Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

John Thomas Rutherford, known as Jack, was the youngest son of William and Emma Louisa (née Kearns) Rutherford, and a cousin of the eminent scientist, Lord Rutherford. He was born on 26 May 1889 at Timaru, where his father was a shepherd/farmer. Both William and Emma Louisa were born in New Zealand of very early Nelson settlers. Along with his siblings, John was educated at Gleniti (then known as Wai-iti) School. He left shortly after his fourteenth birthday to go out to work. In 1897 at Wai-iti School he was awarded a class prize for Standard II, his sister Ethel and brother George also receiving prizes. The following year his prize was for Standard III, and in 1900 for Standard IV. At the Wai-iti School annual concert in aid of the school funds held in late November 1901, John Rutherford gave a splendid recitation. In 1901, he was awarded a prize for Standard V and the writing prize. In 1902, John received a prize for first place in Standard VI and a special prize for Standard VI writing. The weather being against sports, each child was presented with a toy of some description. John T. Rutherford, Wai-iti School, had “qualified” for a scholarship by obtaining the required marks in the examinations in late 1901, but may have missed out, there not being sufficient scholarships for all. His mother, Emma Louisa Rutherford, died on 8 June 1910 at Timaru, of Milford near Temuka.

In his youth, John was into athletics. In May 1907 he entered the Novice Race, of about two and three-quarter miles, of the South Canterbury Harriers, which started from Caroline Bay at 3 p.m. The course was from the south end of the bay to a point on the abattoir hill, and back to the bay, so that a good view of the race could be obtained from the cliffs. John was ranked in the middle of the handicaps. In December the same year, he finished third in the 440 Yards Handicap at the Pleasant Point Caledonian Society’s annual gathering. Later in the month he competed at the Temuka Caledonian Sports, finishing first in the 220 Yards Handicap. He again started in the 440 Yards Handicap and came in first in one heat of the 220 Yards Handicap at the South Canterbury Caledonian Society’s sports in the new year (1908). At the Geraldine St Patrick’s Day sports in 1908, John won 60 shillings for first place in the 440 Yards Handicap and 10 shillings for second place in the 220 Yards Farewell Handicap. Further meets continued. A good win was secured in the 12 Yards Handicap at Temuka in April 1908. There at the Gisborne St Patrick’s Day Sports at Gisborne in 1908, J. T. Rutherford ran second equal in the Civil Service Handicap (150 yards) and shared the trophy. Jack was with the Gisborne Post Office. Further success in the district and further afield followed, in Civil Service Sports Association events and open events. At new year 1913 it was at Masterton that he made his mark, and in January 1914 at Bunnythorpe. John Thomas Rutherford, Wanganui, passed the Civil Service senior examination in January 1913.

A more significant occasion occurred in 1914. On 21st January at St Peter’s Church, Waipawa, John Thomas Rutherford, son of William Rutherford of South Canterbury, married Stella Wyndham Osborne – “a very smart and popular wedding”. At this time John was of Wanganui. His brother, Mr W. Rutherford of Timaru, was best man. The bridegroom’s present to the bride was a handsome silver tea service, and the bride’s present to the bridegroom was a travelling bag. The honeymoon was spent at Christchurch. John and Stella resided in Wanganui where he was a telegraphist. Sports competitions continued. The Wanganui Chronicle of 9 June 1915 carried the following item – “The latest additions to the Telephone Exchange is No. 1125, Mr J. T. Rutherford’s residence. Hutchinson St., Durie Hill.”

In November 1915, J. T. Rutherford, telegraphist, Post Office, Wanganui, registered at the local Defence Office and was accepted for service. He enlisted for service with the Engineers of the Tenth Reinforcements on 16 November 1915 at Trentham. On 23 November 1915, Stella Wyndham Rutherford applied for the shilling per day separation allowance granted to wives of members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Medically examined on 22 November, he was recorded as fit. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighed 10 stone 12 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 32-35 inches. His complexion was dark, his eyes and hair brown. His sight, hearing, colour vision, heart and lungs were all normal, his limbs and chest well formed, and his teeth good. He was free from diseases and in good bodily and mental health. He had served with the Volunteers until his time was up. John named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs S. W. Rutherford, Te Rata Street, Durie Hill, Wanganui, although her address changed a number of times. John’s address was C/o Telegraph Office, Wanganui.

