John and Hannah Mosley, and family

1912

At about 1885 John & Hannah Mosley left County Durham to make a new life in NZ with their two boys, William and Lancelot. They had a very rough 5 month[week?] journey. Most of it the women & children spent below deck. John as a cabinet maker had work in Wellington but decided to go with friends he'd made on the journey. Hannah gave birth to twins (one died) on arrival in Greymouth. She was a very "strong" lady & made sure her large family were well educated and learnt a trade.

Area: Other / Unknown

Contributor: Helen Jones

Source: Entry in the 2016 Christchurch City Libraries Photo Hunt

Source: View in canterburystories.nz

Reference ID: CCL-PH16-063

Uploaded by: CCL Photo Hunt

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05 August 2021 by Malcolm Gollan

William Mosley, the oldest in the family was my great grandfather. If you are decendants of John and Hannah there is a Facebook group dedicated to preserving the family history. With so many children there are a lot of direct descendants, mostly still in NZ. Of interest is that John Nowley just came off night shift working in the Brunner Mine before the explosion on the 26th of March, 1896. He went in as a rescuer but was badly affected by the afterdamp gases and when brought out was presumed dead and placed in the makeshift morgue. It wasn't until someone saw his foot move that they realised he was still alive. His health was badly effected and he couldn't work for two years after. Brunner is still New Zealand's worst workplace disaster and is covered in Brian Woods very good book; Disaster at Brunner.