DUNLOP family:
James Dunlop (born 1820) and Sarah Dunlop (born 1829) and their daughter, Sarah Margaret
who would have been aged about 3, arrived in Wellington on board the Lalla Rookh. They
were from Glasgow and James occupation is a bit of a puzzler. He was the son of a wealthy
cotton mill owner. However on his arrival in New Zealand he farmed in a small way but
sometimes listed himself as merchant and sometimes as a gentleman. The
Dunlops bought land in Gisborne and moved there about November 1849. They came through the
Poverty Bay Massacre and the events surrounding Te Kootis war of 1868 by escaping to
Napier but their house at Te Arai was burnt down and they moved to Makaraka on their
return. James and Sarah actually knew Te Kooti quite well (he used to take the Dunlop
children to Pai Marire meetings!) and they never believed that he was as black as he was
painted by other settlers. They had 12 children, many of whom settled around Gisborne or
up the coast. James himself was a bit of a maverick. He was reasonably well educated, a
great horseman, as were many of his descendants, and apparently fell out a bit with his
family in Scotland because he preferred to travel around the country "breaking
colts" rather than work in the family cotton business. He eventually eloped with the
16 year old daughter of an agricultural labourer, and what with one thing and another, I
think the family agreed to pay him an allowance if he came and lived in New Zealand. His
wife, Sarah was my great grandmother. One of her granddaughters used to refer to her as
"that common old woman" but I think she was a hard worker and had more idea of
how to run a farm - although their property seems to have been more of a smallholding than
a farm - than her husband did. Sarah was born in Co.Donegal, Ireland, but grew up in
Kirkcudbright. If you have a connection with this family or would like to know more please
contact Jeanette de Montalk. |