ROLL OF PIONEERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21617, 9 October 1933, Page 6

ROLL OF PIONEERS

10JRD BLEDISLOE'S PLAN OPINIONS IN CHRISTCHURCH POSSIBLE DIFFICULTY Some members of the Canterbury Pilgrims and Early Settlors' Association, when asked for their opinions regarding the roll of pioneer settlers to which the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, referred at a recent gathering of members of the association, were disinclined to say much about it. When speaking of the treaty house rt Waitangi, Lord Bledisloe said that one project put forward at the first meeting of the trustees might ho of interest —to preserve within the treaty house a roll of the names of all the old pioneers, so that in days to come their descendants might have an authority to refer to, and be able to establish their claims to belong to the original families of the Dominion. His Excellency added: "If your association approves of this idea, we shall do our best to have it carried out." With the general idea the members of the Canterbury Pilgrims and Early Settlers' Association spoken to were in accord, but they preferred to reserve their opinions until the proposal took definite form and came before the association officially. Reference was made to the difficulties that probably would be encountered in determining who should be regarded as pioneers, some expressing the opinion that, in Canterbury, the pioneers were those who came by 'the first six ships chartered by the Canterbury Association —the Charlotte Jane, the Randolph, the Sir George Seymour, the Cressy, the Castle Eden and the Isabella Hercus. Generally, those who arrived by the "First Four Ships" have been considered the Canterbury pioneers, but against that limitation it is urged that the passengers by the Castle Eden and Isabella Hercus would have left England at the same time as the earlier vessels if ships to transport/ them had been available. One ol the members of the association who did express an opinion on the subject was Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, And the idea met with his approval. "There can be no two opinions about carrying out the suggestion referred to by the Governor-General." Sir Arthur said, "provided that the lists of the pioneers in eacli province are carefully prepared. 1 think that it is a very good idea, and there should be no trouble in preparing the list of Canterbury pioneers; and very little difficulty regarding the list of Otago pioneers as the Early Settlers' Association in Dunedin liass everything very complete. Regarding the Canterbury pioneers the names cf all those who came to the province in the first six ships chartered by the Canterbury Association should be on the list, but some difficulty might arise if the list were extended to include those who came out by later \-essels." On the occasion of the celebration in 1900 of the jubilee of the foundation of Canterbury, an endeavour was made to compile a complete list of the names of all the passengers by the 26 vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association, and aiso a list of arrivals in the province by other vessels and of those persons who were born in the province before March 15, 1853. Copies of that list, which was printed, are still available.