John and Mary Toms were early Rangitīkei settlers in the mid to late 1800s.
A fifth-generation descendant of early Rangitīkei settlers John and Mary Toms aims to restore her ancestors’ grave near Marton.
Michal Were, 79, hopes to raise enough money to restore the Mt View Cemetery grave.
The retired former Te Kūiti High School librarian began tracing her family’s journey about 25 years ago after being inspired by her grandmother’s curiosity.
“I’ve been researching since about 2000, nowadays with DNA I belong to Ancestry - it’s quite fascinating and addictive, I tell you,” Were said.
Were found that Mary and John Toms were her great-great-great-grandparents. John was a respected settler in Rangitīkei in the mid to late 1800s.
A family historian, John Jones, recorded in 1978 that the couple had 157 descendants born in New Zealand.
The couple, with four of their five children Charles, Maryanne, John and Joshua, came to New Zealand from England on the New Era ship in 1855 in the hope of a fresh start.
They were not wealthy when living in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, with John listed as a “farming man” in the 1851 census.
The family travelled by steerage - the cheapest accommodation available - on the boat.
When they arrived in New Zealand, they were greeted by Prime Minister Sir William Fox in Wellington.
John and his son Joshua were employed to work on Fox’s property in Westoe, east of Marton.
Charles settled in the district later after briefly working as a carpenter in Wellington.
The family bought land and built the original house, Riverdale, in the 1860s. A sixth-generation descendant still lives on the property.
Charles and Joshua helped build roads in Rangitīkei. Charles was a civil engineer and Joshua was a road contractor.
Mary died in 1878 from apoplexy, aged 65, and John died from natural causes aged 87 in 1893. Their sons all died before John.
Mary, John, daughter Maryanne and her husband John Symonds were all laid to rest in the same burial plot.
A few years ago, Were and her cousin visited Mt View Cemetery and discovered the poor condition of the burial plot.
“I thought I’d have a look at another few ancestors. We were wandering around and found the Toms’ one - we saw how bad of a state it was in; it was terrible,” Were said.
The grave is overgrown, the surrounding bricks are loose and the fence is rusting and disfigured.
The headstone’s script is still readable but it is lying flat on the ground.
“We thought, ‘what do we do? Can we go ahead and do something about it?‘,” Were said.
She has set up a fundraising page to restore the grave to what it would have looked like in the 19th century.
“It has been abandoned, really, and nobody seems to own any plots so we’ve taken the plunge and thought we’d go for it,” she said.
“It has taken us a couple of years to get the courage to attack it.”
Were has been quoted about $25,000 to restore the grave and fix the fence.
She has raised nearly $13,000 already.
Were said despite it being important to her on an emotional level, it was important for people to acknowledge all the early settlers that had shaped New Zealand.
“It is a part of the immigrants’ history; they came here for a better life and most of us are okay, living the good life,” Were said.
“We’ve got to acknowledge their bravery to come all the way from England, not knowing what they’re coming to and starting again.
“John and Mary were in their 40s so they really must’ve thought, we’ve got to make a change now and try again somewhere else.”
She said there were likely to be more examples of settlers’ graves that needed restoration.
Were was grateful for the support she had received so far.
“People who value history and stories appreciate what we’re doing.”
Support for the grave restoration can be made through the Givealittle page givealittle.co.nz/cause/restore-our-early-settler-ancestors-toms-grave.