Family History Stories - The Weller Brothers

Joseph, George and Edward Weller were the grandsons of William Weller and Ann House. William and Ann opened a brewery in High Wycombe, which they later relocated to nearby Amersham. William and Ann had nine children, the fourth of whom, was a boy they named Joseph. Joseph was baptised in 1766 at High Wycombe, 30 miles west of London. At about age 35, he married Mary Brooks and they set up home in Folkestone, on the coast of Kent. Joseph suffered from consumption, so they moved to the seaside in the hope it would ease his condition.

Joseph and Mary had nine children, but only five survived infancy.

Joseph Brooks - born 1 August 1802, died 28 July 1835, buried Sydney
George – born 26 December 1805, died 13 April 1875, married Eliza Barwise
Fanny – born 1812, married Robert Johnson July 30 1831, died 1896
Edward – born 1814, died 1893
Annie Meek – born 1822, married C.W. Schultze 7 April 1849, died 1887

Joseph Weller was bequeathed part ownership of his father's brewery, when William Weller died. Joseph opted out of the family business but evidently still enjoyed some degree of financial success. When he emigrated he took with him sacks containing 12,000 sovereigns. Joseph Junior and his brothers had already visited New South Wales during the 1820s and it was decided the family would relocate to Australia. Following the sale of their property, the Weller Family set out for the new colony. Joseph and Edward had gone on ahead in 1827, and were later joined by their parents, their sisters Fanny and Ann, and their brother George with his wife Eliza. In Australia, Joseph Senior reinvested his money into a large amount of land in the Maitland area, along the Hunter River. At the time convicts were engaged in building the road that stretches from Sydney to the Hunter Valley. The Wellers came to own a substantial amount of land in New South Wales, from the north shore in Sydney Cove to Cardiff in Newcastle.

Joseph Junior became involved in the timber and flax trade in Hokianga on the picturesque northern west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. A trade in native Kauri trees had begun there in 1820 and in 1826 a shipbuilding site named Deptford established. However it was with a view to establishing a trading and whaling base in the South Island that the Weller Brothers purchased the 214 ton colonial barque Lucy Ann in August 1831. Captain Owen was enlisted as master and they sailed from Sydney on 21 September. On board was Joseph and Edward Weller, a whaling gang, and the necessities of living and working in an untamed land which included muskets, gun powder, rum, gin, casks of beef, whaling gear and line, and barrels for holding oil.

Lucy Ann arrived at Otakau (Otago) in October 1831. When the Weller Bros stepped off their boat and onto a black rock jutting out into the harbour, they hoisted the British Flag and claimed the territory in the name of their King. 100 Years later a bronze tablet was set in that rock, now known as Weller’s Rock, to commemorate the centenary of their arrival.

In the early days of European settlement in New Zealand, anyone wanting to establish themselves a base, or even build a hut, needed the approval of the area’s ruling Maori chief. At this time it was likely the feared cannibal chief Taiaroa who would have given his consent, in return for some form of payment, be it gunpowder or money.