Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Agnes Allan was born about 1834 in Ayrshire, Scotland – the daughter of John Allan and Agnes Allan.
She emigrated to Nelson with her family in 1842 on the New Zealand.
They stayed in Nelson for six years before they “came on to Otago in 1848 in the ship Emily, the voyage taking five weeks, and took up land on the Taieri Plain”.
Agnes married Adam Oliver on 1 February 1855 in the East Taieri parish.
Shortly after their marriage they moved to Tapanui where Adam and Agnes’ brothers “had secured a sheep station.”
In 1859 they “left Tapanui, crossing the Blue Mountains to the Rankleburn Run, which they had acquired”.
They then moved to Smyler’s Peak near Palmerston in North Otago in 1863 after the New Zealand Land Company bought their property. They stayed in Palmerston for 13 years before moving to the Tokomairiro district for a few years before retiring to Mosgiel where Agnes signed the suffrage petition.
They had eight children all who survived to adulthood.
Adam died in 1911 and Agnes died on 27 June 1922 – they are buried in the family grave in the East Taieri Cemetery.
Agnes’ obituary said “the dominion loses one of its very early pioneers.” ”Mrs Oliver throughout the varied vicissitudes of her life carried with her a never-failing cheerfulness that won for her the love and esteem of all who knew her”.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions