Grace Frances Robertson – My Family …

L.R.S.M. – my Nana

Nana was born on the 12 June 1902 at Waianakarua in North Otago, New Zealand. She was the first born into a family that until that point had consisted of her father as a farmer and her mother as a teacher.

Grace taken in 1904 at Mahan and Muir’s studio at Oamaru. Although a little indistinct, Grace has named herself in the frame at the top of the page.

Grace’s life can be divided up into a number of chunks in terms of time and threads, in terms of her experiences. There was schooling, a life in Wellington, a life at Lincoln College and her later life in Wanganui and Nelson. Her experiences were music in both piano and voice, motherhood, marriage, art and family. In the coming sections, I will endeavour to cover all of them.

Schooling

Grace attended Waianakarua School along with many cousins and siblings and did well. in 1912 she received 2nd place in Proficiency for her year and was noted also for growing Flowers at the school garden.

In 1914 in Standard IV, Grace was best at her school in both Spelling and mentioned in Sewing too.

Grace is second in from left in front row. Waianakarua School 1910. Index to kids, click here

Through her life, Grace was very musical and as a young person, obviously had a strong inclination towards music as evidenced by her winning the music prize in 1917 at Waitaki Girls High School. Clearly the giver of the prize felt there were great things ahead of Grace, given the title. And perhaps interestingly, Grace was only 15 when she won the award.

Grace also sat practical examinations in 1917 passing her junior qualification and again in 1920 as senior.

Waitaki Girls High School 1910s. Photo from Culture Waitaki.

Daisy HUTTON on left, Grace on Right – cousins.

Angus (brother) and Grace on the porch of their family home at Waianakarua, early 1920s

Wellington – Music School and Work

Sometime between 1920 and 1925, Grace moved to Wellington and established herself there to pursue music. The first time she was eligible to vote was in the 1925 election and she is recorded as living at 41 Mulgrave Street. There is a record of Grace participating in a music competition in 1926 in Wellington.

Grace enrolled at Madame De Mauny’s music school in Wellington and attained her LRSM. The De Mauny’s, Leon and Evelyn, were both accomplished musicians in their own right who moved to Wellington from London in 1923.

One of my favourite photos. Back of photo says 1924

Caption on back of photo says 1925 in Wellington

Nana stayed in Wellington Central at 41 Mulgrave Street from at least 1925 onwards and after marriage at 332 the Terrace.

Radio 2YA

On the 8th September, 1927, Grace sang on Radio for the first time. The song was “The Blacksmith” and she is listed in the programme as having “Mezzo Soprano voice”. 2YA was officially opened on the 16th July in Wellington. The following snip is the same song, but from a later appearance.

This image from 1926 also, but I wonder if the trees in the background are at “Langwell”, the Ross Homestead, given that that property was surrounded by Eucalyptus trees?

Marriage

Grace married Les Stark on the 29th August 1930 at her parents’ home at Waianakarua. While living in Wellington, the pair traveled to Waianakarua for the wedding and returned back to Wellington, although I am unsure of the timing

This photo taken at Oamaru Railway Station on her wedding day.

Les and Grace at 332 The Terrace, Wellington

Back to Waianakarua – after 1934

It is unknown why Grace and Les decided to move back to Waianakarua, but we do know that they came back to a house close to her parents with a small section of land. The house still stands today and you can see the modern home incorporates the old home in the left half of the building. The photo below also illustrates another of Grace’s passions and that was gardening. She signed me up to the Forest and Bird Society and because of that, I have held a life-long interest in all things New Zealand nature.

The house that Grace and Les came back to.

Ad appearing in the newspaper in February 1937. She had children coming throughout the year for singing and piano lessons. This carried on through 1939

During the years at Waianakarua, Grace continued her music lessons, even into the war years. The reality was, there was an increased need for protein in New Zealand and a much higher degree of self sufficiency from trading with the mother country, who was at this time well embroiled in war across Europe and beyond. Les had established poultry at Waianakarua and reading from diaries, made a good go of it.