Sapper J. T. Rutherford embarked for Suez, Egypt, on 4 March 1916, with the New Zealand Engineers of the 10th Reinforcements. Embarking at Port Said for France on 13 April 1916, he disembarked at Marseilles on 21 April and was attached to the Depot of the NZ I.B.D. After proceeding to England on 29 August 1916, Sapper Rutherford again proceeded overseas on 17 October from the New Zealand Reserve Signal Unit at Hitchin (NZ Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch) and was attached to Strength. A month later he was detached to the Signal Depot at Abbeville. On 1 December he was attached to the Royal Engineers Depot in the Field. On 17 October 1916 he proceeded overseas to France from Hitchins (Signal Unit) and about seven weeks later was posted to Strength with the Divisional Signal Company.

For failing to comply with orders in June 1917 in the Field, he not only forfeited one day’s pay but suffered the withdrawal of winter clothing and a second blanket. After proceeding on leave to the UK on 27 November 1917, he rejoined his Unit on 14 December. As of 6 August 1918, he was with his Unit (Divisional Signalling Company). On 6 October 1918, he was appointed lance corporal to complete establishment. Then he was appointed 2nd corporal on 28 November 1918 and promoted to corporal on 14 January 1919. Admitted to No. 1 New Zealand Field Ambulance and sent to hospital on 25 December 1918, suffering with influenza, he was discharged to duty on 30 December and rejoined his Unit. Detached to the UK on 9 February 1919, he marched into Brocton from France on 11 February. J. T. Rutherford returned to New Zealand by the “Northumberland” (Draft No. 213), a big draft which left from Liverpool on 28 March 1919 and was due at Wellington about 9 May 1919. After serving overseas for well over three years, he returned to Wanganui. He was discharged on 7 June 1919, on the termination of his period of engagement, and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service in Egypt and Western Europe.

John and Stella remained at Wanganui for a few years, where he had resumed his position as a telegraphist. In 1920 he asked the Borough Council for improvements in his street. He was appointed chief telegraphist at Thames in late 1923. While at Thames Mr and Mrs J. T. Rutherford made visits to the South Island. At the general election in 1925 the “expeditious posting of the results was due entirely to the efficient manner in which the Post and Telegraph officials responded to the organisation of their supervisor, Mr. J. T. Rutherford, and to the courteously given assistance of the Returning Officer (Mr. H. R. Bush). The telegraph operators had a particularly strenuous time, and did everything possible to facilitate the posting of results.” In 1926 he was elected to the vestry of St George’s Church, where Mrs Rutherford also did her bit, and in 1927 he was elected People’s Warden. John was also an assistant radio inspector with the Telegraph Department. It was in May 1928 that Mr and Mrs J. T. Rutherford – both earnest workers for the church – were farewelled by the parishioners of St George’s Church. “For the past four years the office of supervisor of the telegraph branch of the Thames Post Office has been filled in a very capable fashion by Mr. J. T. Rutherford, who has made himself deservedly popular among his fellow-workers and also with the public by his energy and strict attention to his duties. He has also been an earnest worker in St. George’s Church affairs, having been a member of the Vestry for the past three years, while he acted as People’s Warden for the past twelve months. It was very fitting, therefore, that on Mr. Rutherford’s removal to Wellington on promotion which takes effect shortly, that some mention of his work should have been made at the annual meeting of St. George’s Church parishioners last evening. The Vicar said he greatly regretted Mr. Rutherford’s departure. He and Mrs. Rutherford had been extremely active in promoting Church work. “When we get a man who is so quietly efficient, we can ill-afford to lose his services,” said the Vicar. On behalf of the parishioners he extended to them the sincere good wishes of all in their new sphere and the hope that Mr. Rutherford would continue to rise in his profession. On behalf of the Vestry he had great pleasure in asking Mr. Rutherford to accept a pipe and a tobacco pouch as a slight token of the goodwill and esteem in which they held him, and trusted that when he smoked the pipe his thoughts would return to Thames with pleasureful remembrance. On behalf of the Girls’ Club the Vicar presented Mrs. Rutherford with a small present, trusting that she would find as much happiness in Wellington as she had found in Thames. In a brief reply Mr. Rutherford returned thanks on behalf of his wife and himself. It had always been a great pleasure to act in any position in Church work and he had become much attached to St. George’s Parish in which from the very first he had found everyone very cordial and friendly. He was finding it hard to say good-bye but he would carry away remembrances of a very happy time spent in Thames.” Mrs Rutherford had been associated not only with the Girls’ Club but also with the choir. She was presented with a beautiful cup, saucer and plate in appreciation of her work.

