06/09/2026
A remarkable piece of Garston history lies behind this Cunningham family headstone.
Robert Cunningham arrived in the Garston district with his family in 1876 and built a home near the place where the Glovers now live (Nevis Road).
According to the Soper family history Live and Let Live (2nd edition), Robert’s wife, Mary Cunningham, became ill shortly after the birth of their baby daughter, Maggie. It was the winter of 1878, during a record snowfall that lay three to four feet deep.
W. D. Soper (the original Garston Hotel owner) made Mary’s coffin in his blacksmith’s shop and set out for the Cunningham home with a team of six horses. The snow reached the hame hooks, and the leading horse reportedly had to be changed every fifteen minutes.
The book records that Mary was buried near the family home, at the foot of the mountains beside the Nevis Road. Her grave was marked by a black walnut tree, and it was said that a young son who had died earlier was also buried there.
Mary’s death left Robert raising their family. Maggie stayed with Elizabeth Butson for two years before returning home, and the family history also names Tom, Bill and Kate. Robert died in 1919, Tom in 1926 and Kate in 1945.
Sources: Live and Let Live, 2nd edition, Soper family history; Cunningham family headstone; NZ Historical Births, Deaths and Marriages search;
* Please let me know if any of these Cunningham family details are incorrect.
** I will put some more family history in the comments.
