I have been intrigued by his son also named Benjamin Evans Turner (b.17/09/1847 - d. 24/01/1899) who married into the family I'm researching the Wilkins.
Benjamin married Annie Sophia Wilkins on 03/06/1880, she was 18 and he was 32. They settled at Waikoukou near Sophia's family and their daughter Amy Evelyn Turner was born 1881. He continued to travel back and forth to Fiji where he had business interests. The story which came down through my family and also to her descendents was that Benjamin died while in Fiji and Annie Sophia and her infant daughter Amy moved home to live with Annie's parents. This story is repeated in the local history books "They came for kauri ...but" by Alice Rea and "Pioneering Women of South Kaipara" by Helensville and District Historical Society Inc.
Benjamin did die in Fiji BUT NOT UNTIL 1899 by which time he had another 6 children with a woman called Caroline Sarah Bird. So Amy far from being an infant was 18 years old. I believe Annie Sophia was aware her husband wasn't dead as she didn't remarry until 1900, the year after he died.
Some family trees online list Benjamin and Caroline as married but no ones seems to have found a date for their marriage and I haven't found a divorce for Benjamin and Annie. Am intrigued as to whether the marriage broke down, then he met Caroline or if he abandoned his wife her.
Inspite of her parents broken marriage Amy managed to marry into a very prominent early Auckland family the Kerr-Taylors.
I am a descendent of Annie Sophia Wilkins older sister Mary Anne Wilkins.

Benjamin Evans Turner (Jnr) was born 7 Sept 1847 (According to family tree information of my great grandfather his brother James Burton Turner) and although he completed most certificates for his children out of wedlock with Caroline Bird as being born in North Yam HIll, Oregon, U.S.A. - this was not the case - have been unable to find a certificate for him (perhaps you have) but family information has him born at Russell Bay of Island New Zealand. He appears to have been a bit of a "scally wag" ....to my knowledge he had no business interests in Fiji (where I was born), only his brother ...I have Annie Sophia Wilkins marrying Benjamin Evans Turner on 2 June 1880 - Office of the Registrar of Marriages Auckland NZ. The "Turner" family owned a property at Helensvale and this was perhaps how they met, as he worked on the property - our family has him deserting his wife and cohabiting with Caroline Bird - first child born around 1881 (no record found) the same year as Amy Evelyn....His second child was born in Fiji 1886 - next 4 children NSW Australia (appears to have been mining for gold) - the last child born Fiji 1898 - he also abandoned Caroline prior to this last birth and took off to Fiji - appears in the Fiji Times advertising for work in 1897. There is also the possibility that he spent some time in the USA - this being the reason for him stating that he was born in Oregon as this was where his grandmother on his mother's side lived after leaving Tasmania. I have found no record of any marriage - I believe that Annie refused to divorce him - his death certificate was completed by my GGF - the original showing only the issue by Caroline Bird....this certificate was later altered by Affidavit by my GGF in 1920 to only reflect his marriage to Annie and the issue of only 1 child Amy Evelyn. I have tried to communicate with the "Kerr Taylors" over the years as they were frequent visitors to Fiji - but have never received any reply. Annie remarried as you state after Benjamin died in 1900 in NZ - she had issue a daughter Mary Esther Jenkins who did not survive. Caroline Bird went onto to marry twice with further issue and died in 1955 at the age of 91 years. Benjamin Evans Turner Jnr was the 4th son of BET Snr of 10 children. Of his early early years I do not have much information - there are a lot of descendants! obviously - a very tangled family tree. I do have pictures of the "Kerr Taylors" taken on visits to Fiji.

Sounds like an interesting family to be researching.
I came across them when working on Annie Sophia's family the Wilkins and couldn't figure out who Mrs Jenkins was who was listed as a daughter of Joseph Wilkins when he died. Finally found Annie Sophia's second marrige but then couldn't find the information to support what the local history books were telling me. And obviously from what you've said that isn't the only information they got wrong. The information on Amy Turner in the book Pioneering Women of the South Kaipara came from one of her grand daughters and I know some Kerr-Taylor descendants are still living around what is now Waimauku. The information in They came for Kauri ...but would have been from the Kerr-Taylors and/or my great, great uncle Marcus Adlington. I also have 3 pages by my grandmothers cousin on the family history which repeats the story that Annie had "lost her husband" and so moved home, I believe she thought he had died rather than abandonned Annie. Probably not the sort of scandal the children would have been privy to if the adults could have helped it.
I'm enjoying finding out the stories good and bad about my ancestors and their families but know not everyone is comfortable with it. My grandfather's attitude to genealogy is that the dead should be left buried. Possibly an attitude he would have inherited as his fathers older brother was the victim of an unsolved murder which made national headlines in 1915.
Thanks for filling in a few of the gaps and correcting errors in the information I had found.

I am researching the Taylors, (Kerr_Taylor)my kin, so was more than interested to find the above information on the Turners. I have just filled in some gaps on Emily Angood, married Charles Turner.
The above has been a real find, thankyou.