125 years in New Zealand: The emigration of John & Emily Chesswas

Today marks 125 years since my great-great-grandparents John Chesswas (1861 – 1916) and Emily Bignell (1856 – 1950) arrived in New Zealand. On Wednesday December 24, 1884, at 8:45am, the SS Arawa arrived at Port Chalmers, Otago, carrying nearly 500 passengers and 3000 tons of cargo. The Star and the Timaru Herald reported that on board were 58 saloon, 50 second, & 145 third-class passengers, besides 235 immigrants for all ports. The immigrant list can be viewed online: S.S. Arawa. The absence of John and Emily and their family on this list indicates they were either saloon, second of third-class travellers

The Chesswas Family History (2003) holds that John came out to New Zealand with his brother Thomas, despite the fact that Thomas had a wife and 7 children at home. The history records that Thomas "was a gambling man, squandered his inheritance and eventually returned to England."

And Thomas wasn’t the only Chesswas immigrant to have financial problems - Thomas and John were not the first of the family to emigrate to New Zealand. On April 29, 1855, John’s uncle James arrived at Port Nelson aboard The Spray. James was joined in New Zealand by his older brother John. James and his wife Hannah had two children in New Zealand; Mary Burgess Chesswas (1860) and James George Chesswas (Auckland, 1866). A search on PapersPast shows they owned land in Nelson, spent time in central Otago during the Gold Rush (James was appointed to the provisional committee for the prospecting of Shotover George in 1864), and on the West Coast, until the Daily Southern Cross has the family departing the Port of Auckland aboard the SS Hero on October 25, 1870. A PapersPast search also reveals that James regularly featured on the rates notices as owing the Nelson Board of Works rent in arrears!

It would seem fair to assume that stories of his uncles’ adventures served as inspiration to the young John Chesswas, and that he was well familiar with them. Indeed, the fact he was known as “Jack” rather than John may have been to save confusion with his uncle. The 1851 census reveals that the London home John grew up in was also home to aunts and uncles as well as his parents William and Anne and his many (10) siblings.

John completed a carpentry apprenticeship to William Woollett on July 2, 1882. But times were tough, and as Laraine Sole observes in The European settlement of the Waitotara Valley, John faced the unappealing prospect of a 4d – 4 1/2d per hour wage as a journeyman if he remained in England. More appealing to the 21-year old was emigration to a land of adventure and opportunity: New Zealand.

And so on November 8, 1884, John departed the shores of England with his brother Thomas, aboard The Arawa. The brand new Shaw, Savill & Albion steamer raced to New Zealand in just 45 days, in time for the passengers to celebrate their first Kiwi Christmas. It was long enough, though, for John to make enough of an impression on a young Emily Bignell and her family to see him employed by the Bignell firm and married to Emily within three years. One can imagine the exciting journey for Thomas and John aboard the Arawa - Thomas busy gambling and smoking cigars in the pool room, while our own Jack is busy impressing Emily and her family.

The Bignell family had already established a reputation as builders in the colony. Emily’s brother Henry Bignell (b1859), also a builder, arrived in Dunedin in 1874 aboard The Tweed. He settled in Oamaru and built the original Oamaru Railway Station. Two more brothers, Arthur Bignell (1861 – 1945) and Fred, emigrated to Dunedin in 1876 and there trained as builders. In 1884 Arthur and Fred returned to England to bring out their parents George and Emily as well as their sister Emily.

Upon arrival in New Zealand, John and Emily, with the rest of the Bignell family, joined Henry in Oamaru. Henry had secured a contract constructing bridges and buildings on the Midland Line from Christchurch to Greymouth. John must have impressed in his new job for the Bignells, for after the Midland Line job was finished John and Emily were married at St Lukes Church, Oamaru on November 11, 1887.

Henry Bignell then secured a contract for more bridge-building on the West Coast, and in late 1887 John and Emily moved with the Bignell firm to Greymouth. There they began to raise a family: Edgar was born in 1888, Walter in 1890 and Arthur in 1891. In 1891 the Bignell family enterprise split, and Arthur went into business with Robert Russell (b1863). John went with him, and in 1892 he and Emily moved with Russell & Bignell to Wanganui. There John worked with the firm on the old Wanganui Hospital, and Frank (1893), Herbert (1895) & Henry (1897) were born.

