Eileen Anita Birdling and James Dickson Stewart
Birth: 29 Jun 1896, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Death: 21 Dec 1983, Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand
Burial: Pleasant Point, Timaru District, Canterbury, New Zealand
Death: 21 Dec 1983, Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand
Burial: Pleasant Point, Timaru District, Canterbury, New Zealand
Spouse: James Dickson Stewart
Birth: 2 May 1888, New Zealand
Death: 3 Mar 1939, Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand
Marriage: 3 Jun 1920, New Zealand
Children: James Birdling (1922-2011)
Colin Dickson Birdling (1928-1970)
Birth: 2 May 1888, New Zealand
Death: 3 Mar 1939, Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand
Marriage: 3 Jun 1920, New Zealand
Children: James Birdling (1922-2011)
Colin Dickson Birdling (1928-1970)
Eileen Anita Birdling was born in Hornby, then outside of Christchurch, New Zealand, on June 29, 1896. He was the third of the four children and only daughter of Arthur John Birdling and Emily Callaghan. Her parents were landed gentry, having both been children of immigrants who had become successful in the cattle-raising trade. Eileen was raised on one of her grandfather’s family farms. When she was six, her grandfather William died, and the family moved to Lansdown, the larger farm at Halswell.
According to family lore, Eileen was sent, in 1913 or so, to board at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Timaru, 100 miles south of Christchurch. Thanks to the good work of Teresa Scott at the South Canterbury Genealogical Society, Timaru, we now know that Eileen was entered the Convent School on February 3, 1906, at the age of 10. She left on December 10, 1909. Like the Convent school in Christchurch which her mother attended, the school was run by “the Madames,” the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
Founded in 1800 by Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865) in the turmoil of post-revolutionary France, the Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (RSCJ, Religieuses du Sacré-Coeur de Jesus) focused on providing schools for the poor as well as boarding schools for young women of means. In New Zealand, the Sisters were commonly known as the Sacré-Coeur sisters. On a visit to France, Bishop Pompallier asked Madeleine Sophie, then superior general of the order, to send teaching sisters to New Zealand. In 1880, Suzannah Boudreaux (a native of Louisiana) and five sisters founded a parish primary and girls secondary school in Timaru. Schools were later established at Erskine Island Bay, Wellington (1905) and Baradene in Auckland (1908). The Timaru school was sold to the Sisters of Mercy in 1935, and no records exist in their archives from before the sale, so we have no details of Eileen’s time there, but her attendance is supported by the lifelong friendship she made there with the Stewart sisters, Tena (Christina) and Kate.
In 1910, she was sent to Christchurch to attend the newly opened St. Margaret’s College.
According to the St. Margaret’s website (https://stmargarets.school.nz/explore-our-college/our-history/):
Our College was founded in 1910 through the energy, faith, and determination of Bishop (later Archbishop) Julius who convinced the Synod of the Diocese of Christchurch of the need to establish a school for girls to parallel that already set up for boys. The Sisters of the Kilburn Order in London were invited to set up the College and it opened at 28 Armagh Street with 50 pupils. Under the Sisters, the College flourished and in 1913, with a roll of over 100, it moved into a new building on the corner of Cranmer Square and Chester Street West.
That building is now part of the Cathedral Grammar School. For more on the Kilburn Sisters and their founder Emily Ayckbowm, see http://kilburnwesthampstead.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-kilburn-sisters-children-in-iron.html. Eileen was a first day pupil and No 50 on the school list.
Our College was founded in 1910 through the energy, faith, and determination of Bishop (later Archbishop) Julius who convinced the Synod of the Diocese of Christchurch of the need to establish a school for girls to parallel that already set up for boys. The Sisters of the Kilburn Order in London were invited to set up the College and it opened at 28 Armagh Street with 50 pupils. Under the Sisters, the College flourished and in 1913, with a roll of over 100, it moved into a new building on the corner of Cranmer Square and Chester Street West.
That building is now part of the Cathedral Grammar School. For more on the Kilburn Sisters and their founder Emily Ayckbowm, see http://kilburnwesthampstead.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-kilburn-sisters-children-in-iron.html. Eileen was a first day pupil and No 50 on the school list.
The yearbooks give a glimpse of the curriculum at St. Margaret’s with a list of some of annual the awards given: Divinity, Arithmetic, Reading, Mathematics, Languages, Needlework, Drawing, Brushwork, General Knowledge, French, and Shakespeare. Sports included field hockey, swimming, tramping (hiking), and golf, and there was an equestrian club. Eileen was definitely on the hockey team and was probably on the golf team and in the equestrian club.
In 1914, the Great War broke out in Europe. Eileen’s older brothers quickly joined their friends in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles. Gerry went in as a trooper and shipped out quickly for Egypt and then Gallipoli, where he was wounded in the leg. Because of his previous time in the Territorial Force, Jack went to officer training and entered the War as a lieutenant. He was not as fortunate as Gerry. He ended up at the Battle of the Somme, where he was killed leading the raid on Goose Alley. The New Zealand government gave a small stipend to the families of soldiers who died in the Great War. Jack’s mother had matching watches made for herself and Eileen to commemorate Jack’s passing. Emily’s was destroyed in the fire that leveled the Halswell house in 1944. Eileen’s granddaughter Juliana still has hers.
It was thought that Eileen had been elected Peninsula and Ellsmere Queen and been runner up to the Canterbury Queen in 1916. The following article from Weekly Press (29 March 1916) was posted to her Find-a-grave website:
Canterbury Queen Election, St Patrick's Day Gala, held on the Southbridge Recreation ground, on behalf of the Peninsula and Ellesmere Queen (Miss Birdling) which added about 900 pound to the Canterbury Patriotic Fund. The gala was one of the most sucessful ever held in the Ellesmere County. A procession headed by the local school children, marched from the town to the Recreation Ground. The most sucessful item of the gala itself was the Baby Queen Election, in which there were three candidates, Victory going to Miss Connie Greenall, the little Rakaia candidate. Mis Ngahuia Matere (Sedgemere) was second. Miss Ellen Free (Southbridge) The election brought the sum of 375 pounds.
Unfortunately, further research shows that the Miss Birdling in the article is Eileen’s first cousin Myrtle, daughter of Frank G. Birdling.
