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The Cullen Brothers of Crookston
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The Cullen brothers came from the Taieri where their father James Cullen snr was an early settler. Cullen snr came from Lockwood Farm near Coatbridge, Scotland; his parents William Cullen and Margaret (nee Murray). After attending a meeting in Glasgow promoting colonisation to New Zealand, he was selected as one of the first emigrants who sailed on the �Bengal Merchant� from Greenock in 1839. First anchoring at D�Urville Island then Port Nicholson near Wellington, James snr was employed sawing timber with a Maori called Topi. He went on to work with Charles Kettle surveying Wellington but lack of funds by the New Zealand Company saw him working as a storekeeper with a fellow passenger Archibald Anderson. Within those first five years James and Archibald decided to move to Dunedin. Anderson took up farming at Koputai (Port Chalmers) in 1844 and Cullen helped with his stock; 30 cows, 2 horses and 500 ewes.
When Charles Kettle arrived to survey the Otago Block twelve months later Cullen and Anderson helped him. The Otago Block was prepared for the settlers arriving aboard the 'Philip Laing' and 'John Wickliffe'. Cullen and friend Garret Hopper Clearwater were there to greet the new arrivals and within a short time two sisters arriving with four brothers and their mother Isabella Stevenson, Matron on the 'Philip Laing', became wives of the two men. Clearwater married Ann Stevenson in 1848 and Cullen married Jane Stevenson 1850.
In 1849 Cullen established the first carrier business in Dunedin and set up a stable in Manse Street, later moving to Rattray Street. He carried out ploughing for farmers as well, but his goal was to own a farm. When one of the farmers returned to Australia he purchased on East Taieri growing produce and developed an accomodation house called Owhiro. He expanded further by importing Clydesdale horses in 1860 which arrived in the care of his youngest brother Peter Smith Cullen aboard the 'Pladda'. These were the first stud horses to be shipped from Scotland to New Zealand. James became an Assistant Inspector of Cattle for Otago in 1864.
James and Jane Cullen had seven sons and two daughters. William was born the same week the first edition of the Otago Witness was produced, January 1851 and became one of the first high school pupils in Dunedin.
Deferred Payment sections became available in Block XIV Crookston at the end of March 1876. Only two sections were offered; section 11, 193a 0r 16p: applicants William Cullen, John Argyle, Newton Argyle and section 12, 200 acres: John Cullen, Robert Wilson Humphrey, John Argyle and Newton Argyle. On the day of public auction at the District Land Office, Lawrence, April 21st, 1876, of the seven applicants only the Cullen brothers were present. Both sections were obtained at the deferred payment prices.
On 29th August 1879 John Cullen on section 12 and William Cullen on section 11, were both granted by the Waste Lands Board, agricultural leases in exchange of their three year licenses. The brothers completed purchases on sections 11 and 12 in August 1886. The Cullen brothers were well known for industrious and profitable farming they established and their Clydesdale and horse breeding, winning many agricultural society prizes.
In 1881 barbed wire fencing was tried for the first time on Conical Hills Station by Watson Shennan. He replaced the ditch method used to keep stock confined, with his fence of four ordinary wires and a cap of barbed. Timothy grass was planted, quite extensively, for the first time the same year by Shennan using 10 pound of grass seed and 2 pound of alsike per acre. The Cullen brothers were the first Crookston farmers who decided to follow suit and put in a trial paddock of the seed as well.
In April 1882 the Cullen brothers applied to the Land Board to purchase section 13, block XIV adjoining section 12. The land had been reserved for a school site or camping ground for people travelling or with stock movements. They had applied to the board in June 1878 and been declined, as the board required further information, however in April 1882 the 17 acres 30 perch purchase, was finally granted on completion of a valuation by Ranger Hughan. Many areas had been set aside like this in the 1860's and 70's, as with this land at the entrance to The Gorge between the Tapanui Run and Beaumont.
Gorge Road, between Cullen's at Crookston Flat and Lawrence, had been approved for gravelling in the old Provincial Government days but it had never been anything other than a rough horse or dray track and became disused after time. The track was surveyed several times and in 1877 the Tuapeka County Council received drawings and a report executed by George Duncan regarding the road survey giving an estimate of �6,000 on formation of the road. A motion was carried by the council to instruct the engineer, R. Haldane Johnstone, to inspect the road with the possibility of it being fenced in and the works necessary to place it in a condition suitable for horse traffic. Many of the settlers on Crookston Flat and within the Herriot Hundreds saw Gorge Road through to Lawrence as a benefit and petitioned to have it developed instead of a road between the Dunrobin and Rae's Junction.
In January 1884 William Cullen was granted an auctioneers license and in November that year John Cullen was nominated as a candidate for the James Riding in the Tuapeka County Council. He was proposed by Jacob Shearing, Chairman of the Crookston Progress Committee, who gave his approval in a speech, commending Cullen as an energetic man who would be invaluable and worthy to represent as a member. Cullen's opposition was James Keddie Cameron.
William Cullen was appointed poundkeeper at Tapanui when John Francis Herbert resigned in December 1884. Cullen held the position until he resigned 9th July 1886.
The prime activity for the Cullen brothers was stud breeding. William Quin held a clearance sale at the farm of William and John Cullen on 7th August 1891, selling 1400 prime freezers, 100 merino wethers, 6 fat cattle and horses. Prices in 1899 indicated by sales for Crookston farmers were: four bullocks sold by James Sim at �8 17s 6d to �6 7s 6d and George Hepburn Stewart one bullock sold for �6 5s, a heifer at �5. A month later Adam Swan sold 58 ewes at 15s, 14s 6d and 13s 3d, John Cullen 68 wethers and ewes at 16s 3d to 14s 9d.
William Quin was agent again to hold a clearance sale at 'Waiatea', the homestead of William Cullen on 30th March 1900 under instruction to clear all of Cullen's stock at "absolute unreserved sale". Cullen offered 500 half and crossbred ewes, 550 crossbred lambs, 400 wethers, 20 rams, 6 colts, 4 dairy cows and 6 draught mares and geldings. After years of partnership with his brother William, John moved to Morton Mains, Southland.
Dalgety & Co. Ltd., were agents for the clearance sale in 1901 of Peter S Cullen, Crookston, who had sold his farm. All implements and furniture as well as livestock was to be sold, which included 350 crossbred ewes with lambs, 250 crossbred hoggets, 10 lincoln rams, 5 steers and heifers, 4 dairy cows, 6 young cattle and numerous horses.
The above article is part of my book West Otago - 150 Years, Farming and Families. If you would like to read more about the Cullen's the book will be available towards the end of 2008. You can contribute and have your family included in the book if they lived or worked in West Otago.
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