Thomas and Phyllis (nee Davies) Petersen

Thomas Edward Petersen, son of Edward Jens Peter Petersen and Catherine Margaret Jane (June) Wyeth, was born on 15 Apr 1909 in Masterton, New Zealand.  Thomas was married on 6 Mar 1937 to Phyllis May Thirkel Davies , daughter of John (Jack) Davies and Kate Ada Thirkel Hawkins. Phyllis was born on 16 Apr 1912 in Makara.  

Their Children were:

Brian Thomas Petersen was born on 30 Mar 1939 and died on 17 Feb 1991 at age 51.

Heather June Petersen was born on 3 Mar 1945.

Thomas died on 25 Nov 1988 at age 79, he was cremated at Whenua Tapu Cemetery, Pukerua Bay, Porirua, Wellington on 28 Nov 1988 and his remains buried at Levin Cemetery.  Phyllis died 11 Jan 1998, Levin and was buried at the Levin Cemetery

PHYLLIS AND TOM PETERSEN (written by Tom himself)

This story has its beginning at the same time as the one before it - - namely the social activities of the Muhunoa East area started by my mother and continuing on during much of the Depression period.

At this time I was able to provide the dance music by means of the school piano which I played by ear in an amateurish fashion, but none the less everyone had fun at a time when even the 1/6d (15c) it cost for a seat at the pictures was hard to come by.

In the Wairarapa tennis was very popular among our family there and most of them had courts of some sort or other, so we duly dug out some of the slope of our front lawns and formed a fairly good grass court there. It provided various neighbours with such enjoyment and helped to build up a very good district spirit. Among the young people who played there was a certain Phyllis Davies who apart from playing a fair game of tennis also showed a more than average ability as a cook with the 'goodies' she brought to help with the afternoon tea. A fact which did not escape my father who remarked to my brother and I. If one of you boys don't marry that girl, I'll do it myself. Obedient lad that I as, I later did just that.

Our mother died in 1929 aged 45 years, and a lot of adjustment came in the wake of that event. The bread cast on the waters by my mothers efforts in the district bore fruit in the help and support we received from the residents during that period, even to the extent of putting on a party for my 21st birthday. The leather wallet they gave me is still in use and in good order too.

As the Depression deepened the plight of young people was not a happy one and jobs of any sort were almost impossible to get. I remember digging and bagging potatoes for 1/6d (15c) a 1 cwt bag, no fortune in that. Shearing time (once a year those days.  I got a job as fleeco, but can't remember the wages. Whatever it was was very welcome.  From there to shearing mostly at One pound five shilling. per 100. But it helped to keep us going and many good friendships came as a result of it.  Here the Davies family came into the picture in the form of jobs about the farm and a chance to get to know the second daughter of the house a little better. Also at this time (1932) came the cold fact that an ambition to become an aeronautical engineer would not be realised and I settled for buying 50 acres of dairy farm in Tararua Road. Stoney unimproved with just a cow shed as buildings. Everyone said that the 1/- (10c) butterfat payment could not go lower, so we budgeted for that and hoped. However 1933 proved to be worse than 1932 and the payment that year was 9d.

Some timber was on the place when it was brought and a 2 roomed batch was built, the cost of which I am not sure. Improvements were out of the question, so the wolf was kept from the door by shearing and any odd jobs available which were hard to come by. So 1934 passed and 1935 arrived but no relief.

Mrs. Kate Davies at this time had a Two thousand pound mortgage on 72 acres in Tararua Road and the then occupier found himself unable to meet the interest payments and approached Kate to take the farm back. However at that time the Davies in company with most other farmers had enough problems keeping their own farm afloat and did not want it back, so suggested that if I thought I could pay the 5% interest on the two thousand pounds as a rental I would be doing them a favour as well as may be getting myself in a better position. So I cut my losses on the 50 acres, pulled up my stakes and moved 1 mile up the road. More cows were needed beyond the 25 I already had, so I bought 10 heifers at three pound and fifteen shillings each with a rural credit loan.

The house on the 72 acres had been occupied by a man who had a mental breakdown and when they moved him to the hospital his family did not know what to do with his two dozen fowls and shut them in the back bedroom for a few days until they could sell them. I used a spade at first, then cut a hole in the floor, and with hot water and a yard broom managed to get it livable.

Since I had no ready cash, John Davies provided posts and other materials for necessary fencing etc. in order that I could get the project moving. A big river protection job bad just been started in the Davies farm, and since labour was needed I took the opportunity of paying off the value of the materials supplied to me. This meant being on the job at 8 a.m. after milking and getting breakfast, working 8 hours on the river and milking again after I got home  all for 1/- per hour. No money ever changed hands but the debt was paid in full. It may be noted that after weeks of work on that stretch of bank an extra high flood caused the river to change course and it rolled the whole lot up like a carpet and it had to be done again.

