Found this for you at RootsWeb - any connection to your HOSKIN family? The Extended Family of Marcus ROBERTS

Thanks for your response. Have you any details on William Fry Hoskin and his brothers or sisters? The Henry William Hoskin in this list is born 4 years too early. However, you have given me 10 more Hoskin people from Taranaki that I never knew about.
Cheers and appreciated

You're welcome. I'm not related to your HOSKINs, I'm just assisting you with researching the name.

Goto Birth, Death & Marriage - Historical Records of New Zealand.

There are 421 records for HOSKIN at Archway - The Archives of New Zealand.

If you have a look at the HOSKIN Family Genealogy Forum there's a one year old topic entered for someone looking for Hoskin (Hoskyn) of New Plymouth and Taranki. I suggest you write to them via email. You may have to register as a new user of the site first if you wish your posted response to be seen, or you can click on their underlined posted name to lookup their email address, then write this email address into your email software program. Hope you know what I mean.

Best wishes.

Hi rsj,
You may want to change the marriage date of Henry & Caroline to 28th October 1878
They had one adopted son named William Fry Hoskin.
He was a Farmer in Bell Block, Taranaki. He died aged 56 and is buried at St Lukes Burial Ground

Henry & Caroline were separated in 1907

Henry was in the Rangiatea Home in New Plymouth when he died in 1928 aged 82. He is buried in Te Henui Cemetery

Caroline was living in Dawson St, New Plymouth. She died on 15th March 1934 and is buried in PLOT 3, LOT 1, ROW 23 at Te Henui Cemetery

There are nearly 100 HOSKIN buried in New Plymouth

from this at Kindred Konnection it seems that William Fry HOSKIN married Caroline Oriental STREET on 16th November 1858 in Hua Church, Bell Block, Taranaki and they had 13 children:
1. ?
2. Ellen
3. Henry William
4. Alice
5. Mary
6. John
7. Arthur 1867
8. Richard
9. Leonard
10. Frederick Fry 1872
11. Alfred
12. Harold 1882
13. Emma 1886

This William Fry HOSKIN was a son of Arthur Hoskin (1810-1864) of Holsworthy, Devonshire, England who died in Bell Block, Taranaki and Eliza FRY (1810-1863) from Stratton, Cornwall, England who died in Bell Block, Taranaki

Therefore my previous posting of the adopted son William Fry Hoskin may be incorrect. They did have an adopted son William Hoskin who I may have confused with William Fry ...

Thanks a million Ngaire - yes I did a typo in the date which was as you say and the adopted son definitely is my Grandad - no wonder he never drank or mentioned his father.
You have solved this part of the puzzle and I am grateful.
rsj