Author(s): Christopher Pope

NZ History

A dinner party conversation began Englishman Christopher Pope on a serious search for his ancestors. He began with the Cave family, relatives of his mother, largely because they were known to come from Nympsfield in the Cotswolds, an easy distance from his Plymouth home. A Cave family puzzle led to the discovery of a New Zealand connection, which Christopher Pope and his wife Kathy explored on several visits to the other end of the world. In the Wairarapa, north of Wellington, New Zealand's capital, they discovered Augustus William Cave, an early and prominent settler with widespread farming, horse racing and community involvements. Most intriguing about Augustus Cave, Christopher Pope's great grandfather, was his close connection with Masterton Maori and their Te Ore Ore marae. Over 100 years ago Te Ore Ore Maori presented Augustus Cave with a rare flaxen waistcoat; in 2008 Christopher Pope had the great honour of reciprocating with a gift for the marae. In England, Christopher Pope discovered another illustrious ancestor - Lord Cave, who was twice Lord Chancellor of Great Britain in governments in the 1920s and Chancellor of Oxford University. A Journey in Search of Ancestors shows the pleasure and understanding to be gained from a study of family history. As Christopher Pope writes: "So many of us have fascinating forebears, and it just needs time and patience to discover them."