Info 1a for Campbell and Cameron in NZ

Info 1a. for Campbell and Cameron

CAMERON story by Stuart Park, and reproduced with his kind permission,

Flora Cameron 1814-	Maria Cameron (nee Colquhoun) 1794-1873

Ewen and Maria were married at
Inverscaddle in Kilmallie Parish, Argyle on 28 February 1811. (Probably Iververscaddle Bay where there use to be a small chapple)
Their children were christened variously in either Kilmallie parish or Ballachulish or Corran of Ardgour, according to the Old Parish Registers.
Ewen Cameron, with Maria and eleven of their twelve children arrived in Wellington on the Blenheim in 1840, and lived at "Kaiwharra", the settlement at the mouth of the Kaiwharawhara Stream.

There's quite a lot of published information in New Zealand Company sources about the Blenheim and her passengers, who were supposed to be young labourers, recruited in the Highlands and Islands to work on the roads and buildings in the new settlement.

Because the recruiting agent had difficulty filling the ship, and perhaps because of some nepotism, a number of skilled trades-people and craftsmen, some of them no longer young, were among the passengers. Ewen's age is given as 50, though he was in fact 56,the oldest passenger, and well above the desired age for the Blenheim immigrants. It may well have been his large family of daughters, prospective servants and wives that made him an attractive immigrant ! !
Presumably unlike his fellows, as a tailor he did not have to set to work to build the road round the Harbour from Wellington to the Hutt Valley.
The settlers lived initially in a large, nikau barracks at the mouth of the stream, built perhaps by Mäori from the village on the south of the stream mouth, which was drawn in some detail by G F Angas in 1844. Later, the Scots built houses around the stream mouth - I haven't located a map that would show where Ewen lived or where he fell.

There were seven CAMERON families on the Blenheim, presumably loosely related, since they all came from Argyll in the same part of Scotland. Until the 1970s there were Camerons living in an old house at Kaiwharawhara that was built in the 1840s, though they were not descendants of Ewen.

However, Ewen did not live long in the new country: He died from the effects of a fall.

NZ Spectator & Cooks Strait Guardian, 9 December 1848
Wednesday December 6th, Mr Ewen Cameron, Tailor of Kaiwarra. A fatal accident occurred on Wednesday last to Mr Ewen Cameron, who resided on the road to Kaiwarra. On his return home about eight o'clock in the evening, in walking too near the edge of the steep or gulley in front of his house, his foot unfortunately slipped, and he fell head foremost, and his head striking a projecting piece of rock he was killed on the spot. The body was discovered by his family the next morning lying in the ravine. An inquest was held on the body by Dr Fitzgerald the Coroner yesterday, when a verdict of Accidental Death was returned. The deceased was very much and deservedly respected as an honest man and an industrious settler, and had brought up a very numerous family with great credit and propriety.

NZ Spectator & Cooks Strait Guardian, 9 December 1848

Wednesday December 6th,
Mr Ewen Cameron, Tailor of Kaiwarra.
A fatal accident occurred on Wednesday last to Mr Ewen Cameron, who resided on the road to Kaiwarra.
On his return home about eight o'clock in the evening, in walking too near the edge of the steep or gulley in front of his house, his foot unfortunately slipped, and he fell head foremost, and his head striking a projecting piece of rock he was killed on the spot. The body was discovered by his family the next morning lying in the ravine. An inquest was held on the body by Dr Fitzgerald the Coroner yesterday, when a verdict of Accidental Death was returned.
The deceased was very much and deservedly respected as an honest man and an industrious settler, and had brought up a very numerous family with great credit and propriety.

I have not yet been able to find a record of Ewen's burial - he is not listed in the index of the Bolton St cemetery that I think was operating in Wellington City at the time - maybe he is buried more locally.
A cousin in Dunedin, Heather Hay, has said she had heard there was some form of plaque or memorial erected in his memory, that might have been on a grave, but I have not located any record of this.

From a letter written about 1944 by Maria CAMPBELL McBeath:
He lived at Lower Hutt and accidentally falling over those very high cliffs.
In those days a narrow bridle track led around the hills. Grandfather Ewen Cameron was showing 2 visitors around & it being wet this night on going home he slipped and fell over the Kaiwarra cliff, next morning they found him dead below.
He had been a resident at this time only about 8 years.

