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South Canterbury's Cemeteries 

Fairlie Cemetery - old section at the front. Newer section towards the back. Photo taken March 2002. "Make sure you close the gate -- people are dying to get in."
On a cemetery tour - start with the gates. Fairlie Cemetery.

Adopt a cemetery in South Canterbury and take a photo of its entrance and transcribe the headstones!  

Geraldine Cemeteries  

Geraldine 1864- active [is forecast to have at least another 30 to 50 years from 2005]
Arundel 1917-1981 offsite [is expected to have another 100 years of use, from 2005] Arundel does not have concrete berms.
Mt Peel Churchyard 1864-1981 (Church of the Holy Innocents)
Woodbury 1890-2007
Kakahu 1910-1952  - St Aidans, Kakahu Cemetery on the Winchester / Hanging Rock Road. This cemetery is possibly owned by the Anglican Diocese in Christchurch and overseen by the Morrison family.
St Stephen's Peel Forest
St Anne's Church, Pleasant Valley
Mesopotamia

Mackenzie County

Albury Cemetery 1903-1976
Burke's Pass Cemetery 1873-1982
Fairlie Cemetery 1885-1982
Mount Cook Station - Burnett family 1864-1957
St David's Anglican Church Raincliff 1861-1975
2006: A site along the Lilybank Road has been set aside for the new Tekapo Cemetery.

Mackenzie District Council, PO Box 52, Fairlie
Offer a service for looking up burial enquiries.
Albury, Burkes Pass, Fairlie and Twizel Cemeteries
Phone (03) 685-8514     country code for NZ 64 
Fax (03) 685-8533
Email catherine@mackenzie.govt.nz

They accept these enquiries via telephone, email, walk ins off the street, and fax. They always endeavour to deal with these enquiries the same day.  The database is current. The Council do not charge any fees for looking up cemetery records. Probably get 15 enquiries a year. They have all 4 Mackenzie District cemeteries on our database i.e. Albury, Burkes Pass, Fairlie and Twizel.  We have 2025 burials listed on our database for the 4 cemeteries. Approx 1200 of these are for Fairlie Cemetery, and 200 Twizel, and approx 300 each for Albury and Burkes Pass. There is a fair percentage of plots in the older parts of the Albury, Burkes Pass and Fairlie Cemeteries which do not have headstones anymore (due to deterioration, damage and possibly vandalism?) so there are a few unmarked grave sites. Ross

There is a story that in the early 1930s there was a fire in the building where all the burial records were kept for Albury, Burkes Pass and Fairlie Cemeteries which totally destroyed all these records. They appear to have reasonably complete records prior to approx 1930 and then there is a very hazy vague period until approximately 1938 during which time there are hardly any burials recorded. After 1938 there are the "usual" number of burials recorded. It can be very disappointing having to explain to families who are searching for  burials in that eight year time frame that yes, their relative is quite possibly buried in the cemetery but without the records pinpointing exactly the date of burial or the plot location, it is very difficult to locate the grave. Earliest burial on record for Fairlie Cemetery is Helen Hall, who was buried on 19 July 1886.

We do not have any concerns about the Fairlie Cemetery running out of space in the near future. We only average about 25-30 burials a year (ashes and full burials included) in the Fairlie Cemetery and do not consider that we will run out of room before the year 2030 at least.

The burial records for Fairlie are held at the Mackenzie District Council Office, Fairlie in a database and were updated in 1999. There are three Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war and one of the 1939-1945 war at the Fairlie Cemetery. This cemetery is situated on the left hand side of Main Street (SH 8) just before Fairlie township, coming from Timaru.

Private Alfred James Hornblow, 18th  Reinforcements NZEF, service no: 29168, died aged 29, 8th August 1916 Block 2. Lot 10. His parents are buried here as well.  S/of James and Janet Crawford Hornblow (nee Taylor), of Geraldine, South Canterbury. Born at Kimbell. The Hornblow's  took up a farm at Ashwick Flat named "Speedwell" in 1891 and sold it in 1922 retiring to Geraldine. Jimmy Hornblow, Alfred's father came out from Wiltshire, England to Port Chalmers in 1871 as a member of  the ship's crew. 

