Escaping Great Distress and Misery: The Cole Family of Spar Bush

Albert Cole emigrated to New Zealand in 1878, leaving behind an impoverished rural economy in Devon, England. Two years after arriving he purchased 200 acres of land at Spar Bush near Invercargill. In 1883 Albert Cole married Annie Finch and they settled on the Spar Bush farm, converting scrub, swamp and forest into oat crops and pastures for sheep and cows. The life of the Cole family was not without misfortune, one son died of appendicitis and a daughter died of tuberculosis. Two sons went to World War 1 and returned with minor ailments. Albert bought farms for his sons, although these were lost during the Depression. Albert was removed from the original farm and the its management was handed over to one of the sons. Despite these obstacles, eight of Albert and Annie Cole's children went on to produce 18 grandchildren.