Wallingford/Jarlov Family Trees

John arrived in Wellington on 17 Mar 1841 on the 'Lady Nugent' at the age of 20 after a voyage of six months. He worked briefly with the Prouse brothers, pit-sawing in the bush at Johnsonville, then in partnership with a butcher at Wellington. In 1849 he took his family to Christchurch and worked as a bricklayer, baker, farmer and finally as a hotelier at Kaiapoi and Christchurch. There was a bakery at Lyttleton in 1849 owned by Collier and Mason.

He bought his first block of land on 19 May 1862 on Woods Road, Cust, followed by later purchases in 1863 and 1874 on Ohoka and Iram Roads, Moeraki Downs, in all totalling over 900 acres. It was pastoral land and was later sold under the name of 'Stony Croft'. The stream across the property is named Collier Creek. John was one time member of the Cust Road Board.

The farm bought by John Collier in 1862 was adjacent to the land bought the following year by Thomas Prouse. Although John returned to Wellington for the last few years of his life, the family decendants married into Canterbury families and many of them have remained in the district.

Cricket has been the main sport in the family - four generations have been members of the Heathcote Cricket Club.

References: Rich Collier, Doris Collier, Amy Clayton, Mervyn Inwood and Eric Prebble. Canterbury Museum, J Horrell, GK Prebble 'They Came from Kent', George Collier 'Recollections of an Old Pioneer' (from "The Prouse Connection")