McCONNELL, James.
Private, Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F. Service No: 6/513 
Date of Death: 15/08/1921 Age: 38 
S/o Catherine McConnell, of Fairlie, Canterbury. Born at Millers Flat, Otago. 
Grave Ref. Block 2. Lot 22. (Presbyterian Portion.) 

RUSSELL, John Richard Clayton 
Rifleman, N.Z. Rifle Brigade. Service No: 24/561 
Date of Death: 30/11/1918  Age: 35 
S/o Mrs. B. M. Russell, of High St., Bedford, England. Born in England. 
Grave Ref.: Block 1. Lot 46. (C. of E. Portion.) 

SEVICKE-JONES, Cecil 
Leading Aircraftman, Regiment: Royal New Zealand Air Force. Service No: 4217075 
Date of Death: 04/01/1946  Age: 21 
S/o William Frederick Sevicke Jones and Eileen Marie Jones, of Fairlie, Canterbury. 
Grave Ref.: 41. 2. 

Timaru Herald Tuesday 2 August 1887 pg2
We mentioned some time ago of a tombstone which Mr McBride, monumental mason if Timaru, was making to the order of Mr Donald McMillan, of Tekapo, and to be erected to the memory of Mr Murdoch Elder, late piper to the Mackenzie County Caledonian Society. It is now erected in the Fairlie Creek Cemetery, and reflects great credit on the maker, the workmanship is really all that could be desired. The total cost, including erection, is £21, and there is a credit balance to the memorial fund of £2 11s, which the Committee have wisely decided to hand to the widow.

FROM FAR AND WIDE by Mike Crean
14 February 2004 The Christchurch Press
The Albury and Fairlie cemeteries are the final resting places for well-travelled servicemen and a surprising range of nationalities. From Canada to South Canterbury. This is a path not commonly trod but two men who made the journey lie in the Albury Cemetery, near Fairlie. The few graves are widely scattered in this bowl-shaped cemetery on a hill behind the tiny settlement of Albury. Here lies Tom Burnett, a native of Glengarry, Inverness. He died in 1921, aged 90. He would be one of thousands of native Scots at rest in New Zealand cemeteries. But Burnett lived most his life in Nova Scotia, Canada. His brother Andrew had settled in Cave, just down the road from Albury, so it can be conjectured that Tom died while visiting, or living in retirement with, his Kiwi brother. A short distance from Burnett's grave stands a solid hunk of cemented granite slabs, from which an embedded metal ice pick protrudes. The plaque reads: "Zdenek Danny Holy, born Czechoslovakia, 20th October, 1946, escaped in 1968 to Canada to enjoy life's freedom. He loved this country, especially Mount Cook, which took his life on 1st December, 1977." A photographic portrait shows a man of about 30 with the beard and black tousled hair of a true mountaineer. The Iron Curtain still divided East and West, when Holy died. His family might never have known his fate. Unlike John and Annie Gallen, from this peaceful farming district. The couple lost four children in eight years: sons Joseph and Michael in 1938, and daughters Mary, 1944, and Katherine, 1946. How these parents' hearts must have ached, before they died, John in 1971 and Annie in 1995.

The sense of loss is similar among the graves of Fairlie Cemetery, a few kilometres further inland. But loss of a different kind dominates here. Fairlie Cemetery contains an unusually high proportion of graves of returned servicemen. References to sons and brothers killed in the wars, their bodies lying in foreign fields, are common on the headstones of family plots in New Zealand graveyards. Some of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who came back and died later are remembered on standard-sized returned services headstones, their name under the silver fern, accompanied by their service number. Perhaps Fairlie contributed a higher than normal number of men to the wars, or perhaps the idyllic rural town attracted many veterans in their retirement years. Around a central grove of trees and a flagpole lies a growing circle of headstones. One part of this ring is designated the RSA Service Section. Most of the men buried here served in World War 2, while elsewhere in the cemetery lie the departed veterans of World War 1 and the Korean War. Among other graves is that of John Richmond jun, "who met his death at Mount Cook Hermitage on 22nd February, 1914, in an avalanche as guide there with his mate D. Thompson and one Mr King, a tourist". The Fairlie man was 30. Opposite Richmond's grave is that of Jackie Keay, "who was accidentally killed at a boxing tournament in Dunedin on 14th August, 1919, aged 21 years". Keay's brother, Thomas, was killed in action at Ypres, France, in 1917, aged 25. One can barely imagine the grisly death of Samuel Strange, "Native of Victoria, who died through an accident at Mistake Station" in 1907, aged 30. His headstone was "erected by John Rutherford Esq. and the Canterbury Shearers' Union". The name on one simple headstone catches the eye - John E. J. Lovelock. No, this is not New Zealand's greatest runner of the pre-World War 2 era. It is his father, who died at Fairlie, where he managed the Mount Cook Motor Company, in 1923. He was 55. His son, Jack, was then 13. Jack Lovelock won the 1500 metres final at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was killed in an accident in New York in 1949.
 

