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Dora Moller, wife of Hector Charles Cone Dora Moller b: 1901 in Darjeeling, Bengal, India; Bapt: 5 Mar 1914 Kalimpong, Bengal, India; she d: 03 Mar 1953 in Christchurch 52Y Bur: Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, Christchurch) Dora mar: 25 Aug 1931 in Christchurch to Hector Charles* (Charlie) Cone (b: 27 Jan 1907 in Christchurch; d: 29 May 1988 in Christchurch 81Y Crem, Ashes to Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, Linwood, Christchurch) Research Source: The Cone family is indebted to Jane McCabe who travelled to Kalimpong in search of her lineage after discovering her grandmother's childhood in India was at Dr Graham%u2019s Homes in northeastern India. She was sent with five others (Dora Mollen was one) to Dunedin, New Zealand in 1921 - the boys were to work on farms and the girls were placed as domestic help with Otago Presbyterian families. Between 1908 and 1938, 130 Anglo-Indian adolescents were sent to New Zealand from Dr Graham%u2019s Homes in Kalimpong, India. Jane's research into this immigration was awarded a PhD at the University of Otago followed by her book Race, Tea and Colonial Resettlement (Bloomsbury Collections, 2017) Her later book titled Kalimpong Kids was published by Otago University Press in 2018. Today, Dr Jane McCabe is a lecturer in history in the University of Otago department of history and art history. Dr John Anderson Graham became a missionary of the church at Kalimpong, Bengal. India, in 1889. He became concerned by the hidden practice of British tea planters unable to marry until they became managers (a process that could take 10 years) They co-habitated with the local Indian or Nepalese women from the region and their mixed-race children born from their relationship were not accepted into either culture and left without a certain future. Dr Graham was encouraged by the
reports
of farming opportunities in New Zealand so he developed and
superintended
his scheme of St. Andrew's Colonial Homes. Opened in
1900 and
between 1903 and 1905 Graham established
a
working farm at Kalimpong to train the boys for emigration. In
1906 a
farmhouse and demonstration farm of twenty-five acres were added,
then the
area was increased by fifty acres. In 1908 a demonstration
farm
building was added just as the first emigrant graduates able to
enter the
labour market were leaving the Homes. For the next 40 years
it provided a home - and European education before
being sent
to the colonies to work as young adults arriving under the permit
system -
Three groups from Kalimpong arrived in relatively quick succession
prior
to the new legislation coming into effect: groups of seven in
January
1920, six in June 1920 and six in early 1921 (this group was
the last
to land in the South Island and included Dora Moller.
) The planters required to make fee payments for their own children (an initial lump sum payment and monthly instalments; some finance was diverted to go to subsidize unsupported children) and also supported by the tea agencies Father%u2019s name - Paul
Moller;
Nationality - Danish; Mother%u2019s name - Not
recorded; Ethnicity - Nepali ;
District - Darjeeling; Tea estate -
Gamong
Children%u2019s circumstances Surname Mollen Date -1912; Charles Male; 14Y; Father alive -Yes; Mother alive -Yes (resident at the Homes by 1908). Date -1912; Dora Female; 13Y; Father alive -Yes; Mother alive -Yes (resident at the Homes by 1908). Date of admission 1912; Peter Male; 4Y; Father alive -Yes; Mother aliveYes Elizabeth* Female Dennis* Male Source: Dr Graham%u2019s Homes, personal files. *The application forms for Elizabeth and Dennis were not in the Moller file. The colonial practice required only
ethenicity and
excluded South Asian women's names on official records.
Source: Dr
Graham%u2019s Homes, personal files.
Pre-1912 forms only required the parents%u2019
nationality and whether they were alive at the time of admission.
The
fathers%u2019 names were recorded under the %u2018Applicant%u2019 section.
1912, there
was a a space for the mother%u2019s name on the form. Paul Moller
wrote
%u2018Nepali%u2019 for the mother%u2019s name and then under
%u2018nationality%u2019 put a
dot; Without a written record for Doras's Indian
mother,
her descendants are left unable record their
history
Paul Moller, father of Dora,
was a
Danish tea planter in Darjeeling He wrote to Graham in 1912
from %u2018The
Club%u2019 requesting that his last three children be admitted as
soon as
possible. %u2018Their mother has been fighting hard against this,%u2019
he wrote,
%u2018but it must be done." According to Moller, after learning of
his
impending transfer to a different plantation he had %u2018persuaded
her to send
them up%u2019. On this advice Graham advised Moller that only the
youngest boy
would be taken. However, Moller repeatedly appealed to Graham and
Seal to
reconsider, and all three children were soon
admitted.
