ROBYN PARKES
Born in Suffolk in July 1825, Joseph Packard worked on a farm as a lad before trying his luck in London, working in a West End drapery.
Joseph emigrated from London to Nelson in 1848 on board the ship Bernicia with his new bride, Eliza Barturm. Their first child Peter was born shortly after arriving in Motueka, followed by Reuben in 1851.
After several years of working at Motueka pit sawing, he moved to seek out land in the Tākaka district. He, with a handful of other settlers, attempted to drive cattle from Riwaka over the hill to Tākaka, but were unsuccessful, in part due to the terrain. They returned to Riwaka, sourced a barge, loaded the cattle and headed for Tākaka.
He became one of the early settlers at Motupipi, originally taking up a 50-acre block and then a 300-acre block where he grazed cattle and sheep and planted large numbers of lemon trees. Joseph and Eliza’s third child, James, was born in Motupipi in 1854.
Joseph, like many of the settler men, took a strong interest in local matters and was involved with multiple boards and organisations. He became an agent for the Colonist in 1858, was a committee member for the Motupipi and Tākaka Association in 1860, a member of the newly-established Road Board for the district in 1862 - being appointed chairman, member of the Tākaka Lodge of Oddfellows and Collingwood Lodge of Ancient Foresters - appointed vice-chairman in 1875, chairman for Collingwood County Council in 1879, and on the Licencing Committee in 1887.
Joseph also took a prominent part in the local church, at times assisting as a lay preacher, conducted the Sunday School and was on the local School Committee. On a lighter note, Joseph entered his lemons into the first Golden Bay A&P in 1894, winning joint first place.
In July 1898 Joseph and Eliza celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with their family and many from the community. Joseph was presented with a gentleman’s chair, bearing a silver plate with inscription – in recognition of his services as Lay Reader in connection with the Church of England at Motupipi for the last 30 years and Eliza given a footstool and silver bread fork.
Eliza passed away on the 19 January 1906, aged 83 years old, having been ailing for several years. Her funeral was a large one with over 80 vehicles and around 50 horsemen following the coffin to Clifton cemetery.
This would have been tough on Joseph, but he suffered even more tragedy in July the following year when son James died, aged only 53 years. Three years later in April 1909, Joseph had the privilege of leading the procession at the unveiling of the Pioneers Memorial in Tākaka.
At age 91 Joseph was described as still being hale and hearty, but after consenting to go to hospital for some treatment in January 1918 he succumbed to heart failure. Acknowledged for being adventurous, enterprising, kind and genial, the small community was in a state of shock at his passing. Joseph was reunited with his beloved wife in Clifton Cemetery.
As a postscript, son Reuben died in July 1918, only six months after Joseph, leaving just the one remaining son, Peter, who passed away in 1925.
