Artist unknown :William Deans and his brother squatted at Riccarton in front of the R[iver] Otakaroa or the Putaukanuit [?] R[iver], the Avon, in 1843 on the farm abandoned by Dodd & Davis, which was a little colony of itself on which they had expended several hundred - the plains around them are rich and ready for the plough at the back of the farm is a wood of 300 acres (only 50 - Godley). [Between 1844 and 1851 or 1856?].
Reference number: A-195-017

Scope and contents

Naive watercolour of the Deans brothers' farmhouse and outbuildings, viewed from across the "Avon or Shakspear River", with horses, cows and sheep in the foreground, a log bridge, a man (presumably one of the Deans brothers) with a dog under a tree. The house is red, with a second storey with dormer window, a rain barrel below the downpipe from the roof. The outbuildings to the right of the house appear to be thatched, are open at the front and shelter a horse and three carts. Trees are roughly indicated behind the house. On the verso are holograph notes about Banks' Peninsula, copied from Duppa, Daniels [?] and Tyrell and from Captain [William Mein] Smith about Port Cooper (Lyttelton) and its merits for settlement versus those of Akaroa.

Access

Conditions governing access

Not restricted

Other descriptive data

Provenance

Originally tipped in to a volume of The New Zealand Journal, ca 1852, from Alexander Turnbull's collection. Prior to acquisition by Alexander Turnbull the volumes had belonged to W H Burnand

Notes

William Deans was drowned in 1851, a fact that is not mentioned here, suggesting, along with the general tone of the notes, that this drawing was completed before then. Other material from the same source was produced about 1850 or 1851 - the late 1840s are more likely for this image. William Mein Smith's report was complete about 1843. The page has been removed from a notebook. The author of the notes (and artist) appears to be somebody associated with the Canterbury Association. The date, however, may be around 1856, when Jane Deans built the first two-storied house on the site in preparation forthe arrival of her brother and his family

Paper watermarked in centre with Britannia in a circle, surmounted by a crown.

One possible artist is John Henry Cridland, whose other drawings from the same source are quite naive. However another drawing by him of the Deans' property (neg MNZ 1215 1/4 - 'Riccarton, November 1850' - Hocken Library) is very different in style from this one, however.

Inscriptions

Inscribed - Recto - top centre: [title in ink as above, with "only 50 Godley" in pencil in another hand]; Recto - centre right: [in river, in pencil]: Avon or Shakspear River.; Verso - [in ink, page covered in text]

Other copies available

Colour laser copyIn Drawings & Prints under Artist/Title (DFP-005135)

Key terms

Coverage dates

1843-1851

Names

Deans, William, 1817?-1851

Deans, John, 1820-1854

Smith, William Mein, 1799-1869

Duppa, George, 1819-1888

Canterbury Association

Turnbull, Alexander Horsburgh, 1868-1918

Cridland, Henry John, 1821-1867

Burnand, William H, fl 1843-1850s

Subjects

Farmhouses - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Farm life - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Cows - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Sheep - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Dogs - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Horses - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Carriages and carts - New Zealand - Canterbury Region

Geographic names

Deans Bush

Avon River

Form and genre

Watercolours