A hand-written note in the Temm papers in the Clan Cameron NZ archive:
"Extract out of Bible
Ewen Cameron my father was killed by a fall on the 6th Dec 1848 a (blowing and squally) night a fall of 80 or 90 feet .
Kiawarra Wellington New Zealand C.Cameron"

After Ewen's death, his wife Maria and some of their children moved north. My great great grandmother Catherine (1836-1898) married James CAMPBELL in Auckland in 1857, before moving to Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence in Otago, where she lived for the rest of her life.

My sources for the Auckland period are Jean Bartlett, books on North Shore history, and some letters written in 1944 by Mrs Maria McBEATH of Timaru, daughter of Ewen's daughter Sarah. Mrs McBEATH had paid for some research to be done in Scotland that was well wide of the mark on some matters, and she was then over 90, so her memory may not have been totally accurate.
Some other sisters also lived in Auckland -
Sarah married James' half-brother Duncan CAMPBELL in 1851 Auckland.

Jane married Alex ALISON in Wellington:

NZ Spectator and Cook's Straits Guardian, 22nd November 1845
Married, on the 17th November instant, Mr Alexander Alison, formerly of Inverness, Shipwright, now of H M Colonial Brig "Victoria", to Jane, third daughter of Mr Ewen Cameron, formerly of Ardgour, Argyleshire.

They then moved to Takapuna where it seems the family became a significant force in North Shore commerce and politics.

One brother John remained in Scotland, and there were other brothers Charles, Allan and Donald.
Charles died without marrying, but I do not know if the others had any children to carry on the Cameron name.

Donald is said by Mrs McBeath to have been at the Eureka Stockade in Ballaarat, so he may not have descendants in New Zealand. (I have not been able to find any record of him in material about Eureka,however).

Ann married a (sea) Captain McKINNON, and they settled on the land in NSW, where they had descendants by the surnames of McKINNON and MILES.
Margaret married a Mr BURGESS, and Mary a Mr McGREGOR.
Flora married Mr SIMPSON, and
Marjory a Mr PERRY.
© 2001, Stuart Park

Also listed on the Blenhiem manifest was Ewen's brother



Donald       Cameron    52 Labourer
                           From Trishilaig
Mary                    40 wife  (McPherson)
Janet                   26 Dairymaid
John                    24 Quarrier
Allan                   22 Quarrier
Donald                  20 Shoemaker
Duncan                  18 Shepherd
Ewen                    17 Plougman
Alexander               15 Cowherd
James                   14 Cowherd
Ann                     12
George                   9

"This man and his family have been knowen to me all my life & are a very industrious family.
The same remark applies to his brother and his family who is next to him but one on the list, they have besides excellent references."

Trisliag, modern spelling, a small hamlet along the west shore of Loch Eil opposite Fort William.
Inverscaddle Bay is some 5 miles to the south.

1845 Wellington voters list
Cameron, Robert,      Thorndon flat,   Ropemaker. "
Cameron, Peter,       Pipitea,         Engineer. •
Cameron, Allan,       Kai warra road,  cow-keeper. 
Cameron, Donald,      Kai warra road,  Shoemaker. 
Cameron, Donald jun., Kai warra road,  Labourer. i '
Cameron, Allan,       Kai warra road,  Labourer. 
Cameron, John;        Kai warra road,  Labourer. 
Cameron, Duncan,      Kai warra road,  Labourer. 
Cameron, Hugh, "      Kai warra road,  Tailor. 
Cameron, Donald,      Kai warra warra, Labourer.. 
Cameron, Dugald,      Kai wavra warra, Labourer. f 
Cameron, John,        Petoni road,     Labourer. 
Cameron, John jun.,   Petoni road,     Labourer. 
Cameron, Angus,       Petoni road,     Labourer. 
Cameron  Charles,     Petoni road,     Labourer. 
Cameron, Duncan,      Petoni road,     Labourer.


1847
Allan       kiawarra rd    cowkeeper
Donald      kiawarra       labourer
Donald jnr. lamberton quay shoemaker
Charles     kiawarra rd    labourer

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