By 1936 things were still bad but Phyl and I realised that if possible, hard though it may be we should think of marrying and making a go of it together. This meant some upgrading of the house as it was in pretty poor shape. The flat roof was turned to gable, a bathroom and wash house added, all at the cost of three hundred pounds. Two hundred pounds we accepted as our responsibility, the other one hundred pounds being necessary in any case.

To this time a bike was all the transport we had, but a half ton Ford truck became some help about the end of 1936.

All this time I had the help and encouragement of Phyl and her parents which must be recorded. Many things happened during those years. 1931 the Hawkes Bay earthquake with Phyl in P.N. hospital for an appendix operation and not knowing there was an earthquake. 1936 the S.E. hurricane which devastated the bush on the ranges, uprooted trees on the flats and demolished many sheds and fences. There was no power for 3 days, but I was fortunate to be able to have the help of a man who was unemployed and glad of a few shillings to help out.

And so to 1937 and the 6 March, our wedding day. Just relatives and close neighbours, but a dance in the Ohau Hall for the younger folk of our acquaintance. A borrowed car, about five pound in my pocket, a borrowed tent and ten days later back to the beginning of what has been a grand partnership. The farm still could not stand on its own, so each shearing time I went shearing for as long as possible and now I could go and stay and work 5.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., while a neighbours boy helped Phyl milk and a daughter stayed with her at nights. In this way the two hundred pound of house repairs was paid off, and we were making progress. 1939 came War and also the beginning of the supply of milk to Wellington. It was collected by truck in 10 gallon cans, loaded on rail wagons and sent by train to Wellington - it was 24 hours old before the consumers even saw it. 1939 also saw the arrival of Brian, the end of the Ford truck, and the advent of a 1937 Austin 7. The price was seventy five pound, and at that time they were one hundred and thirty five pounds new. 1940 and the Air Training Scheme brought changes to the area too. The boys Training Farm in Kimberley Road became R.N.Z.A.F. Weraroa, and the initial Training Wing was established. It also led to our being able to supply milk to the Air Station. This period also saw the end of the first 5 years of the Lease, and a renewal with an optional purchasing Clause, the price being set at two thousand three hundred pounds. This option was taken up some time during the next 5 years, but the exact date I do not remember. The capital was paid off at quarterly interest dates from then and the farm became freehold before the end of the War.

By the end of the War in 1945 and the arrival of Heather we had managed to improve the farm and production to a much more acceptable level and were able to buy our own mower and top dresser instead of hiring one.

Then in November 1945 'Pop' Davies died suddenly and many adjustments had to be made to our lifestyle to cope with Mums future alone,  I must record here the grand relationship I had with my father in law, both in working together and in every other way. He had a supreme confidence in my ability to do practical things and this was fine when it came to fencing or wood splitting etc, but following the building of a wool shed to cope with the change from cows to sheep he brought from Harry Rowlands a shaft driven 2 stand shearing plant (dismantled) and a Donald wool press very worm eaten and said, 'Tell me what you need to put them in working order and I'll get it'.

Well the challenge was there and I had to accept it. You don't know what you can do until you try. It took some time but the plant worked well and was still there when the place was sold to Harold Marsh. After Pop died our time had to be spread to cover taking care of a lot of jobs that Mum could not do, so most weekends saw us there to mow lawns and cut wood etc., as well as helping with sheep work when needed. 1956 was the year we had to face the next big change in our home life. Brian joined the R.N.Z.A.F. Boy entrant school at Woodbourne on an 8 year contract and it seemed an awful long time from January to Easter when he got his first leave. 1957 Bill Davies died at the early age of 53 and another link of the chain was broken. I had been groomsman at the wedding of Bill and Dorrie back in the depression years.

In 1962 Brian married Eileen Taylor in Blenheim and we all flew down for the occasion. Brian and Eileen established a home in Feilding and later in Palmerston North where the two boys, David and Ashley were born.

In 1962 also Mum died in her sleep on 10 June and in August Heather left on a working holiday to England. She was away until November 1963 and great was the joy when she came home. Soon she was back in her old job at Horowhenua County Council and in 1965 she married Peter Rolston and moved to the farm at Ihakara. They have 2 sons Mark and Brent and a daughter Tracy, the only girl in that generation.

When his 8 years in R.N.Z.A.F. was over Brian joined B.P. Oil, spent some time in Wellington and then went to Fiji for two years before coming back to Head Office where he still is.

Peter and Heather work hard on their land, have established horticulture blocks of kiwifruit, tamarillos etc., and Peter is now a Registered Valuer with Heather doing the typing and supporting generally.

And so as the little boy who sat on an ice block said

'My Tale is told'.

Source - this 'tale' was written by Tom for Phyllis' cousin Beryl Savell.

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