John and Jane MacGibbon (née McConachy)

The MacGibbons were the first European settlers in the Mataura district and their family played a prominent role in its development for generations. John MacGibbon was born in Glasgow in 1809 where his father was a tobacconist and grocer. Carrying on the family business, John married Jane McConachy in Glasgow in 1838. A decade later they were attracted to the Otago settlement scheme and emigrated with their young family on the Mooltan in 1849. The ship suffered an outbreak of cholera and nine passengers died but the MacGibbons, who were cabin passengers, all survived the voyage.

John immediately established himself in business as a storekeeper in Dunedin, at the corner of Princes and Stafford Streets. The MacGibbon store was sold in 1851 and John turned his energies to wholesaling and exporting, farming on the Caversham flat, and taking an active part in Dunedin affairs. In 1858 the family headed south. After an initial trial on the Otapiri Run, they settled at Mataura Falls where John had a government contract to operate a ferry across the Mataura River. He combined this with farming and running an accommodation house.

In 1872 the MacGibbons returned to storekeeping, establishing a business in Mataura that combined a general store, drapery, bakery and a stock and station agency. As John MacGibbon and Sons it prospered, with branches established at Gore and East Gore. The business survived into the mid 20th century and was a major enterprise in the district.

John retired from business in 1887 but his sons carried on and emerged in their own right as leaders of their communities. The eldest son, Thomas, was mayor of Mataura and later a member of the Legislative Council. His brother John, who ran the Gore branch, was twice mayor of Gore, while another brother, Archibald, also served as mayor there. John and Jane MacGibbon celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at Mataura in 1888, surrounded by six surviving children and numerous grandchildren. John died four years later, aged 82. Jane died in 1901, aged 83.