This would likely be an ongoing blog about the life of Harry Downey as I find more information on the life of the man. The relationship between myself and Harry Downey is that he is my 3rd great grandfather. His daughter, Emma Downey married Percival Amos Milverton in 1900. I have more information about him in New Zealand than what I had before he arrived from England. Harry was born in 1854 in Sudbury in Suffolk to Charles and Catherine Downey. Harry would marry Emma Smith in 1873 in Essex.
They would have one child, Kate before they immigrated to New Zealand on the ‘Star of India’ in 1874. The ship departed on the 30th of July and arrived in Wellington on the 10th of November. The ‘Star of India’ made two journeys to New Zealand, the first in 1873 and the second in 1874 under Captain Holloway.[1] Harry’s occupation at the time of arrival was blacksmith, which would answer what he could have been doing before Harry became a train driver.[2] On his retirement, the newspaper of the time mentioned Harry had helped with the building of the railway before becoming a driver. That would explain the occupation of black smith. At the moment I do not have enough information about what else he could have been doing on arrival in New Zealand.
The next time Harry appears in the records is as an engine driver living within the Aramoho area near Wanganui. A newspaper article about the inquest into an Accident where Harry was driving the train from Waverley encountered something along the line near okehu railway bridge. Stopping the train he found the deceased. According to the coroner report in the newspaper, the deceased had been walking along the railway line when the train encountered him and no one had seen him on the track.[3] The government records I found through the house of representatives provides information on the years the individual has been employed by the railways and how much they earn. In 1895, Harry was earning 12 shillings (guessing weekly) and was a first class driver with 20 years service. [4] This meant he had been working in the railways since around 1876. A year later in 1896, he was earning the same but had been in the railways for 20 years and 8 months.[5]
In 1891 an issue was reported within the local newspaper that was not anything to do with Harry’s railway career. While residing in Palmerston North, Harry woke at 5am to find a man helping himself to the kitchen utensils, who escaped with the stolen items when confronted.[6] A disaster did strike the Downey family in 1893, when their six bedroom house in Palmerston North was destroyed by fire. The children were rescued, but the newspaper mentioned the piano and furniture were destroyed. The furniture was not insured, but the house was.[7]
The train side of the story picks back up from here in 1896 the train Harry was driving had an issue where one of the engine tubes burst while at Turakina station located near Wanganui. Harry and his fireman were able to get the engine running again after a delay.[8] In 1899, Harry was to be transferred to Auckland after 23 years of being the driver between Foxton and New Plymouth. Harry was one of the most popular drivers and both he and his wife were well liked within the community. Their children by this period in time were all adults. During the farewell, Harry did receive a clock and there were around forty people present.[9] In 1900 both Harry and his wife, Emma appeared on the New Zealand electoral rolls as being located on Alpha road in Parnell. The street name no longer exists as it is now according to a Google search now known as Parnell Rise.[10] I havnt yet found anything about Harry’s return to Palmerston North, but the 1905 to 1906 electoral roll has him and Emma living in Willis Street, in Palmerston North.[11]
The New Zealand Parliamentary papers in 1911 show Harry was earning 12 shillings 6, but by 1912 there had been a slight payrise within the railway department as he was then earning 13 shillings 6. That is unless I am reading the whole payment incorrectly and it is actually pounds.[12] Harry Downey retired from the railway in 1914 after 40 years of service. He did mention in the article how he had seen the Palmerston North station grow, where at the time was located within Palmerston North.[13] Harry Downey would pass away on the 20th October 1917 in 30 Joseph street, Palmerston North aged 64. [14] A regular passenger, Alex McMinn wrote into the Manawatu Times newspaper days after the death of Harry Downey about his experiences with the man. Alex reminisces several conversations he had with Harry about driving along the railways and a regret not catching up with Harry when he had retired from the railway. [15]
Links and Sources
Brett, Henry ‘The Star of India’, White Wings, Auckland, 1924, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre01Whit-t1-body-d135.html, accessed 15/06/2021.
‘New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973’, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSYR-PPB : 8 July 2019, accessed 15/06/2021.