In 1920, Paul Moller welcomed Dora on her extended visit to his plantation just prior to her leaving for New Zealand ( unstated however this may likely have given her mother an opportunity to see her daughter although this action was not encouraged by the Home) Paul Moller wrote to Graham that "Dora is very lovely and to thank him for the way she had been brought up and said he had been ordered home to Denmark by his doctor and would not be returning to India. He wanted all his children still at the home to immigrate to New Zealand and arranged that annual fees to cover school fees would be sent until then. In July 1920 Dora had written to Graham to
thank
him for allowing her to go to the plantation for a holiday. %u2018I
have
arrived home safely,%u2019 she wrote, %u2018Father was so pleased to see
me. He gave
me a hearty welcome.%u2019 Six months later, just prior to her
departure for
New Zealand, Paul Moller wrote that Dora was %u2018still here and is
very
[lovely]%u2019. After she left Moller wrote again, to thank Graham
%u2018for the way
you have brought up Dora, it%u2019s a great credit to your big
institution%u2019. In
the same letter Moller informed Graham that he had been %u2018ordered
home%u2019 (to
Denmark) by his doctor and would not be returning to India. For
his
children still at the Homes, Moller wrote that %u2018as already
indicated, I
want them all to immigrate to N.Z.%u2019, and arranged to make annual
payments
to cover school fees until that time came. Her brother Charles
turned down
the opportunity to emigrate for some unspecified reason, which he
later
wrote was a %u2018foolish idea%u2019By late 1921 Charles had changed his
mind and
wrote monthly letters for the next two years imploring the Homes
to
assist. Assistance to leave did not eventuate for him until 5
years
later
Caught in
the gap between 1921 and 1923 when uncertainties about the new
permit
system meant that no Homes graduates entered the
Dominion, Charles
Mollen spent those years working for the railways in various parts
of
India. Charles%u2019s correspondence indicated a high level of
awareness of the
racial, political and economic issues that fuelled debate over
immigration
rules. He read and gave his interpretation of the 1920 IRAA to
Graham, and
was aware that he would need to work through Homes channels to
secure a
permit.[58] Charles relayed information from his sister Dora, who
told him
that her employers, the Maunsells of Dunedin, would be willing to
take
responsibility for him.[59] Charles eventually gained passage
alongside,
though not officially a part of, the group of five women who
arrived in
1928. Dora was at the port in Wellington to meet
him.
Migration under the permit
system:
Three groups from Kalimpong arrived in relatively quick succession
prior
to the new legislation coming into effect: groups of seven in
January
1920, six in June 1920 and six in early 1921. The group that
landed in
1921 was the last to land in the South Island and included
Dora
Moller.
Articles published in the Homes Magazine in the 1920s thus began to provide an answer to the question of the women%u2019s futures, and that was marriage. Women emigrants were strongly encouraged to follow the example of those who had already established %u2018homes of their own%u2019. The
first
correspondence from Dora in the Moller file was written in 1925,
by which
time she had been away from the Maunsells for two years and had
evidently
been highly mobile. %u2018I don%u2019t know where I have not been and
seen since
I%u2019ve left them,%u2019 she wrote from central Otago. %u2018I%u2019ll be
here only till
Easter, am going to the Lakes near Queenstown. I%u2019m going to be
working
with an old couple as a companion help.%u2019Along with a friend she
was hoping
to take up business: %u2018We are going to have fruits, sweets and
tea, so when
you happen to come out to New Zealand you will have to come and
have
afternoon tea at our place.%u2019 Dora%u2019s letter gives a different
impression to
the Homes Magazine accounts of young women stable in either their
employer%u2019s or their own homes. Over the next three years she
wrote several
letters from the Jenkinses%u2019 %u2018homestead%u2019, the elderly couple
that she had
referred to earlier. Dora wrote of her desire to visit Kalimpong
again,
relaying a conversation on the subject with her employers that
conjures an
intimate domestic scene and indicates the importance of even minor
Indian
connections with these host families:
Mr and
Mrs
Jenkins and I were just talking about sea trips. Mrs Jenkins
doesn%u2019t think
she would like the sea, Mr Jenkins thinks that a sea trip is not
bad at
all. Mr Jenkins has a great desire to see India. I told him if he
ever
took a trip to India not to forget to call at Kalimpong. He was at
Bombay
on his way to the front during the war. I love Mr and Mrs Jenkins,
they
are just like a father and mother to me
Letters from
Charles and Dora expressed their continued emotional investment
with their
dispersed family. Each requested photographs and updates on the
progress
of their two siblings still at the Homes, and took an interest in
whether
they too would be sent to New Zealand. Neither Charles nor Dora
ever
received any letters from their father after leaving India, which
caused
great confusion and frustration. %u2018I cannot understand why father
should
treat us like this,%u2019 Charles wrote to Graham in 1921, %u2018and
also it is so
strange that you should not know as to his whereabouts knowing he
has left
you in charge of his children, his flesh and body. Charles%u2019s
implication
that the Homes was complicit in his father%u2019s neglect calls
attention to
its conflicting responsibilities to different members of the
family. With
two of his children at the Homes, and a planter who paid the bills
on
time, Graham and Purdie would be reluctant to upset Moller.
