A generous Presbyterian settler who made famously good cheese, Margaret Kirkland was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1836 to William and Jane Kirkland. She emigrated to New Zealand with her family on the Maori when Margaret was a teenager. The ship arrived at Nelson on Christmas Day 1851 before calling at Wellington. A great number of sailors deserted there, delaying the ship’s departure so much that the Kirklands did not arrive in Dunedin until March 1852. The day after their arrival, however, the family settled in Green Island, where Margaret’s father had purchased a 10-acre section prior to their journey.
As an adult Margaret lived at ‘Townend Farm’ with her brother Alexander, with whom she had a close relationship. While Alexander looked after the crops, Margaret was in charge of the dairy and started producing Dunlop cheese. This proved particularly popular with the Scottish settlers because it had a higher fat content than cheddar and reminded them of the cheese they were accustomed to in Scotland. Margaret’s cheese was considered exceptional for its richness and flavour, which was due partly to the Green Island bush-land grass that the Kirklands’ cattle fed upon. She exhibited her cheese only once, at Dunedin in 1868, when she won a medal from the Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Otago.
Margaret was heavily involved with the Green Island Presbyterian Church and made several substantial donations during her life. One donation helped fund the erection and expansion of the Sunday School Hall, which was subsequently named Kirkland Hall. Margaret also took up painting in her spare time, and donated two oil paintings to the Green Island Presbyterian Church that depicted the Church’s previous buildings. Margaret journeyed back to Scotland on two occasions but always felt compelled to return to Green Island. She died at home there on 23 April 1913, aged 78. Never having married, she left substantial bequests to her nieces and nephews.
Miss Margaret Kirkland