William Buchanan Maxwell headstone

William was born in the village of Gillingham near Chatham, Kent, England in 1837, after an active naval military service he arrived in NZ in 1863 and after serving with the Taranaki militia he settled in the Tauranga & Rotorua regions. It is here that he met Te Aira te Teira te Taipu and they had three children together, Ani Okeroa, Horowaewae George Maxwell & Taitimu Emma, Ani married Rangi Douglas , Horowaewae married firstly Te Amo Hakopa and secondly Iranui Mohi & Taitimu married Ereatara Heke. It seems that William and Te Aira separated towards the end of the 19th century with William continuing to have an active life including guiding (reputedly the first Pakeha guide in Rotorua) fire fighting, labouring and mining. The last 15-20 years of his life were spent in Te Aroha close to his mining interests and where be became something of a local celebrity and a real character of the Te Aroha township where he was known as ‘Old Mac’ or ‘the General’. He died in August of 1915 and after a massive funeral procession where the whole town turned out he was buried in the Te Aroha cemetery. Recently we have rediscovered his burial site and the purpose of our hui on the 30th November, 2019 ( held at Tarimano Marae, Awahou, Rotorua) is to learn more about his and Te Aira’s life and on the 1st December 2019 at Te Aroha cemetery, to erect and unveil a memorial stone for his unmarked grave. We are aiming to fundraise and erect the stone before the 30th November and we welcome donations from his many descendants. All funds raised will be used to pay for his memorial stone and also cover other costs related to the hui at Rotorua on the 30th Nov.