In the 1881 census, held by the Church of Latter Days Saints, there is also listed Annie 5 Daur and John 6 Gson and the name of the head for both is William. It appears that there could be another two children for William and Mary.
The following article appeared in the Timaru Post on the 5 March 1928:
MARK SAUNDERS
The death is announced, after an illness extending over only a few days, of one of the most best known citizens of Timaru in the person of Mr Mark Saunders, whose efforts extending over three decades to utilise the power of the ocean aroused the interest of large numbers of Timaruvians and visitors, who visited his workshop on Evans Extension, where, in storm and calm, and in the face of many discouragements he laboured with a singleness of purpose and with the never-failing optimism which ever marks the inventor.
Mr Saunders, who had reached the age of 83 years, was born in England in 1845, his birth place being uncertain, both Wheathampstead and Nottingham being mentioned, and at the age of 17 years he landed in the Commonwealth, where for some time he was engaged as a mail contractor, running to the gold diggings. Subsequently he came to New Zealand and spent some time prospecting for gold at the Buller Gorge. Later, he walked from Lyttelton to the gold diggings at Gabriels' Gully passing through what is now the Borough of Timaru, when it was but an expanse of tussock land. After some time at the diggings, Mr Saunders returned on foot, and was engaged in farming pursuits at Pleasant Point where he took up land later on and farmed it until nearly 38 years ago, when he came to Timaru and commenced work on his scheme of harnessing the waves and tide at the Dashing Rocks, and later at the Eastern Extension, a work on which he was engaged almost right up to the day of his death. Indeed, just a week prior to his death, he had the misfortune to slip and fall heavily on the rocks there, sustaining an injury as the result of which he was admitted to the Hospital.
Deceased became unconscious on Wednesday evening last and did not regain consciousness prior to death yesterday morning.
The deceased gentleman who married Miss Phoebe Taylor, of Pleasant Point, who predeceased him some years ago, leaves a family of two daughters, Mrs R Edwards, of Dee Street, Timaru, and Mrs A Saunders, of Marton, and three sons, Mr E. Saunders, of Arrowtown, Mr H Saunders, of Fairlie, and Mr J. S. Saunders, of Sydney.
Mr Saunders was a man of high ideals and of a kindly nature, refusing to see other than good in humanity as a whole. Although the disappointments which he suffered in connection with his work as an inventor were many, and although maybe he might have received more practical assistance in his efforts to solve a great problem, he never displayed any bitterness; his thoughts of all were ever of the most kindly. He was a deeply religious man, and in connection with his life work was endowed with unfailing optimism. He was generally sanguine that his plans for harnessing the power of the ocean would reach full fruition whilst he lived, but he sometimes expressed doubts on this point, although he never doubted but the future would see his hopes realised, and the immense potentialities of ocean power harrnessed for the use of mankind.
The furneral will take place at Pleasant Point to-morrow afternoon.
_______________
The following information, newspaper articles and letters were found at the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru.
_______________According to the records at the Museum in Timaru Mark Saunders was declared bankrupt in June 1880.
_______________The Timaru Herald
Sat 3 June 1911On Coronation Day Mr Mark Saunders proposes to give a public demonstration of what power can be obtained by harnessing the sea by means of his apparatus on the Extension. Yesterday he applied to the Harbour Board for financial assistance towards the exhibition, but the Board took no official action, being afraid of establishing an undesirable precedent. On the suggestion of the chairman, however, the hat was passed round, and the sum of £1 12s 6d was subscribed. Mr Saunders writes to us as follows: - "I desire to return sincere thanks to those gentlemen who at the meeting of the Harbour Board to-day gave me financial assistance. But, it being private money, I must ask to be allowed to treat it as a loan. It is sometimes necessary to stoop in order to rise late. Mark Saunders. June 2nd 1911.
_______________MARK SAUNDERS
Died 4-3-1928 aged 84
Obituary Timaru Herald 6-3-1928
He was born near St Albans, England. He went to the Australian gold diggings in 1860 and came to New Zealand two years later.
