Robert Toms
Dwelling #228.
Group Number 1

Group Members

The table below shows the people that make up the group.

No Last Name First Names Maiden Name Relationship Occupation Born Died School Year
1 Toms Robert (Bob) Husband Mail contractor, farmer, orchardist
2 Toms Mary Lavinia (Polly) Hancock Wife (1st)
3 Toms Cecil Denny (Snow) Child 3 Jul 1912 4 Feb 1918
4 Toms Phillis Mary Child 16 Oct 1913 30 Oct 1918
5 Toms Ronald James (Rusty) Child 25 Aug 1915 15 Nov 1920
6 Toms Richard Herbert Child 23 Aug 1916 28 Jun 1921
7 Toms Lloyd Allenby Child 6 Dec 1918 8 Jun 1923
8 Toms Lola June Child 21 Apr 1921 21 Nov 1927
9 Toms Margaret (Maggie) Breen Wife (2nd)

Notes

The table below shows any historical notes about the party group.

Note Date Short Description Note Text
2546 1915 General note

At this time the author does not have reliable information about the location in Bannockburn of the Toms family. However - it appears that around 1915 Mr Toms either sold dwelling #241 with the orchard, or leased it out.

2547 c1915 - c1920 Robert Toms purchased his land.

Robert Toms purchased a parcel of land on the western side of Tineys Gully which included the farm run by his father Thomas Toms (1) and dwelling #449. On a site on the west side of the gully road, and the corner of Toms Road south side, he built a new house. This house (dwelling #228) was a three bedroom home, constructed of concrete, cast insitu, or homemade concrete blocks, with a timber and corrugated iron roof. Mr Toms planted an orchard of grafted apricots, cherries and walnuts. He also planted an apricot orchard on the northern side of Quartzville Road. This was later owned by Mr A R Henderson (see dwelling #13). He also helped to plant other orchards in the area.

2548 1920 Stoned directory listing.

Stones directory lists Robert Toms as a mail contractor. He worked on his orchards and helped to plant others in the area, as well as farming dairy cows.

2549 1921 Robert elected chairman of the Bannockburn School Committee.

Robert elected chairman of the Bannockburn School Committee.

2550 1921 Birth of Lola June Toms.

Lola June Toms was born on 21 Apr 1921. She was raised by Robert Toms brother (William) and his wife, after the death of Mrs Poly Toms in 1922.

2551 1922 Death of Mary Lavinia (Polly) Toms

Mary Lavinia Toms died on 24 Sep 1922, of pnemonia, at the age of 42 years. She is buried in the Cromwell cemetery.

2552 c1923 Robert sold his mail contracting business.

Around 1923, Robert Toms sold his mail contracting business to Edward Lawrence who had been working for him. The business sold for £40 (forty pounds) which included two horses, a cart, and a gig.

2553 unknown Robert employed a housekeeper to look after the children.

Following the death of his wife Polly, Mr Toms employed a housekeeper to look after his children. This was Margaret Breen. The author has no details on Margaret Breen, however Stones directory does list a Mr James Breen as an orchardist in Bannockburn between 1915 and 1918 (see dwelling #241).

2554 1925/1926 Robert leased his farm to his brother William

Mr Robert Toms leased his dairy farm and orchards to his brother William (Bill) Toms for one year. Robert Toms moved to Dunedin with his housekeeper and children where he worked as a builder on he construction of the New Zealand South Seas exhibition. It is not known if anybody lived in dwelling #228 during this time.

2555 1927 Robert and family return from Dunedin.

Robert Toms and his family returned from Dunedin. On his return Mr Toms constructed a new house on the corner of Jocelyn Road and Gully Road, western side. This was dwelling $237, which was constructed of sun-dried mud-bricks with a timber and corrugated iron roof. The material for the bricks was obtained from close to the site. The timber and corrugated iron was brought back from Dunedin, having been part of the exhibition buildings. The mud-bricks were initially not plastered on the outside, but by later years they were rough cast with cement plaster.

2556 1929/1930 Robert Toms married his housekeeper Margaret Breen.

Robert Toms married his housekeeper Margaret Breen.

2557 c1930 Dwelling #228 was sold to Mr David Donaldson.

Robert Toms and his family moved to the new dwelling #237. Dwelling #228 and the surrounding dairy farm was sold to Mr David Donaldson.


Images

The table below shows a list of images related to the party group. Click on 'View Image' to display more details about the image, and to view the image.

Image Id Source Date Short Description
149 Ted Lawrence Collection c1900 Little Tom - the Cannon - Quartzville. View Image
1202 Mrs D Norman, Roxburgh 1910 Postcard "Bannockburn Bridge" View Image
1240 J W Toms - Roxburgh 1899 William Toms, Robert Toms & Jim Hancock View Image