Title: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]

Author: Cyclopedia Company Limited

Publication details: The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1905, Christchurch

Part of: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence

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Cockburn, Alexander , Farmer, “Kanadale,” Mataura. Mr Cockburn's property consists of 160 acres of freehold, and he owns also eighty-four acres on the hill near by. His crossbred Jersey cattle produce splendid milk, and the separator and churn are worked by water power. Mr Cockburn bought his first separator at the Dunedin Exhibition of 1889, and has continuously used this method in dairy work. He was born at Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1833. On leaving school in 1848, he went to sea, out of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and after five years worked his passage to Melbourne. He had ten years' experience on Australian goldfields, and worked at Ballarat, Bendigo, and other fields. In 1863, he arrived at Dunstan, Otago, and shortly afterwards removed with Mr Wilkinson to Invercargill, and built the British Hotel, which Mr Wilkinson conducted. In 1865, Mr Cockburn went to the West Coast, whence he returned in two years. He first went to Mataura in 1867, but almost at once went to Victoria for a year. On returning, he page 1094 bought land at Mataura, and after being about four years in Invercargill, he settled on his property. The farm has been fully improved, and a substantial twelve-roomed stone and brick house has been erected, together with outbuildings. Mr Cockburn was married, in 1867, to a daughter of the late Mr James Gray, of Invercargill, and has eight sons and four daughters.