COAST PIONEER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20442, 31 December 1940, Page 4

COAST PIONEER

MRS. T. S. WILLIAMS 46 YEARS AT KAHARAU BOUNDLESS HOSPITALITY INFLUENCE IN THE WAIAPU The East Coast district, to-day mourns the loss of Mrs. Agnes Lydia Williams, widow of the late Mr. T. S. Williams, and a pioneer in the true sense of the word, who made her home in the Waiapu in the nineties and exercised the greatest influence in that area through a gracious personality and strong religious feeling.

Mrs. Williams was probably the oldest surviving settler on the East Coast, for she had reached the age of 85 years, and had lived there since her husband took up the management of what was then known as the Tuparoa Run in 1894. They established themselves at Kaharau, the homestead of the previous owner of the run, and continued to live on the same site to the time of their deaths.

Born at the Bay of Islands, Mrs. Williams was a descendant of the second generation from two outstanding figures in the early colonisation of the Dominion. Her father was Mr. John Williams, fifth son of Archdeacon Henry Williams, and her mother was the only daughter of Mr. James Busby. Thus she was a grand-daughter of two men who had most to do with - the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, for it was through the influence of Mr. Busby, British Resident, and- Archdeacon Henry Williams that the reluctance of the Maori chiefs was overcome, and the sovereignty of-Britain acknowledged.

Historical Associations

When she and her husband came to the East Coast in 1894 they were following in the footsteps of another man who made history in New Zealand. He, was Sir. George Whitmore, who commanded British forces in the Maori wars and had much to do with the final settlement of the country. He was the first owner of the Tuparoa Run, and made his homestead at Kaharau; later he sold the property to the Archdeacon Samuel Williams, of Hawke’s Bay, who gave the task of management to Mr. T. S. Williams. To the latter, Coast residents of the older generation freely conceded the credit for overcoming the tauhinu scrub which for a long time _seemed likely to defeat the efforts of the settlers to establish pastures on the papa hill slopes. He devised methods of stocking and fencing which kept the pastures clear, and paved the way for opening up a huge territory of rich pastoral land. His responsibilities were extensive, for the Tuparoa Run of those days covered an area running from 20 to 30 miles inland from the coastline.

Tradition of Hospitality

In his work for the betterment of Europeans and Maoris, Mr. Williams had indefatigable assistance from his wife. Her house was open to every traveller, and especially to the younger people who came to the East Coast to learn farm management and to settle the country. For miles around these people gathered every week-end at Kaharau, and under a beneficient autocracy of domesticity they established and caried on traditions which have been kept alive in many parts of the country to this day. t It was natural that Mrs. Williams should feel a strong attachment to the church, and she and her husband established the Kaharau church during the early years of their residence there. Men who are now elderly look back to the days of their youth, when as lonely cadets and shepherds they enjoyed the hospitality and the motherly concern of Mrs. Williams. Her gardens were almost as dear to her as the household in which she dispensed her goodwill, and to the time of her death continued to hold her interest.

Surviving members of her family are Messrs. O. X. Williams and H. E. Williams, and Mrs. H. G. Burnett, Ruatoria and Mrs. A. V. S. Reed, Hawke’s Bay. One son, Mr. Colin Williams, was killed in action in the war of 1914-18. Two surviving brothers of the late Mrs. Williams are Dr. J. W. Williams, Gisborne and Mr. Hal Williams, London; her one surviving sister is Mrs. J. H. Taplin, Ruatoria.

To the family and relatives of the deceased, and to the close friends who will feel her pasing almost as much as her relatives, deep sympathy will be extended. The interment was to take place to-day at Kaharau.