He married a daughter of Robert Taylor, of Timaru, and took up a farm of 100 acres at Waitawa.
In the 1890's he set up a chaff cutting plant at Dashing Rocks and by means of a long flume in the sea used wave power to cut chaff.
After the construction of the Eastern Extension Breakwater in 1905 Mark Saunders spent many years on it endeavouring to construct machinery to utilise sea power.
On day when standing on the rocks below the staging, and with his hand on the railway line above him, he was so deep in thought that he was unaware of the approach of an engine which severed his fingers.
In his later years when living in Timaru Mark Saunders was a member of the congregation of Trinity Presbyterian Church. On the rare occasions when he missed attendance at church on Sunday he invariably sent a letter to the minister apologising for his absence and stating the reason.
_______________21st Sept 1973
Memo - Mr Hamilton
S. C. Museum
TIMARUMARK SAUNDERS
There is living a Daughter-in-law of the above still living in Fairlie. I have another local lady relative of above getting me a little information.
It will be family affairs, I'm afraid that will eventuate however it all helps.
MARK had a family of eight - Twins (girls) died early and are buried along side some Gum Trees at the back of Pleasant Point.
Apart from living in P. Point, Mark did for a time live in Dee Street with a Daughter and also lived at the Railway Hotel in Cains Terrace.
The "Herald" paper boy would tie his paper to a rope and Mark would haul it up to his room.
_______________The Christchurch Star 12-10-1973
Man's dream of harnessing power of sea recalled
Timaru - The theories of a man who tried to harness the energy of sea waves for industrial power were recalled today with the discovery of a rusted wheel off Dashing Rocks.
The wheel is believed to be a relic of machinery which Mr Mark Saunders used at the turn of the century in his bid to win power from the sea.
Although considered a "crackpot inventor" by townsfolk, he did in fact set up a chaff-cutting plant at Dashing Rocks about 1883 which was solely powered by wave action. The power was obtained by means of a long flume into the sea. The theory was that as the waves rushed up the pipe they would discharge at an increased pressure at the outlet.
Received Badly
Mark Saunders dreamed of wave action providing power for all of Timaru's commercial needs but his ideas met with a storm of protest from engineers. They claimed it was impractical, could not compete with coal in commercial use and that the cost of such a venture was prohibitive.
"Mad Mark", as he was called, was not swayed by these claims. He foresaw the end of land sources of power --wood and coal - and theorised that the sea held the key to future power supplies.
He stove 35 years to harness sea power but death intervened on March 4, 1928, leaving his aims unaccomplished.
As well as lack of public support, his venture was hampered by ill health. In his later years an accident cruelly maimed him.
Came from UK
Born in England in 1844 he was apprenticed as a tailor but left the position in 1860 to travel to Australia. There for two years he worked carrying mail to out-back stations after prospecting for gold at Balarat.
He came to New Zealand to follow the gold digging at Molyneux and Gabriel's Gully. Later, with swag on back, he journeyed to the West Coast.
His next home was the small pioneer settlement of Timaru. He worked at Levels for a time and married the daughter of the late Robert Taylor.
After his marriage he took up a farm of 100 acres at Waitawa on the Point Rd. He worked it for 12 years and became well known for his ability as a shearer.
About 1883 he set up his chaff cutting plant at Dashing Rocks and used to cut chaff for neighbouring farmers. Shortly afterwards he took up the work that he was still engaged in when he died at the age of 84.
He was buried at Pleasant Point, where relatives still reside.
Mark Saunders was a deeply religious man and the story is told that whenever he was unable to attend church, which was very rare, he used to write a full letter to the minister explaining the reason for his absence.
_______________MARK SAUNDERS
Born 1837 (1844) at Wheathampstead, Hertford, England Married 1869 to Phoebe Taylor of Timaru
Reminiscences of William Saunders (Grandson)
1974
I really only saw Mark Saunders about twice after grandmother's home was burnt down about February or March 1916, as near as I can estimate. I know that grandmother and Aunt Alice had travelled from Pleasant Point to Timaru for the day and did not know of the fire until they returned on the afternoon train. Mark Junior was unloading grain into railway trucks at the time. I believe they saved the piano along with a few other things, and the only water available was from a hand pump over the well. So with only this water available, and I believe a wind blowing as well, they were faced with too great odds.
