John Mahon (b. ~1828, d. 1890)
John Mahon was most likely born in Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland around 1828. I have not found any birth or baptism records for John and the dates and places are based information provided on his marriage and death registrations. His parents were recorded as Thomas Mahon and Mary (Paisley) Mahon. And his fathers occupation was recorded as a cattle dealer on John's death registration. On John's marriage registration in 1864 his father's status is recorded as deceased.
John married Julia Long on the 3'rd February 1864 at the Registrar's office in Collingwood, Melbourne. The marriage registration states that John's occupation was gentleman and his usual residence was Bermuda, although it is difficult to decipher the writing for the usual residence. Julia's occupation is listed as Governess and her usual residence as Swan River, although the writing is also difficult to decipher on this entry. John's occupation of gentleman could have meant that he had been in the British army, maybe in Bermuda, and had taken his pension. This could also explain why he was made a sergeant in the Waikato militia.
Towards the end of the New Zealand Land Wars in the Waikato, around 1863, several contingents of military settlers were raised in Aotearoa, Sydney, Melbourne and the Victorian goldfields. The military settlers were promised confiscated (aka stolen) Māori land in return for keeping their weapons in good order and being prepared to stay on that land for a period of at least three years. Two of my ancestors, John Mahon and Matthew Carr, volunteered for the the militia in Melbourne and both served in the 4'th Waikato Militia, John at the rank of Sergeant and Matthew as a Private. This militia was largely raised in Melbourne and the majority of its members sailed for Auckland on the 6'th February 1864 on the Swiftsure. A passenger list was published in the Daily Southern Cross on the 19'th February, 1864. John Mahon's name does not appear in the list, although Matthew Carr and his wife and two children do. The 4'th Waikato Regiment arrived in Kirikiriroa in August 1864 and built redoubts on either side of the river, which anchored the townships of Hamilton West and Hamilton East. John Mahon was a sergeant in the Militia and received two lots of confiscated land (allotments 26 and 27, which were at the corner of Victoria and Rosstrevor Streets in present-day Hamilton City). On 26'th August 1889, the 25'th anniversary of the 4'th Waikato Militia landing in Kirikiriroa, a number of the surviving members of the militia planted oak trees around Steele Park (then called Sydney Square) in Hamilton East. John Mahon planted a tree on the Cook Street side of the park. Interestingly, although John Mahon planted a tree and appears in newspaper reports of the 25'th anniversary gathering he does not seem to appear in any of the photographs that were taken of the survivors of the 1864 arrival.
John and Julia had six children, all born in Hamilton, five of whom survived to adulthood. These children were, in birth order: Charles John Henry Mahon (b. 21 Dec. 1866), Adela Gertrude (Mahon) Calder (b. 16 Jun. 1869), Walter Kenrick Mahon (b. 11 Aug. 1870), Marjorie Winifred (Mahon) Goodwiin (b. 5 Nov. 1872), Ruth Mahon (b. 12 Jul. 1877), and Geoffrey Laurence Mahon (b. 4 Nov. 1878).
John appears in the 1881 electoral rolls twice. This is due to the fact that he owned land in the town of Hamilton, in this case Lot 26, which fell in the Waipa electorate. He also owned 80 acres at Komakorau which nowadays is on the Gordonton Road between Taupiri and Gordonton (state highway 1B). This would have been the country lot of confiscated land that he received for serving in the 4'th Waikato Militia. This land was within the Waikato electorate in 1881. John's occupation at that time was listed as labourer.
John died on 26 may 1890. He had been admitted to the district hospital a few days earlier and was ultimately diagnosed with 'la grippe' which was a term often used for influenza at that time. He died several days later having developed pneumonia and was the first victim in the Waikato of a pandemic which swept around the world beginning in late 1889. His obituary appeared in the Waikato Times on 27 May 1890. John was buried in the Hamilton West Cemetery.
Julia (Long) Mahon (b. 1834, d. 1919)
Julia Long was born on 9 August, 1834 in Bangalore, India, and baptized on 8 October, 1834. Her father John was a corporal in the 13'th Light Dragoons, which became known as the 13'th Hussars. The regiment served in the Carribbean during the French Revolutionary Wars (1795 - 1802). Then from 1810 to 1815 it fought in the Peninsular war and ultimately at the Battle of Waterloo. The regiment was then posted to India from 1819 to 1840, which was when Julia's father served. Julia's mother Ruth (Hawe) Long died in 1836 at age 18 not long after Julia was born, and her father remarried in 1838 to Sarah Doyle. It is likely that John and his family returned to the UK when the regiment was withdrawn from India. It is not known by what route Julia ended up in Australia and I can't find any passenger records for Julia or her father traveling to Australia prior to 1864.
Julia and John married on the 3'rd February 1864 at the Registrar's office in Collingwood, Melbourne. The marriage registration states that Julia's occupation was a Governess and her usual residence was Swan River, although the writing is difficult to decipher on this entry. Her father's occupation is listed as Gentleman, which likely means that he had taken a pension from the British Army, and also that he was still alive in 1864. Julia and John married three days before the Swiftsure left for Auckland, although it is not certain that they were on that ship.
Julia died on 12 December, 1919 in Waihi, New Zealand. Sometime after her husband had died Julia moved to Waihi from Hamilton. By 1906 her daughter Adela was living in Waihi with three children so it is likely that she moved to be with her daughter and grandchildren. Julia is buried in the Hamilton West Cemetery. Under the terms of Julia's Will her estate was to be divided such that four of her five children, with the exception of Marjorie (Mahon) Goodwin were to receive half her estate, and her grandson John Paisley Mahon, Marjorie's son, born prior to Marjorie's marriage, was to receive the other half of the estate. The two executors of the will were her sons Walter Kenrick Mahon, and Geoffrey Laurence Mahon. The terms of her will must not have been upheld as in 1922 John Paisley Mahon sued the two executors of Julia's will.
 Mahon 1919-1.jpg)