Living Heritage -
By Jed and Daniel
Why we chose to do our project on him
We did our project on him because we saw the circle of stones right at the top of the cemetery. It makes part of a memorial for John Turnbull Thompson.
What we wondered
We wondered why it was there and who John Turnbull Thompson was.
How we found out our stuff
We found some of our info from Mrs McKenzie who came to visit school, her book: A Journey in Time, and from www.wikipedia.com.
What we learned
John Turnbull Thompson was born on the 10th of August 1821 in Glorum, Northumberland, England.
He did the survey of North Otago in 1857, with one of the main survey points being from this hill. The land divisions for North Otago dated from this original survey. He used three hills, one at Moraki, one at Papakaio and one at Herbert. (Click to see his survey map. It has his name in the bottom left hand corner).
From 1856 to 1858 he surveyed and explored a lot of the south island.
John Turnbull Thompson also designed the two bridges at Wainanakarua.
He was related by marriage to the former Prime Minister William Hall Jones.
He was a very important person in the British Empire. He was appointed Government surveyor of Singapore. He designed a number of roads, bridges and hospitals there.
Conclusion
We learned what the stone circle at the top of the cemetery was, and why there was a memorial there. We also learned all this info about him.