One of Eileen’s earliest loves was horses, and she became an excellent rider, competing on many shows over the years. At one of those competitions in Timaru in 1918, Eileen met James Stewart.
It was thought that Eileen had been elected Peninsula and Ellsmere Queen and been runner up to the Canterbury Queen in 1916. The following article from Weekly Press (29 March 1916) was posted to her Find-a-grave website:
Canterbury Queen Election, St Patrick's Day Gala, held on the Southbridge Recreation ground, on behalf of the Peninsula and Ellesmere Queen (Miss Birdling) which added about 900 pound to the Canterbury Patriotic Fund. The gala was one of the most sucessful ever held in the Ellesmere County. A procession headed by the local school children, marched from the town to the Recreation Ground. The most sucessful item of the gala itself was the Baby Queen Election, in which there were three candidates, Victory going to Miss Connie Greenall, the little Rakaia candidate. Mis Ngahuia Matere (Sedgemere) was second. Miss Ellen Free (Southbridge) The election brought the sum of 375 pounds.
Unfortunately, further research shows that the Miss Birdling in the article is Eileen’s first cousin Myrtle, daughter of Frank G. Birdling.
One of Eileen’s earliest loves was horses, and she became an excellent rider, competing on many shows over the years. At one of those competitions in Timaru in 1918, Eileen met James Stewart.
James Dickson Stewart was born on May 3, 1888, at Clover Hill farm, Totara Valley. He was the oldest of the seven children of Robert Erskine Stewart, a sheep farmer from Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland, and Margaret Dickson from Westkirk, Dumphries Scotland. Margaret’s parents owned a farm at Cave, just over the hill from Clover Hill.
Totara Valley is a small rural community in the Timaru District, New Zealand, located north-west of Pleasant Point and east of Albury. Totara are large, fruit-bearing trees. According to the family story, Robert came to New Zealand via the gold fields in Australia and went to Oamaru (about an hour south of where he ended up) and worked on the Totara estate—a large land holding of the time. He and two others left, came up to the Valley and took up land, calling it Totara Valley after their previous workplace. (That story is now in doubt, though.). In 1894, Robert purchased 550 acres of land from the New Zealand and Australia Land company and called it Clover Hill. Three years later, he bought 450 acres, bringing his freehold up to 1000 acres. In one season, he had 360 acres in wheat, 100 acres in oats, and 30 acres in turnips.
Robert and Margaret were successful, and they gave back to the community by dedicating an acre of their land for the construction of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. Built in 1890, St. Paul’s could hold 120 worshippers, though the population of Totara Valley in 1900 was only 40. Decades later, when the farm was split between James’ sons, one part remained Clover Hill and the other part was renamed Church Farm. St. Paul’s was damaged by the series of earthquakes in 2010-2012.
Young Jim learned early in life about loss and responsibility. When he was just six, his maternal grandmother Elizabeth Harvey Dickson drowned in a creek in their farm in Cave. The inquest determined it was an accident because she was known to have had seizures. In the morning, she told her husband that she did not feel well and needed to go to the outhouse. He failed to notice when she had not returned after three-and-a-half hours. In 2023, a forensics specialist in California read the inquest report and thought suicide was far more likely. Two months later, Jim’s two-and-a-half-year-old brother Bobby died at Clover Hill. The family thinks he drowned as well, but it is possible the deaths of Bobby and his grandmother have been confounded over the years.
In 1899, when Jim was only eleven, his mother gave birth to a daughter Mary Jane who had Down Syndrome. Six month later, Jim became the man of the house when his father died of a gunshot to the head. The policeman on the scene initially thought it was either a murder or a suicide, but the inquest decided it was an accident. Robert, Sr., after complaining all morning about a headache, had decided to go out to the barn to put an old horse down. As he crossed the threshold of the house, he “snagged his rifle on something” and blew the back of his head off. The body was found hours later, though several people including his wife admitted having heard the gunshot, but none of them came to investigate. The same California forensics specialist found Robert’s situation “highly suspicious,” but without access to evidence from the scene, she could not conclude it was murder.
After Robert’s death, Jim’s maternal grandfather, Frank Dickson, left the outstation at the Cave which he managed for the New Zealand Land company and moved to Clover Hill to help his mother run the farm. Frank became the foreman and took over the everyday operation of the farm, and he lived in the limestone building above Clover Hill which had served as a church before St. Paul’s was built. He also undertook continuing Jim’s education in running a farm.
As Jim got older, his relationship with his mother, which had never been good, continued to deteriorate. It is unknown when, but it was decided that James would go apprentice on a farm in Owaka—a small village on the east coast about four hours away (today) from the farm—as a flax cutter.
New Zealand flax (aka harakeke leaf or phormium tenax) is a different plant from European flax (linum usitatissimum), but both were cultivated and harvested to make fabric. In the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, flax was woven into linen for garments. In New Zealand, the heavier harakeke was used to weave baskets, fish nets, and mats.
Jim stayed in Owaka until 1907, when his mother died. At that point, he inherited the farm—and the responsibility for raising his four siblings—and came home. He was only 19 years old. His grandfather continued as the manager of the farm, but Frank Dickson died suddenly two years later. No details of the death were given in the local papers. As his granddaughter said,
From there he and his eldest sister, Elizabeth, ran things and sent the younger children off to school. Frank went to Waitaki Boys High in Oamaru, and the girls, Katie and Christina (Tena) went firstly to the convent in Timaru and then to Columba college, a private girls’ school in Dunedin.
Jim probably went to Hazelburn school like his younger siblings, but that school’s records no longer exist. He did not go to Pleasant Point school like Frank, Tena, and Kate, and he never attended Boys School or College.
Now 21 years old and generally known as JD Stewart (there was another, older James Stewart living in the area), Jim became a stalwart of the farming community. As a farmer, he was a member Wheat Market Control and the South Canterbury Stock Auctioneers’ Association. He would serve as “a valued member of the Saleyards Committee and an esteemed member of the farming community.” He and Frank were actively engaged in the Masonic Lodge St Martin #162. Starting in 1912, they began hosting meetings for the Totara bachelors (they had a large granary that could serve).
Whether due to wanderlust, economic opportunity, or the coming of age of his brother Frank (probably a bit of all three), JD decided to try his luck to Argentina. As told in the Timaru Herald (8 August 1914):
FAREWELL TO MR J. D. STEWART.
