ANOTHER EARLY PIONEER PASSES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18551, 27 August 1928, Page 10

ANOTHER EARLY PIONEER PASSES.

MRS T. V. WHITMORE WAS SOLE SURVIVOR OF CHARLOTTE JANE. Canterbury has lost another of her early pioneers in the person of Mrs T. V. Whitmore, who died this morning at her home, 36 Whitmore Street. Christchurch, at the age of eighty-three. Mrs Whitmore was the sole survivor of the pioneers who arrived in New Zealand by the Charlotte Jane. She came to Lyttelton with her parents at the age of five. Her father, Mr John Grubb, had visited New Zealand in the 'forties, as chief officer on the sailing ship General Palmer. In 1847, while the vessel was off the Wellington Heads, bad weather was encountered and the ship foundered. She was refloated, however, and after repairs had been effected the vessel returned to England. It was in 1849 that Mr Grubb first came to Lyttelton. He had contracted to build a wharf there for the landing of the first settlers. Mrs Grubb and hei three children, had been living in Dundee but in 1850 they decided to come out to the colony on the Charlotte Jane. Mr Grubb had meanwhile built a hut for his family on the site now occupied by the Bank of New Zealand at Lyttelton. In 1851 he purchased the first piece of land to be sold at the port.

When interviewed a few years ago Mrs Whitmore talked about the earliest days in the Canterbury province. At that time her memory was unimpaired, and she had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of reminiscences. One of her most vivid recollections was of the arrival of the Charlotte Jane at Lyttelton, when they were met by Sir George Grey. She also recalled the big fire in Lyttelton in 1870. In January, 1851, Mrs Whitmore’s father, who was a shipwright by occupation, built a small vessel which he named the Palmer, and for some time he ran the mail service between Lyttelton and Wellington. Mrs Whitmore was often called

“ Charlotte Jane ” by her pioneer friends, as she was the sole survivor of the passengers who arrived on the ship bearing that name.