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1877:

Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India.



George Bayntun Starky emigrated to New Zealand where he purchased a property called Brackenfield Station in the North Canterbury Plains

Married:
MAUD MARY
LEFEVRE PLENDERLEATH
The daughter of Rev. William Charles Plenderleath, the Rector of Cherhill, Wiltshire.
They were married at St. James Church of England, Cherhill, Wiltshire on the 20th April 1881

 

Children:
JOHN BAYNTUN STARKY (Son and heir 1882 - 1944)

GEORGE (1883 -1959)
– He was a Second Lieutenant in the Wiltshire Regiment, then took up farming in New Zealand.
WADHAM (1883 - 1953)
– He was a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War I, also took up farming in New Zealand.
FRANCIS (1884-1963) – Also known by the nickname Bay was a farmer at Toatoa, near Opotiki, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand and at the end of 1913 he was involved with breaking the waterfront strike in Auckland.
WALTER
(1886 - 1930)– Captain in the Somersetshire Yeomanry and served in World War I, then emigrated to Argentina where he took up sheep farming.
JAMES (1889 - 1916)
– Was the youngest son and came to Britain upon the outbreak of the First World War and joined Wiltshire Regiment, the country regiment of his grandfather's home. He was wounded and died.

Pictured (above left) George Bayntun Starky and Maud Mary Le Fevre Plenderleath (above right) pictured in 1882. These photos were from the private album of Kate Forbes and were kindly donated by Bob Starky.

Twins, Wadham and George (left) pictured in 1885.

This photo is from the private album of Kate Forbes and was kindly donated by Bob Starky.

 

 

George Bayntun Starky was born on the 4th April 1858, at Pertenhall Manor, Bedfordshire, England. He was educated at Marlborough.

On the 20th April 1881 he married Maud Mary Le Fevre Plenderleath at St. James Church of England, Cherhill, Wiltshire. Maud was the daughter of the Rev. William Charles Plenderleath, the Rector of Cherhill, Wiltshire. It was the last time the bells at the church were rung. The church was being restored and the architect advised the bells should not be rung again, probably because the three large bells, were at the time, fixed to a very ancient and much decayed oak frame which apparently had no attention for at least a century. Maud was 22 years old at the time and her husband, George, was aged 23.

An Indenture was drawn up on the day before – the 19th day of April – as part of a Marriage Settlement. The terms enclosed were under a previous Indenture, dated the 11th day of July 1857, made between George's father, John Bayntun Starky (by then deceased) and his mother, Frances Anne Starky (nee Hunt Grubbe), which was a settlement made in consideration of a marriage which followed between the said John and Frances. This Indenture ensured that George Bayntun Starky was entitled to certain trust funds, amounting to about £52,400, invested on certain mortgages in the name of Frances Anne who was the trustee of the initial settlement. This was subject to the payment of an annuity of £365 to Frances Anne during her life and also an annuity of £500 to Charlotte Starky (nee Wyndham), his grandmother, who was still living at the time.

Shortly after their wedding in 1881, George emigrated to New Zealand and purchased a property known as "Brackenfield Station" at Amberley, in the North Canterbury Plains. The property is said to have covered about 1,400 acres of freehold and was issued as a mixed farm. In 1883, his wife Maude Le Fevre Plenderleath and her eldest son, John, followed him to the colony and in the same year George founded the Brackenfield Hunt and he was their first Master of The Hunt. He and his wife shared a love of hunting and riding horses. Also in 1883 George founded the Brackenfield Hunt Club. The hounds were kept on the estate and met twice week in winter.

The remaining children – Wadham, Francis, George, Walter and James were all born in New Zealand.

A newspaper cutting from the "Star" – Christchurch, dated Saturday 21st December 1889, under the headline Homeward Bound Starky – reads: Mr G.B. Starky owner of Brackenfield, near Amberley, left Christchurch last night for a sojourn in the old Colony. He departed from Lyttelton in the Hauroto. After staying in Australia a short time he leaves Melbourne for London on the S.S. Valetta.

He sold Brackenfield Station in 1910 but bought it back again after a year but at this stage is was a much smaller property, having been divided into four blocks and the other half sold to another party in between – so his re-purchase was only half in size. He also owned land in Omihi Valley called Spye Station which he purchased at the same time. He named it after his late father's estate in Wiltshire – Spye Park.

George (pictured left) in 1910.

 

In November 1912 his mother, Frances-Anne came to visit him from England while on a world tour. This brought four generations of the Bayntun Starky family together.

Frances-Anne (aged 77) pictured outside her son's home in Omihi. Standing beside her is her grandson - George Bayntun Starky (29), who was the second eldest child of George Bayntun Starky. Seated is her son George (54) and her great-grandson, John Michael Bayntun Starky (3).

George prospered, not so much as a farmer, but as a lender of money to other farmers who were starting up. He died on 21st March 1926 at the age of 67.

His eldest son John Bayntun Starky took over the running of the farms and one year later sold Spye Station. George's will was proved in New Zealand and sealed in London on the 16th November 1926 (estate in England £5,115).

The final resting place of George Bayntun Starky and his wife Maud Mary Lefevre Bayntun Starky (left) at Balcairn Public Cemetery, Canterbury, New Zealand.

 

A very handsome carved oak reredos was given by Maud Starky in memory of her husband and two sons and was erected at St. James Church, in Cherhill, Wiltshire on the 17th May 1931.

Source: Geograph.org.uk

The principal features of the reredos are two biblical scenes. Carved on the front edge of the shelf is the following:

A.M.D.G.
and
In Memory of George Bayntun Starky, 1858-1926
Walter Bayntun Starky, 1886-1930
James Bayntun Starky, 1889-1916

 

Maud Mary Lefevre Bayntun Starky died on the 11th July1943, aged 84 years of age (See grave above).

There is a memorial stone in his memory in the
Church of St. Nicholas in Bromham that also
mentions his wife Maud.

 

George Bayntun Starky's signature

 

Maud Mary Le Fevre Plenderleath's signature

 

George Bayntun Starky was succeeded by his only son and heir John Bayntun Starky


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