Hello Family!  Kia ora e te whānau!  Nau mai, Haere mai!  Welcome!

Welcome to the Bevan–Roach family home

A place where family & descendants of our tūpuna Joe and Mere Bevan (Joseph Clark Bevan & Mere Tuia Roach) can come:

• To honour our past and affirm our roots - who we are & where we are from.

• To learn about our whakapapa (family tree) and our English, Maori & Irish ancestors.

• To share photos and stories.

• To learn about our family Maori land (whenua) interests and our Whanau Trust that administers these interests.

• To better understand our English, Maori & Irish ancestry and links.   

We all grow in different directions but our roots remain as one

About the Bevan-Roach Family

The Bevan-Roach family is the King Country family of Joe and Mere Bevan (Joseph Clark Bevan & Mere Tuia Roach) and their descendant families.  

Both Joe and Mere were born and raised in the Horowhenua region in the early 20th century – Joe in Otaki born 1911, and Mere in Waikanae born 1914.  Joe had English and Maori ancestry and Mere Tuia had Irish, Maori and English ancestry.  

They first met in 1928 at the family home of Joe’s parents, William and Bella Bevan on Domain Road in Otaki.  Mere was sent to the Bevan’s – her unknown Otaki relatives - after her beloved grandmother Matanginui Meretuia (Granny Madam) had passed away at home in Waikanae.  Mere's mother, Kararaina, died in tragic circumstances five years earlier in 1923.

Over time Joe and Mere developed a strong friendship, fell in love and they married eight years later at the All Saints Church in Otaki on 18 May 1936.  They initially lived in Otaki where their first child Frances was born in October 1936.  

This was the time of the Great Depression in NZ when work was hard to find.  They had heard there was plenty of work and a future for families in the King Country, and in late 1936, they decided to leave the known world of family and friends in Horowhenua and travel north to Pokaka situated in the mountain region of the King Country.  On arrival with their baby girl Frances, some kerosene boxes and a mattress for furniture they set up home at Pokaka - the climate is cold; snow and frosts, freezing mountain winds.  The people are few.  Life is hard but they have a job and each other.  Joe is 25 years old and Mere Tuia 22.  This was the beginning of their family life spanning over 60 years in the King Country (1936 - 1997).  

Over the years Joe and Mere had eight other children born between 1938 and 1955 and the family lived in five settlements and towns across the King Country:

• Pokaka (1936 - 1940)

• Raurimu (1940 - 1952)

• Horopito (1952 - 1954)

• Owhango (1954 - 1960)

• Taumarunui (1962 - 1997)

They left the King Country for a two-year period to live in Tauranga between 1960-1962

Joe initially worked as a bushman felling native bush in the Pokaka area.  In 1940 he got a job with the NZ Railways at Raurimu working as a rail worker maintaining the main trunk rail line including the world renowned "Raurimu Spiral".  They moved into their first railway home in Raurimu in 1940 with their two daughters, Frances and Ann, and lived there for 12 years.  In 1952, Joe was made a Ganger, a boss of his own gang based in Horopito.  Joe, Mere and their now seven daughters climb into a Guards Van and travel 27kms south to their new railway home in Horopito.  Two years later in 1954 the family (now seven daughters and a son) is on the move again, this time they travel 42kms north to Owhango, where Joe has been appointed to a Ganger's role there.  The following year their eight daughter is born.

In 1960 after six years in Owhango, the family leave the King Country to live in Tauranga to enable Joe to take up a Ganger's role in the Tauranga region.   However, their time in Tauranga lasted only two years and they moved back to the King Country in 1962, this time to Taumarunui, where Joe took up a Ganger's role - a job he held until his retirement in 1976.  

In all the communities where they lived, Joe and Mere were known as Mary and Joe and Mr and Mrs Bevan.  They lived in Railway houses with their ever-growing family for a continuous period of 32 years beginning in 1940 at Raurimu.  Their last Railway home was at River Road in Taumarunui up until 1972.  In that year they purchased and moved into their own home at Marsack Road in Taumarunui with their youngest child Robyn who was in her final year at college.  

Joe passed away in 1985 and Mere Tuia passed in 1997 both in Taumarunui – Taku aroha, kia korua.  Moemai ana.

On Joe's passing in 1985, Joe and Mere Tuia had nine children and 21 grandchildren.  Their first great grandchild was born in 1992 and on Mere Tuia's passing in 1997 there were ten great grandchildren.

Joseph Clark's and Mere Tuia's Ancestry:

Joseph Clark Bevan had English and Maori ancestry going back to his great grandparents: 

His great grandparents on his father's side of the family were:

• Thomas Bevan & Mary Beaven from Whitchurch, England - they emigrated to NZ with their family in 1841, however Mary died on the trip over.  Thomas and his family settled in the Horowhenua region.  Their youngest son, William, was Joseph Clark's paternal grandfather. 

