BOLGER, AMELIA (MIN) nee MAURI (MOURIE)

 

Amelia Mauri was born on the 27 November 1871 at Caccivio, near the city of Como, Italy and was the eldest of ten children of John and Louisa Mauri nee Fave.

 

Amelia came to New Zealand with her parents and brother Daniel on the Lammershagen which left Hamburg, Germany on the 1 April 1875 and was their home until they reached Wellington on the 11 July.  The family then came to Patea on the Egmont.

 

The Mauris lived at Patea for about five years before moving to Manaia about 1880-81.  The elder children, including Amelia, were the first day pupils at the Manaia School when it opened in 1882.  Amelia was then 12 years old, and she excelled at her studies and was often commended for her needle work and achievements.

 

On entering the Manaia School, the Mauri children were entered as Mourie, most foreign surnames being translated into English.  The children used the Mourie spelling all their lives but the parents still used the Italian spelling.

 

On the 1 January 1894 Amelia married Michael Bolger at the Sacred Heart Church, Manaia.  Michael was the son of John and Catherine Bolger nee Kavanagh, early settlers in the Manaia district.

 

In January 1906, Michael and Amelia became proprietors of the Manaia Hotel, now known as the Manaia Tavern, and later farmed on the Manaia Road and Normanby Road corners.  Michael died in 1909 and Amelia and her two sons moved to Devonport, Auckland as she wished to give her boys a Catholic college education.

 

Amelia lost her eldest son John, who when serving with the NZ Army Corps, died at Passchendaele in October 1917.  During World War Two Amelia was requested to register with the NZ Register of Aliens.  This caused her much sorrow and pain, and rightly so when you think that she had given one son who died fighting for her adopted country.

 

Amelia died on the 31 May 1946 at Devonport, Auckland and is buried with her husband at the Manaia cemetery.

 

SOURCE

Jo Horgan, Hawera (niece)