 Clarry Cone was
born in Cone Street, Rangiora and was educated at the Borough School and
took the carpentry course at the Rangiora Technical School. At the age of
15 years he left school to work on his father's farm at Edendale and after
the farm was sold, worked on various jobs about the country, including the
cheese factory at Edendale which at that time, was the largest in the
country. He was working in North Canterbury when his father bought the
Waiau shop in 1911.In 1918 he went to the Military Camp at Featherston, joining the 47th Field Artillery and was still in Camp when the war finished. His discharge took place in the middle of the Flu epidemic and he returned to Waiau to work in the Wairau Butchery. Clarence Frederick Cone married 4th March ,
1920 to Fred and Margaret Hand's eldest daughter Edith (Edie) May Hand (b: 14 Mar 1900 in Rotherham; d: 21
Jun 1989 in Ivanhoe Rest Home, Christchurch) Others in Edie's
family were Maude who
mar Leonard Kjestrup; Alice mar
Sydney James (Jim)
Trowbridge; Charles Hand
mar: Ella; and Gladys Hand
mar: Douglas Davison)
Edie's father, Frederick Hand was
born in Lincolnshire, England to parents Charles (b. 1840 Nettleton,
Lincolnshire; d:1920 Hands Road, Hillmorton, Christchurch) who mar:
1863 Grasby, Lincolnshire to Rebecca nee Bratley (1846-1922) They
immigrated when Fred was 5, along with John 7 and Mary 3 yrs and
grandparents John (1810-1875) and Elizabeth nee Proctor
(1816-1894) The family left England 18 Sep 1874 on the ship
"Geraldine Paget" and arrived at Lyttelton 27 Dec 1874. Charles and
Rebecca are said to have had in total 17 children - those known
are John (1865-1945) mar: 1888 to Amy Frances Legg; Frederick
(1869-1956) mar; 1894 to Margaret Gray; Alfred
(1870-1874); Mary Jane (1872-1954) mar: 1901 to Willie Ernest
Page; William Padget (1874-1962) mar: 1903 to Catherine
Brosnahan; Annie Georgina (1876-d:5m); David (1877-); Henry
(1878-1880); Charlotte Georgina (1879-1906) mar: 1900 to
Frederick Charles Wilson; Ethel May (1880-d.4m); Edward Martin
(1881-1938); George (1881-1939) mar: 1922 to Annie Louise
Davis; Peter (1889-1967) mar: 1912 to Selina Frances Ann
Carter.
Edie's mother, Margaret nee
Gray was b: 14 Jan 1870 at Lillydale, Victoria,
Australia to parents Alexander Gray (1838-1897) and mother Mary Ann nee
Thompson (1850-1941) - Margaret d: 16 Aug 1948 in Christchurch Public
Hospital Bur: Simeon St Cem, Christchurch
The Gray with their children -
Alexander (1867-1945); Mary (1869-1926); Margaret; William
Andrew (1873-1956) Annie (1876-1962) Jane (1878-1907) James
(1880-1918) Henry (1883-1931); Joseph (1887-1917); Victoria (1888-1973)
George (1890-1954) left 20 Dec
1890 from Melbourne for Canterbury
Edith's parents spent all their
married life at Rotherham - here, Fred had a farm and her mother Margaret
did all the nursing duties in the Rotherham area before a hospital was
built and a resident doctor came. All the babies (including triplets) were
born at the Hand's house. (Edie's mother lived with her daughter for the
last two years of her life).
 In 1926 after about 10 years
ownership, Clarrie's father, George Herbert retired and Clarrie took
over the shop where he employed five people. One of these was Jack
Muir who drove the old Dodge delivery van to Rotherham, Culverden and at
Hamner they supplied the Queen Mary Hospital, The Lodge and the Public
Works Camp during the construction of the Lewis Pass Road.This remarkable
van had been round the clock about three times. It was said that you
can tell something of a person's character by the vehicle they own -
Clarrie used to favour V8's - he was an excellent driver and those with a
less powerful vehicle would allow about two and a half hours to town but
Clarrie did not waste any time. His butcher delivery vehicle was an old
Dodge about 1926 vintage.
The family had the first radio or wireless as they were then called in Waiau.The area did not get power until the 1940's so it was battery powered by old 6 volt car batteries and a large crowd gathered at the house to hear the arrival of Kingsford Smith after his historic flight across the Tasman.  Clarry was very interested in flying in the 1830's and was an early member of the Flying Club. His daughter Avis can remember when she was young, him flying over the house in a Tiger Moth and dropping them the newspaper. He also was a very keen golfer. In 1959 he leased out the shop and retired to his small farm running a few sheep and in the house he built himself in the Waiau township. He had spent 70 years in Waiau when he died on 26th December 1981 and was cremated at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch. Children of CLARENCE CONE and EDITH (Edie) HAND are: i. CLARENCE MAXWELL (MAX) CONE, b. February 20, 1922, Rotherham Hospital, Amuri; d. May 30, 1982, 171 Cecil Rd, Wadestown, Wellington. ii.AVIS MURIEL
CONE, b. April 03, 1928, Amuri.
iii.VALERIE JEAN
CONE, b.
March 22, 1931, Rotherham, Amuri.
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