Rangi Naylor 1927

A couple of weeks ago I felt inspired to start looking for Rangi Naylor. He was a young apprentice who died during a race at Hastings. He was 17 and that was about all I knew except that he was also buried in Hastings.

I had no luck trying to find Rangi in NZ Birth/Deaths/Marriages (BDM). I found his death reference, but couldn't find a birth for him. But as luck would have it, Past Papers who are getting more and more old newspapers on line, gave me a lead. While I've searched for Rangi before,  I never had any hits. Then out of the blue this time round I find one mention of him in the NZ Truth. I used a keyword search around that date and found two more articles also regarding Rangi's death which don't mention him, but which mention his father. So there I was, holding the name William (Bill) Naylor.  Back I go to BDM and search for any Naylor called William who had a child in 1909. Bingo, William and Nora Naylor had a son called Edward Rangi Totene Naylor. I needed to find out what was written on Rangi's headstone to see if this was the right person. Fingers crossed I went to the local library and searched genealogical microfiche with all the Hastings Cemetery inscriptions and I what I find what is written on the headstone blows me away.  Rangi's name is there with a woman called Loretta Thompson who states she is Rangi's mother??? I'm left wondering who was Nora and where did Loretta come from?

But why stop a good mystery at that point. I found William Foster Naylor had married Loretta Harriet Catherine Hollis in 1903.  So I had Bill and his wife and then their daughter Mary Rowena Naylor being born in 1904 in Pihiatua. Then came a son called William Richard Naylor born in 1907 at Pihiatua, and then I found Edward Rangi Totene Naylor. Just to ensure that any family historian had a proper goose chase, Mary Rowena had the correct parents name, but William Richard known as Richard (Man) William Naylor was under a William and Laura Harriet Naylor, Rangi was under William and Nora Naylor. Saving grace was an email from Terry Hollis a NZ Genealogist who had a family tree on Ancestry.com.  His information confirmed the BDMs errors and we do need to remember Loretta wasn't a common name in 1900+ so Laura or Nora could be misspellings by a country registrar who was possibly half deaf.

While William was born in Taueru, Masterton, New Zealand most of his siblings were born in Yorkshire, England.  Edward and Mary Jane Naylor and their family came out to NZ on the Zealandia with five of their seven children (two little girls died before they left England) then after arriving in NZ, William and Leonard were born in Masterton. I'm still to find out more about Rangi's mother's side Catherine Loretta Harriet Hollis was born at Taradale in 1884, her father Richard was a shepherd and her mother was Catherine Chase. Terry filled in a number of blanks and yes both William and Loretta had remarried and Loretta was indeed Loretta Thompson.


It was quite lovely to put a family around this young rider. because there was hardly anything out there about him. Rangi was apprenticed to 'Granny Maher' and had ridden his first race only the day before his accident.  at the Hastings Race Course. Both times he was riding Merry Singer. On the first day of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's Autumn Meeting on the 6th of May, Rangi took Merry Singer out in the Mangatarata Hurdles in a field of 12. He came home second to last. Next day he was back in the saddle for the Karamu Hurdles but this time Merry Singer fell at the first fence, the ambulance picked him up and whisked him off to hospital. While he had broken both arms in the fall, it was a kick from a following horse that caused the head injury that was to take his life two days after the race. From different reports the first hurdle was blocked from the view of the reporters and some spectators by the Judges Box. They did say the Stewards had said he had made a strong start and was leading the field at the first jump. I can understand the desire to ride that Rangi may have possessed  his father William (Bill) Foster Naylor was the winner of the Grand National in CHCH on the Guard. His father had been only 19 years old when he won that race.

Big thank you to Terry Hollis for his input and to Past Papers.

Now to find a picture of him, and where he spent his early childhood? seriously how hard could that be in NZ ... only time will tell.

Ashlee Marie Mundy #150

I love researching, discovering and putting together a picture of someone's life. When you get to do a historical rider, it gives you a bit of a buzz that the dots are finally connected. This week, a new name was added to my list Ashlee Marie Mundy. Her passing is slowly sinking in. Don't actually feel like writing about her, what can I say? so this will be a very brief post.

I don't really want to discuss the race, the fall, the medical treatment.  For me Ashlee was an excellent rider, and no one seems to have a bad word to say about her. A clear indication of her personality and nature. Her family cherished their limited time with her as she was riding on both sides of the Tasman. I"m not one to question God on his decision to call her home, so I'm sure that he has plans for her in his big picture. I'm glad Ashlee's friends are making posts on her FB memorial page, speaking of their friend. All I can think, is that people seem to have some lovely memories of her, that maybe the race accident won't steal all the attention, and that memories will be of the other joyful events in her life.

Ash winning on Sale Along 14th of April 2012 G.C.T.C
photo share from Nikki Lee White

However a thought for her parents who decided to allow her organs to be donated. I have a friend that at 14 was considered legally blind. He needed cornea transplants to have any hope of seeing again. When the call came to get to the hospital, my friend could only think of one thing - that someone died - and that's the only reason he was getting his sight back. His commitment to the donor was to use their gift to him, to be a better person. He trained in the mental health field.Who ever the sick people are who are being helped by Ashlee this week, I hope they come to know how wonderful she was as a person, and how wonderful her parents are to have assisted her in her final gift to New Zealanders.

Rest in Peace Ashlee.