Outhwaite Family, Auckland

Thomas Outhwaite

Thomas Outhwaite was born at Ormside Hall in Westmoreland in 1805 and later lived in Preston. He practised as a solicitor in Paris before coming to New Zealand in 1841 on the ship, the Tyne, with the first Chief Justice of New Zealand, the Hon Sir William Martin and Hon William Swainson, the second Attorney-General of New Zealand. While on board, they worked on the drafting of the ordinances which would be necessary to establish the Supreme Court and its procedure.

Thomas Outhwaite was formally appointed by Lord John Russell of the Colonial Office as Registrar of the Supreme Court (now the High Court of New Zealand) and was the first person to hold that position (apart from Robert Fitzgerald, a planter from the West Indies who had, without the permission of the Colonial Office, just been appointed by Governor Hobson and who resigned in favour of Outhwaite) which he took up on 1 January 1842. Outhwaite also conducted a practice as a Barrister and was "the foremost Auckland lawyer". From 1844 Thomas Russell was his articled clerk for seven years. When Thomas Outhwaite retired in 1869, Sir George Arney, the second Chief Justice of New Zealand, paid tribute to Outhwaite's extraordinary firmness, patience, discretion and self-command. Outhwaite was also an active Auckland property developer and investor. For example, in 1874, he purchased William Swainson's "upper paddock" next to St Stephen's Chapel, Judges Bay and this area was cut up into numerous small building allotments.

Outhwaite was a very well-qualified musician. He had a fine tenor voice and, while in Paris, he had sung publicly. He had also studied the flute and the theory of music in harmony and counterpoint. He played both the piano and the violin and was the founder and conductor of the Sacred Harmonic Society, a forerunner of the Auckland Choral Society. Thomas Outhwaite delivered a lecture on 23 May 1843 on the History of Music with the principles he expounded being illustrated by the Philharmonic Society. This lecture appears to have engendered an interest in music in Auckland. He conducted the Philharmonic Society's orchestra and the Choral Society until 1852. He also acted as a conductor of church choirs. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Auckland Mechanics Institute, of which he was Vice-President, and was also a trustee of the savings bank. Thomas Outwaite was also interested in sport and in January 1845 he played Cricket for the Benedict's team on Bosworth Field. He died on 14 July 1879.

Grafton

It appears that Thomas Outhwaite and his family were living near the Auckland Domain by 1843. In 1844 he bought land and built a house on the south-western corner of Carlton Gore Road and Park Road opposite the Domain in the present-day Auckland suburb of Grafton. Most of this property was subdivided over the years and sold off although a parcel of land on the south side of Khyber Pass Road was gifted by the Outhwaites to the Catholic Church and is now the location of St Peter's College. The remaining portion of the family property included the family house on the corner of Carlton Gore Road and Park Road was gifted to the Newmarket Borough Council as a public amenity, and after the demolition of the house, Outhwaite Park was laid out, retaining as many of the mature specimen trees as possible.

Marie Henrietta Louise Outhwaite

Thomas Outhwaite's wife was Marie Henrietta Louise Outhwaite (née Roget). She was French, from the city of Besançon. Thomas and Louise led a very active life in early Auckland. For example, in the winter of 1842, the wife of the first Governor of New Zealand, Mrs Hobson gave a ball at Government House. The weather was bad, the roads seemingly impassable, but the guests managed, against considerable odds to be present. Through the mud, Thomas Outhwaite wheeled Marie Louise up to Government House in a wheelbarrow, prompting Lady Martin to call him a "chivalrous husband". In 1846 they attended a Twelfth Night party at St John's College at which each guest was expected to "contribute his ingenuity." To contribute his part, Thomas had his piano carried and carted from Grafton and back again by five men. In 1855-56, the family travelled to England and France. They were probably in Oxford in 1855 "for the first Oxford-Cambridge boat race" and in Paris in November 1855 at the time of the Universal Exposition where they were visiting Marie Louise's "old circle of family and friends." With the exception of that one trip, she remained in Auckland from 1841 until her death in 1905. She was a lady of "refined testes, high scholastic attainments, a fluent linguist, and was of great charm and dignity of manner." "Somewhat retiring", she was charitable in "a quiet, unostentatious way."

Charles Thomas Outhwaite

The oldest son in the family, Charles Thomas Outhwaite, was born in Auckland in 1845. He was a sportsman, and judges associate. He was educated in Auckland (St Peter's School) and in Paris; he was, for a period, associate to Sir George Arney, Chief Justice of New Zealand. "Although a keen sportsman, yachtsman and cricketer, an accomplished musician and a lover of literature, Mr. Outhwaite was of a retiring disposition, taking no part in public life, yet generously interested in the advancement of his country and the well-being of its people."

