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Ere Kawhena moves from Whangaroa to Kawakawa and becomes Sarah Pedro

Te Rina becomes Catherine Maria Pedro & Catherine Billings

We don't know what year Ere Kawhena was born, but she was Baptised at the Kerikeri Chapel & St James Church on the 5th of July 1841, we are going to run with the idea she was born between 1839-1841. She was the child of Kanuka.

Peter Coffin and Kanuka, were also married on the 5th of July 1841. We are 99.9% sure Ere Kawhena is not the biological daughter of Peter Coffin/Pita Kawhena. Who was Ere Kawhena/Sarah Coffin's biological father...Ere is connected to land on the East Coast by a man named Tawaho, so this would mean Tawaho is her father, we have this on a Whakapapa from the Maori Land Courts...so this must be correct...does anyone up North have a connection to a Ngati Porou named Tawaho, we'd love to hear from you!!

Ere has a child named Te Rina/Catherine Maria in 1868 to an unknown father...but could possibly be a man named John Lucock as Ere/Sarah Kawhena/Coffin seems to have married a John Lucock in 1854 she was listed as a minor, he was of age - This ties in because if Ere was born in 1839 she would have been 15. Ere Kawhena/Sarah Coffin meets a Boatman in Kawakawa named Charles Pedro who was Portuguese/Spanish (possibly from Cape Verde) and extremely dark, he was referred to as "Black Charlie" (Charles joked about being "the first whiteman to live with the Maori's") Charles Pedro and Ere Kawhena/Sarah Coffin possibly marry - we have no documentation to support dates or place of marriage (although a family member has a handwritten note about Charles & Ere being married in Gate Pa, Tauranga, and we won't discredited any information, it is all very precious, as we have limited sources) Could it be possible they were married in Tauranga Bay, Kaeo? Did they get married in Kawakawa or Kerikeri like Peter Coffin & Kanuka?

We don't know... maybe you do, we would so love to hear from you if you do!

Ere Kawhena/Coffin - Leecock - Pedro's daughter Te Rina becomes Catherine Maria Pedro (it has been suggested the Maria was in honour of Charles' mother) she has a nickname of Rini Pedro.

Rini Pedro is listed as a 13 Year Old Schoolgirl when she witnessed her 21 Year Old Stepbrother, Richard Pedro's marriage to Ann Townsend in 1881.

14 Year Old Rini is also a witness to the Baptism of Albert Thomas Preston (son of George Preston and Elizabeth Preston) born December 1882 in Kawakawa and Baptised 18 February 1883, St Patricks Cathedral. Auckland. By Rev. Walter McDonald.

George & Elizabeth Preston run a Boarding house in Kawakawa, did Rini Pedro work for them, did the Pedro Family board with them?

Catherine Maria Te Rina Pedro has a common law marriage to Richard Scoble/Scobell/Scobel noted by the Catholic Church 

16 Year old Catherine Maria Pedro has a daughter Mary Eliza Pedro in 1884 fathers name is Richard Scoble/Scobell/Scobel of Kawakawa

17 Year old Catherine Maria Pedro has a daughter Catherine Rosetta Pedro in 1885 fathers name is Richard Scoble/Scobell/Scobel of Kawakawa

19 Year old Catherine Maria Pedro of Towai marries 27 Year Old Cook George Robert Billings also of Towai in Kawakawa on the 14 June 1887 and becomes Catherine Billings (her parents are listed as Sarah Pedro & Charles Pedro)

Catherine Billings has 4 biological children to George Billings, George Stephan Francis Billings in 1888, Annie Catherine Billings in 1889, Aimie Maude Billings in 1894, Robert Bateman Billings in 1898. Mary Eliza Pedro becomes Mary Eliza Billings & Catherine Rosetta Pedro becomes Catherine Rosetta Billings

26 June 1907 a now 39 Year Old Catherine Billings of Pungaere is witness to the Marriage of 18 Year Old Caroline Mabel Rogers to William Henry Edmonds (Caroline born 18th August 1889, Waipapa her mother Agnes was a Preston) Coincidentley Caroline Rogers was born the same year as Annie Catherine Billings 1889...maybe Caroline & Annie Catherine were childhoods friends, does this ring any bells with anyone, I hope so, we would, love to hear about ANY stories you may have about the Kawhena/Coffin's the Pedro's & Billings, we are not frightened to hear anything....Drop us a line! Thanks, Ere Kawhena - Whakapapa

See our story about The Kawhena Coffins of Whangaroa