Family History Stories - Andrew Haldane

After arriving in New Zealand, the family made their way to Waikawa, a harbour situated on the south-east coast of the South Island. Here they set about building a home and establishing a mill as the area was covered in thick native forest. A temporary camp site was set up in the bush near the water’s edge to accommodate the family until their home was completed. Andrew was obviously a man of great foresight and well prepared, as he brought doors, window frames, cut timber and even a few head of cattle to help the process of starting life in the new colony. Andrew Haldane set up his mill on the eastern side of the harbour, no easy task considering most of the equipment needed to operate it, had to be made from local resources. Besides the Haldanes and their work party, the only other inhabitants in the district were tribal Maori who still lived traditionally but the two groups co-existed quite happily. Any supplies the family received came via coastal trading vessels. Gradually, over the next decade, more settlers arrived enabling the community to develop, while the Haldane family also expanded. Elizabeth, ‘Besty’, gave birth to eight more children in New Zealand.

Sources: Private family history records and
Hayes, Ruth. Haldanes of Waikawa: Their Story and Family Tree. Invercargill, NZ: Haldane Family Reunion, c1995.

Comments: The Waikawa District Museum has on display many remnants from the Haldane family’s settlement in the district, including articles and archives that can be copied for a small fee.

The Haldane Family Reunion booklet has a wonderful description of life onboard the Strathallan on the passage out from Scotland, details of the family’s life in New Zealand and a full family tree of descendants at the time of print.

The Waters of the Waikawa River by Ruth Hayes and Heather Buckingham also includes the story of the Haldane Family. Copies of this book are available from the Waikawa District Museum for NZ$35.00.

Andrew Haldane was born the son of a miller in the small Scottish village of Ancrum. At the age of 27 he married Elizabeth Curle and they set up home in Innerleithan. There they had three daughters, sadly the third lived only a few days. Andrew was an engineer, holding both wheelwright and blacksmith tickets. These skills would have been much sought after by the agent rigorously seeking suitable settlers on behalf of the Otago Council in New Zealand. The Haldane family set sail for their new home aboard Strathallan, from Leith, on October 4 1857.

The arrival of a competing mill across the harbour and the eventual downturn of the timber industry saw the Haldane family hit hard times. Delivery of stores were few and far between and the children gathered shellfish and flat fish from around the estuary to feed the family. Just as prospects began to brighten with a few new ventures in the pipeline, Andrew Haldane died suddenly aged 63, apparently as the result of an accident. Elizabeth continued on with the support of her large family. Still today many descendants of these original settlers live in the area and one entire district bears the name Haldane.