M Gudgeon was Melville Quantrille Gudgeon - younger brother of Herman and took over Herman's sheep station after Herman's death in 1928. Their father, Walter Edward Gudgeon, was a fan of the author Herman Mellville. (I don't need to know anything more about Walter - I have his biography etc)
There were 3 sheep stations - all originally belonging to Walter. Two were run by his sons. Herman and Melville. Some of the land was transferred to Herman and Walter in around 1917. in 1917 Herman and Melville were said to have 500 acres each, plus 300 acres they managed on behalf of their father. So after their father died they had 650 acres each. After Herman died in 1928 they were combined into one sheep station. My understanding is that these 1300 acres were originally one parcel of land. Changes in locality name relate to administrative changes - the farms themselves did not move.
The locality names used in conjunction with these sheep stations changed over time. Initially we have Kahukura, Waiapu County. Then we have Tikitiki and later Ruatoria. The change from Tikitiki to Ruatoria seems to reflect the decline in importance of Tikitiki (substantial loss of population over the time) and rise in importance of Ruatoria. So - several place names refering to the same locality as far as the farms were concerned.
Now Spelling:
The most common spelling of the farm name was Wharekihauponga on sheep owners returns
I have also found Wharekirauponga (Herman's obituary - Poverty Bay Herald)
and Whare-ta-rau-punga (Herman's death notice)
I understand that these Gudgeon families were fluent Maori speakers.
