David Paton Balfour FARMER NATURALIST INVENTOR LIBRARIAN by Ian St George David Paton Balfour aged about 40, Napier Portrait Rooms early 1880s. Photograph by T. Andrew, MTG Hawke’s Bay, Hawke's Bay Museums Trust/ Ruawharo Ta-u-rangi collection. Reference: 45/340, 180, 79043. CONTENTS Foreword: a sad ending 1 Part 1 Chapter 1: Balfour’s autobiography 2 Part 2: Chapter 2: After Glenross 1889–1894 123 Chapter 3: The naturalist 126 Chapter 4: The inventor 141 Chapter 5: The librarian 146 Chapter 6: Phrenology 153 Chapter 7: Lizzie Balfour 156 Epilogue: After thoughts 182 Maps Forfar and Perth 15 Victoria 46 Otago 68 Hawke’s Bay 94 Mohaka 97 Springfield & Glenross 158 Illustrations David Paton Balfour frontispiece Philip Dolbel 103 Major George Gwavas Carlyon 110 John Gibson Kinross 113 Glenross 120 Pterostylis patens 140 William Colenso 140 Plough extender 144 Willowford wool scouring plant 145 Willowford water wheel 145 Glenross Library Catalogue 150 Glenross Library Catalogue 151 Philip Dolbel’s house 156 Detail from Balfour’s diary 162, 168, 170, 172 Elizabeth (Robert) Balfour 176 The Robert family 177 Elizabeth Balfour at Bay View road 181 Elizabeth Balfour, Thelma Elizabeth Paton Taylor and Dulcie Grace Taylor 181 Balfour gravestone 184 1 FOREWORD: A SAD ENDING On 4 September 1894 the Reverend William Colenso wrote his regular gossip-filled letter from Napier to his young friend Coupland Harding in Wellington and said, Did you know Balfour of Mohaka? a sad ending that (Dont like it!!) 1 David Paton Balfour died in a ditch, trying to rescue a sheep, on his 53rd birthday, 12 July 1894. The Hawke’s Bay Herald reported, An inquest was held at the Puketapu Hotel yesterday afternoon, before Mr F. Sutton, acting coroner, and a jury, of whom Mr W. Elbourne was foreman, to inquire into the circumstances attendant upon the death of David Paton Balfour. The evidence was taken of the eldest son of deceased, Dr. Moore, Constable Kennedy, and Messrs R. Davis and J. Heslop senior. From this it appeared that deceased, who had been suffering for several days from influenza, took some soup with his family on Friday at noon. He then left the house, walking in the direction of Taradale. He had previously arranged with Mr Heslop to go and inspect one of the drains as soon as he felt able to get about. He was never afterwards seen alive. When it was found that he did not return home on Friday evening alarm was felt, and the police were communicated with. Constable Kennedy made a search, and on Saturday afternoon found deceased lying face downwards in the drain that he had arranged to inspect. This ditch was about four feet wide, nearly as deep, and had a trifle over a foot of water in it. Near deceased was the body of a drowned sheep, and the marks upon the banks of the ditch seemed to show that deceased had fallen in while endeavoring to assist the sheep out, and being weak from his illness could not recover himself. Death was due to drowning. The jury returned a verdict of “Accidentally drowned”. The funeral will take place this day, in the Taradale cemetery. Great sympathy is felt for Mrs Balfour and her family in their bereavement.2 1 ATL qMS-0498. 2 Hawke’s Bay Herald 16 July 1894. ___________________________________________________________________ 2 He was a Scot, a man of little formal education but considerable accomplishment: farmer, naturalist, book collector, roadmaker, diarist. He had married in 1876 and his children were 4–17 years old. The first great flu pandemic which was widely recorded was the Russian flu of 1889–1893, which returned annually until 1901. In Great Britain, the winters of 1891 and 1892 were the worst. Symptoms varied, but victims commonly experienced sudden fever which lasted 3–5 days, sometimes for a fortnight, chills, especially in the back, thumping muscular pains, runny nose and eyes, sneezing or dry coughing, prostration for up to a fortnight, loss of appetite and photophobia. “Headache” and “melancholia” were also reported. The epidemic was characterised by huge morbidity. London, one of the worst affected cities had, at one stage, one third of its population incapacitated by the flu. Economic disruption was immense. There were also deaths. In 1891, 125,000 died from influenza, and in 1892, there were 250,000 flu deaths in Great Britain.3 In New Zealand 1,393 influenza deaths were registered in 1890–1894.4 Apart from occasional mention in contemporary newspapers we know of Balfour from three main sources. He kept the letters William Colenso had written to him; he kept a diary… On the 3rd October 1863 I began to keep a diary, and from that day to this day, I have got each day’s incidents written down. Unfortunately for other people, if ever anyone should take the trouble to read it, the first 6 or 7 years are written in hieroglyphics, which no-one can understand but myself, but there is nothing lost to posterity in that.5 … and he wrote his life story (here referred to as his “autobiography”) for his children: it is an invaluable source of material about his life but, more than that, it provides an insight into his character and his times. It is reproduced in full in the following pages. 