The Mystery of Walter Grace Reflections on the life of one of NZ’s First Motoring Writers
A STORY with a heading like this can go anywhere and cover a multitude of topics, but I’ll get right to it and start at the beginning.
It’s often said that “it runs in the family” and while we can all see coincidental similarities of profession or talent from one generation to another no hard scientific facts exist to support the merest hint of a solid connection. It’s merely one of those quirks of nature which we see emerging in various forms. This story is one of those, and it is from my own family.
The first chapter in the Grace family’s recent history book began in 1879 when James and Jane Grace (nee Fullwood and a sister of renowned English artist John Fullwood whose etchings are found in galleries in England and America) decided to try their fortunes in New Zealand. They emigrated from Wolverhampton, England sailing on the ship Bebbington. Very few passengers of the many
