PIONEER'S LIFE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21449, 15 April 1935, Page 20

PIONEER'S LIFE

DAUGHTER OF BISHOP

HARPER

MANY DISTINGUISHED DESCENDANTS

To-day is the ninety-fifth anniversary of the birthday of Mrs Sarah S. Cox, a daughter of Bishop Harper, who, without going beyond the bounds of her own home, has made herself one of New Zealand's greatest women. She will celebrate her anniversary in the knowledge that she has made the greatest contribution a woman can ever offer to her nation, for during the early years of New Zealand's history she played a large part, with conspicuous success, in the upbringing ;incl equipping of the generations that were to succeed her, and presented to Ihe nation some of its finest and most useful citizens. Her family extends now through four generations, and she counts among her 56 descendants scholars, missionaries, and business leaders, a number of whom are following their callings now in other parts of the Empire. Mrs Cox is a member of one of the most distinguished of early Canterbury families. She is Bishop Harper's fifth daughter—one of the three of his 14 sons and daughters who are still living. Mr George Harper, one of the best-known citizens of Christchurch, is her brother, and she has one sister, Mrs Douglas, who is living in England. Bishop Harper was conduct, or chaplain, of Eton College when Mrs Cox was born in 1840, and she was christened in the chapel of the college. Her family moved to Mortimer before sne was many months old, and she was a near neighbour of the Duke of Wellington, who a year or two later used to allow her to pick strawberries in his garden. An early friendship •with Bishop Selwyn led her father to accept the Bishopric of the South Island, New Zealand, and he, with his ■wife, four of his sons, and his six daughters, left England in the Egmont, a ship of 787 tons, in September, 1856. Long- Voyage to Lyttelton It. was three months later before the Egmont sailed into Lyttelton. Bishop Harper and his family were met by Bishop Selwyn and Mr Leonard Harper, wh a with Mr Charles Harper (both sons of the Bishop), had come to New Zealand earlier. The arrival of the first Bishop of Christchurch was a great occasion for 'the settlement, and Mrs Cox, who was then nearly 17, can still remember the journey over the hill, the lunch at Heathcote, and the ride across the plains to the township. The Bishop's family was housed in n small cottage which stood on the area between the present Public Library and the Canterbury Club; it was then the only building on that block. The daughters of the family set about learning to milk, and even to cut up firewood. They had to mount to their bedroom by a step-ladder, and could see daylight through the roof in places. Mrs Cox can remember how one of her sisters used to put up an umbrella inside the house when it rained. The family moved into the old Bishopscourt two years later. On Anniversary Day in 1858 Mrs Cox went to her first ball, in the Town Hall, which stood on the site of Strange's building, and there one of ■her partners was Mr Charles Percy Cox. to whom she became engaged in the following March. Double Wedding A double wedding was celebrated from Bishopscourt on January 17, 1860. Mrs Cox (Miss Sarah Harper) married Mr Charles Percy Cox, and her eldest sister, Miss Emily Harper, marred Mr J. B. Acland. The service Was held in the old St. Michael's Church, Bishop Harper performing the marriage ceremony. The two sisters rode in state to the church in carriages lent to them by Mrs WattsRussell of Ilam, and Mrs Cracroft Wilson, and after the breakfast at BishoDscourt, Mr and Mrs Cox and Mr and Mrs Acland rode away on horseback for their honeymoons. Mrs Cox and her husband rode over Dyer's Pass into Purau for the night, ?nd the next day went on to Duvauchelle and Akaroa. Their first home was at The Springs station, which is now part of the area occupied by Lincoln College. They went to England for a holiday in 1861, and when they returned they took up the Mount Somers station, remaining there for 15 years. Since then Mrs Cox has lived in Christchurch except during a short period when she and her husband rpide their second trip to England in 1890. All through those years at Mount Somers, and later in Christchurch, Mrs Cox- devoted herself to the bringing up of one of the best-known of Canterbury's early families. Without going beyond tier home, she made a striking contribution to New Zealand's future. She had 10 children, seven of whom are still living. Those seven are Mr Sandford Cox, manager of the bank of New South Wales at Dunedin; Mr Cecil Cox, manager of the Bank of Australasia at Dunedin; Mr Aubrey Cox, who is Director of Education in Rajputana, India; Mr Kenneth Cox, who is farming at Lichfield, in the Waikato; Mrs George Hanmer, of Christchurch: Mrs F. PI. Fish, of Merivale; and Miss W. Cox. of Christchurch. Her eldest son, Mr P. H. Cox, formerly of Wellington, died in 1927. Her second son, Mr W. E. S. Cox, died in Coolgardie in 1895. and her second daughter, Mrs H. T. Purchas, died in 1916. Fifty-Six Descendants Mrs Cox has 25 grandchildren living—two having been killed in the Great War—and 24 great grandchildren, making a total of 56 descendants. Among her grandchildren who are abroad are Mr Walter Cox, who is an electrical engineer in Birmingham; Mr Percy Cox. of the Persian Oil Company, Persia: Mr Paul Cox, who is in Euenos Aires; Geoffrey Cox, a Rhodes scholar; and Mr Gerald Cox, who is in Australia; and Mrs C. H. Mclntyre (Victoria); Mrs Vincent Dean (India); Miss F. Fish (St. Thomas's Hospital. London): Miss H. Purchas (Cairo), and Miss S. Purchas (China). Among her grandchildren who are in New Zealand are Mr Humphrey Hanmer, who is farming at Albury, South Canterbury, and Archdeacon Purchas, of Rangiora. The golden and diamond weddings of Mr and Mrs Cox were occasions for great celebration among the children and grandchildren. Mr Cox, who was a very well-known citizen, died nine years ago. Had he lived he and Mrs Cox would have celebrated this year the seventy-fifth anniversary of their marriage.

Mrs Cox spends much of her time in.her homo in Worcester street west, looking out towards Canterbury College. She still has a great love for flowers—her room is freely decorated with blooms, and she has a flower house in which, as one of her grjanddaughters remarked once, her garden grows in pots. Every morning her flowers are her first concern.

Although most o£ her children and grandchildren have left her and scattered themselves in all parts of the world, engaging themselves in valuable service, Mrs Cox is still very happy in her home. The purpose of her life and her work has been her home, and she is happy in the knowledge that she has done all and more than was expected of the women of early Canterbury.