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<strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Wednesday <strong>March</strong> <strong>13</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
12<br />
NEWS<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Three brothers claimed by war and<br />
Kirwee is an anomaly<br />
on the Canterbury<br />
Plains. It was named<br />
after Karwi, a town in<br />
northern India, by an<br />
Irish-born British army<br />
colonel, politician and<br />
farmer, De Renzie<br />
James Brett, who<br />
introduced irrigation to<br />
the province. And there<br />
is no war memorial.<br />
Chris Barclay reports<br />
on manoeuvres to<br />
belatedly honour the<br />
fallen, and those who<br />
returned home<br />
AS YOU enter Kirwee heading<br />
west, a water feature honouring<br />
De Renzie James Brett has pride<br />
of place, rather than the 44 men<br />
who enlisted for the New Zealand<br />
Expeditionary Force, primarily<br />
from the Courtenay Agricultural<br />
& Pastoral Association.<br />
Paul Jarman’s great great great<br />
grandfather purchased what is still<br />
the family’s pastoral land in 1863,<br />
so the fifth generation crop, sheep<br />
and dairy farmer at Greendale,<br />
near Darfield, is acutely aware of<br />
the importance of irrigation.<br />
Yet the 73-year-old also<br />
appreciates the sacrifice his<br />
predecessors made in the Great<br />
JARMAN BROTHERS: Harry Nesslea (back left), James<br />
Herbert (front left) and Frank Elworthy (front right) were<br />
casualties of WW1.<br />
Right – Descendent Paul Jarman has donated to the<br />
fundraising campaign for a war memorial in Kirwee.<br />
War, hence his interest in Kirwee<br />
finally making concrete plans<br />
for a war memorial at Anzac<br />
Lane by the cemetery and behind<br />
the rugby fields on the rural<br />
settlement’s reserve.<br />
After negotiations with the<br />
<strong>Selwyn</strong> District Council to secure<br />
a suitable location, a fundraising<br />
campaign is gathering momentum<br />
to raise around $30,000.<br />
When the memorial is<br />
eventually in place, Paul Jarman’s<br />
grandfather and two great uncles<br />
will be remembered side by side<br />
for the first time in public view.<br />
Jarman is among the donors<br />
– no surprise given his family<br />
connection to a conflict which<br />
counted Frank Elworthy Jarman<br />
and Harry Nesslea (Ness)<br />
Jarman among the World War 1<br />
dead at Gallipoli and in France<br />
respectively.<br />
Of the 44 men who left the<br />
settlement to fight for King and<br />
Country, 11 were killed.<br />
James Herbert (Bert) Jarman,<br />
Paul’s grandfather, returned to the<br />
family farm from Palestine in 1919<br />
but was still essentially a casualty<br />
of war.<br />
Stricken by malaria, he never<br />
truly recovered and died in hospital<br />
in 1922 following complications<br />
from an appendectomy.<br />
Because he did not die on<br />
foreign fields, Bert was not<br />
remembered with his brothers,<br />
who are memorialised at the<br />
Darfield War Memorial Obelisk<br />
and the gates at Greendale<br />
Domain.<br />
“They’re going to put all three<br />
on (the memorial), I’m pleased it’s<br />
happening. Kirwee was probably<br />
their centre of life in those days,”<br />
Paul Jarman said.<br />
WATERMARK: The memorial<br />
for Colonel De Renzie James<br />
Brett (1809-1889).<br />
Let our agronomists<br />
do the groundwork.<br />
Grow with us.<br />
We know farmers face ever-changing challenges – whether it be rising costs, weather uncertainties, or<br />
shifting regulations. With Cates you have a local partner on the ground who will work with you to help your<br />
farm to be more profitable and sustainable. We understand farmers, so call us today to discuss your land, your<br />
plans and your options. Let’s grow together.<br />
Contact<br />
0800 900 308 | cates.co.nz
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