Date of death from headstone (14LH) at Heads Road Cemetery, Wanganui, New Zealand.

Sailed from Gravesend, England on 9th December 1840, on the ‘Olympus’. Thomas Higgie Junior was born at sea on 26 January 1841.

Year of birth of 1818 from Jenny Smith (nee Bryce) whose late husband, John Monro Menzies, was the grandson of Telitha Carrel (b. 1885), sister of Maud Oliver (nee Carrel).

Headstone inscription from Wanganui Heads Road Cemetery records found in March 2022:
1189.
THOMAS HIGGIE died 27th September 1884 aged 67 years;
MARY HIGGIE died 16th August 1891 aged 73 years;
JOHN HIGGIE died 20th March 1885 aged 32 years; [Son]
ALEXANDER HIGGIE died 20th January 1908 aged 62 years; [Son]
ANNIE HIGGIE died 31st March 1913 aged 62 years; [Wife of Alexander above]
ACTON ALEXANDER LINDSAY HIGGIE died 19th April 1891 aged 3 years; [Son of Alexander and Annie above]
ADRIAN WILSON CLARK HIGGIE died 30th January 1915 aged 35 years; [Son of Alexander and Annie Higgie]
MARY HALES died 4th February 1914 [Baby of David Hales and Alexa Emmeline Hales (nee Higgie, daughter of Alexander and Annie Higgie)]

Date of and location of burial from Wanganui ‘Old Public Cemetery’ [Heads Road] records found in March 2022:
Higgie, Mary. Buried 18.8.1891. From path 34 feet. On Map LS 14.
Higgie, Thomas. Buried 29.9.1884. From path 25 feet. On Map LS 11.

Result from death search on New Zealand BDM website in March 2022:
1891/3742. Higgie, Mary. Died age 73Y

Full date of death of 16 August 1891 confirmed from further searching in March 2022 on BDM Search by incrementally changing the date range for the death.

Obituary from Papers Past found in August 2022:
Wanganui Herald Monday, August 17, 1891
The death is recorded with sincere regret of Mrs Mary Higgle, relict of Mr Thomas Higgle, at 73 years of age. The deceased lady was a native of Scotland, arriving here with her husband amongst the very earliest settlers about the year 1842, and since his death some years ago she has been residing with her son, Mr Thomas Higgle, at Okoia. Although so well advanced in years, Mrs Higgie enjoyed good health, and it was therefore a surprise to her daughter-in-law on returning to the house after a short interval late on Saturday afternoon to find that she had passed away peacefully in the seat in which she had been left. A numerous family of sons and daughters well and popularly known throughout the district are left to mourn their loss, and with their many friends we extend to them the sincerest sympathy in their bereavement. The funeral is to leave Okoia at 1.30 to-morrow, arriving at the Town Bridge at 3 p.m., and doubtless there will be a large concourse of mourners to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of one of our earliest pioneer settlers. Death, is attributed to heart disease.

In April 2023, Brian of nzolivers did some checking into the passenger list of the barque ‘Olympus’, where we found earlier Mary with husband Thomas sailed to New Zealand on it. They left London on the 9th December 1840 and arrived in Port Nicholson on the 20th April 1841. Along the way baby Thomas was born at sea on the 26 January 1841, off the coast of Brazil Rio de Janeiro in the South Atlantic ocean.

Steerage Passengers from the Passenger list of the barque Olympus:
https://www.geni.com/projects/New-Zealand-Settler-Ships-Olympus-1841/16662
Heggie, Thomas age 24, occupation Millwright [Therefore born circa 1816]
Heggie, Ann Mary 20 [Therefore born circa 1820]
Heggie, Thomas - Infant Born at sea 26/1/1841 Lat 20.58S Long 31.00W
(Age above as at one month before departure)

Now, it’s interesting looking at the names of other passengers. For example, Christina Wilkinson. She was only a toddler when she came to New Zealand, and twenty-five years after arriving in New Zealand was to marry Thomas Higgie, the boy born at sea-!!
Wilkinson, David age 28
Wilkinson, Elizabeth age 23
Wilkinson, Christina age 14 months
(Age above as at one month before departure)

Another name was a Janet Pollock, Housemaid, who was listed as 30 years of age. Therefore born circa 1810, so is this whom Mary and husband Thomas named their daughter after? The daughter was to be the great-grandmother of Brian of nzolivers. Interesting.

Date of marriage contract of "30 October 1840", date of marriage of "18 November 1840", entry of, "Thomas Higgie, Wright [carpenter or joiner], and Mary Clark, daughter of Sam Clark". This as per an image from the old Parish Register of Marriages, Dundee, held by the National Records of Scotland and received from Katia and Tim Oliver by email on 1st November 2024.
(Tim Oliver is a x3 great grandson of James and Ruth Oliver, his grandfather being Ivor James Clark Oliver 1907-1989).