English and Maori descendants of William Geary, Settler 1800-1866, & Etahi Taputai gathered on the 10^th & 11^th January 2009 at Portobello, Otago Peninsula....  

The Geary family was established near here in 1842. William Geary was born in Nottingham and transported to Tasmania in 1831, for seven years for trying to steal a bag of wheat to make into bread for his 4 English children.

When he completed his sentence, he became a whaler and ended up at Waikouaiti in 1840, working for Johnny Jones. Jones was unable to pay his wages so William Geary took a cow in payment, ferrying it across Otago Harbour in a small boat. He began farming there and trading with the whalers who called in at Otakou. In the off-season, he grew potatoes which he took to the ports of Wellington and New Plymouth to sell to the new settlers.

On one of these trips in about 1846, he met Etahi Taputai, a Maori woman connected to Porikapa Te Wareware, a Taranaki rangitira. Etahi belonged to the Nga Mahanga hapu of the Taranaki iwi. Their land extended from present day New Plymouth to Warea on the coast and inland to Mt. Taranaki. When William Geary took Etahai Taputai back with him to Otakou, she was given a tokotoko korero with the whakapapa carved on it. This is a very tapu taonga in the Geary whanau and it is taken to hui, tangi, and weddings, also put into the bed of a sick person to this day.

Etahi and William Geary had three sons, John, (Hone Kere) Thomas (Piri Aotaka) and William (no known Maori name). They moved to a farm at Portobello and there William and Etahi were later buried in a private urupa.

Fifteen years ago the wider Geary family gathered for a Reunion. The descendants of William and Etahi Geary were scattered far and wide and it was a great coming together. Many did not know the history of the family at that time and found lots of cousins and aunties and uncles they did not know about.

In January 2009, the family were drawn together again at Portobello where there was much interest in the family trees compiled by Celia Geary and Doug Brunton. Also a book had been written outlining the history of the Geary family as it is known. Many photos were taken and are now on 'Facebook'.

At the Reunion in 2009, it was decided at a meeting of the whanau to put a permanent marker on the graves of William and Etahi Geary on the land facing the sea where they had lived and died. It was also decided to proceed through the Maori Land Court to register the Geary Whanau interest in land which had been granted the three sons of William and Etahi. Neil Jury is endeavouring to do this, but finds there is a lot of red tape to overcome.

The Reunion in January 2009 has fired the interest of many whanau to explore their own particular trail back to their tipuna in Taranaki and to the two remaining marae at Oakura and Puniho. I would encourage anyone belonging to the Geary Whanau, reading this, to make the journey to the marae and learn more about their whakapapa.

Celia Geary

Feilding.