Husband John Thomas Becroft [10268]
Born: 6 Nov 1814 - Harlow, Essex, England, United Kingdom 1
Christened: 6 Nov 1814 - Harlow, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Died: 10 Feb 1892 - Port Albert, Auckland, New Zealand 1
Buried: - Port Albert Cemetery, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-Y9G
Find A Grave ID: 144600509
Father: Joseph Beecroft [12077] (1781-1861)
Mother: Elizabeth Bacon [12078] (1785-1855)
Marriage: 18 Jul 1842 - England, United Kingdom
Events
• Immigrated: on board the Matilda Wattenbach, 8 Sep 1862. A middle-aged widower who came to New Zealand with his family of 6 sons and 3 daughters on the Matilda Wattenbach. On May 29th 1862 they left the Docks, and Graveshead on 30th, finally leaving the Downs on June 2nd.
Entering the Waitemata harbour on September 6th 1862, embarking at Auckland, NZ September 8, 1862.
On their arrival in Auckland John Becroft and Mrs Jerome who had helped him with his children on the journey were married, and left for their future home at Port Albert, in Northland. John Becroft and his sons were soon busy clearing land building a home. He became an Apple Orchardist in Port Albert, with his sons.
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• Land Grant: 246 acres, 3 Dec 1872, Port Albert, Auckland, New Zealand.
• He had an estate probated in 1892 in Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Event: 1862. Story: Emigration Of 800 Nonconformists To NZ
1862 London Docks
Posted by KarenKnight20
Emigration of Eight Hundred Nonconformists to New Zealand
From the Illustrated London News, June 7, 1862.
The London Docks were thronged at an early hour on Thursday week by an immense concourse of persons assembled to witness the departure of the first instalment, about eight hundred persons, chiefly members of different Nonconformist bodies, who are emigrating to the new colony of Albertland, in New Zealand. Availing themselves of the liberal offer of the New Zealand Government to grant forty acres of land to every emigrant paying his passage to the colony, with a proportionate grant in addition for each member of his family, Mr. W.R. Brame and a number of friends have organised an emigration on an extensive scale. In a comparatively brief period over a thousand persons have been duly registered. Only such persons were selected as possessed a certain amount of capital or were proficient in some valuable mechanical avocation, or were in other points calculated to prove profitable to the new colony. Should the pioneers report favourable we may expect their new settlement to become highly popular. The colony of Albertland to which they proceed is situated on the banks of a beautiful river named the Ornawharo, fifty or sixty miles from Auckland, a district of the fertility of which the most encouraging reports are given by competent authorities.
The Matilda Wattenbach, a British-built clipper-ship of 1000 tons, belonging to Messrs. Wattenbach, Heilgers and Co., of Mincinglane; and the Hanover, a ship of the same class and tonnage, and owned by George Marshall and Co., were specially selected from Messrs. Shaw and Savill's well-known passenger line of packets, and will be followed by the William Miles, 1250 tons, on the 10th of July. The Ida Ziegler, also belonging to Messrs. Wattenbach, Heilgers, and Co., follows the William Miles in the course of July. On board the Matilda Wattenbach there were about 350 passengers, including the Rev. S. Edgar, Mr. W.R. Brame, the originator of the movement, and the committee of management for "the new settlement". [On] board the Hanover there were about 280 passengers.
At ten o'clock the company began to assemble in a spacious booth erected for the purpose within the dock premises, where a public "farewell demonstration" was held, under the presidency of Mr. Harper Twelvetrees. At half-past eleven a hymn was sung, in which the vast crowd united, and they were accompanied by a powerful brass band. The Chairman then delivered a brief address, bidding the emigrants "God speed," wishing them a pleasant voyage and a happy realisation of their fondest hopes in the land of their adoption, where he trusted they would found a prosperous and important community.
The Rev. Thomas Penrose followed with a remarkably opportune farewell address, replete with sound advice, judicious cautions, seasonable admonitions, and abounding with the heartiest good wishes for their future wellbeing.
The Rev. W. Landells next spoke. He reminded the emigrants of the responsibilities of their positions, and counselled them to prepare for many unexpected difficulties and discouragements which they would have to encounter, and to acquit themselves as men. He considered that they were setting out with prospects of the most hopeful description. He spoke in the most complimentary terms of the merits of Mr. Brame, the founder of the movement, and especially of the Rev. Mr. Edgar, who goes out with the colonists in the capacity of pastor.
