Person Page - 278

David Kennaway Mulgan was born in New Zealand on 22 February 1915.^1,2

David's marriage to Annie Dickinson was registered between April 1945 and June 1945 in Liverpool, Lancashire. There were no children from this marriage.^1,3

He was widowed on the death of his wife Annie between October 1956 and December 1956.^1,4

His book on the story of the Walsh brothers and the New Zealand Flying School, titled The Kiwi's First Wings was published in 1960.

David died on 1 August 1999 at Hutt Hospital in Wellington at age 84.^1,5 He was buried at the Akatarawa Cemetery.⁶

Dorothea Frances Mulgan was born in Christchurch, Canterbury, on 4 April 1910.^2,1,3

She married Alexander Kingcome Turner in New Zealand on 21 March 1934.^2,1,4

She was widowed at age 83 on the death of her husband Alexander on 7 July 1993.⁵

Dorothea died on 13 August 1997 at Wellington Hospital in Wellington at age 87.^6,1,7,8 She was cremated at the Karori Crematorium on 15 August 1997.⁷

Edward Mulgan was born in 1959.^2,1

Edward died in April 1999.^2,3

Edward Ker Mulgan was born in Ballynahinch, Co. Down, in 1857.²

He married Frances Maria Johnston in New Zealand on 4 January 1881.^1,3,4

The following biography is taken from the NZ Dictionary of Biographies: -

Edward Ker Mulgan was the son of Arabella Maria Stringer and her husband, the Reverend William Edward Mulgan, later rector of Dunaghy, County Antrim. Edward was educated at Portora Royal School and Armagh Grammar School. In 1875 the family embarked on the "Carisbrooke Castle" to travel to New Zealand, where they were to take up land at George Vesey Stewart's Katikati Special Settlement.

On arrival Edward Mulgan established a dairy farm on his father's property at Katikati. Although he was an energetic farmer, Edward was unable to make a decent living because of the economic recession. More financial pressure followed his marriage to Frances Maria Johnston at Tauranga, on 4 January 1881; their first son, Alan Edward, was born on 18 May. Faced with the increasing likelihood of ruin, about 1884 they shifted to Tauranga where Edward worked first in a store and later as the editor of the Bay of Plenty Times. A second son, Geoffrey William Douglas, was born in 1888.

In 1886 Edward Mulgan was accepted as a probationer teacher for the Auckland Education Board. This abrupt career change may have been prompted by his father, whose own interest in education was revived when he was elected a member of the Katikati District School Committee in 1876; in 1879--80 he served on the royal commission on the relationship between university and secondary education in New Zealand.

Whatever his reason for becoming a teacher, Edward Mulgan proved to be successful and ambitious. In 1887 he became first assistant at Otahuhu School and from 1888 to 1890 he was head teacher at Katikati School, thereby satisfying the three-year country service requirement for probationary teachers. In 1890 the family shifted back to Auckland and for the next four years Mulgan was first assistant master at Parnell School.

During his time at Parnell, Mulgan enrolled at Auckland University College. He graduated BA in 1894, and in 1896 gained an MA with first-class honours in natural science (geology). As assistant master at Newton West School from 1895 to 1898 Mulgan earned £170 a year, but he and his family were not well off. They had few possessions, only the scantiest of furniture, and were forced to shift from Parnell to Newmarket in order to reduce rental payments.

In 1898, a mere 12 years after becoming a teacher, Mulgan was appointed assistant inspector of schools for the Auckland Education Board. Two years later he was promoted to inspector, a position he held for the next six years. From 1907 to 1909 he was inspector for the North Canterbury Education Board and returned to Auckland in 1910 as chief inspector of schools.

Mulgan's duties as inspector involved visiting all of the primary and district high schools in his region. The travel schedule was especially demanding since all schools, including the most remote, had to be visited at least once a year for inspection and examination purposes. Like his colleagues, Mulgan kept a horse and spent much time riding from school to school.

Mulgan sought to break down the traditional idea of inspectors as sitting in judgement on teachers. Described by his son as a man of great integrity and kindness with a strong sense of justice, Mulgan tried to become a friend and mentor of teachers, and in his spare time wrote to them when they sought advice. Although a Protestant, he was extremely popular among teachers in the Catholic schools that he inspected. While at Christchurch he obtained permission for nuns to attend science classes at Canterbury College.

Mulgan's desire to assist teachers was demonstrated in his advocacy from 1910 onwards of a national grading system for teaching staff to ensure that promotions and appointments were made on the grounds of merit. His supportive approach was also evident in his writing of textbooks for use in schools. The first, published in 1905, was entitled The New Zealand nature-study book. In 1914 his second book, The New Zealand citizen, was released. Co-authored with his son, Alan Mulgan, this early civics text was used to teach topics later included under the general heading of social studies. In keeping with his liberal views on education, Mulgan was an enthusiastic supporter of kindergarten training and was said to have been one of the founders of the Auckland Kindergarten Association in 1908.

