Individual Notes
Note for: Francis Albert Ashby, 1897 - 14 OCT 1918
Index
Burial: Date: 17 OCT 1918
Place: Karori Cemetery
Individual Note: 1st Name from Karori Cemetery Headstone
2nd name from Karori Burial Records
*Birth Details Date: 1897, Folio No: 2819, Area: Wellington, September quarter*
*Death Details Date: 1918, Folio No: 3875, Area: Wellington, December quarter*
Karori Cemetery Burial Record shows Ashby Francis Albert, Date Buried: 17/10/1918, Aged: 21, Address: 29 Arthur Street, Occ: Bootmaker, Minister: Rev Father O'Connor, Funeral Director: R H Wilson, Plot: 65 V R
The Evening Post 15th October 1918 shows
Ashby - On the 14th October, 1918, at No 29, Arthur Street, Francis Albert Ashby; beloved son of Mr and Mrs J. Ashby; aged 21 years
Karori Headstone shows
In loving memory of Francis Ashby died 14 October 1918 aged 21 years. R.I.P
'Beneath this stone in soft repose, Is laid a mother's dearest pride, A flower that scarce had waked to life and light and beauty ere it died'
Louisa Mary Ashby mother of the above died 8 May 1929 aged 74
'Oh blessed Virgin Mary may for your prayers extol, Oh Scared heart of Jesus have mercy on her soul'
In loving memory of Lilian Inglis 15 Jul 1891 - 16 Oct 1979 loved mother of Frances & William.
In loving memory of Olive Palmer beloved wife of Roy, mother of Stan died 30 October 1982
'Always lovingly remembered, may she have peace at last'
Individual Notes
Note for: Ngaire Helen Collins, 1931 - 13 MAY 1995
Index
Burial: Date: 17 MAY 1995
Place: Waipukurau Cemetery
Individual Note: Full Name from Marriage Folio
*Birth Details Date: 1931, Folio No: 5034, Area: Dunedin, September quarter*
*Marriage Details Date: 1955, Folio No: 9224*
Central Hawkes Bay Cemetery records show Ngaire Helen Ash, Date Deceased: 13/5/1995, Interment Date: 17/5/1995, Aged: 63, Address: 1 Holyrood Terrace, Waipukurau, Occ: Widow, Years Local: 5, Cemetery: Waipukurau, Plot: 82, Block: Lawn 3, Grave, Denomination: Anglican, Funeral Director: CHB? Funeral Services Ltd
Individual Notes
Note for: John Graham Known As Jack Miller, 16 JUL 1879 - 20 FEB 1961
Index
Burial: Date: 22 FEB 1961
Place: Archer Street, Q E Park, Masterton Cemetery
Individual Note: 2 birthdays as unsure which was correct? 16 or 26 July 1879
Birth Certificate shows date as 16/7/1879, 10h 45m.am Muthill, Sex: M, Father: Alexander Miller, Grocers Salesman; Mother: Catherine A. Miller nee McIntyre, Parents married: 1/6/1877, Where married: Perth
1881 Census shows Census Place: Muthill, Perth, Scotland, Highlands, John G Miller, Son, Aged: 1, Occ: None Listed, Birthplace: Muthill, Perth, Scotland, Dwelling: Willoughby Street
1891 Census shows Civil Parish of Muthill, School Board District of Muthill, Parliamentary Division of West Perthshire, Village of Muthill. John G Miller, Son, Unmarried, Aged: 11, Occ: Scholar, Birthplace: Muthill, Dwelling: Willoughby Street, Rooms with one or more windows: 3
Jessie McIntyre arrived with 8 children on the "Rakaia". All of them were her nieces and nephews. It departed 27/3/1901 from London and arrived Wellington 29/5/1901,
Names as on Passenger List,
McIntyre, Miss Jessie, Housekeeper, 45
Miller, Miss E H, Teacher, 22
Miller, Mr J G, Grocer, 21
Miller, Mr Alex, Grocer, 19
Miller, Mr William, Grocer, 18
Miller, Miss Christina, Student, 14
Miller, Master Tom, Student, 11
Miller, Miss C, Student, 9
Miller, Miss E, Student, 5
Gwenyth Stewart nee Miller said her family came from Perth, Crieff, Scotland. Her father John Miller (3rd name on above list) came from the Village Muthill
1902 Masterton Supplementary Roll shows Miller John Graham, Bannister Street, Masterton, Driver
*Marriage Details Date: 1908, Folio No: 2846*
Date of Marriage from Gwenyth Graham Miller and Douglas Robert Miller Birth Certificates as 20 April 1908 in Wanganui
Marriage Certificate States: No 28, 1908 (no date), S. Laurence Church, Aramoho (Wanganui); John Graham Miller, Aged: 28, Occ: Fish Culturist, Bachelor, Birthplace: Muthill Scotland, Residence: Present: Aramoho, Usual: Masterton, Father: Alexander Miller, Grocer, Mother: Catherine Ann Miller nee McIntyre; Elizabeth Anna Gichard, Aged: 30, Occ: Blank, Spinster, Birthplace: Feilding, NZ, Residence: Present: Aramoho, Usual: Aramoho, Father: William Gichard, Plumber, Mother: Hannah Gichard nee Best
