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Topic: John Lees Faulkner (c1811-1882)
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John Lees Faulkner was an early Tauranga trader, arriving in the area in 1840. The following information is from the Tauranga City Council and Historic Places Trust sign about John Lees Faulkner's house at Otumoetai which was built in 1844. Additional information has been researched by Debbie McCauley.
Born in England about 1811, Faulkner arrived in Australia as a boat builder in 1828. About 1832-33 he moved to the Bay of Island, New Zealand, where the South Pacific whaling fleet resorted to replenish their stocks of food, water and firewood, and for repairs to their ships. With his carpentry skills Faulkner prospered here. The demand for potatoes, pigs and salted port by the whalers led him to venture as far south as Tauranga for supplies.
In 1835, the year in which his eldest son was baptised in Kororareka (now Russell), Faulkner purchased half an acre of land from the chief Kiwikiwi at Otuihu (Pomare’s pa) near the deepwater anchorage of the Kawakawa river mouth. It is not known whether he met his first wife, Ruawahine Irihapeti (Elizabeth), with whom he had 13 children, in the Bay of Islands or on one of his voyages to Tauranga. Ruawahine belonged to the Ngāi Te Rangi iwi, the last people to occupy the Otumoetai pa.
In 1840 the family moved to Tauranga, staying first at Maungatapu pa for a short time before taking up residence on Ruawahine’s land at Otumoetai, half a kilometre east of the pa. He continued trading with the Bay of Islands and the growing town of Auckland. As well as potatoes, pigs and salted pork, Faulkner traded in wheat, maize and kauri gum produced by Tauranga Maori, bartering European goods such as blankets, clothing, iron tools and implements and some staple foods. On these trading voyages he sailed with Maori crews, but sometimes employed other captains.
Faulkner is known to have built four vessels of around 30 feet length overall between 1846 and 1854. He probably built smaller unrecorded boats for both himself and local Maori at his conveniently located harbourside home in Otumoetai which he built in 1844. Some of the vessels were named after his daughters, and one was called “The Children.” Later he is recorded as the owner or part owner of various other craft, notably the topsail schooner “Tauranga”.
His children were well educated, being sent away to boarding schools inAuckland and Sydney. The girls became the wives of European settlers, often moving away from Tauranga, while the boys remained in the district.
In January 1857, following the death of Ruawahine, aged 44, in September 1855, Faulkner married Elizabeth Humphreys; an English woman recently arrived in Auckland whom he had known whilst growing up. The couple had one son, John Daniel (1857-1917), who continued his father’s connection with the sea by establishing Faulkner’s Ferries between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.
The fourteen children of John Lees Faulkner:
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Joseph Faulkner (1835-1918). Baptised by Henry Williams on 20 May 1835. He married Heeni Potier who was half French and half Maori. Joseph died on 17 April 1918.
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Died in infancy (c1836-?).
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Elizabeth Faulkner (c1838-1869). She married William Henry Beazley, son of George and Isabella Beazley, on 7 January 1853 at the Te Papa Mission Chapel. William was born at Wandsworth, Surrey, England, on 20 October 1820. He arrived at the Bay of Islands in New Zealand on board the 'Patriot' in 1836. Elizabeth died on 5 February 1869 (reg. 1869/3505), possibly in childbirth (reg. 1869/3518). She was buried at Symonds Street Cemetery, Auckland. William remarried to Elizabeth Boyce. William died at Pt Chevalier, Auckland, on 7 March 1910.
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Maria Faulkner (1840-1897). Born in Tauranga in 1840. She firstly married Hamuera Paki, a Matapihi farmer, and they had two children. She left the children with their father when she went up north to care for her ailing older sister Elizabeth. Maria never returned to her family, but married James Maxwell at Omapere, Hokianga, on 17 September 1876, and had four more children. Maria died on 31 January 1897 (reg. 1897/450).
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Jarvis Faulkner (c1841-1882). He married Elizabeth Tatai at the Te Papa Mission Chapel on 11 June 1868. He is said to have at one stage been the largest wheat grower in the area. Jarvis died at Otumoetai, age 41, on 20 December 1882 (reg. 1882/4422).
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Jane Faulkner (1842-1884). Born at Otumoetai in 1842. She married Captain Daniel Sellers at St Barnabas, Auckland, on 20 January 1857. Daniel was born on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, on 25 November 1830 to Peter and Isabella Sellars (nee Clarke). He died in Tauranga, aged 50, on 22 September 1880 and was buried at Te Papa Mission Cemetery on 25 September 1880. Jane died in Tauranga, aged 43, on 7 July 1884.
- John Faulkner (c1844-1857). He died, aged 13, on 9 February 1857. Buried with his mother in Mission Cemetery, the service being conducted by Archdeacon Brown.
- Eliza Faulkner (c1845-1927). She married Robert Smelt Bush, Resident Magistrate, at the Auckland Registry Office on 3 April 1872. Eliza died, aged 82, on 30 December 1927 (reg. 1927/9514).
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Alfred Faulkner (c1847-1905). He never married. By September 1876 Alfred was operating a hotel at the Katikati heads. Alfred died on 15 May 1905. He was buried at Te Papa Mission Cemetery.
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George Faulkner (c1848-1873). George was born in Tauranga in c1848. Alfred Brown married George and Jane Piercy, daughter of James John Piercy of Maketu, at the Te Papa Mission Chapel in Tauranga on 27 February 1868. George died, aged 25, at the home of his father in Otumoetai on 28 September 1873 (reg. 1873/10820). He was buried at Te Papa Mission Cemetery with full military honours.
