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ALBUM - William Hunter and family - settled at Wallsend, in Brunnerton.
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DescriptionWilliam Hunter was born at Crosshouse in Lanarkshire, a village about three kilometres west of Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1855 and married Allison Inglis – born 1857 – in her home town of Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire. The couple emigrated to New Zealand with their three Scotland-born children – Susanna Watson Hunter (1880 - 1951), Jean (Jane) Hunter and Elizabeth Hunter (born 1882) – in 1883. Allison would bear nine more children in New Zealand, making a total of twelve in less than fourteen years, so her married life seems to have been nothing but one pregnancy after another. Their fourth child, William John Hunter, was born the same year, followed at regular intervals by James (1885 - 1906); Mary Inglis (1887 - 1962) and Allison Inglis, (the twins in white in the photo); Frederick Collinson (1888 - 1959); Harris (1889 - 1962); Archibald (1890 -1924); Margaret (1892 – 1974) and Charlotte (1893 -1961- probably unborn at the time the photo was taken).
They settled at Wallsend, in Brunnerton, from where William senior went to work in the mine as a hewer, a logical choice. Lanarkshire, after all, was not known as the Black Country of Scotland for nothing and William had probably worked in Scottish mines from a very young age.
With no time to recover properly between pregnancies, crushed by the hard daily drudge feeding and clothing twelve growing children, Allison's body finally broke down. She was only thirty-six when she died of a uterine haemorrhage in March 1894. The two eldest girls were employed in Christchurch as domestic servants, but they joined the younger children and went with them to an aunt, Elizabeth Thomson of Oamaru, who brought them up. The Hunters were the largest family to be affected by the Brunner Mine disaster. (West Coast New Zealand History Website https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/15020#idx101163).
One of the twins, Mary Inglis Hunter, grew up to marry a certain Arthur George McLeod, who was pursuing an unpromising career as a petty thief and con-man in Christchurch at the time. Born in 1889, he gave his age as 31 when he wed Mary on 30 August 1920 in the Christchurch Registry Office. According to the marriage certificate he was working as a fishmonger at the time. The couple already had three children: Edna, Arthur Harris (Mac) and Beatrice Allison (Betty) and two more, Douglas and June, would be born in wedlock. Betty married John Williamson, a dashing young gold miner and erstwhile dance-band musician born and bred in the Nevis Valley in Central Otago, in Christchurch in October 1942. They would have five children, including me, between 1943 and 1952.Map[1] ContributorJim Williamson
They settled at Wallsend, in Brunnerton, from where William senior went to work in the mine as a hewer, a logical choice. Lanarkshire, after all, was not known as the Black Country of Scotland for nothing and William had probably worked in Scottish mines from a very young age.
With no time to recover properly between pregnancies, crushed by the hard daily drudge feeding and clothing twelve growing children, Allison's body finally broke down. She was only thirty-six when she died of a uterine haemorrhage in March 1894. The two eldest girls were employed in Christchurch as domestic servants, but they joined the younger children and went with them to an aunt, Elizabeth Thomson of Oamaru, who brought them up. The Hunters were the largest family to be affected by the Brunner Mine disaster. (West Coast New Zealand History Website https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/15020#idx101163).
One of the twins, Mary Inglis Hunter, grew up to marry a certain Arthur George McLeod, who was pursuing an unpromising career as a petty thief and con-man in Christchurch at the time. Born in 1889, he gave his age as 31 when he wed Mary on 30 August 1920 in the Christchurch Registry Office. According to the marriage certificate he was working as a fishmonger at the time. The couple already had three children: Edna, Arthur Harris (Mac) and Beatrice Allison (Betty) and two more, Douglas and June, would be born in wedlock. Betty married John Williamson, a dashing young gold miner and erstwhile dance-band musician born and bred in the Nevis Valley in Central Otago, in Christchurch in October 1942. They would have five children, including me, between 1943 and 1952.Map[1] ContributorJim Williamson
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Location (city or town)BrunnertonPersonWilliam HunterEvent William Hunter and family - settled at Wallsend, in Brunnerton.
From Facebook
Date Created22nd January 2024CommentsJim Williamson....After a discussion with my brother Howard, we have come to the conclusion that I was ...mistaken in identifying the two little girls in white dresses as the twins and that the photograph was taken to support an appeal for funds to help the family, so it would have been taken a few days AFTER the disaster and four years after Allisons death.
As far as identifying the members is concerned, there is always an element of doubt, but the following are pretty clear: the tall woman in the back row is not Allison, the mother, but Susanna, the eldest daughter; she and the other two girls born in Scotland (Jane and Elizabeth), are easy to spot. The twins (one of which would be our grandmother, Mary) would be the two girls in identical dark-coloured dresses standing in front of Susanna, and the two little ones in white would be Margaret and Charlotte (the youngest, our great-aunt "Lottie"). The boy in the back row next to Susanna would be William John, but the other four are anyone's guess.
