On Christmas Eve 1907 William Francis Woodhouse (my grandfather Frank) was born in Gore, to Thomas and Catherine Woodhouse of Waikaka.  Emily Margaret Brosnan was born in Naseby to Thomas and Emily Brosnan on 28 October 1909.  They are my paternal grandparents.

After Frank’s family moved from Waikaka to Dunedin they lived at 49 Broughton St in South Dunedin and it was while living there that he met Emily Margaret Brosnan at a St Patrick’s Church youth gathering.

They married in 1928 and moved out of the Woodhouse family home but they certainly didn’t move far – they lived at 57 Broughton St.  Three years later Thomas and Catherine moved into the house next door at 55 Broughton St!

Frank and Emily had eight children – Thelma Margaret (2 March 1929), Shirley Frances (24 December 1930), Maureen (10 August 1933), Allan John (19 November 1935), Mary Elizabeth (23 June 1939), Yvonne Catherine (21 July 1945), Robert Michael (14 June 1948) and finally Kevin (31 January 1950).

Possibly living beside Frank’s parents became less desirable, or the fact that the house was too small for their family of five, because in the mid 1930’s they moved away to 11 Tahuna Rd in Tainui.  For approximately 10 years they lived there before then shifting again slightly down the road to 37 Tahuna Rd for the next 10 years.

The children attended St Brigid’s Convent School and regularly featured in the school’s academic records.

Frank was a boiler maker and inspector for the NZ Railways at Hillside Workshops, however, in 1952 he and Emily uplift most of the family and move to the Hutt Valley because of a serious car accident suffered by their daughter Shirley.  They first lived at 36 Milton St, in Upper Hutt, for approximately nine years, and then for the next 17 years at 127 Molesworth St, in Taita.

Frank retired from the railways in 1963 but kept himself busy with his two favourite pastimes – rug making and playing outdoor and indoor bowls until poor health slowed him down.

In 1978 Frank and Emily celebrated their 50th Golden Wedding anniversary, in Palmerston North.  It was the final time that the majority of the family would be together.

Frank passed away on 11 January 1979. Emily moved in with Mary and Barry Morgan in Downing Ave in Napier until her passing on 30 July 1984.