Gerard Boeddinghaus
Tobacconist of Willis Street
Gerard was born in Amsterdam in about 1827 and was educated in Germany where he gained a thorough knowledge of French and German. He then worked as the manager of a slaughtering business in Turkey.
Gerard emigrated to Australia in the 1850s where he tried his hand at the goldfields before settling in Hokitika where he started a tobacconist’s shop. He married Susannah Gertrude Stephens there in 1866. In the same year she gave birth to their daughter Theodora Rowland. Both mother and daughter died in 1867. Susannah was 24 and Theodora was 4 months.
He moved to Wellington in 1879 and ran a tobacconist’s shop on the corner of Willis Street. A decline in his success meant that he gave up the shop in 1894 he took over the management of the Island Bay Hotel on behalf of Hamilton Gilmer.
Gerard died from the bursting of a blood vessel on 24th January 1896. He had been suffering from stagnation of the blood for some time. He died without leaving a will and so his affairs were managed by the Public Trust. His effects were valued at £40. This included cash £2, savings at the Post Office £30, furniture and effects £5 and his watch was valued at £1.
Gerard was not thought to have any other relatives in New Zealand. He is the only burial in this plot.
Karori Cemetery Plot: *Ch Eng/B/33
Looking south west down Willis Street, Wellington, from the Lambton Quay intersection (later Stewart Dawson's corner), circa 1885. Shows the tobacconist shop of Gerard Boeddinghaus and the `Press Library and Reading Rooms' in the `Evening Post Chambers' building. Also shows Goodson's, importers of hosiery, hats and mercery and, further along, the verandah of the Empire Hotel. Signs advertising the `Steam Printing Office' of Blundell Bros and McDowell Bros, importers, drapers, clothiers and outfitters, can also be seen. Photograph taken by the Burton Brothers circa 1885.
Willis St, Wellington. Burton Bros. Ref: PA7-04-23. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22339288
Detail of above photo. Willis St, Wellington. Burton Bros. Ref: PA7-04-23. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22339288
Boeddinghaus plot, Karori Cemetery. November 2024.