Soon after this the old chap moved to board at the Railway Hotel, Timaru (He had an upstairs room and lowered a cord from the window for the newsboy to tie on his Herald to that he could haul it up in the morning.).
When on his farm at Waitawa (Pleasant Point) Mark Saunders would be building up some idea to save labour and time, and all too often stop for a repair or alteration whilst the crops became rotten and either eaten by birds or lost on the ground. For example he had tanned bullock hides sewn together, with holes punched through them, hoping that rye grass seed would not need dressing. This attachment he rigged up behind a grass seed stripper. Needless to say more time was spent in trying to clear the straw or stalks from blocking the holes than in threshing.
Another of his ideas was a 'grappler' which picked up a stook at a time and swung in on to the dray. A stook was generally made up of ten sheaves. As I have had plenty of experience harvesting grain I would not care to be on the farm dray building the sheaves coming up in tens. Depending on heaviness of sheaves a good forker would lift the stook in three fork fulls and give the chap on the dray a better chance. So I don't think there was really any saving of time as the 'grappler' would have to grip the stook, and ropes around the dray wheel hub would have to be manipulated and the horse stopped at the right moment - really like the rope set-up as worked off the fly wheel of traction engines.
Mark was forced to leave the farm about 1885 and they moved to Waimataitai, Timaru. No doubt Mark may have felt he was nearer the sea by living at Waimataitai. The sons were the breadwinners as each grew up, as no doubt all Mark's spare cash (shearing etc) went into his project.
Just how long they lived in Timaru I do not know. The old chap had an old four roomed house with verandah in front right next the bridge leading out of Pleasant Point towards the Ophih river. I can remember he had a fair sized yard there fitted with forge and anvil etc. and a lot of old pipes etc. One room he used at times to sleep in.
Before the Timaru breakwater was really started at all the farmers had to cart their grain and drive far out into the sea, as far as they could, their grain then being transferred to long boats and rowed out to the ships in deeper water.
The strong southerly seas had their greatest force at the Benvenue Cliffs or Dashing Rocks.At high tides the sea came right up to the Railway viaduct under which the traffic had access to the Bay. Sometimes it would even cross over the main road if a very high wind was blowing. I have heard my father say how, as kids, they used to dive into the sea from the viaduct when the tide was high.
About the actual machine side of it, if one can call it that, I well remember that about 1916 or 1917 the old chap had wire ropes, pipes and heaven knows what on the breakwater rocks. This was immediately below the Strathallan Street railway crossing in those days. Of course this would be years after he first started on his project. Larrikins used to toss things around and he, being around 78 years of age at the time, and more or less struggling both physically and financially, as you can well imagine the scenes did really not alter from one week to another so to speak.
To go back say 35 to 40 years before this, I have always believed it was somewhere on the Benvenue or Dashing Rocks side of the Bay where he did actually give a demonstration, and actually cut about one ton of chaff, everything going OK when as extra big wave broke in, and soused the onlookers and no doubt wet the dray load of sheaves into the bargain; and this more or less would up the demonstration.
I am presuming that it would be a small chaff cutter in use at the time. When I went to Otago, at least ten years after, several farmers still cut their chaff with two horses and one of these small cutters. I only mention this as it could be a comparison of the power Mark gained from the sea at the time of his demonstration. I could be wrong, of course.
I would be say eight or nine years old when he explained how the force of the sea water rushing into a gussetted pipe, (there may have been lengths of these) and then somehow valves came into the scheme too, permitting the receding current to add its force also and so give a more even and continuous pressure. There may even have been two sets of pipes; - do not know. Further I was rather young to absorb just a description alone. Had I seen a model I no doubt would have remembered more about it.
_______________Mark Saunders
Dear Mr Hamilton
I can't remember who, but someone said Mr James Craigie (a former mayor?) paid Mark's board at the Railway Hotel while he was endeavouring to do this project. This was where he had a room upstairs and the Herald newsboy would tie his paper to a rope and he would haul it up.
