Priestley b. 21 Apr 1898 (26 years)
> 1900 - Child James Patterson Priestley b. 12 Jul 1900 (28 yeras)
> 1902 - Child Harry Jones Priestley b. 8 Apr 1902 (30 years)
1903: New Zealander Richard Pearse flew his home constructed aircraft 150 yards
> 1904 - Child Sarah Harriet Priestley b. 25 Apr 1904 (32 years)
1905: New Zealand rugby team tours England and becomes known as the All Blacks
> 1906 - Child Pani Priestley b. 4 Jul 1906 (34 years)
> 1908 - Child Rangi Priestley b. 17 Jul 1908 (36 years)
1908: New Zealand's population reaches one million
> 1910 - Child Katharine Priestley b. 12 Oct 1910 (39 years)
> 1913 - Child William Augustine Priestley b. 19 Apr 1913 (41 years)
1914: Start of World War I
> 1915 - Child Maraea Priestley b. 7 Dec 1915 (44 years)
> 1918 - Child Charles Priestley b. 28 Aug 1918 (46 years)
1918: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
1918: End of World War I
1927: World population reaches 2 billion
1931: Napier earthquake
> 1937 - Died: 19 Dec 1937 (66 years)
William Augustine Whakapapa
William Augustine Whakapapa
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