Witnesses A?ch? Glen Baker, Masterton; Emma Gichard, Aramoho
1910 Wises shows Miller John Graham, custodian fish hatcheries, Masterton
1911 Masterton Roll shows Miller John Graham, Chapel Street, Masterton, Curator Fish Ponds
1914 Masterton Roll shows Miller John Graham, Pownall Street, Masterton, Curator Fish Ponds
1928 Stones shows Miller John Graham, Curator Masterton Trout Hatchery, Pownall Street, Masterton
The Dominion 17th October 1936 shows
Trout by the Million
How New Zealand Streams are Restocked
Work of the Masterton Hatchery
By C. W. McMillan
The trout-fishing season opened on October 1, and until April 30 the rivers and streams in the various parts of New Zealand will be the happy rendezvous of numbers of anglers - men, women, and even children. And as angling is a sport, those who fish the rivers should always bear in mind that there are certain regulations governing the sport which acclimatisation societies did not draft for mere fun. In this popular pastime there is no referee to blow the whistle for off-side, or to penalise for hitting below the belt, no umpire to signal a no-ball or a foot-fault. There are, however, rangers, but they cannot be expected to watch each move of the player. So, therefore, to a large extent the angler in his own referee. His business is to know the rules, obey them, and enjoy himself. In other words: Be an angler. The angler will pay his licence fee first of all, resist the temptation of taking more then twelve trout in a day, throw back into the water any trout that does not exceed ten inches in length (in some streams the length specified is reduced by an inch), use the correct baits, and refrain from employing any unsportsmanlike device for taking fish. There are other rules, as well which the angler will find neatly printed on the back of his license form. The purpose of this article, however, is not to tell anglers what they may or may not do - they are expected to know that themselves. Rather it is to draw attention to the great work the Wellington Acclimatisation Society is performing at its hatchery in Pownall Street, Masterton. It is work which, one might say, goes on quietly but thoroughly, behind the scenes, yet without it anglers would not be able to enjoy this wonderful sport. Strangely enough there are hundreds of anglers who know little of the business preliminary to the catching of trout. Indeed, even in Masterton itself, there are some people who do not know where the hatchery is located, or the nature of the work done there.
Is there any owner of a bowl of gold-fish of the same size and colour who can distinguish one from the other. Perhaps there is, even though the task is harder than it sounds, but there is a man in Masterton, the curator of the Wellington Acclimatisation Society's hatchery, Mr J. G. Miller, who can pick out one tiny fry by its habits and characteristics from a whole million climbing all over one another in their long, narrow wooden baths. It sounds incredible, he told his interviewer, but after all when one has been watching fry frisking about for 34 years, one must get to know their little ways intimately.
To most people a fry is just a fry, but to the curator of the hatchery it is the study of a life-time, and these little fellows require a great deal of care and attention. Unlike the imposing-looking gold-fish, the fry is not satisfied with a change of water once a week or a month. He is far more particular, and a stream of fresh spring water has to be kept running into his bath for a whole 24 hours a day, a little fad that absorbs half a million gallons daily, or about 182,000,000 gallons a year. And the fry at the hatchery would frown upon the ordinary morsels picked up from the ocean bed, but four times a day he will eat finely-ground liver and mincemeat, while as a dessert he is not averse to a bowl of red substance which many housewives would call junket; it is only right that the fry should be cared for in this manner, because when all is said and done the fry of today is the trout of tomorrow.
