OBITUARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3475, 19 October 1920, Page 21

OBITUARY.

MR WATSON SHENNAN.

One of the earliest identities of Otago, Mr Watson Shennan, passed away at his residence in High street on the 14th in his eighty-sixth year. Mr Shennan left Scotland with his late brother, Alexander, on July 8, 1857, and Bailed from Liverpool on July 12 eh route for New Zealand, via Melbourne, on the xioyal Mail steamship Emu. The voyage was made in 58 days, a smart passage in those days. After spending a short time in Melbourne the brothers sailed in the brig Thomas and Henry for Port Chalmers. The passage Tasman Sea occupied 14 days, and the Shennans arrived in Duncdin on October 3, 1857. Mr Watson Shennan had a vivid recollection of the condition of things in' Dunedin in those days. There were no large ships in the harbour, only a few small coasters. Passengers had to go up the harbour in a boat, as the Upper Harbour was too shallpw to take a ship of any tonnage. The Dunedin Harbour was very pretty at that time, aa the hills on each side were covered with bush to the water's edge. Dunedin was only a village, with a house here and there among the ridges. There were no streets, merely bullock dray tracks, and a large portion of the town was still covered with native timber. _ The Shennans left Home with' the intention of starting sheep-farm-ing in New Zealand; and they quickly set about exploring the country with the object of obtaining, a suitable sheep run. .It is rather remarkable to read to-day of the result of their explorations. They " had a look round Otago North, and then went to Otago South, but did not see anything to greatly tempt them to settle down in either locality. Then they set out for the Otago Central, and as they looked down on the Manuherikia Valley, with its vast expanse of snow grasses waving in the wind, they assured themselves that at last they had reached the promised land. They took up runs here, and named their stations Galloway and Moutere —Galloway after their native county in Scotland. The Shennans were the first white men to explore that part of the country. No bush was found, only scrub on the river bank in places. Game was plentiful in the form of wild duck and quad, and wild pigs were -numerous., There were no.rabbits there at that period. The stations were formed and stocked with sheep in April, 1858. As no timber could be found suitable for building a house or sheep yards, the nearest timber being 120 miles away, the work of forming the station was very difficult and expensive. The nearest neighbours at that time were 100 miles away, so no assistance could be got from them. Everything had to be packed on horseback or on bullock sledges, and wool and stores had to be taken on sledges for 120 miles, the roads being very difficult. There were no roads, in fact,_ and the pioneers had to travel over the ridges where a way could be found. But the country was nearly all taken up by sheep farmers" in 1858-59, and after that time the roads were made passable for bullock drays. The ' Shennans had a very hard, rough-time of it for some years, and were just getting comfortably settled when the gold diggings were found on the Upper Molyneux River. The discovery at. once changed the aspect of the country thereabouts. The quiet of the wilderness disappeared, and thousands of people came lor-king for gold; townships sprang up, with their stores, hotels, banks, theatres, etc. With the view of improving the breed of sheep' in the colony the Messrs Shennan imported high-class merino sheep from Germany and long-wool sheep from Scotland 'in the years 1859 and 1861, and were the first direct importers of stud sheep to Otago. .' Mr Alexander Shennan went to the Old Country in 1862, and died at Edinburgh in 1863. The rough life he had lived in New Zealand brought on rheumatic fever, which caused his death, and so ended a short, industrious life. 'Mr Watson Shennan disposed- of his stations at Galloway and Moutere, and in the vear 1868 secured a lease of the Puketoi run, and bought the Conical Hills estate in 1878. The nast-named station was bought a few years ago by the Government and divided into small runs. Mr Shennan took. a keen interest in the work of the Otago A. and P. Society. He was elected to the committee of the society in 1910, and in 1913 was made a governor of the society. Mrs Shennan survives her husband. The family consusts of one daughter (Mrs Garth Gailaway) aqd two sons —Captain W. D. Shennan, M.C., of the Royal Engineers, at present in Egypt, and Mr Stuart Shennan, of Linburn station. «