By Roselyn Fauth based on my great aunts account.

Imagine this. It is 1913. You are a young mother in England. Women cannot yet vote in the UK. The first World War looms on the horizon... and you decide to board a ship to New Zealand with your eight-month-old baby in your arms to join your husband on the otherside of the world, (18,500 kilometres) with a £26 fare.

That mother was Sarah Cloake (nee Couling), and her baby was Mary, my grandfather Harry’s big sister. In September 1913 Sarah left Devon with Mary in a cabin shared with six women on the S.S. Corinthic. She was seasick for the entire six-week journey, and strangers took turns caring for Sarah's baby. They were sailing to a country they had never seen, to join Bertie Cloake who had already gone ahead to chase his dream of farming in Canterbury and make a head start.

I often wonder what went through Sarah’s mind on that voyage. The Titanic had sunk only the year before. Did she worry her ship would make it? Did she stare through the porthole trying to picture what lay ahead? Did she dream of the farm life Bertie had promised her, or ache for the streets of Devon and the family she had left behind? What did it feel like to carry a baby across oceans, sick and exhausted, needing strangers to keep her child alive? And what must it have been like, after all that waiting, to finally step off the ship in Wellington, to see Bertie again, and take her first breath of New Zealand air?

My dad Geoff Cloake, has a precious letter written by his aunty, Mary Cloake, my grandfather Harry’s sister. It is the only piece of writing we have from a relative who set down their story in their own words. In Mary’s voice we hear more than just facts. She described what she saw and how it felt. This blog is built from her account, her words in quotes, woven with what Mary's has taught me about her. By reflecting on Mary I have learned so much more about myself.

So here we go, enjoy this story about Mary, the baby once cared for by strangers at sea, who grew up to care for others strangers babies. It's a story that belongs to our family, and to Timaru and New Zealand history too.

“I was born in Newton Abbott near Torquay, Devon England on 18 June 1912. Dad’s lifelong ambition was to emigrate to New Zealand and buy a farm. Dad sailed for New Zealand on the S.S. Corinthic. My mother and I followed on 13 September 1913.” — Mary Cloake

The journey began with a dream...

Their journey that started with a dream from Devon roots

Bertie Thomas Cloake was born in Deal Kent c. 1883. This was at a time when the economy was taking a serious nose dive. And people had to leave to find new opportunities to make ends meet. Bertie ended up moving to Torquay with his wife Sarah Couling. They kept a small shop in Union Street, Torquay, Devon. Bertie also worked as an insurance agent. From what I can make out, they seem to have been ordinary people in Edwardian England, working hard to make a living in a seaside town.

Bertie wanted more. As Mary recalled in her letter, his ambition was always to have a farm in New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains promised something England could not give him. New land, opportunity, and the chance to create a better life. So in March 1913 Bertie boarded the S.S. Corinthic to travel 18,500 kilometres across the ocean on his own. Six months later Sarah followed with baby Mary, leaving Southampton on 13 September 1913 when Mary was 8 months old.

Two brothers, one vision - Could you imagine leaving everything behind, crossing 18,500 km of ocean with no return ticket?

Could you imagine leaving everything behind, crossing 18,500 km of ocean with no return ticket? In March 1913 Bertie Cloake did exactly that, landing in Wellington on the SS Corinthic; Sarah followed on the same ship with baby Mary on 13 September 1913, and they made their way to Timaru. The young family learned the ropes of Canterbury farming at Simon’s Pass and Irishman Creek, shifted to Taiko Flat where Harry was born (6 March 1915), then through Waitohi and Holme Station, before heading inland to Miekleburn in spring 1918.

Bertie wasn’t the only Cloake willing to risk everything for a brighter future. His younger brother Arthur came out “not long after” the family reached Miekleburn, and Mary remembered Uncle Arthur working alongside her father there... part of the household and part of their survival. In 1922 Arthur’s fiancée Alma Chubb sailed from England to marry him. I like to imagine Sarah and Alma finding comfort in each other’s company: when Sarah first crossed the oceans in 1913 she had no family beside her, just a sick body and a baby in her arms; now there was a sister-in-law nearby.

By 31 March 1921 the wanderers put down roots, Bertie and Sarah left Miekleburn and on 1 April 1921 took possession of 10 acres at Springbrook for £600. From there the family built forward: 1923 brought the first hive (rescued from the kitchen chimney) and another dozen from Mr Foster, the beginning of a honey and poultry enterprise that carried them through the 1920s–30s.

