Robert Bruce Willis , Univ. Canterbury. NZ.: R. B. Willis came to New Zealand in 1871 and took up land at Nillisden, near Southbridge. He had seven children, the eldest of whom, Robert Bruce Baker Willis was born in 1855 and died in 1933. His diaries begin at Willisden in 1871. In 1878 he moved to Waitoa, near Matamata, South Auckland and then in 1892 to Te Ahuahu, Bay of Islands. He returned to Southbridge in 1908. There are also diaries (1872-73) from the second son, Thomas Hamilton Willis (1856-1934) who later farmed near Ashburton. The material was deposited by Mrs C. E. Foweraker, a daughter of R.B.B. Willis. Information from: The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal The Clarence volume. London, T.C. and E.C. Jack, 1905 Penney, Sarah E. W. Lake Ellesmere to Te Pirita; the land and its people. Christchurch, Penny Ash publications, 1979 (Mrs Foweraker says this contains some inaccuracies) Mrs G.E. Foweraker
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