Groves, Frederick William (1866-1954)

Frederick William Groves was born at Castlepoint in 1866, the son of William and Selina Groves, who had emigrated with their parents, John and Ann Groves (nee Peach) from the Isle of Wight. 

In 1892 Frederick married Annie Brading, daughter of Tinui farmer Frank Brading and his wife Ellen Peach. 

After labouring for some years he was able to buy his first farm in 1892 - "The Terraces," Tinui. This farm is now part of "Tinui Downs."

Frederick Groves was the the poundkeeper for the Tinui district. Straying flocks of sheep and cattle were rounded up and placed in the pound, which appears to have been on his farm.

In the early days of Tinui Anglican Parish, the first Vicar of Tinui, the Rev. John Sykes, boarded with the Groves family.

Groves' large flat paddock on the corner of Peaks Road and the Masterton-Castlepoint Road was used for various sporting events, including horse racing and hunt club meetings. 

In February 1910 Groves lost a farm building to fire and in April 1910 he sold this farm to Harold Bennett and  bought a property near Pahiatua. Some protracted conveyancing problems followed regarding a section of the farm that the previous owner had implied was included in the sale, but the vendor saw otherwise. The matter ended up in court.

Frederick and Annie Groves retired to Opaki, Masterton.  Frederick died on 14 May 1954, aged 87 and Annie died on 11 June 1961, aged 93. The couple are buried in the Archer Street Cemetery, Queen Elizabeth Park, Masterton, Plot AG, Row 32, Area Plan II.

Family

Frederick and Annie Groves had six children. Unfortunately four of the children died when comparatively young. 

• Nellie, a promising student, died at 16; 

• Douglas died two years after marrying, in 1937, aged 35; 

• Ralph died of 'heart trouble' in 1921, aged 23; and

• Alexander died in 1928 of a 'long and trying illness,' aged 22.

The children were:
William Frank Groves, born 28 July 1893, at The Terraces, Tinui.. He married Lillian Ivyton Parsons in 1919. They had four children:

• Frederick Charles Groves, born in 1920. He married Edna Ray Clark in 1946. Frederick, a teacher, died in 2010; Edna died in 2005. They had three children. 

• Alice Jean Groves, born 4 November 1921. She married William Thomas Daley on 17 November 1945, in Pahiatua. Alice died on 19 August 2014 and William Daley on 26 January 2007, in Hamilton

• Enid Ivyton Groves, born in 1924. She married Trevor Pelling Rice in 1948. Trevor died in 2001. In 2024 Enid celebrated her 100th birthday. They had four children - Graham, Kenneth, Pauline and Roy.

• Noelene Norma Groves, born 25 December 1926 in Pahiatua. She died on 2 April 1940, in Hawkes Bay.

William died on 13 June 1985, in Hamilton, Waikato. His wife Lillian died in 1981. 

Ellen Lucy (Nellie) Groves was born in 1895 in Tinui, Masterton. She attended Wanganui Girls' College and died at Castlepoint on 25 April 1911, aged 16.

Douglas Sidney Groves was born in 1906, in Masterton. Douglas married Elizabeth Fairhurst Bulloch on 14 September 1935, and died at Masterton Hospital on 5 December 1937. At the time of his death the couple had an infant daughter, Pamela Marguerite Murray, nee Groves. Pamela died in 2010.

Ralph Frederick Groves was born in 1898, in Tinui, Masterton. He died following an illness on 7 November 1921, at Pahiatua.

Alexander John Oswald Groves, born in 1906, died in Pahiatua on 16 September 1928, aged 22

David Victor Groves, born 1911 probably at Masterton. He married Clarice Mildred Riesterer on 15 December 1937, in Auckland. He died in 1990 in Masterton.

Updated 5 July 2024

Frederick William Groves, Sheepfarmer, “The Terrace,” Tinui.
The compact farm of 450 acres held by Mr. Groves has been greatly improved since 1892, when it was purchased by its present owner and it is now in a good state of cultivation, carrying a valuable flock of Lincoln sheep and a good herd of cattle. Mr. Groves, who was born in 1866 at Castlepoint, where he was educated and brought up to farming pursuits, has always taken an interest in field sports, having played in several football matches. He has long been connected with the Foresters' Order and has passed most of the chairs. In 1892 Mr Groves was married to Miss Brading, of Tinui and has one son and one daughter 

Published in 1897. Source unknown.

Mr F.W. Groves, of "The Terrace," has just sold his farm, comprising some five hundred-odd acres, to Mr Harold Bennett, of Masterton.
Wairarapa Daily Times, Tinui Notes, 11 April 1910, page 6