Throughout his life, Claude's son, Dale, searched for his father. There was mention that perhaps he had gone to New Zealand and been killed in the Napier earthquake.
The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on 3 February, killing 256[1] and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and measured magnitude 7.8 Ms (magnitude 7.9 Mw). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks, with 597 being recorded by the end of February. The main shock could be felt in much of the southern half of the North Island.
With this small piece of information, and the availability of on-line searching for records, the New Zealand Births Deaths and Marriages records were searched. And there he was!
What excitement to find him! However this find merely opened another Pandora's box!
Claude did in fact travel to New Zealand, but he wan't killed in the Napier earthquake!
But first the question to be answered: How and when did he arrive in New Zealand?
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SAILING BY THE R.M.M.S. AORANGI. The ship left Sydney on 26th July 1928, bound for Vancouver, stopping at ports in between.
Following is list of the passengers by the
R.M.M.S., Aorangi of the Canadian Australasian Royal Mail Line, which sails for Vancouver, via ports, at 4 p.m. to-day from No. 5 wharf Darling Harbour:- Unfortunately his name was not recorded on this newspaper account, perhaps as these passengers were bound for Vancouver, he embarked at Auckland.
He arrived in Auckland on 30th July 1928, and was a third class steerage passenger.
What caused him to leave Australia and to travel to New Zealand? Another unanswered question.
What did be do between 1st August 1928 and 1935?
His Life in New Zealand A wife - Dorothy Joy Annesley
The first New Zealand record associated with Claude Harold Annesley has him residing at a town called Owhango, and employed as a herd tester in 1935.
But he was not alone. Living with him was Dorothy Joy Annesley - married.
Owhango Coordinates: 39°00.0′S 175°22.6′E is a small town in New Zealand situated about 20 km south of Taumarunui on State Highway 4
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| Post Office c 1919 |
In the spring, the village trees and gardens are alive with native birds, most notably tui and Kererū. A delightful domain set amongst native forest features large open playing fields, children's play area and two tennis courts.
The next census record in 1938 has their address as Ngarua Road, Waitoa. Again with Dorothy Joy Annesley who was listed as married, and he was employed as a herd tester. They most probably lived on a dairy farm.
Waitoa is a settlement in New Zealand. The population in the 2006 census was 318, a decrease of 42 people since 2001.A Fonterra dairy factory is a prominent blue building in the middle of the town. Waitoa has a primary school with around 30-50 children. The Waitoa river runs through the village and is prone to flooding.
A railway line runs to the dairy factory, and used to go to Te Aroha, however this section was closed and the line only runs to service the dairy factory.
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| 1939 |
Another census record in 1938 shows their residing at 11 Hillsborough Terrace Hamilton NZToday a modern commercial building is erected on that land.
Again he is employed as a herd tester and Dorothy Joy Annesley is listed with him.
In 1941 at the age of 58 he had enlisted in the New Zealand Military!
New Zealand, World War II Appointments, Promotions, Transfers and Resignations, 1939-1945
| Name: | Claude Annesley |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Military Date: | 1 Aug 1941 |
| Military Place: | Wellington, New Zealand |
The next record is in 1946, where both he and Dorothy are living back at Ngarua Road, as they had done in 1938. He obviously returned to the same position as herd tester with the dairy.
Now some more interesting developments.
There are no record in Australia or New Zealand for a marriage to a Dorothy Joy .................?
Dorothy Joy Annesley completely vanishes from records in New Zealand. She may have died, but been buried under her maiden name which is unknown.
However, a Dorothy Annesley appears in the census records in Sydney, for the first time in 1958 when she is living in Woollahra, in Sydney and working as a dressmaker.
Co-incidence? Obviously further research is required to see if this Dorothy Annesley was his wife
but given Claude's past history, co-incidences seem to follow him like a shadow!
Dorothy Annesley died in 1968.
| Name | Dorothy Annesley |
|---|---|
| Death Date | 08 1968 |
| Cemetery | Woronora Cemetery and Crematorium |
| Burial or Cremation Place | Sutherland, Sutherland Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Name | Type | Location | D.O.D. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANNESLEY | DOROTHY | Ashes | COLLECTED RELATIVES | 26/08/1968 |
ANNESLEY | Dorothy | Death notice | 26AUG1968 | Death | late of Miranda | Sydney Morning Herald | 29AUG1968 |
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Returning to Australia?
Both Dale and his brother advise that Claude visited Roma in 1948, but only stayed overnight.
That fact cannot be confirmed. Perhaps he returned to Sydney for some period of time.
Perhaps by 1948 he was ready to commit to a new life in New Zealand, but as he was still married to Katie Jillett at the time, he very well may have come to Queensland to try for a divorce.
It is highly likely that he failed, as further information provided by him indicates.
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| View from North Road Clevedon |
They were living in North Road until the last known census
records in 1957
His wife Aileen Dorothy Annesley
Aileen Dorothy Annesley was born Aileen Dorothy Waters on 24th September 1894, in Drury New Zealand, the daughter of Alfred Waters and Alice Waldby. She was one of 10 children.
