William Bayly Bray (1812 – 1885) Died of old age Place of Death: Christchurch Behind the naming of the suburb of Avonhead. Buried at Woolston Cemetery, Christchurch The story of William Bayly Bray: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/avonhead-william-bayley-bray-1812-1885/ Photo taken by Annette Bulovic.
William, his wife Harriet and their four children arrived in Lyttelton in June 1851. Engineer by trade, William purchased 500 acres and called it Avonwood Farm. William discovered quite a few springs on his land that made the beginning of the Avon River so as it was the head of the Avon River, it was …
I can’t begin to fathom how surreal the afternoon/evening of the 16th December 1850 would have been for the Deans brothers. Especially as they may have stood in the doorway of the Deans Cottage while the shrieks and shouts of two stripped down male settlers splashed about in the Avon River – their echoes adding …
