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The Harold Thompson Collection

Collection Details

DescriptionHarold Thompson was born on the Isle of Wight in the UK on July 13th 1907. He sailed to New Zealand as a sponsored Salvation Army immigrant in 1926. After learning the rudiments of farming at the Salvation Army farm near Putaruru, he worked as a farm hand throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty to gain experience, then purchased land on Wright Road. The land had to be cleared, fenced and planted in grass to feed his growing heard of Ayrshire cows. It was while working his land that he became familiar with the Wright family, and eventually married Sidney Wright's eldest daughter Annie on July 1st, 1937. Harold's new wife was Annabella Sarah Wright, daughter of Sydney and Charlotte Wright. Sydney in turn was the son of Oliver and Harriet Wright.

The Thompsons farmed their Wright Road property for many years and this collection is a complete financial record of this farm, starting in the early 1930s and concluding in the mid 1950s. Harold and Annie's daughter Jocelyn was born in 1945 and now lives in Wellington. She donated the collection to the Western Bay Community Archives in 2020. Last edited by: Sandra Haigh