At this point the band, which had gone round the docks for the purpose of assembling the friends, returned, and the company collected now amounted to nearly 15,000 persons. The greatest interest was excited in the movement. The docks have not for many a day been startled from their dull propriety by such a spectacle as was then witnessed. The leave-takings were of the most exciting and sometimes painful description. The band played "Auld Lang Syne," and its plaintive strains drew tears from the eyes of many who had till then remained apparently unmoved.
Affectionate addresses were delivered by Mr. Heaton and the Rev. Mr. Edgar, and the company proceeded on board the two magnificent ships, which then left the docks, the band playing the National Anthem. Salutes were fired, and the vessels were taken in tow by powerful steam-tugs amidst deafening applause from the immense multitude assembled to bid their friends farewell. A large number of friends proceeded with the emigrants on board as far as Gravesend, which they reached shortly after four o'clock.
Mr. Ball, M.P., addressed the emigrants on board, and spoke in the most encouraging terms of the prospects which were before them. He said he had two sons who had spent many years in the colony, and had been remarkably successful. The soil was fertile, and there were no serpents or dangerous wild beasts which infested other quarters of the globe. The climate was good, and the temperature was equable. There were no extremes of cold to be feared. They had only to dig and to plant the potato, for instance, and the fruitful soil would return them in some cases tenfold, in some cases twentyfold, and in other cases even a hundredfold. If they carried out their Christian principles in their conduct towards the natives they would find a cordial response to all their kindness. Mr. Jesse Hobson also delivered an address full of sympathy and encouragement. He counselled the emigrants to expect many disappointments; but he assured them that, if their hopes were not fully realized in the precise way in which they expected, they would often be fulfilled in a manner not less advantageous to them. He eloquently placed before them their grave responsibilities as emigrants proceeding to a new country, the physical and the moral character of which would largely depend upon the way in which they discharged those duties they were expected to fulfil; and he concluded by a few words of counsel and encouragement. After a few words from the Rev. Mr. Millard, of Maze-pond, the visitors left the ships, which had now reached Gravesend, and they returned to town by rail.
• Event: 1862, Albertland, New Zealand. Story: The Becroft Saga By Colin Keith Becroft
1862 Albertland, New Zealand
Posted by KarenKnight20
John Becroft, being a middle-aged widower, left England with his family on May 29, 1862 and reached Auckland on Sept. 8th. Three hundred and fifty-two people sailed on the "Matilda Wattenbach" of 954 tons (Capt. W. Goudie) which was the first of the Albertland* fleet to reach Auckland. She lost her main mast and mizzen top-gallant mast in a storm off the Cape of Good Hope. A fellow passenger, the widow Jerome, who had 2 children, Elizabeth and Joseph, helped John look after his family on the voyage. On arrival in Auckland they were married. His daughter Mary had died during the voyage.
The family proceeded to Port Albert and took up their land there. They had expected it to be surveyed as promised by the Association in England. Instead, it was sub-tropical rain-forest. Conditions were very bad for the first year or two, and were not helped by rumours that the Northland Maoris were going to war. To their great relief, when a large war canoe swept up the river, there was the Rev. William Gittos, Wesleyan missionary, sitting in the stern.
John, the second son, went on to the Australian gold diggings instead of going to Port Albert. A remittance from him of 200 Pounds came just in time to prevent the family from walking off the land as many others did. He was later paralyzed in an accident, returned to the family, and became a successful beekeeper. His father, and the family after him, became successful fruit growers. Peter's home was known as "Sunnyside".
Walter was a farmer and became chairman of the Rodney County Council during the Depression. His son-in-law, Val Shepherd (married to Doreen) took over the farm. Archie's sons run an apple and fruit orchard at nearby Te Hana.
Harold's son, Jim, was killed in North Africa in World War II. His younger daughter Audrey's husband runs his farm, the original "Sunnyside".
Hubert served in France in World War I and became the Lecturer in Education/Philosophy at Auckland Teachers' College. Two of his children, Peter and Elaine, became well-known tennis players.
