How my father's family got to New Zealand

On 17 January, 2009, the city of Timaru in South Canterbury celebrated the 150th anniversary of the immigrant ship Strathallan arriving there. My father's grandfather, Enoch Barker, sailed from England on the Strathallan with his family, but they stayed on board and disembarked several days later in Lyttelton, which is the port at Christchurch.

The link below is to a brief day-by-day description of the voyage from England. The introduction wrongly states at the beginning that Enoch Barker's wife continued with him and their two young daughters to Lyttelton--she was, in fact, the woman mentioned in the entry for 22 October who died. Especially sad because the reason they were leaving England was to find a better climate for her health.

Despite all the deaths on board, sails blowing away, and masts breaking, there was lots of dancing, singing, drinking, fighting, and pigs down the hatch!

http://www.bushtown.co.nz/strathallan.html

Strathallan

Comments

[robert]

[this is good] If your father's grandfarther was enoch barker then we are related. Please respond to my email address.

[robert]

Sorry wrong ancestor, my enoch barker never went to new zealand, must get my facts right. There are quite a few enoch barker's when you check.