The photos above highlight a number of things going on around the house at Waianakarua. Firstly, there is a self-sufficiency aspect with chickens, cows and garden. Grace writes in her diaries often about turning milk into butter and so on, so a number of traditional skills being used in the family.

Move to Lincoln

The push for protein led the government of the time to put £6000 which is (according to the Reserve Bank NZ Inflaction Calculator) worth $500k in 2020. So not a small amount of money. Les was appointed to the position of Poultry Husbandman and commenced work at Lincoln Agricultural College on 21 July 1943. The poultry unit continued to be extended for a further 2 years.

For Nana, the next 19 years were given over to raising her son. There is some record of her continuing her music. She was active in Lincoln College’s music scene as well as offering private tuition into the 1950s. On the other hand, there are still photos of Grace and aspects of her life to share.

Grace also attended art school in the early 60s and created a number of oils and water colours such as the one proudly hanging on the wall in my office. There is evidence that she exhibited her art work (water colours) in the 1950s as well, so must have enjoyed that side of her life.

There were visitors too. Grace on the left with Bob Stark (Grace’s brother-in-law), his wife Winifred and side on is Eileen Cathro, Grace’s sister-in-law. Bob and Eileen are Les’ siblings.

Back of the house at Lincoln, with Les and Grace, and while not clear, Grace is holding another friend.

Zoomed in with Les showing signs of sickness. Grace with said friend.

Grace at Lincoln in 1961. There were many little friends along the way…

In May 1962, Grace’s life was upended as Les succumbed to cancer and she was faced with no income and no home. The university in an extraordinary act of humanity and empathy, gave Grace a cash sum so that she could re-establish herself.

After Lincoln College and after Les

Grace after Les’ passing, moved into a state house at Westholme Street, Papanui, Christchurch.

This house is now heritage listed. 14 Fleming Street, North Brighton. The house is actually made of logs and sits on a rise with a small section out the back. Nana loved that house – it was all hers and the locality was not too far from the bus and very close to the beach.

Nana’s life would have been tricky regarding income after Les died, but she held singing lessons at home until and including 1970, so there would have been some income there.

14 Fleming Street, New Brighton. These are my first recollections of Nana as child visiting. I loved the house and area. The pond out the back had a water feature and Herons would swoop in. Keep seeing Goldfish, but it is long time ago. Grace lived here until 1972 when she married Jack Findlay and moved to Wanganui

57 Gonville Ave., Wanganui. This is from Google maps, but to be honest, nothing has really changed.

Jack Findlay at the Waianakarua School Reunion – early 1980s

Nana with Kim and I and if memory serves, this is the my first day of high school, Feb 1976.

Grace at Parapara in front of the garage and with Conny Tenant at the “Pipe” near Milnthorne Reserve. The channel in the background is the channel that flows in and out of Parapara Inlet.

Grace at Wairekei geothermal field near Taupo, Jan 1980

Grace with “Ginge” the cat. Pets have always played an important role in Grace’s life and whether it was a pigeon or a cat, both Grace and animal were better off for the interaction. This photo taken in Nelson at the end of 1984.

Jack died in 1984 and Grace moved down to Nelson to be closer to her son and to have a bit of support in her 80s. She had a little electric keyboard and used to play on it and sing regularly. The one song I remember was “Pedro the Fisherman”.

Nana and I, sometime around 1985 at her flat up the Brook in Nelson.

In 1986, Grace passed away in Nelson. Her funeral was held at the Herbert (Otepopo) Church and she is buried in the same place as her parents and both sets of grandparents. I have to admit, that as a final resting place, the views are amazing from the little hill overlooking the valley and in a small way, might be satisfying for Nana to know that she looks down on the area she was raised in and spent a good portion of her adult life.

I remember the funeral very well, as I was working at Tarras in Central Otago for the Pest Board and came over. I stayed with Neil (Grace’s brother) and Daphne on their farm and helped feed out in the morning before the funeral. The road to the cemetery has attracted me many times over the years and if I had a lot of money, I would probably change the grave stone and add her qualification on there as I know in her heart, that music mattered enormously.

Final Stop

Nana now rests in the same cemetery as her parents and several grandparents, namely Otepopo Cemetery at Herbert.