In 1898 John purchased 500 acres of land in the Waitotara Valley, Mahoe, a remote block 47 km inland from Waitotara and 80 km from Wanganui. The settlement, known as Ngamatapouri, was sufficiently established to afford a post office, 2 stores, a dray road to its upper reaches, and pastoral visits from an Anglican vicar. It was certainly a far cry from the booming urban centres of Greymouth and Wanganui. And while John’s brothers-in-law went on to become wealthy and popular leaders in their communities (Henry elected to Greymouth Borough Council in 1899; Arthur elected Mayor of Wanganu, 1904 – 1906), John was putting in the hard yards felling timber and raising 6 boys and a girl (Ellen, 1900) in a shanty of a house in the depths of the Eastern Taranaki hill country.

Part II to come: Taranaki hill country pioneers

Bert & Eva Chesswas

I have a number of images from generations past that I plan to upload to this site at some stage. In welcoming Dr. Roger Chesswas to the site, though, I think it would be fitting to share a sketch drawn by my mother, which I believe is of Roger's father John and grandparents Bert and Eva, drawn from a photo that dates back about 87 years.



Herbert (Bert) Chesswas was born on 23 July 1895 to John & Emily Chesswas in Wanganui, and grew up in Ngamatapouri, Waitotara Valley, where the family set to work breaking in the land. While serving in World War I he met and married his wife Eva, an English woman. They married in 1918, and Bert eventually emigrated to live in England where he worked as a plasterer. After his wife's death in 1975 he returned to spend his final years in his homeland; Waitotara, New Zealand.


BACK: Barry Chesswas, John Chesswas, Stan Chesswas, Chris McKinnon, David Chesswas, Barbara Chesswas, Sandy Chesswas, Rob Ross, Thelma Chesswas
MIDDLE: Don McKinnon, Jim Chesswas, Joy (nee Chesswas) & David Hillary, John & Ruth Hillary, Mona Chesswas, Jean Ross (nee Chesswas)
FRONT: Helen McKinnon (nee Chesswas), Shirley Chesswas, Jane Chesswas, Penny Chesswas, Lyndee Chesswas, Helen Chesswas, BERT CHESSWAS

Bert outlived all of his brothers, and was the only one of John & Emily's children to see the Chesswas Family Reunion of 1979. He is pictured here with his two sisters-in-law; Mrs Mona Chesswas (wife of Walter Snr.) & Mrs Lily Chesswas (wife of Frank).

Ron & Rosina Chesswas

Pair's romance set in wartime Britain
WWII: The Inland husband and wife reflect on the difficulties and the spirit of those years.

BY JOE VARGO
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
MURRIETA

To say that Ron and Rosina Chesswas met under difficult circumstances would be an understatement.

The Murrieta couple, former British subjects, fell in love when their country was locked in a life-or-death struggle against Nazi Germany.

Both served in the Royal Air Force and saw friends killed in action. They later married, raised a family in New Zealand, moved to America, became citizens and retired to Murrieta five years ago. The couple, both 79, recently reflected on their youth and the years during World War II they put their lives on hold to defend freedom.

The darkest days came in 1940 when Great Britain, outmanned and outgunned, stood alone against Hitler's Luftwaffe.

What got them through the most difficult time, they said, was a spirit that wouldn't let them or their country give up. They were bombed and displaced, and knew they might die at any moment, but they weren't going to surrender.

"You had just to make do," said "Rosie" Chesswas, a retired legal secretary. "Everybody was ready to do their job. Even during the worst days, there was no panic. There was a feeling that we were going to get through it."

Ron Chesswas flew 30 combat missions in a Halifax bomber, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and surviving several close brushes with disaster. Most of the crews in his squadron didn't complete their tour of duty, he said.

They died in the skies over Occupied Europe, drowned when their planes crashed in the English Channel or were captured when they parachuted out of crippled aircraft. He said he never expected to survive.

