Randolph Chaney

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Original information:
George (1803-1883) and Sarah (1808-1894) Chaney were the oldest couple on the Randolph. They boarded with four young children, an 18-year-old son (William) and a 17-year-old daughter. Randolph was born on board.

George and William were stonemasons. They had worked on Canterbury Cathedral in England and had been recruited to build the proposed Cathedral for Christchurch. Frustrated at delays for this Cathedral, and irritated at having to build the Lyttelton Prison, William bought property at the northern end of Marshlands Road, which today bears the name Chaneys Corner.

In 1895, Randolph moved his family of 11 children to Riccarton, where he worked in the newly opened Islington Freezing Works.

A son, George Chaney, enlisted in August 1916. He arrived in France in time for the Messines offensive, and fought at Passchendaele, before being detached to the School of Instruction for further training in early November. Rejoining his unit on November 20, he was killed nine days later and is commemorated at the New Zealand memorial at Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood.

Readers’ Response:
Randolph Theodore Chaney, Born September 10, 1850 at Sea in the “Bay of Biscay”, on board the ship “Randolph”
Died November 06, 1928 Christchurch, New Zealand. Buried at St Peters Churchyard Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, New Zealand
Immediate Family: Son of William George Chaney and Sarah Susannah Chaney
Husband of Sarah Ann Chaney ¹

Footnotes:
1. Additional information supplied by John Walker