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Rockwood
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TitleRockwood
DescriptionThe original owner of the Windwhistle station known as Rockwood was Henry Phillips of Lincolnshire (1805 - 1877). Originally the farm was 600ha in size. Henry married Mary Anne Physick and had seven children: John, Adelaide, George, James, Henry (jnr), Emma and Tom.
Emma Phillips married Thomas Potts who built the home known as Ohinetahi, near Governor's Bay, later owned by Sir Miles Warren.
Her brother Tom Phillips married Frances Smith and had four daughters, the youngest of whom was Elfrida, who married Harold Richards in 1926 (he was later killed in El Alamein in WW2).
When Henry died in 1877, Tom sold Rockwood and carried on farming at the neighbouring station known as The Point. From then Rockwood station had several owners. One of these was the Dart family who owned it from the 1950's to 1973, when the farm came back into the hands of a descendant of the Phillips family, Dermott (Derm) Richards. Another was the Roseveare family, who built the current house known as Rockwood in 1913 on the foundations of a cob house on the site (there is also a cob cottage behind the house).
Before he died aged 35 in a bombing raid, Harold and Elfrida Richards had children including: Hugh (who was killed at Mount Olympus in 1954 in an accident with explosives whilst building the road to the ski-field) and Frances Dermott.
Frances Dermott (known as Derm), married Judith (Claire) Richards and had four sons, Ed, Jeremy, Ben and Steve (the latter two now run Rockwood and The Point/Shangri La stations)
James and Henry are buried at the consecrated cemetery at Rockwood, along with their father Henry and mother Mary Anne (and John Pearse along with others)
DescriptionThe original owner of the Windwhistle station known as Rockwood was Henry Phillips of Lincolnshire (1805 - 1877). Originally the farm was 600ha in size. Henry married Mary Anne Physick and had seven children: John, Adelaide, George, James, Henry (jnr), Emma and Tom. Emma Phillips married Thomas Potts who built the home known as Ohinetahi, near Governor's Bay, later owned by Sir Miles Warren.
Her brother Tom Phillips married Frances Smith and had four daughters, the youngest of whom was Elfrida, who married Harold Richards in 1926 (he was later killed in El Alamein in WW2).
When Henry died in 1877, Tom sold Rockwood and carried on farming at the neighbouring station known as The Point. From then Rockwood station had several owners. One of these was the Dart family who owned it from the 1950's to 1973, when the farm came back into the hands of a descendant of the Phillips family, Dermott (Derm) Richards. Another was the Roseveare family, who built the current house known as Rockwood in 1913 on the foundations of a cob house on the site (there is also a cob cottage behind the house).
Before he died aged 35 in a bombing raid, Harold and Elfrida Richards had children including: Hugh (who was killed at Mount Olympus in 1954 in an accident with explosives whilst building the road to the ski-field) and Frances Dermott.
Frances Dermott (known as Derm), married Judith (Claire) Richards and had four sons, Ed, Jeremy, Ben and Steve (the latter two now run Rockwood and The Point/Shangri La stations)
James and Henry are buried at the consecrated cemetery at Rockwood, along with their father Henry and mother Mary Anne (and John Pearse along with others)
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Rockwood. Selwyn Stories, accessed 02/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/6094