Together, Bertie and Arthur established their opportunity, worked hard for their dreams. Sarah and Alma kept the homes running through the harsh realities of early farming life in Canterbury. The brothers and their wives formed the roots of our South Canterbury Cloakes — and they didn’t do it alone. Shortly after 1922, Sarah’s sisters Annie and Emmy arrived too; Em (with Bill Harper and their children) landed on 16 March 1922, and more cousins followed in the years after, turning Sarah's passage on the Corinthic into a small cluster of kin spread from Fairlie to Springbrook, Inverargil and beyond.

R.M.S. "CORINTHIC" (Twin Screw), 12231 tons.  In 1912–13, about 99% of emigrant voyages arrived safely, but the few that didn’t (like Titanic) were so catastrophic they dominated public memory. Sarah and Mary's ship, the SS Corinthic, was one of the reliable “workhorse” migrant steamers that successfully carried thousands to New Zealand.

They moved around farming stations for survival

Mary’s early memories give an insight into how the family moved around rural Canterbury, a mix of survival in harsh conditions and basic living, and learning. Building skills for Bertie's big dream of a farm of his own.

Simons Pass Station – near Lake Tekapo, where Bertie learned to farm sheep. Wages were £150 a year, plus board. Sarah cooked for the Mathieson family while caring for her toddler.

Irishman’s Creek – another Tekapo station, long before it became famous as the birthplace of the Hamilton Jet. Life was harsh, water had to be caught in rain tanks, winters were freezing, summers sweltering.

Taiko Flat – where Harry was born in 1915. Here, Mary remembered the “long drop” toilet with a child’s seat, her doll lost forever down it, and her father burning his hand in a kitchen fire. These small stories bring colour to what pioneer life really meant.

Waitohi – a hard posting under a strict employer, where Sarah was treated like a servant and the children hidden from sight. They lasted only six weeks.

Holme Station – the Elworthy estate outside Timaru, like a small village in itself. Bertie became head teamster, Sarah cooked for shearers and harvesters. It was here, with war breaking out in Europe, that life felt almost settled.

Maungati and Miekleburn – remote, harsh and sometimes dangerous. At Miekleburn, snow cut them off from neighbours, lambs were revived in the oven, and even the rooster learned to swim. Uncle Arthur was there too, alongside Bertie, weathering the wilds.

Finally, After years of hard graft, they had a farm of their own

In 1921 Bertie and Sarah finally bought their own land: ten acres at Springbrook, near Timaru. To them it was a castle. A modest four-roomed cottage, fruit trees, and gum trees along the boundary.

It was here that Bertie kept his first hive of bees, found in a hollow of the chimney. That hive became the start of a family legacy. Bertie expanded, buying twelve hives, then more, until the Cloake apiary became the largest in the South Island, with sites from Southland to the West Coast. Generations of Cloakes and their in-laws worked the hives. Their bees pollinated crops, supported farming, and produced honey for export.

His decision to start keeping bees in 1923 turned out to be a game-changer, creating a new livelihood alongside farming.

Beekeepers are often overlooked in New Zealand’s pioneer story, but without them, many introduced crops and orchards would never have thrived. Our family’s contribution is part of a much wider history: agriculture, food, and community prosperity.

This is Aunt Mary cleaning cans out ready to be filled with honey to sell locally

The baby on the Cornthic was cared for by strangers, and ended up caring for strangers babies too.

Reading through Mary’s letters, I think her childhood was shaped by the constant moves of a family chasing opportunity, by the harshness of Canterbury’s climate, and by the resilience her parents had to instil in their children. She would have learned to adapt early. One year she was at Springbrook School, the next at Timaru West, and at times she was educated by correspondence when heavy snow made roads impassable. School while primarily was a place of learning was also her connection to the wider world, a place where friendships grew beyond the isolation of rural farm life.

Daily chores filled her childhood. She separated cream from milk, helped with honey extracting in the family’s apiary, and gathered eggs. Summers were spent playing in creeks and Pareora river, “tickling” trout with her father, and clambering over rocks with her siblings. Winters brought chilblains, smoky coal ranges, and lambs or calves being revived by the kitchen fire. It sounds like it was a hard life, but perhaps one that taught her responsibility, resourcefulness, and an appreciation and how to work and live with of seasons rhythms.

By the 1930s, Mary had reached a point where she wanted more than the farm. In 1935, at just 23, she left home and travelled to Christchurch to train as a Karitane nurse at the Lady King Karitane Hospital. I found this decision fascinating, as at that time, Karitane nursing was at the forefront of New Zealand’s child health movement. Plunket was founded by Sir Truby King and the Plunket Society. Nurses like Mary were trained to support mothers, babies, and young children, particularly in those critical early years when infant mortality was still a pressing concern.

