Family History 4.32

Robinson story

Joshua Caleb continues:

Pukekohe East

When I had been at Mr Stables' school some four years, my father, who had been doing very well in his carpentry business, decided to go farming, mainly for religious reasons. There had been some trouble in the church he attended and his faith in a minister had been shattered. In order to get away from the worry of it all, he and his son-in-law, Mr Morgan, bought a farm at Pukekohe, which now belongs to two of their descendants. (Uncle Watkin and cousin Tom Morgan).

William Morgan

[A letter from the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland, dated 15 June 1861, states that on the 16 April 1858, an allotment 26, Parish of Pukekohe, containing 220 acres, was disposed of by William Aitken to Joshua Robinson, carpenter, William Morgan, compositor, and James Hamilton, baker, all of Auckland, as tenants in common for consideration of 221 pounds ($442). On the morning before Christmas 1858 these three set out for Papakura by conveyance, then walked to Walter Runciman's, one to two miles from their farm. They stayed over night and next morning went to see their farm, then walked back to Auckland.

On February the 29th 1859 the land was divided into individual lots. On the 5th of October of that year, Joshua, Ellen Robinson and William Morgan (Jane Elizabeth's husband) set out, staying again at Runciman's overnight, to take up residence on their land. The next seven weeks were spent clearing land, building two houses (raupo whares) and planting potatoes.

On the 29th of November James Hamilton disposed of his share of the farm to Joshua and William, who divided it in two so each had 110 acres with a road frontage. In the first week of December both families left town for the bush. Of Joshua's children William was 22 and would marry in another two years, Elizabeth was 19, Ellen 15, Sarah 12, Joshua 10, Watkin 8, Amy 3 and Jane the eldest married to William Morgan had four children, Thomas 5, Ellen 3, Joshua 2 and Eliza nine months.]

In those days there was a railway to Onehunga, but only a coach service to the road end at Drury. Before leaving town Mother presented her friends with a collection of Island curios - native spears, clubs, shells, bows and arrows and a remarkable bamboo flute which the natives play with the nose. These had been given her from time to time by two apprentices of the mission ship John Williams, who visited us whenever the ship came to Auckland.

Having taken the coach to Drury, we there hired a cart to take our goods to Runciman's farm, about two miles from the bush farm which was to be our new home. On one part of the journey we crossed what was known as Swing-Swong Bridge. It was a primitive structure, bridging a small creek a few yards wide. Poles had been laid across the creek from bank to bank, ti-tree spread across these, then a layer of earth, more manuka, and another layer of earth on top. This was neither a strong looking nor an imposing structure. The coachman, who seemed to have his doubts about it, whipped up his horses before coming to it and crossed over as quickly as possible, hoping, I suppose, that if anything did break, their speed would carry us across to safety. Now a solid concrete bridge carries the heaviest traffic on the South Road, across the gap that Swing-Swong once spanned.