Walter Rutherford
Description
Photograph of Walter Rutherford (1840-1934) of the 43rd Regiment. Rutherford is dressed in military uniform with helmet, sash and medals. He is saluting with his left hand and holding a large British flag in his right hand. There are plants (ferns) and a door in the background of the photograph. The maker of this photograph is unknown; the name A.Y. Davis is stamped onto the bottom right corner of the mount, but Fairy Studios is stamped on verso.
Walter Rutherford was born in Clapton, Middlesex and died in Otahuhu, Auckland. Walter and his brother Harry enlisted in the 43rd Regiment and sailed for New Zealand in 1865, serving in Tauranga then Taranaki. In 1866 Walter was discharged but joined the Taranaki militia and was one of the 25 volunteers who relieved men of the 50th Regiment at Warea near Parihaka. He then went to Patea and joined the mounted troopers. In 1868 he joined the 6th company of the Armed Constabulary and was present at the attack in Motoroa. The company moved to Poverty Bay and took the field against Te Kooti. It was claimed Walter fired the first shot at Ngatapa, Poverty Bay. He finally obtained his discharge in 1879 and resided in Auckland.
Walter believed he was the last survivor of the 43rd Regiment. A newspaper report of his death notes that he presented to the Auckland museum a flag given to him by the descendant of the Archdeacon Henry Williams. The flag was reported to have been fought under against Hone Heke. This photo may have been taken to mark that event, or at least with that flag.
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Public comments
I’ve been doing some research on the New Zealand and specifically the New Plymouth Rutherfords, This is Walter Rutherford born 18 June 1840 in Clapton, Middlesex, England and died 14 November 1934 in Otahuhu, NZ Walter and his brother Mr Harry RUTHERFORD enlisted in the 43rd regiment and sailed for New Zealand in 1865. He saw Service in Tauranga and then Taranaki. In 1866 he was discharged but then joined the Taranaki militia and was one of the 25 volunteers who relieved men of the 50th regiment at Warea near Parihaka. He then went to Patea and joined the mounted troopers. In 1868 he joined the 6th company of the Armed Constabulary and was present at the attack in Motoroa. The company moved to Poverty Bay and took the field against Te Kooti. It was claimed he fired the first shot at Ngatapa, Poverty Bay He finally obtained his discharge in 1879 and resided in Auckland. It’s reported that he believed he was the last survivor of the 43rd Regiment. A newspaper report of his death notes that he presented to the Auckland museum a flag given to him by the descendant of the Archdeacon Henry Williams. The flag was reported to have been fought under against Hone Heke. A guess would be that this was a photo from that event, or at least with that flag. See papers Past - 15 November 1934 - Death of aged pioneer Mr Walter Rutherford (served in many campaigns) Note: Walter is not related to my Rutherford branch in the past few generations. His Rutherford family were from London of which I’ve traced back to 1786 with the birth of Henry Rutherford (wife Sarah Nightland). His son was Walter (1818-1877) and he was this Walters father.
- Donna Rutherford posted 3 years ago.