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Fred Brandon

From Rev. Brian Brandon

Fred was born on the 6th of November, 1869 at Plaistow, Essex, the 4th child of Richard and Lucy Brandon. He never married. Fred was a carpenter with Herbert in Wanganui. He came up with Herbert to Hauturu and assisted him on the farm, staying there for the rest of his life.

Because he never married, he continued to live with Herbert and Gertrude, and helped out with all the building and farm work. He wasn't always easy to look after, coming in for meals just when he was ready, but she just put up with the difficulty, and gave him his meals when he wanted them. Because he had some funny ways, he wouldn't have been able to hold down a job of his own. He read a lot, and was particularly interested in reading about animals. Then he would try to converse with people about this interest, even if it wasn't really relevant to them.

He was very gentle and would never say a thing against anyone. He was a quiet person, physically very strong and well built. He would sometimes carry big logs on his shoulders for firewood - instead of waiting for a horse. On one occasion when they were fencing 2 1/2 miles up the road, he carried 2 coils of wire to the site, each weighing 1cwt. After Herbert's and Gertrude's deaths, he remained on the farm with Aleck.

He died in the Te Kuiti Hospital on the 3rd of July1964 from pneumonia, aged 94.

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