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Historical records matching Rfn. Eric Corbett
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About Rfn. Eric Corbett
Eric Corbett was born in Fiji on 4 August 1886 to Bowyer and Eileen Campbell Corbett [likely Emily Sophia Harness]. After thirty years in Fiji and a successful career, forty three year old Bowyer Corbett and his family left Fiji in 1900 for the sake of his health. They established Bureta Farm in Tauranga. The name Bureta (pronounced Mbureta in Fijian) comes from the island of Ovalau where he settled. The translation suggested by a Fijian specialist is ‘muddy water’.
Bowyer took up farming in Otumoetai, but despite the change of climate died in April 1909. His wife, Eileen, remarried in 1910, and with her husband, Caldwell McMaster Ashworth, retained ownership of Bureta until 1914 when they moved, first to Ngawaro, and later to Norfolk Island. At the time of the clearing sale in 1914 the Ashworth's had 45 choice dairy cows. The Ashworth’s were part of the social scene and entertained members of the Waikato Hunt on the farm in 1912.
On 26 January 1910 the Bay of Plenty Times reported: Mr Eric Corbett, of Auckland, who has been staying at Bureta for some weeks, left for Auckland yesterday afternoon (p. 2).
Eric worked as a Chemist at Woollams in Auckland and became President of Chemists' Employees Union. He enlisted for World War I on 13 March 1917, becoming a Rifleman with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade (1st Battalion). They embarked from Wellington aboard the Mokoia for Glasgow, Scotland on 13 August 1917. He served in France and was wounded at Etaples on 5 April 1918.
Eric was again wounded in the field on 16 July 1918. He received a gunshot wound to the chest and wrist, dying of his wounds at No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station in France the following day. He was aged 32. Eric was buried in Bagneux British Cemetery, Gezaincourt, Somme, France.
Source: Biography by Debbie McCauley (2014). Part of the Tauranga Roll of Honour: World War One project http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/en/remembering_war/topics/show/2245
Documents:
- Military Personnel File Links:
- Cenotaph Record
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Record
- New Zealand War Graves Record
- Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Jan 23 2017, 10:48:59 UTC
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