Hi Judianne,

George was an 'itinerant' or 'travelling jeweller'
He was described as a 'Pole' who sometimes called himslf Kenopp

George and Phoebe were living in Westport

He was in New Zealand at least by 1868 when he was charged with a breach of the Customs Regulations Act - he was fined 24 pound, which in 2009 equated to $2,476

Again in 1869 he was charged with smuggling jewellery on board the steamer 'Murray' as he was leaving Hokitika to go to Greymouth

In 1872 he was giving evidence in court at an inquest on the body of a prisoner, James Thomas Purnell. There he states that he "had been a prisoner in the gaol for the last 22 months" ..

In 1876 he was charged with obtaining money from the BNZ by false pretenses

In 1892 George was in trouble for larceny of a piece firewood !!!

- he was declared bankrupt, and made an application for discharge in 1894

In 1900 George Knopp, well known as a pedlar of cheap jewellery, was sentenced at Westport to 2 months imprisonment for stealing lead.

In 1905 George was seeking a divorce from Phoebe because of her 'misconduct' with James Bailey (who was over 70) - the court case was in Wellington and said they were formerly from Hokitika and Westport.

In January 1905 Phoebe Knopp alleged she was assaulted by Tessie Russell who had hit her on the head with a stone. The case was dismissed

It could be that by 1912 George was living in Tawa Flat, Wellington

They had a daughter named Esther who was born about 1886 - she had a baby when she was 17. She married when she was about 30 to John McKenzie Beattie - he was about 20
George and Phoebe also had a son named Alexander born in 1889. In 1910 Alexander married Maude Hui Barnes

George died in 25th May 1920 aged 84 (born about 1836) - he is buried in the Jewish section of Karori Cemetery in Wellington
Do not know what happened to Phoebe

A very interesting little 'song' was written about him by Henry John Curtis in 1878 after he took George to court and won the case.
He named it THE JEWS LAMENT