If you are researching George McRae of Nelson PLEASE NOTE that there was another George McRae in Nelson at the same time as this George, some of his children having the same names as this George, both families were even involved with race horses.
So it would pay to visit this site for explainations as extensive research has been done to differentiate between the two

The George Wilsden McRae this journal is about was from County Clare, Ireland
- (the other George was from Blairich, Scotland)
- 'our' George emigrated to New Zealand on the LADY NUGENT in 1850, 8 years later than the other George. He was 11 years old & was with his parents, William McRAE (1802-1867) & Sarah Burns (nee CORRIE/CURRIE 1805-1879) and 2 siblings, Kate aged 9 and Roderick aged 7

His father William owned GLENS OF TEKOE sheep station in Amuri district - the above link (downloads 5.49MB) is a brilliantly descriptive site with photos, paintings and stories on the Mandamus, which was the original name of the Glen of Tekoe and surrounding districts. It also has poems by Shona McRae
It is the story of the life of William McRae, his sons and descendents and the property with photos and even the station diaries and account books from 1863 which record, that in 1886, Stanley Fowler commenced as head shepherd with a salary of ?80 per year ($13,618 in 2009) to be found in flour and mutton only until 1890-91 when he received a rise, as head shepherd in the cottage, with firewood also provided ...
- their home was built in Home Gully near the Blue Rock and Silver Brook Streams and was occupied for 2 years before the sod homestead was built
William, along with his sons George Wildsen and Roderick, built the second house of sod in 1859. It is now a registered historic building. The third homestead built in 1865 is still lived in today and is also a registered historic building

* George was one of the 1st pupils at Nelson College for boys which opened on the 7th April 1856 (the day before his 18th birthday) with eight students. It`s premises were in Trafalgar Square, Nelson, but shortly thereafter moved to a site in Manuka Street. In 1861, the school moved again to its current site in Waimea Road.

George was
* a Justice of the Peace
- he was CHAIRMAN of:
* the Amuri County Council and Road Board
* the Hurunui Rabbit Board
* the Council of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association
* the Hurunui and Culverden Racing Clubs
* the Canterbury and Northern Coursing Clubs

George married Mary MOORE in Nelson in 1868 when he was 30 and she was 22
- Mary was one of 10 known children of Daniel MOORE of Mirfield, Kirkless, West Yorkshire & Helen ALEXANDER of Dundee, Angus, Scotland (they were also early settlers of Nelson)

George and Mary had 10 (known) children:
... 1
1870 - 1960 Sarah Helen McRae
- born 23 September 1870 Huranui River, Amuri, Canterbury
- she married Alexander McFARLANE (1863-1913) 27 Oct 1896 Tekoa, Marlborough
- a son of John McFARLANE & Catherine CAMERON
- no children
- they owned a sheepstation in Cheviot (reportedly first to have electricity in NZ)
SARAH died in 1960 aged 80

... 2
1873 - 1958 Kate Mary McRae
- born 25 April 1873 in Richmond, Nelson
- she married John DAMPIER-CROSSLEY (1873-1913) 19 April 1900 in Nelson
- their known children:
* 1901 - 1935 Croslegh Dampier-Crossley (drowned Hurunui River)
* 1907 - 1992 Wilsden Dampier-Crossley
* 1908 - 2004 Shona Dampier-Crossley
KATE died in 1969 aged 96
NOTE Kate`s granddaughter, Mary Ethel McRae, (of son Croslegh) married William Wilsden McRae, her brother George`s son


... 3
1874 - 1961 William Wilsden McRae
- born 18 May 1874
- he married Mary Ethel DAMPIER-CROSSLEY (1874-1949) 25 April 1900 Woodend, Canterbury
- their known children:
* 1901 - Mary Maud McRae
* 1903 - 1979 Helen Dampier McRae
* 1905 - 1949 Jean Palin McRae
* 1908 - 1960 William Dampier McRae
* 1911 - 1998 Cara McRae
WILLIAM died in 1961 aged 87

... 4
1879 - 1960 Georgina Alice Constance McRae
- married William Barr SCOTT (1863-1908) in 1899
- their known children:
* 1900 - 1988 George Douglas Scott
* 1901 - 1979 Elva Mary Scott
* 1903 - 1961 Barbara McRae Scott
* 1905 - 1985 John Herbert Scott
* 1908 - 1919 Constance Sheilah Scott
GEORGINA died in 1960 aged 81

... 5
1881 - 1970 Roderica Maud "Curl" McRae
- no spouse found
RODERICA died in 1970 age 89

... 6
1882 - 1958 George Richmond "Budge" McRae
- married Kathleen Isobel RUSSELL (1886-1955) in 1914
- Farmed "Island Hills" 1911 - 1928 & moved to Dannervirke
- their known children:
* 1915 - 2002 Russell Richmond McRae
* 1917 - 1996 George Alexander McRae
* 1918 - 2000 Ian McRae
* 1920 - Nancy Sare McRae
* 1922 - 1924 Kathleen Mary McRae
* 1924 - 2000 Ada Doris McRae
* 1927 - 2010 Stuart Wilsden McRae
* 1929 - 1995 John Raymond McRae
* 1932 - 1935 Derek Pritchard McRae
GEORGE died 12 Nov 1958 aged 76 & buried Mangatera

