In 1839 Edward purchased land at Bluff, Taieri, North Waikouaiti, 1 million acres in the Molyneaux district and land at Waikawa, Riccarton and Banks Peninsula. It is clear in a letter from Edward to George that he had some doubts about the legality of their land titles. On Jan 29, 1840 the New South Wales governor George Gipps stated that all land purchases prior to this date would have to be investigated.
EDWARD'S WIVES AND CHILDREN:
Edward married 2 Maori womén . His first marriage was to Paparu, daughter of Tahatu and Matau, around 1834 and the following year , a daughter was born and named Hana Weller (Wera). Paparu died around June 1838. Around February 1839, Edward married again, this time to Nikuru, daughter of Chief Taiaroa and Hineiwhariua who was a sister to Chief Karetai of Otakou. In August 1840, a daughter name Hannah Nani Weller (Wera) was born. Unfortunately, Nikuru died 3 days after giving birth. Taiaroa took his grandaughter and raised her with the help of a wet nurse from nearby Karitane. Both daughters survived and have numerous offspring today.
Edward's health had been suffering for some time and with the death of his second wife, Nikuru, in August 1840, he left the whaling station to be managed by his brother in law Charles Schultze. On the 18th of December 1840, Edward left Otakou for Sydney, never to return . He was only 26 years old but had experienced enough personal tragedy for a lifetime. He left behind 2 daughters who stayed in contact with him throughout his life.(Hana later went to live with Edward for some years in Australia). He had buried 2 wives and witnessed his brother Joseph's death. He had been kidnapped and almost killed by some Maori chiefs. He had witnessed the decimation of the Maori village of Otakou by a measles epidemic brought back from Sydney on one of the Weller ships by Chief Karetai himself in September 1835. He had lived amongst the roughnecked whalers and the local Maori for 9 years .
Shortly after his return to Sydney, on 25 Feb 1841, the firm of G & E Weller failed. Alot of the family's assets were sold, including land, farm implements and their remaining ships . The whaling station was sold to Octavius Harwood and Charles Schultze. In April 1842 they were declared bankrupt with debts outstanding of 28,700 pounds.
LIFE IN MAITLAND
Edward and George went up to Maitland to manage some of the family's properties. For Edward, the rest of his life was somewhat of an anticlimax. He apparently never married again and seems to have struggled to settle back into civilised life, remaining a fairly reclusive character. He is recorded as being a farmer and landowner but seemed content to live the quiet life fo a farmer. In 1888 , aged 74 , he was visited by his grandson Tom Ellison, the famous rugby footballer, who was given a portrait of himself to be taken back to his family in Otakou. In March 1893, while living in a cottage on West Maitland Road, a huge flood struck the district. Attempts were made to persuade him to leave his home, but he stubbornly refused. As the flood waters rose, he apparently climbed into the loft to escape them and it was here, trapped under the roof that he was drowned. He was discovered a few days later by his nephew Charles Weller, after the floods had receeded. He died on the 12th of March 1893 , aged 78 years .
The Weller Brothers were true entrepreneurs . They were intelligent and well informed and were constantly looking for business opportunities. They had huge financial backing and apart from some really bad luck, bad health and bad timing, they could have become very wealthy and influencial in the founding of the fledgling country of New Zealand. Unfortunately, their whaling station and land purchases were unsuccessful and a fortune was lost. Edward and his brothers had been responsible for one of the first whaling stations in the South Island. The settlement they founded remained as a source of food for the fledgling city of Dunedin, which was founded in 1848. Even more important was the favourable relationship established between Maori and European as a result of the whaling station. The Weller's played an important part in the history of the South Island of New Zealand. Their whaling stations were the first European settlements in Otakou,Taieri, Bluff, Timaru and Banks penisula. The name Otakou or it's English pronounciation, came to represent the province of Otago, and is directly attributable to the correspondence and shipping communications of the Weller brothers.
By Thomas Brons