For nine years Mary dedicated herself to this work. She travelled across the South Island and into Wellington, providing care to strangers, teaching mothers about nutrition and hygiene, and comforting babies just as others had done for her the 20 off years ago when she was a baby on a ship emigrating to New Zealand. The child once carried across the seas by strangers’ kindness had become the woman who gave that same kindness back to countless families.

In 1943, in the middle of the Second World War, Mary married Charles Wilson. Like many women of her generation, her professional life shifted once she had a family of her own. She and Charles had two sons: Brian, born in 1948, and David, born in 1949. Mary continued to work casually as a nurse during the war years, but after the birth of her boys her focus was on home and family.

Mary lived a long and full life, passing away in April 2002, just weeks short of her 90th birthday. She outlived Charles, who died in 1998. Her legacy lived on not only through her sons and grandchildren, but also through the letter she left behind — the single piece of paper that gives us her voice, her memories, and her resilience.

One day, our names too will sit on stones. What stories will our descendants read in us?

Side Quest 1: Six Weeks at Sea — The Voyage on the S.S. Corinthic

How far did Sarah and baby Mary travel? They travelled about 18,500 kilometres from Devon, England, to New Zealand. The journey took six weeks by steamship.

What was their ship like? The S.S. Corinthic was one of Shaw, Savill and Albion’s passenger liners, launched in 1902. It carried emigrants, cargo, and mail between England and New Zealand. Conditions were crowded: Sarah and Mary shared a six-berth cabin with five other women and another toddler.

How did they survive the heat? Travelling through the tropics was stifling. Stewards erected a metal chute at the porthole to funnel air into the cabin. Sarah was seasick the whole way, so other women cared for Mary.

Was it dangerous? Yes. The Titanic had sunk just the year before, in 1912. Steamships were safer, but storms, accidents, and outbreaks of disease always loomed.

Where did they land? Sarah and Mary disembarked at Wellington in September 1913. From there they took the ferry to Lyttelton, then the train to Timaru to be reunited with Bertie.

When Sarah Cloake boarded the SS Corinthic in September 1913 with baby Mary in her arms, the world had only just begun to come to terms with the Titanic disaster the year before. Over 1,500 lives had been lost in April 1912, and it had shaken public confidence in what had been called the “golden age” of ocean liners. For any young mother, the thought of taking her infant across 18,500 kilometres of ocean, knowing such a tragedy had just happened, must have been terrifying.

But what were the odds, really? In the early 1910s, Britain’s merchant fleet was vast — about 20 million gross tons of shipping. Thousands of voyages left British ports every year bound for North America, Australia, and New Zealand. On average, less than 1% of vessels were lost annually, and most of those were small freighters or coastal craft. The great ocean-going liners of companies like Shaw Savill & Albion, Cunard, and White Star were safer than ever.

Still, disaster stories dominated memory. In 1914, not long after Sarah’s voyage, the Empress of Ireland would collide with another ship in the St. Lawrence River, sinking with over 1,000 lives lost. The risks were rare but very real.

So where did the Corinthic fit in? The Corinthic was one of three sister ships built in 1902 for the New Zealand run — the Athenic, Ionic, and Corinthic. They were sturdy, steady, and above all reliable. For decades they carried emigrants, cargo, and mail between Britain and New Zealand. Unlike the glamorous transatlantic liners, these ships were workhorses of empire. And the record shows: the Corinthic served until 1931 without ever being lost.

That means when Bertie sailed out on her in March 1913, and when Sarah followed six months later, the odds were overwhelmingly in their favour. Still, as the ship cut south through the tropics, with six women and two babies squeezed into a single sweltering cabin, Sarah must have wondered: would they make it? Could she keep Mary alive when she herself was too sick to get out of bed?

The answer lay in community. The other women in the cabin took turns carrying, feeding, and soothing baby Mary. A year after Titanic, one infant’s survival was owed not to lifeboats or new safety drills, but to the kindness of strangers at sea.

Maritime Disasters that might have been on Sarah’s Mind (1912–1913)

In March 1912, the Australian coastal steamer SS Koombana vanished in a cyclone off Western Australia with all 150 people aboard, one of the nation’s enduring mysteries.

A month later, in April 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage and sank with the loss of over 1,500 lives, sending shockwaves around the world.

In May 1912, the British emigrant ship SS Oceana collided with the steamer Pisagua in the English Channel, sinking with nine lives lost despite rescue efforts.

In June 1912, the American liner SS Columbia collided with the SS San Juan off California, killing 87 passengers and crew in a fiery sinking.

In September 1912, the French liner SS Libau struck rocks in the Mediterranean; though most passengers survived, the wreck underscored navigational dangers even in calm seas.

In October 1912, the Canadian Pacific liner SS Princess Sophia ran aground in Alaska’s Lynn Canal during a blizzard and later sank with all 353 passengers and crew — one of the worst maritime disasters in Pacific Northwest history.