TOTARA VALLEY, That the people of Totara Valley do nothing by halves was exemplified in the success that attended the gathering arranged for last Monday evening, the object being to bid farewell to Mr. James D. Stewart, of Clover Hill, who is leaving for the Argentine. The social was held in the Clover Hill granary and in the absence of Mr. T. B. Garrick, who sent an apology, Mr. Ernest Talbot presided. He was ably assisted by a strong committee, and everything was well arranged, so that the function was a most agreeable one. Dancing, under the control of Messrs. Collins (2), and J. Naughton went on merrily to the splendid music of Messrs. Aitken and Preston, till about 11 p.m., when refreshments were handed round, after which the ceremony of the evening took place.
The chairman made a laudatory speech referred to Mr. Stewart in terms of the highest appreciation, and expressed regret at his departure from the Valley. Mr. Stewart, he said, had had "a very hard row to hoe,” being bereft while yet a youth of both parents, and afterwards of a wise grandfather. He had to accept the responsibility of managing the estate and the still greater burden of parentage to the younger members of the family. Those present knew how well he had fulfilled his task. (Applause.)
Mr. John Goldie said he had known Mr. Jim Stewart since he was a lad riding after the cattle. Mr. Stewart had received from his grandfather, Mr. Dickson, a thorough training in the best agricultural methods, and had followed them with great success. He wished him the best of fortune in his adopted land, and he suggested that Mr. Stewart should, now and again, send a few notes to the "Timaru Herald,'' for there were many who were anxious to hear more of that large and progressive State the Argentine Republic.
Mr. L. Laurenson, Mr. Alex Campbell, and Mr Hamilton also spoke, the last named on behalf of Timaru friends. Mr. George Steven, guardian of the Stewart family, was given the honour of making the presentation. He praised Mr. Stewart as a neighbour, and also as a manager. Clover Hill, he said, was one of the best managed farms in South Canterbury. Many people thought Mr. Stewart foolish to leave such a beautiful place, but, if he were young, he would be inclined, especially after reading Foster Fraser’s book on that country, to cast in his lot with Mr. Stewart. On behalf of the people of the district, he handed to Mr. Stewart a valuable gold watch.
“Foster Fraser’s book” was The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of Enterprise, by John Foster Fraser (1914). After a delay of several weeks, Jim finally set off. As stated in the Timaru Herald (24 Sept 1914):
After waiting for over a month, Mr. J. D. Stewart, of Totara Valley, has at length secured a steamer for the Argentine, and left for Wellington on Tuesday morning. Mr. Stewart is a young man of great energy and determination, and his career in South America will be followed with great interest by his many South Canterbury friends. Mr. Frank Stewart, his younger brother, will manage the Clover Hill estate during his absence.
On December 31, 1914, while he was in Argentina, JD’s sister Elizabeth married Richard Moorhouse. Frank walked her down the aisle in JD’s stead. By the end of 1915, though, JD seems to have returned home. Argentina does not seem to have been the boomtown country that Fraser led everyone to believe it was. With the War raging in Europe, Frank signed up for the Expeditionary force in December. He listed JD as his family contact at Clover Hill, so JD was home by then.
Totara Valley is a small rural community in the Timaru District, New Zealand, located north-west of Pleasant Point and east of Albury. Totara are large, fruit-bearing trees. According to the family story, Robert came to New Zealand via the gold fields in Australia and went to Oamaru (about an hour south of where he ended up) and worked on the Totara estate—a large land holding of the time. He and two others left, came up to the Valley and took up land, calling it Totara Valley after their previous workplace. (That story is now in doubt, though.). In 1894, Robert purchased 550 acres of land from the New Zealand and Australia Land company and called it Clover Hill. Three years later, he bought 450 acres, bringing his freehold up to 1000 acres. In one season, he had 360 acres in wheat, 100 acres in oats, and 30 acres in turnips.
Robert and Margaret were successful, and they gave back to the community by dedicating an acre of their land for the construction of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. Built in 1890, St. Paul’s could hold 120 worshippers, though the population of Totara Valley in 1900 was only 40. Decades later, when the farm was split between James’ sons, one part remained Clover Hill and the other part was renamed Church Farm. St. Paul’s was damaged by the series of earthquakes in 2010-2012.
Young Jim learned early in life about loss and responsibility. When he was just six, his maternal grandmother Elizabeth Harvey Dickson drowned in a creek in their farm in Cave. The inquest determined it was an accident because she was known to have had seizures. In the morning, she told her husband that she did not feel well and needed to go to the outhouse. He failed to notice when she had not returned after three-and-a-half hours. In 2023, a forensics specialist in California read the inquest report and thought suicide was far more likely. Two months later, Jim’s two-and-a-half-year-old brother Bobby died at Clover Hill. The family thinks he drowned as well, but it is possible the deaths of Bobby and his grandmother have been confounded over the years.
In 1899, when Jim was only eleven, his mother gave birth to a daughter Mary Jane who had Down Syndrome. Six month later, Jim became the man of the house when his father died of a gunshot to the head. The policeman on the scene initially thought it was either a murder or a suicide, but the inquest decided it was an accident. Robert, Sr., after complaining all morning about a headache, had decided to go out to the barn to put an old horse down. As he crossed the threshold of the house, he “snagged his rifle on something” and blew the back of his head off. The body was found hours later, though several people including his wife admitted having heard the gunshot, but none of them came to investigate. The same California forensics specialist found Robert’s situation “highly suspicious,” but without access to evidence from the scene, she could not conclude it was murder.
After Robert’s death, Jim’s maternal grandfather, Frank Dickson, left the outstation at the Cave which he managed for the New Zealand Land company and moved to Clover Hill to help his mother run the farm. Frank became the foreman and took over the everyday operation of the farm, and he lived in the limestone building above Clover Hill which had served as a church before St. Paul’s was built. He also undertook continuing Jim’s education in running a farm.
As Jim got older, his relationship with his mother, which had never been good, continued to deteriorate. It is unknown when, but it was decided that James would go apprentice on a farm in Owaka—a small village on the east coast about four hours away (today) from the farm—as a flax cutter.
New Zealand flax (aka harakeke leaf or phormium tenax) is a different plant from European flax (linum usitatissimum), but both were cultivated and harvested to make fabric. In the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, flax was woven into linen for garments. In New Zealand, the heavier harakeke was used to weave baskets, fish nets, and mats.
