By Roselyn Fauth
There is something peculiar about searching for the wife of a photographer... search for William Ferrier, and nineteenth-century Timaru appears almost immediately. There are ships crowded around the harbour, railway workers standing beside their engines, churches, shopfronts, beaches, mountains and families holding themselves remarkably still. William’s name survives on photographs, postcards, advertisements and exhibition notices.
But search for Eva Beatrice Cunninghame Ferrier, and history becomes much less cooperative...
There is no convenient biography waiting for us. Instead, we find a name in an examination list. Then a school report, then a marriage register. After that, the trail becomes faint. Eva has not vanished entirely. She is more like a figure at the edge of one of William’s photographs: present, but not yet in focus. So, who was the woman outside the frame? Let us go looking for her...
Clue one: one important word
Our first strong clue comes from an official record created on 15 March 1886. That day, William Ferrier and Eva Beatrice Cunninghame gave notice of their intention to marry in Ōamaru. The register described William as a 30-year-old photographer. Eva was 23. Beside her name was one particularly useful word: Teacher.
Eva did not enter the historical record simply as William Ferrier’s bride. Before she became Mrs Ferrier, she had an occupation and a professional identity of her own.
The register also records that Eva had lived in Ōamaru for seven years. William, rather intriguingly, had been there for only three days.
They married at Wesley Church in Ōamaru under the Reverend John S. Rishworth.
Eva’s recorded age places her birth at about 1862 or 1863, but it does not tell us where she was born. Earlier accounts have described Eva as New Zealand-born, but no birth, baptismal or immigration record has yet been found to prove this.
The first answer in our history hunt is therefore not entirely complete:
Eva Beatrice Cunninghame was born about 1862 or 1863. Her birthplace remains unknown.
Sometimes the most accurate answer is the one that leaves a space open.
Clue two: the examination she did not quite pass
Four years before her marriage, Eva sat the national teachers’ examinations.
The official government report for 1882 listed Eva Beatrice Cunninghame among the Otago candidates who had achieved partial success towards a Class E teaching certificate.
Partial success is a rather unsatisfying phrase.
It means Eva had completed some of the required work, but not all of it.
She had not yet passed Class E. This small distinction matters because historical errors often begin with tidiness. Several events are squeezed into a single sentence, and suddenly someone has qualified a year earlier than she actually did.
Eva’s path was more gradual... She attempted the examination. She passed part of it and then she continued.
Clue three: she kept going
On 9 April 1883, the Oamaru Mail published the next piece of evidence.
The newspaper identified Eva as a third-year pupil teacher at Oamaru South School.
It reported that she had now passed Class E and had also achieved partial success towards the more advanced Class D qualification.
The sequence is clear:
1882: Partial success towards Class E.
1883: Class E passed, with partial success towards Class D.
This tells us that Eva was not merely associated with a school or helping informally in a classroom.
She was progressing through a recognised programme of professional training.
The pupil-teacher system allowed young teachers to learn while working in schools. They taught children during the day while continuing their own study and examinations.
Eva was therefore teaching and being tested at the same time.
It was an efficient arrangement, provided nobody involved required much spare time.
Clue four: a classroom filled with singing
Later that year, another newspaper report gives us a glimpse inside Oamaru South School.
In December 1883, the school held its end-of-year celebrations.
The pupils performed recitations and sang music from a cantata called The Picnic. According to the Oamaru Mail, the singing was a particular success.
The newspaper credited three women with instructing the children: Misses “Canninghame”, Cooke and Bicknell.
The spelling is not identical to Cunninghame, but historical newspapers frequently altered unfamiliar surnames through spelling, typesetting or transcription errors.
We already know that Eva was a pupil teacher at South School that year.
It is therefore highly likely, although not absolutely certain, that “Miss Canninghame” was Eva Beatrice Cunninghame.
According to the newspaper, Eva was not only sitting examinations.
She was probably helping children learn through music.
Before she became connected with one of South Canterbury’s greatest photographic archives, Eva appears in the record as a young woman teaching children to sing.
William would later work with light, timing and composition.
Eva worked with voices, rhythm and a classroom full of children attempting to arrive at the same note together.
Who were the Cunninghames?
The next part of the hunt takes us into published family research.
Art historian Peter Simpson identifies Eva as the fourth child of Sarah and Thomas Cunninghame.
According to Simpson, Thomas was born in Dublin and arrived in New Zealand in 1878. He became active in the Wesleyan Church, served as a Sunday-school superintendent and later worked as Ōamaru’s treasurer and town clerk.
Simpson records that Eva’s mother, Sarah, died in 1884, aged 46.
Contemporary newspapers independently confirm Thomas Cunninghame’s long career in Ōamaru local government. When he resigned as town clerk in 1908, the Oamaru Mail referred to nearly 25 years of municipal service.
This gives us a credible picture of Eva’s family.
But an important piece is still missing.
Eva’s original birth or baptismal record has not yet been found.
Peter Simpson’s research provides a strong family framework. The primary record that could establish Eva’s birthplace remains part of the quest.
Marriage changes the angle
Eva married William Ferrier at Wesley Church, Ōamaru, on 15 March 1886.
