Great Uncle Bill was born in Ireland in the late 1800s
He arrived in New Zealand about 1920 with a number of his siblings and they established themselves in various parts of NZ

Most of them settled near Wellington but great uncle Bill stayed in Christchurch so in all my life I think I only met him half a dozen times
The first time I met him he gave me 2/- (20 cents) so he was forever embedded in my mind!! I loved him. He was very quiet. Tall and thin, he would bend right down to talk to me

Uncle Bill never married. I didn't know why he never moved up to the north Island to be near his siblings and I thought he must be lonely down there. But he did stay regularly with his family, taking turns staying with each

As I got older I heard and understood some of the snippets when the adults talked about 'dear old uncle Bill' who was becoming a 'bit of a handful'. Forgetful said some, a worry said others, eccentric, they all agreed
Possibly due to boredom, but most likely because he had a big heart and wanted to help those who put him up for periods of time, Uncle Bill would do anything around the house to be of help (in hindsight he probably got under their feet)

One day Uncle Bill was staying in the Hutt Valley with a niece. He told another niece, (my favourite aunty), who lived about 3km away, that he would be over to dig the new garden for her that she wanted to establish in the front of her new home.
So he set off, spade in hand, walking the 3km ...

He never arrived. No-one was particularly worried. He knew his way around. Maybe he got thirsty and stopped at a bar for awhile. He would turn up eventually

Later that afternoon my aunty (of his destination) received a phone call from a neighbour. The caller said "Could you please come and get your uncle. He has just dug up all our front lawn"

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52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy
week 33
ANCESTOR LEGEND

week 34
GENEALOGY CHALLENGES

week 35
GENEALOGY FRIENDS

week 36
ANCESTORS PHOTOS

week 37
STATE ARCHIVES

week 38
FUNNY ANCESTOR STORY

week 39
SOCIETY JOURNAL or QUARTERLY

week 40
WILD CARD

week 41
PAST GENEALOGY RESOURCES

week 42
BIGGEST GENEALOGY ACCOMPLISHMENT
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