Albury Cemetery
Albury Cemetery

Pleasant Point

Pleasant Point 1866-1982.
Pleasant Point Cemetery does not have an RSA section

Temuka Cemeteries 

Temuka 1858-1982 [Part of the land at the cemetery is already leased out and if it is used then it is forecast another 80 to 100 years of space is left]
Arowhenua Marae (Holy Trinity Churchyard, Maori 1890-1982) 

The old sexton's office in the Temuka cemetery is an six-sided kauri building.

Timaru Herald May 2000
Restrictions on the size, colour and lettering on plaques in the ashes area of the Temuka Cemetery are to be removed. The ashes area in the Temuka Cemetery was established in 1979 with strict controls on plaques as to size (130x250mm), lettering (gold or silver), and colour (black or charcoal). The Temuka community board at its last meeting agreed that the restrictions should remain, but that there be some discretion on a case-by-case basis.

Claremont Novitiate 1890-1978

29 May 2000
Ten Marist brothers buried in the cemetery alongside the former St Josephs novitiate house at Claremont house were disinterred and taken to the Catholic section of the Temuka cemetery. Most of the 10 brothers were buried at Claremont over a 40-year period from the 1930s.  It was decided to move them when the land was sold privately.
The move allows relatives access to their resting place.

13 January 2001 Timaru Herald
For probably the best part of half a century a life-size concrete statue of the Marists' founder, Marcellin Champagnat, stayed put on its concrete and stone base at the former St Josephs novitiate at Claremont. Yesterday that came to an end. Kanga hammers and cranes were the order of the day as the now Saint Champagnat was surrounded in strops and hoisted on to the back of a truck for stage one of the journey to his new home. He's off to Invercargill, to the grounds of the town's Catholic high school Verdon College. Marist brother Brother Osmund MacNamara still teaches at the school and when the school's board of trustees learned the former novitiate had been sold 18 months ago, they were keen to obtain the statue of their founder. Born in 1789 the priest founded the Marist Brothers in 1817, with the aim of providing education to the children of the poor.
The teaching brothers arrived in New Zealand in 1838. Their link with the old Claremont homestead goes back to 1932 when the house became a training centre for the brothers. It remained that until 1978. The concrete statue was one of two which remained in the grounds. The other, of Joseph, will not be moved as it was made of porcelain and would break if moved. Brothers previously buried in a cemetery on the property were reinterred at the Temuka cemetery last year. The statue's trip yesterday was relatively short - to Timaru where monumental masons McBrides will waterblast it, and give it a new paint job before crating it up for the journey south. And it seems travel is not new to the concrete likeness. Jim Anderson, spokesman for The Claremont Trust, the property's former owner, believes it was not new when it was installed at the novitiate probably in the 1950s. Although unsure of its history, Brother Osmund can remember the statue being at Claremont when he trained there in the mid 1950s. He was also involved in the building of the chapel which has been restored by Claremont's owner John West. A second statue of Saint Champagnat, thought to be identical to the Claremont one, was moved from the grounds of a Marist Brothers property at Tuakau when it was sold about 10 years ago. It is now in the grounds of St Johns College in Hamilton. Brother Osmund said the school's trustees felt it was appropriate for it to be moved as it would have greater significance to the school community than if it remained at Claremont. Assuming the restoration work to the statue is completed in time, Brother Osmund said it will be blessed and unveiled in March at the same time as the new Marist clubrooms at the school are opened.