Following a visit to Great Britain in 1915 with his wife, Mulgan wrote a report on English and Scottish post-primary education which was well received back in New Zealand. He noted with approval that Scotland had introduced intermediate schools on an experimental basis; this system was not introduced in New Zealand until some years later. In 1915 he was offered the post of assistant director of education but had to decline it because of failing health. Edward Mulgan died at Auckland on 14 November 1920 from heart failure.^5,6

Edward died on 14 November 1920 in Auckland.^7,1,8

Elaine Mary Mulgan was born in Wellington in June 1961.¹

Elaine died on 22 September 1961 at Wellington Hospital in Wellington.^1,2 She was buried on 25 September 1961 at the Karori Cemetery.^1,3

Geoffrey Mulgan was born in New Zealand in 1888.¹

John Alan Edward Mulgan was born in Christchurch, Canterbury, on 21 December 1911.^2,3

He married Angela Gabrielle Wanklyn in Oxford, Oxfordshire, on 10 July 1937.^2,4

The following is taken from the NZ Dictionary of Biographies: -

When John was four, his father was appointed a leader writer for the Auckland Star and the family moved to Auckland. John attended Maungawhau School, and, after boarding at Wellington College from 1925, went on to Auckland Grammar School in 1927. He did well at school academically and in sport, especially rugby, boxing and cricket. In 1929 he won a university scholarship. He wrote prolifically for student publications in Auckland.
In 1931 he was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship, but the selection committee thought him too young and advised him to come back the following year. When nominations were called for at Auckland University College in 1932, Mulgan's name was submitted by the students' association. Inexplicably, the professorial board gave the nomination to two other men. The selection committee in Wellington refused to award any scholarship, the chairman, Lord Bledisloe, expressing the view that all the applicants were inferior to Mulgan. He graduated BA in 1933, but again missed selection. In October, backed by his father, he sailed for England and took up residence at Merton College, Oxford.

In July 1935 he was awarded a first in English, and accepted a position with the Clarendon Press. There he was responsible for commissioning and overseeing the production of scholarly works. The impulse to publish found outlet in his anthology 'Poems of freedom' (1938), and also in 'The emigrants' (1939), an account of early travellers to New Zealand, in which he collaborated with Hector Bolitho. He also wrote his novel 'Man alone' at this time.

During these years Mulgan followed with close interest the progress of fascism in Europe. In 1936 the New Zealand government had appointed him an observer at the League of Nations in Geneva, and in collaboration with his close friend, Geoffrey Cox, he contributed regular articles on foreign affairs to the Auckland Star under the title 'Behind the cables'. His perception that war was inevitable impelled him to volunteer for the Territorial Army in 1938, and he was gazetted second lieutenant in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. When war came in 1939 he reported immediately to his regiment. His wife and child he sent to safety in North America in June 1940; they eventually reached New Zealand in 1941 and remained there.

In 1942 he succeeded in getting himself transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, which was proceeding to the Middle East. Now a major, he became the battalion's second in command. Over the next eight months Mulgan witnessed the mostly poor performance of a series of commanding officers from the regular army. The final appointee, it seemed to him, was the worst of all, and a danger to his men. He conveyed his opinion to general headquarters, at the same time seeking a transfer for himself.

In May 1943 he accepted a posting to Force 133, the British unit assisting the Greek partisans to harass the German occupation forces. Mulgan parachuted into Thessalía in September 1943 and set up his command post on Mt óthris. He gained the confidence of the local bands, mounting sabotage operations against road and rail traffic. The climax came in September and October 1944, when the German withdrawal was in progress. Mulgan's men, armed only with small arms and mortars, halted an entire German division for several days, destroying much of its transport and inflicting heavy casualties. Subsequently Mulgan was awarded the Military Cross.

Recalled to Cairo in November, Mulgan was negotiating a transfer to the 2nd New Zealand Division in January 1945 when he received promotion to the rank of temporary lieutenant colonel, and orders to return to Athens to locate and compensate the Greeks who had fought for Force 133. It proved a melancholy task. The civil war had raged in his absence; the English were now disliked. Mulgan seems to have become increasingly disillusioned as he observed the chaos resulting from war and what seemed to him the failure of socialism. He completed at this time the manuscript of his memoir, 'Report on experience', which he posted to his wife in New Zealand.

In mid April 1945 he was back in Cairo, billeted at a hotel. On 26 April he was discovered dead in his bed: he had taken an overdose of morphia. In December a consular court brought in a verdict of suicide. He was buried in the military cemetery at Heliopolis.^5,6

John died on 26 April 1945 in Cairo at age 33.^2,7,1 He was buried in 1945 at the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo.^8,1

Ina Lilian Mullon was born in Opunake on 23 July 1906.^1,2

She married John Robinson in New Plymouth on 4 January 1934.^1,3,4

She was widowed at age 86 on the death of her husband John on 10 January 1993.¹

Ina died on 14 March 1993 in New Plymouth at age 86.^1,5 She was buried on 16 March 1993 at the Awanui Cemetery in New Plymouth.¹

He married Mary Eleanor Elizabeth Logan, daughter of Samuel Forsaith Logan and Elaine May Harding, in New Zealand in 1953.¹

Duncan Roderick Murchison was born in New Zealand on 4 May 1910. He was the son of Duncan Ebenezer Bain and Ada Mary Murchison.^1,2

He married Brenda Nutter Cuthbertson, daughter of George Lyon Cuthbertson and Sheila Mabel Macdonald, in New Zealand on 4 November 1939.³

He was widowed at age 74 on the death of his wife Brenda on 23 August 1984.^4,5

Duncan died on 15 December 2009 at Cook St Nursing Care Centre in Palmerston North at age 99.^6,5 He was cremated at the Kelvin Grove Lawn Cemetery and Crematorium in Palmerston North.⁵