Shout Family
On 11th May 1896, 11-year-old Charles Shout was playing in a tree on Bowen Street where is parents lived. While playing, he fell 12ft to the concrete footpath below and as a result he fractured his skull.
He was attended to by Dr James and began to progress when he had a relapse about a month later and died on 2nd June. It was reported that his death was caused later striking his head on a tap but a day later the newspaper corrected the record to state they he simply suffered a natural relapse. The funeral departed for Karori Cemetery from his parents’ house. He is the first burial in this plot.
Charles was the son of John Shout, chief cook of the Occidental Hotel and his wife Agnes nee Kelly. John was born at Mile End, London in 1858 to Irish born parents. Charles married Agnes in 1887 in New Zealand and they were parents to 9 children.
Artist unknown :Occidental Hotel. [1890s].. Artist unknown :[Wellington scenes. 1890s].. Ref: E-278-q-003-11. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22326524
John tendered and won the contract for catering at the refreshment rooms at the 1896 Industrial Exhibition, just a few months after Charles died. By this point he was also chef at Bellamy’s. He wrote to the organising committee protesting that exhibitors would be selling tea and refreshments at their stalls. In reply, the committee stated that those exhibiting tea were selling or giving it away to promote their goods.
The Exhibition tea rooms opened on 5 November. John advertised that his refreshment rooms would offer afternoon tea, hot and cold suppers and fresh oysters. Later he advertised with prices: Luncheon (three courses) 1s; Tea 1s; Supper 1s; Strawberries and Cream, Trifles, Jellies, Ice Creams, Iced Drinks, Sandwiches.
The committee later reduced John’s rent from £10 to £5 due to the erection of tow tea kiosks as ‘neither the Executive nor Mr Shout had expected that the kiosks would be erected on such a large and attractive scale’. Despite this and taking £500 in sales at the Exhibition, John was made bankrupt in February 1897. His total debts were £195. An order of discharge from bankruptcy was made in June 1897.
Industrial Exhibition building, Wellington. Ref: 1/2-032452-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22312428
John’s business recovered and in 1903 he took the lease of Plimmerton House, Plimmerton – the ‘healthy seaside resort’, The domestic arrangements were supervised by Agnes which ‘guaranteed the comfort of a home’. They later moved to Trentham where John became the catering manager at racecourse in the 1920s.
View of the beach at Plimmerton, showing Plimmerton House on the left. Creator of Collection Unknown : Photographs of Plimmerton. Ref: 1/2-004016-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22784142
Agnes died in 1927, aged 67 years. John remarried in 1929 to Alice Humphries and he lived until the age of 93 and died in 1952. He is buried with Charles and Agnes.
Karori Cemetery Plot: *ROM CATH/C/43