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Visit to Somerset Cottage and the Moutere Hills Cemetery

(March 23rd 2013)
Report by Coralie Smith

George and Cornelia Harvey's cottage, known as Somerset Cottage

Eileen Thawley met the 11 members of the Motueka and District Historical Association who ventured out to hear her talk about two places that are important parts of her and husband Graham's lives - Somerset Cottage and the Moutere Hills Cemetery.

George and Cornelia Harvey emigrated from Somerset in 1856 with two children and settled firstly at Appleby working for their brother in law Charles Best.

Two sons were born here before George built the cob cottage on his 50 acre Crown Grant land that Eileen and Graham with the help of others has had restored.

Five more children were born in the cottage. They must have been like peas in a pod. 209 more acres were added quite quickly but George also worked on the roads.

The cottage has just had its second thatching and looks stunning. Nestled on what is now called George Harvey Road it is one of the few thatched cottages in New Zealand.

Eileen is a descendant of George and Cornelia which is why she had a special interest in seeing the cottage restored but if they had known what they know now they probably would never have started.

One complete wall had to be rebuilt using the same methods George had used 150 years before. The cob was made from clay dug on the site mixed with small stones, native grasses and straw. Water and cow manure bound the mixture.

The half metre of wall built each day was left to dry overnight then trimmed for thickness. It was finished in the summer of 1858-59 - two rooms with an attic for the childrens bedroom. In 1885 an iron roof was put on. George and Cornelia built a two story house further down the valley called Willowdale and their son James and wife Mary Ann moved into the cottage. They added a small room and a trap room.

In 1910 the cottage was sold to E C Bensemann who named the area Mahana or "warm" finding the cottage very warm to live in. Bensemanns were orchardists and invented machinery for grading apples and pears. The first Bensemann fruit sizer was made from timber taken from the upstairs floor in the 1920s.

The last road and orchard workers family's left the cottage in 1951 and it fell into disrepair. Restoration started in 1989 and the cottage is now furnished with many items from the original families. It is managed by a Trust and registered with Historic Places Trust. Visitors are welcome.

We listened to a tape recording of George's story being read with a Somerset accent and it made it seem so much more real. With the birds feeding in the fig tree nearby it wasn't hard to see why the Harveys stayed in this spot.

Moving on to the cemetery where George and Cornelia lie we heard the story of this resting place which is 150 years old next year, 2014.

The first Europeans settled in the valley in 1843 and the first interments would have been on private property. A meeting was called at Sarau in 1864 to establish a cemetery and a Board of Management formed. Two British and two Germans shared the duties with William Cook as secretary/treasurer. A portion of Reserve land was granted and one and a half acres cleared and grassed, George Harvey doing most of the work. His neighbour William Best designed the site.

The first burial was 28 year old James Joss on 18 July 1865. Not much is known about him but the next interment was of well known resident Alexander Drummond. In 1876 the Road Board agreed to an S-bend being put in the road as it was too steep for traffic to climb straight up to the cemetery. It is still there.

Originally the Trustees thought they had 3 acres of land but were shocked to find in 1869 they were actually responsible for 28 acres. The cemetery is still run by a Trust with many of the original Trustees descendants serving, including Eileen and Graham. Pine trees were planted which has provided an income to improve the cemetery with a large car park, mowing of the grass and planting of trees in appropriate parts.

The Moutere Hills Cemetery is reserved for families within specified boundaries roughly Mapua to Upper Moutere to Lower Moutere and places in between. It is a lovely rural spot to spend time contemplating life before death.

Next on the agenda was the Lutheran Church and cemetery at the Upper Moutere village. Coralie read a newspaper report from the Colonist newspaper (17 May 1905) of the events on the day of the opening of the church, the third on this site. A description of the building then made it easy for us to see the changes that have taken place over the last 98 years.

A peek inside at the large light interior was followed by a tour of the headstones where German names are definitely to the fore this having been a German settlement from 1844. The first 4 German missionaries and settlers had a rough start with no Maoris to convert and their designated land very inconveniently in a swamp. They left for some years going to Waimea West and Australia but eventually returned to try again on drained land and this time succeeded.

Lunch at the nearby Moutere Inn completed a good day out. Claiming to be the oldest hotel in the country, history covers the walls of the building that was built by Cordt Bensemann and frequented by German and English alike. Memories of it being the ideal place to stop on the way to and from Nelson were told and the local ale drunk. The best way to learn history is to get out there and see it. Next month Ngatimoti.

Historical Association listen to the Somerset burr as we hear about George and Cornelia Harvey's life

 
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