Eunice Jean (Williams) Burwell (1907 - 2003)

Born 27 Oct 1907 in Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand

Ancestors

Wife of Francis Quinton Burwell JP — married 4 Jul 1928 in Waikato, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 7 Jun 2003 at age 95 in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Linda Prole [send private message]

Biography

Eunice was born in 1907. She was the daughter of Joseph Williams and Louisa Barnett. She had three older half-siblings, born to her mother out of wedlock.

Eunice was born in Auckland, but the family soon moved to her father's hometown of Foxton where some of her younger siblings were born.

The family then moved to a large farm in Pukeatua in the Waikato where her father was Farm Manager. Her father left the family while some of the children were still young. No doubt her brothers had to take over alot of the farm duties, as well as hired labour.

She met a young man that was employed on the farm, his name was Francis Burwell or "Frank" as he was known. The young couple courted and were married on 4 July 1928. (There are no known photos of their wedding day, but Eunice did dress up in her wedding dress for a photo a couple of days later).

After their marriage they went to work on another farm owned by Woodward and McGinty at Arohena, where they stayed for two years. In June 1929 their first child Heather was born. Eunice went away to have the baby and Frank wrote to Eunice saying how he was looking forward to seeing her and the new baby, which had been born the day after which would have been his mother's 54th birthday.

Sadly when daughter Heather was 18 months old she took a tumble down some concrete steps fracturing her skull, as a result she suffered brain damage.

Eunice and Frank were keen to purchase their own farm. There were two blocks of land at nearby Puketurua offered for sale by the Barnett family who owned huge areas of land in the district. Frank's father Bert duly inspected the properties and gave them the okay. Frank and Eunice purchased the block nearest the Puketurua school, and Frank's brother Dennis purchased the farm next door.

The farm consisted of 400 acres with about 30 acres in grass, the rest in teatree. There was a 3 bedroom "house" on the property with no doors or windows, so these had to be put in before Frank, Eunice and Heather could move in. Rabbits were a massive problem; new crops and new grass was just mown down by a grey mass of rabbits. Carrots were fed to the rabbits to get them used to them, then they were laced with Strychnine poison. Cartloads of dead rabbits were then collected and buried in old Maori cooking pits.

At first a few cows were milked by hand, while more land was cleared and put into grass. The milk was separated with the cream going to the local dairy factory and the skim milk being fed to the pigs.

Eunice and Frank went on to have five more children. The farm barely made enough to live on let alone any extra for development so Frank got a job working on the Arapuni dam to supplement the income from the farm. Cows were milked on the farm for many years as it was all cleared, later he sold the cows and went into sheep.

Tragically Eunice's brother Sydney Lanfear Williams was killed in the 2nd World War. Her other brother Robert James Williams married Sydney's widow Helen.

Their son Murray attended the local school in Putaruru, as did the girls. When the girls were old enough, they travelled by bus to New Plymouth where they boarded and attended New Plymouth Girls' High School. Frank had grown up in Inglewood, near New Plymouth, and wanted his girls to have a good education.

In the 1946 NZ Electoral Rolls Eunice and Frank were recorded at Puketurua, Farmers.

One by one their children got married and left home, apart from Heather of course. In about 1958 Eunice and Frank built a beautiful new home on their Puketurua property. One of the young builders was a young South African chap called Peter Groom. He ended up marrying their youngest daughter Christine.

Her husband Frank was very involved in the local community, being on the School Board, the Hall Committee, County Council and also on the local Reserve Force during the 2nd World War. Because of his lung problems, he was not able to actively serve. On 4 December 1963 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace.

Eunice and Frank continued to run their farm until tragically Frank died of a heart attack in 1964. He was just 58 years of age.

After Frank's death their son Murray took over the day to day running of the farm. Eunice lived in the family home with her daughter Heather and kept a beautiful garden. She belonged to the Country Women's Institute and regularly attended the local gardening clubs.

In the 1981 NZ Electoral Rolls Eunice was recorded at Puketurua Road, Putaruru, a widow.

There came a time in the late 1980's when the property in Puketurua was getting too much for Eunice to look after, and with three of her daughters living in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, it was decided that her and Heather would move to Tauranga . They lived in a lovely three bedroomed house that had been built for them on her daughter Beverley's property in Te Puna. Eunice still had her beloved garden, if on a somewhat smaller scale.

Eunice and Heather spent many happy years there before she became increasingly frail and was no longer able to drive. When Eunice was about 90 years of age they both moved into Elmswood Retirement Village in Tauranga.

Eunice passed away in 2003 at the age of 95 and is buried in the cemetery in Putaruru with her beloved Frank. A service of remembrance was held in her daughter Beverley's garden,

She has left quite a legacy and is remembered as a keen gardener, a great cook, a loving mother of six, grandmother to 18 grandchildren and great grandmother to many great grandchildren.

Burial

11 June 2003 - Tirau Street Cemetery, Putaruru, Waikato, New Zealand. Block B, Plot 15^[1]

Inscription:

In loving memory

OF

FRANCIS QUINTON BURWELL

LOVED HUSBAND OF

EUNICE

DIED 7th SEPT 1964 - AGED 58 YEARS

EUNICE JEAN BURWELL

LOVED WIFE OF

FRANCIS

DIED 7th JUNE 2003 - AGED 95 YEARS

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/194588088/eunice-jean-burwell), memorial page for Eunice Jean Williams Burwell (27 Oct 1907–7 Jun 2003), Find a Grave Memorial ID 194588088, citing Tirau Sreet Cemetery, Putaruru, South Waikato District, Waikato, New Zealand ; Maintained by lindylou631 (contributor 49254308) .

• As remember by her granddaughter Linda Prole (nee Groom)

• NZ BDM Historical Birth Records: Registration No: 1907/19478 | Family Name: Williams | Given Name(s): Eunice Jean | Parents: Louisa Harriett & Joseph Nicholas | https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search

• NZ BDM Historical Marriage Records: Registration No: 1928/9631 | Bride's Given Names: Eunice Jean | Bride's Family Name: Williams | Groom's Given Name(s): Francis Quinton | Groom's Family Name: Burwell | https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search

• NZ BDM Historical Death Records: Registration No: 2003/11870 | Family Name: Burwell | Given Name(s): Eunice Jean | Date of Birth: 27 October 1907 | https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search

• http://www.southwaikato.govt.nz/our-services/do-it-online/cemetery-search