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Gilbert Mair
BiographyGilbert Mair was the son of a shipowner in Peterhead in Scotland. As a ship's carpenter on board a whaler, "New Zealander" he visited New Zealand for the first time in 1820. Travelling with him on the vessel's return voyage to England, were missionary Thomas Kendall and two Māori chiefs Waikato and Hongi Hika, the first Māori to journey to England.
Back in the Bay of Islands in 1824, Mair helped Henry Williams build the schooner Herald and captained this vessel until it was wrecked on the Hokianga bar.
Gilbert Mair met Elizabeth Puckey when she was a child in New Zealand. They met again in Sydney in 1827 and married. They had twelve children; four sons and eight daughters.
In September 1827, Mair obtained land in Te Wahapū Inlet, in the Bay of Islands. This land was located on the peninsula near Toretore Island, close by sea to Paihia and also to Kororāreka or Russell. Here, he built up a trading station to sell provisions to whalers, settlers and Māori. He exported gum to the United States and timber and flax to Sydney.
Mair was involved in representations to the British government to have New Zealand declared a British colony and he attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
In 1835, Gilbert Mair began to build Christ Church at Kororāreka for the Church Missionary Society (CMS). It is still in use today (2024).
He became one of New Zealand's first four Justices of the Peace.
In 1842 Gilbert Mair sold the trading station and moved his family to Whāngārei, where he had acquired land. The Mairs were the second settler family, preceded only by the Carruths. The Mair land, including a government grant, covered most of what is now Mairtown, Kensington and Tikipunga. He built his home, named Deveron, on land where the camping ground in Mair Street is now located, continuing his work as a shipwright and farmer.
Gilbert Mair died at Whangarei on 16 July 1857. He was 58 years old.
GenderMaleDate of Birth23 May 1799Place of BirthPeterhead, Aberdeenshire, ScotlandDate of Death16 July 1857Place of DeathWhangarei, New ZealandPlace of Burial/CremationChrist's Church, WhangareiOccupationCarpenter, Shipwright, Trader, Farmer, Justice of the Peace
Back in the Bay of Islands in 1824, Mair helped Henry Williams build the schooner Herald and captained this vessel until it was wrecked on the Hokianga bar.
Gilbert Mair met Elizabeth Puckey when she was a child in New Zealand. They met again in Sydney in 1827 and married. They had twelve children; four sons and eight daughters.
In September 1827, Mair obtained land in Te Wahapū Inlet, in the Bay of Islands. This land was located on the peninsula near Toretore Island, close by sea to Paihia and also to Kororāreka or Russell. Here, he built up a trading station to sell provisions to whalers, settlers and Māori. He exported gum to the United States and timber and flax to Sydney.
Mair was involved in representations to the British government to have New Zealand declared a British colony and he attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
In 1835, Gilbert Mair began to build Christ Church at Kororāreka for the Church Missionary Society (CMS). It is still in use today (2024).
He became one of New Zealand's first four Justices of the Peace.
In 1842 Gilbert Mair sold the trading station and moved his family to Whāngārei, where he had acquired land. The Mairs were the second settler family, preceded only by the Carruths. The Mair land, including a government grant, covered most of what is now Mairtown, Kensington and Tikipunga. He built his home, named Deveron, on land where the camping ground in Mair Street is now located, continuing his work as a shipwright and farmer.
Gilbert Mair died at Whangarei on 16 July 1857. He was 58 years old.
GenderMaleDate of Birth23 May 1799Place of BirthPeterhead, Aberdeenshire, ScotlandDate of Death16 July 1857Place of DeathWhangarei, New ZealandPlace of Burial/CremationChrist's Church, WhangareiOccupationCarpenter, Shipwright, Trader, Farmer, Justice of the Peace Whānau
ChildrenCaroline Bedlington 1828 - 1917Robert Mair 1830 - 1920Major William Gilbert Mair 1832 - 1912Marianne Fraser 1834 -1893Henry Abbott Mair 1836 - 1881Charlotte Buller 1838 - 1891Jessie Eliza Davis 1840 - 1899Captain Gilbert Mair 1843 - 1923Matilda Helen Sissons 1845 - 1927Emily Frances Seccombe - 1848 - 1902Marella Sophia Mair 1850 - 1884Lavinia Laura Jackson 1852 - 1936PartnerElizabeth Gilbert PuckeyDate Married1827Place of MarriageSt James Church, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Robert Mair 1830 - 1920Major William Gilbert Mair 1832 - 1912Marianne Fraser 1834 -1893Henry Abbott Mair 1836 - 1881Charlotte Buller 1838 - 1891Jessie Eliza Davis 1840 - 1899Captain Gilbert Mair 1843 - 1923Matilda Helen Sissons 1845 - 1927Emily Frances Seccombe - 1848 - 1902Marella Sophia Mair 1850 - 1884Lavinia Laura Jackson 1852 - 1936PartnerElizabeth Gilbert PuckeyDate Married1827Place of MarriageSt James Church, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaRelates to
Further Information
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Gilbert Mair . Northland Room Digital Collections, accessed 04/08/2026, https://wdc.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/4929
