

Tauranga electric lineman Angus William Te Poroa Carnachan was missing the index finder on his right hand. He worked in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade Stores at Featherstone Military Training Camp. Both Angus and his older sister Elizabeth died during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Angus at Featherston on 17 November 1918. Story by Debbie McCauley.
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Angus William Te Poroa Carnachan was born in Auckland on 3 March 1894 (reg. 1894/2412). His parents were Fox Maule and Sarah Carnachan (nee Piercy) who married in Maketu in 1881.
His father, Fox, was originally from Manchester. He arrived in New Zealand with his family on board the 'Helenslee' on 22 December 1864 with the Waikato Immigration Scheme. Fox worked as a native interpreter and was well known throughout the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. He died in Otorohanga on 28 June 1904 at the age of 47 and was buried in Cambridge.
Angus worked as an electric lineman for Tauranga Borough Council and lived in Wharf Street, Tauranga. He was also a Hauraki Regiment Volunteer.
On 12 January 1916, Angus enlisted to serve during World War I. On his attestation paper Angus stated that he was missing the index finder on his right hand and had a scald mark on the left side of his chest. He worked in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade Stores at Featherstone Military Training Camp.
At the end of that same year, Angus married Ruby Constance Guinness at Featherston on 28 November 1916 (reg. 1916/3029). They had one child together:
Elizabeth, older sister of Angus, became ill during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. She died in Rotorua at the age of 29, leaving a three day old baby behind.
Angus was still in training for World War I when he became ill during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
Sergeant (Quartermaster Stores) Angus William Carnachan died of of broncho pneumonia following influenza at Featherston on 17 November 1918 (reg. 1918/10837). He was aged 24. Angus was buried in Featherston Cemetery:
CARNACHAN. Serjt. Angus M. 16833. Died of Influenza 17th November 1918. Thames.
Ruby's father and two brothers had already died by the time she married Angus in 1916. Her mother died in 1932 and in 1941 she married Austin Anselm Delaney (1887-1954). Ruby died in Tauranga on 28 March 1970 and was buried in Pyes Pa Cemetery.
References:
Ancestry.com.
Archives New Zealand: Military Personnel File.
Auckland War Memorial Museum: Cenotaph Record.
Births, Deaths and Marriages Online (New Zealand).
Clement, Christine (2011). The Pioneers, Settlers and Families of Te Puke and District (p. 56 & 57).
Graham, Adele Pentony (2007). New Zealand and World War One: Featherston Cemetery (rootsweb).
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A version of this article was archived in August 2016 at Perma CC (https://perma.cc/2XNE-P7BT)
Year: | 1918 |
Note: | Service Number: 16833 |
First Names: | Angus William Te Poroa |
Last Name: | Carnachan |
Date of Birth: | 3 March 1894 |
Place of Birth: | Auckland |
Country of birth: | New Zealand |
Date of death: | 17 November 1918 |
Place of death: | Featherston, New Zealand |
Place of burial: | Featherston Cemetery |
Occupation: | electric lineman |
Spouses name: | Ruby Constance Guinness |
Spouses date of birth: | 18 August 1892 |
Spouses place of birth: | Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand |
Spouses date of death: | 28 March 1970 |
Spouses place of death: | Tauranga |
Spouses place of burial: | Pyes Pa Cemetery, Tauranga |
Date of marriage: | 28 November 1916 |
Place of marriage: | Featherston, New Zealand |
Fathers name: | Fox Maule Carnachan |
Fathers date of birth: | 1857 |
Fathers place of birth: | Reeden Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, England |
Fathers date of death: | 28 June 1904 |
Fathers place of death: | Otorohanga, NewZealand |
Mothers name: | Sarah (Hera) Piercy (aka Mokau Whakanui) |
Mothers date of birth: | c1864 |
Mothers place of birth: | Maketu, New Zealand |
Mothers date of death: | 1946 |
Mothers place of death: | Rotorua, New Zealand |
Name of the children: | Angus Crosbie Carnachan |
Military Service: | World War I (1914-1918) |