William Hunter Reynolds

Researcher: Charlotte Worthington

William Hunter Reynolds died aged 77 on 1 April 1899 in his home at Montecillo, Dunedin. He was buried in the Presbyterian section in a family plot, marked with a striking headstone.

His headstone records his birth at Chatham, Kent, on 1 May 1822. Educated in Scotland and England, Reynolds subsequently worked in his father’s cork plantation business. He later befriended James Macandrew who married Reynolds’ sister. Both men emigrated in 1850 on the Titan and became business partners in Dunedin.

Produced by stonemason G. Munro, the headstone is constructed with granite and marble from Oamaru. It features two five-petalled flowers on the front of the grave which may signify youth and reference his children. The imposing marble obelisk and cross signifies mortality and Christianity. The overall size and detail of the monument shows the family’s prominence in the community.

Reynolds photo acknowledgement: Photographer unknown :Portrait of William Hunter Reynolds. Ref: PA2-2754. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23091895. Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Peter Carter

Researcher: Sargam Goundar

The gravestone of Peter Carter is located in the Anglican section (block 13P, plot 83) on the upper hillside of the Southern Cemetery. It is made from white marble stone imported by Henry Palmer, an English sculptor and mason in Dunedin. The headstone inscription denotes Carter, who died on 9 June 1879 aged 26, to be a native of Sutcombe in Devonshire, England. This stone was erected by Peter’s widow Martha whom he had married just months before his death. Interestingly, Peter’s house and land at Green Island, Dunedin, was sold through a public auction in July 1879.

A relative of Peter Carter, Samuel Henry Carter, purchased Peter’s plot a month prior to his death. Two years later, in 1881, Samuel married Peter’s widow, Martha Phair Carter. Although Samuel and their three children are buried in the Northern Cemetery, Martha, who died in 1943 aged 86, was buried alongside Peter. Unlike Peter, her Scottish origins are not mentioned on the headstone.

Photo of Martha Carter from Find a Grave.