William had already established his photographic studio in Timaru.
He opened in Fyfe’s Buildings in 1881, later moving to Ross’s Royal Arcade and then to Stafford Street. Over the following decades, his camera recorded South Canterbury’s streets, people, workplaces, coast and mountains.
The surviving record becomes increasingly full of William.
William photographed the harbour.
William climbed high structures to capture panoramic views.
William painted, exhibited, advertised and lectured on photography. And Eva?... after her marriage, the professional records that once named her are slim pickings and from what I can find so far, fall silent.
This is where it becomes tempting to fill the gaps. Perhaps Eva managed the appointments, or helped to keep the accounts. Perhaps she helped customers prepare for their portraits or assisted with photographic work. All of these things are possible. None of them has yet been proven. No evidence found during this research identifies Eva as William’s receptionist, bookkeeper, colourist, photographic assistant or business partner.
She may have contributed to the enterprise, as many women did within family businesses. But “she may have” and “she did” are not interchangeable. Giving an overlooked woman an invented career does not restore her history. It replaces the real woman with one we have created. Eva’s documented career as a teacher is significant enough.
Eight children, but not only a mother
Published family research records that Eva and William had eight children:
Ethel Beatrice Ferrier
Ileen Mason Lowe Ferrier
Gilbert Colin Cunninghame Ferrier
William Hedley Ferrier
John Lowe Ferrier
Herbert Gordon Ferrier
Sarah Catherine Ferrier
Eva Clara Ferrier
Motherhood must have occupied a considerable part of Eva’s life.
But it should not be allowed to erase the professional identity she established before her marriage.
The records of her daughters reveal an interesting pattern.
When Ethel Beatrice Ferrier married John Kernohan McCahon in 1915, she was described as a governess.
When Ileen Mason Lowe Ferrier married Methodist minister John Radcliffe Nelson in 1921, she was recorded as a music saleswoman.
That same year, Sarah Catherine Ferrier passed for a Class D teaching certificate.
Several Ferrier daughters therefore entered education, music or paid employment.
We cannot prove that Eva selected their careers or directed their decisions. Families are not tidy equations in which one input produces a predictable outcome.
What we can say is that education and work remained visible among the women of the next generation.
Eva’s teaching career was not an isolated curiosity. It formed part of a broader family pattern in which women studied, qualified and worked.
The address on a war memorial
The most painful record in Eva’s story is also one of the most precise.
Her son Gilbert Colin Cunninghame Ferrier was killed at Ypres on 11 November 1914 while serving as a second lieutenant with the Royal Fusiliers. He was 24. The Menin Gate memorial record identifies him as the son of William and Eva Beatrice Ferrier of 71 Grey Road, Timaru. A military record is excellent at giving us names, dates, ranks, units and addresses.
It is hopeless at telling us what happened inside a family when the news arrived.
We do not know what Eva said or wrote or how the loss altered life inside the Grey Road house.
We can say only what the evidence allows: Eva lost a son during the First World War and earlier accounts have stated that three of Eva’s sons went to war. The surviving records show a more complicated picture.
Herbert Gordon Ferrier enlisted in 1918 but served only in New Zealand.
John Lowe Ferrier was examined for military service but was found permanently unfit for general service because of epilepsy.
The less dramatic account is also the more accurate one.
Gaggie and the darkroom
Eva’s daughter Ethel married John Kernohan McCahon.
Their son, Colin McCahon, was born in Timaru on 1 August 1919.
The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography records that Ethel travelled from Dunedin to be with her mother for the birth.
This gives us another glimpse of Eva.
More than 30 years after her marriage, her home remained somewhere an adult daughter returned to at an important moment in her life.
Peter Simpson records that Eva’s McCahon grandchildren called her Gaggie.
Colin later remembered visiting his grandmother’s Timaru home.
William’s watercolours and prints remained on display. During one illness, Colin spent time in what had been his grandfather’s darkroom, where paints, brushes and a palette were still stored in shallow drawers.
It is tempting to draw a perfectly straight line through this story:
William created photographs and paintings.
Eva preserved the home.
Colin found the art materials.
Colin became one of New Zealand’s most important artists.
But influence is rarely so obliging.
There is no evidence that Eva trained Colin as an artist or directed his career.
What the evidence shows is more subtle.
Her home preserved the physical remains of William’s creative life. Through that home, another generation encountered his paintings, prints and tools.
Eva was not necessarily the author of the family’s artistic legacy.
She was part of the environment through which it survived.
The final clue is still missing
William Ferrier died in Timaru on 16 October 1922, aged 67. He was buried two days later at Timaru Cemetery.
Eva lived for more than two decades after him.
Peter Simpson gives her lifespan as approximately 1863 to 1946.
Existing local research gives the more precise date of 5 September 1946 and reports that she died in Auckland and was buried at Purewa Cemetery.
However, an official death registration, contemporary death notice or individual Purewa Cemetery record has not yet been located during this investigation.
The safest current date line is therefore: c.1862/63–1946. Her precise death date, place of death and burial remain part of the history hunt. This is not a weakness in her story... it is an invitation for someone else to find the next piece.
