Early Wellington | NZETC
nzetc.victoria.ac.nz
Contents
The Hobman Legacy
By Sheridan Bruce
Part One
The boy’s body had been concealed under a log in the creek. But rising water had lifted the log and exposed the boy’s legs and feet and after weeks of searching, the body was found. The poor boy had been struck on the back of the head with a tomahawk. The lad of about 11 years was Matthew Hobman.
He was in the employ of a Mr William
He had disappeared in a most mysterious manner on 4 November 1846.
Sergent Barry of the armed
A one hundred pound reward was offered for the apprehension of
Media speculation was rife about Mathew's murder and the whereabouts of the alleged murderer, Petomi. But on 12
Matthew was buried in the cemetery in Wellington, that same day in early December 1846.
Part Two
The Martha Ridgeway threw anchor in the Petone Harbour on 14 November 1840. It had left London 4 months earlier with over 200 passengers and crew.
James and Jane Hobman stepped off the boat onto the sands of Petone beach with their
Two years later Jane lay dead while giving birth to a baby boy, named Luke. And two years after Luke’s birth, James succumbed to consumption. Both were buried in the Wellington cemetery we know today as Bolten Street Cemetery.
And when Matthew was murdered a short time after his father’s death and buried alongside his parents, the orphan,
Part Three
Raised in foster care in Wellington by the Light family, the orphan Luke made his own way in the world and as a young man joined the Petone
Back in Wellington, soon after Luke ventured over the
Part Four
Settling in Greytown, Wairapara, Luke met his future wife, Ann Marie Hall, the daughter of his employer John Hall. Luke married his sweetheart, Ann Marie on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1863. Luke is picture here.
Ann Maria was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Hall who had immigrated to New Zealand in 1853 from Dover, UK.
Luke’s pastime included prospecting, with a newspaper article reporting that he had found human remains at Palliser Bay in 1880 while gold and coal prospecting on the south
“The original prospectors are still
Part Five
Luke suffered a long illness from an early age and died of cancer of the jaw at age 48years in 1890, the year that his and Ann Maria's 12th child was born. He received a military funeral.
It was reported in the Wairapara News and Evening Post on 29 September 1890, that Mr Luke Hobman, of Greytown, who died of Friday night, received a military funeral yesterday, the members of the Greytown and Papawai Rifles, under Capt Cameron, attending their comrade to the grave. The deceased was a member of the first cavalry troop in Greytown. He served with the Petone Navals in the Parihaka
It is most likely that Luke's funeral was conducted in this Wesleyan church in 1890. Built in 1865, this was Greytown's first church, originally built at 63 Main Street by Luke's father-in-law, John Hall and other townsfolk including Mr Hart Udy Snr. The church is now part of Cobblestones Museum, Greytown and is pictured here.
Ann Maria, pictured here in her later years, raised the 12 children alone after Luke's death. She had a very hard life and supported the family by sewing. She lived a long life
Luke and Ann Marie Hobman were my great great grandparents.
The following references were used in writing this story:
Wellington region newspapers between 1846 and 1890 including:
The Wellington Independent, The New Zealand Spectator, The Cook’s
The book, “Early Wellington” by Louis Ward published in 1928, Petone Settlers Museum, Wellington and Birth, Death and Marriage certificates from family papers and stories.