Leonard Leslie
Len was Born on the 15th of June 1896 in Palmerston North and learnt to be a Horticulturist.
Len married Mabel Beech, whom came to New Zealand from England as company for a school friend who's brother lived here and was to be married. The two girls came with the girlfriends parents. The year was 1912 and they were to tour around New Zealand but
rumours of an outbreak of war had arisen so they decided to stay until things had settled down. Mabel never returned to England, she got a job as a clerk in a solicitors office in Stratford.
One of the partners was Ian Mc Allister of whom Marie Fletcher was once engaged to. Len met her at a wedding reception. They courted and got married in 1926 and moved to Thames district as the town was flourishing with a gold rush in area. It was said that there was a pub on every street corner. Len had a seed and florist shop in Pollen Street and lived in Willoughby Street. Len and Mabel had two children, Cedric Bruce and Mona Norine ( Norine ).
The children were born in Thames at the Braemar Hospital of which Lens Sister lone was a Matron. The gold rush dried up and and so did the district as people moved to the next a gold Rush outbreak. The family moved to Birkenhead on the North Shore in Auckland where they purchased a house and land.
They erected a large green house and grew green tomatoes and Vegetables but the drought caused Len to look for work elsewhere. He became a labourer helping to build roads.
Times were tough and the depression caused people to save where possible, it got so bad that they moved to Napier where he was able to return to his love of plants. Len got a job working at Anderson's Nursery for a while and Norine had just start school when he was transferred to New Plymouth. They decided to go back to the Reader homestead where they stayed at his mothers house ( Mary Eliza Reader).
They resided there for three months with all of there positions tightly packed in the basement until they got a house in Westown in New Plymouth . It wasn't long before Len was asked if he would like to look after a large property in the Hawkes Bay which was named " Orua Whara". It was owned by the Rollerstons. The land also had a large farm with a three story house that had too entertain dignitaries like Lord Baton Powell. It was said he came to plant a tree; the hole was dug but nobody had a knife to cut the string around the base of the tree. Len approached Lord Baton Powell with his white handled pocket knife, which he always carried around with him. Len then said I thought a Scout should always be prepared"! Much to his amusement, it was Lens job to take care of the garden and the orchards.
The family moved to Lower Hutt and Len worked at the Waugh's Nursery. They resided there for a few years before moving to Wellington to work at the Botanical Gardens as the chief propagator in charge of the Begonia House. He was also president of the Lower Hutt Horticultural Society.
A visitor that visited often commented on the begonia house and asked him whether he would be interested in looking after his orchard property in Tauranga. Len finally decided to take up his offer, so Len, Mabel and Cedric moved while Norine stayed in Wellington.
Len and Mabel finally settled and bought some land and turned it into an orchard.
Len and Norine discovered a spring which eventually came to a stream crossing so they drilled a bore which supplied the orchard, house and Cedric's poultry farm and glass house Len and Cedric built concrete houses on the land while Norine put a house on a piece of the land at the road frontage. Mabel died on the 30th of January 1981 and Len in July 1964.
Descendants
Cedric Bruce
Cedric was born in Braemar Hospital in Thames, New Zealand on the 31st of December 1928 He lived in Takapau for six months while he went to High School at Hutt Valley High School.
Cedric was interested in horticulture like his father so he leased 2 Acres of Maori land
until he could afford 11 acres where he could produce Citrus fruit and Apples. Unfortunately the land was reclaimed by the government to make way for a motorway. Cedric then purchased a 1 Acre block which he shared with his sister Norine. He then bought 33 acres at Pahoia which he turned into a poultry farm. !Cedric married twice , His1st wife was Doreen Lewis ( nee Chadwick ) in Tauranga on the 26th of April 1957. She was the daughter of John William Chadwick and Eleanor Ford . Doreen was born on the 18th December 1957 in Holbeck, Leeds, England. They had four children Verity Jane,Timothy PauI,Jeremy Grant, and Melanie Hope.
On the 17th of August 1979 he remarried to Lois Beetham ( Nee Clare ) .
Descendants
Verity Jane, Timothy Paul, Melanie Hope, Jeremy Grant
Descendants
Christopher John
Pamela Anne
Peter Arthur
David Andrew
Mona Norine
Daughter of Leonard Leslie and Mabel Reader.
Norine was born on the 10th of August 1927 at Braemar Hospital in Thames.
It was the time of a new school and Norine could remember visiting her uncles farm ( William Howes Reader) which had a large tennis court. She and her brother Cedric enjoyed playing there often..
In 1933 Norine remembers the times of living at her grandmothers ( Mary Eliza Reader) house in French Street before moving to Newtown in New Plymouth.
Norine liked playing sports and became one of the top netball players when they were settled in Tauranga.
In 1951 Norine married Arthur Frederick Stewart in Tauranga.
In 1956 Norine caught Polio and had to be separated from her family as they had two children at this stage.
Christopher John aged three and Pamela Anne aged one.
The doctor wasn’t sure whether it was the flu or Polio so Norine went to stay with her Aunt Ione for two weeks. Ione was a retired matron of Braemar Hospital in Thames.
It was confirmed that it was polio and she was admitted to Hospital.
Norine has a jewellery business in Tauranga.
