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Mr. Thomas Percival WOODING Snr was born on 7 Mar 1832
in the
village of Turvey, Bedfordshire, England, and was brought up as a
gardener. He came to New Zealand with some of the early colonists
in the
ship "Joseph Fletcher," and arrived in Lyttelton in 1856. He
was
married at Kaiapoi in 1859, to Miss Gibbs, of Bedfordshire,
and they
had three sons and four daughters. After remaining at Papanui for
a few
months where he worked for a time as a foreman on the formation of
the
Papanui Road, Mr. Wooding went to Woodend, where he was one of the
first
colonists, and there he resided until 1875. During his
stay
there he was a member of the first wooden church, school committee
and
sexton of the Woodend church. On leaving that place, he
lived at
Woodend in the Kaiapoi district, and in 1875, bought a 500
acre farm
from the Crown a few miles from Woodbury. A property then in a
state of
nature was later known as 'Woodland Grange',
Woodbury. Much of
the breaking in of the farm was done by Wooding's eldest son,
Joseph, who
was later assisted by his brother Tom, who was eight years his
junior.
Following this,the two became partners in a well-known
Canterbury
threshing and contracting business, Wooding Bros., of
Woodbury. Mr.
Wooding kept half-bred sheep, and his oat crops averaged forty
bushels per
acre. His success in life was due to his training in the Old
Country, his untiring energy, and the nicest sense of humour, so
that he
was greatly respected and liked by all who knew him, but he was of
a
retiring disposition and took no part in public affairs. Mr and
Mrs
Wooding were most hospitable people and their good-heartedness
kept pace
with their increasing prosperity. Mr Wooding leaves 2
sons who have
followed in their father's footsteps and a third still a youth and
also
several daughters, most of them are married. Mr Wooding d: in
August, 1901
aged 68Y.
WOODING BROTHERS (Joseph and Thomas Percival Wooding),
Farmers
and Mill Owners, Woodbury. These gentlemen are sons of the late
Mr. T.P.
Wooding, of Woodbury. The first was born at Woodend in 1861, and
was one
of the first scholars at the Woodend school; the second was born
in 1868,
also at Woodend, and was educated at Woodbury. Both sons
were
brought up to farming on their father's property, and in 1888 they
started
in partnership on a farm near Woodbury. They also own two
threshing
combines, clover shellers, and chaff cutters, which they work
throughout
the Geraldine and Orari districts, and during the season of 1899,
they
threshed 233,000 bushels of grain. Mr. Joseph Wooding has
been a
member of the Woobury Domain Board for many years. He
married a
daughter of Mr. William Hawke, Geraldine, in 1892, and has two
sons and
two daughters.
Descendants of Thomas Percival Wooding Snr: and Hephzibah (Hessie) nee Gibbs:
Thomas Percival WOODING Jnr. was one of Woodbury's
most
respected residents. He was born at Woodend in 1868, and was
the
second son of Mr T. P. Wooding, of Turvey, Bedfordshire, who came
to New
Zealand in 1856 in the ship Joseph Fletcher. He went to South
Canterbury
with his parents at the age of seven years. For many years he
worked on
his father's farm, later joining his brother in purchasing a
threshing
plant which they worked successfully in the Geraldine and Woodbury
districts. Later the brothers took up farming, purchasing land at
Woodbury. Eventually Mr T. P. Wooding acquired the property known
as
"Groveley," which he successfully farmed to the time of his death.
He mar:
28 Dec 1892 to Rachael, third daughter of Mr Robert Rae, Woodbury.
Mr
Wooding took a keen interest in local affairs and served for 25
years on
the school committee. He was also a member of the Domain Board. He
was a
staunch supporter of St. Thomas's Church and was vice-president of
the
Geraldine branch of the Farmers' Union and a delegate to the South
Canterbury executive of the union. Mr Wooding leaves a widow and
six
children:—Messrs G. and C. Wooding (Peel Forest), R. Wooding
(Four Peaks),
H. Wooding, and M. Wooding (Woodbury), and Mrs Aubrey Scott
(Burnham).
Descendants of Thomas Percival Wooding Jnr: (b: 1868; d: 06 Jul 1933 in Woodbury) Mar: 28 Dec 1892 in Geraldine to Rachel Rae (b: 07 Feb 1868 in Rangitata; d: 03 Aug 1943 in WoodburyBur: 5 Aug 1943 Woodbury, Geraldine) Their Children :
MARY ANN RAE. We record the loss of a lady who came to
these
shores seventy-three years ago. Mrs Mary Ann Rae, wife of Mr
Robert Rae of
Rae's Creek, in the same locality. The story of her life is one of
absorbing interest, from which our readers may glean some idea, by
reading
between the lines, of the brief notice we are able to give here.
