BALLANTYNE, Robert James
Born 1893; died 14 November 1918; buried 18 November 1918; age 25
BALLANTYNE, Robina Fanny
Born 4 March 1892; died 19 November 1918; buried 20 November 1918; age 26
When Walter BALLANTYNE was 14 years old he emigrated to New Zealand with his parents Robert & Jane and his four sisters, Agnes, Margaret, Jane and Mary, from Scotland. They left from Glasgow on the maiden journey of the “Invercargill”, and arrived in Dunedin, Otago, on 14 October 1874 [1].
In 1889, when Walter was 29 years old, he married Alice WATERS, and their first child - Evangeline Emma Jane - was born the same year. Robina was born two years later, on 4 March 1892 in Dunedin, Otago. Two brothers Robert James (born 1893) and Walter William (born 1895) followed, and finally another sister, Alice May (born 1897). Robina was known to her family and friends as “Beenie”.
Walter had become a butcher, and when Walter and Alice registered to be on the Electoral Roll in 1896 the family residence may have been on the premises of a butcher’s shop in McLaggan Street in Dunedin. During that year they moved to Wellington, and Walter worked as a butcher in Marjoribanks Street, and Alice was living (presumably with the children) in Barker Street, a small street running from Cambridge Terrace, near the Basin Reserve. They continued to live in Barker Street, until sometime before 1911 when they moved to live in Grove Road, Kelburne (as Kelburn was known at the time). The Cable Car, which had begun operating in 1902, had opened up the Kelburn area for development, and made access to and from the city centre fast and efficient. Consequently, the suburb had expanded rapidly, affording good accommodation away from the poorer areas of the city.
Walter was very involved in the Master Butchers of Wellington, a trade association, and the family attended the yearly Butcher’s Picnics. The children, including Robina, were placed in a number of running races at these picnics over the years.
The family were also keen on dogs, and entered theirs in competitions. In October 1908 Robina entered her rough coated collie in the Wellington Kennel Club’s 22nd Annual show held at the Olympia Skating Rink. Her dog “Kelburne Princess” was placed second in the Maiden Bitches category for the rough coated collies. Her father was a member and committee member of the Scottish Sky Terrier Club for a number of years.
Family life was disrupted in 1916 when both of Robina’s brothers, Robert and Walter, enlisted part way through the year, and were assigned to the Machine Gun Corps. Robert was 23, and Walter 21. They both went on active service, and though Walter got sick a couple of times, he survived without serious wounds or illnesses, and returned to resume work on the railways. Robert, however, was less fortunate and was wounded on 12 October 1917 at Passchendaele. He was shot in the right hip, and after 6 months of treatment and convalescence in England he was returned to NZ, arriving in June 1918, no longer fit for active service or home service.
By 1918 Walter Ballantyne was the Chieftain of the Scottish Society in Wellington and in September that year Robina was very involved in the arrangements of a successful evening of entertainment. This included training of a group of the children to sing as part of the evenings programme.
As the effect of the epidemic became clear in early November 1918 Robert was amongst those who succumbed. He died on 14 November, at the family home at 34 Grove Road, Kelburn [2], and was buried in a large plot in the Public section of Karori Cemetery four days later.
The very next day, immediately after the funeral, Robina too died at the family home, the cause of death being influenza. She was buried on 20 November 1918 alongside her brother.
Robert and Robina’s brother Walter married in 1921 and had at least one son, who was named after his late uncle – Robert James. His wife died in 1923 and was buried not far from Robina and Robert in the Public section of Karori Cemetery.
Walter and Alice moved away from Kelburn fairly soon after the war ended, perhaps to leave behind the sad memories associated with their home in Kelburn. They moved to 116 Oroua Street, Eastbourne, on the other side of the harbour, and this was where Alice died in 1936 (aged 66) and Walter, aged 80, in 1942. Both Alice and Walter were buried in the family plot they had purchased in 1918 where Robert and Robina had been buried.
