Hocken Digital Collections

McBride, Alison : Tewsley, Dawson, Smith, and other family papers

Details

Reference NumberARC-0940Date1843-1990CreatorMcBride, AlisonDescriptionThis collection includes Henry Tewsley's letterbooks; other correspondence; accounts of ocean voyages on the ships Vimiera (1852) and Palala (1880); papers relating to Tewsley and Dawson family births, deaths, and marriages; ephemera; a large collection of family photographs, and other papers.
Only a small part of this collection is digitised and available through Digital Collections. Information about other items can be found on the Hākena catalogue, through the Library Catalogues link above.History / BiographyThe Tewsleys were early settlers in Dunedin and marriage with a Dawson soon joined the families.
William Dawson from Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders arrived in Dunedin in 1881 on holiday for his respiratory health, and Henry Tewsley from Mortlake, Sheen in England had emigrated first to Victoria, Australia in 1852, arrived in Dunedin in 1863 with his wife and seven children to take up the role of financial manager for Sargood Son and Ewen.
On arrival in Dunedin Henry already had a collection of albums containing images of his family and friends back in England. His copy letterbook contains regular engaging and personal letters in which he requests carte de viste likenesses, which he framed and hung in his home for his children to grow up with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins present. He married twice (sisters Elizabeth and Mary Ann Coltherd) and had fourteen children whose numerous photographic images are part of this collection.
William Dawson's intention was to return home in good health but working for fellow Scotsmen at J. Rattray and Son Limited and enjoying the clean air, William settled. He met Henry's daughter, Florence Beatrice Tewsley, and they married in 1881. William's two brothers emigrated to New Zealand and Australia, so when both of their parents had died their two remaining siblings, Agnes and Kate, packed all the family items to join William in Otago. With the sisters came a large collection of carte de viste images of their extended paternal Dawson family, and their maternal Forrester family, along with letters and sentimental items.
Florence and William cared for both collections, adding their own images as their children, and nieces and nephews grew up.
The many photo albums, and trunks of loose photos, letters and ephemera date from the late 1700s to the mid-1900s, a past and ongoing history of two settler families in Otago. This treasure has been handed down the generations and is now compiled as a donation to the Hocken Collections.
(History note supplied by Alison McBride, 2024)

Photograph

William and Florence Dawson with their children Geoffrey, Hoani, and Stephen

Lowes sisters

St John's Church, Roslyn, Centennial

Standard 4, Kaikorai School, 1935

Standard 6, Kaikorai School, 1937

Standard 6 girls, Kaikorai School, 1937

Playtime, Kaikorai School

Mr Bradstock, Headmaster, Kaikorai School

Kaikorai School assembly

Standard 2, Kaikorai School, 1933

Children at Kaikorai School

Standard 4, Kaikorai School, 1903

Kaikorai School gymnastic group with instructor J.P. Northey

Roslyn Scouts camp at Portobello

House and garden, possibly 8 Sheen Street, Roslyn

Interprovincial Boat Race, Canterbury and Otago teams

Cromwell, Eric, and Doris Tewsley

Five young men, probably a rowing team

The Dawson brothers as boys

Wedding group, marriage of Iris Laurie to John Graham-Smith

William and Florence Dawson and children

Picnic group at unidentified location

Cricket team at Duns, Scotland, with William Dawson at the back on the right holding a bat

William and Florence Dawson with their children Geoffrey, Hoani, and Stephen, in 1895.

Depicts Or Relates To

NamesTewsley familyDawson familyPlacesDunedinRoslyn

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McBride, Alison : Tewsley, Dawson, Smith, and other family papers

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