60 Years Onward

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 56, 9 March 1944, Page 2

60 Years Onward

ROSE JONES. On February 22nd, Mr. and Mrs. James Rose, of Salisbury Street, Levin, who were among the very early settlers in what is now the Borough of Levin, celebrated their diamond wedding, their marriage having taken place at Feilding on February 22nd, 1884. This unique distinction is not the fortune of many couples and the happy couple have been the recipient of numerous congratulations on the occasion of their jubilee. About three years after their marriage, j Mr. and Mrs. Rose went to reside in Levin, the former being engaged to assist in the laving out of the sawmill for Mr. P. B. Bartholomew', in whose I employ he remained until the mills were cut out, this covering a period of over thirty years. He later worked for the Horowhenua Power Board, but subsequently was engaged in casual work at his trade as a blacksmith. When Mr. and Mrs. Rose arrived in Levin, there was only a small sprinkling of settlers, the surroundings being mostly bush and stumps; but, as Mrs. Rose states, “although there w r ere certain inconveniences to endure, everybody was happy." People in those days had to make their own pleasure. The dances were free, the men who worked in the mills making monetary donations with which the ladies purchased the necessities for providing refreshments, which they prepared themselves. The couple remember when wild horses used to scamper through the bush along what is now the main highway to Foxton; and on several occasions they had seen wild horses killed by being run over on the railway line, then owned by the Manawatu Railway Company. Mr. and Mrs. Rose have seen Levin grow from the smallest of settlements to the very fine town that it is to-day. Mrs. Rose was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Jones, pioneers of Feilding, and was born in Wales. She came to New Zealand with her parents, as a child, arriving at Wellington in 1874, by the immigrant ship, “Ocean Mail." On arrival, the family were amongst the very first settlers to take up residence on the Manchester block, now known as Feilding. At that time, the only dwellings there were bell tents. Mrs. Rose's father later built the first whare, and she remembers, when, as a child, together with her sisters, she had to carry large stones for the building of the chimney. Mr. Rose is a native of Kent (England), and arrived in New Zealand seven months later than Mrs. Rose, landing at Lyttelton and afterwards coming north. Of a family of six children, only two survive-—namely, Mrs. W. J. White (Feilding) and Mr. J. H. Rose (Levin). There is also a grand-daughter, Mrs. V. Bennett, of Lower Hutt, who was brought up by Mr. and Mrs. Rose, and there are five other grandchildren *na several great-grandchildren. The celebration took place in Foilding, the venue of the marriage and Mr. and Mrs. Rose were entertained bj> relatives and friends at the residence ot their daughter, Mrs. W. J. White, Manchester street.