In December 1912, the American steamer SS Niagara exploded in Lake Michigan, killing 21 crew members and highlighting how fire was as great a threat as the sea itself.

In March 1913, the SS Volturno caught fire mid-Atlantic with over 500 emigrants on board; a flotilla of rescue ships managed to save most passengers, though around 136 perished.

And in October 1913, just weeks after Sarah and baby Mary arrived safely, the SS Volturno fire tragedy made international headlines, reminding emigrants of how perilous ocean crossings could be.

Side Quest 2: Life on the Stations

Why did Bertie move between so many farms?
As a new emigrant, Bertie needed experience before owning land. Each job taught him skills — stock management, cropping, building, and survival.

Which stations shaped Mary’s childhood?

• Simons Pass Station (Tekapo): Bertie earned £150 a year plus board. Sarah cooked for the Mathiesons.

• Irishman’s Creek: Long before it became famous for Bill Hamilton’s jet boat, it was a cold, isolated station with rainwater tanks.

• Taiko Flat (1915): Harry was born here. Mary recalled the “long drop” toilet and her doll falling down it.

• Waitohi: They lasted only six weeks under a strict employer, Mrs Chapman. Sarah had to wear a starched apron while serving.

• Holme Station (Elworthy estate, near Timaru): Like a small village. Bertie became head teamster. Sarah cooked for shearers. This was 1914, when war began in Europe.

• Miekleburn (Fairlie district): So remote their nearest neighbour was 5 miles away. Winters brought 2-foot snowdrifts and icicles “ten to twelve inches around.”

What did these moves mean for Mary?
Her “playgrounds” were creeks, horses, and snowy paddocks. She learned resilience early, watching her parents navigate endless change.

Side Quest 3: For the Good of the Hive

How did beekeeping start for the Cloakes? In 1923, Bertie discovered a swarm of bees in the chimney of their Springbrook cottage. He moved it into a box, beginning a lifelong legacy. This was not long after settling with Sarah and their children at Springbrook, near Timaru.

How big did the family business become? Bertie expanded to 12 hives from a local bee keeper, Mr Foster which were carted home on a horse and dray, each hive wrapped in a sack. At first Bertie combined beekeeping with other work, including shifts at the freezing works and small carpentry jobs, but over time the bees took over his life and livelihood. By the mid-1930s the family apiary had grown into a large and thriving enterprise, with Harry and Mary working alongside their father to extract and pack honey, setting the stage for the Cloake family’s enduring legacy in New Zealand beekeeping.

By the 1930s – The Cloake family apiary was large enough to involve Harry and Mary regularly in extracting, packing, and selling honey. By 1935, when Mary left home for nurse training, Bertie had already turned bees into a significant family business.

Her then added more, with sites across South Canterbury. Later, Harry and his sons and daughter in laws including Mervyn anbd Russell Cloake ran one of, if not the the largest apiaries in the South Island, managing hundreds of hives.

What innovations came from the family?

• Creamed Clover Honey: A smooth spreadable honey perfected in Timaru.

• The Cloake Board: Invented by Harry, this tool for queen-rearing is still used worldwide.

Did they protect their ideas? No. They shared freely. Even when an American tried to sell his “patent” for creamed honey, the Cloakes already had the process working. They valued the hive — and the industry — over profit.

Why do bees matter? New Zealand’s native bees don’t make honey or pollinate crops effectively. European honey bees, introduced in 1839, enabled large-scale farming. By the 1920s there were nearly 100,000 hives, critical for clover and orchard growth. The Cloake bees helped pollinate Canterbury’s “food bowl.”

27 February 1912 + collection of Christchurch City Libraries - Canterbury Times caption: "Top: Members of the Association. Bottom: The President's Apiary. The annual field day of the Canterbury Bee-keepers Association was held on February 27, at the apiary of Mr A. Ireland, the president, at Brookside. The situation is an ideal one for an apiary, being well sheltered by a belt of trees, while clover fields are within easy reach of the apiary." https://www.canterburystories.nz/collections/publications/newspaper-extracts/canterbury-times/ccl-cs-16346

Side Quest 4: Mary and the Karitane Nurses

What made Mary leave the farm in 1935? At 23, she sought independence and purpose beyond farm work. She trained as a Karitane nurse at Lady King Karitane Hospital in Christchurch.

What was Karitane nursing? It grew from the Plunket Society, founded in 1907 through the expertise of Māori midwives Mere Harper and Ria Tikini working alongside Dr Truby King. Karitane hospitals specialised in maternal and infant care and trained nurses for community service.

