Lennard John George McCauley

Lennard John George McCauley, known as 'Len', was born in Te Puke on 12 January 1904 (reg. 1904/6812). His birth was registered under the name 'John George McCauley'. The name Lennard comes from his maternal grandmother who was Rachel Hamilton (née Lennard). As Rachel died in August of the year of Lennard’s birth his parents probably called him Lennard in her memory.

An article in the Katikati Advertiser on 30 July 1985 reprinted a 1914 photograph of a group of schoolchildren from Waitekohe School of which Lennard is one. Waitekohe School opened in 1880 and was the third school to be built after European settlers arrived in Katikati. It still stands, renovated as a private residence, on the corner of State Highway 2 and Walker Road East, Katikati. In Tales of Old Katikati (1991) Elsie Lockington writes ‘Dances were sometimes held in the Waitekohe School, mostly farewells for departing residents, and always there was a dance in the evening of the school picnic... There was little or no drinking, but the young men would sometimes play tricks, such as unharnessing someone’s horse from a gig, pulling the shafts through the fence, and harnessing the horse up again’ (Lockington, 1991, p. 36).

Lennard purchased a farm on Lund Road, not far from the Katikati Cemetery. It was the last farm at the end of Lund Road. After one to two years he sold the farm in order to become a carpenter (Zordia Mackie, personal communication, 8 November 2011). Lennard’s many jobs included supplying Baker’s Timber Mill in Katikati with wood, maintenance work on the Huia Dam (opened in 1929 and forms part of the water supply for Auckland), Gum Digging in the Northern Fields, working at the Martha Mine in Waihi and at the Totara Timber Co. in Maroa where there was only one school and one shop.

Lennard was 25 years old when the stockmarket crashed in 1929 heralding the beginning of the ‘Great Depression’ which lasted until around the late 1930s.

On 11 July 1935 Lennard, Dairyfarmer of Katikati, was granted an Ordinary Prospecting Licence. This was for 'Approximately twenty (20) acres of State Forest situated in Block Four (IV) Aongatete Survey District to the west of Thompson's Track: as the same is more particularly delineated in the plan drawn hereon and therin coloured red in outline':

On 17 August 1936 Lennard, still being a Katikati Dairyfarmer, applied for another Ordinary Prospecting Licence. This looks to be for the same block being Twenty (20) acres of State Forest Reserve situated in Block four (IV) Aongatete Survey District'.

On 25 November 1936 Lennard married Eileen Pearl Wilson in Tauranga. Eileen was the illegitimate daughter of Edward (Sam) James Crawford (1887-1944). Eileen was raised in Katikati by Edward’s parents John (1860-1937) and Sarah Ann (1869-1956) Crawford (née Birkett) who married in Hawera, Taranaki, on 24 February 1883 (reg. 1883/225).

Lennard was aged 35 at the start of World War II. On 1 September 1939 Hitler attacked Poland which led to Britain and France declaring war on Germany two days later. It is believed that Lennard was a Pacifist and Conscientious Objector which possibly stemmed from his deep religious beliefs although it is unclear whether he belonged to the New Zealand Christian Pacifist Society (CPS). No hard evidence has yet been uncovered about Lennard's position, but Lennard's son Ken remembers his father being referred to years later as a 'bloody conchie'.

His son Ken also recalls; 'one of his occupations was boat builder and he built a small boat for the manager of the Taupo Totara Timber Company (TTT Co) during the time he was working there as a saw doctor. He was also a caravan builder and built all his own furniture and cabinets, mostly in rimu. Dad was very knowledgable regarding explosives, one time showing us how to split large logs apart using only sodium and sugar. He was always reading and was mostly self educated. In his possession was a large collection of rocks of which he knew all the names and information about. He was also an absolute perfectionist when it came to finishing off a house'.

Eileen died, aged 36, on 27 September 1945 (reg. 1945/26555). Her causes of death were septic tonsillitis and kidney failure. She was buried on 28 September 1945 in Katikati Cemetery (125 Anglican Block A, Plot 139a, p. 18).

In 1945 Lennard married his housekeeper Gladys Elsie Petchell (née Williams) who was born on 9 July 1921. She had a child from her previous relationship named Louis. The family lived in Whangamata and Cornwallis and then moved to Taupo. In Cornwallis Lennard looked after a farm for a Mrs Shirley. Once a month there would be a trip into Auckland for groceries. His son, Louis, recalls that he taught carpentry for a time at St Stephens College in Bombay, south of Auckland.

