Lily (Willis) Barrowman (1888 - 1983)

Ancestors Descendants

Biography

Hawera and Normanby Star 18.2.1914 MARRIAGE BARROWMAN-WILLIS at the rsidence of Mr. S.Thrush, Inaha, by the Rev. R.B.Speirs, A.J.Barrowman of Hokitika to Lily, daughter of Mr. R.Willis of Kouhratahi.

Lily was born in Taranaki on the 20th October, 1888. Her parents were Robert Willis and Alice Chapman. The Willis family first arrived in Kapuni, Wimate Plains district, as the land was beginning to be cleared for farming. All around them unfelled bush stood as far as the eye could see, thick with supplejack and bush lawyer, ferns and smooth green moss covered the ground. Like others in the area, their first home was a two-roomed cottage of pit-sawn slabs of timber with a shingle roof. A lean-to kitchen was built against the back wall with a timber chimney to carry away the smoke of the open fire over which they cooked. A fire in the wooden chimney of their kitchen destroyed their first home when Lily was a baby. Alice was in the yard outside, bathing Lily at the time, she quickly pushed the baby into three-year-old Louise’s arms and rushed into the house to save what she could.

A cleared fence line on the Waimate Plains. M.176 Puke Ariki

Lily started school at Kapuni in 1894. Later that year, the family moved to their new farm at Rowan. On the 24th of April 1897 Lily was readmitted to Rowan School from Riverlea School, away from home because the Willis girls often filled in where a neighborhood family needed an extra hand. A nine-year-old could be a big help watching young children for a woman with a new baby. Lily passed Standard 2 at Rowan in 1898 and was lucky enough to stay on at Rowan School until she passed Standard 6 (year 8).

In 1898 the Rowan branch of the Kaponga Dairy Company was opened almost across the road from the Willis farm, first operating as a creamery and later upgraded to a cheese factory. The Willis girls were more fortunate than many farm children, they did not have far to go to school and did not have far to take their milk to the dairy factory, and because they were supplying a cheese factory, they did not have to separate the cream from the milk themselves, that was done at the factory.

The Willis children went to Sunday School, Methodists one Sunday and Presbyterians the next. Dances and card evenings were held regularly. As her sister Louise said “although we were poor and didn’t have very much, we had a lot of fun. Lil and I really did, we had it in us….to have a lot of fun and trouble nothing about anybody else.” Lily and Louise were slim and healthy ‘they called us the two bean poles’. Rowan School doubled as the community center, Rowan Hall, diagonally across the intersection from Rowan School, was not built until 1912-14. In almost every district, the hall was the centre of community life. A few months after Louise and Sylver Thrush were married, Sylver sent Lily a post card photograph of the Kaponga football team with the message “My dear sister I am sending you this card as I know how very fond you are of boys and I hope they will be enough to last you for a day or two. Well Lily, Louie and I are quite well and happy. We are going to Stratford on Christmas Eve and to Eltham on Boxing Day. I now wish you a merry Xmas and a happy new year so good-bye and be a real good girl. We are having a dry season here S.T.”

Lily and Louise would travel as far afield as they dared to enjoy a social gathering. Louise told a story “We only had one pony to ride to the dance…..and we were wondering how we were going to get a lift. There’s one man used to leave his horse on the road. (Grazing the long paddock.) Wasn’t even tied up or anything, just stayed on the road…anyway Lil said that we could just cover the back of this horse, just catch it and get on. That’s what we did. It had a cover on. We didn’t understand that the cover had to be pressed in at the bottom before it was fastened in. When the man came to get his horse he found the cover hadn’t been properly put on and he accused Lil. Of course Lil couldn’t deny it. Then he said to her ‘you’d better buy it’. At that time Lil was working across the roam where the woman was ill. She went over there and I milked all the cows for a week or two (so) she could earn some money. She had ₤5 so she said (to the man) I’ll give you ₤5 for it. We had a horse each then, it was much handier. The two of us could go out. We called it Jim.” Jim was a contrary horse. “It would be coming home from Kaponga perhaps, stop and nothing you could do would make it move. We used to lift up one of its feet and look, pretending to find a stone or something. No, you couldn’t get that blooming brute to go. Then, all at once it would go. All at once it would go as usual. Ever heard of a horse like that?”

