Vonnie Alexander

“ Time out had to be taken on these journeys not only to let the engine cool when the water in the radiator boiled as it always did, but also to give sickly children time to spew. God forbid that we did this inside the car. Warnings couldn’t always be given at suitable places to stop on the narrow road. The lakes, Ianthe, Wahapo, and Mapourika, could not be seen from the narrow road, the dense foliage hiding their scenic beauty. Being stuck in the middle of a stream with feet up on the seat because water was flowing through the car filled us with terror. ”

“ Whenever anyone in our family became bolshie, my mother referred to it as “the Sullivan streak”. The Sullivans probably referred to it as “the Williams streak.” With growing understanding of the effects on our lives of our genetic heritage it is a sobering thought to realise how much those who are long gone continue to have an impact on both our physical and emotional lives. In this respect science confirms that we are truly at the mercy of our genes.
The Fox Glacier township is now a busy tourist centre attracting visitors from all over the world. ”

“ By 1911, all the Sullivans had moved inland by which time Laurence Sullivan and his wife had left Gillespie’s to live out their retirement in Hokitika. It seems a quirk of fate that they had both survived long sea voyages to come to New Zealand, had lived a long life in a remote area, had survived travel on horseback around dangerous bluffs and turbulent river crossings, and in Margaret’s case had given birth to eight children without medical assistance, only to meet their Maker in the way they did. ”

“ This apparent intention soon became a matter of certainty, and the whites began to consider the best mode of extricating themselves. The attempt to make for home was scarcely commenced when it appears a spear or two was thrown, and about 25 of the blacks made a rush, upon which a cry was raised by someone, ‘Every man for himself’, and all took to their heels. Showers of spears were now flying in every direction. Williams and Blake must have been struck down instantly, although no one saw them fall. ”

“ Some decades would elapse before pioneer nurses and those acting as midwives would become part of the local scene. These pioneer women were tough. Despite the famine years in Ireland, and the relatively spartan conditions at Gillespie’s with its hard work, plain food and pregnancy, Margaret was 87 years of age when she died.
We who live in an electronic age, with quick and inexpensive communication world-wide might find it difficult to comprehend that our New Zealand forebears lived minus radio, telephone, motorised transport, and the many other modern inventions we take for granted. ”

“ A man may be all these and more and be a right man, but not in the right place. Patience to see what may turn round I hold to be a great virtue but it is a virtue of a 4-legged ass as well as of a man. We all know that the animal named can roar and by so doing it can both attract and repel. Members of Council should be reminded they are public property and it is in the public welfare that I write.” (Note: Closure of this port at this time would affect supplies to Gillespie’s.)
An editorial in the West Coast Times on 5.1.1875 highlighted the lack of personal hygiene on the Coast. ”

“ Life on the Victorian goldfields for Laurence was probably tough but not as tough as he would have witnessed in Ireland. He must have raised sufficient cash to pay for further boat travel when news reached miners in Australia of the gold bonanza in Otago’s Gabriel’s Gully. This “Australian invasion” had begun in 1865. Miners tended to keep moving to new areas when existing claims petered out but their daily existence would probably have been hand-to-mouth at best. ”

“ At the present time, we, the descendants of these first pioneers, can fly in to Hokitika, and journey comfortably by car along well-kept tar-sealed roads all the way to Haast in a few hours without breaking the speed limit or stopping too long to admire the many lakes and other scenic attractions on the way, the only danger being our own stupidity if we take a bend too fast or encounter an overseas tourist driving on the wrong side of the road. ”

“ I at least don’t want to see either it or that district again unless the present inhabitants get exterminated. The law which permits people from murdering each other ought, in my opinion, to be modified in the case of the Okarito and Gillespie’s districts. If Gillespie’s is bad it can’t hold a candle to the Paringa in the matter of quarrelling. There are three parties on the river, all Irish, and the excitable brand at that. How any are alive is a mystery. ”

“ Family violence when tempers flared and the beatings to which children were subjected, both at home and in school would, today, make criminals of past adults intent on ensuring that their charges learned the hard way what was acceptable behaviour and what wasn’t. The good name of a family was important and the concept of shame caused extreme discomfort. ”

“ Those of Irish descent tended to resent being told what to do. A common attitude existed that the powers-that-be up in Wellington weren’t going to decree what could or couldn’t be eaten, a defiance also shown on the Coast when six o’clock hotel closing became the law. Pigeons were plentiful in the nearby bush, and had been eaten since the first settlers arrived. They had been eaten by Maori for centuries. Whenever a pigeon was shot or stunned with the lead pellet from a shanghai, we children were taught to dig a hole and pluck the feathers directly into it before covering over. ”