Nana Saunders told me they had 6 boys and 2 girls - not including twin girls who dies in infancy (or at birth) and are buried under bluegum trees at the little farm they had at Waipawa (Levels).
2 boys and 1 grandson were killed in 1st World War. Charles, like my husband C. W (William) and Mark and Lionels' son, (grandson). (Eustace - copy of birth attached was the other son. Bills (the letter) father.) Marks wife was in complete agreeance to his (Mark) following his ideas and according to Nana, they were a very compatible couple, and according to Nana (ha ha) - the perfect in-laws!
They are buried Pleasant Pt cemetery. Phoebes name is on a white large stone but I don't think there is any inscription for Mark unfortunately.
Sorry I can't help you more on this
Amy Saunders
PS
Have not seen it yet but I believe some reference and photos (obtained from my nephew) in Mrs V Dowlings book recently published "One foot out the door". I could possibly get these photos for you to see if not to keep.
_______________The Christchurch Press - January 16, 1976
Pioneer in wave energy
A recent report of a visiting Englishman's work on harnessing wave energy has reminded several persons of the work done many years ago by a Timaru man, Mr Mark Saunders, writes the Timaru reporter of "The Press".
Mr L. W. H. Cane, a retired water engineer, was reported to have said that he believed that the tidal flow in the Manukau Harbour and a generator he had designed could proved enough power the North Island.
The report prompted a Christchurch woman, Rosie Witty, to write to "The Press" and express the hope that the experiments of Mr Saunders, "who was positive that energy from ocean waves could be produced" would not be overlooked.
"Surely there are still some citizens in Timaru who remember Mr Saunders's experiments on a beach near that city," she wrote.
Mr J. B. Hamilton said that "most assuredly" Mr Saunders was remembered, but he was not trying to generate electricity - he was using hydraulic power.
Mr B. W. Charman, a former chief engineer of the Timaru Harbour Board, said Mr Saunders had carried out experiments, one being near Dashing Rocks, north of Caroline Bay, where plant was installed to harness the waves.
"He ground wheat there," said Mr Charman.
Mr Saunders also experimented on the eastern extension mole. Where he rigged up his gear. "As far as I know, he did not meet with any success," Mr Charman added.
Mr E. R. Hamilton, who was foreman of works from 1944 until 1973, said he remembered Mr Saunders, although he was then only a boy.
"He had no success. He could not get the waves. He got too much calm water. And was unable to get the wave action. He was on the right track," said Mr Hamilton.
He said Mr Saunders had a finger taken off when a locomotive was tipping rocks on the eastern extension.
"There was a lot of steelwork on the site, a vice, and plant protruding into Evans Bay," Mr Hamilton said. It lay there for years. Some of the steel work lay on the railway track, and it was only in recent years that the girders and scrap was cleared away.
Wheel found
In October 1973, a rusted wheel, thought to be a relic of machinery which Mr Saunders used in an endeavour to harness the energy of sea waves for industrial power, was discovered off Dashing Rocks.
Mr Saunders was regarded as a "crank" by the townspeople but he did, as research at Pioneer Hall, the South Canterbury historical museum in Perth Street, Timaru, revealed, set up a chaff-cutting plant at Dashing Rocks about 1887 which was solely powered by wave action.
The power was obtained by means of a long plume into the sea. The theory was that as the waves rushed up the pipe they would discharge at an increased pressure at the outlet.
Mr Saunders dreamed of providing power for all of Timaru's commercial needs, but his ideas met a storm of protest from engineers. He foresaw the end of land sources of power, wood, and coal, and theorised that the sea contained the answer to future power supplies.
He died on March 4, 1928, after 35 years effort in this direction. He too, was an Englishman. He was born near St Albans, England.
In 1844 (? The wrong year), he worked on the Ballast goldfields in Australia, and settled in New Zealand to follow the gold digging at Molyneus and Gabriel's Gully.