Jim stayed in Owaka until 1907, when his mother died. At that point, he inherited the farm—and the responsibility for raising his four siblings—and came home. He was only 19 years old. His grandfather continued as the manager of the farm, but Frank Dickson died suddenly two years later. No details of the death were given in the local papers. As his granddaughter said,
From there he and his eldest sister, Elizabeth, ran things and sent the younger children off to school. Frank went to Waitaki Boys High in Oamaru, and the girls, Katie and Christina (Tena) went firstly to the convent in Timaru and then to Columba college, a private girls’ school in Dunedin.
Jim probably went to Hazelburn school like his younger siblings, but that school’s records no longer exist. He did not go to Pleasant Point school like Frank, Tena, and Kate, and he never attended Boys School or College.
Now 21 years old and generally known as JD Stewart (there was another, older James Stewart living in the area), Jim became a stalwart of the farming community. As a farmer, he was a member Wheat Market Control and the South Canterbury Stock Auctioneers’ Association. He would serve as “a valued member of the Saleyards Committee and an esteemed member of the farming community.” He and Frank were actively engaged in the Masonic Lodge St Martin #162. Starting in 1912, they began hosting meetings for the Totara bachelors (they had a large granary that could serve).
Whether due to wanderlust, economic opportunity, or the coming of age of his brother Frank (probably a bit of all three), JD decided to try his luck to Argentina. As told in the Timaru Herald (8 August 1914):
FAREWELL TO MR J. D. STEWART.
TOTARA VALLEY, That the people of Totara Valley do nothing by halves was exemplified in the success that attended the gathering arranged for last Monday evening, the object being to bid farewell to Mr. James D. Stewart, of Clover Hill, who is leaving for the Argentine. The social was held in the Clover Hill granary and in the absence of Mr. T. B. Garrick, who sent an apology, Mr. Ernest Talbot presided. He was ably assisted by a strong committee, and everything was well arranged, so that the function was a most agreeable one. Dancing, under the control of Messrs. Collins (2), and J. Naughton went on merrily to the splendid music of Messrs. Aitken and Preston, till about 11 p.m., when refreshments were handed round, after which the ceremony of the evening took place.
The chairman made a laudatory speech referred to Mr. Stewart in terms of the highest appreciation, and expressed regret at his departure from the Valley. Mr. Stewart, he said, had had "a very hard row to hoe,” being bereft while yet a youth of both parents, and afterwards of a wise grandfather. He had to accept the responsibility of managing the estate and the still greater burden of parentage to the younger members of the family. Those present knew how well he had fulfilled his task. (Applause.)
Mr. John Goldie said he had known Mr. Jim Stewart since he was a lad riding after the cattle. Mr. Stewart had received from his grandfather, Mr. Dickson, a thorough training in the best agricultural methods, and had followed them with great success. He wished him the best of fortune in his adopted land, and he suggested that Mr. Stewart should, now and again, send a few notes to the "Timaru Herald,'' for there were many who were anxious to hear more of that large and progressive State the Argentine Republic.
Mr. L. Laurenson, Mr. Alex Campbell, and Mr Hamilton also spoke, the last named on behalf of Timaru friends. Mr. George Steven, guardian of the Stewart family, was given the honour of making the presentation. He praised Mr. Stewart as a neighbour, and also as a manager. Clover Hill, he said, was one of the best managed farms in South Canterbury. Many people thought Mr. Stewart foolish to leave such a beautiful place, but, if he were young, he would be inclined, especially after reading Foster Fraser’s book on that country, to cast in his lot with Mr. Stewart. On behalf of the people of the district, he handed to Mr. Stewart a valuable gold watch.
“Foster Fraser’s book” was The Amazing Argentine: A New Land of Enterprise, by John Foster Fraser (1914). After a delay of several weeks, Jim finally set off. As stated in the Timaru Herald (24 Sept 1914):
After waiting for over a month, Mr. J. D. Stewart, of Totara Valley, has at length secured a steamer for the Argentine, and left for Wellington on Tuesday morning. Mr. Stewart is a young man of great energy and determination, and his career in South America will be followed with great interest by his many South Canterbury friends. Mr. Frank Stewart, his younger brother, will manage the Clover Hill estate during his absence.
On December 31, 1914, while he was in Argentina, JD’s sister Elizabeth married Richard Moorhouse. Frank walked her down the aisle in JD’s stead. By the end of 1915, though, JD seems to have returned home. Argentina does not seem to have been the boomtown country that Fraser led everyone to believe it was. With the War raging in Europe, Frank signed up for the Expeditionary force in December. He listed JD as his family contact at Clover Hill, so JD was home by then.
Frank joined the 1st New Zealand Cycle Corp which had been founded in March and populated by recruits from the mounted rifle corps. The intend was to use them in France as mobile light infantry. They shipped out on the Mokoia in May, hearing initially for Egypt and then on to France. With trench warfare established on the Western Front, it became apparent that the cycle corps was ill-suited to the style. They were relegated to behind-the-lines jobs, like traffic control, running cables, and repairing trenches. For two years, Frank saw little or no action. In 1918, though, the members of the Cycle Corps were reassigned to the infantry in response to the impending “final push” by the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne. On July 27, 1918, Frank was wounded by an artillery shell and had both his legs amputated below the knees the next day. JD—who had been called up in December of 1916, but had not been conscripted because an eye injury—jumped aboard a ship and went to France to be with his brother. Frank spent two years in hospital rehabbing and learning to walk on tin prosthetics before returning home to Clover Hill in April 1920.
After returning home in late 1918, JD settled back into farm life. According to the family story, Eileen went down to the Timaru shows to participate in a horsemanship exhibition. On one occasion, she met up with her old school friends Tena and Katie Stewart. They introduced her to JD. He had driven the sisters down in a gig to the show. After the show, he drove his sisters back to the farm, dropped them off, and turned straight round and went back to town to see Eileen. And the rest is history.
Eileen and James were married on June 3, 1920 at St. Mary’s Church, Halswell, by Rev. C.C. Oldham. She was 26 and he was 32. Their first son, James Birdling Stewart, was born in 1922. A second son, Colin Dickson Stewart, was born in 1927.