What did Mary do as a nurse? For nine years she worked across the South Island and in Wellington. She helped mothers establish breastfeeding, taught hygiene and nutrition, and cared for sick or underweight babies.

Why was this important? At the time, infant mortality was still a national concern. Nurses like Mary were at the frontline of reducing deaths and improving family health.

What happened after she married? In 1943 she married Charles Wilson. Like most women under the “marriage bar,” her professional career largely ended. She had two sons, Brian (1948) and David (1949), and focused on her family.

Side Quest 5: Women’s Work and the Marriage Bar

What was Sarah’s life like as a pioneer wife? Endless work: milking, cooking, laundry, child-rearing, serving shearers, and carrying water. None of it paid.

What opportunities did Mary have that Sarah didn’t? Mary’s generation could train as professionals. Karitane nursing gave her a wage, respect, and a voice in public health.

What was the “marriage bar”? From the 1880s to the 1940s, many professions required women to resign once they married. The assumption was that a husband would provide. Mary’s career shift after 1943 reflects this system.

How do we compare today? Modern parents often share caregiving more equally, but many women still juggle invisible labour. The comparison makes Sarah’s resilience, and Mary’s brief independence, even more striking.

Side Quest 6: Libraries of Lives

Where are Sarah and Bertie buried? At Timaru Cemetery, Row 51, Plot 160. Their stone marks the end of their pioneering journey.

Where is Harry? My grandfather Harry rests at the Timaru Crematorium with his wife Doreen.

What about Mary? Mary lived to nearly 90, passing away in 2002. She outlived Charles (died 1998) and left behind sons Brian and David.

Why do cemeteries matter? Cemeteries hold not just names, but stories. Each stone is a marker of survival, of community, of choices that shaped the present.

How do I see them now? They no longer feel eerie. They feel like libraries of lives, where ordinary people like Sarah, Bertie, Harry, and Mary become extraordinary when you listen closely.

Side Quest: From Deal to Devon to Timaru

Where did Bertie’s journey really begin? My great-grandfather, Bertie Thomas Cloake, was born in Deal, Kent, in 1883. Deal was once one of England’s busiest maritime towns, famous for its boatmen who braved the surf to rescue sailors and ferry goods to ships anchored offshore. But by the late 1800s, the economy had shifted. Steamships and railways made the old boat service less vital, and many families faced uncertainty. Bertie grew up in this world of change, with the sea in his blood but fewer opportunities than his parents’ generation had known.

By the early 1900s, Bertie had moved across the country to Torquay, Devon, where he and his wife Sarah Couling ran a small shop in Union Street. He sold mixed goods and worked as an insurance agent, making a modest living in this Edwardian seaside resort. But Mary’s account makes clear that this wasn’t enough for him. His “lifelong ambition was to emigrate to New Zealand and buy a farm.”

Why leave? In Deal, Bertie had seen what happened when traditional livelihoods faded. In Torquay, he was making ends meet, but not building the kind of future he dreamed of. New Zealand — and especially Canterbury — offered land, opportunity, and the chance to be part of something new.

In 1913, Bertie boarded the S.S. Corinthic for New Zealand. Six months later Sarah followed with baby Mary. The move wasn’t just from Devon to New Zealand. It carried with it the deeper history of Kent’s seafaring resilience and the willingness of people like Bertie to uproot their lives for the hope of something more.

Mary Cloake — Timeline

18 Jun 1912 — Birth (Devon, England)

• “I was born in Newton Abbott near Torquay, Devon England on 18 June 1912.”

Mar 1913 — Bertie emigrates to New Zealand

• “Dad’s lifelong ambition was to emigrate to New Zealand and buy a farm.”

• “Dad sailed for New Zealand on the S.S. Corinthic, arriving in Wellington in March 1913.”

13 Sep – late Oct 1913 — Sarah and baby Mary sail to NZ (6 weeks)

• “My mother and I followed… on 13 September 1913 from Southampton. The fare was 26 pounds.”

• Six-berth cabin shared with 5 other women and another toddler; tropical heat relieved by a metal air chute; “My mother was ill for the entire trip so the other folk in the cabin took turns to look after me.”

• Reunited with Bertie in Wellington, then ferry to Lyttelton and train to Timaru.

Late 1913 – early 1914 — Simon’s Pass Station (Lake Tekapo area)

• Bertie works “with the sheep so as to learn all about farming in New Zealand.”

• Sarah keeps house/cooks for the Mathiesons. Wages: £150 a year and ‘found’ (food & accommodation).

• Sarah befriends Evelyn Hoskins of Simon’s Hill Station (author of Life on a Five Pound Note).

~1914 — Irishman’s Creek (Tekapo district)

• No electricity; coal range for cooking/heating; rainwater caught in 200-gallon tanks.