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Isabella Faulkner (c1850-1931). She married James Lovell Neighbour [Constable A.C. Force]. James was born in Maidenheads, Perthshire, England. Isabella died in 1931 (reg. 1931/12131).
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Christopher Faulkner (1852-1936). Born in Otumoetai on 28 July 1852. Christopher was a trooper and despatch rider during the New Zealand Wars. He became one of the best-known captains in the Northern Steamship Company. He married Jane Kotiro and Alice Capper. Christopher died in Queen Street, Onehunga, on 12 August 1936. His obituary appeared in the Bay of Plenty Times on 15 August 1936.
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Died in infancy (c1854-?).
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Pauline [Porina] Faulkner (c1855-1947). Born in c1855, likely just before her mother died in September 1855. She married Charles Haare Bidois (1856-1932) son of another early trader, Louis Bidois. Pauline died in Te Puna on 2 January 1947 (reg. 1947/32160).
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John Daniel Faulkner (1857-1917). Son of John Lees Faulkner and his second wife Elizabeth Faulkner (nee Humphreys). John was born in Auckland in 1857. He married Annie Lizzie Piercy, daughter of Hartis and Sarah Piercy, on 24 June 1880. Annie was born in Hull, England. They and their children were the last of the Faulkners to live in the Otumoetai homestead. After the family moved to Tauranga in the early 1900s, John Daniel founded Faulkner's Ferries, which ran between the township and Mount Maunganui. John was accidentally killed on his launch 'Farina' at 10am on 7 August 1917. The launch struck the projecting headstock of the Mount Maunganui Railway Wharf which crushed John, killing him instantly. At the time he was living in Devonport Road (Bay of Plenty Times, 8 August 1917).
In 1860 Faulkner was appointed the first postmaster in Tauranga, having acted unofficially in that capacity for some time. On the outbreak of the Waikato land war in 1863 the family moved to Auckland for safety, returning to open a store on the waterfront in Tauranga, patronised by the British troops who were ordered to Tauranga in January 1864. Shortly after the Battle of Gate Pa, 29 April 1864, their unoccupied home at Otumoetai was ransacked by soldiers.
Faulkner was able to claim Ruawahine’s land, confiscated in 1865 along with other Tauranga Maori land, on behalf of their children, who received a Crown Grant of 88 acres (35.6 hectares). He himself received a grand of about half an acre on the waterfront containing his home, Okorore. After the wars Faulkner returned to live at Otumoetai.
He died in Tauranga, aged 71, on 8 September 1882 (reg. 1882/5627) at his son John Daniel’s home on Cameron Road [The Yorkshire Grey Hotel on the corner of Cameron Road and Sixth Avenue in the then suburb of Quarter Acres]. His obituary appeared in the Bay of Plenty Times on 9 September 1882. John was buried with Ruawahine and his son John in Mission Cemetery (Otamataha Pā).
Headstone of Ruawahine, John and John Lees Faulkner. Photo: Debbie McCauley.
Faulkner left his wife, Elizabeth, a life interest in the Otumoetai homestead. It was leased for a time in the 1890s by a horticulturalist, W. C. Berridge. The Otumoetai Schoolwas held in one of the outbuildings from its establishment in 1895 until 1897, when it moved to its present site on Otumoetai Road. The property was sold in 1912, after Elizabeth’s death the previous year, aged 91, on 17 December 1911. Elizabeth was buried in Tauranga Anglican Cemetery.
Faulkner House [built by John Lees Faulkner] when owned by the Procter family (1936).
In 1986 Faulkner House, located at present day 25 Beach Road, Otumoetai, was removed toTauranga Historic Village Museum.
Faulkner Family Reunion Plaque (2004-2005). Photo: Debbie McCauley.
Sources:
For more information see Tauranga historian Jinty Rorke's article on John Lees Faulkner by clicking here or puruse the Faulkner file held at the Tauranga City Library.
Historical Births, Deaths and Marriages Online (New Zealand).
John Lees Faulkner (1811-1882), trader and pioneer (1963) by E. E. Bush. Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society, No 16 (June 1963), pp. 9-12.
How to cite this page: McCauley, Debbie (2013). John Lees Faulkner (c1811-1882). Retrieved from http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/topics/show/1300 (Tauranga Memories, last updated: *insert date*). In-text citation:(McCauley, 2013)
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Thank you for sharing your information 'estaw'. I have made the amendments to Maria's entry based on your comments.
Posted on May 4th, 2014 at 12:15 PM
John Lees Faulkner
John Lees Faulkner
eastaw
said John Lees Faulkner
Hi there, I have noted that you have John Lees Faulkners 4th daughter Marias husband as James Maxwell of Omapere. Yes this is correct, but he was Marias second husband. Maria was born in Tauranga to John Lees Faulkner and Ruawahine Faulkner (Tawaho) in 1840 and deceased 31 January 1897. Maria married Hamuera Paki a farmer from Matapihi, their first child was Mere Riripeti Paki born around 1862 and a son Hori Paki born 1863.
Maria left her children with their father and headed up north to look after her ailing sister Elizabeth who married a Beazley. Maria never returned and subsequently met James Maxwell.
James brother William married Elizabeths daughter Elizabeth Regina.
Maria and James first child was Eliza Isabella Maxwell born 1864, Maria Jane 1868, James John 1872 and Christopher 1876.
Maria died on 31 January 1897 aged 57.
James Maxwell later married Jane Te Wake the older sister of Whena Cooper.