3 Graeme Laver, Elspeth Garman 2002. Pandemic influenza: its origin and control. Microbes and Infection 4: 1309–1316. 4 https://teara.govt.nz/files/27772-enz.pdf. Accessed 2 July 2017. 5 Autobiography. 3 PART 1 CHAPTER 1: BALFOUR’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY6 Life of David Paton Balfour Written by Himself At Glenross In Hawkes Bay New Zealand 25th. April 1885 6 The spelling and layout are preserved as far as possible; later pencil corrections of spelling and grammar have largely been ignored. 4 Contents Preface Chap I, Father, Mother and Mothers Relations; A Glass at “Yule”; Winnowing Machine; Father and Mother married; I was Born. Chap II, My Brothers and Sisters. Chap III, My Birth and early recolections; Tam Robertson; Geordie Norrie’s jug, “Tacket”; Little jobbies; Paton (Navvy) murdered; buried near grandfather; Alexr. Balfour, Poet; Put to School on Friday; Uncle Sandy & Belgium; Two Brothers of my Father. Chap IV, Went to Live in Arbroath; 2nd attempt to go to School; Fever; Carpenter altered Windows and died of Fever; A lost Child; A very long-faced man. Chap V, Keeping a Public house; Sea sickness; Bewitched the Boat; Healthy ever after; I tried again & again to go to School; Habit of dropping out & away; Looking at Machinery and Iron founding; A Bad dream; Dislike of Buying and Selling; Public house & Grocery did not Pay. Chap VI, Weaving & Sack-Making; Brother James cut his face badly; Winding Shoemakers thread; Twine Making; Balling same; Dastardly trick of Young Sandy; Eels “by the Million”; Became a Weaver; My Mother Died; Engaged with Kidd. Chap VII, Farewell to Town life; Milk Porrige & Gorse; My Work at Newton; Invented a Dew-Plough; Enjoying the smell of burning Whale Oil, so Hungry; Peter Bell, Inventor of Mowing Machine; Tried to loose myself in the Fog; Engaged for £3.10. per annum; Tom Spence; First introduction to Sheep; Went to Listen to Singing & heard something else; Left Newton & went to Glenisla; My Work at Bellaty; Shepherding; White, and the Burning of Aughlieughrie; Castle Balfour; To Glamis Fair; Another attempt to go to School; A Carpenter who went Shepherding; First Intimation of going to Australia; Dumb Susan & Nanny; Christinas courtship & marriage; Leave taking at Isla; Beggar woman; Leave taking of Aunt & Cousins. Chap VIII, Leaving Home; Lost my Father; Passage from Glasgow to Liverpool; Pick & toss on Sunday; “Herald of the Morning”; tried to go to School again; got ropes-ended; Landed in Melbourne, 5 with One Penny; Market gardening at St Kilda,; Tea versus Water; Left St Kilda & went to Brocks with Sister Ellen, My Work; tried to learn; did not know my wages; Death of James Brock, Father to Colac; Mary-Ann Marries; Father gored by Bullock; Knew my wages. Chap IX, Left Brocks, in Melbourne; Lost my Way, in Geelong; Sixpence for a Glass of Water; Hope I may remain a New Chum; 1st Camp out; Met Father; 19/- for a bottle of Brandy & 4 drinks; Started Gold-digging; Start for a New Rush Mirage; “Stumped”; found part of a Loaf; Burned my foot; Hunger, Stonebreaking; Charles drank water in which was a Rotted dead Man; found a man birned; Geelong; Opposition Steamers. Chap X, Melbourne; Found James & George, Left Melbourne & got to a Potatoe pit; I got work; Lost my last 2/6; to Capt. Gardiners; Taught myself to read & write; Billy Haywood; 7 Miles for drink of Water; Con Cregan; I fight; I leave for N.Z., Ross. Chap XI, Brought sheep to New Zealand; N. Ross; 27 Hours Fast; Gabriels Gully & journey to; Death of Prince Albert. Chap XII, To Coromandel & back; Napier; Left digging. Chap XIII, Blueskin; Swamp too deep to Wade & too thick to Swim; J Jones; Rich; refused food; Hampden; M S Gleeson. Chap XIV, M.S.G.; Met a lot of Ship-Mates; Irish versus Scotch; Mrs Gleeson; W T Guiness; Night-School; My Father; Colic; began to keep a Diary; crossed cheque, crossed plans. Chap XV, Neil Ross; Sleeping Girl; Highly; “Up Hill”; Lamented my ignorance; All Scotch; “Money”; Moa; Rations, Prestons. Chap XVI, Dirty hut, made good; Library; treated well; W. T. Guiness; Left Prestons; Parting. Chap XVII, Enjoyed my Walk; “Waite”; Dunedin. Booked through to Napier; Stopped at Wellington, Museum; Capt. Fairchild; two chances. Chap XVIII, Napier, Guiness, “Higher up”; Moeangiangi; Bought first Sheep; Kakariki; Guiness; Barlow; “Waite”.