Gregg-McEwan History New Zealand

Article about George Gregg and family in New Zealand
Article about Neil McEwan's family in New Zealand
(Page 60 - 63 from a NZ book)

… The first part of this page is not related to the articles subjects in question(...for the runholders shearing and other jobs while clearing the bush to make a living off his own farm. Jane died in 1910.
In 1916 Robert remarried, a Miss Sproat who was registered nurse. It is fitting here to pay tribute to her. She was a remarkable woman. Always available to give help, advice and nursing care to the people of Tokanui. During the influenza epidemic of l918-19 she was known to have worked day and night nursing and caring for the sick, with no thought for her own health. She died in 1928.
Thomas Neill was one of the early factory manages. He married Mary Beattie from Otara. They had no family and they moved away early to Canterbury where they made their home.
John Neill married Florence Duthie, daughter of an early schoolteacher from Quarry Hills. They had two daughters, Jean and Edzell who were pupils at the Tokanui schoo1, and a son Thomas who died aged six years. Edzell became one of the early herd testers in Southland. John farmed part of the original farm and was also a supplier and Director of the Dairy factory.
Jane married William Adcock and had six children. She died in 1924. Margaret married James Campbell. They had four children. Edna married John McEwan and their family of two daughters and two sons were all pupils of Tokanui School.
Robert Neill remained on the farm "Cordyline Glen" until he sold out to Les Lyders in 1934. He then went to live with his daughter Edna in the Tokanui Township. Robert Neill died in 1944 age 85.)

GEORGE GREGG:
George Gregg was born in 1850. He left Aberdeen, Scotland and finally arrived in New Zealand and worked on Galloway Station, Central Otago. In 1876 he married Julia Louisa Doyle. Their elder children Elizabeth Frances and Wilhelmina Emily (Mina) were born in Central. In 1883 they moved to Tokanui and settled on a farm called "Island Bush". The Compton family farm the place today still under that name. Their house was small at "Island Bush". The scrubby tree still stands by the original site over the road from the old demolished Post Office site.
The remainder of their family were born at Tokanui - Hubert
John,George, David, James Doyle and Marian Milne (May).
George Gregg was the first secretary of the 'Tokanui Dairy Factory when it opened in 1899. When George and Julia built their second home, the boys who were still single, continued to sleep in the original home fondly called "The Hut".

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Julia Gregg never knew how many to expect for breakfast, as often local-youths and also passers-by, were offered hospitality for the night breakfast next morning.
George Gregg was the first Postmaster (1887) at Tokanui and when he died in 1902 he was the first person to be buried in the Tokanui cemetery. Julia Gregg carried on as Postmaster from the farmhouse until the coming of the railway in 1911.
Julia and her sons continued working the various farms they owned and leased until 1911. George meantime married Jean Margaret Earwaker and farmed on the land later owned by Lees and now by Jeff Earwaker. George sold and moved to Invercargill because his wife Jean was in ill health. After Jean’s death they returned to Tokanui. George bought Wattie Field's house and began work in the timber yard at Bauchops sawmill George died of wounds in 1942 at the age of 25 years. His diaries were sent home to his family later, and the last entry, September 3rd1942 read that he was going out on patrol that night. He was wounded and taken prisoner and shipped to Italy where he died at Caserta Prisoner of War Camp_.
Agnes, their daughter, from the age of eight suffered poor health and died at the age of eleven years. Wilhelmina Emily (Mina) married John McFadzien from Otara. They moved away with their family James, George, John and May. Louisa died in infancy. Hubert John married Victoria May Shirley. They farmed part of Paddon's farm. Myrtle Jane, their only child, died aged 27 year's.
Marion Milne (May) married Hugh George McLeod. Hugh was a noted runner who competed against the Archer Bros. The McLeod’s owned “Bay Wood”.Their family were Margaret who died, and Mina who married Dick Baker. James Doyle married Agnes Race and they had two sons. Stuart married Margo Orr.

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   James married Othalic Cochrane. Doyle went to Invercargill and worked for Geo. Poole and Sons and in later years was a saw doctor.
Elizabeth Francis did not marry, she kept house for her brother George and cared for his children for a number of years. Daisy Jean (George and Jean's daughter) married Bert Dawson.
   When David returned from World War 1 he married Ivy Race. They built tile present homestead. They had two daughters, Marjory Eleanor, a pupil of Tokanui School,who later married Garnett Blampied and Norma Ivy who married Graham Blick. Unfortunately David’s health was not good and they only enjoyed a few yours at "Island Bush". When the farm was sold it was bought by John Blue. John Blue later married Doris Hapgood. They had two children,Mavis and Allan who both attended the school_.   The next owner's were Mr and Mrs Arthur Ericson who had previously farmed at Haldane. Their daughter Raynor was also a pupil at Tokanui School. Arthur farmed Romney and Border Leicester stud sheep, and was a very keen gardener who specialized in prize winning dahlias. Arthur had a great love of native flora and was one of a group of local people responsible for the promotion of forest reserves in the area His hobbies were various forms of collecting. He collected and polished local rocks and his memorial in Southland is the display of petrified wood attached to the Southland Museum in Invercargill. Retirement to Akaroa presented new challenges and Arthur Ericson worked hard to achieve the restoration of the Garden of Tane on Banks Peninsular. He was awarded the Loder Cup, a prestigious award in conservation circles.
   The Tokanui farm was taken over by Arthur Ericson's nephew Michael Morrison and his wife Judith. Their family of three - Craig, Sheree and Lisa attended Tokanui School. It was in 1973 when Michael moved to Temuka that Bill and Barbara Compton took over. The Compton family are John. Christopher and Armanda, the last two attending the school in 1973. John is now in a three-way partnership with his parents on the farm. In 1993 he married Christine French, and their son Joseph from Christine's previous marriage attend Tokanui School.
McEWAN:
In the year 1878 Neil McEwan and his wire Janet with two small sons, Archibald and Robert, left Glasgow to emigrate to New Zealand. After working at various places the family finally arrived at Tokanui and settled.

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Neil took up two sections and built a whare of tree ferns lined with canvas. This was built beside the stream at the foot of the hill where the homestead was finally built. Neil soon acquired the section where McWilliams lived, this being where the first schoolroom was. Robert and his sister Jane were two of the first day pupils.
The family increased until there were ten children, seven boys and three girls. Two of the girls married and remained in the Tokanui district - Jessie married John Muir and Jane married William Crosbie. Catherine later married Douglas Leckie who became a principal of Tweedsmuir School in Invercargill. Neil and his sons built one of the first flax mills in the district and also did a lot of road building and contracting work. When the railway was being constructed from Waimahaka to Tokanui, Neil sold the land on the north side of the main Tokanui-Waikawa road and south side of the Tokanui stream to the Government. Surveyed, this became known as the township of McEwan.
In the early part of the century, after Janet died, most of the family moved to the Wyndham Valley where they took up land and were also flax milling. The Tokanui farm was leased by ......

Neil McEwan

The McEwan Homestead..............

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