History – The Whangaparāoa Marshes

The sailing ship SS Whirlwind arrived in Auckland in July 1859 after a tempestuous three-month voyage from England. On board were the Knaggs family listed among the 30 saloon passengers and (according to family records) Richard Marsh among the unlisted 200 steerage passengers. The Knaggs family and Richard Marsh moved to Mangapai, south of Whangarei, and were among the first European settlers in that area.

Richard Marsh married Ellen Elizabeth Knaggs and in 1875 they settled on Whangaparaoa Peninsula near the Weiti River in what is now the Poplar Road area. In 1878 Richard bought a large piece of land in Stanmore Bay/Brightside Road for 300 pounds and sold it in 1883 for 210 pounds.

Richard died in 1911 and Ellen was still living in the cottage near the river when it burned down. A new one was built for her in 1913.

Richard and Ellen had nine children and many years later their descendants wrote down what they remembered of their grandparents. Ellen Marsh was physically very small, but staunch. One day her husband’s favourite horse, Lady Mary, was gored by a bull and Richard was keen to put it down but Ellen got out her black linen thread and needles, put everything back in place and sewed the horse up. In recounting this episode she always emphasised how still the horse had stood for her, not how brave she had been. On another occasion when a cow was choking from a turnip stuck in its throat, she got a stirrup, pushed it in the animal’s mouth to keep its jaws open and pulled out the turnip. Ellen had her own pistol and made bullets by melting down the lead from the inside of old tea chests.

She had a special little pan and wooden moulds. Family who stayed with Richard and Ellen remembered trips to Auckland by steamboat. This was in the days when ladies wore long skirts, tight bodices and gloves and a great deal of white starched linen which would have been difficult to keep clean with all the smoke and grime on the journey. On one occasion a grubby five-year-old came to see his mother and sisters off and after all the excitement of boarding the steamer he was still holding his mother’s hand as the boat set off. She had to take him to a draper for new clothes so that he was fit to accompany the elegant ladies.
Museum News

Pioneer Village open 10am–3pm Saturday and Sunday • May 1 Coach trip to Westwind Cinema, Avondale. Fare $35, includes film and roast dinner.  Phone 424 8615 to book. Visitors welcome.