... 7
1884 - 1966 Violet McRae
- no spouse found
VIOLET died in 1966 aged 82

... 8
1884 - 1884 Herbert McRae
HERBERT died in 1884 at Tekoe, Nelson, age not recorded

... 9
1886 - 1886 John Roderick McRae
JOHN died in 1886 at Tekoe, Nelson aged 2 months

... 10
1888 - 1888 Mary McRae
MARY died in 1888 at Tekoe, Nelson, aged 4 days


GEORGE WILSDEN McRAE died 13 Sep 1897 aged 59
MARY McRAE died 18 Nov 1918 in Christchurch aged 72
- they are buried at Waiau Cemetery, Nelson

NOTES
* William McRae, along with his sons George Wildsen and Roderick, built the second house of sod in 1859 AT hOME gULLY. It is now a registered historic building. The third homestead built in 1865 is still lived in today and is also a registered historic building

* In a report by Professor Hutton on the earthquake in the Amuri (pdf file) which took place 1st September 1888 he reports (32 pages) to the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury that "the earthquake was felt from Invercargill in the south to New Plymouth and Masterton in the north, a distance of about 600 miles, but was most severe in the neighbourhood of the Hamner Springs.
The shock commenced soon after 4am with a rumbling noise and slight shakes for a second or two followed by the main shock lasting from forty to sixty seconds or even more in some places.
... it was followed with the next quarter of an hour by two much smaller quakes. All Saturday, Sunday and Monday the ground at Hamner Springs was quivering.

DAMAGE DONE TO BUILDINGS at AMURI DISTRICT
? GLYNN WYE - The manager's home, a wooden building, was pushed several degrees out of the perpendicular to the east and the chimneys were thrown down. The men's cottage, also wood, was shifted bodily 15in to the north. The woodshed was also damaged. It will be seen that Glynn Wye appears to have sustained the greatest shock. It is the only place where wooden houses have been wrenched out of shape. The epicentre would probably be somewhere to the west of the meridian of Glynn Wye and Mr O. Thompson, the manager, says that the shock passed to the eastward down the valley with a hoarse crashing sound which gradually died away in the distance, while things were quiet at the place where he stood.
? HOPEFIELD - Chimneys thrown down and roof twisted out of shape
? JONES, WAIAU STATION - Woolshed and house badly damaged. Mens cob hut destroyed. A shepherd who was in Jones's hut in the Upper Hope, also reported that dead branches were shaken from the trees and it appears that many dead trees were also broken off about 10t from the ground, some at least a foot in diameter. In some places near here green trees 25ft t 30ft in height have been torn up by the roots
? WOODBANK - Partly brick and partly wood. The brick portion, which was very old, had two walls thrown down. The wooden building was not much damaged but shifted bodily 2?in to the east. The chimney fell to the west. A concrete chimney between the two parts of the house was broken off at the roof and the upper portion was thrown upwards and fell to the east. A cob hut has the south-west corner knocked out; the west end would have fallen but was held up
? HOT SPRINGS - No damage was done; but the only chimney is low and of concrete
? JACKS'S PASS HOTEL - No damage done and very little breakage of glass
? ST JAMES - Chimney-tops fell on earthquake of the 38th September; but it is thought that they were cracked through by the shock of the 1st September but did not then fall
? JOLLIES PASS HOTEL - No damage done and very little breakage of glass
? ST HELENS - The three chimneys were thrown down. They fell in different directions. Hams were thrown off hooks and also a birdcage
? FERRY HOTEL, Upper Waiau-ua (sc) - This is an old cob building but it was not much damaged
? TEKOE - A brick house. The upper portions of the walls fell, it is thought because they were not so well built as the lower portions. Noises like the falling of avalanches or the firing of cannon were very frequent and loud on the Saturday and Sunday and were heard faintly for many months before the quake. More than 25 loud booms being counted within an hour after the first shock and these booms continued for two days... At Tekoa Station, on the Mandamus River, numerous and large blocks of the rock fell from the cliffs making a great noise. The earthquake wave spread for a distance of three hundred miles from the epicentre. It travelled at about 11 miles per minute. The size of the centrum we have no means of estimating. The conclusion that may be drawn from this statement of facts are1 - that, except in the neighbourhood of the centre of impulse, the only damage was to buildings put up with bad mortar or faulty in constructuin2 - that cob stands the shock better than brick or stone with bad mortar and 3 - that houses on alluvial gravels &c., suffered more pari passu, than those in solid rock

* SHONA McRAE (wife of William Dampier McRae of Tekoa, (George`s grandson, son of William Wilsden McRae), wrote a number of books. They are available at the Rangiora Public library and possibly elsewhere if you ask.
One of the them was entitled The GLENS of TEKOA first edition published in 1968


PHOTO
George Wilsden McRae taken from "Old Colonists' (go to link)