Michael Galvan

The Royal Hotel was built and run by Joseph Graham in the late 1850's. It was one of three hotels operating in the early days of European settlement in Raglan: The Royal Hotel (1850's ) Harbour View Hotel (1866) and Fuller's which opened to serve the extra trade brought by the Militia during the Waikato Land Wars of the 1860's. The Royal Hotel first burnt down about 1900 and a second was built. This too burnt down in 1930 and was not replaced.

Te Mata Catholic Church where Michael is buried

Michael Galvan is my paternal great grandfather. He was born on the 4th August 1864 in Raglan. He was the first child of Richard and Catherine to be born in New Zealand to a large large catholic family of nine children.  The Galvan homestead was built by his parents Richard and Catherine soon after their arrival in 1864 and still stands to this day overlooking the estuary at 17 Cliff Street in Raglan.

Michael Galvan was a colorful character and I have enjoyed bringing him to life thanks to books (Te Mata Te Hutewai), newspaper articles and information I have found online. Thanks to R T Vernon, who dedicated his life to capturing the history of the area, I have been able to patch pieces the Galvan families history to the region, together.

Mick was a farmer and a drover and a successful business man and land owner who grew up in Raglan but eventually settled in Te Mata. He spoke fluent Te Reo and was well networked within the area with local iwi. He fathered four children, was married and then divorced and partnered with Pane Tamati a full blooded Maori in his mature years. All of his children were illigitimate, one, Susannah was a love child. This is his facinating story.

Mick as he was known was a well known farmer and dealer around the Raglan, and Kawhia Districts during the early years of the 20th century. He farmed his own land, but also leased 600 acres of land at Takapanui from the Maori's to farm sheep. Mick was known to buy and sell stock throughout the district. He brought large mobs of cattle in Kawhia and Oparau districts and drove them through Te Mata to Ohaupo, where the main sale yards of the time were situated. He used to swim them across the Kawhia harbour at low tide when there was little water or no current. Mick got the local Maori's to form a corridor with their canoes for the cattle to swim between, and with plenty of dogs and men on horseback, the cattle usually arrived at the other side in good order.

Mick built up a flourishing business in spite of the fact that he had never learned to read or write. When be bought stock from a farmer he would pass his cheque book and ask the seller to fill in the necessary details. Mick would then scrawl his signature, which was one thing he had learnt to do.

Mick also had several buyers working for him: Bobbie Nicholson, Ted Jerome and William Tamati were three well known ones. Mick would give them signed cheque books, so that when they bought stock they would fill in the name, date and amount. The deal was thus sealed and the stock driven away. In his young days, Mick was a colorful character. He was a well-knonw horse dealer, and used to buy hundreds of horses in the Raglan and Kawhia districts and drive them through to Ohaupo.

Below is the valley where Mick farmed in Maungatawhiri Road. It is a magical spot. Photo was taken in 2019 by myself when I was taken there by Tim Brown. It was breathtakingly beautiful and I cannot believe that all of my travels to Raglan, I never new of the strong historical connection my bloodline has to Raglan and Te Mata or how prominent my family history is in the region. 

In the early 1920's Mick gave up dealing and settled down to farming buying a block of land off William Wallace and building a small cottage for himself on it. Eventually the land he owned on Maungatawhiri Road was sold and he bought a farm in the Makomako Valley and worked on it until he died in 1939. 

Love child

Michael had a brief liaison with local girl Amy Viggers Billington and they had a child Susannah when Michael was 34 years of age. There is a newspaper article showing Amy Billington suing Michael for child support in 1898 and he was ordered to pay 6 shillings per week.  

Amy was the daughter of Richard and Martha Billington who arrived into New Zealand around 1876 and took up land in Te Mata. She was born on 28th October 1878 in Raglan. The family were orchardists and farmers. Amy was one of 10 children. She gave birth to a little Susannah on 28th March 1898 at just 20 years old. Amy eventually married local man John Chester and they migrated to live in Canada taking Susannah with them. 