• “The inhabitants of that area sweltered in the summer and froze in the winter.”

• Bertie fishes Irishman Creek and Lake Alexandrina (rainbow trout).

6 Mar 1915 — Harry born; family at Taiko Flat (10–12 miles from Timaru)

• Artesian water pumped by windmill; hot/cold to bathroom and kitchen.

• “The toilet was a ‘long drop’… I dropped my doll down it, never to be seen again.”

• Kitchen fire incident: Bertie burns thumb throwing a flaming fat tin outside.

• Mixed farm under owner Mr Wigley gives Bertie wider experience.

Post-Taiko (brief) — Waitohi, north of Timaru

• Employer Mrs Chapman; formal uniforms; children kept out of sight.

• “We stayed only six weeks.”

1914–1918 (overlap) — Holme Station (Elworthy estate, ~8 miles from Timaru)

• Bertie appointed head teamster; Sarah cooks for a large staff, shearers, and harvesters.

• Self-contained estate: manager’s house, gardeners’ houses, “butcher’s shop,” cookhouse with two coal ranges and a brick oven.

• “It was at this time that the First World War broke out.”

• Large hot meals carried to paddocks; oatmeal water in 4-gallon milk cans for workers.

1 Apr 1918 — Myra born (Timaru)

• Mary boards with Gosden family at Springbrook and attends Springbrook School while Sarah is in the home to have Myra.

1918 (after Myra’s birth) — Maungati (roadman’s cottage + Post Office duties)

• Bertie smashes shingle as a roadman; Sarah operates stamps, telegrams, and telephone exchange 9am–5pm.

• Mary walks a mile to school in winter snow (3–4 inches), develops chilblains; pony-and-trap transport (Peggy).

Spring 1918 – Mar 1921 — Miekleburn Station (Fairlie district)

• Remote: 23 miles from Fairlie, 5 miles to nearest neighbours; basic two-bedroom cottage, no water laid on; water bailed from the creek.

• Harsh winters: “Snow, at least two feet deep… icicles ten to twelve inches in circumference.”

• Flood watches; reviving lambs in the open oven; pets and farm stories (rooster “learns” to swim).

• Uncle Arthur (Bertie’s brother) arrives from England and replaces a drunk worker; vivid “bull at the byre” shotgun-pellet story.

• Mary boards for Timaru West School; Education Board pays part of her 10s/week board; Mrs Bray contributes 5s/week.

• Regular buggy trips with faithful horse Ginger; dramatic rescue when Ginger falls through an old log bridge; Clydesdales, snow-ploughing, thatching haystacks, rabbiting with ferrets; use of strychnine/phosphorus baits (later banned ~1930).

31 Mar 1921 — Leave Miekleburn; 1 Apr 1921 — Arrive at own place, Springbrook

• Purchase: 10 acres and a 4-room house for £600. “This was Mum and Dad’s very own place – their castle.”

• No electricity/phone; rainwater pumped by hand; kerosene lamps for light.

1923 — First hive of bees (Springbrook)

• “Dad was delighted to find a swarm of bees in a hollow… chimney… he removed them into a bee box… this was his first hive.”

• Later buys 12 hives from Mr Foster; horse-and-dray transport, each hive wrapped in a sack.

1924 — House extension & plumbing upgrade

• Bertie builds two rooms, hall, and bathroom; installs hot/cold water to sink, bath, basin; drains come later; septic follows when water supply improves (Downlands scheme ~1948).

16 Mar 1922 and 1920s — Family arrivals from England

• 1922: Auntie Em & Uncle Bill Harper arrive with children Emma and William (Bill); Uncle Bill works long hours at the freezing works, first week wage £13.

• 1922: Auntie Alma arrives and marries Uncle Arthur.

• 1925: Em and Bill Steer arrive and settle.

• 1928: Len Allen arrives.

• 1929: Cousin Amy arrives and marries Len.

• Early years: tents on the section to house relatives until rentals found.

Mid-1920s — Poultry, produce, and honey expand

• Incubators (60-egg, later two 120-egg) and coke brooders; selling six-week-old pullets and dressed birds (hotels in Timaru).

• Family sells butter, eggs, fruit; Timaru saleroom licence £19.

• Mary: “I did the separating… before school.” She credits daily cream for her strong teeth at 89.

1926 — First motor vehicle

• Bertie buys a Model T Ford ½-ton truck for £26 (ex-butcher’s van).

• 1928: Mary learns to drive and passes her licence at 16.

Late 1920s — Honey plant and shows

• Honey house gains a top storey; extractor upstairs, gravity to tanks below.

• Bertie wins multiple show prizes for honey and wax; Mum (Sarah) for dressed poultry; Myra for scones.