Fry generally can be graded into two classes - the fit and the unfit. Rainbow fry are the easier ones to rear, and only about one per cent, fail to survive. But the brown fry is a delicate creature, the mortality rate being between five and ten per cent. As Mr. Miller was explaining this part his trained eye fixed on a couple of weaklings which could not hold their own in the merry helter-skelter of the others. "See those," he said, "they might live, but they's be no good to anybody," and unceremoniously they were whisked out of the long bath into the gutter. They were a couple of rising trout which fisherman would sooner not be bothered with.
Thousands of small eggs, which come from Otago and Taupo, are placed in boxes at the hatchery, and strangely enough it is fairly easy to distinguish the fertile from the infertile. That can not be done just by gazing at the heap of eggs, but the curator has a glass tube, for all the world like a thermometer, and he'll poke a handful of eggs into it, and the result is that when one looks at the eggs through the glass one can see a little black speck, signifying that the egg is fertile. It takes 17 or 18 days after the egg is taken from the fish to see that speck, and in about 33 days the young fish (alevin is the technical name) is hatched out, At that stage the alevin less resembles a fish than a chicken resembles a rooster, because all the lay eye can see is a little ball of blubber in which the alevin lives for practically a month. When he loses that he begins to look something like a fish, but it is a very gradual process.
Although fish prefer good cold water to hot incubators, nevertheless the hatchery business in other respects is similar to the process the chickens go through, and just as there is often a freak chicken in a hatching, so it is with the fish, but naturally in the early stages only the expert eye can detect the differences. Mr. Miller was quick to detect one when he was looking at the alevin. "See that?" and he held up a ball of blubber for his interviewer to inspect, "these are Siamese twins. We don't get them very often, but occasionally they crop up. They wouldn't live, anyway." And the Siamese twins no longer swam with their hundreds of thousands of companions.
When the young fish has lived about a month he can be called a fry, and it is only a question of waiting for conditions to be right before he is ready to be released in his huge new world - the rivers. But it is there his real troubles begin, for in the rivers the law is survival of the fittest, and the little fellow often has to swim fast to keep away from his cannibalistic neighbours. Naturally there are big losses in this direction. If there were not, acclimatisation societies would not require so many hatcheries. But, the fish might consider, is all this running away from unfriendly neighbours worth the trouble, because when it is a fully-fledged trout in a couple of years time it will probably dangle from the rod of a proud fisherman.
Who came first, the chicken or the egg? is a riddle one might ask of fish also, and the answer might leave the same doubts in the mind, but it will interest some people to know that the fish, from which ova for the hatchery is obtained, does not lay its eggs in the same way as a hen. Instead, the eggs, or ova to use the correct term, are squeezed out of it by a gentle pressure of the hand, and fertilised by the milt from the male fish. Those eggs have the softness of glue, but after a time they harden, and subsequently they are washed and measured out by acclimatisation officers.
And while on the subject of measuring it is worth while to explain that it is not necessary to count each individual egg to ascertain the number of prospective fry. That would be too tall an order even for the most enthusiastic. No, there is a simpler way. The eggs are weighed, and 4000 brown trout eggs, or 5000 of the rainbow variety, go to the pint.
It is May and June that the fish go up rivers to spawn, and curiously enough they always travel at night. The male fish are the first to go and the female follow.
There is quite a romantic history surrounding the hatchery business in Masterton, and the curator remembers the time when breeding fish had to be kept there for the purpose of obtaining rainbow eggs which were not procurable elsewhere in New Zealand; those were the days when the hatchery supplied ova and fry throughout Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and west coast of the South Island. All that is now changed, because the Government hatcheries at Rotorua and Taupo fulfil many of the requirements of acclimatisation societies.
The first hatchery built in Masterton was in Dixon Street, on the site on which now stands the brewery. That was 60 years ago, when the Wairarapa Acclimatisation Society was composed of those great pioneers of anglers, Sir Walter Buchanan, William and Richard Beetham, A. J. Rutherford, Duncan McGregor, Harry and John Holmes, none of whom is living now. After a season at Dixon Street the hatchery was shifted to Chapel Street, on the Reynolds' property, opposite the convent, and it was at that time the Wairarapa society amalgamated with the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. In 1913 the lease on Chapel Street land expired and a search had to be made for another suitable home. And so it was that Mr. Miller inspected the Pownall Street property, which was then covered with gorse and briar, and recommended it to the society. There the hatchery was built, and there it stands today, probably the finest hatchery in New Zealand. The Masterton Trust Lands Trust leases the property to the society.
