Papatotara Early Farming Families - Erskine's of Westwood Farm, David's Hay Baling Contracting Service

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Papatotara Early Farming Families - Erskine's of Westwood Farm, David's Hay Baling Contracting Service, 1960's: These images show the Case 530 Tractor that David Erskine bought to run his Hay Baling Contracting Service. It arrived in Invercargill in a box and he had to put it together. There were only 5 of these ever imported into the country! Son Quinton believes the tractor was an 1965 model. It is shown here in the first photo, at the Invercargill Show, and in the second photo, it has been fitted with a front end loader from the famous Begg's Engineering at Drummond. This tractor is still proudly owned by the Erskine Family. Hugh Erskine is recorded as being the first to settle and farm 'West of the Waiau' as the area of Papatotara used to be known as. His legacy at the property he named "Westwood" lives on as some descendants still farm part of the same land that he took up as his run, along with extra that has been acquired since then. Grandson David, whose tractor is shown here, was to operate an early Hay Baling contracting service in the Papatotara district and this gear was taken around to all the local farms one after the other. BRIEF FAMILY HISTORY: Born in 1859, Hugh Erskine was brought up on a farm in the Broadmills in Ireland. His father William John Erskine was a dairy farmer. Hugh had some early schooling, but later worked on the farm because his father became sick. Also the disease Rinderpest broke out amongst the family's dairy cattle, and all the cows died due to this disease, as any stock that was still alive was ordered to be destroyed, including the horses. This was a tragedy for William Erskine, as he had nine sons and two daughters to feed. Hugh decided this was a good time to leave so he went to New Zealand on the sailing ship "Durham" in 1880, to start a new life there. Hugh at the age of twenty-one, arrived in New Zealand on 18th November 1880. He worked at whatever job he could get until he started up rabbiting. After he had enough money he sent for his future wife, Agnes Armstrong to come over to New Zealand and be with him. His two brothers Thomas and John came over with Agnes also. Agnes Armstrong and Hugh's two brothers left Ireland on the 30th March 1883 and arrived in New Zealand on the 26th June 1883 (just 88 days), on the ship "Forfarshire". The young couple were married on the week after she arrived at Waitapeka, near Balclutha, in the garden of Mr Thomas McKee. They lived there for one year before moving. As Hugh was reading the newspaper he saw the auction sales for land at the Dunedin Lands Office. At one of the sales he procured on easy terms, a depasturing licence to the Princess Range - which was 3200 acres. But when Hugh arrived in the Waiau Valley to look at his new home, he never went beyond the "Hump" Range. The first night the bush rats destroyed his boot-laces, so he returned to his wife in Balclutha with flax holding his boots on. From the "Hump", Hugh had observed that the Princess Range was too rough to place a farm. So Hugh went back to Dunedin and surrendered his lease, and in its place secured a lease to a block of land on the west bank of the Waiau River just near its mouth, in 1884. Hugh took up the lease and bought his wife Agnes and baby son William, who was just 5 months old, to their new home. To reach the crossing, they had to travel by rail to Orepuki, then by bullock wagon for a distance, then walk the rest of the way. At the same time Hugh had made his first stock buy of cattle from Ōtautau. He had bought the cattle because the land was too rough for sheep. In 1885 Hugh and Agnes had the distinction of being the first white people to take up farm land and settle on the district now known as Papatotara. In Hugh's first attempt to get animals across the river, he experienced some difficulties that they were going to face. The wild cattle wouldn't go through the water on the eastern mouth of the river. So Hugh had to pull each one individually behind his row-boat. The cattle entered the river a little better in the western mouth. Arriving at Waiau Mouth they were rowed across by goldminers. The goldminers stayed in the shepherds hut, where Hugh and his family were staying, so when the shepherds came they had to get out. With no house to stay in, Hugh knew this was a problem so he decided to build a shack out of flax for his family to stay in. This hut became their house until they were able to get slabs from the Colac Bay timber mill to build their permanent house, which was known as "Westwood", and this stood until just after the turn of the last century, on David Erskine's land, before tragically burning down. And it is David Erskine's son who has donated his father's photos of this property, that you can see in this entry. On 28th February 1895, Hugh and Agnes moved into their new home with William John, Elizabeth (Lizzie), Agnes, Hugh, and Maia. Later, followed by Annie 10/1/1896. Ralph Martin 2/11/1898, Ebenezer (Ben) 5/7/1902, and their last child Eric Hugh McKee 21/8/1906. Hugh's descendants, starting with eldest son William John (Bill) have also been involved in the Waiau A&P Show since its inception in 1934, held annually at Tūātapere Domain. See more info on this under entry CWA.012.082.500 in these online Community Archives. After a hard, but successful life, Hugh died after a short illness of cancer in his throat. Hugh died on 31st July 1932 at the age of sixty-three. His wife Agnes, Bill, Elizabeth, Ralph and Ebenezer (Ben), were still alive when Hugh died. Agnes died about twenty years later. Ebenezer 'Ben' was the last surviving of the siblings. Agnes, Hugh's wife, was a capable woman and was a great help to Hugh in the pioneering days. HUGH McKEE ERSKINE married AGNES MARY ARMSTRONG, 2.7.1883: Hugh- Birth 7.4.1859, Death 31.7.1922. Agnes- Birth 27.2.1864, Death 5.2.1951 Children: William John Erskine 21.9.1884 - 10.7.1961 Elizabeth (Lizzie) Erskine 27.4.1884 - 13.5.1976 Agnes Erskine 10.9.1889 - 14.12.1907 Hugh Erskine 11.3.1892 - 5.2.1907 Maia Erskine 5.5.1893 - 6.12.1907 Annie Erskine 10.1.1896 - 14.10.1917 Ralph Martin Erskine 2.11.1898 - 2.8.1966 Ebenezer (Ben) Erskine 5.7.1902 - 2.6.1998 Eric Hugh McKee Erskine 21.8.1906 - 7.11.1907 To see more on details on the Erskine Family History, this can be viewed in the Community Archives on CWA.013.501.001 & CWA.013.501.011 while more farming history can be viewed in the series marked CWA.013.501.005 NOTE: part of the above information is taken from a school project researched, written and created by Petrina Erskine, WJ (Bill) Erskine's great grand-daughter. While other information is from the Erskine Families history and the Papatotara booklet's, plus family members from the current day. If you or anyone you know has any more photos, information or accounts of the Erskine family or the Papatotara area during the years, please do share these in the comments section. You can do this by making a comment in the space provided under the image page. And please let us know if you have more records to add, they will add the history. Similarly if you have photos of this family or local district and can add more to the story contained above, please let us know, thank you!