JIMMY COCKS' LONELY GRAVE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 246, 17 October 1925, Page 27

JIMMY COCKS' LONELY GRAVE.

FIRST BIRTH AND FIRST DEATH AT TE WHEAU. There is something pathetic about the first death at Te Wheau (Wharehine), which was strangely enough connected with the first birth. On land formerly occupied" by the Cocks family there stands a lonely weather-worn tombstone, almost overgrown, "by the native bush, the spot having returned to a state of nature. It is to the memory of James Thomas Cocks, died June 6, 1865, aged 18 years. Mrs. E. Marcroft, one of the original settlers, still hale and hearty (in 1925), was about to be confined, and Jimmy Cocks volunteered to go for Dr. Bell, who lived two miles above Port Albert.' The rough track from Te Wheau to the Oruawharo was over the old survey line, and then the lad had a pull of five miles up the river. Young Cocks was out practically all night, and caught a chill, which settled on his chest. In little more than a year the disease carried him off, much to the regret of the settlers, among whom he • was a great favourite. /\ Ftatoha Pt. Plan of the Township of ] 0 ] PORT ALBERT 1 RClJlta*'.&-'cyorJovemJbtrlߣ3 _. V PORT ALBERT TOWNSHIP IN 1863. There were really three " towns " at Port Albert, and this shows what was called the " Government Township," laid off by Mr. R. C.' L. Reay. It is interesting to note the elaborate preparations made for the great town it was thought would spring up. Section 22 was a site for the Customs House; 79 was a reserve (or the Market Place; and so on. The Post Office still stands on the original spot, sections 20 and 21, and is still in use, although the rest of tbe township is now in grass, the only street being the main road to the wharf. Section 19, reserved for a library site, still houses a little building, which still contains a collection of good solid reading that shows the calibre of the early settlers. Section 10 was reserved for the Anglican Church, in the name of Bishop Selwyn; section 26 for the Roman Catholics, in the name of Bishop Pampallier; and section 60 for the Wesleyan Chapel. The plan from which this reproduction was taken was lent by Mr. Eric P. Salmon, a descendant of Mr. William Bradbury, whose name is well-known in connection with early Port Albert. It was Easter Sunday morning that Mrs. Marcroft's baby was born, and some of the other settlers (they were nearly all musical) gathered outside her bush home, and sang "Unto us a Child is Born, Unto us a Son is Given." Such was the welcome to the first white child born at Te Wheau. And poor Jimmy Cocks' was the first death. Next Week: Further Port Albert Anecdotes.

There is something pathetic about the first death at Te Wheau (Wharehine), which was strangely enough connected with the first birth. On land formerly occupied by the Cocks family there stands a lonely weather-worn tombstone, almost overgrown, "by the native bush, the spot having returned to a state of nature. It is to the memory of James Thomas Cocks, died June 6, 1865, aged 18 years. Mrs. E. Marcroft, one of the original settlers, still hale and hearty (in 1925), was about to be confined, and Jimmy Cocks volunteered to go for Dr. Bell, who lived two miles above Port Albert.' The rough track from Te Wheau to the Oruawharo was over the old survey line, and then the lad had a pull of five miles up the river. Young Cocks was out practically all night, and caught a chill, which settled on his chest. In little more than a year the disease carried him off, much to the regret of the settlers, among whom he • was a great favourite. /\ Rate ha Pt.

There were really three " town* " at Port Albert, and this shows what was called the " Government Township," laid off by Mr. R. C.' L. Reay. It is interesting to note the elaborate preparations made for the great town it was thought would spring up. Section 22 was a site for the Customs House; 79 was a reserve (or the Market Place; and so on. The Post Office still stands on the original spot, sections 20 and 21, and is still in use, although the rest of the township is now in grass, the only street being the main road to the wharf. Section 19, reserved for a library site, still houses a little building, which still contains a collection of good solid reading that shows the calibre of the early settlers. Section 10 was reserved for the Anglican Church, in the name of Bishop Selwyn; section 26 for the Roman Catholics, in the name of Bishop Pampallier; and section 60 for the Wesleyan Chapel. The plan from which this reproduction was taken was lent by Mr. Eric P. Salmon, a descendant of Mr. William Bradbury, whose name is well-known in connection with early Port Albert. It was Easter Sunday morning that Mrs. Marcroft's baby was born, and some of the other settlers (they were nearly all musical) gathered outside her bush home, and sang "Unto us a Child is Born, Unto us a Son is Given." Such was the welcome to the first white child born at Te Wheau. And poor Jimmy Cocks' was the first death. Next Week: Further Port Albert Anecdotes.