Picture this. You are standing on a hill overlooking Lowry Bay. The wind whispers tales of the past. Lowry Bay. The name itself echoes with history. It’s a name given by the British. It honors Richard Lowry. He was the first mate on the New Zealand Company’s survey ship The Tory. The Tory sailed into Port Nicholson in 1839.
Lowry Bay wasn’t always Lowry Bay. The Maori called it Whiorau. This means blue duck. Before the 1855 earthquake there was a swamp. Blue ducks lived there. A gravel bar protected the swamp.
The first house in Lowry Bay was built in 1841. James and Emma Jackson built it. They were English settlers. They arrived on the Duke of Roxburgh in 1840. They were teachers. They chose land in Lowry Bay. This land was allocated under the New Zealand Company’s emigration scheme. The company’s claims on the land are still debated.
James Jackson was a busy man. He built the house using handmade bricks. He also built a boat. He named it Emma after his wife. It was a 14-ton vessel. It carried livestock and supplies across Wellington Harbour. These voyages were perilous. Settlers sometimes rowed the entire way.
James and Emma faced many challenges. Wild pigs and rats ravaged their crops. They also had to deal with conflicts between settlers and local Maori iwi. James Jackson even served on a jury and donated to a memorial for colonists who died in the 1843 Wairau incident.
Tragically James died in 1846. He was only 35. Emma inherited their land and property. She continued to manage the farm. Her sister-in-law Eliza and her family came to help. They arrived on the Duke of Portland in 1852. Sadly John Wood Eliza’s husband died during the voyage.
The 1855 earthquake was terrifying. The Jackson house was built on a hill. The family moved into a punga shed. The shoreline rose. Access to Point Howard became easier by land. But Emma noted the loss of bathing privacy.
Emma eventually sold the property in 1858. She returned to England. The property was sold at auction. The sale included a grand steam excursion trip. It even had a band refreshments and a marquee.
Emma died in 1888 at the age of 75. She left a sizable estate. James is buried in Lowry Bay. His grave is unmarked. It’s located near Walter Street. It’s part of a residential property. Lowry Bay. A place where history and nature intertwine. A place where the echoes of the past still whisper on the wind.