Reprinted from “The Gisborne Times,” October, 1926

The birthplace of the late Sir Jas. Carroll, who was born at Wairoa, H.B., in August, 1857, is still marked by a vigorous cabbage tree (which has been enclosed by a tence) on the northern bank of the river near where his parents lived at Awatere, and for many years the spot has been one of special interest to visitors. His father was Mr. Joseph Carroll, who was born in Sydney in 1814, went to the Bay of Islands in 1841, and eventually settled at Wairoa in 1842. Of Irish extraction on his father's side, Sir James held the belief that Chas. Carroll, who was one of the signatories to the American Charter of Independence, came from the same family stock, which, in the 15th century, was headed by none other than the famous King O'Carroll. His mother was descended from a noted East Coast tribe, the line running back through Tapuke, Turiparira, Kopua, Te Patuwhakarawe, Whenua, Tapuae, Huhuti, Rangitaumaha, to Taraia.