“ It is timely here to remember that in September, 1845, when blight was first noticed in the potato crop in Ireland, both Laurence Sullivan and Margaret Vaughan would have been in their teens. Potatoes were the main and often the only diet for many families, supplemented by a little buttermilk. Between 1846 and 1851 when it was estimated the population of Ireland was eight million, over one million died as a result of this five year long famine, with another one million fleeing to other countries. In the decades following more would leave. ”

“ Soup kitchens flourished. Desperate families entered Workhouses where they were segregated by age and gender. Homeless and hungry, the people starved - this famine likened to that in Rwanda within recent decades. ”

“ Funerals were also large social events giving settlers the chance to meet, talk, and in the Irish way, for the men to down a few of whatever brew was on offer.
In the era of medicalised child-birth in which we now live, it seems amazing that these pioneer women gave birth to large families, often with only the assistance of another woman in the district. Margaret Vaughan Sullivan had eight children, small in comparison to the McBride’s ten, and other large families in nearby scattered localities. Married in 1870, she gave birth to eight children within a decade or so. ”

“ It needs again to be remembered that these Irish settlers probably thought themselves extremely lucky and well-off. As already mentioned, back home in Ireland food had been scarce and limited in variety for the vast majority who were poor. Their futures in Ireland were also limited, dependent upon others for a roof over their heads and a piece of ground in which to grow food. Gillespie’s, being on the west side of the South Island, had very heavy rainfall. So had the western counties in Ireland which they had left behind so they were accustomed to rain. ”

“ Visit the Beach today and you will see only a handful of dwellings, mainly because the original settlers failed to freehold the small area of land on which their cottages were built. Today, the Department of Conservation protects the area. Of interest is the recently renovated small cemetery and the relics of the second gold dredge. This second dredge, in later decades, was tested for uranium when significant levels were found in the sand concentrates but on testing proved to be too low to be of economic value.
Fossicking on the beach, despite the sandflies, is a pleasant pastime. ”

“ When it was known that a household had a sick adult or child, cooked food or a batch of pikelets would be dropped off as a gift from one household to another. Newman Motors, Harcourts Motors and West Coast Motors all became household names running varied services during their years of operation. New Zealand Road Services began in South Westland in 1936. The daily arrival of this bus, carrying mail, passengers, and supplies, was an exciting event in small communities. Drivers were assured of a warm welcome after negotiating the narrow gravel roads from Hokitika down. ”

“ It would be interesting to know how much schooling Laurence had back in Ireland. Until the repeal of the Penal Laws in 1829, Catholic children could not be educated. In 1835 75% of Irish labourers were without work and begging was common. The Workhouse was the last resort. Interested readers may care to Google Irish Famine to learn of conditions before and after the famine years in Ireland to gain an understanding of why so many people left their homeland.
As more families remained to settle at Gillespie’s, a church was built by the settlers and also a school in 1877. ”

“ Cattle droving from further south would shorten with the establishment of stock sales at Whataroa. Eventually they would cease altogether once lorries were used to transport stock to point of sale.
In the 1930s, one large room off the verandah of the homestead of Julia Williams at Weheka was used solely for the storage of household supplies - sacks of flour, sugar and other basic household necessities, all landed down at Bruce Bay. Children were tempted to thieve luxuries such as dates but God help us if we were discovered. ”

“ When they took their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, convent life was strict and conventional. Adjustment to the changes brought about by the Vatican Council in the 1960s demanded considerable adjustment. While they were alive, through their letters and visits, they kept South Island descendants together. The lovely old buildings in which they served, the Sacred Heart College in Craigie Avenue, Timaru, St Mary’s Convents in both Christchurch and Greymouth, and St Columbkilles in Hokitika no longer exist, all having been demolished. ”

“ Sullivan and Annie with family Patricia, Kathleen and John have spent their entire lives at Fox Glacier and still live there, opposite the hotel, in relative retirement. I acknowledge that there may be some gaps in the above summary made understandable as time passes and the generations move apart. Most of us live our lives in relative anonymity largely unknown beyond the circles in which we move.
Apart from the few descendants still farming at Fox Glacier, others are scattered far and wide, both within New Zealand and overseas. ”

“ As mine host at the hotel for many years, she became well-known for her practicality and humour.
Not too many mountaineers can boast that they climbed with Ed Hillary. When younger, Mick Jnr had often tramped and climbed in the Southern Alps where he made the first descent of the southern ridge of Mt Cook with the now famous mountaineer. Mick and his brother, Jim acted as guides on the Fox Glacier and alpine passes. It was common for these two, assisted by Lawn and Fred Williams and other locals to assist in rescues whenever climbers ran into difficulties or when bodies had to be retrieved. ”