ROBERTSON, Lavinia Auline or Lavina Airline
Born 1884; died 24 November 1918; buried 25 November 1918; age 34
There are very few public records about the life of Lavinia/Lavina, who lived and died at 8 Telford Terrace in Wellington [i].
Her death record has no details of her parents, her father’s occupation, her place of birth, or even if she was married or had children. Even her name appears differently on the cemetery record from her death record: Lavina Airline ROBERTSON appearing on the latter and Lavinia Auline on former. This suggests that when she died there was no-one available who knew her well enough to provide this information.
Electoral rolls introduce one other option: a person named Lovinia Averline was on the roll in 1905-06 at 126 Wellington Terrace (The Terrace), a saleswoman. There are also entries for this person domiciled in Wanganui either side of this date.
While there were no death notices in local newspapers announcing her death, or subsequent memorial notices in later years, a person called ‘A M Robertson’ did, however, purchase the burial plot in Karori Cemetery in September 1923 and perhaps they too paid for the headstone on her grave in Public 2 plot 319 I. This memorial records her name as Lavinia. The funeral register of E Morris junior [ii] gives us a last clue, in recording that £7 of her £11 burial cost was met by Public Health, perhaps implying that there was no relative available or able to meet the bill. A cryptic note on the register records that the bill had been sent to ‘J J McGrath, her brother (not the solicitor)’ but further research has been unable to link any McGRATHs to Lavinia Robertson.
Researched and written by Jenny Robertson
Grave Information:
Section: PUBLIC2
Plot 319 I
[i] Telford Terrace is a steep switchback road at the top of Hay Street, Oriental Bay. The house at No. 8 is large and may have been a boarding house in 1918.
[ii] Held by the Turnbull Library, Wellington
Born 1884; died 24 November 1918; buried 25 November 1918; age 34
There are very few public records about the life of Lavinia/Lavina, who lived and died at 8 Telford Terrace in Wellington [i].
Her death record has no details of her parents, her father’s occupation, her place of birth, or even if she was married or had children. Even her name appears differently on the cemetery record from her death record: Lavina Airline ROBERTSON appearing on the latter and Lavinia Auline on former. This suggests that when she died there was no-one available who knew her well enough to provide this information.
Electoral rolls introduce one other option: a person named Lovinia Averline was on the roll in 1905-06 at 126 Wellington Terrace (The Terrace), a saleswoman. There are also entries for this person domiciled in Wanganui either side of this date.
While there were no death notices in local newspapers announcing her death, or subsequent memorial notices in later years, a person called ‘A M Robertson’ did, however, purchase the burial plot in Karori Cemetery in September 1923 and perhaps they too paid for the headstone on her grave in Public 2 plot 319 I. This memorial records her name as Lavinia. The funeral register of E Morris junior [ii] gives us a last clue, in recording that £7 of her £11 burial cost was met by Public Health, perhaps implying that there was no relative available or able to meet the bill. A cryptic note on the register records that the bill had been sent to ‘J J McGrath, her brother (not the solicitor)’ but further research has been unable to link any McGRATHs to Lavinia Robertson.
Researched and written by Jenny Robertson
Grave Information:
Section: PUBLIC2
Plot 319 I
[i] Telford Terrace is a steep switchback road at the top of Hay Street, Oriental Bay. The house at No. 8 is large and may have been a boarding house in 1918.
[ii] Held by the Turnbull Library, Wellington