Waimate Cemeteries  

Waimate Maori Cemetery - 1861-1981
Waimate - Lawn 1949-1981, Old 1867-1981   database online Waimate Cemeteries database pdf 
Waitangi / Te Akatarawa Station 1863-1974
Esk Valley St Mary's 1880-1981
Glenavy Cemetery 1914-1964
Hakataramea Cemetery - Old 1880s, public 1887-1982
St Michael's Churchyard, Waihao Downs 1918-1969
Morven Cemetery 1903-1957
Morven Maori burial ground  1895-1927
Otaio Cemetery 1896-1978
Pareora West 1870-1956 [is closed but is allowed second interments only]

 The Timaru Herald | Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Waimate property information and cemetery details are now online.
The Waimate District Council's website has added a new mapping section. "People interested in purchasing property in Waimate or perhaps searching family history now have easy assess to on-line databases and maps," "To find `mapping on-line' simply log on to the council's website and click through from the navigation bar on the left side of the home page." The mapping page was designed by council officer Andrew Hare and it offers viewers several on-line services and download options, such as viewing maps of the Waimate district, and cemetery maps and data. An emergency management map shows sector post locations and areas, and the topographic map of the South Island allow viewers to zoom into any area with several special features such as distance measuring. The property section can be sourced searching by valuation number or physical address and people can find current valuation and rating information as well as historical data for the last 10 years.

Timaru Cemeteries

Timaru Cemetery

Salisbury Park Crematorium is located approximately ten minutes drive from the south-west boundary of Timaru city, on Beaconsfield Road.  You go down Beconsfield Road (first road on the right past the Salt Water Creek Bridge) and just keep driving till you get there. It's in the area of Salisbury.  The gardens remain open at all times and are not large and easily walked around. It would be classed as a small to medium crematorium by New Zealand standards.  Founded in 1967 by a Leslie William Betts who was the first owner of Betts Funeral Services (1983) Ltd. The crematorium is still privately owned and operated by a group of company directors and serves the South Canterbury district.  The cremation records are held at the crematorium. The phone number is (NZ country code 64) 3 6843251. The Custodian works between 8am & 5pm and then all bookings and enquiries are switched to a answering service.  The Crematorium is completely independent of the local Timaru cemetery.  The South Canterbury Museum, Perth St., Timaru also holds the crematorium records up to 1990 in their free collection. The Timaru District Council does not hold any records for the Salisbury Park Crematorium. 

Visiting Local Cemeteries
Fairlie Cemetery
 Fairlie Cemetery
Berms are laid to ensure a consistency of straightness, tidiness and ease of plot identification.

Transcribing Cemeteries

Burkes Cemetery, taken February 2006 by Garry Tommey.
 Burkes Pass Cemetery, summer 2006.  pdf

The cemetery site was selected by pioneers as over the Pass the shallow soil and rock-strewn ground made burial nearly impossible.

Timaru Herald  Tuesday 26 July 1887
Notes from the Mackenzie Country
Though we live in this outlandish spot we cannot escape the extinction of life when our turn comes. Mrs George Foster departed this life last Friday, after a lingering illness. It is an exception to the general rule in this part of the country - death from natural causes - for ninety per cent of the tombstones in our cemetery indicate accidental death, such as lost in the snow, drowned, or killed by a fall from a horse.  Correspondent, J. Cochran, Burke's Pass.

Timaru Herald Tuesday 4 July 1899
Mackenzie County Council Monthly meeting.
From the Department of Lands and Survey, notifying the appointment of the Council to be trustees for the Burke's Pass Cemetery. Mr McLeod drew attention to the overgrown state of the Burke's Pass Cemetery - The engineer and riding members to get the gorse cleared. Notice to clear the road next the cemetery to be given to the adjoining owner.

Timaru Herald Tuesday 7 November 1899
Mackenzie County Council Monthly Meeting
The work in Burkes's Pass cemetery is now completed.

