The Hanza Mooka then transferred the passengers and crew of the Polar Star to the remote island of St Helena, where Napoleon Bonaparte had been exiled. It would have been a journey distinctly lacking in creature comforts for the Hanza Mooka was transporting a cargo of guano from Peru to Spain – but they were in no position to be picky. After a week or so they took the first available transport out of St Helena and, just prior to Christmas 1854, Caleb was back safe and sound in his homeland - but most of his worldly goods were at the bottom of the south Atlantic. At this stage Caleb must have been tempted to abandon all thoughts of New Zealand and quietly return to Kingsbridge, Devon where he was born 22 years previously on 15th October 1832, the fifth of six children to John and Ann Hosking.

He was baptised in the Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Kingsbridge’s steep High Street - the start of a lifelong commitment to the principles and dictates of Methodism. Then, according to his entry in the Cyclopedia of New Zealand, ‘he was brought up to farming.’ But that brief phrase almost certainly glosses over the family and financial difficulties of the time. John Hosking, a wheelwright, died aged 50 in 1847 of marasmus - literally wasting away. Quite possibly cancer would be the modern diagnosis. It seems likely that he would have been unable to work for some years previously. Certainly a welter of teenaged boys were left to find their way through an uncertain economic climate. Here their uncle Charles Trick consolidates a position firmly centre-stage in the boys’ lives. The family connection had obviously always been strong. John and Ann’s eldest son was named after him. The 1841 UK census shows the second son, Richard, living with his uncle who was a miller at Ashford Mill, Aveton Gifford, about five kilometres outside Kingsbridge.

By the time of the 1851 census both Charles Trick Hosking and Caleb Hosking are working as millers for their uncle, who is also recorded as farming 35 acres at that time. Completing a household were another miller, two farm labourers and a housekeeper – one Mary J Scott, a family cousin from St. Juliot in Cornwall. Romance soon flourished with Charles Trick Hosking and the couple were married in 1854. There was to be no going back to the old life in Devon, however. Protracted negotiations were undertaken with owners of the Polar Star regarding a new passage to New Zealand. Initially the company demanded a second fare but ‘after great trouble with the [shipping] company…the passengers arranged that by paying half the ordinary fare they should be carried to their original destination’. A voyage was arranged on the 598 ton clipper Rock City. This time we do have a passenger list which includes Caleb, Mr & Mrs Charles Hosking and Charles Trick. Indeed, it made obvious sense for them all to emigrate as a unit - they had very firm family ties, expertise as millers and, in the case of Charles Trick, presumably some capital from the sale of the mill and the farm. These ties were to remain the cornerstone of their early days in their new homeland.

Rock City sailed on March 6th, 1855 and, in complete contrast to their previous debacle, arrived in Auckland in a then-record time of 88 days. It would have been swifter still but, ironically, the ship was becalmed in ‘light and baffling winds’ off the coast of Brazil. It may well have been a relatively enjoyable experience all round for the Rock City was a new ship mainly carrying a mixed cargo and with a complement of just 17 passengers. Rock City arrived in Auckland on June 4th 1855 and remained in the port for several weeks discharging cargo for the merchants and manufacturers of the city - coal, wines and spirits and salt for Brown & Campbell; iron bars for John Watson and for Gilfillan, Stevenson & Co and a variety of goods for D Nathan. There would have been plenty of time to take a good look at a thriving city that had grown from nothing to a population of 10,000 in just 15 years. But the Hoskings seem not to have lingered. Perhaps land prices were too high. Perhaps the call of friends and countrymen in Taranaki was greater, but in any case they all reboarded the Rock City and sailed for New Plymouth, arriving on 24th July 1855. Sadly, land troubles between Maori and Pakeha had bedevilled New Plymouth since foundation. In 1855 matters started coming to a head. A local militia was in the process of being formed as they arrived. The Hoskings moved on yet again, though Caleb’s exact whereabouts become somewhat unclear over the next few years.

Certainly the Waiuku area was of interest. Together with his brother and uncle he applied for a land grant of 466 acres in the Waiuku block (southern portion) in 1856. But, at ten shillings per acre, the blocks were attractively priced and they were not the only interested parties. Out of a total of 97 applicants only 34 were successful and the Hoskings missed out. Charles Trick and Charles Trick Hosking were actively engaged at that time building the Waitemata flourmill for John Brigham at Riverhead. They then operated the mill for a few years but do not seem to have owned it. There is no evidence that Caleb was with them at this time though it remains a possibility. By 1860 both Charles Trick and Charles Trick Hosking were residing in the Freemans Bay area of Auckland – whether separately or together is unclear – and it was in his brother’s house that Caleb married his first wife Rhoda Scott on 28th November 1860. Given that Rhoda was the sister of Charles Trick Hosking’s wife Mary Jane this was an entirely appropriate venue. A daughter, Sarah Ann, arrived on 28th September 1861 but only survived for just over a year. Since she is buried in Waiuku cemetery it is probably safe to assume Caleb had established residence in the town by this time although there is no conclusive evidence of this. There is also evidence of a Hosking presence in Waiuku in Charles Trick’s will of 1861 that leaves his two Waiuku allotments to Charles Trick Hosking. Two hundred pounds was also bequeathed to Caleb. Charles Trick died in late 1862 and this amount would have been very useful in either purchasing a farm, or repaying a mortgage and buying stock if he already owned one.

