Commemorating the centenary of the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. George Bennett in the ship Bernicia on November 28, 1848, 120 of their descendants gathered on Saturday in the Wesley Hall. One of them had even I travelled from Australia for the occasion.
On Show in the hall was the family Bible, a christening font presented to the Manners Street Wesley Church by Mr. George Bennett in 1849, and now in the Brooklyn Methodist Church, and a genealogical table which covered a board six feet by four foot six inches, painstakingly complied by Mr. Victor Bennett.
Mr. Bennett has been working for months to organise the reunion, which, was arranged by a committee of one representative of each branch of the family.
Mr. and Mrs. George Bennett had 10 children in all, the two daughters, who became Mrs. J. Dixon and Mrs. George Denton arriving with them, and the others being born in Wellington.
SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE.
The only representative of the first generation at the gathering was Mrs. W. H. Bennett, widow of the late W. H. Bennett, city councillor and Deputy Mayor of WeIIington. Next in seniority was Mrs. Lucy Jansen, eldest daughter of the first child of the pioneers.
Next was Mr. Edwin Dixon, a former M.P. and for many years Mayor of Hawera. Mr. Dixon it was who gave the alarm in the disastrous fire in Manners Street in 1879.
Oldest grandchild living in Wellington, Mr. W. H. Denton, welcomed the visitors on behalf of the grandchildren of Wellington who arranged the function.
Others of the Denton family were Miss Edith Denton, Mr. J. Mowbray Denton, who now lives in England, but made special trip for the occasion from Australia, where he was spending a holiday, and Messrs. P. N., F. J. H., and L. A. Denton.
Of the descendants of the late Mrs. Thomas Ralph, Miss Lil Ralph was the most disappointed of those unable to be present. Eldest daughter of that ranch, she was to have been a hostess, but unfortunately had to go to hospital before the great day.
Mr, Victor Bennett, grandson of the original pair, is a son of the late Mr. A. J. Bennett. With him at the function were his sister, Mrs. G. Lennie, and his brother, Mr. R. H. Bennett.
Representing the family of the late Mr. W. H. Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. R. T. McLean and their daughters were present as well as Mrs. Bennett.
'IDENTITY CARDS.'
With so many relations, some system of indicating who belonged to which branch was necessary, so all present wore coloured cards indicating their branch. These were repeated on the genealogical table on display to make things easier.
This table revealed, incidentally, that the Bennetts had 10 children, 47 grandchildren, 129 great-grandchildren, 156 great-great-grandchildren, and (so far) 24 great-great-great-grandchildren. Of these 326 are alive today.
Letters regretting non-attendance came from family members in America, Australia, Japtan, Fiji, and South Africa, but one missed was from a missionary in China, which was feared to have' gone astray through war disrupted communications.
During the evening all present signed a family register, and as each branch completed its signing, a member of the branch gave a vocal number. The singers were Miss Marjorie Sitters, Mr. N. Denton. Miss Pat Ralph, and Mr. R. H. Bennett.
Yesterday, as many of the family as were able, to remain in Wellington afterthe function, attended Wesley Church as a family. There were more than 100 of them.
Mr. Bennett was a builder in Wellington in more ways than one. He carried out one of the first reclamations of land in Wellington, building a retaining wall opposite his premises on Clay Point (Stewart Dawson’s corner), and filling it with spoil.