Joan (Fergusson) Ayson

 

Joan Fergusson born 1821 of Drumforth in Forfarshire, and she and Alexander married at Lossiemouth in 1844.   

 

She and Alexander had four children while living in Urquhart before setting off for NZ and two more after arriving.

 

Their decision to come to NZ involved their religious beliefs and the struggles within the churches at that time, the fact that family were already in NZ and that Alexander was headhunted by Rev Bannerman to come and set up a school there.

  

One cannot even imagine the problems of sailing with a group of young children over stormy seas and at one stage their young son Thomas was held back from being swept through a porthole.

 

Their arrival in Dunedin, being met by the Maori folk ready to trade supplies and their travels south to set up home tells of the extreme hardships they endured.   They only had a cart with a few blankets and some cooking utensils and the person taking them insisted that the horses could not carry the added weight of people, so that four of them had to walk all the way from Dunedin, through all the bogs, streams, hills etc all the while carrying their two younger children.   Then they had to wait for hours for a boat to arrive to carry them across a water way, and they must have surely been very despondent about this dismal country.

 

They set up home in Tokomarino and Alexander became the first teacher there.   Joan had to make a home out of a little fern tree whare at the edge of the bush and a baby girl arrived during the 6 months that were there.   So Joan was walking from Dunedin to Tokomairino on foot carrying one child on her hip and one child within.

 

Alexander also put his hand to grinding wheat so at least Joan had ready ingredients for bread making and wild pigs , kakas and native birds ended up in the pot.

 

There were very anxious times when children got sick and their son Thomas was almost a miracle surviving consumption.   

 

They both became strong members of their community and well respected in church and education.

 

It is sad to read in the death notice that Joan died of accidental drowning in the Mataura River at the age of 72.

 

Children of Joan and Alexander

Margaret Ayson

Thomas Rattray Ayson

Joan Ayson

William Ayson

Ann (Annie)Ayson

Magdalene Smith Ayson