John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot

70 Durham Street, Waikiwi, INVERCARGILL

Quick links:

In a relatively secluded section of Invercargill’s St. John’s Cemetery is the John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot. Constructed after the death of eminent surveyor and prominent Invercargill citizen, John Turnbull Thomson (1821-1884), the concrete vaulted mausoleum has memorial monuments to several members of Thomson’s family surrounding it within the confines of their plot. Thomson came to New Zealand in 1856 and almost immediately set to work forging his key role in the surveying of southern New Zealand. His first task as the Otago Province’s new Chief Surveyor was to go to Southland and establish which site would be best for its capital, Invercargill. In the years subsequent to this he surveyed inland Otago and in his role as Chief Engineer Thomson was also responsible for defining many important roads. After he retired in 1879 from his position as the first Surveyor-General of New Zealand, Thomson based himself at his a large home he designed for his family in Invercargill, and became a leading figure in that community. When Thomson died in 1884, his will set aside a sum to allow his family to build a mausoleum at St. John’s Cemetery in Waikiwi, on the outskirts of Invercargill. Subsequently his wife and eldest daughter were also interred in the family plot, as well as relatives such as important local community leader and historian, Frederick Hall-Jones (1891-1982). John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot consists of a semi-subterranean mausoleum building, adorned with a granite monument, as well as several marble memorial structures dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and two memorial plaques from the late twentieth century. In 2009 a restoration project replaced broken monument fixtures, as well as led to the sealing of the mausoleum in order to forestall the sequence of vandalism which had occurred in recent years. This project was led by the Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust of New Zealand, with financial assistance from David Hall-Jones. Thomson was not only Invercargill’s leading citizen at the time of his death in 1884, but his contribution to the history of settlement in Otago and Southland was nationally recognised. As such, John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot has significance because it is directly associated with Thomson, and is a significant as his resting place. John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot is picturesquely and prominently situated within St. John’s Cemetery and has further local historical importance because of the on-going significance that Thomson’s family and the extended Hall-Jones family had in the story of Invercargill and Southland.

John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot | Karen Astwood | 15/11/2010 | NZ Historic Places Trust
Southwest corner of mausoleum and plot | Karen Astwood | 15/11/2010 | NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

Loading

List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

2497

Date Entered

6th June 2011

Date of Effect

6th June 2011

City/District Council

Invercargill City

Region

Southland Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes part of the land described as Sec 181 Blk XV Invercargill Hundred (RT SLA4/133), Southland Land District and the structures known as John Turnbull Thomson Mausoleum and Family Plot thereon, and its fittings and fixtures. The extent also includes curtilage of two metres from the concrete boundary around the plot. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the registration report for further information).

Legal description

Sec 181 Blk XV Invercargill Hundred (RT SLA4/133), Southland Land District

Location Description

The Thomson family plot is located in St. John’s Cemetery, at Waikiwi in north Invercargill, which is accessed from North Road/State Highway Six. Durham Street runs west from the highway and is just north of an opposing intersection with Bainfield Road. The cemetery is located at the west end of Durham Street on the northern side. Within the cemetery the mausoleum is positioned towards the west boundary, immediately behind the rows of graves on the southwest corner of the cemetery.

Stay up to date with Heritage this month