Gravestone of Mary Flannagan - and Great uncle Bill who died in a mine accident in Denniston

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DescriptionRecently I ticked the West Coast off my bucket list, after wanting to do a trip for years. Since I started exploring my family history a good decade ago I've really been enthusiastic to visit. Due to various issues including the pandemic, we planned this trip 4 times since 2018 and it nearly ended up being a 5th time but I refused to reschedule.

Finally I came over from Australia for a month and spent a week of that going up and down exploring every site related to my ancestors from Hokitika to Waimangaroa, going back to the 1860s.
In the Orowaiti Cemeteries there are a number of family members and here at Middle I finally was able to pay my respects to my second great grandparents Thomas and Elizabeth Young who migrated to New Zealand from Durham over 1887-1888 on a long perilous journey which took the lives of 2 passengers and soon after one of their children. They came over to Taylorville to work the Brunner Mine.
Interred here in a family plot with my Great aunt Mary Flannagan and Great uncle Bill who died in a mine accident in Denniston (his portion is mostly broken off and the caretaker doesn't know what happened to it)Map^[1]ContributorDarian Zam

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Location (city or town)Orowaiti PersonMary Flannagan EventMary Flannagan - and Great uncle Bill who died in a mine accident in Denniston

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Category TagCemetery

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CommentsJennifer Jarden
I'm doing a road trip in February to visit the sites my ancestors lived and the cemeteries where they lie. I'm excited about my trip. I'm so glad you got your trip in finally. The West Coast is a beautiful place.

MIcheal Hunt
Jennifer Jarden i suggest you take some 30 seconds and a sprayer as well

Jennifer Jarden
MIcheal Hunt good thinking!!

Jenny Marshall
MIcheal Hunt I suggest you carry a large piece of chalk. Rub it over the worn wording on the Graves easier to read and comes off easily

Jo Devine Evans
Jenny, brilliant tip!

Jennifer Jarden
Jenny Marshall another good idea. Thank you.

Darian Zam
Author
MIcheal Hunt If you meant sprayer instead of prayer, I agree. The sandflies...I'm still itchy 3 weeks later. Worth it though. And they're not as bad as the Aussie ones which are monstrous

Darian Zam
Author
Jennifer Jarden If you need any tips just ask. I did a lot of research and I just feel like I should have done more. There is for example a map for Orowaiti New which is not amazing but pretty good. I just feel like if the council were commissioning that they could have done New and Old which are in the scheme of things not large ones, at the same time. There were a decent amount of visitors to Middle on the day we were there and also at Stillwater. It would just make it so much easier for descendants not to walk around guessing. I was trying to work out plots from surrounding headstones and of course the Buller Council's Cemetery Search decided at that moment it wasn't working properly which has quite often been the case over the years but really, at the moment I'm there? It was frustrating. We couldn't find my great aunt in Old but after the fact I found there was an old hand drawn map available via the council with bits missing but I was able to map out her plot based on the runs of numbers. Missed all of Mōkihinui Cemetery and family in there. Only so much you can do..next time. ut yeah could definitely have been more thorough. That said it was meant to be fun not a military campaig

Deb Morgan
That is so good you got there Darian Zam! It’s really neat tracing our family history and visiting all the relevant sites that we know of. Did a similar trip with my son a couple of years back. Here he is at the same cemetery paying respect to GGGG(?) grandparents

Darian Zam
Author
Cool, was this in Middle or Old?

Marion Cross
Amazing history in Milliton and Denniston it was harsh times for immigrants from England and Scotland.

Darian Zam
Author
Marion Cross Once you go up there you realise what a harsh bloody life it was in a number of respects. Trying to work, grow food, clean, care for children, get medical help...none of it was easy at all.

Marion Cross
Darian Zam

Anne Cooper
Good on you Darian! Somehow it makes us bigger in our own personalities when we know where we came from and therefore more of who we are. Traits from them will be in our own lives and they live on in us and subsequent generations.
And Flannagan - what a great Irish name. You can just hear Mary and Bill here with their broad accents. Lovely.

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Gravestone of Mary Flannagan - and Great uncle Bill who died in a mine accident in Denniston

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