Lennard and Gladys were involved with various religions such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Methodists. Lennard was even a lay preacher [not ordained but appointed to lead church services] until some disagreement with the church. From 1953 they were in Taupo and rented in Kaimanawa Street and Heuheu Street before building their own home at 12 Terence Street. According to his son, Ken McCauley, Lennard became a ‘prolific painter’ when he retired, signing his work 'Len McCauley'. His paintings were mainly oils on hardboard. There are six confirmed paintings in existence, currently held by family members. Efforts to locate Lennard’s other paintings have so far yielded no result, but the family is very interested in obtaining photographs and the location of Lennard’s work.

In the mid-1990s I had a dream about my father being given two paintings of Grandad McCauley’s after his death. The next time I visited my father in Whakatane I told him about the dream and asked about the paintings. They did exist. He had forgotten about them and made an offhand comment about them possibly being in storage, waving vaguely towards his sheds (he had been a poultry farmer and was converting to hydroponics, hence the disused sheds). I went off on an exploratory mission and eventually discovered them stashed at the bottom of a cardboard box, underneath a pile of other stuff and wrapped in newspapers which were soaking wet. I carried them into his kitchen and carefully peeled away the newspaper, then left them to dry. I’m sure that if they had been left in that condition for much longer they would have been lost forever. (Debbie McCauley, 26 October 2010).

Lennard's largest painting, the Blue Lakes, measures almost twice the size of his other work. It was to be the last one that he painted before his death in 1980. Lennard died, aged 76, on 11 October 1980 (reg. 1980/52606) of Cardiac Arrythmia and Coronary Thrombosis. His death notice’s read:

McCAULEY, Lennard John George. On October 11, 1980, at Taupo General Hospital, dearly loved husband of Gladys (12 Terrence St, Taupo) and loved father and father-in-law of Zordia and Ron Mackie (Putaruru), Kenneth and Joyce (Whakatane), Louis and Bev, George and Carol (Dunedin) and sadly missed by his many grandchildren. A service will be held at St Pauls Union Church, Taupo, at 11am today (Tuesday). Private cremation to follow. Cut flowers preferred or, in lieu of, donations to the Crippled Children Society may be sent to 177 Taharepa Rd, Taupo, or left in the collection box in the church foyer.

McCAULEY, Lennard. On October 11, 1980, at Taupo, beloved only son of the late Rachel and George McCauley (Katikati), dearly loved brother of Girlie; brother-in-law of Reg Bellamy (Katikati) and the late Olive Kelly, uncle to Valerie, Robin, Glenda, Rachel and Neville. Too dearly loved to ever be forgotten.

McCAULEY, Lennard. On October 11, 1980, respected brother-in-law of Gordon and Mercia, loved uncle of Warren, Deidre and Mark. One of nature’s true gentlemen at rest. (Notices courtesy of Mavis Kelly).

Lennard’s ashes were buried in Katikati Cemetery next to Eileen’s on 22 November 1980 (125 Anglican Block A, Plot 139c, p. 18), his address listed as 12 Terence St, Taupo. Lennard’s obituary appeared in the Korero newsletter of Katikati:

Len McCauley was 77 years old when he passed away in Taupo, somehow it seems hard to realise that the years have gone by so quickly. Born and bred on the property which is now called Sharp Road, Len attended the Waitekohe School with his sisters Muriel (Mrs Reg Bellamy) and Olive (the late Mrs Kelly). Len had a double stake with early Katikati history as his mother was the former Rachel Hamilton, and Len's links with the district were very dear to him. Carpentering was his life's work and after his marriage to the former Edna Crawford [correction: actually Eileen Wilson] he lived in his Crossley Street home. There was much sadness in his life as two of their sons died, and then his wife also died, leaving him with three young children. In time he met and married Gladys Williams from Devonport and there were two children of that marriage [correction: they had no children together]. Although he lived in Taupo for many years, Len chose Katikati as his final resting place. Len's uncle was George McCauley, who was once champion axeman of New Zealand, his name was spoken with the same reverence as was the All Black captain, Dave Gallaher, who started his football career in Katikati. (Korero of Katikati, November-December 1980).

Gladys remarried to a Mr Rush. Gladys Elsie Rush (née Williams, Petchell & McCauley) died, aged 85, on 13 July 2005 (reg. 2005/16968).

Source: Biography of Lennard John George McCauley by Debbie McCauley, his grandaughter http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/katikati_history/topics/show/1402