‘Inquest’, Wanganui Chronicle, 03 May 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC18810503.2.13, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Officers and Employes in the railway service. List setting out the name, status, and salary of each officer and employe in the railway service, in the order of his rank; Also, the number of years he has been in the service.’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1895, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1895/I/1692, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Officers and Employees in the railway service. List setting out the name, status, and salary of each officer and employe in the railway service, in the order of his rank; Also, the number of years he has been in the service.’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1896, p. 24, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1896/I/1685, accessed 26/07/2021.
News and Notes’, Hawera & Normanby Star, 30 October 1891, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HNS18911030.2.8, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Fires’, New Zealand Times, 30 June 1893, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18930630.2.33; accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Local and general’, Wanganui Chronicle, 22 September 1896, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC18960922.2.5, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Wedding Bells and Country Socialites’, New Zealand Mail, 21 September 1899, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL18990921.2.39, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Wedding Bells and Country Socialites’, New Zealand Mail, 05 October 1899, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL18991005.2.43.6, accessed 26/07/2021.
Harry Downey 1900 Parnell, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981
‘Members of the railway Department. Listing setting out in order of classification name, status and pay of each member and probationer, and the number of years he has been in service of the department on 1st April 1911’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1911, p. 71, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1911/I/2611, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘Members of the railway Department. Listing setting out in order of classification name, status and pay of each member and probationer, and the number of years he has been in service of the department on 1st April 1912’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1912, p. 67, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1912/II/2539, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘A Popular Railwayman’, Manawatu Times, 23 February 1914, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19140223.2.19, accessed 26/07/2021.
Personal’, Manawatu Times, 22 October 1917, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19171022.2.11, accessed 26/07/2021.
‘A Reminiscence The Late Harry Downey’, Manawatu Times, 25 October 1917, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19171025.2.4, accessed 26/07/2021.
Harry Downey New Zealand Death Certificate 20 October 1917, 1917008098
[1] Henry Brett, ‘The Star of India’, White Wings, Auckland, 1924, http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre01Whit-t1-body-d135.html, accessed 15/06/2021
[2] New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1973," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSYR-PPB : 8 July 2019),
[3] ‘Inquest’, Wanganui Chronicle, 03 May 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC18810503.2.13, accessed 26/07/2021.
[4] ‘Officers and Employes in the railway service. List setting out the name, status, and salary of each officer and employe in the railway service, in the order of his rank; Also, the number of years he has been in the service.’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1895, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1895/I/1692, accessed 26/07/2021.
[5] ‘Officers and Employees in the railway service. List setting out the name, status, and salary of each officer and employe in the railway service, in the order of his rank; Also, the number of years he has been in the service.’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1896, p. 24, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1896/I/1685, accessed 26/07/2021.
[6] News and Notes’, Hawera & Normanby Star, 30 October 1891, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HNS18911030.2.8, accessed 26/07/2021.
[7] ‘Fires’, New Zealand Times, 30 June 1893, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18930630.2.33; accessed 26/07/2021.
[8] ‘Local and general’, Wanganui Chronicle, 22 September 1896, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC18960922.2.5, accessed 26/07/2021.
[9] ‘Wedding Bells and Country Socialites’, New Zealand Mail, 21 September 1899, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL18990921.2.39; ‘Wedding Bells and Country Socialites’, New Zealand Mail, 05 October 1899, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZMAIL18991005.2.43.6, accessed 26/07/2021.
[10] Harry Downey 1900 Parnell, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981.
[11] Harry Downey 1905 - 1906 Palmerston, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981.
[12] ‘Members of the railway Department. Listing setting out in order of classification name, status and pay of each member and probationer, and the number of years he has been in service of the department on 1st April 1911’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1911, p. 71, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1911/I/2611; ‘Members of the railway Department. Listing setting out in order of classification name, status and pay of each member and probationer, and the number of years he has been in service of the department on 1st April 1912’, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1912, p. 67, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1912/II/2539, accessed 26/07/2021.
[13] ‘A Popular Railwayman’, Manawatu Times, 23 February 1914, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19140223.2.19, accessed 26/07/2021.
[14] ‘Personal’, Manawatu Times, 22 October 1917, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19171022.2.11, accessed 26/07/2021.
[15] ‘A Reminiscence The Late Harry Downey’, Manawatu Times, 25 October 1917, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT19171025.2.4, accessed 26/07/2021.
