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As the nation this week remembers the sacrifices made by the many young Kiwis who went off to fight in the Great War and subsequent conflicts, a database of WW1 soldiers from the Hibiscus Coast is continuing to take shape.
For about a decade, the Hibiscus Coast Genealogy group, under the guidance of member Diane Shearer, has been working on a project to discover more about the soldiers who left the Coast for the battlefields, and are named on memorials at Silverdale, Upper Waiwera and Pūhoi.
The substantial database has been loaded onto a computer and, in future, will be an accessible community resource at the little museum at the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA on Vipond Road.
Hibiscus Matters featured some of those soldiers back when the project was in its infancy, in 2015. Since then, many more have joined their ranks, including the seven who are featured below.
They left the Coast for the WW1 battlefields
The seven soldiers featured below, including brothers James and Thomas Hurley, are among the 65 whose names appear on war memorials at Pūhoi Gate, Silverdale and Upper Waiwera. The Hibiscus Coast Genealogy group’s project was launched in 2014 in a bid to “put flesh on the bones” of those inscriptions.
“We wanted future generations to have a record of these men, and their service to New Zealand to be remembered and accessible,” the group said. “We owe it to them to record their stories and remember their deeds both at home and abroad.”
To learn more about the seven men, and others from the local area and from throughout New Zealand who took part in WW1, go to www.sites.google.com/view/hbcgenealogy/home or visit the Hibiscus Coast Family History Research Centre at Whangaparāoa Library between 10am and noon on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
James Travers, HURLEY (Jim), Corporal
Regt No 26/812, NZ Rifle Brigade 4th Battalion, A Company
Born in Pūhoi on September 14,1892, Jim enlisted when he was 23 and was working as a bushman near Hamilton. On April 7, 1916 he embarked for Egypt, where he served until wounded on September 15, 1916. After a long spell in hospital in England he left for France in May 1917. In October 1917 he was hospitalised again in the UK after being exposed to mustard gas. He returned to France, but was killed in action at Messines in April 1918. The plaque of the Machine Gun Corps at Messines includes his name.
Thomas Richard HURLEY (Tom), Private
Regt No 12933, 1st Auckland Regiment
Born December 3, 1894 in Waiwera, Thomas enlisted when he was 20 and was working as a grocer in Kihikihi. He deployed to Egypt on the Wiliochra on April 17, 1915. After serving in Gallipoli, Tom was invalided to Alder Hey House in Liverpool, lightly wounded and suffering from shell shock. Eight months later he rejoined his unit at Armentiers. A gunshot wound to the leg resulted in his death, and he was buried in the St Sever Cemetery in Rouen.
Norman Theodore (Brunny) BRUNTON, Sergeant, Military Medal
Regt No 12/1905, AK Infantry Battalion, 4th Reinforcements
Norman Theodore Brunton was born on January 14, 1895. His parents, Robert Langley and Margaret Jane had four children. Norman’s siblings were Ralph, Robert, and Hannah. His father was a farmer at Wade in 1915, and Norman was a carter working in Taupiri. He enlisted on January 11, 1915, and sailed from Wellington in April that same year for Suez. Norman served in Egypt, Gallipoli, and France. He was promoted to Corporal and then Sergeant in 1918. Norman was wounded twice and awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry in the Field in October 1918. After returning to NZ he married Bertha Margaret, daughter of a former employer. They had no children and divorced in 1948. Norman later married Georgina. He was awarded the Gallipoli Medallion, and died in Thames, aged 84.
David Sams EARWAKER, Private
Regt no 30775, AK Infantry Battalion, A Company, 20th Reinforcements
Born in Christchurch on March 8, 1891, David was the sixth child of Charles Henry and Sarah Elizabeth, who emigrated to NZ from West Yorkshire. After training as a carpenter in Christchurch, he moved to Dairy Flat about 1914 and was employed as a farmer. Enlisting in 1916, David embarked for England on December 7, 1916. After suffering from injuries just prior to enlistment, he had poor health. He served with the NZ contingent in Northern France before returning to NZ. David married Annie Body in 1921 at Dairy Flat and the couple had three children – Elizabeth, Charles and William. The family spent most of their lives in Dairy Flat, and many Earwaker descendants remain in the area. David died in 1975 and is buried in the Albany cemetery, along with Annie.
Leo Martin WECK (Wech), Private
Regt No 76028, 41st Reinforcements, E Company NZEF
Leo was born on March 9, 1892. His parents, John and Maria Weck, were born in Bohemia but had lived in NZ for 42 years. When Leo enlisted on June 19, 1917 he was single and working as a farmer in Upper Waiwera. Leo was in the Home Guard and Mounted Rifles before being sent to Trentham to train. From there he left Wellington on the Ulimarroa on July 27, 1918, arriving in London before marching to Sling Camp in Wiltshire. The war ended soon after, so Leo did not see active service but was moved around NZ military camps in England. He returned to the family farm in Kaipara and died in 1968 in Auckland. He is buried in the Pūhoi cemetery.
William Edward HAWKES, Bombardier
Regt no 13/2801, Field Artillery, 8th AK Mounted Rifles
William Hawkes was born in Wainui on February 19, 1895, the eldest son of Albert Thomas and Emma Elizabeth Mary Hawkes. William was employed as a farmer in Silverdale, and was initially declined enlistment because of ‘difficult’ teeth. After dentures were fitted in September 1915, he enlisted the following day. William served more than three years overseas, until discharged on March 2, 1919. He married Alice Edna Rhodes in 1919 and they had four children, William Keith, Irma, Betty Alice, and Gustav Adolphus. He died on May 19, 1958 aged 62 years, predeceased by his wife Alice, who died in 1934.
Donald Stewart MCCATHIE, Captain
Ak Mounted Rifles, 4th Squadron Regt No 13/403
The McCathie family arrived from Scotland in 1863 and settled on a 200 acre block in Upper Waiwera, where they attended local schools and church. Born in 1893, Donald enlisted in 1914 when he was working as a butcher in Te Awamutu. He embarked with the main body of troops from Wellington, bound for Egypt. He fought at Gallipoli, and in 1916 was promoted to Sergeant. He then attended machine gun training – gaining a Distinction – and continued to fight in Egypt (Battle of Rafah), Palestine, Bethlehem and the Jordan Valley. He was awarded the Military Cross as a Second Lieutenant and was severely wounded in the knee while in Palestine. He returned to NZ in 1919. Donald also went on to serve in WWII as a NZ Territorial Force officer. He died in 1948.
Local Anzac Day services
Services on April 25 commemorate the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers who fought during World War I, but the day also honours current and past service personnel who have served in conflicts around the world to defend the freedoms Kiwis enjoy today. The services play a vital role in preserving collective memory and ensuring that the sacrifices of past generations are not forgotten – and provide an opportunity for younger generations to learn about the sacrifices their forebears made and to appreciate the profound impact of war on society • Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay – Dawn service, 5.45am-7am, Civic service 10.45am-12 noon. Contact: David Dryden, 021 0230 1350 or ddas@xtra.co.nz • Silverdale War Memorial, Hibiscus Coast Highway (at the rugby club), 8.45am-10am • Ōrewa Anzac Day Service, Remembrance Reserve, Ōrewa , commencing at 1pm • Upper Waiwera Cenotaph, Anzac Day service, 711 Weranui Road, 2.30pm, followed by afternoon tea at 1 McCathie Rd. Contact: Grant Allen, 027 543 9888, gallen@outlook.co.nz • Combined North Shore RSA Dawn Parade and Service. Assemble 5.30am cnr Anzac Rd and Beachfront Lane, Browns Bay.