After returning home in late 1918, JD settled back into farm life. According to the family story, Eileen went down to the Timaru shows to participate in a horsemanship exhibition. On one occasion, she met up with her old school friends Tena and Katie Stewart. They introduced her to JD. He had driven the sisters down in a gig to the show. After the show, he drove his sisters back to the farm, dropped them off, and turned straight round and went back to town to see Eileen. And the rest is history.
Eileen and James were married on June 3, 1920 at St. Mary’s Church, Halswell, by Rev. C.C. Oldham. She was 26 and he was 32. Their first son, James Birdling Stewart, was born in 1922. A second son, Colin Dickson Stewart, was born in 1927.
The Twenties were a good time for the Stewarts. The farm was financially successful. JD was of sufficient standing in the community that he was asked to preside over a meeting of residents and settlers of the area to discuss replacing the Te Ngawai bridge and was one convener of an “indignation meeting” county tax rates. JD and Eileen were involved in local society. The Totara Bachelors meetings expanded to Bachelor and Spinster meetings and dances where eligible young people could meet under chaperoned conditions. Eileen joined the Pleasant Point Golf Club. The family was growing, and they often vacationed in Christchurch or at her parents’ home at Halswell. But the 1930s brought the Great Depression and more personal tragedies.
After a decade of unprecedented expansion of the New York Stock Exchange, the market crashed on October 24, 1929, on what would come to be known as Black Thursday. Though the market had shown erratic swings for nearly two months, that day saw the largest sell-off of shares in U.S. history. The bubble had bust, and institutions around the world were caught in a financial pandemic. The fever did not reach New Zealand for a few months, but then exports—which were the backbone of the economy—dropped by 45% over the next two years. The sharpest fall was in wool—the Clover Hill’s main product—which declined by 60 per cent from 1929 to 1932.
After a decade of unprecedented expansion of the New York Stock Exchange, the market crashed on October 24, 1929, on what would come to be known as Black Thursday. Though the market had shown erratic swings for nearly two months, that day saw the largest sell-off of shares in U.S. history. The bubble had bust, and institutions around the world were caught in a financial pandemic. The fever did not reach New Zealand for a few months, but then exports—which were the backbone of the economy—dropped by 45% over the next two years. The sharpest fall was in wool—the Clover Hill’s main product—which declined by 60 per cent from 1929 to 1932.
Clover Hill was in much better shape than Low Mount, Eileen’s brother Gerry’s sheep run. It was twice as many acres and was owned outright by the family, where Gerry paid monthly rent to the Crown and had mortgages to both the previous leaseholder and to his father. Despite diversification in crops, sheep, and horses, Clover Hill still struggled as everyone did during this period. Then mortality struck the family.
In November of 1933, Mary Jane Stewart, JD’s youngest sister who had lived in rotation among her siblings, died at the age of 34. In August of 1934, Frank, though an expert horseman despite his tin legs, fell of his horse, hit his head, and drowned in a seven-inch puddle of water, “his had still on his head.” It was supposed that he might have had a seizure, like his father and grandmother. It was the fourth tragic death and third drowning on the farm. He was 41. Then JD developed a sarcoma in his lower leg.
Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the bones and soft tissues, including fat, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, deep skin tissues and fibrous tissues. It is not a genetic cancer, but rather tends to result from exposure to radiation or some cancer-causing chemical. It can be extremely painful, especially if the bone is infected. In 2023, survival rate is about 65, but it was much lower in the1930s.
In November of 1933, Mary Jane Stewart, JD’s youngest sister who had lived in rotation among her siblings, died at the age of 34. In August of 1934, Frank, though an expert horseman despite his tin legs, fell of his horse, hit his head, and drowned in a seven-inch puddle of water, “his had still on his head.” It was supposed that he might have had a seizure, like his father and grandmother. It was the fourth tragic death and third drowning on the farm. He was 41. Then JD developed a sarcoma in his lower leg.
Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the bones and soft tissues, including fat, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, deep skin tissues and fibrous tissues. It is not a genetic cancer, but rather tends to result from exposure to radiation or some cancer-causing chemical. It can be extremely painful, especially if the bone is infected. In 2023, survival rate is about 65, but it was much lower in the1930s.
James Dickson Stewart died on March 3, 1939. He was 51 years old. He was buried in the family plot in Pleasant Point. Eileen never remarried.
Life went on and the farm continued to operate effectively. Eileen had a good head on her shoulders and knew livestock. Plus, she had a good manager in J. Davison, and her son James was reaching adulthood. She even won an award for her ewes in 1945. According to the Timaru Herald (Volume CLVIII, Issue 23336, 20 October 1945, Page 3)
HIGH STANDARD REACHED
Ewe Hogget Competition Win for Totara Valley Farmer
Described by the judges as a pen of outstanding ewe hoggets, Mrs J. D. Stewart, of Totara Valley, won the Timaru A. and P. Association’s competition for ewe hoggets which, in the opinion of the judges, would grow into ewes most suitable tor breeding fat lambs.
“The winning pen was an outstanding one, even when taken on a normal season,” commented one of the judges. They were both of the opinion that every pen judged throughout South Canterbury was of an exceptionally high standard, taking the bad season into consideration. The object of the competition is to encourage farmers to improve the quality of their ewe flocks as a measure toward keeping up the quality of fat lambs for export.
Eileen also bred race horses with some success, especially in the 1940s.
Besides running the farm, Eileen took great pride and joy in her garden. According to her granddaughter Juliana,
Nana Stewart had a big garden at Clover Hill, big trees and rhododendrons and azaleas plus the usual flowers. There was an orchard which wasn’t that productive, in my lifetime, but a good vegetable garden, obviously smaller than earlier days, too. The gardener was Geoffrey Hayhurst, who came every week from Temuka, a small country town about 20 miles from Totara Valley, out towards the east coast. His family were early settlers there. and they had a renowned garden at their home.
The vegetable garden and orchard would become more important on the farm during the coming of the War.
As often happens, war followed Depression and was a major cause to financial recovery. World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. Difficulties in filling the Second and Third Echelons for overseas service in 1939–1940, the Allied disasters of May 1940, and public demand led to the introduction of conscription throughout the British Empire in June of 1940. From January 1942, workers could be manpowered—that is, directed to essential industries—instead of drafted into the Army. Eileen’s son was one of those men.