Amy passed away on 22 June 1954 in St Paul Alberta, Canada aged 75. Susannah, who was Con's half sister by blood, and therefore my great aunt, lived to the age of 99 and is also buried in Alberta Canada. She married Avery Wallace and they had four children - Richard, Bernice, Berny and Dealia - these were Michael's grandchildren. There is a large extended family that stems from Michael Galvan now living in Canada. 

I have recently had contact with one of Susannah's grandchildren Bob Wheeler via Ancestry and he intends to visit New Zealand soon. I look forward to finding out more about my great aunt Susannah and her family. He did write "I can say that Susannah’s mother later married Jack Chester, they had 2 more girls, then headed to Canada via Australia in ~1905. In Canada, they had a number of other children. My grandmother, Susannah was a very humble woman who never learned to read or write, and who loved her family dearly."

In the Police Gazette of 1883 there is a note that Michael's dwelling on the Piako Swamp was subject to theft and that two Maori's were suspects. Michael was a relatively young man at this point and I wonder what his dwelling on the swamp would have been like - probably a very simply structure. Michael would have been just 19 years of age. Around this time, men were employed to drain the area and build a road from Taupiri.

The 1876 sale of the vast Piako Swamp by the Government to a group of wealthy Auckland-based land speculators created arguments and ill-feeling throughout the country. The 32,000 hectares (about 80,000 acres) of peat swamp and wetlands had been bought by a group of investors headed by retired Captain William Steele for half the advertised five shillings an acre, with the undertaking that the balance would be spent on draining the extensive area and building a road from Taupiri to the east side of the swamp. These were unimaginably vast and expensive undertakings, when the only means available were men with shovels and horses. Much of the boggy land was covered in tall manuka or flax, with stands of ancient and huge kahikatea and rimu forests. It was inhabited by huge flocks of ducks, pukeko and other wetland wildlife. In places, men and horses were in danger of sinking out of sight. Draining the area must have been a daunting and seemingly neverending task for those employed to do the work. It was so wet underfoot that they could not even set up work camps, but lived in tents a few miles away, where they could at least dry out at the end of each day and find dry firewood to cook with. It was intensely physical work and proved too demanding for many who took it on.

Marriage and divorce

Michael Galvan later married Lilian May Curtis in 1903 but he filed for divorce on 16th March 1917. Other than a few media findings and a marriage certificate I do not know much of their time together. However news articles paint a picture of what life was like living in rural New Zealand in the early 1900's. I believe Lilian was a bar tender or waitress and she did move away from Raglan.

1917 newspaper clippings confirm the divorce of Lilian and Michael.

The above article confirms a little of what life was like reliant on horse transportation stating an accident of Mrs Michael Galvan while riding. A facine is a bundle of brushwood used to strengthen the side of a stream.

Below - it appears Michael and Lilian were both thrown violently from their "trap" after visiting his brother Richard at Cliff Street.

A trap is a two wheel carriage pictured below. Imagine being thrown out of one as Michael and Lilian were as indicated in the above article (at the bottom) written on 8th February 1905.

On 14th July 1902, an article confirms that Michael, aged 38 years, joined the community at a Fancy Dress Ball to celebrate the Coronation. Is read's that he dressed as a drover.

Partnership and children

It as documented in Te Mata Te Hutewai that Michael married Polly (Pare) Tamati of Ohiopopoko, however I am unable to trace a marriage certificate.  William Tamati was one of the maori men who worked for Michael so this could be Pare's relative.  In late 2020 I discovered Pare had born six more children after leaving Michael. This is another separate chapter of current research.

Pare was a full blooded Maori. Mick and she had three children (recorded as sons) together, two of which died in infancy. The surviving son Constant is my paternal grandfather.  Michael does refer to Con in his will as his illigitimate son, so I would assume that he and Polly were unmarried. He and Polly eventually separated. Her last address was known as Frankton in Hamilton. Michael was 62 years old when time Constant was born.

