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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Old Colonists

Old Colonists.

Mr. George Glegg Gardner, sometime of Cust, was born at Deal, Kent, England, in 1845. As a lad he went to sea, and rose to the position of third mate. In this capacity he arrived at Lyttelton by the ship “Sebastopol” in 1863. On leaving his vessel Mr. Gardner took a position in the Customhouse at Lyttelton, where he remained for three years. He was married in March, 1866, to a daughter of the late Mr. James McKinley, of Hamilton, Scotland. Having acquired land at Cust, Mr. and Mrs Gardner encountered the great flood of 1868. and the timber for their house, then in transit, was washed out to sea from Kaiapoi. Besides farming between two and three hundred acres, which he reclaimed from the wilderness, Mr. Gardner built a flour mill in 1882. The farm (since increased to over 400 acres) and the mill are still worked by Mr. Gardner's sons. Mr. Gardner also took great interest in public affairs, and served on the Cust Road Board and other local bodies. He died on the 5th of February, 1885, leaving six sons and four daughters.

Mr. Alexander Garland, sometime of “Bankhead,” Cust, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1829. He was brought up to a country life, and landed at Lyttelton by the ship “Mystery,” in March, 1859. Having leased Mr. T. S. Duncan's farm and stock at Decanter Bay, Banks' Peninsula, he spent his first four years in New Zealand at that place, and made cheese. On removing to Heathcote, Mr. Garland bought a property, and also commenced carting, but continued that business only one year. In 1864 he settled on land which he had previously bought at Cust, where his property, which he called “Bank-head,” consisted of 275 acres of fertile land. Mr. Garland took great interest in the advancement of his district, served on the local school committee, and was prominent in connection with the erection of the Presbyterian church. His services as a judge were frequently in demand in connection with local shows. Shortly before leaving the Old Land, Mr. Garland was married to a daughter of the late Mr. J. Blackwood, farmer, of Barn Hill, Perthshire. On his death, in 1881, he left four sons and six daughters. Mrs. Garland still survives her husband.

Mr. Andrew Peebles, sometime of Cust Valley, Cust, was the son of the late Mr. Peter Peebles, of North Moeraki Downs. He was born in 1841, in Scotland, and came out to Lyttelton in 1862 by the ship “Queen of the Mersey.” Two years later he bought the first fifty acres of his property, which he owned up to the time of his death in 1898, when he had 255 acres. During his lifetime he saw his land brought into a high state of cultivation. Mr. Peebles was a member of the Presbyterian church, and was prominent as an office-bearer. He was married, in 1866, to a daughter of Mr. D. Robertson, of Arbroath, Scotland, and left one daughter. Mrs. Peebles came to the colony by the ship “Blue Jacket” in 1866.

The late Mr. A. Peebles.

The late Mr. A. Peebles.

Mr. John Ruddenklau, sometime of Cust, was born in Germany in 1834. After leaving school he went to London, and was in commercial occupations for over three years. He came to the Colony in 1856 in the ship “Joseph Fletcher” and took up his first section of fifty acres of land at Rangiora in 1858. Afterwards he purchased 200 acres of unimproved Crown lands in 1863, at the Cust, where he settled in the following year, and soon brought the land under cultivation, growing good grain crops. Mr. Ruddenklau threshed as much as sixty bushels of rye-grass to the acre, and sold it at six and seven shillings per bushel. He prospered well, and increased his possessions to 2170 acres. Mr. Ruddenklau took an active share in local affairs and was a member of the road board for some time, and also interested himself in school and church matters. He was married in 1859 to Miss Watt, and had four sons and two daughters. The sons are all followers of their late father's occupation.

The late Mr. J. Ruddenklau.

The late Mr. J. Ruddenklau.