"You developed a sense of fatalism," he said. "You come to accept the thought of your own death."

A teen-ager in uniform

Rosina Swanson (her maiden name) was 17 when war broke out in 1939. She witnessed the German "blitz" on London in September and October of the following year, when German aircraft pounded the city for 57 straight nights. Bombs killed thousands of Londoners and displaced many more. But the city's spirit never waned.

She recalled one particularly hellish night when bombs fell near her family's home. She said she climbed to the top of a four-story building to see London burning.

"I could see the planes overhead, the guns, the flames and anti-aircraft," she said. "I was very frightened yet fascinated."

Food became scarce. RosieChesswas said she got used to living on powdered potatoes, powdered eggs and Spam.

Londoners congregated in pubs, where they often spoke of the destruction rained down on their homes. They kept up their morale by singing songs like "Roll Out the Barrel" and "White Cliffs of Dover."

Londoners didn't let the bombs keep them from enjoying simple pleasures, she said. More than once, she was on the dance floor doing the fox trot or the jitterbug when the air raids began. She said the dancers didn't miss a step.

"You could hear the shrapnel striking the building," she said.

In 1941, Rosina Swanson joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a branch of the Royal Air Force. Assigned to the communications section of Fighter Command in Norwich, she helped send messages from headquarters to squadrons of Spitfire and Hurricane fighters, which rose to meet the incoming German bombers. She earned 18 shillings, about $4.50, each week.

The aerodrome where she served came under attack. She was running toward a bomb shelter when a direct hit struck the building. Twelve women died; another 10 were badly hurt. Their colleagues kept their grief in check. She went back to work later that day.

Bombing the enemy

Ron Chesswas volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He couldn't swim, so the Navy was out. He didn't like to march, so that meant no Army life. Instead, he ended up assigned to No. 78 Bomber Squadron, stationed in Yorkshire, an agricultural area known for its wheat and corn.

He served as a radio operator aboard a Halifax, a four-engine bomber known as a "sturdy workhorse." British air raids took place at night, amid an atmosphere charged with tension, he said. The crews knew that German fighters and anti-aircraft awaited them once they approached their targets.

Chesswas flew against Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hanover, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Waves of Halifax bombers usually flew at 18,000 feet, dropping high explosive and incendiary bombs. In August 1943, Chesswas volunteered to take part in a low-level raid against the German missile and rocket complex at Peenemunde on the Baltic Sea. Hitler promised to destroy Britain and its Allies with a series a "vengeance weapons" under development at the site.

Peenemunde erupted that night as the bombers -- some flying as low as 6,000 feet -- found their mark.

"I never worried about killing people on the ground," he said. "You just block it out. You don't have a conscience. It was war."

After the raid, Chesswas was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of Great Britain's highest military honors.

A fateful meeting

The couple met while waiting in line for a movie. They still recall the film's title: "New Moon," a musical with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. She thought he looked "gorgeous" in his blue uniform; he was taken because she was serving with the Royal Air Force.

They started dating, and Rosina gave him a good-luck charm, a tiny plastic white horse that Ron carried with him on every mission.

They married in 1944.

A year later, World War II ended, but the young couple could not find a home. Much of Britain lay in ruins. The wait for an apartment took years. They moved to the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand to raise their two daughters.




Published 12/25/2001

- Courtesy of Graham Chesswas, Huddersfield

Chesswas Watch

I was recently google searching Chesswas and came across this at ebay:



This wristwatch has the name Chesswas marked on the inside of the watch face, and I assume that AE Chesswas & Sons jewellers had something to do with its construction. So fir the first time I placed a bid on ebay, then had to place another couple of bids thanks to competition, but came away with a win and the watch arrived in the post a week ago. It's an old-fashioned wind-up watch which goes as if it was made yesterday. Pretty cool to have a watch with my name marked on the face, especially with a name as rare as ours!

Cheese Whiz

Kraft Foods introduced this product, in 1952 and it was then called Cheez Whiz. The processed cheese food was packed in jars with thin metal caps. Today, the same product as well as other versions are still available. Cheese Whiz is used in some very well-know dishes such as the original Gino's Philadelphia Cheese steak sandwich. If you want Cheeze Whiz on your cheese steak just order it "with Whiz" which has been shortened further to "with".

