Thomas Bould

As an adventurous nineteen-year-old Thomas was drawn to the gold rush in Victoria, Australia - Ballarat Mining Licence 66 was issued to him 20 January 1853 and number 840 on 26 August 1856. These dates a far enough apart to suggest that he might have made more than one trip to Australia, the only voyage known is on the 'Corsair' which brought him back to New Zealand (Lyttleton), leaving Melbourne on 5 December 1857. A memento of his endeavours is a tiepin featuring a gold nugget found at Bendigo which is still in the family.
In the Wellington Provincial Government Gazette in 1858 there was an unclaimed letter for Thomas, by which time he was a farmer at Ohariu, North of Wellington.
Following his marriage to Georgiana Saunders in 1864, Thomas, in common with other members of the family, moved into the hotel industry, becoming the Licensee of the 'Ferry Inn' from 1866 to 1871. They had the following children:

Albert William Robert (1865 - 1933)
Evangeline (1867 - 1946)
Edward Thomas (1869 - 1869)
Julia Frances (1870 - 1912)
Charles William Hensman (1873 - 1916)
Frederick Thomas (1875 - 1949)
George Thomas (1876 - 1964)

He was a member of the Porirua Rifle Volunteers from 1866 to at least 1869, running 5th in the Provincial Government Rifle Prizes in 1866, 4th in 1867, & 6th in 1868 - photo. He had 1 share in Tawa Flat Gold Mining Company, 1 share in the Telegraph Gold Mining Company, & 1 share in the Tawa Flat Luck's All Gold Mining Company, while living at Tawa Flat in 1869.
In 1872 Thomas was living in Pahautahanui, and next year obtained Crown Grant No 3457 of one acre at Foxton.
He was the Licensee of the 'Pahautahanui Junction Hotel', from 1874 to 1876, and the Licensee of the 'Clarenden Hotel', Molesworth St, Wellington, in 1878. Lived at Mulgrave St, Wellington, in 1880. Licensee of Hotel in Ghuznee Street, Wellington, in 1882. From 1890 to 1896 he was living at College St, Wellington, and from 1896 to his death on 19 August 1906 lived at the Johnsonville Hotel, as publican.

Back to The Boulds' Early days

graham@grahambould.net