William HAY was carpenter, bullder, undertaker, sexton and keen goldseeker! He came from Edinburgh but went to sea we believe as a ship's carpenter and set off for Australia in 1852 - supposed to be on the MONARCH OF LEITH but no such ship and probably FROM Leith. On board was a 16 yr old from London, Mary Ann MERIGAN .They married in Sydney in 1853 and made their way to Victoria and the goldfields.

William had a close relative Matthew HAY who had gone ahead to NZ and the Otago goldfields. He had a store on the Clutha and suggested the HAY family come over as there was plenty of work for a good carpenter. William came ahead and Mary Ann and four ch. arrived on the BENJAMIN HEAPE in 1863 and walked over the bleak mountains to meet William and then more ranges to their hut at Moa Flat.

Four more ch. were born in NZ, The family moved to Tapanui the source of great timber.Eventually they moved to Blenheim and there they ended their days. William died in 1914. I am currently writing a book of the family and the amazingly diverse lives of their children. I would dearly love to break down our brickwall regarding William;s family in Scotland and Mary Ann's in Ireland and England. We don't know the names of either set of parents