Grandpa Bruce was born in Brighton, Melborne, Australia. He emigrated to New Zealand when he was 15, along with his dog Tane, brothers, his mum (Nana Bennet),his dad and himself. They came to New Zealand because his dad wanted to return to his place of birth - Gisborne. His dad and dog flew over on a plane while everyone else came over on a boat called the Dominion Monarch. Grandpa Bruce said he enjoyed the trip. Nana Bennett , not so much.
Grandpa Bruce's dad's family came from Engalnd and Scotland. His grandfather came from Worcester who then married Sophie Dunlop, who was bone in Gisborne in 1855. He then came to New Zeland during the Maori Wars after which he settled in Gisborne.
Grandpa Bruce lived in a few houses as a child. When he was born he lived in a place called Bundalagua in Gippsland Victoria. It was rented and in poor condition but Grandpa Bruce doesn't remember much about it. They then moved to Sale, stown nearby where they had a new 3 bedroom house. When he was 5, he moved to Melborne to live with his Great Aunt Dinah. She had a big house in Brighton not far from the beach. Grandpa Brcue says it was very elegant, with big rooms and a big garden. He also said the hall was big enough to play cricket in! When they moved to Gisborne, their house was more modest but had 6 acres of land surrounding it. Grandpa Bruce used to play there and drive his car around in it.
Grandpa Bruce only knew Nana Bennett's mum. His other grandparents passed away. She was old and very sick when Grandpa Bruce knew her. Nana Bennet is turning 103 on the 3.11.19 which she is very excited for.
Grandpa Bruce used to collect match box covers, enjoyed drawing and painting and having fun using cars. He's had an interest in world news since he was little. Before they had a TV, he would listen to it on the radio and read newspapers. When he was 10 or 11, his Aunt Dinah would always make sure he had the Saturday newpaper on a Saturday morning to read. He was also a sixer in cubs (a leader of a small group within cubs) and a Scout leader in Australia.
.jpg)
My papa lived in a two room shack with 8 people living in it (2 parents and 6 kids) When people used to come over and stay with them, people would end up sleeping on the floor because there wasn’t enough beds for everyone.
When my papa was a child he was raised a strong Catholic. His dad and grandpa held services in Te Reo in a classroom because there was no church in the area at the time. He says that being raised Cathloic has made him more disciplined.
When he was 13, papa and his siblings were going to leave Waimiha to go to town to get confirmed. He really didn’t want to go because he had never left Waimiha before. So he ran into the bush. His siblings told his parents that he’d run away and they said to just leave him there. So, they left to get confirmed with papa still hiding in the bush. Unfortunately, Papa didn't get away from getting confirmed because a while later they managed to get him in a car with some of his cousins to take him to get confirmed.
Papa liked fishing in the rivers. This was something the whole village would spend time doing. He enjoyed hunting and playing rugby at school.
Because Waimiha is so isolated, news of what happened somewhere else never reached it. Sometimes, papa and his family would catch a train to go to the movies. If their friends had a car, they would drive there together because papa didn't have a car.
“I loved my environment, thought I would always live there”. Papa thought he would stay in Waimiha forever. He would follow in his brothers footsteps and work at the saw mills or on the railways but he was sent away to building school in Christchurch, which was a big change in his life and he never went back to Waimiha. After he became qualified, he and his friends went up to the coast and met my nana and stayed there. He became a contractor then moved to Australia where he became a prison officer, a job which he stayed in for 32 years.
Papas dad used to be a railway boss. His job was to check the tracks and make sure they were safe to be used. Every 3 - 4 days, when papa was 8 or 9, he and his brother would go on a jigger for an 80 - 100km drive along the railways with their dad. “It was the best thing that I loved. No seatbelts, just sat on the sides going a long way fast”.
“I’ve always thought my dad was a very strong man, he was a tohunga”. A tohunga is someone who is an expert at an act or skill. In papa's dads cause, he was a healer. They never went to the doctor, he just fixed them up himself.
My Papa came up from Christchurch with my Nanas brother so they sort of knew each other through him. They went to a beach party with a bunch of people from Tolaga Bay. My Nana was talking to a man who started to make her feel uncomfortable so my papa went up to him and told him to leave her alone. After that he invited he to sit next to him and from then on they were never seperated. After Papa met Nana he stayed with her in Tolaga Bay. They then joined The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which is the religion I am apart of now. If my Nana and Papa hadn't joined the church, my mum and dad never would have met.