Mr James Rattray and Masters James and Alexander Rattray

James Rattray, a blacksmith, is pictured here with his two sons, James and Alexander. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1835, James senior only spoke Gaelic for the majority of his childhood. At 19 he became an apprentice to a shipbuilding firm, where he learnt English in addition to his trade. He emigrated to New Zealand on board the Gala in 1858, settled in Balclutha, and became a blacksmith after making his first set of bellows from scratch.

In 1866 James married Annie Edgar, and they had the two sons pictured here. Unfortunately, Annie died when the children were still infants, just four years into their marriage.  Two years later, James remarried the 19-year-old Catherine McIndoe and had two girls with her but this second marriage became rather tumultuous.  James was a heavy drinker, which affected both his marriage and his work. This culminated in Catherine taking him to court for fear he would follow through on threats to her life, but the case was settled with a fine and a warning for James to keep the peace.

James retired in 1905 and Alexander took over the smithy. In his early days in New Zealand James had been a staunch Presbyterian and took an active part in the founding of the Presbyterian Church at Balclutha. His eldest son, James, followed in his footsteps and, after 25 years of working for the Salvation Army, became a well-known and well-respected Presbyterian minister. James senior removed to Dunedin in the last years of his life and died there in 1914, aged 79.