FUNERAL NOTICE
THE Friends of the late Private R. J. Ballantyne (Machine-gun Section) are respectfully requested to attend his Funeral which will leave Wilson's Mortuary Chapel, John-street, Newtown, at 9.30 am Monday, 18th inst.
Evening Post 16 November 1918
DEATH NOTICE
Ballantyne – On November 19th, 1918, at 34 Grove road, Kelburn, Robina Fanny (Beenie), second dearly beloved daughter of Mr and Mrs W Ballantyne, and sister of the late Private R J Ballantyne; aged 26 years
Evening Post 22 November 1918
HEADSTONE
(Left side)
In Loving Memory of
Robert James Ballantyne
(Bob)
Late of 16th Reinforcements N.Z.E.F.
Who Died 14th November 1918
Aged 25 Years
Farewell Our Young Hero, The Gallant And Good
(Right side)
In Loving Memory of
Robina Fanny Ballantyne
(Beenie)
Who Died 19th November 1918
Aged 26 Years 8 Months
Oh! We Grudged Her Sair To The Land Of The Leal
(Plaque in front)
Alice mother of above and beloved wife of W Ballantyne died 25 March 1936 aged 67 yrs
Researched and written by Beverley Hamlin
Grave Information:
Section: PUBLIC2
Plot: 373 H
Sources:
[1] During the year 1874 the celebrated builder Robert Duncan built six remarkably fine ships - the Invercargill, Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Nelson and Dunedin - to the order of Patrick Henderson, for the New Zealand trade. They were all launched within six months, and the tonnage (1265), length, beam and depth were about the same. These ships were fitted with every modern convenience and comfort for first-class passengers and immigrants and they were some of the fastest sailors afloat. This is the maiden voyage of the Invercargill and she went on to make 26 voyages to the Colony. She was sold to Norway in 1905, renamed “Verg” and disappeared while en route to Christiania. It is believed she did not carry sufficient ballast and capsized.
White Wings - Sir Henry Brett
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Invercargill.htm
[2] There is no Kelburn Grove in Kelburn these days, and the most likely location for the Ballantyne family home is 34 Grove Road.
Born 1893; died 14 November 1918; buried 18 November 1918; age 25
BALLANTYNE, Robina Fanny
Born 4 March 1892; died 19 November 1918; buried 20 November 1918; age 26
When Walter BALLANTYNE was 14 years old he emigrated to New Zealand with his parents Robert & Jane and his four sisters, Agnes, Margaret, Jane and Mary, from Scotland. They left from Glasgow on the maiden journey of the “Invercargill”, and arrived in Dunedin, Otago, on 14 October 1874 [1].
In 1889, when Walter was 29 years old, he married Alice WATERS, and their first child - Evangeline Emma Jane - was born the same year. Robina was born two years later, on 4 March 1892 in Dunedin, Otago. Two brothers Robert James (born 1893) and Walter William (born 1895) followed, and finally another sister, Alice May (born 1897). Robina was known to her family and friends as “Beenie”.
Walter had become a butcher, and when Walter and Alice registered to be on the Electoral Roll in 1896 the family residence may have been on the premises of a butcher’s shop in McLaggan Street in Dunedin. During that year they moved to Wellington, and Walter worked as a butcher in Marjoribanks Street, and Alice was living (presumably with the children) in Barker Street, a small street running from Cambridge Terrace, near the Basin Reserve. They continued to live in Barker Street, until sometime before 1911 when they moved to live in Grove Road, Kelburne (as Kelburn was known at the time). The Cable Car, which had begun operating in 1902, had opened up the Kelburn area for development, and made access to and from the city centre fast and efficient. Consequently, the suburb had expanded rapidly, affording good accommodation away from the poorer areas of the city.
Walter was very involved in the Master Butchers of Wellington, a trade association, and the family attended the yearly Butcher’s Picnics. The children, including Robina, were placed in a number of running races at these picnics over the years.
The family were also keen on dogs, and entered theirs in competitions. In October 1908 Robina entered her rough coated collie in the Wellington Kennel Club’s 22nd Annual show held at the Olympia Skating Rink. Her dog “Kelburne Princess” was placed second in the Maiden Bitches category for the rough coated collies. Her father was a member and committee member of the Scottish Sky Terrier Club for a number of years.
