Doing your family history is a great opportunity to find colourful and fascinating characters, who help to bring your ancestry and different areas to life. This Family History Month (August 2024) the Family History Librarians of Tuakiri have been investigating some memorable characters who left their mark on central Christchurch. Do you have local identities like the ones below in your family?
From the early days of the city to the 1950s, our new exhibition on Tuakiri - Local Lives Lived! - highlights a selection of some of those who helped to make Christchurch the place it was. To whet your whistle, here is a brief introduction to our personalities!
Meet Martin Cash, a former convict, who ran a brothel and was part of the police force in the 1860s. A notorious character in both Australian and New Zealand folklore, he made his mark on Christchurch by playing both sides of the law and depriving a corpse of its trousers. Do you have a convict in your family, or have ancestors who came from Australia?
Joseph Buggey (or Buggy) was a very popular baker, confectioner and caterer in Christchurch in the 1880s and 1890s, gathering lots of praise for his work. But, as we sometimes find in our family trees, his origins are mysterious. We have not (so far) been able to find out where he came from. He appears in Christchurch, seemingly an already successful confectioner, around 1880, but wasn't born here. Do you have mysteries like this in your family tree?
Corsets were a regular part of women’s dress in the 1890s and Mary Anne Woodman Sharland was one of a number of Christchurch corset makers in those days. She had learnt her trade in London and, unusually, came to New Zealand as a divorced woman in the late 1860s. Divorce affects so many families these days, but are there any 19th century examples in your family?
Dr Maud Féré (nee Shand) practiced medicine in New Brighton for many years, but in the late 1920s she had a practice in the central city. She spent time as doctor in London during the First World War, and in the early 1920s she was instrumental in bringing women’s football to Christchurch, suggesting that it was the ideal sport for women. Do you have any pioneers – of any type – in your family?
Thora Galli was a ‘well known hair and skin specialist’ who lived and worked around Timaru and Ashburton before moving to New Regent Street for a short while in the 1930s. Her business was a branch of the Salus Pad Company, a chain of clinics that offered ‘miraculous cures’ by way of 'electro-magnetic-therapic appliances, ultra-violet rays, infra-red rays' for a range of conditions like rheumatism and arthritis. Are there any unusual businesses in your family?
Closer to today, do you remember Aunt Haysl? Edna Neville was the fifth woman to take on this local moniker. Edna worked at Hay’s from when it opened in 1929 and in 1943 she became Aunt Haysl, staying in the role until 1981. Aunt Haysl was responsible for running the Hay’s Junior League, which offered all sort of fun for children. Did you or anyone in your family belong to the Hay’s Junior League?
We also hold Aunt Haysl's archives collection
We look forward to you visiting Local Lives Lived!, which runs for the month of August.
With thanks Canterbury Museum for the loan of costumes for the exhibition.