William Thomas Fairburn

  Noted events in his life were:

• source. Win & Steve Sinden & http://www.easystreetretreat.com.au/australianroyalty where it is noted:
Family traditions differ as to the origins of William Thomas Fairburn. According to an old birthday book belonging to his grand-daughter, Louisa Kemp, he was born in Deptford. There are three places of that name in England, but which one applies to our William? In New Zealand, he named his last home, Ravensbourne, suggesting that he may have come from Deptford, Kent where there is a river by the same name. In her biography, Elizabeth Colenso strengthens this idea when she writes that her father found more than 40 nieces and nephews living in Kent when he returned to England after an absence of nearly 40 years. But descendants of William's eldest son, Richard, are convinced that the family came from Yorkshire. Patricia Fairburn, a grand-daughter of Richard, recalls her father saying that William Thomas "ran away from home after a quarrel with his father". To confuse the issue further, a young man named David or Ricky Fairburn was in New Zealand in 1969 searching for his missionary ancestor, whom, he said, was the son of a wealthy printer. A John Fairburn, Map and Chartmaker and Print Maker, was trading at 146 Minories, London between 1793 and 1810, and later at 13 Broadway, between 1822 and 1832. In 1835, William's wife, Sarah reported in a letter to her daughter, Elizabeth, the death of her grandfather in his ninetieth year. The Printer mentioned above could have been at the right age in 1835 to have been this person. Research to date has found no proof of any of these traditions. So the mystery of William birthplace and date deepens….
The New South Wales Muster of 1822 shows that William travelled to the Colony on the ship Shipley, though he does not appear on the passenger list. This ship made two voyages to Sydney. The first left London on 18 December 1816, arriving on 24 March 1817 with 125 male prisoners, a detachment of the 46th Regiment and merchandise for the Colony. The second voyage left London on 18 July 1818 and arrived in Sydney on 18 November 1818, with 146 male prisoners. When the ship returned to England on 1 April 1819, on board was a Private John Fairburn of the 84th Regiment. Was this a brother of William? Had they traveled out together on the Shipley previously? The 84th Regiment had strong connections with Yorkshire.
The first positive knowledge we have of William in Sydney is from a receipt he signed for repairs to a carriage and sulky belonging to Mrs Elizabeth Macarthur of John Macarthur) receipt dated 12 November 1817 would indicate that William arrived on the first voyage of the Shipley. At this time, he was working for a coachbuilder named Thomas Howard and was probably no more than 19 years of age. His son, Edwin, later wrote that his father was 'an educated lad, fond of adventure, who started to New South Wales on his own account and having great mechanical genius, turned his hand to almost anything'.
After their marriage, William and Sarah sailed on 27 July 1819 on the Brig 'General Gates' under Captain Rigg, bound for New Zealand. They arrived at Rangihoua, Bay of Islands on 12 August 1819. William had been employed by Reverend Samuel Marsden when in Sydney to be a carpenter on the building of a house for the Superintendent of the New Zealand Mission, Reverend John Butler. They lived with the Butlers at Rangihoua until the carpenter's store was finished at Kerikeri. Butler wrote, " We have been busy all loading our goods for Kedeekedee and in the evening Mrs Butler, self, Mr and Mrs and Charlotte] Kemp, Mr F Hall, three carpenters, their wives and families went on board the punt and set off for Kedeekedee". The tide turned obliging them to spend a night ashore feasting on tea and pork dining with some natives. At two o'clock in the morning they proceeded, being taken in tow by some natives in a large Maori canoe, arriving at Kerikeri at 6am in the morning of 21 December 1819. Thus William and Sarah began their New Zealand missionary service, sharing quarters in the carpenter's store with William and Elizabeth Bean, William and Margery Puckey and their families.
In 1822, it became necessary for William and Sarah to return to New South Wales to be present for the General Muster of the Colony. Sarah and the two children sailed on the Westmoreland on 25 November 1821, arriving in Sydney on 11 December 1821. As William remained in New Zealand, Sarah probably spent Christmas with her family in Sydney. 1822 would be the last she and her family would spend together. After the completion of Reverend Butler's house on 22 March 1822, William sailed to Sydney on the ship Vansittart, arriving on 29 April 1822. During Sarah's absence, he and William Bean had boarded with the butlers at 18/- per week. A charge Butler would have rendered on the Church Missionary Society!
The Fairburns stayed in Sydney until July 1823. William already had a house on 60 acres of land under lease from the Government in the Parish of Melville Blacktown - Eastern Creek) When this was finally given up is not known, but by the middle of 1823, William had been taken on again by the New Zealand Mission.

William married Sarah Tuckwell, daughter of Richard Tuckwell and Elizabeth Budden, on 12 Apr 1819 in St Johns C of E, Parramatta, Sydney, NSW Australia. (Sarah Tuckwell was born on 8 May 1798, christened on 11 May 1798 in Sydney, NSW Australia and died on 3 Sep 1843 in New Zealand.)

William next married Elizabeth Newman on 25 Feb 1845. (Elizabeth Newman was born circa 1820.)

William next married Jane Tomes on 28 Aug 1851. (Jane Tomes was born circa 1830.)