IN the history of Bolton, I am sure that there have been many people called Charles Holden. A number of them may have gone on to fame and fortune, although if so I am not aware of it.

However, the Charles Holden I am going to tell you about today certainly made a name for himself at the other side of the world, in New Zealand in fact.

The story has been related to me by Mrs Carol Larman, of Walton-on-Naze, Essex, who in fact was born in Bolton but who was taken "down south" when she was only two years old, 51 years ago. It was when she was tracing her family tree recently that she came across the story of Charles, one of her ancestors, and she came to see me when in Bolton trying to find out more details, because she thought the story might be interesting for this column.

Charles, it appears, was born in 1842 to Moses and Ellen (nee Boardman) Holden, who ran the Milk Street Tavern, Bolton. In 1861 Charles married Esther Taylor, and two years later they set out, with their daughter Ellen, for Queensland, Australia, on a sea journey which took four months . Also with them went Charles' brother Richard, who was unmarried (nothing is known of what then happened to Richard).

In 1866, says Mrs Larman, Charles and Esther heard of a gold rush in New Zealand, so off they went to seek fortune. They settled in an area named Waenga, about three miles from a town named Cromwell, near a river along which gold was mined, and built a stone and corrugated iron cottage.

They might have been busy looking for gold, but they were obviously busy in other ways too, because they had 11 children! Numerous descendants still live in New Zealand.

In 1905, information printed in the Cyclopedia of NZ about the family revealed that Charles was Town Clerk, Collector and Returning Officer for the Borough of Cromwell, but it also took up the story of what had happened when the family first arrived in New Zealand. "For a few months he followed gold mining; he then tried dairy farming, and he was then connected with Blackman's Gully Coal Pit for about four years, until the big flood in 1878 washed away all bridges, and the trade which he had worked up was ruined. Mr Holden then commenced fruit farming, but gave it up in about three years because the fruit could not be sent to market. He afterwards became a successful proprietor of hotels. He was a member of the first brass band established on the Central Otago Gold Fields."

In Charles' varied career, though, he was also secretary of the Athenaeum and Centenary Trusts, of the Domain Board, and secretary of the Cromwell Jockey Club.

In 1911, he and Esther celebrated their golden wedding, and a party was hosted in the Town Hall by the Mayor. Charles died in 1922, and his obituary declared that "deceased and his wife, who died a few years ago, must go down as worthy pioneers", and that "for 54 years he played his part nobly and well in championing the claims on the interior". He was buried in the Anderson's Bay Cemetery, Dunedin, "being conveyed by the Public Works train from Cromwell".

It is a long time since all this happened, of course, but Charles and Esther are still remembered. The cottage they built when they first went to New Zealand is now the Holden Museum. It is another fascinating story of a local family which sought a new life far away, and made a success of it.

Mrs Larman (nee Fairhurst) contacted her relatives in New Zealand through the Internet, and is now in regular contact with them.

She also has relatives in Bolton, and is still fascinated by her family tree up here. She is, she says, connected with the Crompton, Sewart, Holden, Sutcliffe, Boardman, Hulme, and Fairhurst families, and if any of you recognise the story above, or would like to contact Mrs Larman, her address is 33 Stablefield Road, Walton-on-Naze, Essex, C014 8UG (Tel 01255 675635).