• Queen-rearing begins; Italian strain imported for temperament and strength; black queens replaced; queens exported (e.g., to Canada; to Raoul Island as an experiment).

Teen years — School, games, and community

• Maypole, skipping, creek “wars,” trout tickling, dances and euchre in the school; tennis on rough grass court.

• Hair-raising “cats and sparrows” prank while parents run a euchre evening; near-disastrous yard fire later put out with “two buckets of pig slops.”

Jul 1935 — Mary leaves to train as a Karitane nurse (Christchurch Lady King Karitane Hospital)

• “I loved the work and became a Karitane nurse.”

• Works “all around the South Island and Wellington” for 9 years.

1936 — Harry leaves home

• “Harry left home in 1936… and became a policeman.”

1943 — Marriage

• “I… met and married Charles Wilson in 1943. I worked by the day until the end of the war and then we returned to Christchurch.”

26 Jan 1948 — Sarah (Mum) dies

• “Harry took over most of the bees and all the equipment, truck and machinery, and Dawn… took over the poultry.”

2 May 1948 — Son Brian born
25 Nov 1949 — Son David born

• “Mary and Charles had two sons. Brian… 2nd May 1948 and David… 25th November 1949.”

24 Jan 1998 — Charles dies

6 Sep 1960 — Bertie (Dad) dies, aged 77

• “The farm was sold for £2200.”

2001 — Mary notes family status

• “Harry passed away a few years ago and Myra and I are still going strong – 2001.”

17 Apr 2002 — Mary dies

• “Mary continued to live on her own until 17th April 2002 when she passed away eight weeks before her 90th birthday.”

Quick Places Index (from Mary’s account)

• England: Newton Abbot/Torquay (Devon); Southampton (departure).

• NZ Landfall & Routes: Wellington → Lyttelton (ferry) → Timaru (train).

• Stations & Settlements: Simon’s Pass; Irishman’s Creek; Taiko Flat; Waitohi; Holme Station; Maungati; Miekleburn (Fairlie district); Springbrook (near Timaru); schooling at Springbrook and Timaru West.

Key People mentioned in Mary's letters

Core family (Cloake)

• Bertie Thomas Cloake — Mary’s father; emigrated Mar 1913; farm worker then beekeeper.

• Sarah (née unknown in Mary’s letter) — Mary’s mother; housekeeper/cook on stations; poultry.

• Mary Cloake — narrator; b. 18 Jun 1912, Devon.

• Harry Cloake — brother; b. 6 Mar 1915; later a policeman; took over bees in 1948.

• Myra Cloake (later Rouse) — sister; b. 1 Apr 1918; married Jim Rouse.

• Arthur (“Uncle Arthur”) Cloake — Bertie’s brother; joins them at Miekleburn; later marries Alma.

• Alma (Auntie Alma) Cloake (née Chubb) — arrives 1922 to marry Uncle Arthur.

Mary’s extended relatives by marriage

• Harper family — Mary’s maternal relatives who emigrated:

  • Auntie Em (Emmie) & Uncle Bill Harper — arrive 16 Mar 1922 with children:

    • William (Bill) Harper — later policeman / racecourse detective.

    • Emma Harper — later has a step-daughter Carol De Dulin.

• Steer family — “the Steer boys,” and later:

  • Em & Bill Steer — arrive 1925 and settle in NZ.

• Len Allen & Amy (cousin) Allen — Len Allen arrives 1928; cousin Amy arrives 1929 and marries Len (becomes Amy Allen).

Employers / station owners & local notables

• Mathieson family — owners of Simon’s Pass Station (Tekapo area).

• Jack Mathieson — station manager at Simon’s Pass; his mother is often visiting.

• Evelyn Hoskins — of Simon’s Hill Station; author of Life on a Five Pound Note; befriends Sarah.

• Mr. Hamilton — later owner of Irishman’s Creek; developed the Hamilton Jet there.

• Le Cren family — prior owners of Irishman’s Creek before Hamilton.

• Mr. Wigley — owner of the Taiko Flat mixed farm where Bertie gains experience.

• Mrs. Chapman — widow; employer at Waitohi (strict conditions; short stay).

• Arthur Elworthy — owner of Holme Station near Timaru, where Bertie is head teamster.

• John Bray (“Cocky Bray”) & Mrs. Bray — owners connected to Miekleburn Station (Fairlie district).

  • Mrs. Bray contributes 5s/week toward Mary’s boarding in Timaru.

• Mr. Foster — beekeeper from whom Bertie buys 12 hives.

Neighbours / boarding / community

• Gosden family — of Springbrook; host Mary when Myra is born; close neighbours later.

