Elizabeth Gordon was a cheerful, friendly woman, who was born in Edinburgh in 1834. She married Andrew Chirnside from Berwickshire, Scotland, on 16 May 1855. After the birth of two children, John and Agnes, the young couple left Glasgow for Otago upon the Three Bells, landing at Port Chalmers in 1858. On arrival they began the difficult journey to land at East Taieri that they had purchased prior to their departure from Scotland and were met by rain, mud, and bush.
Elizabeth and Andrew lived at East Taieri for seven years following their arrival and established a farm. Elizabeth also gave birth to three more children here: Alice, Alexander, and Isabella. Alexander unfortunately did not survive infancy, dying in February 1860 at six months of age. Losing a child in infancy was a common experience for pioneer mothers but always a heart-breaking one. In 1866 Elizabeth and Andrew purchased a new property at Rosebank near Balclutha, which they named ‘Gordonvale’ and built themselves a wattle-and-daub cottage. A further seven children were born here, bringing their family up to five sons and seven daughters.
For a short time Andrew became a member of the Balclutha School Committee and later a Chairman of the Kakapuaka School Committee. He was also a trustee of the local Wesleyan church. Otherwise he was a quiet man who did not take much of an active role in public affairs but he was kind and hard-working, and well-respected as ‘a good and obliging neighbour’. Elizabeth was more outgoing and had a wide circle of friends throughout Balclutha.
Andrew died at home at ‘Gordonvale’ on 3 October 1887. Following Andrew’s death and a disastrous fire, Elizabeth built the homestead in which she and her family lived in for several years. She spent her last years living with her married daughter Violet Jeffery in Balclutha, where she died on 22 April 1908, aged 73. Her obituary described her as ‘a fine hearty type of woman, with a kind word, a cheery greeting, and a hospitable home.’
Mrs Andrew Chirnside (née Elizabeth Gordon)