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Name: NICHOLSON, Thomas Landell

Nee: son of Joseph Landell and Agnes Winifred Nicholson

Birth Date: 1906 Benton, Northumberland

Death Date: 28 May 1987 Kilifi

First Date: 1930

Last Date: 1987

Area: Lake Solai, 1929 White Rocks Sabukia

Married: Margaret

Book Reference: Red 31, Hut, Pioneers, Sitrep 1

General Information:

Gazette 17 Nov 1989 - probate
Pioneers - Subukia - White Rocks Farm - Mrs Margaret Nicholson - We bought 3000 acres in 1929 from Willie Allison, and my husband found another farm, on the Subukia River, for his parents. They arrived early in 1930. Life was hard indeed for them that first year. They planted 120 acres for maize; their crop was good, but fetched only 6/- per bag (200 lbs), whereas the previous year the price had been 10/-. Luckily my mother-in-law was a woman of grit and determination. She started poultry, made a beautiful garden, and planted the swamp in vegetables and fruit trees - invaluable in the next 3 years when we all had to live off the farms or starve. …… [more - locusts etc] ……
Now the depression really set in, and there was no alternative but to abandon the farm until we had some capital to develop it. So for the next 10 years the farm lay idle. My husband was lucky enough to get a job as manager for £12 a month, until he was called up in 1940. I went back to teaching. In 1943 my husband was released to go back to the farm and try to get production going. I was not released until 1946. By now, my husband had got together a little capital, £3,000, and there was a prisoner-of-war camp on our land, clearing bush for tsetse-fly control, so he was able to draw on some Italian labour. He found barely a sign left of previous habitation. The house and stores had fallen down and all that remained was the cattle dip and a tiny stone dairy ……. [more]
Thomas Landall - KR 1059

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