Family life was disrupted in 1916 when both of Robina’s brothers, Robert and Walter, enlisted part way through the year, and were assigned to the Machine Gun Corps. Robert was 23, and Walter 21. They both went on active service, and though Walter got sick a couple of times, he survived without serious wounds or illnesses, and returned to resume work on the railways. Robert, however, was less fortunate and was wounded on 12 October 1917 at Passchendaele. He was shot in the right hip, and after 6 months of treatment and convalescence in England he was returned to NZ, arriving in June 1918, no longer fit for active service or home service.
By 1918 Walter Ballantyne was the Chieftain of the Scottish Society in Wellington and in September that year Robina was very involved in the arrangements of a successful evening of entertainment. This included training of a group of the children to sing as part of the evenings programme.
As the effect of the epidemic became clear in early November 1918 Robert was amongst those who succumbed. He died on 14 November, at the family home at 34 Grove Road, Kelburn [2], and was buried in a large plot in the Public section of Karori Cemetery four days later.
The very next day, immediately after the funeral, Robina too died at the family home, the cause of death being influenza. She was buried on 20 November 1918 alongside her brother.
Robert and Robina’s brother Walter married in 1921 and had at least one son, who was named after his late uncle – Robert James. His wife died in 1923 and was buried not far from Robina and Robert in the Public section of Karori Cemetery.
Walter and Alice moved away from Kelburn fairly soon after the war ended, perhaps to leave behind the sad memories associated with their home in Kelburn. They moved to 116 Oroua Street, Eastbourne, on the other side of the harbour, and this was where Alice died in 1936 (aged 66) and Walter, aged 80, in 1942. Both Alice and Walter were buried in the family plot they had purchased in 1918 where Robert and Robina had been buried.
FUNERAL NOTICE
THE Friends of the late Private R. J. Ballantyne (Machine-gun Section) are respectfully requested to attend his Funeral which will leave Wilson's Mortuary Chapel, John-street, Newtown, at 9.30 am Monday, 18th inst.
Evening Post 16 November 1918
DEATH NOTICE
Ballantyne – On November 19th, 1918, at 34 Grove road, Kelburn, Robina Fanny (Beenie), second dearly beloved daughter of Mr and Mrs W Ballantyne, and sister of the late Private R J Ballantyne; aged 26 years
Evening Post 22 November 1918
HEADSTONE
(Left side)
In Loving Memory of
Robert James Ballantyne
(Bob)
Late of 16th Reinforcements N.Z.E.F.
Who Died 14th November 1918
Aged 25 Years
Farewell Our Young Hero, The Gallant And Good
(Right side)
In Loving Memory of
Robina Fanny Ballantyne
(Beenie)
Who Died 19th November 1918
Aged 26 Years 8 Months
Oh! We Grudged Her Sair To The Land Of The Leal
(Plaque in front)
Alice mother of above and beloved wife of W Ballantyne died 25 March 1936 aged 67 yrs
Researched and written by Beverley Hamlin
Grave Information:
Section: PUBLIC2
Plot: 373 H
Sources:
[1] During the year 1874 the celebrated builder Robert Duncan built six remarkably fine ships - the Invercargill, Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Nelson and Dunedin - to the order of Patrick Henderson, for the New Zealand trade. They were all launched within six months, and the tonnage (1265), length, beam and depth were about the same. These ships were fitted with every modern convenience and comfort for first-class passengers and immigrants and they were some of the fastest sailors afloat. This is the maiden voyage of the Invercargill and she went on to make 26 voyages to the Colony. She was sold to Norway in 1905, renamed “Verg” and disappeared while en route to Christiania. It is believed she did not carry sufficient ballast and capsized.
White Wings - Sir Henry Brett
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Invercargill.htm
[2] There is no Kelburn Grove in Kelburn these days, and the most likely location for the Ballantyne family home is 34 Grove Road.