More than likely a change of style brought about by cost.
The early settlers to New Zealand found it important to have their birthplace, Ship of arrival in New Zealand and sometimes occupation on the headstones and no mention of the children's names. Often there is a long religious verse or poem. Later generations seem to list children and particularly family lost in war deaths. The birthplace no longer seems important nor are the poems or religious verses used as much but sometimes a verse from a popular song can be found. Recent plaques which are much smaller, not as tall and seem to mention family only. You can also see the trend in the death notices and memorials published in newspapers. A few of the more recent headstones were different shapes: for example one was a guitar, another was a heart, and there was even a surfboard one. Older headstones  at Timaru Cemetery have included marble carved anchors, ship's wheel and angels. Put it down to changing times, and changing attitudes to death and ways of grieving. It may also have something to do with the cost of letters on plaques and headstones. In a Crematorium Park one was restricted as to how many letters could be put on the plaques and the ever rising costs involved.

Mount Peel Station Cemetery
Mount Peel Station Cemetery

Active local & district cemeteries: Timaru City, Pleasant Point, Temuka, Geraldine, Albury, Arowhenua, Otaio, Esk Valley, Fairlie, Burkes Pass, Twizel, Waimate, Otipua, Omarama, Hakataramea, Kurow.

NZ Cemeteries Online
Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust of NZ photo of St. Anne's and Mt Peel.
Christchurch Cemeteries Online

Its not recommended to put the street address in a death notice.

To volunteer, please contact Olwyn.

A Pioneer Cemetery: The Burkes Pass Cemetery, Hwy 8, was the first Cemetery in the Mackenzie District. Surveyed in 1881. The land was donated by Mr A.B. Smith of Rollesby. Francis James Cowan, died 19 November 1873, aged 9 years, son of Andrew Cowan, Ferry Keeper of Tekapo, is the first recorded burial but others names unknown were buried earlier before the survey. The entrance is two wooden gates flanked by stone pillars.
Buried at Burkes Pass - Charles Dick

BURKES PASS - A Heritage Village. In February 2001 the Burkes Pass Heritage Trust (link broken) purchased the church and land to enable it to be retained in the community and become a focal point in turning Burkes Pass into a heritage village. Membership is open to all. Email. In lieu of subscriptions please consider a donation to help the projects.  Liz is looking for information on those buried in the Burkes Pass Cemetery. She is compiling a Who's Who of Burkes Pass Cemetery and plans to write a guide to the cemetery that records the lives of those who rest in the place. If anyone has family or friends buried at Burkes Pass, Liz would love to make contact with you. 

Book Reveals Secrets of Cemetery
John Keast  4 January 2007 The Press (Christchurch)

This is a place of stories -- many sad, some tragic. It is true of all cemeteries, but more so at Burkes Pass. Elizabeth Angelo- Roxborough knows some of the stories and their poignancy and is putting them together in a small book for the Burkes Pass Heritage Trust. It will be available through the trust and the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru. It will form the basis for cemetery tours planned for the historic village. Similar tours have proved popular in Timaru.
Angelo-Roxborough lives at Burkes Pass and has absorbed its history. She and artist husband Maurie live in the stately Stone House that was once home to the Mackenzie District Council and the Mount Cook Road Board.

Angelo-Roxborough has always loved the bleak and beautiful cemetery but has not always known the history of those buried there. "There are climbers, musterers, too many children, the old and the unlucky," she said. Angelo-Roxborough has called on the knowledge of locals and the families of those buried at Burkes Pass to help compile her book. In all, brief histories of the lives of about a dozen people will feature, and Angelo- Roxborough says they were a cross-section of society. There are many stories from which to choose. She has found out a lot about Bridget and James Keeffe, who came to the Rollesby Valley adjoining Burkes Pass from Fulham in England in 1876. They were childhood sweethearts, he living at No. 9, she at No. 12. James worked at Rollesby and, in his spare time, built Alma Cottage. The cottage is still there. Together, the Keeffes had 10 children. Bridget died of dropsy at 51; James of asthma at 57.

Then there is the story of Nicolo "Big Mick" Radove, born in Sicily and one of the first to farm Birch Hill, near Mount Cook. He is buried in Timaru but two infant children are buried in ornate graves at Burkes Pass. Radove bought Birch Hill in 1868. His friend, John Lloyd, helped with mustering. But Lloyd contracted an incurable disease and spent his last days at the station. Each night Radove would carry his friend up to a hilltop behind the homestead so he could watch the sunset. When Lloyd died, Radove buried him on that spot. The grave is marked by a headstone and wooden fence. There is also the story of climber-adventurer Ken Payne, who died descending Mount Cook in 1986.

