The Kusabs family of Rotorua
August is known as Family History Month so this year I thought, why not select a family that had deep and wide connections in Rotorua. I'd noted the Kusab building on the corner of Arawa and Tutanakei Street, and of course the beautiful big house at the top of Fenton Street, once the Landmark Restaurant, that had connections to the Kusabs family. Then there are the street names, Kusabs, Edmund, Nairn, etc. So I began searching and looking to see what I could uncover about this family. And isn't that the way it is with even your own family research - certain things jump out at you, and then it draws you on. My apologies to the present day Kusabs family members for any mistakes and gaps, and thanks to Andrew Kusabs who filled in some of my gaps and provided interesting snippets of the family. So, let's begin our journey back in the 1800s.
I'm starting with Henry and Emily Kusabs. Born in the 1830's, Henry Edmund Kusabs was from Eastern Prussia. Part of the German Navy, Henry traveled to China where he left the navy and sometime in 1858 came to New Zealand. Naturalised in 1863, for some years he was involved in coastal shipping. Henry settled in Ohaupo where he milked 50 cows and established sawmills where he processed local trees and sold the timber. He was involved in local body matters, business, education and the Anglican Church.
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| Article supplied by Andrew Kusabs |
His wife, Emily Prentice came to New Zealand with Bishop Selwyn. Whether to be governess to his children, or to teach at the school he established, I'm not sure. They met at the Cathedral, fell in love and eventually married. When she and Henry moved to Ohaupo, she taught her sons and other local children in her home. Eventually a school was built and she was appointed the head teacher.
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| Photo from Winds of change: a history of the European settlement of Ohaupo by Valerie Millington for the Ohaupo School 125th Jubilee Committee |
All the books I checked talked about the three sons they had, George Arthur, Andrew Ernest and Charles Edmund. However, in the Historic Birth, Death and marriage records, I discovered the birth of a fourth son, born between Andrew and Charles, Michael Herbert. He died of tetanus aged 7. Then I discovered a fifth son, Frederick William, who died as a three year old.
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| Waikato Times 18 January 2014 |
Sons Andrew Ernest and Charles Edmund leased land in Mamaku where they had a saw-milling business. However, by 1901 the company had been sold with the tramway being sold in 1905. A timber yard was established in Hinemoa Street for genuine dry land timber. Henry and Emily followed their sons to Rotorua in about 1905.
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| Hot Lakes Chronicle, 13 November 1895, p 3 Papers Past |
George Arthur, an accountant, married Phoebe Emmeline Hardwick had 3 daughters, and eventually moved to Auckland. One of his daughters, Lillian, married an American serviceman and moved to the States. When she died another daughter, Phyllis, went to the States and brought the children back to New Zealand where she raised them.
Andrew Ernest, timber merchant, married Lucy Ngamihi Dansey, daughter of Roger Delamere Dansey, who was the postmaster during the Tarawera eruption, 1886. When they married in 1898 Andrew presented Lucy with Moeranga Villa in Pukaki Street as a wedding dowry. This building was added on to overtime, passing out of the family and eventually becoming the Regent Hotel.
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| Regent Hotel (original Kusabs house) north east corner Rangiuru/Pukaki streets, circa 1940, Photographer unknown, Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (CP-2729) |
Unfortunately Lucy died in 1906. leaving two young boys, Roger and William (Billy). Andrew later remarried, Louisa Lillian Phipps who managed the tea rooms in the Government Gardens, and they had another son, Samuel. It was Andrew who built the Kusabs building on the corner of Tutanekai and Arawa Street. Andrew also owned a launch business, the Rotorua Oil Launch Company.
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| Kusabs Building on corner of Tutanekai and Arawa Streets |
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| Photo of launch on Lake Rotorua early 1900's, supplied by Andrew Kusabs |
Charles Kusabs married Cora Amelia Penn, and they had one son. After Cora died, Charles married a widow, Mrs Dorothea Nairn (where Nairn Street comes from). Charles moved into the car business. He ran tours, taking tourists around the Hot Lakes district and also owned a garage. His son Arthur was one of his drivers and eventually took over the business. Charles was also responsible for building the beautiful house at the top of Fenton Street. His love of golf drove him to be involved in the establishment of the Golf Course, where he was practicing on the day he died.
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| Charles Kusabs, wife Cora and son Prentice in car outside their house, south east corner Fenton and Meade streets, circa 1906, photographer unknown, Rotoura Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (CP-2729) |
During 1918 Prentice Arthur trained as a pilot but he did not go overseas. He expanded the car tourism business to include buses running from Rotorua to Opotiki. Arthur, went on to become the Mayor of Rotorua during the war years, 1942-43.
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| Arthur Kusabs and mates. Arthur sitting on left side of plane Photograph supplied by Andrew Kusabs |
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| Rotorua Borough Council, 1946, Panora Studio (Moore & Thompson), Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa(OP-6426) |
With thanks to Papers Past, Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa, Peggy Allen, Bryon Somervel and the Don Stafford Collection. Many thanks to Andrew and Hazel Kusabs for sharing some family stories and photographs with me.
Written by Trish
