THE TORTOISE PRESS
Welcome to my web site. It tells the story of James and Mary Ann Preece and their descendants. Keep watching for updates and additions. Follow the links at the end of the page for more about the family.
But first an account of earlier "keepers of the family history".
The first keeper of the family treasures was Marnie Spicer, grand-daughter of the missionary Preeces. She remembered her grandmother's stories of early New Zealand, and collected whatever she could about those early times. Marnie died in 1948, having donated many early papers and artifacts to the Old Colonists' Museum. The Spicer papers were given to the Spicer family, while the remaining Preece papers were left to her niece Nancy Matthews.
Nancy took great interest in early New Zealand history. She was however fully occupied in running her dairy farm and looking after her blind younger brother. She intended to create a "Preece Memorial" in recognition of her forebears. Time went on.
During the 1980's my dear Aunt Nancy Matthews asked me to research and write the Preece family history. She had been given the Preece family's collection of papers and other memorobilia by her aunt Marnie Spicer, who was my great aunt. However the papers were stored in a cottage on her farm near Flat Bush, in south Auckland. One Guy Fawkes night vandals torched the cottage, and all Nancy's treasures were lost. This has been a continuing heart-break for the family.
Nancy endeavoured to piece together the family's story. In her minute handwriting she transcribed many old letters and documents and collected reminiscences of the early days. She found however that she was unable to finish the task.
When Aunt Nancy asked me to write the Preece story, I cheerfully said "yes", imagining that it would take about six weeks to complete. She wanted me to include the descendants ("pioneers" as she called them) who had contributed to the story of early New Zealand. Of course I am still toiling away, but have privately published six small books for the family and have at least as many stories to tell. Wearing the cloak of "family historian" is not to be taken lightly. H G Bull.
Follow the high-lighted links to find out about the Preece family. Use the toolbar Backspace key to find other links on the Index page. More names and places will be linked as they are completed.
THE PREECE FAMILY HEREFORDSHIRE
THE PARISH OF KINGSTONE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM PREECE THE PREECE FAMILY NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN OF JAMES PREECE JAMES AND MARY ANN PREECE GEORGE AUGUSTUS PREECE CHARLES THOMAS PREECE DESCENDANTS
EUNICE PREECE, MISSIONARY IN CHINA THE BULLS IN SEARCH OF EUNICE PREECE OTHER FAMILIES
THE SPICER FAMILY MARIA ANNETTE SPICER THE MATTHEWS AND NEWTON FAMILIES. THE LAWLOR FAMILY PLACES
PARAWAI NEAR THAMES under construction
WHAKATANE
RELATED LINKS Let me know if the information on these pages is incorrect, or if you would like to contribute to the family story.
Click here to email me.
THE MATTHEWS OF STAFFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTER
FAMILY NAMES:
PREECE, PRICE, WATHEN, WILLIAMS, EVANS, WHITE, GUEST, SPICER, WOODHOUSE JAMIESON, CAMERON, GRAY, THOM, LAWLOR, NEWTON, MATTHEWS.
I would like to acknowlege the past contributions of M A Spicer, N V I Matthews, E S Spicer, C A B Kenderdine, and also the Department of Conservation Murupara, Peter Sim and many others.
To contact Geraldine Dunwoodie about the Lawlor family Click here.
"What's with the tortoise thingy?" my daughter asked. To tell the truth it is only a bit of a joke. Slow and steady - sort of. It's comforting to remember that the tortoise gets there in the end.