Following the death of her first husband Captain James Ellis on a whaling boat, in 1853, Eliza Ellis, then aged 29, married Thomas Deacon, at St Paul’s in Auckland (New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840-34).
Thomas William Deacon (1823-1918) was born in 1823 in St Stephen, Borough of Saltash, Cornwall, England. Thomas Deacon’s:
- father was John Deacon (age 65 in 1841), a mason; and
- his mother was Mary Deacon (age 60 in 1841).
Thomas Deacon arrived in New Zealand in 1940 on the H.M.S. Calliope in 1843 [check], acquiring land at Riverhead around 1843.
The Deacon family business
A hotelier by trade, Thomas Deacon was one of the first hoteliers in the Upper Harbour region. He established Deacon’s Inn on the foreshore of Riverhead and provided a ferry services and a cargo shed (Dunsford, p23).
As the Waitemata portage terminus, Riverhead benefitted tremendously from the commerce, and by 1868 Thomas Deacon was making substantial profits by operating a ferry shuttle service, wharf, goods storage shed and Deacon’s Inn at Riverhead.
By April 1868, Deacon had received a new Bush Licence at the Waikomiti Hotel, Waikomiti, and by 1870, the Waikoukou Hotel, Kaipara.
In April 1870, Thomas Deacon transferred the Bush Licence for Deacon’s Inn to his step-son John Ellis, Eliza’s second son with her first husband Captain Ellis.
In April 1871, the Bush liquor license for the Riverhead Hotel was transferred from James Ensor to Thomas Deacon. It is from this point that Deacon’s dominance of hotel accommodation in Riverhead and Kumeu grew (Dunsford, p29).
By 1877, three licenses were owned by the Deacon Family: Riverhead Hotel managed by Thomas Deacon Snr), Railway Hotel manage by Thomas Deacon Jnr and Kumeu Hotel (aka White Horse Hotel) managed by Arthur Deacon.
Missing photo here of Riverhead Hotel
The Deacon children
Eliza and Thomas Deacon had three sons and five daughters, all born in Riverhead, Rodney, Auckland:
- Blanche Deacon (1851-1930) – m. John McCrae Brigham
- Arthur Deacon (1854-1930) – m. Eliza Jane Nixon
- Thomas William Deacon (1856-1915) – m. Edna Grace XXX
- Grace Deacon (1859-?) – m. John Alexander Lamb
- Sarah Deacon (1861-1943) – m. James Nehemiah Griffin
- Francis Deacon (1863-1920) – m. Elizabeth Lochead
- Mary Deacon (1865-1942) – m. Richard Percival Kinloch
- Mabel Thonasine Deacon (1869-1918) – m. Thomas. F Cahill
Life in Riverhead
Riverhead records that soirees and dances were greatly appreciated by the folk of Upper Harbour. Early evening parties were held at the Waitemata Mills and XXX. A party at the Kumeu Public Hall on 23 May 1877 had musical items, presented to the accompaniment of Eliza Deacon. These included Mary Deacon and Messers Sharp singing Mother I’ve come home to die and Sarah Deacon’s rendition of The Officer’s Funeral. These soirees preceded an evening of dancing which, on the evening of 23 May 1877, continued until dawn (page 195).
Some artefacts in the collections of Sarah Deacon’s surviving grandchild and her great-grandchildren, indicate a level of comfort and gentility not immediately evident from photos of the exterior of the Riverhead Hotel.