Harvey left Port Albert at about the time of his marriage, and joined an Auckland fruit and produce marketing firm which sent him to California to study the citrus industry. The company went bankrupt after a few months. He and his wife and child [Colin Keith Becroft] stayed for two-and-a-half years in the U.S. earning money from odd jobs and waitressing. He took numerous photographs in the course of continuing independently his original assignment.
After returning to New Zealand early in 1922, he began a long series of formative articles in the N.Z. Orchardist which played their part in the early years of the citrus industry. He managed the citrus department of Turners and Growers for some years, then helped George Joseph launch an ill-fated citrus business, which folded with the onset of the Depression, at the same time as he had to walk off a five-acre orchard on Avondale Road East which he had purchased with his retirement in mind. He later worked in the field for the Internal Marketing Department and then returned to do much the same work, counselling farmers, for Turners and Growers, if I remember correctly.
Hubie made some enquiries concerning distant relatives in England when he was there during WWII. Possibly his family have some information. I have some memory of a connection with Kentish farmers, and a possible connection with Norwich. It is said that my grandfather John changed the name from Beecroft to Becroft on arrival in New Zealand.
My mother's parents were John and Emily Mushet. John was a gardener from Glasgow, Scotland. His wife was originally a Bostock from Birmingham, and her mother was originally a Tunstall from an old North of England family.
My father was raised Unitarian and my mother Church of Christ. They joined, or at least attended, the Methodist Church in the USA and in Epsom. After moving to Avondale they were baptised and joined the Baptist Church on confession of faith, first mother and then father and myself together, in 1930.
* See "The Albertlanders" by Henry Brett; "Albertland" by J.L. Borrows.
• Event: Albertland, New Zealand. Albertland apple industry
By Lyn Johnston, Albertland Museum
As the Albertland pioneers settled into their new homes, they began planting flowers and fruit trees they were familiar with in England. At first, the fruit was only for home consumption, with anything left over used to feed pigs. The annual Port Albert Agricultural Show was where the very best of home-grown fruit competed for prizes.
Once communication with Auckland improved, and a weekly steamer became possible, some of the more enterprising settlers saw the possibility of a trade in apples, which flourished on the poor gumlands. Prime movers in the beginning of the Port Albert fruit industry was the Becroft family. John Becroft Snr was the first man in Albertland to own more than an acre of orchard. His sons, Peter, Lewis Philip and David Becroft, were also involved. Their orchards were larger and more commercial. Eventually, the Becrofts became some of the principal apple growers in New Zealand. Other Albertlanders involved in the industry were Shepherds, Gubbs, Reids and Neals. Apples were even exported to South Africa. Before WWI, there were two fruit-canning factories working, but they closed when so many young men joined the armed forces. When the war ended, they did not re-open.
Two sawmills in the district \endash Roy Becroft's and William Dudding's \endash supplied the enormous amount of timber needed to make apple boxes and Port Albert was probably one of the first districts in New Zealand to grow trees for timber. Before the roads were metalled, most of the fruit was taken by horse-drawn sledge, wagon or konaki, to the river. Most orchardists owned launches of one sort or another, used to transport their fruit to Te Hana. It then went by rail to Auckland. There was a railway running from the Te Hana station to the wharf siding where the fruit was loaded into freight wagons.
In 1925, when The Albertlanders was published, there were still 12 commercial orchards in operation in Port Albert, covering some 250 acres of land, with an output of about 40,000 cases of apples a season. For a time, there was a great demand for fruit, but as more land was cleared, and brought in for orchards closer to large towns, the freight costs mounted, until orcharding was no longer a paying proposition in outlying districts. Men on the land had to look for other sources of income so they turned to dairying. For a few years, a small quantity of fruit was sold up the Wairoa, shipped there by launch. By 1962, after 100 years of settlement, there were only three commercial orchards left in the district \endash Sunnyside at Port Albert, Becroft Bros at Te Hana, and Lyn Smith's orchard at Port Albert. Today, these too are only a memory.
Pictured: Drying apples at L. P. Becroft's Pinegrove orchard, Port Albert, in the early 1900s. W H Marsh Collection
Published 16 May 2012.