The
deceased lady was born at Macclesfield, Cheshire. England. in
1838, and
came out to the then young colony with her parents in the sailing
ship
Duke of Portland which landed her passengers with their scanty
belongings,
at Lyttelton in I851. The youthful pioneer (she was but eleven
years of
age) had to walk over the old bridle track from the port to
Christchurch.
She first resided with Mrs Cass. Six years later she was married
at St.
Michael's Church to Mr Robert Marshall, and shortly afterwards
with her
husband started by bullock dray (driven by Mr Henderson) for the
Rangitata
River. The young couple stayed with Mr Simon Rae, who was manager
of the
Cracroft station, on the north side of the river, during the
construction
of the accommodation house and the ferry which Mr Marshall
intended to
operate for the conveyance of the coaches which then ran between
Christchurch and Timaru, and during the building of the
accommodation
house Mrs Marshall slept in a tent. The home, which was built of
timber
from tin Peel Forest bush, had to be pit sawn, and afterwards
became well
known to the early settlers as the Upper Rangitata ferry. Four
years later
Mrs Marshall lost her husband, and was left with a son and
two
daughters, one of whom, Ellen, was drowned in a big flood in the
Rangitata.
In 1865 she was married io Mr Robert Rae, and they
lived at the
ferry for a while. Mr Rae then built what was known as the Lower
Rangitata
Ferry House, which was placed on what had then become the direct
line from
Christchurch to the south. Robert Rae was ordered to put up a
sitting room
and was given 1 month to comply. He also was required to keep 2
ferryboats
in working order from 5am to 7pm in summer and from 7am to 5pm in
winter.
After runing this for a time, he took up land between
Woodbury
and Geraldine and built a home later known as Templers. Later they
built
the present residence on the bank of Rae's Creek, and a
lot of
the material for this was conveyed down from the original
accommodation house at the Upper Rangitata ferry. Mr Rae died
about
fifteen years ago and Mrs Rae lived on at Raeburn as the home was
named.
She was one of the first members of the Presbyterian Church in the
district. Now, after a long. useful, and adventurous life, she
lies at
rest in the Geraldine cemeery. She leaves five sons and
three
daughters to mourn her loss.
Descendants of Mary Anne Goodwin: b: 1838 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, and d: 17 Nov 1922 in Geraldine. She mar: 1860 at St Michaels Church, Christchurch to ROBERT MARSHALL (b: 1831) He operated Rangitata Marshall's Ferry and employed 2 men to operate the punt. He d: 24 Dec 1864 in Rangitata Accommodation House aged 30Y. Mary Ann took over the boarding licence until May 1 1866 when Rbt Rae took over operation of Marshalls Ferry. Mary Marshall mar: 15 Mar 1866 (2) ROBERT RAE (b: 30 Oct 1842 in Loch Broom, Scotland, son of SIMON RAE and MARY IRVINE; he d: 21 Feb 1907 in Timaru Hospital. Children of MARY GOODWIN and ROBERT MARSHALL:i. JOHN THOMAS MARSHALL (b. 1861; d. 1930, Papanui) ii. SARAH ANN LUCY MARSHALL (b. 1862. iii. ELLEN ETHELD MARSHALL (b. 1863; d. 1866, Drowned in stream, Rangitata) Children of MARY GOODWIN and ROBERT RAE:iv. MARY ELLEN RAE (b. 20 Dec 1867, Marshalls Ferry, Rangitata; d. 02 Sep 1946, Auckland) v. RACHEL RAE (b. 07 Feb 1868, Rangitata; d. 03 Aug 1943, Woodbury 1922) vi. WILLIAM RAE (b. 15 Jul 1869, Rangitata; d. 15 Nov 1942, Milford) mar. MARY MERCY SMITH, 07 Dec 1900, Arrowtown, Otago. vii. ROBERT SIMON RAE (b. 28 Nov 1870, Geraldine; d. 16 Jul 1924, Dunedin) mar. JANE FLEMING BLACK, 30 Apr 1902. viii. SAMUEL RAE (b. 24 Jun 1872, Geraldine; d. 30 Oct 1934, Temuka) mar. MARY ANN QUAID, 07 Jan 1902. ix. LUCY RAE (b. 19 Sep 1873, Geraldine; d. 13 Apr 1948, Timaru) x. JAMES RAE (b. 25 Jan 1875, Geraldine; d. 01 Sep 1949, Seacliff, Otago) mar. JANE REID, 15 Aug 1901, Geraldine, Sth Canterbury. Images and data used in this site copyright
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