Many years' work
After the construction of the eastern breakwater in 1905, Mr Saunders spent many years on it trying to construct machinery to harness wave power. In answer to his many critics, Mr Saunders said: "I stand to be justified or condemned by the results of my work in the immediate future."
It seemed to him a fact that the nation neglecting to keep at least abreast of modern advances was "doomed to occupy a second or lower place in the scale of nations" - a fate he never wished to see befall the British Empire.
Mr Cane is collaborating with research workers at Edinburgh University who are designing ways of harnessing wave power. Researchers believe they can obtain the total electricity requirements of Britain from wave energy installations near the Hebrides.
_______________Timaru Herald Friday 23 Feb 1990
New Wave in power stakes
In may parts of the world scientists are looking for efficient ways of harnessing the power of the sea to generate electricity. Here in New Zealand, Electricorp is seriously considering the possibilities of such a project. But it would appear that back in the last century, a Timaru man was a pioneer in this field. This article explores the mystery surrounding that man's experiments and also looks at the likelihood of New Zealand joining the New Wave in power generations.
Electricorp is investigating the possibly of harnessing the energy from waves as a future source of power generation 60 years after the death of a Timaru man who might have already succeeded in this very same endeavour.
Mark Saunders strove for 35 years experimenting with sea power and was deemed to be an eccentric by the populace that knew of his experiments at Dashing Rocks and later the harbour's eastern extension.
But Mr Saunders confounded at least some of his critics by successfully operating a chaff-cutting plant about 1883 powered solely by wave action. The power was obtained by using a long flume into the sea. The theory behind his experiments was that waves rushing up the flume would increase in pressure and provide power to drive a turbine at the outlet.
Mr Saunders used the power to operate hydraulics for his chaff-cutter, but in later years accounts of the time suggested he also generated electricity.
Unfortunately, records of that feat are not available.
Nevertheless, it is clear Saunders was a remarkable man and had the right idea about the sea's energy. He was a man years ahead of his time.
Genius
In a 1974 publication One Foot Out The Door by Vivyan Dowling, which recalled life in the region between 1915 and 1939, Mrs Dowling wrote: "We all marvelled at the genius of this man who had actually harnessed the waves at Dashing Rocks to make electricity."
The supplier of that information was one Reece Morrish, who Mrs Dowling said "had been in the district longer than we had".
Mrs Dowling as a youngster used to walk around the edge of the cliffs to see the rusting remains of the "first little power station" in New Zealand and possibly the world.
Saunders later decided he was not getting enough power from the sea at the rocks and moved what he could of his equipment to the eastern extension.
He worked for a long time to impress the public of South Canterbury that the waves could indeed supply energy to change the face of industry. This made him a much talked about character. Receiving little or not public support and with inadequate plant, he persevered for years until his death at age 84 in 1928 intervened leaving his dreams unaccomplished.
While the harbour board did not actively encourage him, neither did it discourage him, and his experiments went on unhindered by the board.
His dreams received a cruel blow when his fingers were severed by one of the trucks on the rails on top of the extension.
A long-term resident of Timaru, Miss Nola Woodward, recalled her mother later making up gloves for Mr Saunders to protect his damaged hands. After his accident he slipped into obscurity and his experimenting virtually came to an end.
In 1973 a rusting steel wheel believed to be a wheel of the chaff-cutter used by Mr Saunders was discovered at Dashing Rocks.
Technology has come a long way since the crude experiments by Mark Saunders, but we still might have to wait well into the next century to see the elusive dream of harness wave power.
Using the infinite energy of the sea is not a new idea, with Norway among other countries building experimental stations.
Technology to harness the rollers that pound the New Zealand coastline could be years away, but there is not practical reason why advances in that direction should not be make, according to Mr Ernest Brown, Electricorp production research manager.
Monitoring of waves around the South Island coastline has begun, and studies of wave motion have been made from the Maui natural gas platform.
Mr Brown said New Zealand was endowed with powerful rollers hitting long stretches of coast and a low tidal range.
Chatham and Stewart Islands, both in the path of prevailing high energy westerly waves, could generate electricity more cheaply than their diesel generation, Mr Brown said.
