Robert McGregor Matheson

In 1869 Robert had purchased a 123 acre block which he called Fairview from Tauranga Maori. Otumoetai Pa had been deserted since the Tauranga battles of the New Zealand Wars in 1864. The Matheson Homestead was built in the 1920s. Most of the land in this Historic Reserve was acquired from the Government by Robert Matheson in 1870. The eastern half of the beach land was purchased from Hori Ngatai and Renata Toriri in 1881. This, together with the 110 acres of land on the western and southern sides purchased from James and Edward Foley in 1869 brought the Matheson farm up to a 123 acres. The farm extended along the western side of the Otumoetai road from the seashore to about the number 400 on that road, the old boundary with the Tollemache farm “Bentley” (“Bentleigh”). The boundary then ran west to near the railway line, then north through the line of Meadowland Street across the present Levers Road to the seashore (Tauranga City Council, p. 16). Robert McGregor Matheson died in Otumoetai on 30 May 1906 (reg. 1906/376) and was buried in Tauranga Catholic Cemetery. Source: Biography by Debbie McCauley (9 December 2014) http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/remembering_war/topics/show/2358