Dr. Chesswas Appointed to Significant Research Position

I discovered via a Google search today that Dr. Roger Chesswas, PhD, has been appointed Director of Research at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). From the PREL newsreel:

Dr. Chesswas is responsible for the design and development of multiple complex research programs at PREL. He has worked in the field of education evaluation for almost 30 years, including 15 years with the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) system. His work included conducting internal and external evaluation programs, exploring uses for technology in teaching and learning, performing classroom interventions, and designing school reforms. Most recently, Dr. Chesswas worked with WestEd, based in San Francisco, CA, where he conducted trials focusing on standards-based instruction, English language learner development, and training for Early Head Start program staff.

Prior to working in educational research, Dr. Chesswas evaluated corporate and association training programs and worked on professional program assessments and testing.

Dr. Chesswas worked in the international arena in the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and UNESCO, training educational planners from developing countries, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

PREL is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that serves the educational community in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands, the continental United States, and countries throughout the world.

The only Dr. Chesswas ever, Roger has a PhD in the study of Comparative Education. Part of the New Zealand branch of the family, Roger is the grandson of Herbert Chesswas who grew up on the Waitotara Valley farm at the turn of the 20th century, then immigrated to England around the time of World War I. The New Zealand branch of the family have lost touch with Dr. Chesswas, so if you discover this site Roger we'd be interested in hearing from you, or if someone could put him in touch with us we would be grateful.

Pastor Russell Embling in the News

Church services sidestep so congregation can watch rugby (from stuff.co.nz 27 October 2005)

Rugby is arguably one of our most popular religions and it seems at least one Tauranga church agrees.

Greerton Bible Church is scrapping its Sunday church services in favour of supporting the men in black - with the congregation due to watch the All Blacks Grand Slam Tour on a big screen instead.

The Chadwick Rd church's senior Pastor Russell Embling said the event, dubbed the Big Screen Grand Slam Tour, would replace its regular weekly service each Sunday throughout November.

"A lot of people are going to watch the All Black games on Sunday morning, so we figured if we can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Rugby and the All Blacks are a big part of Kiwi culture, there's no denying that."

Churchgoers will instead have the option to attend a Friday night service at 7pm during November.

The Grand Slam - in which the All Blacks go head-to-head with Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland - was last attempted in 1983.

AdvertisementAdvertisementThe last All Black team to beat all four sides was Graham Mourie's 1978 team.

And while the four-test tour of Britain and Ireland was a rare event for New Zealand, Mr Embling admitted cancelling a service was pretty much unheard of among churches.

"We have never done anything like this before in terms of shifting our Sunday service to make way for anything - let alone the rugby."

Despite going against the norm, it seems the 250 strong Christian congregation are fully behind Mr Embling's decision.

"Everyone is really looking forward to it and can't wait - I have had a really good response.

"It's bound to be great fun for all those who decide to come along and watch the games."

While the aim of the event was to enjoy the game as it's played out on a 4m x 5m television screen, Mr Embling has also organised some well-known rugby identities to pop in.

At 7am each Sunday, starting with the test against Wales on November 6, the congregation would also be treated to a visit from Chiefs coach Ian Foster, former-All Black Eroni Clarke and Bay of Plenty Steamers players Grant McQuoid and Hayden Reid.

All sportsmen were renowned for their passion for both rugby and faith.

"They will provide a bit of post-match analysis and they will then talk about how their faith relates to rugby or rugby career to their faith."

It's not all about rugby, though, with hundreds of the church's parishioners being treated to a fully catered breakfast, children's entertainment and spot prizes.

There will even be some half-time entertainment, he said.

Tickets for each week's event were free and were available from the Greerton Bible Church office throughout the week.




*Pastor Russell Embling is married to Lois Chesswas and together they have three adult children. Lois' parents are Thelma and the late Alan Chesswas of Wanganui, son of Ed Chesswas, eldest son of Jack Chesswas from whom all NZ Chesswas are descended.