Commend me to the ploughman: The Patterson Family of Ryal Bush (Southland Families)

William PATTERSON and Catherine LOWE married in Dunfermline in Fifeshire, Scotland then immigrated to Victoria Australia in 1852. There they ran a general merchant business in Essendon north of Melbourne and had two sons and a daughter. Attracted by the discovery of gold in Otago, New Zealand, they immigrated to Gabriel's Gully in 1862. They next moved to Wallacetown near Invercargill where William set up business selling chaff to wagoners. About 1875 they bought 200 acres of unimproved land at nearby Ryal Bush on which they had a six-roomed house built. The farm they developed produced oats and wheat and ran horses and sheep. Both sons successfully entered ploughing matches, Robert gaining the title of Southland Champion Ploughman in 1891. Being an accomplished horseman, Robert was also an enthusiastic member of the Southland Hussars and won the Birchwood Steeple Chase in 1884. Younger son, David, farmed at Isla Bank, while daughter Catherine married William ANDREWS and farmed at Heddon Bush. Catherine died in 1894 and William in 1897. The three PATTERSON children produced 17 grandchildren, three of whom died in childhood. Three grandsons served in World War 1.

• | Author: Lindsay Watson
• | Publisher: Independently published
• | Publication Date: Apr 28, 2019
• | Number of Pages: 174 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1797918435
• | ISBN-13: 9781797918433