Walter Sowman (1878 - 1958)

Born 9 Jan 1878 in Nelson, New Zealand

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Brunell) Sowman — married 14 Dec 1904 in Nelson, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 12 Sep 1958 at age 80 in Nelson, New Zealand

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Biography

Walter Sowman (1878–1958), known as Wally or Wal, was apprenticed at an early age to the tannery trade at Blick’s Tannery in Brook Street. He did not stay long but, after buying a horse and dog, went to Marlborough with his cousin Arthur (“the Corporal”), mustering and shearing on some of the then big sheep stations.

With the advent of war in South Africa, Walter and “the Corporal” enlisted and went overseas with the Eighth Contingent, South Island Regiment (Mounted) F. Squadron. They sailed from Lyttelton on the s.s. CORNWALL on 8 February 1902, arriving at Durban on 19 March, four and a half weeks later. Based near Klerksdorp (Western Transvaal), Walter trained his war horse to obey by command and was very upset when later it had to be destroyed. When the NZ Prime Minister, Richard Seddon, visited South Africa en route to England, Walter met the contingent in Klerksdorp on 21 May. Peace was signed on 31 May 1902. Walter returned from South Africa in July 1902 as a sergeant (No. 5739) and on discharge from the Army, became a stock buyer for Bisley Bros, and also on his own account.

Over his life Walter turned his hand to a variety of business ventures - Sheep farmer, butcher, publican, wood and coal merchant, cropping farmer and sheep drover.

At one stage Walter was a very wealth man, owning considerable property in the Stoke region. In spite of this, life was apparently not to his liking. He again allowed himself to be talked into taking another hotel. He subsequently purchased a bottling business in Nelson. This proved to be a disastrous decision and he lost most of his wealth.

Finally, in 1923–24, his love of the land led him to lease a 50-acre property at Ranzau on the Waimea Plain. He grew barley there and went on droving expeditions through the upper Wairau to Canterbury.

Just before the 1930s depression, Walter bought a small area of farmland on the Appleby straight and relocated a house there. He and Mary Ann lived out the evening of their lives there, until about 1956, when they sold that place and bought a house in Oxford Street in Richmond.^[1]

• Birth: Regd. 1878/1583 Sowman Walter, Mother: Janetta, Father: Richard
• Marriage: Regd. 1904/6145 Bride: Mary Ann Brunell, Groom: Walter Sowman
• Death: Regd. 1958/29431 Sowman Walter, Age: 80Y
• Burial: 13 Sep 1958 Nelson, New Zealand. Marsden Valley Cemetery, Block 03A, Plot 054, (Grave MV03A054 A)

Sources

1. ↑ Blue-eyed, Fair and Stocky A Sowman family history by Robert J Sowman and Peter E Sowman. First published in Oct 2008. Reprinted with corrections 2010, 2011. (ISBN 978-0-473-13932-2)

• Sowman family history by Robert Sowman (2000 - Unpublished)
• B.D.M. Historical Records Online [1]
• Nelson City Council Cemeteries Database [2]