Irene Hannam contacted me from 26 Govett Avenue, New Plymouth in August 2000. She had seen my name in the 1999 Research Directory at the local Family History Centre.

In her first letter she told me that Philip and Charlotte berthed at Christchurch in 1877 and lived there for a while at one of Sarah Soanes' houses. (Sarah was Philip’s sister, 10 years older, who came on the Lancashire Witch in 1863).

Charlotte Bint worked at a laundry among other things at Dunsandel before moving to Taranaki.

George Rawlinson and family arrived at Taranaki in 1884 after May was born and was a neighbour of the Bint family..

Philip's son George Bint married George Rawlinson’s daughter Annie Rawlinson at Inglewood, Taranaki and with three daughters, Edith, Elsie, and Irene’s mother Myrtle, 'gradually moved through KatiKati to Aukland, adding Lily, Fred, Alice and Cyril as they went'. (In a later letter Irene mentions that George worked for the railway whilst in Auckland, cleaning trains)
In the 1920’s the Auckland property was exchanged for land 120 miles North, at Maunga Karamea, part of the Whangarei District.
“George helped to cut and burn forest. What a waste! Built their home, after living in a Ponga tree whare. (Forry hut, branches for bed base on ground, replenished each day).”
“ I’m sure the Maunga Karamea Mountain spewed most of its rocks on the front paddocks of that farm!”
Their property was between the Porter farm and the Hannam farm.
Irene’s father was Ray (Thomas Raymond Porter) born in 1906 the second son of seven. Her mother was Myrtle Bint the daughter of George Bint and Annie Rawlinson.
The Porters had arrived at Mangapai Jetty in 1862 and tracked overland to Maunga Karamea.
Ray and Myrtle moved to Waiotira after Eric and I were born (1929). The Porter farm had been divided between the three sons but Dad got hisdander up when he could not develop it his way. He could have grouched because it was covered in fern, gorse and blackberry.

Ps. Dad was the worker.
We moved from Waiotira late 1939 to Otaika, then to Whatitiri then back to a smaller farmlet at Otaika.
Dad’s head had a tumor.” (Died 1944, only 38 years old)
Her husband Pat (Ramon Charles Hannam) was the eldest of the Hannam children.
She relates that Maunga Karamea was one of those areas where everyone seemed to be “a link in the family chain”.
In 1950 Irene and Pat moved back to Taranaki “and added eight to the school roll”.

Next letter dated 21st of July 2001

She mentions a family reunion at Parua Bay, Whangarei in April 2000 at “our favourite family haunt”
“Perhaps I put off saying - Dad’s elder sister was not a beach lover, neither was their youngest brother. They were trustees of what we knew to be a “ Forever Haven” for all the following generations. But they
deeded it, or rather, deemed it their duty to sell. End of an era.
Patricia took it upon her shoulders to go see the people who had it. A new house had been built, but the first buyers were unable to pull down all the old house because the blue piece (the original earliest
building)  was protected by the Historic Buildings Trust. So when we were able to hire it for two days last April (2000)  we were pleasantly surprised to see how they built on to the original, and created this warm-cosy, familiar, yet different house.
Thirty of us stayed Friday till Monday, over the north hill, at a Christian youth camping ground which is set up to cater for about 200 boys and girls on ground level, and a large hall/eating place with 4 berth sleeping rooms around two sides, kitchen and 2 showers upstairs, multiple showers and toilets below, and a chapel at one end.
Fay Lewis popped in for 2 days before going to Australia to see two of her children and their families. She is a bright and bouncy person. Both Aunt Lily and Uncle Norm were outgoing personalities, Lily played tennis and hockey, Norm played hockey and also was a drummer in a dance band.

As we all came to live on farms in different areas, dance nights were great places to catch up on family ups, downs and other tasty subjects. Babies did not stop some mums enjoying a monthly night out. Dads too could catch up with old mates or family and, we know, enjoy a liquidrefreshment, other than a cuppa at suppertime when the missus’s would endeavour to out do each other with their cooking skills. The babies would be settled down in the ladies cloakroom, mainly on the floor. I’ve  wondered since if it was slip-slip of the feet on powdered slick floors, that hushed them into dreamland.