When their brother Jack came back from Australia in 1908 he returned to work on their Uncle John’s farm at Kapuni. Lil went down to keep house for Jack, leaving Louise “to do all the blooming work in the home. I didn’t mind it in a way, so long as she was earning a bit of money. It was very awkward to live without money….Lily certainly appears to have become close to the Schweiters family in Inglewood and may have helped out at various times. A card in June 1909 to Lily - “Received your post card yesterday and was very glad to hear from you. You musn’t put off your visit to Inglewood too long. There is nothing to talk about up this way so I’ll ring off with best love from yours as ever E.E.Schweiters.” At that time Lily had been staying at Deerham Road Maketawa (in Inglewood County) In March 1910, “Aunty” from Caulfield Street in Inglewood wrote to Lily saying “I suppose you are very busy at the farm since your return.” The family connection with the Schweiters was through several generations on both sides. From one of Lily’s post cards “Dear Miss Willis, just to let you know the event is safely over and we are the parents of a fine fat boy. I hope you are coming this way soon; we want to see our girl again. Yours truly A.V.Schweiters”. (Alexander Victor and Isabella Schweiters farmed in Inglewood). In 1910 Lily’s brother Jack married Beattie Schweiters in Inglewood. Four years later another brother, Bob married Beattie’s cousin, Bertha Jukes. Bob was bush felling in Whangamomona when Lily was keeping house for her Uncle and Aunt at Skeet Road. She sent Bob a card “Dear Bob, hope you reached Whanga. Am waiting for a letter from you. Jack is going to hunt today and Maude and I are going to Birchall’s wedding. You also had an invitation; don’t you wish you were here? Did Winnie tell you when she was coming to town? Auntie sends her love. She has been chasing me with an onion ever since you left to make me cry. Good-bye and write soon. Lil.” Early in 1909 Lily took her turn housekeeping and bush felling at Kohuratahi. A year later she was back at Skeet Road and then, by August 1910 was in Western Australia at Kanowna.

Lily, 4th from left, out with the guns on Ladies’ Day

By August 1912, Lilly was engaged to be married. In Kalgoorlie, Lilly met her future husband Alec Barrowman. Alec was a New Zealander who had moved to Australia with his family. Most of his time in Western Australia was spent in the goldfields of Kalgourlie, Coogardie and Kanowna. Alec played the bagpipes.

Mary wrote to her “25th August 1912 My dearest sister Lil, A few lines in answer to your letter card. I was pleased to hear from you again. Lil dear you will have to get your ring photographed so I can see it. I am sure it is a bonza. Oh Lil, if you get married I will be able to come over at the end of the season for I am sure that they will let me aren’t you? Yes, fancy Al having another and a girl too. I guess she was glad I didn’t go over with you eh Lil. I went with Sylver and Lou to a euchre party at Mahoe and it was just lovely. I did enjoy it. But we will have a good time when I go over to you though, won’t we just? Good bye, heaps of love from Mary.” On the 19th of November 1912, Lilly was registered on the Electoral Roll at Mt.Leonora, Coolgardie.

Kalgoorlie 1900

Lilly and Alec traveled back to New Zealand on the same boat. Lil went to live with her sister Louise and Sylver Thrush in Inaha, while Alec picked up work in Taranaki until they were married a year later.

Alexander Barrowman & Lily Willis wedding

Louise enjoyed giving Lily her wedding at their home. In those days of country weddings and horse transport, it was easier for all concerned for family and friends to gather at a private home where the couple were married and a reception held afterwards. It was not always easy to gather the family together. Lily’s sister Margaret couldn’t come down from Lowgarth (near Mangatoki) because her second son Wilfred was barely two weeks old and to complicate matters, her mother-in-law Sarah (Mills) Wright had just died. Lily’s other sisters Alice and May were also absent, too busy milking to spare more than Mary from the milking shed. “We were working (at Alton) and it took them all their time to let me away because we were hand-milking 80 cows – four of us (Alice, Joe Wytkin and Ted Black)

Lily under the appletree

Lily and Alec Barrowman went to to live in Hokitika where Alec got a job working at his blacksmithing trade in Davidson’s foundry. They were there several years and a few years in Cobden at Greymouth before moving to Ruatapu, on the railway line 12 km south of Hokitika on the West Coast.

When their daughter Jean married Cam Wilson, Jean and Cam lived next door to Lil and Alec in Ruatapu. Jean’s eldest son Don has vivid memories of growing up on the West Coast.

Burial

Date: 17 APR 2001

Place: Hokitika Cemetery

Note: (ashes) block 259 plot 5734

Sources

Hawera and Normanby Star 18.2.1914

MARRIAGE

BARROWMAN-WILLIS at the rsidence of Mr. S.Thrush, Inaha, by the Rev. R.B.Speirs, A.J.Barrowman of Hokitika to Lily, daughter of Mr. R.Willis of Kouhratahi.