A Tale of Tom and Flora

On a cold grey autumn day in the Scottish town of Paisley, on the 5th of September 1890 a third son was born to Edward and Jane (nee Ritchie) McGorum (1858-1898). In keeping with the Celtic tradition of giving sons their Mother’s Maiden names as a second name, the bairn was named, Thomas Ritchie McGoram. At the time of time of Thomas’ birth, the family were living at 3 Cart Street,[1] and Edward worked as a Carter. Thomas was the youngest of three boys, Peter, Andrew and David [2] and he also had a sister, Jessie who was one year when he was born.

Jane and Edward had three more children after Tom, Edward Ritchie McGorum (1893-1982) Catherine (c1895-1897 – TBV) and Charles (1889-1899).

The happiness surrounding the birth of a new bairn for the McGorum family was short lived, At the time of Charles’ birth, Jane was ill with Tuberculosis, and died a few months later. The family was still grieving for Jane, when Charles was to follow her to the grave in a matter of months.

With young children in the family, Edward married Elizabeth Milliken on (DTBC).

Edward, (Tom’s father), and three of his children, Peter Ritchie McGorum, Andrew Ritchie McGorum  and Jessie McGorum, all migrated to New Zealand to the city of Auckland in the early 1900s. Edward McGorum, the youngest of the McGorum family arrived in New Zealand, along with his Step-mother, Elizabeth Milliken around 1904.

Thomas and his brother David Ritchie McGorum, departed London, England on 16 September 1910 bound for Wellington, New Zealand; on the Ship, ‘ARAWA’ . The two brothers had listed their occupation as Farm Labourers and travelled as 3rd Class passengers. Tom’s Passenger No was listed as: A012587, and David’s was: A012586[3]

During the First World War, Tom was in the NZ Army Reserve; and due to having flat feet he was not able to go to war overseas. Thomas played Football (Soccer) almost from the time he stepped off the ship, and while living in Petone, Wellington he played for the Thistle Club, and even represented Wellington in an Inter-Island match. Moving around the North Island, Tom was able to find work in various area, and at one stage he was working in Mt Maunganui, for the Railway and was called as a witness to a deliberate setting of a fire, at the Mt Maunganui Railway Station.[4]

At some time around c1920, Tom his father and brothers, except for David, change their surname from the spelling of McGorUm to McGorAm.

Jessie Flora Roberta Rose was born in Takaka, Golden Bay near Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand, on 3rd of August 1902. Joseph and Elizabeth (nee Scott) Rose. Flora (as she preferred to be called), was the second child in a small family of 3 children, which included Gordon Stuart Rose and later her younger sister Beatrice (Bea) Rose.

Tom married Flora in 1935 in the Registry Office in Auckland, with Jessie (nee McGoram) Smith and Guy Smith as their witnesses. Jessie was Tom’s only living sister, she would often come around to visit us at Robert St; she was large solidly built lady and was comfortable driving her car all around Auckland; I am off the belief she was the only McGoram who kept in touch with the various members of the family. A few days after Tom and Flora were married, they drove down to Levin, (near Wellington) to visit Flora’s father, Joseph Rose while there they had a photograph taken of the three of them.

Less than a year after being married, Tom and Flora married, their lives changed when they adopted a baby boy, whom they named John Edward McGoram.

In time the McGoram family expanded and Tom and Flora became parents to many children. Dorothy McGoram and Robin McGoram were adopted when they were respectively, 12 and 10 years. Six children, were fostered from babies until leaving home to be married - Jim, Selma-Janet, Margaret (Mags), Michael (Mackel), Rosemary (Rose) and Ian. The six foster children were not available for adoption; however Jim changed his name to James Thomas Ritchie McGoram, and myself, Selma Janet Fox (now known as Selma Janet McGoram), changed our names via deed poll in honour and respect for our parents. 

McGoram House in Elerslie

The years between 1936 and 1969 saw MANY foster children pass through the small, three bedroom, weatherboard house in Robert Street, Ellerslie; most of the children were of mixed race and I can recall Mum saying those “wee ones will have a tough road to hoe in life, so I want to give them a good start.”  At times there could be up to four babies in our home; all waiting to be adopted or returned to their mothers once they (the mothers), were ”back on their feet”.

Flora was a strict parent and the girls all had to help around the house, prepare school lunches, make our beds, vacuum the house, etc. The boys didn’t have to any chores, and often my sister, Mags and I used to feel very annoyed about this!  However, Flora had a soft heart, and sadly she just didn’t know how to show it; I suppose due to growing up in the early 1900s, when people were not demonstrative as they are these days (2020). I recall coming home from school one day, crying as I had been teased because I didn’t live with my ‘real’ parents. Mum told me, “you are luckier than those children, because you have two mothers and three fathers”. When I asked what she meant, I was told, “you have Mummy and Daddy, your real mother and father and your Father in Heaven”; I felt SO much better once I heard that explanation.

Tom worked for the New Zealand Railways for most of his working life, as a Metal Worker; the skill of working and creating objects out of metal came in very particularly useful with a growing family. I often used to sit on the step leading into Dad's garage and workshop, to watch him make and repair many varied items of metal, tin and wood. We had a fuel burning stove for cooking, and to heat the water for the many baths required. Dad made the best-looking coal and coke container; made of steel, it was divided inside into two sections, one for coal and the other for coke; a door on the outside, set across the two divisions allowed the two fuels to be dragged very easily into the one bucket.  When the huge container was empty my brothers, sisters and myself would climb in and play amongst the black dust, we had fun.  Mum was not happy to see five children with skin and clothes covered in the coal and coke dust!

A large household meant washing day was every day for Mum, so a larger clothesline was required, Dad came to the rescue. The best and highest clothesline in all of Ellerslie was the result.  The line was so high, Dad made Mum steps out of old railway carriage doors, which were good strong red, baked enamelled steel, which was still going strong in the 1970s!

Well, thanks to Dad we had two other pieces of play equipment in the back yard!

The clothesline became a swing, climbing to the top step, we would grab one of the wooden struts and jump off with a forward motion; to create the swing and around we would go.  Mum used to growl at us to not “swing on the clothesline", to no avail, we were having so much fun.

The clothesline steps would be turned on to the side, a piece of canvas would be thrown over and we would have a hut; many hours of fun were had with the clothesline and the steps.

References

[1] Ancestry.com. 1891 Scotland Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007

[2] Ancestry.com. 1891 Scotland Census. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007

[3] Ancestry.com. UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012

[4] Bay of Plenty Times, Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 6173, 28 August 1915

(to be continued....Selma Janet McGoram. June 2020).