Honora and John Pugh

At the Waimate North Cemetery here in Kerikeri I found one of the many old graves holding the remains of alot of the first settlers. This one belongs to both Honora (Dillon) and John Pugh, together they had 10 children -  she died in 1870 and he died in 1899 and this is what I have below:

At Waimate Mr John Pugh, a very old resident in the Bay of Islands died somewhat suddenly. He was 88 years old and a native of Ireland but left that country for New Brunswick in 1819 before coming to New Zealand in 1838 where he lived at Kororareka (Russell) until the war in 1845. He then left for Sydney, Australia with his family but returned to the far north in 1846. In 1850 he moved to Waimate North where he has resided ever since. His first object since returning was to help the late John Beddgood to build a flourmill at which wheat was ground in the early days and sold to American whalers in the form of biscuits. Unfortunately the old mill has been idle for many many years. Mr Pugh's funeral calls attention to old times recalling the fact that the church at Waimate, a fine building, built of wood, has on a shelf a vestry register which dates from early in the century containing the entry of the first European marriage celebrated in the country as well as the baptisms of those who are now old men and women. 

- From the Otago Daily Times 2 May 1899

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