George Thrush

Hawera & Normanby Star 29th January 1915 page 5 GOLDEN WEDDING. The golden wedding of. Mr. and Mrs. George Thrush of New Plymouth was celebrated at their son's. (Mr S.Thrush) residence, Inaha, on Thursday last, when from eleven o'clock onwards old friends and relations assembled to convey measures of congratulations to the aged couple. Among the guests were Mr C. A. Wilkinson, M.P for. Egmont; Mr E. Tingey (Wanganui) Mr A. Simons (Tariki), Mrs Chard (Auckland) and others too numerous to mention. There were also several apologies and telegraphic congratulations. At about 12 o'clock the guests, were entertained to the wedding breakfast prepared by the members of the family, and when justice had been done to this, a few toasts were given. The Rev. W. Rowe presided. Mr Wilkinson to whom the toast of the King was entrusted, before resuming his seat, referred to his long acquaintance with Mr and Mrs Thrush and offered them his congratulations on this memorable occasion: Mr Tingey, in proposing the toast of their honored guests, "Mr and Mrs Thrush” offered his congratulations to his esteemed, friends of 45 years standing and trusted that all would meet again in ten years' time to celebrate their diamond wedding. "The members of the family" was proposed by Mr S. Bennett of Kaupokonui who paid a tribute to the high character and to the good qualities of the Thrush family. Mr G. Thrush jun., and Mr J. Prior, of Dannevirke, responded. "The Ladies" was proposed by the chairman and was responded to by Mrs Chard of Auckland. Three cheers for the family brought a happy afternoon to a close. In the evening a large number of friends assembled, and a pleasant time was spent. Mr and Mrs Thrush were married in St. Paul's Church, Auckland, on the 21st of Janaary, 1865, by Archdeacon Lloyd, and have resided in almost every province in the Dominion. They have had a family of seventeen children, of whom eight sons and three daughters remain. Their descendants number fiftv-one.

New Zealand Herald 24th January 1925 page 12 DIAMOND WEDDING - EX- AUCKLANDER LONG LIFE - THE EARLY PIONEERING DAYS Eighty-three years of age and still enjoying the best of health, Mr. George Thrush, who now resides in St. Aubyn Street, New Plymouth, completed the sixtieth year of his married life on Wednesday. Born at Albury in Surrey on December 12. 1841, Mr. Thrush moved from his old home, at the age of five years, to other parts of England. At 13 years of age he left home, and in 1856. when 14 years old, he joined the Royal Navy. His first, ship was the Hannibal, a 91-gun vessel. After two years' service he was ordered out to India with the frigate Hornet, the Indian mutiny having broken out. The Hornet, however, collided with a barque in the English Channel and when she docked at Portsmouth for repairs Mr. Thrush left her. Mr. Thrush’s next move was to proceed to South Africa where in 1859 he joined up with a firm of contractors engaged in the construction of a railway line between Capetown and Wellington, a distance of about 50 miles. The contract being completed in about five years, he worked for a short time on the docks at Capetown. It was in South Africa that Mr. Thrush met his wife-to-be, who was at that time Miss Isabella Scott and had come out to South Africa, from Glasgow, her native city. Feeling that New Zealand gave promise, of greater prosperity than the Cape Town, Mr. Thrush left for these shores to try to improve his fortunes before marrying and on October 22. 1864, he landed at Auckland. His first work in Auckland was in belping to form Upper Queen Street, and in the same year he successfully tendered for the contract of constructing the Penrose section of the Auckland-Drury railway, the first sod of which had been turned early in 1864. Miss Scott reached Auckland on December 23rd 1864, and on January 21st 1865 the marriage took place at St. Paul's. Mr. Thrush’s first visit to New Plymouth was in 1866. when the gold rush to Otago first started. Making the whole of the journey from Auckland to Dunedin in the steamer Phoebe, he went ashore in the surfboat when the steamer anchored off the present New Plymouth railway station, on her way south to discharge stores. For the next 14 years Mr. Thrush was engaged in various parts of Otago and Auckland in goldmining and contracting. He was present at the time ot many thrilling "finds" at Thames and Waihi was intimately acquainted with Mr Hunt, who with his three partners in the Shotover claim netted £40.000 apiece in very quick time, and knew well the Caledonian. In 1880 Mr. and Mrs. Thrush went to New Plymouth to reside. After spending a year or two around New Plymouth doing contracting work, he engaged in farming. He resided at various places including Morrinsville and New Lynn (Auckland) before going to New Plymouth. Mr. Thrush recalls that in his earliest days in Taranaki he was offered a block of 200 acres surrounding the present Stratford Hospital for 30s an acre. Ten of Mr. Thrush’s original family of seventeen; seven sons and three daughters are still alive.