Charles
insisted that Graham should assist him and Dora in their efforts
to force
their father to communicate with them, describing himself and his
siblings
as %u2018unfortunate God%u2019s creations%u2019. After learning that two
New Zealand
emigrants, the Chaston sisters, were to be visited by their
father, Dora
wrote to the Homes in 1929 describing her feelings of
abandonment:
By the
way is
my father still alive? I have written to him several times but
I%u2019ve had no
reply yet. I wrote to him four months ago telling him of my
intentions [to
be married], even then I have had no reply. Mr Purdie can you
explain to
me why he does not write to us? I feel terribly hurt about it.
When he
said goodbye to me, he promised faithfully that he would write to
me, and
here I have been in New Zealand over eight years and I%u2019ve had
not even a
line from him. I think he is evil.
Paul
Moller
had continued to correspond with the Graham, mostly about
practical
matters such as fees for the children still at the Homes, but he
did
enquire about Charles and Dora. He had received their letters and
told
Graham that he was glad to hear of their progress. The impression
from
Charles%u2019s and Dora%u2019s letters is that Graham denied knowledge
of his
whereabouts, or at least refused to act on their behalf in
ascertaining
his circumstances or the reasons for his silence. The scenario
points to
the delicacy of these familial arrangements, which had been
permanently
altered by the physical and bureaucratic intrusion of the
institution. The
systematic filing of all such correspondence meant that deeply
personal
matters were dealt with chiefly by managing the paperwork. The
letters
were stored flat in the %u2018file%u2019 with the graduate%u2019s student
number written
at the top of the page; notes were written between staff about how
to deal
with the enquiry and the date of reply was recorded. The practice
of
interleaving the letters of what was essentially a blind
conversation has
left a vivid paper trail of the Homes disruptive influence. While
retention of the files has facilitated otherwise impossible family
reconnections many years later, their contents lay bare the active
part
the Homes played in prising and keeping families apart in the
first
place.
After
all his
imaginings of a better future, Charles was initially disappointed
with the
situations he encountered in New Zealand, and frustrated at his
inability
to support his siblings. Upon learning of his younger sister
Elizabeth%u2019s
impending emigration in 1928, he wrote to the Homes to dissuade
them from
sending her, stating that he and Dora were %u2018absolutely helpless
as far as
assisting her goes%u2019.The %u2018Colour Distinction%u2019, he wrote,
%u2018is worse here
than in India, and we are all treated as %u201Coh! only
half-castes%u201D, or
Indians.%u2019 Charles had encouraged Dora to leave her domestic
employment
because the wages were too low, stating that, %u2018after all, we are
not
working for a name, but for wages %u2013 and will go where we are
offered more
wages%u2019. Drawing Dora into a masculine mindset that prioritized
monetary
reward over loyalty to employers, and dissatisfied with his own
situation,
Charles convinced Dora to combine their savings and open a
confectionary
shop in Auckland. Despite accruing enough capital to start the
business,
the Mollers still had to call upon the Homes network to branch out
from
the employment into which they had been placed. It was only
through
assistance from A. W. Blair (the former Wellington barrister, by
then a
judge in Auckland) that they gained consent to lease premises for
the
business. Presumably this plan did not eventuate as Dora was back
with the
Jenkinses the following year.
A copy of Graham%u2019s reply to Charles%u2019s pessimistic letter was stored in the Moller file. Graham wrote that %u2018in the same mail I had several other letters and I think in almost all cases the outlook was completely different%u2019. He suggested that Charles was being too sensitive about the %u2018colour bar%u2019 and needed to adopt a hardier approach to racial prejudice, which was merely evidence of ignorance and would be encountered anywhere. Graham offered evidence of his belief that %u2018New Zealand offers for the future a very much superior chance to India%u2019 by informing Charles that %u2018a Maori has just been appointed a Bishop%u2019 and that in 1909 %u2018one who was of mixed race was acting as Premier of the Colony%u2019. As for Elizabeth, the younger sister, Graham advised that their father was strongly in favour of her emigration %u2013 further evidence of ongoing contact with Paul Moller. The following year a more upbeat Charles wrote to Graham expressing optimism about his future and real hopes of eventually owning a farm (which he later did). He offered suggestions about how to better equip the boys for farm work and provided information, as requested by Graham, about forestry work. This letter was the first of Charles%u2019s from which an excerpt was printed in the Homes Magazine. In 1929 Annie Brown wrote that while
she
occasionally saw the new arrivals, she had more frequent contact
with the
older emigrants, who had %u2018lovely comfortable homes%u2019. She
speculated that
%u2018maybe I%u2019ll be the next to change my name after thinking I was
a confirmed
spinster! For is it not the best thing for us to do?%u2019 The editor
inserted
%u2018Quite right%u2019 Printed beneath Brown%u2019s excerpt was a letter
from Dora
Moller. On a visit to Dunedin, Dora found that %u2018nearly all the
girls are
married%u2019 and all were considering it In Christchurch, Dora Moller%u2019s son recalled visiting other Kalimpong families when he was growing up, but these connections had been lost. Dora and
Charles Moller were both married with children in Christchurch, an
outcome
which no doubt pleased Graham after Charles%u2019s earlier
angry letters.
The
memory of
Graham%u2019s visit is still alive with the descendants who are old
enough to
remember it. Mary Milne vividly recalled her mother%u2019s (Kate
Pattison%u2019s)
anticipation of the event and emotive response to meeting him; and
Richard
Cone (Dora Moller%u2019s son), who was one year old at the time,
still has the
book Graham signed and gifted to him.[48] It was a brief moment in
the
lives of the Kalimpong emigrants but one that must have stirred
all manner
of thoughts and reflections; one final chance to meet the man many
still
referred to as %u2018Daddy%u2019, with fresh news of Kalimpong and of
old %u2018aunties%u2019
at the Homes and other graduates. It is understandable that even
those who
were reluctant to engage with other Kalimpong emigrants would take
the
opportunity to meet with him, and to show him how well they had
done.
EVENING STAR,
12 JULY 1937: The Very Rev. J. A. Graham, C.1.E., D.D., of
Kalimpong, Bengal, India will arrive by the express from the
north
this evening, and will be tha guest of Mr and Mrs 6. Langmore,
Musselburgh
Rise. Mr Graham will be in Dunedin for about 10 days. Dr Graham,
who was
Moderator of the Church of Scotland in 1931-32, has been
OTAGO
DAILY
TIMES, 17 JANUARY 1931: The Church of Scotland has made a notable
selection in the person of . Sir Stanley Jackson, the Governor of
Bengal,
recently described Dr Graham as %u201Cthe youngest and' most vigorous
middle-aged gentleman I ever met, with the enthusiasm of a . boy,
the
heart of a child, and that confidence of success which comes
through faith
and knowledge that a great and human service can never fail for
want of
support.%u201D It is interesting to recall that it was through the
influence of
the friend of his youth. Professor W. P. Pateron, that Dr Graham
gave up
the civil service for the ministry.
Graham%u2019s
departure may also have started to close some doors on the
emigrants%u2019
ponderings of their pre-New Zealand lives.
Richard
Cone remembered his mother, Dora Moller, being %u2018quite fluent%u2019
in Hindi and
wanting to teach it to her sons, however, she never did. They
recalled
visiting other Kalimpong families when growing up, but these
connections
had been lost. One immigants said it was one of
sadness
that the Kalimpong emigrants felt unable to discuss their past -
most
concealed their Indian origins even with their own children and
grandchildren. Perhaps
the stigma
of the
period around race mixing, illegitimacy and institutionalization
perhaps
made them feel that they would be burdening their children if they
passed
any details of their upbringing on - also there was considerable
trauma
and confusion about being separated from their parents and sent
away from
the plantation at a young
age,.%u201D
Though Dr Graham hoped the emigrants would, in the course of time, move from being farm hands to farm owners in New Zealand, the prevailing social conditions of the early 20th century did not favor the transition. Most men in subsequent years took up white collar work, while others set up small businesses or entered professions. Several of them volunteered for service in World War I and World War II, and many were killed in action, or wounded or otherwise affected by the experience of war. The women mostly found their place through marriage and very committed to their own families, perhaps as a result of their early separations. Please
 Living
person's dates not shown for privacy reasons |