Angelo-Roxborough contacted his family and they sent photographs and his last diary notes, in which Payne described spindrift around his hut and his feelings of disquiet about the risks of the climb. A final selection of characters for the book will be made over the next few weeks as Angelo- Roxborough works on the manuscript. One of the hardest jobs, she said, would be to pare back the information. A fuller history of some of the people mentioned in the book may be added to the Burkes Pass Heritage Trust website. The Mackenzie District Council has made a small grant to the trust to help with the cost of publishing.

Timaru Herald, 31 July 1888, Page 3
FAIRLIE CREEK, July 30. Last Thursday it left off snowing and a downpour of rain commenced, without a break until Saturday morning, when it gradually began to clear up. The snow having considerably wasted away, the creeks and the river Opihi were m high flood and dangerous to cross. A little incident occured which luckily passed off without a fatality. Last Wednesday evening Mr Close, undertaker, left here with a coffin for the burial of the late John McDowell. Owing to the great depth of snow he was travelling all night, and only reached Burkes Pass at 10 the following morning. It actually took him 13 hours to travel 13 miles. Only for his great presence of mind the result would have been serious. The Mackenzie Country road from Silverstream up is completely blocked, and the mails from here can only be despatched on horse-back. From the above notes it would appear that the storm was from the east of south, and that the eastern ranges precipitated the bulk of the snow as the clouds were carried over them. The foot hills on this side appear to be whitened to their bases, and the whole mountain region made a fine picture under yesterday's sun, and a perfectly clear sky. Settlers among the snow will scarcely be inclined, however, to dwell upon the pictorial effects of the storm. "'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view."

TOUGH TIMES ON THE LAND
Michael Vance 4 August 2007 The Press (Christchurch)

`Rough Mike's real name was Michael Carriman -- at least that's near enough for the present purpose, and as you may imagine from the sound of it, he had a bit of the Irishman in him."
The Press was attempting to explain the almost alien race reaching New Zealand in growing numbers -- Irish Catholics -- and it was doing so by way of a sentimental tale. That applied to the Mackenzie Country, where the Irish missed out on land leases -- the Scots and English got those -- but bore the brunt of the hard labouring.

That day The Press reported a big snow in the Mackenzie and a "very wretched, untimely end" -- death from exposure. Robert Russell, a cook at Grey's Hill Station (now Greys Hills), having received a letter from his wife stating "that some of the children was (sic) seriously ill", started to walk home, presumably to what was then known as Fairlie Creek. "At the time, from 18 to 20 inches of snow was on the ground. He managed to get as far as Whales Creek, about 17 miles, and eight miles from Burkes Pass, where he was subsequently found dead. "From the position of the body it is evident he must have been having a drink of water from the creek, as he was lying in that position when found."

The Mackenzie Country was comparatively recently settled. Its residents were still learning its demanding ways, including the need to get the merinos into sheltered pasture for the winter. The big snows of the early years killed huge numbers of sheep. "The Clayton station owners, Messrs Hamilton Bros, will suffer considerably, and it is said they are negotiating with a few farmers near Timaru to grass the whole of their sheep -- about 95,000. "Not a blade of grass nor a tussock is to be seen on the whole of their extensive area of land."

Two hunters in the Tasman Valley were caught in the storm.
Messrs Parker and Welsh had begun their journey home to Fairlie Creek in sunshine and a mere foot of snow. "However, the two gentlemen, the latter of whom was riding on horseback, had not gone more than about three miles when what is now termed the great snowstorm commenced. "So thick was the fall that it was impossible to see more than 20 yards ahead of them. Mr Parker quickly lost sight of Mr Welsh and so he was left to himself."

