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James
Barnard
James (Jim) Barnard was b: 06 Jul 1891 to parents Henry
James and Helena Barnard in Wellington. He d: 13 Jul 1988 in Auckland
Public Hospital and was bur: 16 Jul 1988 Onetangi Cemetery, Waiheke
island, RSA Block 7,Lot No 124. Time Line: James ran away from school aged 12 1/2 yrs and from home
aged 14 1/2.He was a penniless teenager but he survived until
Rhoda died in 1967 and James
finally retired when he was 70 and lived at his beach front property at
Onetangi, Waiheke. He had a plan to halt the waste of more and more
first class farmland in the flanks of Auckland and to develop Waiheke as a
residential area. He said Auckland must do something to use our
harbour and its immediate islands for residence and as a playground.
Gulf islands, he said were being swallowed in Maritime Gulf Park and
were now useless to most Fiercely independent although
nearly blind in later years, he continued to live alone. A loyalist and
patriot, he gained a reputation for his dislike of organised politics and
non-conformist views. A difference of opinion saw war
veterans father and son separated for 20 years but reconciliation came
Anzac Day Apr 1985 as they walked together at the Auckland
Domain James and Rhoda's children: 1 Helen Rewa Barnard (b: 7 Sep
1916 in Masterton d: 1980 in Tauranga) She mar:
1938 to Reginald Gamlin Topless d: 05 Jul 1991 in Tauranga Their
family: i Bruce Topless mar: Ann - family are
Susan, Kate, James Their sons; i. Roger James Barnard mar Maria
Elizabeth; ii. Graeme Whatman Barnard mar Claire Theresa Woodward -
their son Frazer Graeme; iii Timothy James Barnard mar Dianne with
children Andrea and Cameron Barnard Srce: Alexandra Libaray: "The Barnard
Illuminated Address" by James Barnard (9 May
1985) Gulf News: Obituary "Waiheke's Oldest
Soldier was a Battler for the Underdog" (Jul 22,
1988
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Virtually one armed, James Barnard
settled on 600 acres of farmland at Taranaki, lived in a tent, and slaved,
and in 10 years turned it into a prosperous farm. He lost most of
his money in the slump, he had sold his farm and invested most of his
money in mortgages in Auckland. So he started again, joined Murray Roberts
near Fielding and became probably the country's most successful cattle and
sheep buyer, with names like Riddiford and Oram as his permanent
customers. After many years with the firm, he resigned and travelled
through the King Country, selling general goods from a
van. 
Aucklanders because of the
difficulty of access. He felt it nonsence to go on spending millions of
dollars on roads and bridges and their maintenance when there was a
waterway that cost nothing. A fleet of hovercraft could serve the harbour
area from Hobsonville to Orere Point and the harbour islands and people
could get to the city quicker by sea than road. He thought that Motutapu
could be developed as a proper playground with golf courses, tennis courts
and bowling rinks.
ii James
Whatman Barnard (b: 02 Feb 1920 in Christchurch; WW2 Veteran - enlisted in
1st Eschalon and served with distinction in
Africa and Italy. He was awarded the Military Medal on the battlefield
(London Gazette 3 Aug 1944: No.
1180.Lance-Corporal. James Whatman Barnard) and
promotion at Casino. He and his grandmother Helena together received
recognition for their war service from Sir Bernard Fryberg.
Jame's Occ: sheep farmer at Kairanga; he d: 13 Aug
2007 in Palmerston North Bur: Palmerston Nth Cemetery) Mar: 1949
to Margaret Isobel Blackford 
