Notes from Terry Moulin, 2002:
Halswell was her address 2/2/1905.
She cared for J W Hanson's son Vivian by Agnes Hood.
Mary was 12 yrs old when her Dad died.
Notes from Terry Moulin, 2002:
Wellington was his address at 2/2/1905.
Had a child Vivian by Agnes Hood prior to marrying Mary Jane HOLMES.
Vivian was raised as Joseph and Mary Jane's child.
Relocation to Taranaki, occupation: fireman.
Notes from Terry Moulin, 2002:
In 1899 his address was Linwood.
Had an Orangeman's sash.
Was a dairyman in 1905.
Caretaker of Sydenham Park, Christchurch for over 30 years including 1913-15 (Wise's Directory).
Was 10 years old when his Dad died.
Lived in Chch City Council house.Biography by Pat Percival:
My grandfather was caretaker of Sydenham Park for 30 years. All the family attended Sydenham school.
My mother Mona & her youngest sister Ray attended Chch Girls' High, the younger boys attended Chch Boys' High.
The eldest son Joe was a baker and his nickname was "Doughy" Holmes. Nancy was a school teacher, as was Tom. Ray worked at the stocking box in Colombo St, Mona worked in the office at Adams Ltd. Graham was a welder and taught night school at Tech.
Rene & Ray played hockey, Mona basketball and the boys rugby.
After my grandfather retired he came to live with us at Bamford St (he & Grandma had separated) and she lived at Cashmere with Ray and died suddenly in her fifties.
I remember him with great affection, he always had a penny or threepence on his dresser for me! and always said I was the best girl he'd seen that day. It was until later I realized I was the only one he had seen!
I was 12 when he passed away, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered over Sydenham Park.Notes from Fay Gray, 2014:
I can just remember him at Mona's place in Bamford Street in bed. Must have been just before he died. Think we went to visit him by bus as we did not have a car. I have been told that he and Dad (Graham) took all the pine trees for the Burwood Plantation in Christchurch to the area by horse and dray from Sydenham.
Notes from Terry Moulin, 2002:
Violet had a child, Kath, at age 17 who was raised by her husband Joseph HOLMES and herself.
She did a "Chinese trot".
In 1920-ish she sailed to England with Mrs Cherry while grandma Carrie HOOD looked after the family, who lived in Johnson St, Sydenham, Chch.
She crocheted.Notes from Nick Holmes, 2013:
Sister of Ida Agnes HOOD, whose child was raised by Mary Jane HANSON, sister of Joseph HOLMES.
Notes from Terry Moulin, 2002:
Daughter of Violet HOOD. Birth registration does not list father's name.
Raised by Violet HOOD & Joseph HOLMES.Notes from Nick Holmes, 2016:
School enrolments are under Kathleen May HOLMES, and give her birthdate as 21 Jan 1898.
Notes from Fay Gray, 2014:
Was Deans Scholar (dux) of Christchurch Boys' High School and his cap and certificate together with old style records on the teaching of French were given back to the school on his death by Dad. He also played cricket for CBHS and there are photos of him on the school walls. He was assistant principal of Wellington College for a number of years and before coming to Christchurch with Kathleen and Rex when they retired, he lived with them in Lower Hutt. He was very interested in classical music and I have a number of very old records with various classical operas and speeches by Prime Ministers etc. We kept in touch with Thomas, Rex & Kathleen when they shifted to Christchurch and they helped finance the purchase of a car for Dad and Mum who would take them out for drives to various picnic spots at weekends. Thomas never married.
Notes from Fay Gray, 2014:
He played hockey and I have been told that he was the first male to umpire womens hockey in NZ but as yet I have not been able to confirm this. During the war he was in the Home Guard. He applied to the army but was not accepted because he had "flat feet". When Dad left school he took up work in the office of a Warehouse company but found this did not suit him. He left and went panel beating at Parks' garage in Christchurch and did this for a number of years. He then left and worked for Andrews and Beavan in their metal workshop for quite some time and was the first person to use a profile cutting machine. He cut all the steel for the bridge over the Clutha River in Alexandra and also the steel for what was the railway station then Science alive in Moorhouse Avenue in Christchurch. Now gone because of the earthquakes and the brickwork failing. He taught welding at Christchurch Technical College (now CPIT). He also had a contract to repair all the wire milk crates for the Christchurch area and did this from his garage at home at night and weekends. It was my job to hammer all the pieces of 8 gauge wire straight so he could weld them into place. He also drove a taxi for a while. He was Secretary of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Welding for a number of years and from letters I have on file he was well thought of at the time of his resignation. In his latter years he gave up welding and worked as a Verger at Christchurch Cathedral. I have a number of books etc that were given to tourists and they tell a very interesting story about the building of the Cathedral and on reading it reconstruction should not take place. He died after having Motor Neurone disease for three years.
11. Thomas HOLMES
Notes from Nick Holmes, 2013:
According to the records was just one year old when his dad (William) died accidentally. He would have been raised by his step-father, Robert Watson.
His grandson Richard Holmes has a memory of 'Grandpop' coming to watch him play soccer when he was around 10 years old.
Notes from Nick Holmes, 2013:
Sadly is not fondly remembered by her grandchildren, and the reputation is perpetuated. Late 2012 it was discovered that she had been one of ten children. It was again suggested by her granddaughters that one would have thought she might have had a more generous nature, having grown up with that many siblings.
Notes from Nick Holmes, 2013:
It is rumoured he was disinherited for marrying a Catholic. This is unconfirmed. His children had a lot more to do with their mother’s side, the Burkes (she was the eldest of nine children). He did not go to war, which was never forgotten by his brothers-in-laws, although they themselves suffered long-lasting effects. He worked for the Public Trust and also was a secretary of the National Party. He gets a mention in the book that was written about the first 50 years of the party. He attended Christchurch Boys’ High, which enabled some of his grandchildren to attend in recent years. He and his wife Eileen also ran a milk bar at one point. They were frugal, having seven children, but being an office worker he did things like buy life insurance policies for each of his children when they were born. He was also known in later years to cook breakfast on a Saturday morning for whomever was still left living at home. Dad tells a story about a time when all the kids were conscripted to help paint the roof, and his Dad saying, "Don't be afraid to put some on."