The men were lucky to survive. One spent the night in the deepening snow, warmed only by two wet horse blankets and "and a whiff of his pipe during the night". The other man, Welsh, fought his way to Balmoral homestead through eight-foot drifts. The corpse was brought to Fairlie Creek and an inquest held on the Tuesday morning. The verdict was death from exposure. The burial took place the same day. Deceased leaves a widow and four children totally unprovided for." --Robert Russell is laid to rest. The Press, August 4, 1888

WOMAN OF DETERMINATION
9 July 2003 Timaru Herald
Pauline O'Leary's remarkable life journey came to an end on May 11, 2003. She was aged 77. A respected positive person, Mrs O'Leary will be remembered for her vision and determination in establishing South Canterbury Hospice. Her outstanding service to South Canterbury Hospice was publicly acknowledged when she was made the first life member and elected patron of the organisation. "Pauline will be remembered for her compassion, gentleness, sense of humour, her sincere and kindly interest in people and her strength of purpose to follow her dream for a hospice service in South Canterbury," president of South Canterbury Hospice Alan Munro said. Mrs O'Leary (nee Whyte) was born at Ashwick Flat near Fairlie on December 8, 1925. Born the third child and first daughter to Leslie and Mary Whyte, Mrs O'Leary had an early rural upbringing which consisted of completing farm chores every morning before school. As well as hand-milking cows, it was Mrs O'Leary's responsibility to cook breakfast (chops, eggs and fried potatoes) for her family. Her journey to Ashwick Flat School school consisted of a 5-mile horse and gig ride on a grassed road. In her early high school years she was sent to Timaru to care for her grandmother. While living in Timaru she attended the Convent School - a place that was not among her happiest memories. After completing her schooling at Fairlie High School, Mrs O'Leary was interviewed and accepted for Teachers' Training College. Unfortunately her dreams of being a teacher were shelved when the Second World War broke out. Under the manpower enforcement scheme, Mrs O'Leary was placed at the Fairlie Flax Factory. Despite the hard work, Mrs O'Leary had lots of fun at the factory and made some life-long friends. After her father died, Mrs O'Leary and her family shifted to Timaru where they ran a boarding house. Every Saturday Mrs O'Leary would do the boarders' washing in the copper.
With her mother's help she successfully dodged the manpower and went on to find work in the Rehabilitation and Income Tax Department. It was at a dance at the St Pats Hall in Timaru where Mrs O'Leary met her husband Bernie. The young couple lived in a cottage in Victoria Street before they took a position on a Levels farm. As well as providing meals and morning tea for eight shearers, Mrs O'Leary had a new baby to care for. In 1956 Mr and Mrs O'Leary bought a farm at Kakahu called Ranui.
Sixteen years and seven children later they built a new home on their section. Organisations such as the Women's Division Federated Farmers and Country Women's Institute (CWI) played an integral part of Mrs O'Leary's life. It was through a CWI class that she discovered one of her greatest joys - painting. A love of travel took Mrs O'Leary on a pilgrimage to Israel, Lourdes and Oberammergau. Mrs O'Leary completed a three-year national course on religious studies and set up a prayer group. A keen gardener and nature lover, Mrs O'Leary's vision for a hospice for South Canterbury first came about in 1987 while she was recovering from a life-saving cancer operation. She was quoted in Notable South Canterbury Women as saying: "I was getting better and thought there must be a reason for that - there's something quite important I should be doing." Mrs O'Leary shared her dream with her prayer group and with their help started a letter-writing campaign to try and drum up support. In 1989 a public meeting was held in Pleasant Point and a bank account opened. Mrs O'Leary became chairman of the steering committee and set about establishing South Canterbury Hospice. For some years she was a member of the management committee, serving as the first president. Mrs O'Leary showed great empathy to patients and their family and had a good rapport with hospice staff. Not only did she talk to many community groups about hospice but she also allowed her paintings to be reproduced on note cards which not only raised many dollars but brought great pleasure to those who received them. The affection and respect the community had for Mrs O'Leary was evident from the large number of people who attended her funeral service. One of Mrs O'Leary favourite quotes summed up her life nicely - "Whatever you can do or dream you can do - begin it; magic and power lie in boldness."

South Canterbury NZGenWeb Project

Otago Witness, 4 September 1869, Page 16
EPITAPH.
Within this tomb there rests a model friend,
Pleasant yet wise, and faithful to the end;
He never left, the prospect e'er so drear;
Rare man, say you -  'tis my dog lies here!