Tokens His partner, Daniel Jobberns, was born at King’s Bromley, Staffordshire, England, in 1845. In 1867, aged 22, he immigrated to Invercargill. By 1873 he had moved to Christchurch when he went into partnership with Henry S. Hobday. On August 14, 1874, Daniel Jobberns, aged 29, married Angus Elizabeth Dash. The couple had at least six children, including three sons. The partnership with H. S. Hobday was dissolved in July 1875 due to Daniel Jobberns’ continued ill health. He then moved to Wellington, where he worked as a commercial traveller. In 1889 Daniel Jobberns moved to Palmerston North, where he purchased a drapery business but in September 1890 he was declared bankrupt. The creditors of his estate could not get a single satisfactory answer out of him, and his business records were found to be a complete shambles. While in New Zealand, Daniel Jobberns also raced thoroughbred horses. In 1893 the Jobberns family moved to Sydney in Australia, where Daniel Jobberns continued to work as a commercial traveller. In April 1897 his eldest daughter died in San Francisco, aged 22. His wife died in 1918. Daniel Jobberns died on August 21, 1923 at a private hospital in Burwood, Sydney, aged 78.
G.L. Beath & Co Ltd: George Low Beath was born on December 13, 1827 in Leslie, Fifeshire, Scotland, the son of James Beath and Christian (nee Low). He served his drapery apprenticeship in Dunfermline. In 1865 he immigrated to Melbourne to join his brother David in business. The following year he moved to Christchurch and went into partnership with Oscar Kirby, who had established a drapery business in Cashel Street in 1860. In 1868 Beath became sole proprietor. On February 6, 1867, aged 39, he married Marie Malcolm, aged 20. One son and four daughters were born between 1868 and 1883. Beath was instrumental in persuading Marie’s family to also migrate. Marie’s sister, Catherine, went on to become the famous suffragette, Kate Sheppard, who was largely responsible for New Zealand becoming the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote, in 1893. Kate Sheppard has featured on New Zealand’s ten dollar notes since 1993. Undated one-penny tokens depicting the coat of arms of the Duke of Argyll were struck by T. Stokes of Melbourne. George Low Beath died on August 4, 1914, aged 86. His widow Marie died in 1930, aged 84. Beath & Co Ltd traded until 1979. The Union Bakery Company: The Union Bakery Company is the one token issue that has defied all attempts to locate information on either the firm itself or anyone connected with the firm. Undated one-penny tokens depicting a bushel of wheat were struck by Stokes & Martin of Melbourne between 1870 and 1875. The tokens state that the Union Bakery traded as “wholesale and retail bakers, confectioners and grocers”.
Hobday & Jobberns: Henry Smart Hobday was born in 1835 at Woolwich, London, the son of Stephen Hobday and Caroline (nee Davis). In 1856, aged 21, he married Priscilla Margaret Nash in London. A son, Henry Smart Edgar Hobday, was born in 1858, followed by seven daughters between 1861 and 1875. The Hobday family landed in Otago in 1863 and moved to Christchurch in the early 1870s. In 1873 Henry S. Hobday went into partnership with Daniel Jobberns, with the firm of Hobday & Jobberns trading from the corner of Cashel and Colombo Streets. Undated one-penny tokens depicting the Christchurch shield of arms were struck by Stokes & Martin of Melbourne. The partnership was dissolved in July 1875, with Hobday continuing as sole proprietor. In October 1885 Henry S. E. Hobday married Nelly Maude Reece, who was the only daughter of fellow token-issuer Edward Reece. Hobday’s Cooperative drapery store burnt down in 1888 and was wound up. In 1898 H. S. Hobday moved to Dalmorton, NSW, Australia, where he worked as an accountant. In 1906 he moved to Manly in Sydney, and later that year his wife died. Henry Smart Hobday died of heart disease on September 9, 1914 at Manly, aged 79.
November 2011
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Mason, Struthers & Co: Frederick Mason was born in 1825 at Norfolk, England, the son of William Mason. In 1847, aged 22, he married Susannah Couldon in London. Three sons and a daughter were born to the couple. In 1874 the Mason family immigrated to Christchurch. Later that year Frederick Mason went into partnership with Robert Struthers as ironmongers. The firm initially traded from Pratt’s buildings in Colombo Street. Undated one-penny tokens depicting an Australian Aboriginal were struck by Stokes & Martin of Melbourne. In 1876 the firm moved to their new warehouse at the corner of Colombo and Lichfield Streets. The partnership was dissolved on September 30, 1885, with Frederick Mason taking over the Australian interests of the firm. The Mason family moved to Sydney, where by May 1886 Frederick was in business as a grain and produce merchant. In 1891 Frederick Mason went into business as an importer of agricultural implements. He also had business interests in Melbourne and Adelaide. Frederick Mason died of general paralysis at his residence in Paddington, Sydney, on March 25, 1894, aged 69. He was predeceased by two sons and was buried at the Church of England Cemetery in Waverley, Sydney. His partner Robert Struthers was born in 1843, the son of Thomas Struthers, a farmer, and Mary (nee Stevenson). He spent most of his youth in Yorkshire, England, before immigrating to Melbourne and then coming out to New Zealand. Upon arrival in Dunedin, he engaged in farming before managing station properties in North Canterbury. He was a storekeeper and produce dealer in the town of Dunsandel until August 1873, before moving to Christchurch. After going into partnership with Frederick Mason in 1874, Mason & Struthers then took Henry Harris Hill and Francis James Hartridge, who were merchants in London and Birmingham, into partnership. This partnership was dissolved on December 31, 1899, with Robert Struthers continuing as sole proprietor until selling out in 1904. Janet Struthers, first wife of Robert Struthers, died on August 24, 1895, aged 57. Robert Struthers married for a second time on April 27, 1897, at the age of 54, to Jane Maria (nee Thompson), who was a 37-year-old widow. Robert Struthers died
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