Young Jim was a 17-year-old tractor driver on the farm when the War broke out in 1939. He was not of age to enlist, and, when he was finally called up in 1943, Eileen appealed on his behalf, which was granted based on her widowhood and the lack of farm staff available. James did have to go to Washdyke, on the outskirts of Timaru, once a week for Home Guard training. In total, around 140,000 New Zealand personnel served overseas for the Allied war effort, and an additional 100,000 men were armed for Home Guard duty. At its peak in July 1942, New Zealand had 154,549 men and women under arms (excluding the Home Guard) and, by the War's end, a total of 194,000 men and 10,000 women had served in the armed forces at home and abroad. To alleviate manpower shortages in the agricultural sector, the New Zealand Women's Land Army was created in 1940. A total of 2,711 women served on farms throughout New Zealand during the war.
Japanese battleships and economic needs elsewhere in the Empire limited imports severely. In their homes, New Zealanders also learned to do without – or at least with less. From early in 1942, the regular cuppa had to be reconsidered, as first sugar and then tea were rationed. Rubber was also scarce after Malaya and the Dutch East Indies fell to the Japanese, at the beginning of 1942. At that point, 90% of the world's supply of raw rubber was in enemy hands. Tires were reserved for priority use, and private motorists were again the last in line. The rubber shortage affected other daily necessities as well. To get a pair of gumboots, dairy farmers had to prove they owned at least 12 cows.
On August 4, 1943, Eileen’s mother Emily Callaghan Birdling passed away while on a visit to Clover Hill. Eileen was named executor of the estate, and she and Gerry each received 40% of the Callaghan estate and their brother Bill received 20% (having already been helped through the Depression financially by their mother). The Callaghan inheritance apparently had been held as separate property from their father’s estate. The extent of the estate is unknown. According to Emily’s will, Eileen also received
free of all duties, all my personal belongings: jewelry, Doulton china vases, Bavarian china, dinner and afternoon tea sets, carved walnut hallstand, Grandfather’s Clock, oil painting “Susan and her Lover”, steel engraving of “Dirl’s Head,” my wearingapparel, my oil paintings and the remainder of my water colours, excepting “A Cumberland Scene” and “the Minstrel Boy.”
When the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, there were approximately 58,000 Kiwis still serving overseas, mostly in Italy and the Middle East. Over the following months, families and friends waited patiently as troopships brought them home. According to New Zealand History’s The Second World War at Home,
For the engaged and married, post-war reunions were often followed by times of adjustment. Although there was a record number of marriages in 1946, the same year also saw a peak in the figures for divorce – nearly double the rate for 1940. There had to be stated grounds for divorce, and in 1947 and 1948 the most common one cited, by both men and women, was ‘separation for more than three years.’
In the immediate post-war years, thousands of families experienced the joy of beginning, or adding to, their families. In 1947, a record number of nearly 50,000 births was registered. The New Zealand children born in late 1940s and the prosperous 1950s would be the first in three generations not called to fight a world war.
The ‘great unknown’ faced by civilian New Zealanders as the world went to war in 1939 unfolded differently for each of them, as the interview extracts gathered here suggest. But when these interviewees were asked what they would most want subsequent generations to understand about that time, there is some common ground. Memories of anxiety and disruption are overridden by a sense of waste and loss. Marian Beech's brother was among the thousands of servicemen who died.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/second-world-war-at-home/back-home
Jim was ready to start a new family, also. He had met Jean Cochrane, a registered nurse from North Canterbury who had come to Timaru to work as a dental assistant. Jim was one of her patients. They married on March 15, 1947, in Christchurch, and she moved to Clover Hill. A couple of years later, a brick three-bedroom, one-bath house was moved from further down the valley to a paddock on the flat below the homestead for the new couple. In 1948, Eileen’s first grandchild, Juliana Sally Stewart, was born. Juliana was followed by brothers Jamie (James Forbes) in 1949 and Bill, (John William), in 1956. Eileen must have been ecstatic, but her joy was quickly dashed. Jamie drowned in a creek at the base of the hill on September 4, 1951. He was only two. It was the fifth tragic death in four generations and the fourth by drowning.
Jim’s brother Colin also started a family during the 1950s. He married Nancy Myra Williamson of Christchurch around 1952. They gave Eileen three more grandchildren: Ngaire Anne (1954), Frank (1957) and Helen (1960).
In 1956, with both her sons’ families expanding, Eileen decided to split the farm and assign half over to each of them. Colin received the old homestead, and Eileen continued to live with him there. A new house was built further up the valley on the top part of Clover Hill, and James’ family moved in there. It was renamed Church Farm because it was near the site of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. Juliana had fond memories of living at Church Farm and of her grandmother:
in answer to the Christmas celebrations at the farm…we did indeed always have it at Church Farm (from 1956 when we moved there) and I don’t remember much before that. Although I was 8 when we went there, I don’t remember ever having it in the homestead at Clover Hill but assume some years we must have. It was a busy time of year for Dad then and we probably stayed at home. Nana Stewart always joined us, but my mother did the cooking. Nana Stewart was a good cook, though she mostly had a cook at Clover Hill when Dad was growing up, cooking for so many men in those days. However, Nana loved baking and certainly always had the tins full of goodies.
On October 12, 1962, Eileen’s father Arthur Birdling died at the age of 99. Arthur had cast a long shadow, both by his longevity and his success. His loss would have been felt keenly by all three of his children, no one more so than Gerry who had followed in his father’s and grandfather’s chosen profession. Eileen and her brother Gerry served as co-trustee’s of Arthur’s estate.
Life went on and the farm continued to operate effectively. Eileen had a good head on her shoulders and knew livestock. Plus, she had a good manager in J. Davison, and her son James was reaching adulthood. She even won an award for her ewes in 1945. According to the Timaru Herald (Volume CLVIII, Issue 23336, 20 October 1945, Page 3)
HIGH STANDARD REACHED
Ewe Hogget Competition Win for Totara Valley Farmer
Described by the judges as a pen of outstanding ewe hoggets, Mrs J. D. Stewart, of Totara Valley, won the Timaru A. and P. Association’s competition for ewe hoggets which, in the opinion of the judges, would grow into ewes most suitable tor breeding fat lambs.