Grandad George Bint was a hockey coach- most of his children played. He was a quiet little man – gentle. Maybe because Grandma was the businessman (bossy) of the family. I never heard him be loud of talk.
Eric or I (3-4 years old) must have been loud mouthing, because he counselled us to say “wheelbarrow” next time, 2 or 3 times, result – me bursting out laughing instead!

The Porter grandparents in around 1936 had brought a few hilly acres with an almost horseshoe shaped secluded bay – with beach in front of it .
The house was one that had over the generations grown to accommodate the increase as families grew. (She then included a small drawing of the layout of the original house and the later additions of a lean-to kitchen, milk room and pantry, and a store room plus veranda.)
“The milk-room was darkened so the cream would thicken in the big 24”x 24” shallow dishes, then skimmed off, generally with a saucer, the milk poured into jugs and stood on bricks in a container of water, with a cloth over the top and ends in the water to keep it fresh till needed.
Boy, those were the days, before fridges and electricity etc.. the F.U.N  times. No phone. Twenty odd miles from Whangarei town. Tank water. We did have a water spring. The big kids would have the joy? of lugging it up a hill 10 or 20 yards to the kitchen for drinking and corking.
Sleeping arrangements altered with the number of visitors. When our tribe arrived there would be mattresses on kitchen, dining room and bedroom floors after tea and bedtime, story-time, and doctoring of scrapes, and prickles to be removed etc.
As the little bods grew, Grandad Bint (George) would come to stay and a bach was built down near the beach for the older boys. Later a 3 room bach was dismantled in the next bay and sledged (she has drawn a horse pulling a sled)  up and over the hill, and added to the veranda of the main house.
Several life-time careers and hobbies could have gotten the seeds sown here. I enjoyed among other things, drawing house outlines and gardens on the fresh sand.
I dug all the virgin soil here to get rid of the blackberry, periwinkle, fern, acacia and giant ink weed. But I married a carpenter.
Cousin June liked to instruct us, she later became a teacher.
Second cousin Verna had her dental surgery in a suitable, spacious Powhutukawa tree, complete with  an obliging shaped branch for the dreaded chair. Most of her instruments were beady shaped twigs, beach treasures or shells.
Eric became an engineering welder, now a gardener and camper-van touring club member.
Betty, a nurse, married a farmer. They have a beach holiday home.
Kathleen, garden-loving, married a watchmaker who built their own 4 berth boat. Loves fishing.
Colin, a plumber. Later went to Perth, Oz, becoming a roofing plumber.
Keith died early, doing tractor land-farming.
Patricia a nurse, married a boat building sailor.
Valerie a nurse, married a deep sea, boating, fishing tourist adventures.
Audrey, farmer’s wife. Now enjoys fishing and sunshine up north.
Neil, tractor and trucks, making roads. Still enjoys the life. Car Club president.
Ruth, half-sister, a healer, also in Perth, Oz.”

Excerpts follow from her next letter in November 2001 which started with her thanking me for the UK Rawlinson research.
Dear Tom
I seem to now need to apologise for extra letters that keep coming out of this pen. Blame the pen. First the right hand and now its left hand troubles.
I gave up on the typewriter years ago. I said then, too speedy for the hands-brain coordination. Next the poor ole eyes will be getting blamed for something.
When Pat and I first came to New Plymouth we stayed with Marjory and Eric Wray in Princess Street, Fitzroy which was a side road off Record Street.

One day we went to visit Uncle Walter Bint and Aunt Lily (Rawlinson). She as I vaguely remember, was a little short, plump lady (like me now). By now Uncle is retired and doing his garden and house
work. Marjory whose house and garden ran like clockwork, had no time for Lily who I was assured, was quite able to cook and clean but had decided to be “spoon fed” as the saying went.
Uncle Walter was just as placid in my view as my Grandad George was. My Gran Annie was one who’d say to mum and the other children, “just you wait till yer father comes home!”  Maybe that came through the Rawlinson genes!
Irene  then indicates  a road map she has drawn of Record and Princess Streets, Fitzroy and nearby Clemsis Street? where George Bint and Annie had lived before moving to Kati Kati.
Mum (Myrtle) told the story of something she had done wrong then went up a tree to avoid trouble near Christmas time. “Well all you’ll get, are pine-cones”.
Mum thought, "she’s just saying that", but come Christmas morning, nothing but pine-cones!
“The old witch” .... Mum said.