What do we know?
The surviving evidence currently allows us to say that Eva:
was born about 1862 or 1863
had lived in Ōamaru for approximately seven years by 1886
trained through the pupil-teacher system at Oamaru South School
progressed from partial success towards Class E in 1882 to passing Class E in 1883
also began progressing towards a Class D teaching certificate
was probably involved in teaching singing at South School
was professionally described as a teacher when she married
had eight children with William Ferrier
lost her son Gilbert during the First World War
became the grandmother known as Gaggie
lived in the Timaru home where William’s pictures and art materials remained part of the family environment.
What are we still looking for?
We have not yet found:
Eva’s exact birth date
her birthplace
her original birth or baptismal record
evidence of when she arrived in New Zealand
a securely identified photograph of her
letters or diaries preserving her own voice
evidence that she worked in William’s photographic studio
an independently verified death date
confirmation of her reported Purewa Cemetery burial.
Why Eva’s story matters
William Ferrier’s name survives because his profession required him to place it beneath his photographs.
Eva’s life survives differently.
A result in an examination report.
A sentence in a newspaper.
An occupation in a marriage register.
An address on a war memorial.
A nickname remembered by her grandchildren.
Her history was not entirely lost.
It had been divided among records that were never intended to tell her whole story.
Once those fragments are gathered, Eva is no longer simply the wife of a photographer or the grandmother of a famous painter.
She was a trained teacher.
She worked with children.
She pursued professional qualifications.
She belonged to a family in which women continued to study, teach, work with music and earn incomes.
She experienced the loss of a son and remained an important point of family connection into the next generation.
We do not need to invent a heroine secretly working behind William’s camera.
We need only to recognise the real woman the records allow us to see.
William’s lens captured the world in front of him.
To find Eva, we have to turn the camera around...
Timeline
c.1862–63 Eva Beatrice Cunninghame is born. Her exact date and birthplace remain unknown.
c.1879 Eva is likely living in Ōamaru. Her 1886 Intention to Marry entry records seven years’ residence there.
1882 Eva achieves partial success towards a Class E teaching certificate.
9 April 1883 The Oamaru Mail reports that she is a third-year pupil teacher at Oamaru South School. She has passed Class E and achieved partial success towards Class D.
21 December 1883 The Oamaru Mail credits “Miss Canninghame”, probably Eva, and two colleagues with instructing South School pupils in singing.
1884 According to Peter Simpson’s published research, Eva’s mother, Sarah Cunninghame, dies aged 46.
15 March 1886 Eva, recorded as a 23-year-old teacher, marries William Ferrier at Wesley Church, Ōamaru.
Late 1880s to early 1900s Published family research records the births of William and Eva’s eight children.
11 November 1914 Their son Gilbert Colin Cunninghame Ferrier is killed at Ypres, aged 24.
1915 Their daughter Ethel, recorded as a governess, marries John Kernohan McCahon at the Ferrier home in Grey Road, Timaru.
1 August 1919 Colin McCahon is born in Timaru after Ethel travels from Dunedin to be with her mother.
1921 Ileen Ferrier is recorded as a music saleswoman. Sarah Catherine Ferrier passes for a Class D teaching certificate.
16 October 1922 William Ferrier dies in Timaru aged 67.
1946 Eva dies. Her precise death date, place and burial remain to be independently confirmed.
Sources
Contemporary and official records
New Zealand Government, teachers’ examination results, 1882
Records Eva’s partial success towards Class E.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1882/I/1069
Oamaru Mail, 9 April 1883
Records Eva as a third-year pupil teacher who passed Class E and achieved partial success towards Class D.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OAM18830409.2.7
Oamaru Mail, 21 December 1883
Reports that Misses Canninghame, Cooke and Bicknell instructed South School pupils in singing.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OAM18831221.2.13
New Zealand Intentions to Marry Project, 1886
Transcription of the entry for William Ferrier and Eva Beatrice Cunninghame.
https://itm.howison.co.nz/year/1886/page/15852
New Zealand Intentions to Marry Project, 1915
Entry for Ethel Beatrice Ferrier and John Kernohan McCahon.
https://itm.howison.co.nz/year/1915f/page/55577
Teachers’ certificate examination results, 1921
Records Sarah Catherine Ferrier’s Class D result.
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19210303.2.107
Published biographical research
Peter Simpson, Colin McCahon: There Is Only One Direction, Volume I, 1919–1959
https://aucklanduniversitypress.co.nz/colin-mccahon-there-is-only-one-direction-vol-i-1919-1959/
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Colin McCahon
https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5m4/mccahon-colin-john
War and family records
Menin Gate Memorial transcription: Gilbert Colin Cunninghame Ferrier
https://www.interment.net/data/bel/menin-gate-memorial/records-f.htm
South Canterbury Museum: Herbert Gordon Ferrier
https://museum.timaru.govt.nz/explore/scroll_kiosk/scroll/profile?id=6104
South Canterbury Museum: John Lowe Ferrier
https://museum.timaru.govt.nz/explore/scroll/profile?id=6105