The first hatchery in Dixon Street was in charge of Mr. McDonald, a gamekeeper from the Old Country, who is now living in Auckland. Since then the late Mr. L. F. Ayson, chief inspector of fisheries at that time, Mr. De Latour, Mr. Ayson's son and Mr. Miller have held the position.
The Pownall Street land was once covered with briar and gorse, but the transformation has been remarkable. The swamp land has been drained, and neat grass plots have taken it place, and in addition to the main hatchery, which has turned out two million and a quarter fry in the biggest season, which was two years ago, there are a number of yearling ponds and scientific ponds. In these scientific ponds a lot of gambusia (Holbrooki), a fish used in the Panama Canal to combat the mosquito, have been bred, and shipped to the Cook Islands and Samoa, where they have done well. An interesting feature about these fish is that they have their young instead of laying eggs. The growth of fresh water mussels and golden carp is studied there also, and there is a spawning pond for New Zealand mud fish (Neochanna Apoda). Mr. W. J. Phillips, of the Dominion Museum, takes a great interest in these scientific ponds, and at regular intervals makes a study of their inhabitants. And so the rearing of fry is not the only important work carried out at the hatchery, which, incidentally, has liberated 18,000 yearling this year. The first lot of eggs hatched out in the Old Masterton hatchery was 10,000, and the first lot of fry liberated in the Wairarapa was a batch of 200 in the Waipoua, which used to be one of the finest spawning streams in the district. These eggs were brought from Christchurch by the late Mr. A. J. Rutherford, and handed over to Mr. Harry Bannister, who died a few months ago in Masterton. It was Mr. Bannister who liberated the first fry in Bannister's ford.
That opens up an interesting story. Two or three years after those fry were liberated the Maoris noticed a peculiar fish in the Waipoua River, and a Mr. Easthope, a keen English angler, took out his rod and earned the distinction of catching the first trout in the Wairarapa. About the middle of November the distribution of fry in the Wellington Acclimatisation Society's area will be complete and some idea of the work being accomplished at the hatchery can be gained from the following figures. A total of 115,000 brown fry are to go to Pahiatua, 75,000 to Eketahuna, 85,000 to Palmerston North, 12,000 to Tokomaru, 150,000 to Wairarapa North, 50,000 to Wairarapa South, 67,000 to the Hutt, 35,000 to Akatarawa, 23,000 to Mungaroa, 20,000 to Martin's River, 6000 to Little Wainui, 17,000 to Pukuratahi, 86,000 to Otaki and tributaries, and Waitahu, Waikawa and Mangaoni, 35,000 to Waikanae and tributaries, 80,000 to Taihape, 72,000 to Levin, 30,000 to Wainuiomata, 13,000 to Horokiwi, 13,000 to Pahautanui, and 6000 to Ohariu. Of the rainbow fry 25,000 are liberated at Feilding, 60,000 at Taihape, 40,000 at Mangaweka, 30,000 at Marton, 20,000 at Palmerston North, 5000 at Kororau, and 10,000 at Pahiatua.
Those figures, surely, should gladden the heart of the angler.
Like all phases of hatchery work, even the liberating of fry is not the simple business some people might imagine, for the fry cannot just be placed in an ordinary tin and thrown into the rivers. Special cans with perforated tops are used so that the fry can obtain oxygen which is as necessary for their well-being as it is for humans. The eggs, too, have to be placed in specially-made trays for the same reason. In the old days the eggs used to be hatched out in shingle beds, which, incidentally created a great deal of work, but the years have brought enlightenment. Acclimatisation society rangers and sub-committees perform the liberating, and it is a fact that very few fry are lost in transport.
There are not so many fish in the rivers as there were 30 years ago. That, however, is no fault of acclimatisation societies, but is due to deforestation, river scouring, the introduction of the starling, and other factors, all of which are potential killers of insect life and the diet of fish. Steps are being taken by Wairarapa anglers to bring back some of the former lustre of the Ruamahanga River, the principal trout-fishing rendezvous in the Wairarapa. These enthusiasts have built their own yearling pond at the hatchery - Dale's pond it is called - and they are stocking up the Ruamahanga with yearling.
