Pete Grennell with the architraving signed by builder Gordon McIsaac in 1913. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
A Taranaki man's home renovation has opened up a window into the past, dating back more than a century.
When Pete Grennell was removing a rimu architrave at his Bell Block villa, he noticed the back had been signed and dated in 1913, sparking a search for answers.
Grennell is no stranger to home renovations and a quick look around his home reveals he has an eye for quality furniture from yesteryear.
But even he was taken aback at his discovery.
"Part of the improvement is that we are taking some architrave off around a window and lo and behold we found this piece of timber that was signed by Gordon McIsaac on 27/3/1913 and it was sort of interesting to us. We like old things like old houses things that are historic."
Tthe architraving signed by builder Gordon McIsaac in 1913. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The autograph in builder's pencil resonated with Grennell, who had left a "time capsule" inside the wall of a house he had built on the east coast for others to eventually uncover.
"Gordon when he signed this probably thought the same thing and thought some day in the future that we'd find this signature of his. So, I took a photo of it and put it on Facebook thinking somebody might know some history of the family and yeah a little bit has come out of the woodwork."
New Plymouth celebrant and eulogy writer Amber Caskey saw the post and put her research skills into action.
She soon had a bundle of information about Gordon Russell McIsaac.
"Where he was born, the names of his parents, what he did for a living - clearly he was a builder having worked for Boon Brothers in New Plymouth through the years.
"I was able to find his military records and see that he had enlisted to fight in World War One and that his namesake son had also served for New Zealand in World War Two and was killed in action in Italy."
Caskey said as a Bell Block local, it was a thrill to help Grenell fill in some blanks.
Bell Block history buff Amber Caskey helped track down details of Gordon McIsaac's life story. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The post also caught the eye of former New Plymouth resident Kris McIsaac, who now lived in Melbourne.
He said the first McIsaacs arrived in Taranaki on the European settler ships, and his father had a theory about Gordon.
"He seems to think it could've been a cousin of his grandfather they were about the same age from what we've been able to work out. No doubt they would've know each other. They were both builders and both in the region."
McIsaac wondered if there might be other keepsakes out there.
"To find out that there were at least two of them that were builders in the region it makes you wonder, you know, how much is there that is still standing that they might've had a hand in which is quite interesting.
"Especially when this guy we've found and he worked for Boons, who as far as I know were a pretty big and prolific builder in the region, so his name could be under a lot of window frames, you never know."
The Taranaki Research Centre had also fleshed out Gordon Russell McIsaac's story.
One of four siblings, Gordon was born in New Plymouth in 1887.
He married Edith May Reid of Hāwera in 1915 and they had two children Gordon Russell junior and Isyla Leslie.
Military records show Gordon enlisted during World War One, but was discharged on medical grounds.
He was five-foot eight-inches tall and weighed 140 pounds (173cm, 63.5kg).
Gordon Russell McIsaac died in 1944 during WW2. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
His son was serving as a trooper with the 18th Armoured Regiment was he was killed in action in Italy, in September 1944. He was 29.
The 1919 and 1922 electoral rolls had Gordon senior living on Doone Street in New Plymouth and gave his occupation as 'carpenter'. The electoral rolls of 1928 and 1931 had him on Belt Road and his job was listed as 'builder.
By the time the 1935 & 1938 electoral rolls were compiled he'd moved to Ashhurst and become a company manager.
He died in Palmerston North in 1951, aged 64.
Pete Grenell planned to lacquer the portion of signed architrave and mount it with the original plans of his villa.
The McIsaac family in the 1920s. Photo: Swainson/Woods Collection, Puke Ariki and District Libraries
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
