Darfield Visit

 Today it was time for a trip out to Darfield and Charing Cross. First I went to the cemetery by the Catholic Church, where a quartet of headstones are there for my Riordan-Burke family. Mary Burke was the first one buried there, after she died of consumption when only 29 years old. Her mother Ann Philp (Burke) and her Uncle John Burke) died within months of each other in 1895. Patrick Riordan, Mary’s husband, died in 1911. 

Next I visited the Darfield Cenotaph, which carries the name of James Riordan, my great-uncle, who died of wounds received in the Battle of the Somme. 

The last visit for the afternoon was to Charing Cross where the Riordan farm used to be. Patrick raised sheep and grew crops, and it seems like similar uses of the land are still in place. But today there were large irrigators also in use. 

Burke Family Gathering

 Yesterday some of my Burke Family whanau had a gathering in Christchurch- a very enjoyable day. The first item for the morning was at Sydenham Cemetery where we had a blessing for a memorial plaque for Martin Burke- my 2x-great-grandfather. He doesn't seem to have ever had a headstone, and a group of us decided that it might be a good idea to erect one. Fr Simon Eccleton was the priest who came along to perform the blessing, a very special thing. He said he often does blessings for the month's mind at cemeteries, but for someone who died over a 100 years ago was a first for him!

Some of us then headed to Lyttelton and took a short cruise across to Quail Island. I appreciated being on the harbour to mark the day when everyone disembarked from the Mermaid, 160 years ago.

Next stop was at the Gondola, which gave a superb view down to the harbour, and also to parts of the Bridle Path that they had to climb over to reach Christchurch itself.

We finished the evening with a wonderful meal celebration with about 44 cousins. I particularly enjoyed meeting up with a couple of Riordan second cousins who I had never met before, and there was a group of Burtons there whose mother had helped me get started on genealogy many years ago. All round, it was a very special and satisfying day, getting to know a large group of whanau I hadn't met before.

Annie Riordan- Sr Majella

 The youngest child of Patrick Riordan and Mary Burke was Annie Riordan, who was just a baby when her mother Mary died of consumption. Sadly, Annie acquired it from her mother, though she lived to be 19 before she went quickly downhill with it.

Annie was reputedly very musical, and in Papers Past there are numerous references to her when at high school for passing music exams (piano and harp) and for singing in concerts. At high school in 1974 I had the lead female solo in a musical, and afterwards some nuns were telling me how much my voice reminded them of this nun who was my relative. It was only when I began doing genealogy quite some time later that I found out the nun in question was my great-aunt Annie Riordan, and that she had died in 1911. The nuns who told me the story about her singing voice could never have heard it, they must have just heard the tradition amongst the congregation about her voice.

I am presently in Christchurch for a Burke family gathering, and took the opportunity to go to Linwood Cemetery to update my photos of Annie's grave, in the plot ( Block 40, Plot 99C) of the Mission Sisters, RNDM (Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.) Her name in the convent was Sr Majella. The plot used to have a tall cross on it, atop a base with the sister's names on it. These names were solely their names in religion, and just the date of death was recorded. Now the cross lays flat over the plots, and there are plaques that carry the names and birth and death dates of each nun. Their family names are included along with their religious names.

Here are a few photos from how the plot looks now.

Voyage of the Mermaid

In a week's time, on the 16th February, it will be 160 years since the clipper Mermaid sailed into Lyttelton Harbour. My Burke family were amongst the passengers- Martin Burke who was born in Co Mayo, Ireland; Ann Burke née Philp from Fifeshire in Scotland; and their toddler daughter, Mary Burke, who was born in the Parish of Inchture in Scotland.

My third cousin Maggie Gaffney, a fellow Burke descendant, has been  developing a website about the voyage of the Mermaid out to New Zealand. She's been following the diaries kept by two passengers, and releasing excerpts as the days of the voyage have gone on. On 12 November 1863, the ship was put under tug, and began its voyage down the Thames from London.  By 15 November, all aboard had left Dover, and could see the lights on the coast of France.

Three months later, on 8 February 1864, the ship lay south of Tasmania, and the sailors were well occupied cleaning the ship, including its hull, getting ready for its arrival in New Zealand.

In just a week's time now, the Mermaid will put into Lyttelton Harbour, and a group of descendants are having a Burke Family Gathering to mark the occasion.