Robert and Margaret Duckworth (née Umphrays)

Robert Duckworth was Dunedin’s first professional hairdresser and one of the pioneer settlers of Andersons Bay. He was born in Spain during the Peninsula wars in about 1814, his father a Scottish soldier from the 5th Dragoons who used various spellings of his surname, including Duckett and Duckard. Nothing more is known of Robert’s early life until he married Margaret Humphrey (or Umphrays) in Edinburgh in 1835. Robert was a cabinetmaker and Margaret the daughter of a mason. They were married at St Cuthbert’s church in the centre of Edinburgh. Consistent with the multiple variation in surname spellings, the couple were married under the name Duckard.

The Duckworths had five children in Edinburgh, naming the first four as Duckard and the last as Duckworth. They then emigrated to Otago on the Mary in 1849, using the name Duckworth on the passenger list and ever afterwards in New Zealand. The family settled first in Walker Street, Dunedin, where Robert practised his trade as a carpenter. He added a second string to his bow by offering barbering services and by dint of his witty personality became a great favourite and prospered. He saved his earnings and in a few years was able to buy his own land in Andersons Bay.

He was remembered for two notable appearances on the public stage. The first was on the occasion of Governor George Grey’s first visit to the settlement in 1850. Asked by the Governor what his occupation was, ‘Bobby’ Duckworth replied, ‘A carpenter, a barber, and a gardener, an' I made a fiddle a' oot my ain head.’ ‘Well,’ replied Sir George, ‘you're sure to do well in a new country.’

Two years later when word was received in Dunedin of the new New Zealand constitution, Bobby Duckworth was selected to proclaim the good news as a ‘pursuivant’ (town crier) in the custom of Edinburgh. He went through the town ringing a bell and reading the proclamation, suitably mixing due solemnity and his customary humour to create an occasion of fun and celebration that was long remembered in Dunedin.

Meanwhile, his adaptability and hard work paid off, fulfilling Governor Grey’s expectation, and Duckworth did very well in his colonial career. When he died in 1886, aged 72, he left behind six surviving children as well as what an obituary described as ‘a neat, well-kept piece of ground at the bay [that] testifies to his industry, perseverance, and judgment in his capacity as a gardener.’