Mr. J. T. Rutherford, supervisor of telegraphs was presented with a drawing-room clock on behalf of the staff at the Thames Post Office on 14 May 1928. His services were eulogised and several tributes to his worth were also paid. In response, Mr. Rutherford mentioned his happy relations with his fellow-workers during his residence at Thames. And so, John Rutherford left Thames for Wellington on 15 May 1928 to take up his new duties as supervisor in the telephone exchange. The mother of Mr Rutherford’s wife Stella was one of those killed in the 1931 earthquake in Hastings. She was in the main street within a few hundred yards of her home when she was killed. She had been well-known to Mrs and Mr Rutherford’s Thames friends. In September 1933, Mr J. T. Rutherford was elected as the telegraph representative of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Officers’ Guild, a position he filled for some years. J. T. Rutherford, Post and Telegraph, entered the 23rd annual Public Service tournament held on several Wellington greens on 2 February 1939. John and Stella had a few years in Nelson in the mid-1940s to early 1950s, before moving to Masterton in the Wairarapa district.

John Thomas Rutherford died at Masterton on 19 August 1962, aged 73 years. He was cremated at Karori, Wellington. He bequeathed all his estate to his wife Stella and appointed her sole executrix of his Will. Stella died in 1972. John’s father, William Rutherford, had died on 4 March 1935 at Masterton, at the residence of his eldest son where he had resided for some years. He was survived by three sons and two daughters, his second son (William) having died of wounds received in action at Gallipoli in 1915. Jack’s second sister, Stella, married at the family’s Gleniti home in 1899, and his oldest brother, Charles William, married at St Mary’s, Timaru, in 1906. His sister Mary Robertson, married in 1901 and died in childbirth in 1903, and his sister Ethel died on 8 July 1908 at the family home. Charles William Rutherford and Douglas George Rutherford were both listed on the Reserve Rolls, both married men with children.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [19 October 2023]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Collections – Record number 0101010) [19 October 2023]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [19 October 2023]; Timaru Herald, 28 December 1897, 28 December 1898, 28 October 1899, 30 November 1901, 21 December 1901, 17 January 1902, 22 December 1902, 19 April 1906, 13 May 1907, 17 & 27 December 1907, 18 March 1908, 20 June 1910, 14 March 1935, Temuka Leader, 2 January 1908, Press, 21 March 1908, Lyttelton Times, 22 April 1908, Gisborne Times, 18 March 1910, 3 January 1911, 24 February 1911, 21 December 1911, Poverty Bay Herald, 12 October 1910, 8 November 1910, Hawke’s Bay Tribune, 20 June 1911, 22 January 1914, Dominion, 29 October 1912, Pahiatua Herald, 2 January 1913, Evening Post, 19 February 1913, 22 May 1928, 14 September 1933, 27 January 1939, Feilding Star, 15 January 1914, Wanganui Chronicle, 22 January 1914, 9 June 1915, 4 August 1920, Wanganui Herald, 6 November 1915, Manawatu Times, 24 November 1915, NZ Times, 28 April 1919, Thames Star, 4 December 1923, 6 October 1925, 5 November 1925, 6 May 1926, 23 February 1927, 5 May 1927, 25 February 1928, 30 April 1928, 3 May 1928, 15 May 1928, 16 February 1931, Auckland Star, 7 May 1928, 16 March 1935, Wairarapa Daily Times, 5 & 7 March 1935, Press, 12 March 1935 (Papers Past) [07 December 2013; 19 & 22 March 2015; 19 & 22 October 2023]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [20 March 2015; 18 & 19 October 2023]; Karori, Wellington, cremation record (Wellington City Council) [20 October 2023]; Probate record (Archives NZ/Family Search) [20 October 2023]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file
• Other military personnel file

Related Documents

• RUTHERFORD John Thomas - newspaper clippings (pdf, 183.5 KB updated 10-Nov-2023)

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.