• Mr. & Mrs. Bloomfield (and daughter Ailien) — Mary boards with them to attend Timaru West School.

• Mr. Higginbottom — rents riverbed grazing for the house cow at Maungati.

• Mr. Sullivan — the man with the “nice gig and smart horse” who unwittingly tows kids clinging to the trap.

Co-workers / characters in Mary’s anecdotes

• Jack Watson — drunk worker brought by Bray; later found dead under a snow tussock (Albury).

• “Swaggy” — itinerant who called for food at Miekleburn; later arrested wearing stolen boots.

Mary’s adult life

• Charles Wilson — Mary’s husband; married 1943.

  • Children: Brian (b. 2 May 1948) and David (b. 25 Nov 1949).

• Dawn (Harry’s wife) — takes over the poultry when Sarah dies in 1948.

Side Quest: What It Took to Build the Dream

What did it really take for Bertie to reach his lifelong ambition of owning a farm in New Zealand?

Mary’s letter makes it sound so simple: “Dad’s lifelong ambition was to emigrate to New Zealand and buy a farm.” But the truth was, it took years of sheer hard work, sacrifice, and resilience to get there.

When Bertie arrived in 1913, he didn’t step straight into his dream. He and Sarah went from station to station, working wherever they could. Each place had its own challenges:

• Simon’s Pass & Irishman’s Creek (Tekapo): freezing winters, no electricity, water caught in rain tanks, and snow that could trap families for weeks.

• Taiko Flat (near Timaru): better in some ways, but still marked by fires and accidents.

• Waitohi: where the employer treated Sarah like a servant and insisted children be kept out of sight — they only lasted six weeks.

• Holme Station (Elworthy Estate): Bertie finally had a senior role as head teamster and Sarah cooked for shearers and harvesters. For a moment, things felt stable.

• Miekleburn (Fairlie): back to isolation. Heavy snow, floods, lambs in the oven for warmth, and Arthur — Bertie’s brother — working alongside them.

Bertie did whatever he had to. He took shifts at the freezing works, broke shingle for the roads, papered walls, and built sheds. Every coin counted.

At last, in 1921, they scraped enough together for their own land: ten acres at Springbrook, just outside Timaru. Mary described it as their “castle.” A small four-room cottage, gum trees along the boundary, and fruit trees out the back. It wasn’t much, but it was theirs.

Then in 1923, something happened that would change everything. Bertie found a swarm of bees in the chimney. He boxed them up and suddenly, beekeeping became part of their story. Soon he bought 12 more hives from a local beekeeper, Mr Foster, carting them home on a horse and dray, each hive wrapped in a sack. At first, the bees were just a sideline to help make ends meet. But over time, they became the family’s livelihood.

It had taken ten years of relentless work. Ten years of Sarah moving from place to place, raising children in drafty cottages and rough farm huts, cooking for shearers, and surviving as best she could. Ten years of Bertie grabbing every job that came his way, from stock work to carting to building. Ten years of brother Arthur at their side, another pair of hands in the fields and another voice at the table.

By the mid-1930s, they had turned that chimney swarm into one of the biggest apiaries in South Canterbury. The Cloake bees pollinated crops across the plains and produced honey that reached far beyond Timaru.

That’s what it took. The dream wasn’t handed to them. It was carved out of hardship, grit, and the kind of persistence that runs deep in our family.

Margaret and Mervyn Cloake (Rose's aunty and uncle) who had Cloake's Honey on Fairivew. Mervyn, Marilyn, Russell and Geoff's family home growing up.

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Fairview bees exported (04 Sep 1979). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 13/07/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/4452

My Aunty, Margaret Cloake on the Cover of the National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand in the check shirt at a tasting demonstration.

Marthy and Geoff Cloake.

Native Bee Polinators From South Canterbury Museum - Roselyn Fauth

WuHoo Timaru fun fact colouring in sheet on native and introduced bees with clover and manuka. You can download and colour it in here: wuhootimaru.co.nz/colouring-sheets/106-bees

Medinella Cornelia Fauth and Annabelle Meredith Fauth look at the grave of their grandfathers grandparents Bertie and Sarah Cloake. Medi's middle name is used through 700 years of my mothers families names, and Meredith is Annabelle's fathers monthers name.

My grandfather Harry Cloake finished Timaru Boys High School after his first year to work on the famliy farm. My aunty Marilyn told me Harry wasn't very happy about this. "He had just completed a year at high school and was a very bright boy, and love learning. He was absolutely gutted. But had to accept it as that was life many children had no education in high school."

At their home in Springbrook  Harry Cloake his sister Myra (Mrs Rouse) Grandad Cloake known as Bertie and Granny Sarah Cloake.

Roselyn Cloake Roots 26