So my original post needs to be edited but it has been taken down and re-posted by Admin Team - West Coast History and Recollect, which means that I can't access the edit function. My profile on here also informs me that I "haven't posted anything yet", which is obviously untrue. I this normal practice? I would be grateful if Admin could restore the post to its original situation and please ask for my consent before pinning it elsewhere again.
Stephanie Keen
Excellent account of the Hunter family history. My maiden name is also Hunter and my family lived in the same area at the same time causing me some confusion while creating my family tree/ history. My father was also Archibald Hunter and a coal miner.
Linda King
Stephanie Keen was wondering thanks Steph.
Rob Lunn
Just a shame that there was not a family planning clinic there Uppy I suppose the nights would have been very cold and no insulation in those days
Allan Upston
Great place to live
Pauline Schafer
Interesting history. The children were well-clothed.
Vern Pattinson
Great west coast news
Stuart Chapman
Jim Williamson my nanny Mcleods grandfather
Jim Williamson
Stuart Chapman - Yes. William Hunter senior was Mary's father, Mac's grandfather; Clyde Mcleod's, Keryn Morten's and Suzanne Chapman's great grandfather. To us, Mary was Nanny McLeod. To you it was Jean, of course. Funny how the epithet spans generations.
Our other cousins on the McLeod-Hunter side are Des and the late Adele Hetherington, originally of Karamea, born to Mary McLeod's youngest daughter June Hetherington, nee Mcleod, and husband Norm.
May be an image of text that says 'Marriage Certificate Particulars of Parties M”rge BRIDE First/given name(s) Surname/family name Mary Ingles Hunter name(s) birth Surname/family name at birth Arthur George McLeod Place Age birth 33 Brunnerton occupation, profession Relationship status Not Recorded Spinster 31 Milton Otago Usual residential address Fishmonger Bachelor Albans St Albans HER: First or given name(s) Allison Surname family name Hunter urname or family name birth Ingles from Beatrice McLeod Not Recorded HER: First or given name(s) William Surname family Hunter or family name birth Neil McLeod Date marriage August 1920 Place of marriage Registrars Office Christchurch pursuant 62D Marriages, sections Deaths, Relationships'
As far as identifying the members is concerned, there is always an element of doubt, but the following are pretty clear: the tall woman in the back row is not Allison, the mother, but Susanna, the eldest daughter; she and the other two girls born in Scotland (Jane and Elizabeth), are easy to spot. The twins (one of which would be our grandmother, Mary) would be the two girls in identical dark-coloured dresses standing in front of Susanna, and the two little ones in white would be Margaret and Charlotte (the youngest, our great-aunt "Lottie"). The boy in the back row next to Susanna would be William John, but the other four are anyone's guess.
So my original post needs to be edited but it has been taken down and re-posted by Admin Team - West Coast History and Recollect, which means that I can't access the edit function. My profile on here also informs me that I "haven't posted anything yet", which is obviously untrue. I this normal practice? I would be grateful if Admin could restore the post to its original situation and please ask for my consent before pinning it elsewhere again.
Stephanie Keen
Excellent account of the Hunter family history. My maiden name is also Hunter and my family lived in the same area at the same time causing me some confusion while creating my family tree/ history. My father was also Archibald Hunter and a coal miner.
Linda King
Stephanie Keen was wondering thanks Steph.
Rob Lunn
Just a shame that there was not a family planning clinic there Uppy I suppose the nights would have been very cold and no insulation in those days
Allan Upston
Great place to live
Pauline Schafer
Interesting history. The children were well-clothed.
Vern Pattinson
Great west coast news
Stuart Chapman
Jim Williamson my nanny Mcleods grandfather
Jim Williamson
Stuart Chapman - Yes. William Hunter senior was Mary's father, Mac's grandfather; Clyde Mcleod's, Keryn Morten's and Suzanne Chapman's great grandfather. To us, Mary was Nanny McLeod. To you it was Jean, of course. Funny how the epithet spans generations.
Our other cousins on the McLeod-Hunter side are Des and the late Adele Hetherington, originally of Karamea, born to Mary McLeod's youngest daughter June Hetherington, nee Mcleod, and husband Norm.
May be an image of text that says 'Marriage Certificate Particulars of Parties M”rge BRIDE First/given name(s) Surname/family name Mary Ingles Hunter name(s) birth Surname/family name at birth Arthur George McLeod Place Age birth 33 Brunnerton occupation, profession Relationship status Not Recorded Spinster 31 Milton Otago Usual residential address Fishmonger Bachelor Albans St Albans HER: First or given name(s) Allison Surname family name Hunter urname or family name birth Ingles from Beatrice McLeod Not Recorded HER: First or given name(s) William Surname family Hunter or family name birth Neil McLeod Date marriage August 1920 Place of marriage Registrars Office Christchurch pursuant 62D Marriages, sections Deaths, Relationships'
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West Coast New Zealand History (27th Jan 2024). ALBUM - William Hunter and family - settled at Wallsend, in Brunnerton.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 29th Mar 2026 08:40, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/33176