George Pain – A Worthy Pioneer (founder of Pain & Kershaw)

A Life Story written by George Pain  
(edited by I Kershaw)

Part One
My father and mother came from England in 1839 by the ‘Oriental’.  The voyage occupied about 4 months and they landed at Petone on Jan 31st 1840. My father’s trade was a bricklayer and I was born six years later in Wellington.

My first recollection is of a little brick house built on a hill behind Stewart Dawson’s corner, near where the Bank of New Zealand now stands. It was then known as ‘Clay Point’ and I remember the sea washed so close that there was just sufficient space for a dray to get round.
Later on the family moved to Boulcott St and lived there for many years. ‘Te Aro Flat’ now Cuba St, Victoria St and Courtney Place were all covered with flax and manuka scrub, the Basin Reserve was a lagoon and Cambridge Tce. a bog.

In 1855 when I was almost nine years of age, we experienced large earthquakes and Wellington rose about 3 feet. What was low water mark before the shake was high water mark after it. Shortly after the earthquakes, a heavy southeast wind blew and a lot of rain fell; under this influence, the lagoon burst and made a channel through Cambridge Terrace to the sea, which emptied the lagoon and drained the swamp.

That year I left Wellington and went to Johnsonville on the Pareora Road to work on a farm with a man named James Petherick. I stayed in Johnsonville for the next 10 years working for different people. In 1865 when I was 19, I left Johnsonville and walked to the Wairarapa (then called Windrop) – 52 miles, which took me 3 days.

I crossed the river at Waihenga in a canoe as there were no bridges and walked over the Wharekaka Plain, occupied by Smith and Rivens and the site of the first sheep station in New Zealand.
Sir Charles Gifford came over the Rimutaka to the Windrop with two or three other gentlemen to explore the country at the invitation of Menaia a young native chief. The chief offered Sir Gifford as much land as he liked for nothing because ‘he had seen the benefits the natives derived from the white people dwelling amongst them in Wellington’.

When Gifford questioned what the natives would get out of it, Menaia replied “You will be wanting work done that will give us a chance of earning a little money to buy tobacco, sugar, blankets etc.” Sir Charles took up the use of the land but not the freehold. He went to Sydney and bought about 600 ewes that he camped first on ‘The Peninsula’ now known as Miramar and later brought as far as Orangaronga, where he joined C.R.Bidwill’s flock and the partners brought their sheep to the Wharekaka Plain.

When I walked over the Plain I stayed the night at Smith and Riven’s station but was unable to get employment there. Wally Smith, who was managing the station told me his brother George lived 20 miles across the hills on a station called ‘Wainuiorue’  and wanted a shepherd. Once again I started out but when I got there, the owner discovered I had no experience and said I was no use to him – until I discovered he wanted a ‘cow boy’ at £20 a year and keep. It was the usual thing for servants to stay for a year’s service but I was not willing to agree at that money.

Finally I took it on for 3 months and said if I did not suit him he might sack me at the end of the first week. After 6 weeks, he raised my wages to £26 per year. I agreed to stay for 3 months and then contrived to get a sheep dog. When Mr. Smith saw I managed the dog allright he promoted me to a full-blown shepherd. (To be continued)