• Te Rei Te Hora and Makarena from Tauranga/Kaimai region (Ngati Te Rangi, Ngati Kahu and Ngati Tukorehe).  Their youngest daughter, Ngapaki Miriana (Ani) Te Rei was Joseph Clark's paternal grandmother. 

His great grandparents on his mother's side of the family were:

• Henry Carter & Sarah Stenning Bicknell - who lived in London, England.  Their son Henry Carter emigrated to NZ in the 1850s and later changed his name to Harry Clark after moving from Christchurch to Otaki.  Harry Clark was Joseph Clark's maternal grandfather.

• Makaora Te Poria and Marie Rangiherea  from Otaki (Ngati Raukawa, Ngatia Tuara & Ngati Kea).  Their daughter Mere Makaora Roach was Joseph Clark's maternal grandmother.

Mere Tuia Roach had Irish, Maori and English ancestry going back to her great grandparents: 

Her great grandparents on her mother's side of the family were:

• James Roach from Wexford, Ireland emigrated to New Zealand in the 1840's as a soldier in the 58th British Battalion, and Marie Rangiherea  from Otaki (Ngati Raukawa, Ngatia Tuara & Ngati Kea).  Their 2nd son Hemi (James) Roach was Mere Tuia's maternal grandfather.  

• James Sharp from England who emigrated to NZ in the 1840's and settled in the Horowhenua region, and Tuia from the Horowhenua region (Te Atiawa).  Their daughter Matanginui Meretuia Sharp (also known as Meretuia Eruini or Meretuia Edwin) was Mere Tuia's maternal grandmother.  

Mere Tuia's father's identity is unknown.  As such, her ancestry on her father's side of the family remains unidentified at this time.  Hopefully future research will confirm the identity of Mere Tuia's father.

Who does our family whakapapa to?

In terms of our English and Irish ancestry, through William, Hemi, Harry and Matanginui, our family whakapapa to:

·        The Bevan and Beaven families from the Whitchurch district in Shropshire, England

·        The Roach family from the Wexford district in the Republic of Ireland

·        The Carter & Bicknell families from London, England

·        The Sharp family in England

In terms of our Maori ancestry, through Marie, Makaora, Ngapaki and Matanginui, our family whakapapa to:

·        Ngati Raukawa (Otaki)

·        Te Atiawa – Ngati Rahiri (Waikanae)

·        Ngati Te Rangi/Ngati Kahu (Tauranga/Kaimai District)

·        Ngati Tukorehe (Levin)

·        Ngati Kea/Ngati Tuara (Rotorua District)

Our Maori Land (Whenua) Interests:

• In separate Maori Land Court hearings during the 1960's, members of the Bevan family and members of the Roach family sought and were granted succession to the whenua Māori land interests of their Maori ancestors.  As a result, Joseph Clark and Mere Tuia became beneficiaries of various Maori land interests: The whanau succession line for these interests were:

  • Te Rei Te Hora & Makarena - Ngapaki Te Rei - William Bevan - Joseph Clark Bevan

  • Te Raturoa & Moewaru - Marie Rangiherea - Hemi/James Roach - Mere Tuia Roach

• In 2020 the Bevan-Roach family succeeded to these interests - a total of 20 land blocks - and a family whanau trust was setup to administer these land interests on behalf of the family.  A description of the land blocks and the relevant whanau succession lines are detailed in the "Whenua" section.

Resources:

The "Resources" section contains some excellent reading about the Bevan-Roach family history, including:

• The memories and stories of Mere Tuia's childhood life in Waikanae and her subsequent life with Joseph Clark and their family were recorded in a book written by their 2nd daughter Ann Vincent (nee Bevan).  The book entitled "Dear Family Mere Tuia Bevan (nee Roach)" was presented by Ann to her brother Wayne at his 50th birthday celebration on 20 August 2003.  

• The "Bevan Whakapapa Book" written by Joseph Clark's great niece, Jill Bevan-Brown.  The whakapapa book is an online book specifically for and focused on the direct descendants of Joseph Clark's parents, William Bevan Jnr and Martha Isabell Clark.  It is a "living document" and should be treated as an online resource rather than downloading and/or printing it out.

• Descendants of Te Rangiiriwhare is the " Whakapapa of the Roach Whanau".  It was written by Mere Tuia's great niece, Dianne Wilson.  The whakapapa covers six generations, including Mere Tuia's great grandparents, Marie Rangiherea and James Roach, and all their descendants. 

• Research on the life of "Henry Raymond Bevan" (a first cousin of Joseph Clark) written by Ian Martyn of Medals Reunited New Zealand in 2019.  The research traces Henry's life who was awarded the Victory Medal during World War 1 and how the medal was finally reunited with the Bevan family.   Henry grew up in Otaki and was part of the large extended William and Bella Bevan family and Ngati Raukawa whanau environment in Otaki.  William and Bella played a significant positive role in his younger years; he considered them as his Mum and Dad.  In later years he enjoyed a stellar rugby career including earning selection for the NZ Maori rugby team.

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