“The winning pen was an outstanding one, even when taken on a normal season,” commented one of the judges. They were both of the opinion that every pen judged throughout South Canterbury was of an exceptionally high standard, taking the bad season into consideration. The object of the competition is to encourage farmers to improve the quality of their ewe flocks as a measure toward keeping up the quality of fat lambs for export.
Eileen also bred race horses with some success, especially in the 1940s.
Besides running the farm, Eileen took great pride and joy in her garden. According to her granddaughter Juliana,
Nana Stewart had a big garden at Clover Hill, big trees and rhododendrons and azaleas plus the usual flowers. There was an orchard which wasn’t that productive, in my lifetime, but a good vegetable garden, obviously smaller than earlier days, too. The gardener was Geoffrey Hayhurst, who came every week from Temuka, a small country town about 20 miles from Totara Valley, out towards the east coast. His family were early settlers there. and they had a renowned garden at their home.
The vegetable garden and orchard would become more important on the farm during the coming of the War.
As often happens, war followed Depression and was a major cause to financial recovery. World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. Difficulties in filling the Second and Third Echelons for overseas service in 1939–1940, the Allied disasters of May 1940, and public demand led to the introduction of conscription throughout the British Empire in June of 1940. From January 1942, workers could be manpowered—that is, directed to essential industries—instead of drafted into the Army. Eileen’s son was one of those men.
Young Jim was a 17-year-old tractor driver on the farm when the War broke out in 1939. He was not of age to enlist, and, when he was finally called up in 1943, Eileen appealed on his behalf, which was granted based on her widowhood and the lack of farm staff available. James did have to go to Washdyke, on the outskirts of Timaru, once a week for Home Guard training. In total, around 140,000 New Zealand personnel served overseas for the Allied war effort, and an additional 100,000 men were armed for Home Guard duty. At its peak in July 1942, New Zealand had 154,549 men and women under arms (excluding the Home Guard) and, by the War's end, a total of 194,000 men and 10,000 women had served in the armed forces at home and abroad. To alleviate manpower shortages in the agricultural sector, the New Zealand Women's Land Army was created in 1940. A total of 2,711 women served on farms throughout New Zealand during the war.
Japanese battleships and economic needs elsewhere in the Empire limited imports severely. In their homes, New Zealanders also learned to do without – or at least with less. From early in 1942, the regular cuppa had to be reconsidered, as first sugar and then tea were rationed. Rubber was also scarce after Malaya and the Dutch East Indies fell to the Japanese, at the beginning of 1942. At that point, 90% of the world's supply of raw rubber was in enemy hands. Tires were reserved for priority use, and private motorists were again the last in line. The rubber shortage affected other daily necessities as well. To get a pair of gumboots, dairy farmers had to prove they owned at least 12 cows.
On August 4, 1943, Eileen’s mother Emily Callaghan Birdling passed away while on a visit to Clover Hill. Eileen was named executor of the estate, and she and Gerry each received 40% of the Callaghan estate and their brother Bill received 20% (having already been helped through the Depression financially by their mother). The Callaghan inheritance apparently had been held as separate property from their father’s estate. The extent of the estate is unknown. According to Emily’s will, Eileen also received
free of all duties, all my personal belongings: jewelry, Doulton china vases, Bavarian china, dinner and afternoon tea sets, carved walnut hallstand, Grandfather’s Clock, oil painting “Susan and her Lover”, steel engraving of “Dirl’s Head,” my wearingapparel, my oil paintings and the remainder of my water colours, excepting “A Cumberland Scene” and “the Minstrel Boy.”
When the war in Europe ended on May 8, 1945, there were approximately 58,000 Kiwis still serving overseas, mostly in Italy and the Middle East. Over the following months, families and friends waited patiently as troopships brought them home. According to New Zealand History’s The Second World War at Home,
For the engaged and married, post-war reunions were often followed by times of adjustment. Although there was a record number of marriages in 1946, the same year also saw a peak in the figures for divorce – nearly double the rate for 1940. There had to be stated grounds for divorce, and in 1947 and 1948 the most common one cited, by both men and women, was ‘separation for more than three years.’
In the immediate post-war years, thousands of families experienced the joy of beginning, or adding to, their families. In 1947, a record number of nearly 50,000 births was registered. The New Zealand children born in late 1940s and the prosperous 1950s would be the first in three generations not called to fight a world war.
The ‘great unknown’ faced by civilian New Zealanders as the world went to war in 1939 unfolded differently for each of them, as the interview extracts gathered here suggest. But when these interviewees were asked what they would most want subsequent generations to understand about that time, there is some common ground. Memories of anxiety and disruption are overridden by a sense of waste and loss. Marian Beech's brother was among the thousands of servicemen who died.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/second-world-war-at-home/back-home
Jim was ready to start a new family, also. He had met Jean Cochrane, a registered nurse from North Canterbury who had come to Timaru to work as a dental assistant. Jim was one of her patients. They married on March 15, 1947, in Christchurch, and she moved to Clover Hill. A couple of years later, a brick three-bedroom, one-bath house was moved from further down the valley to a paddock on the flat below the homestead for the new couple. In 1948, Eileen’s first grandchild, Juliana Sally Stewart, was born. Juliana was followed by brothers Jamie (James Forbes) in 1949 and Bill, (John William), in 1956. Eileen must have been ecstatic, but her joy was quickly dashed. Jamie drowned in a creek at the base of the hill on September 4, 1951. He was only two. It was the fifth tragic death in four generations and the fourth by drowning.
Jim’s brother Colin also started a family during the 1950s. He married Nancy Myra Williamson of Christchurch around 1952. They gave Eileen three more grandchildren: Ngaire Anne (1954), Frank (1957) and Helen (1960).
In 1956, with both her sons’ families expanding, Eileen decided to split the farm and assign half over to each of them. Colin received the old homestead, and Eileen continued to live with him there. A new house was built further up the valley on the top part of Clover Hill, and James’ family moved in there. It was renamed Church Farm because it was near the site of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. Juliana had fond memories of living at Church Farm and of her grandmother:
in answer to the Christmas celebrations at the farm…we did indeed always have it at Church Farm (from 1956 when we moved there) and I don’t remember much before that. Although I was 8 when we went there, I don’t remember ever having it in the homestead at Clover Hill but assume some years we must have. It was a busy time of year for Dad then and we probably stayed at home. Nana Stewart always joined us, but my mother did the cooking. Nana Stewart was a good cook, though she mostly had a cook at Clover Hill when Dad was growing up, cooking for so many men in those days. However, Nana loved baking and certainly always had the tins full of goodies.