The children:
Phillip Conrad Murray Waters was born 1880 and d 1964 he married Murial Ivt.
Daisy Evelyn Waters was born in 1881 and she married Edward Wheeler
Leonard Faraday Waters was born 1882 and died 1891
Cyril Campbell Waters was born 1884 and d 1965 he married Aileen Crow
Bernard Leighton Waters was born 1887 and died 1887
Murial Joy Waters was born 1888 and d 1968 She lived in Clevedon
Rupert Leslie Waters was born 1890 and d 1980 in Clevedon he married Nora Melsop
They lived in North Road Clevedon from 1935 to 1954
Mervyn Leigh Waters was born 1892 and died 1916 in WW1
Aileen Dorothy Waters was born 1894 d 1958
She married Athol Alfred Hitchcock and Claude Annesley
Una Winifred Waters was born 1896 she married Alexander Ferguson and lived in Auckland
Viola Clare Waters was born 1898 and married John Frederick Gallagher In 1954 and 1963 they were living at 9 Jutland Road, Manurewa
Her father was a well known entity, as the following records indicate.
Waters, Captain Alfred, “Riverside,” Clevedon.
Captain Waters is the youngest son of the late Thomas Waters, of Stratford Sub-Castle, Wiltshire, England. His early life was passed in the mercantile marine service in the East Indian trade.
After coming to Australia, he remained in the coastal trade for some years, and afterwards went to California, on which coast he remained until 1878. On retiring from the sea he returned to England, where he spent these years.
Captain Waters came to New Zealand in 1880, and passed two years in Dunedin, and the two following years in Timaru. He removed to Auckland in 1885, and after residing for about two years in the city, he removed to Hoteo, where for seven years he carried on farming.
In 1894 Captain Waters moved to Clevedon, and purchased his present property at Riverside. Captain Waters was chairman of the school committee, a churchwarden in the Church of England, and Deputy Registrar at Hoteo, but since his arrival at Clevedon, he has steadily held aloof from local matters.
He married, in 1879, Miss Alice Waldby (a lady possessing great musical abilities), eldest daughter of Thomas Waldby, Margate, England, and cousin to the late Lord Leighton, and also to the late Sir Michael Faraday. Twelve children were the issue of this marriage, of whom nine are now alive—four sons and five daughters.
Captain Waters is the youngest son of the late Thomas Waters, of Stratford Sub-Castle, Wiltshire, England. His early life was passed in the mercantile marine service in the East Indian trade.
After coming to Australia, he remained in the coastal trade for some years, and afterwards went to California, on which coast he remained until 1878. On retiring from the sea he returned to England, where he spent these years.
Captain Waters came to New Zealand in 1880, and passed two years in Dunedin, and the two following years in Timaru. He removed to Auckland in 1885, and after residing for about two years in the city, he removed to Hoteo, where for seven years he carried on farming.
In 1894 Captain Waters moved to Clevedon, and purchased his present property at Riverside. Captain Waters was chairman of the school committee, a churchwarden in the Church of England, and Deputy Registrar at Hoteo, but since his arrival at Clevedon, he has steadily held aloof from local matters.
He married, in 1879, Miss Alice Waldby (a lady possessing great musical abilities), eldest daughter of Thomas Waldby, Margate, England, and cousin to the late Lord Leighton, and also to the late Sir Michael Faraday. Twelve children were the issue of this marriage, of whom nine are now alive—four sons and five daughters.
Sgt Mervyn Leigh Waters
Birth Place: New Zealand
Death Date: 4 Aug 1916
Death Place: Egypt
Cemetery: Kantara War Memorial Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:El-Qantarah el-Sharqiyya,
AL Isma'iliyah, Egypt
Cyril Waters served in the merchant marine in the First World War. During the Second World War he served in the Pacific with the Royal Navy.
details:
enlistment Unknown Clevedon, New Zealand AWMM
Next of kin on embarkation Captain Alfred Waters (father), Clevedon, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
Relationship status Pre 13 Jun 1915 Single AWMM
WW1 from Wellington, New Zealand AWMM to Suez, Egypt AWMM HMNZT 24 or HMNZT 25or HMNZT 26 AWMM
Vessel was Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima AWMM
Lance Corporal AWMM; Auckland Mounted Rifles AWMM; 5th Reinforcements AWMM
Vessel was Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima AWMM
Lance Corporal AWMM; Auckland Mounted Rifles AWMM; 5th Reinforcements AWMM
Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
Sergeant Rupert L. Waters, who is reported wounded, is a son of Captain Waters, of Clevedon. Private advice has been received that he is seriously ill in El Arish Hospital with gunshot wounds in the left arm. Only a month or two ago he was discharged from hospital, having received gunshot wounds in his right arm at the engagement at Gaza. His younger brother, Sergeant Mervyn L. Waters, sailed and served with him on Gallipoli and in the Egyptian campaign until killed in action at El Romani. (Auckland Weekly News, 29 November 1917, p. 20) AWMM
Four sons all involved in World War 1 - a brave group of men.
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