William Eugene Outhwaite

William Eugene Outhwaite (B.A., Oxon., Barrister-at-Law of the Inner temple) was the second son of Thomas and Louise Outhwaite. He was born in Auckland in 1847 He spent some of his early child life in Paris and London. He received some education in Paris. When he returned to New Zealand he was "an excellent marksman with the rifle" so signed on for the New Zealand Wars as a teenager at 15 (under the appointed age of 16) but did not see action. He received further education at St Peter's School, Auckland where he was taught by Richard O'Sullivan and at the Church of England Grammar School. He studied law in the 1860s at Oxford. He received help in choosing a college (Lincoln College was chosen) and hospitality while he was in England from Cardinal Newman who was a friend of Bishop Pompallier, the first Catholic Bishop of Auckland. William Outhwaite was in London according to the English Census of 1871. He returned to Auckland after he became a Barrister-at-Law of the Inner Temple and in Auckland became a barrister of the Courts of New Zealand (admitted in 1890) and "took office." William Outhwaite was a man of wide culture and many interests. He was a sportsman (he played cricket), sports enthusiast and critic as well as practising as a lawyer. He was a writer. He was a playwright. He wrote an educative play called A Ladies' Guide to Cricket and also a libretto for the cantata Art and Mind. This cantata was originally written (with music composed by Auckland Composer, Professor Carl Schmitt) for the opening of the Auckland Art Gallery building in 1887, but it was not first performed until 1888. The libretto, which was written in poetic form, was considered to "have no mean literary merit" (e.g. Weird as the wind in forest pines,/Loud as the dashing, surging sea,/ Sweet as the bell-bird's matin song/Swell our paeons of harmony). William Outhwaite wrote other poetry which was published and he was a theatre critic (under the name "Orpheus") for several publications. He was also a musician. His instrument was the cello. He died on 10 April 1900.

Isa Outhwaite

For the Australian artist see Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.

Anne Jane Louisa (Isa) Outhwaite 1842–1925 was a noted artist. She exhibited in Auckland from 1875 until 1900 As were all the members of the Outhwaite family, Isa Outhwaite was a prominent citizen of Auckland and was engaged in many social, philanthropic and Catholic initiatives. She (and earlier, her mother Marie H Louise) was a close friend of Mother Suzanne Aubert, founder of the religious order, the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion. She conducted a correspondence with Mother Aubert for many years. Isa Outhwaite was also active in the protection of animals and she was a prison "official visitor" and welfare worker for women prisoners. Isa Outhwaite also wrote poetry and in 1916 she contributed a verse to a very early Australian ANZAC day memorial book (Their death Our Life: For the mortal shroud of our immortal heroes, Love weaves Peace). She also wrote stories for children. Isa Outhwaite was the last of the family to die. She bequeathed the house and land in Park Road to the citizens of Newmarket for the establishment of Outhwaite Park and the site on the other side of Khyber Pass Rd to the Catholic Bishop of Auckland for the education of Catholic boys. This led to the establishment of St Peter's College. She also left money for this purpose. The family also owned Taranga or Hen Island in the Hen and Chicken Islands and Isa Outhwaite left this island to the nation as a bird sanctuary. She had retained the family connection with France and left £500 for the poor people of Besançon. She is publicly remembered in Besançon for her philanthropy.

Long lives

Marie H Louise Outhwaite died on 4 July 1905 (aged 91). Thomas and Louise had four children, two sons and two daughters. Victorine Outhwaite was born in Paris in 1837 (and perhaps named after the new Queen in London). Isa Outhwaite was born in Auckland in 1842. Charles Outhwaite was born in Auckland in 1845 and William Eugene (see above) was also born in Auckland in 1847. None of the four children married or had their own children. Victorine, Isa and Charles all died in the same year, 1925. Victorine Outhwaite died on 21 March 1925 at the age of 88. Charles Outhwaite died on 24 June 1925 aged 80. Isa Outhwaite died on 13 December 1925 aged 83.

Interment and memory

Marie H Louise, Victorine, Isa, Charles and William Outhwaite are interred in the Catholic section of Waikaraka Cemetery, Onehunga. Thomas Outhwaite is buried, with his unmarried sister, Ann Jane Outhwaite, who lived with the family and who died in 1881, in the graveyard of St Stephen's Chapel, Judges Bay (an Anglican cemetery). On 2 May 2012 a ceremony was held to bless the restored Outhwaite family grave at Waikaraka Cemetery. The restoration occurred on the initiative of Hillsborough resident, Jenny Doherty. The blessing was carried out by Monsignor David Tonks, on behalf of the Catholic Bishop of Auckland and in the presence of representatives of St Peter's College ("about two dozen boys" who performed the St Peter's College Haka at the blessing), the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion and the Anglican church. Msgr Tonks told the gathering about a grapevine outside Auckland's St Patrick's Cathedral believed to have come from a vine brought to New Zealand by Bishop Pompallier, the first Bishop of Auckland. He said: "The Outhwaites were an important 'vine' in the early church in Auckland" and "we remember what the family gave us". In 2015, St Peter's College completed a 12-classroom block on Mountain Rd named the "Outhwaite Building" in memory of the Outhwaite family.