Lydia Higgs, signatory

In 1893 when she signed the petition Lydia Higgs (1854 - 1943), nee Holtham was 39 years old. She was the second wife of Caleb Higgs, whom she married in 1881 and together they had 6 children (the first being born in 1878). Caleb also had 6 children with his first wife, the youngest of whom was just a few months old when Caleb and Lydia got together.

Lydia Higgs, signatory. Image supplied by author

Caleb's first wife, Mary Anne Hammond, died only a few months after giving birth to her 6th child at age 30, so Lydia certainly had her hands full!

Wairau restaurant taken over by the Higgs. Supplied by Marlborough Museum.

In 1893 Caleb and Lydia were in negotiation to take over Smiths Wairau Restaurant, Alfred Street, having for the previous ten years been the publicans at the Globe Hotel in Renwick. They sold the restaurant business a year later, and moved to Otane in the Hawkes Bay.

While living in Renwick, Lydia and Caleb regularly competed in, sponsored and judged Horticultural Society competitions, Lydia winning prizes for her pansies and phloxes.

Lydia and Caleb also ran the bar and luncheon booth for the Upper Wairau Races in a "most efficient manner". Lydia sang in a fundraising concert to aid the Renwick Cemetery. Both Lydia and Caleb were well and favourably known throughout the district.

MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS, VOLUME XXIX, ISSUE 262, 26 OCTOBER 1893

Story by: Marlborough Museum and Archives