On October 12, 1962, Eileen’s father Arthur Birdling died at the age of 99. Arthur had cast a long shadow, both by his longevity and his success. His loss would have been felt keenly by all three of his children, no one more so than Gerry who had followed in his father’s and grandfather’s chosen profession. Eileen and her brother Gerry served as co-trustee’s of Arthur’s estate.
In 1966, Eileen decided to fully retire from farming and move into town. She bought the house at 16a Niles Street in Timaru. The house is a long, ranch-style home with a basement. It sits back on the lot behind 16 Niles Street, so there is no view of it from GoogleMaps other than the satellite view. It was not a particularly large lot, especially in comparison the farms where Eileen had lived all her life, but it did have a nice garden in which she took great pleasure. She retained her gardener Geoffrey Hayhurst to keep it up. She settled into retirement, spending much of her time with a group of women her age who played Bolivia, an advanced form of Canasta. She was still the competitive person who had down shown jumping and was proud to have one the club championship.
The 1970s were a tough time on the family. On June 1, 1970, the family was stunned by the suicide of Eileen’s son Colin. He had struggled for some time with mental health issues and was scheduled go to a private mental hospital in Dunedin the following week but unfortunately that was not to be. The loss was particularly hard for Eileen to accept.
Five years later, on May 11, 1975, Jim and Jean’s son John William (Bill) died in car wreck. Bill had gone to Canada in April on a Young Farmers exchange program and interned at a farm in Brooks, Alberta. He had only been there about 3 weeks and went out with a group of other young farmers. He was a passenger in a car driven by an Australian lad and, when they were going home, they hit a bus. Both Bill and the driver were killed. As Juliana said, “Apparently, the old problem of coming from a country where we drive on the other side to North America and when under pressure reacted to the wrong side.” Unknown to the family at the time, Bill left a pregnant girlfriend behind in New Zealand. His son, Ash Whitaker, would be born at the end of 1975. But a dna match of his daughter to Kevin Quattrin lead to the reconnection of the California and New Zealand branches of the Callaghans in 2023.
That December, Jim decided to auction off all his equipment and lease Church Farm for five years to give them breathing space to process and deal with the tragedies. Clover Hill had been run by a manager since Colin’s death—his son Frank, who would ultimately take over Clover Hill— was only eleven when Colin died. At only 16, he could not take on the Church Farm lease. Jim and Jean moved to Pleasant point where Jim opened a contracting business. He loved machinery.
Among the positive events of the 1970s were the births of Juliana’s sons Duncan (1976) and Robert (1980). Eileen lived to see and hold two of her great grandchildren. There would be eight great grandchildren in all.
In 1981, Eileen moved into a retirement village called “The Croft” at 12 Park Lane. That same year, Jim finally sold Church Hill, and he and Jean retired to Pleasant Point, about eight miles east of the Farm. There, he drove a school bus and did so until he was 78 and his wife and daughter convinced him it was time to give that up.
Eileen’s brothers passed away within a few weeks of each other in the early 1980s. Gerry died on December 31, 1981 and Bill died on February 2, 1982. In late 1983, Eileen broke her hip. While recuperating, she developed pneumonia. Eileen died on December 21, 1983, in Timaru. She was 87. She was laid to rest with her husband in his family plot at Pleasant Point Cemetery.
The 1970s were a tough time on the family. On June 1, 1970, the family was stunned by the suicide of Eileen’s son Colin. He had struggled for some time with mental health issues and was scheduled go to a private mental hospital in Dunedin the following week but unfortunately that was not to be. The loss was particularly hard for Eileen to accept.
Five years later, on May 11, 1975, Jim and Jean’s son John William (Bill) died in car wreck. Bill had gone to Canada in April on a Young Farmers exchange program and interned at a farm in Brooks, Alberta. He had only been there about 3 weeks and went out with a group of other young farmers. He was a passenger in a car driven by an Australian lad and, when they were going home, they hit a bus. Both Bill and the driver were killed. As Juliana said, “Apparently, the old problem of coming from a country where we drive on the other side to North America and when under pressure reacted to the wrong side.” Unknown to the family at the time, Bill left a pregnant girlfriend behind in New Zealand. His son, Ash Whitaker, would be born at the end of 1975. But a dna match of his daughter to Kevin Quattrin lead to the reconnection of the California and New Zealand branches of the Callaghans in 2023.
That December, Jim decided to auction off all his equipment and lease Church Farm for five years to give them breathing space to process and deal with the tragedies. Clover Hill had been run by a manager since Colin’s death—his son Frank, who would ultimately take over Clover Hill— was only eleven when Colin died. At only 16, he could not take on the Church Farm lease. Jim and Jean moved to Pleasant point where Jim opened a contracting business. He loved machinery.
Among the positive events of the 1970s were the births of Juliana’s sons Duncan (1976) and Robert (1980). Eileen lived to see and hold two of her great grandchildren. There would be eight great grandchildren in all.
In 1981, Eileen moved into a retirement village called “The Croft” at 12 Park Lane. That same year, Jim finally sold Church Hill, and he and Jean retired to Pleasant Point, about eight miles east of the Farm. There, he drove a school bus and did so until he was 78 and his wife and daughter convinced him it was time to give that up.
Eileen’s brothers passed away within a few weeks of each other in the early 1980s. Gerry died on December 31, 1981 and Bill died on February 2, 1982. In late 1983, Eileen broke her hip. While recuperating, she developed pneumonia. Eileen died on December 21, 1983, in Timaru. She was 87. She was laid to rest with her husband in his family plot at Pleasant Point Cemetery.
Eileen was a strong and loving woman. She was raised in privilege but a strong sense of hard work, diligence, and responsibility to others. She lived through the Great Depression and two World Wars, and she suffered the tragic, early losses of her husband, one son, and two grandsons. She took over running the family farm when her husband died and did an excellent job. She raised two sons and helped them raise her six grandchildren. The farm is still being run by one of those grandchildren, Frank Stewart. She was and is a credit to her Callaghan and Birdling heritage.