Wife Mary Anne Jefferys [10269]
Born: 9 Feb 1821 - New Windsor, England
Christened:
Died: 13 Mar 1859 - London, England, United Kingdom
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-Y29
Find A Grave ID: 218752946
Children
1 F Caroline Becroft [18599] 1
Born: 27 Nov 1851 - Shacklewell, Middlesex, England 1
Christened:
Died: 14 Feb 1872 - Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom 1
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: L84J-623
2 F Mary Ann Beecroft [12034]
Born: 1843 - Hackney, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Christened:
Died: 1862 - At Sea
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-T8Y
3 M Joseph Becroft [10323]
Born: 2 Mar 1845 - West Hackney, Middlesex, England
Christened:
Died: 24 Jul 1907 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand
Buried: - Waikumete Cemetery & Crematorium, Glen Eden, Auckland Council, Auckland, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: L8R4-8PS
Find A Grave ID: 233899505
Spouse: Sarah Ann Coupland [10324] (1848-1923)
Marr: 19 Feb 1867 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand 3
4 M John Beecroft [12035]
Born: 27 May 1847 - Hackney Downs, London Borough of Hackney, Greater London, England
Christened:
Died: 14 Sep 1907
Buried: - Port Albert Cemetery, Port Albert, Auckland Council, Auckland, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: KHNV-4NM
Find A Grave ID: 144600692
5 F Lucy Beecroft [10372] 3
Born: 22 May 1848 - Hackney, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom 3
Christened:
Died: 30 Jul 1929 - Helensville, Auckland, New Zealand
Buried:
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-TX6
Spouse: Captain Per Wilhelm Chrisoffer Sandin 3 [10373] (1938-1908)
Marr: 4 Oct 1869 - New Zealand 3
6 F Emily "Susan" Beecroft [12036]
Born: 8 Sep 1850 - Hackney, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom
Christened:
Died: 17 Nov 1930 - Helensville, Auckland, New Zealand
Cremated: - Helensville Cemetery, Helensville, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-TX9
Find A Grave ID: 195706919
7 M Alfred Becroft [12037]
Born: 7 Dec 1852 - West Hackney, Middlesex, England
Christened:
Died: 25 Feb 1919 - Helensville, Auckland, New Zealand
Buried: - Helensville Cemetery, Helensville, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-TXP
Find A Grave ID: 195705593
Spouse: Alice Ballans [12038] (1865-1927)
Marr: 2 Jun 1884 - Auckland, New Zealand
8 M Peter Becroft [10266]
Born: 12 Sep 1854 - Putney, London, England 3
Christened:
Died: 8 Apr 1913 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand
Buried: - Port Albert Cemetery, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: LZD6-YQD
Find A Grave ID: 144600711
Spouse: Emily Utting [10267] (1854-1921)
Marr: 29 Mar 1880 - Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand 3
9 M David Becroft [10075]
Born: 23 Dec 1855 - Essex, England, United Kingdom
Christened:
Died: 10 Dec 1942 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand
Buried: - Port Albert Cemetery, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand
FamilySearch ID: KGCG-TFS
Find A Grave ID: 144600805
Spouse: Florence Mary Bradbury 3 [10261] (1861-1932)
Marr: 4 Jun 1881 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand
10 M Lewis Philip Becroft [10283] 3
Born: 22 Jul 1858 - Plaistow, London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England
Christened:
Died: 24 May 1926 - Port Albert, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand 3
Buried: - Port Albert Cemetery, Rodney, Auckland, New Zealand 2
FamilySearch ID: LHHD-3L6
Find A Grave ID: 190447285
Spouse: Elizabeth Morgan [10284] (1859-1929)
Marr: 1882
Burial Notes: Husband - John Thomas Becroft
Block 1, Row 1, Plot 36, Seq 1
General Notes: Husband - John Thomas Becroft
A middle-aged widower who came to New Zealand with his family of 6 sons and 3 daughters on the Matilda Wattenbach. On may 29th 1862 they left the Docks, and Graveshead on 30th, finaly leaving the Downs on June 2nd. Entering the Waitemata harbour on September 6th 1862, embarking at Auckland, NZ September 8, 1862.
On their arrival in Auckland John Becroft and Mrs Jerome who had helped him with his children on the journey were married, and left for their future home at Port Albert, in Northland. John Becroft and his sons were soon busy clearing land building a home. He became an Apple Orchardist in Port Albert, with his sons.