Breaking in the farm was an exacting proposition. The district ‘was then in its native state but he was not deterred by its unpromising appearance and after considerable hardship…he cleared his property of bush and scrub’. Moreover, the Land Wars continued to fester and at one stage came within a few kilometres of the town. There are reports that Caleb witnessed the shooting of a Maori near Mauku at this time. By 1866, however, Caleb seems to have been firmly established on his 60-80 acre farm originally bordered by Cornwall Road, Kitchener Road and Collingwood Road. In May that year he is reported to have carried Norfolk Island pine seedlings on foot from Auckland and planted them on his property. One tree was later struck by lightning but the other adorns the area to this day. A two-storey farmhouse was built and the farm developed on fairly traditional nineteenth century kiwi lines. A small herd of cows were milked by hand and the milk carted by wagon to the nearby dairy factory. As well as the dairy there was a pigsty, a smoke house and a salt house.

On July 4 1871 Caleb married Sophia Barriball at the home of her parents. They remained together until Caleb’s death in 1918, raising nine children all of whom survived the rigours of a Victorian childhood with eight carrying on into a healthy old age. Socially Caleb and Sophia were pillars of Wesley Methodist Church and are recalled for their generous hospitality to visiting preachers. They also hosted New Year’s picnics ‘in a picturesque setting in a paddock with a semi-circle of lovely native bush. Here all the farmers and families gathered for sports, lolly scrambles and swings for children’. They also ‘gave good service in the cause of temperance’. Caleb was heavily committed to the development of the infrastructure of the area. He was a long-serving member of the local road board (where he was chairman for three years) and chaired the first meeting of the Aka Aka drainage board. He also served on a local school board.

Photo at right:
Back row: Charles, Mary, Sophia, Elsie, Linda
Front row: William, Caleb, Jessica, Sophia, Edith, Clara

Caleb Hosking family at Fernleigh circa 1893

Around 1908 Caleb and Sophia sold Fernleigh to their son Charles and moved to nearby Parkville, a ten acre property on what is now Kitchener Road. It is here, in the final ten years of a long life, that we can build up a tentative character sketch of Caleb. Quiet, gentle, unassuming and attentive are adjectives frequently used in anecdotes about him. For instance his daughters-in-law (Bea at Fernleigh and Ethel who lived next to Parkville) regarded him with great affection, particularly valuing long chats with him on the back doorsteps of their homes. Often his children and grandchildren visited Parkville where they would talk to the old man in a cluster of seats gathered around two Karaka trees.

The house is still there. It has been renovated and added to, but the front is still quite recognisable, even though it has been photographed from the other side. It was the venue for the book launch in March 2007

Here we take a short side road to visit the Barriballs.
Well, as you can see, Charles and Ann Barriball were a serious looking pair, and don't quite look to be the life of the party. Charles was a tall, solidly built sort of guy, while Ann was a little short thing. Both were strict Methodists.

Charles Barriball's brother Henry and his wife Mary came to NZ a year before Charles and Ann. They had settled in Taranaki, new home to quite a number of immigrants from the West Country, and perhaps their correspondence had helped Charles decide to follow. Charles and Ann sailed from Plymouth with their three children on The Duke of Westminster, on December 4, 1842. They arrived in Auckland on April 1, 1843, a voyage of 128 days, a little longer than usual. Instead of continuing on to New Plymouth, they settled in Auckland, farming land in Mt Eden owned by a Methodist Minister, the Rev. Lawry, who not being short of a few bob had bought six of the 20 acre allotments on offer.

My paternal grandmother Clara Hosking was the sixth child of Caleb and Sophia Hosking (nee Barriball) and she was born on 26 January 1882 at Fernleigh, the family home in Waiuku. Caleb is reported as saying that she was a real beauty, and the best of the bunch, which must have gone down well with her siblings! She commenced school at Pukeoware, but at age 12 was sent to Thames to live with an aunt and uncle. This was not an uncommon practice at the time. She attended Parawai School and in 1894 was awarded a special book prize (Robinson Crusoe) for having the best kept exercise book. As well as helping her aunt and uncle, she often helped out her sister Mary with her boys, Ray and Vic.