New Zealand, in particular the South Island, has the ideal waves to suit shore-based wave power stations.
Electricorp's interest has been sparked by the availability of four different wave generation systems. Some have been operating in Norway since 1985.
One system uses a 90-metre tapered channel, not unlike Mark Saunders's prototypes, which narrows from three metres at the mouth to 0.2 metres at the end, while rising three metres. The wave flow drives the water up into a reservoir. The returning water drives a turbine.
An oscillating water column system used wave action to force air up and down in a 10-metre cylinder, much like a piston. The wave-driven air drives an axial turbine.
Another similar system uses wave motion to move a huge float, which drives a hydraulic piston.
The fourth principle uses a floating system of hinged rafts yoked and tied to a buoy.
The hinged raft allows it to follow the contour of the waves. The motion of the raft is then converted to electrical power through a system of hydraulic actuators, accumulators and hydraulic motor generators.
_______________The following is an extract from the book "One Foot Out The Door" by Vivyan Dowling:
Chapter Fifteen
If anyone of us ever did anything we thought was particularly clever Dad could cut us down to size with just one remark:
"I'll go and tell Mark!"
It wasn't said in a derogatory manner, far from it. We all had a great respect for Mark Saunders. It just brought us up with a round turn and made us feel how small a thing we had done compared with the effort that had gone into the taking of power from the waves. When we first heard of Mark Saunders from Reece Morrish, who had been in the district longer than we had, we all marvelled at the genius of this man who had actually "harnessed" the waves at Dashing Rocks to make electricity.
"I saw it working," Reece told Dad while we sat open-mouthed and listened. "He cut chaff with the power."
We hadn't been in Timaru for long before we heard all about Mark Saunders' wonderful invention. We used to walk round the edge of the cliffs to see the rusting remains of the first little power station in New Zealand, perhaps in the world. Mark Saunders was a man fifty years before his time. The work of drilling holes in solid rock to implant the iron must have been an arduous task.
The excitement of seeing his first working unit must have been tremendous and according to the local residents a truly marvellous achievement. But Mark Saunders decided he wasn't going to get enough power from Dashing Rocks so he transferred the removable parts of his invention to the breakwater across at the Timaru harbour. He was running out of ready cash because his equipment was expensive but in those days there was always someone ready to help a man of genius. And this was surely one of the modern marvels of our time. Soon he had enough money to set about building on the breakwater. There was a little train that brought rocks from the quarry in what is now the scenic reserve. The rail ran right along the centre of Otipua Road into North Street and straight through about three miles to the harbour. We could hear it chugging along for miles and its sharp little toot told everyone to get out of the way. It was a real hazard to cyclists and horse and buggy owners. The horses used to shy at it and the automobile owners didn't like it, although some of the children used to run beside it. I'm sure the reason why I disliked it was because Dad told us that Mark Saunders had had his fingers cut off by one of its trucks on the rails along the top of the extension. What agony of mind this man must have suffered when his fingers were severed. So he slipped into obscurity but was not forgotten by our family at least. We had countless picnics at Dashing Rocks and never failed to stand reverently looking at what was left of the iron remains of his wonderful invention.
The twins were born premature. They are buried beneath some gum trees on the farm at Levels Down.
33. William Charles (Chas) SAUNDERS
Chas was a trooper in the Cant. Mtd. Rifles. He sailed for WW1 on the 14 December 1914, he was in the 2nd Reinforcements. He died of Para-typhoid Fever in Egypt (ex Gallipoli).
Mark was a Private in the Wellington Inf. Regt. He sailed with the 14th Rfts on the 2 June 1916.
Mark was killed in action in the field in Belgium.
As a result of a letter from his brother Mark, Charles came to New Zealand in the "Cathcart", landing at Lyttelton on August 18 1874. Not having met for fourteen years, the brothers did not recognise each other, but, by a coincidence, they were the first two to make acquaintance when the boat arrived.
Mary was the eldest daughter of Mr John Elder, Pleasant Point.
Mary's wedding dress is at the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru. It was donated in 1974. It was made from silk and is a burgundy colour.
DEATH: Emily died of TB.