Not one of our family ever new of the other two children or of Pare until I began this research project. It wasnt until reading Te Mata Te Hutewai and it mentioned three children that I began searching. I traced one of the children they had - a little boy named Whaka. 

Whaka Galvan was born 2 years after Con in 1826 and died at just two years of age. I am glad to put wee Whaka in his rightful place on our family tree as he had been all but forgotten until now. According to writings, Michael and Polly had another son who also died in infancy however I cannot find any documented trace of this child. Con was therefore their only surviving child. He would never have know of his half sister or at least he never spoke of Susannah.

Whaka Galvan's death certificate states he died of Gastroenteritis and Cardiac Failure. He passed away on 24th May 1928 and the coroners certificate was not written until 30th June 1928. 

Parting Ways

A letter written to Sue Brown by Maud Brown who was Michael's niece tells more of Michael and Pane's relationship and I was sad to hear they parted ways. It reads;

 “Uncle Mick and Aunty Dolly – very lovely, she was so dainty and loved him dearly. I remember always were so friendly with my mother and dad and to us all. Later years, aunty and uncle parted. We missed her really. She was good to him but that was their own affairs and she went to Canada I think. Was in a motor accident I remember and I am sure it ended her happy days and she passed away I think".

Last will and testament

Michael left his estate to his only surviving child, my grandfather Constant Galvan. 

Because Constant was still a teenager when Michael died (14 years old), the estate was left in the trust of Joseph Brown (Michael's nephew) and William Vernon (a prominent family name in the Raglan area). In the event that Constant did not make his 21st birthday, the estate would be awarded to Michael's niece Maud Brown (daughter of Michael's younger sister Esther). Maud never married and is buried close to Michael at the Te Mata Catholic Church cemetery.

I believe the land associated with the Will was in the Makomako Valley as this was Michael's farm when he passed away and is also listed as Con's address when he enlisted.

The above appoints his nephew Joseph Brown and William Vernon as executors.

Above, no.4, it states that Michael appoints his trustees guardian of Constant Galvan during his minority and in the event of Constant dying before his 21st birthday, that the estate would go to his niece Maud Brown.

Resting place 

Michael was the second person to be buried at the Te Mata Catholic Church cemetery in 1939. He rests with his nephew Joseph Brown and niece Maud Brown close by. I have since placed a plant pot on Michael's grave. It was the most emotional day when I located Tim Brown (Michael's great nephew) and he took me to this beautiful place of significance upon the hill overlooking Te Mata village. Tim Brown cares for the cemetery and church to this day. He has been mowing the lawns since he was 14 years old.

  

Michael Galvan 1864 - 1939

To my great grandfather Mick

What I would give to share a day in your company. You will never be forgotten. Rest in love.

On the 24th November 2019, my sister Kelly and I together with two of Michael's surviving Moko's my uncle David Galvan (with his son my cousin David Jnr) and my aunty June (with her two sons my cousins Michael and Ngariki) visited Raglan. This photo was taken at the cemetery standing together with Tim Brown. This was the first time any of Cons children had visited their grandfathers grave. We placed a potted plant with a metal red rose on the grave, so Michael will never be forgotten and his resting place respected.

From left Tim Brown, David Galvan, June Bishop, David Galvan, Michael Bishop, Ngariki Bishop and Kelly Lloyd.

We also visited the Galvan Homestead in Cliff Street where we met with Grace Fry pictured in the blue top. Grace is Eddie Galvan's daughter, grand daughter of Richard Galvan Jnr - who was Michael's brother.  

Before we met Grace I was to provide the whanau with some history on the homestead and our whakapapa to Raglan. This photo was taken by the Estuary outside 17 Cliff Street 24 November 2019.

We also visited the grave of Richard Galvan Snr (Michael's father) at Raglan Lawn Cemetery. Richard's grave is sadly unmarked so we left a potted plant and laminated tag in his memory and we hope to have a plaque in place soon.