As a sport angling has grown rapidly in New Zealand, and the curator of the hatchery, who remembers the time there were only 500 anglers holding licences from the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, is convinced that there are immense possibilities for the industry, which is a great attraction for the tourists. Improved means of transport, of course, have greatly helped, because it is now possible for angler to cover a wide radius in a short space of time, and recent legislation providing more leisure must result in the rivers being used more than formerly.
With such a huge family to care for it can be appreciated that a curator's job is not an easy one. Far from it, in fact, because after he has spent years learning the business, he has to apply his knowledge with a painstaking thoroughness to bring about the best results.
Article includes photos with the captions
*Death Details Date: 1961, Folio No: 359, Aged: 82, Area: Dannevirke*
Judith Anne Stewart went and investigated the property Records at Masterton archives in March 2003 and noted that John Graham Miller brought the house at 10 Totara St, Landsdown, Masterton on 22 October 1942 for 725.00 pounds (property ref no 42-43 1804-530). Before they brought the house they rented it for a few months
Probate Record shows Miller John Graham, Place: Masterton, Occ: Pisciculturist, Court: Masterton, Probate No: 30/61, Date Filed: 24/2/1961, Type: Will, Where: Masterton Court
Masterton Cemetery Records shows Name: Miller, John Graham, Record: 007795, Aged: 82, Cemetery: Archer Street, Q E Park, Plan II Row 32 Plot JGM, Date of Death: 20/2/1961, Date of Burial: 22/2/1961
Death Notice
Miller - On February 20, 1961, at Dannevirke, John Graham, Dearly loved husband of the late Elizabeth Anne Miller (late of Totara St., Masterton), and loved father of Gwen (Mrs. Stewart, Dannevirke), and Doug, (Ohakea): in his 82nd year. Friends are advised that the Funeral will leave St. Matthew's Church, Masterton, Today (Wednesday), February 22, 1961, at the conclusion of a Service commencing at 1:30p.m. for interment at the Masterton Cemetery. Anderson and Son, Dannevirke.
Headstone Reads,
In Loving Memory of
Elizabeth Anna Miller Died Jan 1 1954 aged 76
John Graham Miller Died Feb 20 1961 aged 81
(A smaller stone as the base reads)
In memory of Douglas Robert Miller B.E.M
W O 70453 RNZAF
Born 22/10/1919
Died 23/12/1987
Erected by his children Graham Bruce & Maree
Memories from Gael Pye nee Stewart (Gael)
-
When John Graham Miller and his brothers lived in Muthill, Scotland, they used to slide down the hill in the main street when it snowed and was icy. This infuriated the matrons of Muthill and they put salt on the ice to stop them. All the village children used to skate on the lake at Drummond Castle.
He worked from a young age in a general store in Muthill. This store sold provisions, hardware and whiskey. It was his job to clean the shop windows.
This cleaning was done with bulk whiskey.
John and his siblings were orphaned when he was nineteen. His Aunt Jessie McIntyre brought the children to New Zealand by boat in 1901. John was 21.
The family settled in Masterton. John helped set up the Masterton fish hatchery which he then became curator of, with staff working for him.
He met and married Elisabeth Anna Gichard in 1908. Elisabeth came from Wanganui.
In 1912 their first child Gwenyth Graham Stewart (Gwen) was born.
Later in his role as curator he imported, and released, in the Tararuas, red deer. These were to be hunted and shot for sport and meat. Today these red deer have become pests throughout New Zealand ranges and in places are now heavily culled by shooting them from helicopters.
In 1942 John retired and bought a house at 10 Totara Street in Landsdown in Masterton. Here he developed a very big vegetable garden and orchard. Just before World War II he dug a bomb shelter near the house. This was always known as the "dugout". Gael, can remember this vividly as down in the dugout was always cold no matter what the outside temperature.
Then refrigerators were not common but butter, milk and cream kept as though in a refrigerator.
John used to complain about the price of whiskey in New Zealand he always said it was a man's own drink.
John and Elisabeth lived in this house in Totara Street until Elisabeth died in 1954. John continued to live at Totara Street until 1959 when he could no longer look after himself, even with the help of friends, John then moved to Dannevirke to live with Gwen and James Leonard Stewart (Jim), his eldest daughter and son-in-law.
John died in 1961 at the Dannevirke Hospital aged 81. He is buried in the Masterton Cemetery.