Links:

• Palmerston North City Council Cemetery Database. Search for Rush, Rodgers, McDowall, Penman.

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Rush/Rodgers Family Reunion, Easter 2027, Lower Hutt

Message from Steve Rush

Easter 2027 represents the tenth anniversary of our successful Rush/Rodgers family reunion in Palmerston North, which was attended by in excess of 120 family members. At the time, I promised we would do it again in ten years.

So please keep Easter 2027 free and spread the word to our wider family because I am looking to top 150 people. Although it is very early in the planning stage I can tell you with certainty that the 2027 reunion venue will be open from 10.00am on Good Friday 26th March and close at noon on Easter Monday 29th March.

The venue, yet to be confirmed will be in Lower Hutt. A list of accommodation options throughout Wellington and the Hutt Valley will be circulated in a few weeks, once the venue has been finalised.

A range of fun and interesting activities over the weekend will include a formal reunion opening, a formal reunion dinner with music and dancing, historic tours taking in sites of significance to our family and the Petone Settlers Museum, a family memorial service, plenty of meet and greet and socialising time, as well as family historical displays including a complete family tree.

There will also be three entertaining, exciting and original family challenges for those who want to take part, but I am going to keep you guessing as to what they are. One will appeal to the younger family members (kids and younger adults), one will appeal to the would-be performers in the family and the third - well, wait and see.

There will be a one off per head cost (under fives are free) for the reunion and all activities except for the dinner/dance and the historical tours, which be an additional cost if you choose to take part.

Save the dates and watch this space for updates. Please also share this with the wider family and ask anyone who may be interested in taking part to email me captainpugwash@hotmail.co.nz (note that it is NOT .com) to be included in the "reunion27" email group. You can expect an update every few weeks.

Rush/Rodgers Family Reunion, Easter 2017

The Rush/Rodgers Family Reunion was held at Easter 2017 in Palmerston North.

Who was this reunion for?

This reunion was for the over three thousand living descendants of Cecilia Eliza Herbert - Rodgers/Rush.

See Cecilia's webpage on this website.

This was the first combined reunion and allowed the descendants of Richard Rush, John George Rush and Thomas Rodgers - all of whom share the common ancestry of Cecilia Eliza Rodgers/Rush to meet and mingle, many for the first, and in some cases last, time. We have estimated there are about 3,000 living descendants of Cecilia Rodgers/Rush.

The reunion was reported by Karoline Tuckey on April 16 2017 in the "Manawatu Standard" article: Early-manawatu-and-rangitikei-settlers-families-gather-over-easter.

Reunion Programme

The reunion officially opened at noon on Saturday 15th April 2017 and closed at 4pm on Sunday 16th April.

Programme:

The programme was as follows:

Friday 14 April 2017:

• 4 pm - 10pm. Registration and social mingling. Displays of family trees, photos and historical information.

Saturday 15 April 2017:

• 9am - noon. Registration and social mingling.
• 1pm - 2pm. Formal welcome and official opening. Audio visual show tracing the history of our combined families in New Zealand (with a little 'pre history' thrown in). Displays of family trees, photos and historical information.
• 2pm - 5 pm. "Historical sites tour". This took in a number of sites of historical significance for both sides of the family. Download the Historic Sites Tour Booklet and Terrace End Cemetery Map and Kelvin Grove Cemetery Map.
• 7 - 10pm: "Formal" reunion dinner with live music and dancing from 8 pm until the last one left.

Sunday 16 April 2017:

• 9am - 11 am. Social mingling. Second showing of the family documentary. Visit to Terrace End and Kelvin Grove Cemeteries to view the many family graves for those who had not yet been there.
• Noon. Family service of remembrance at St Patrick's Cathedral, including a brief presentation from each branch of the family, followed by formal and informal family group photographs.
• 2pm - 4 pm. Bingo and Quiz draws.
• 4 pm. Reunion closing and farewell. Symbolic passing of the reunion 'torch'.

Facebook page

Go to our Facebook group The Family of RUSH INc Group and apply to join the group and state who you are and your lineage. It is a closed family group so as long as an existing member recognises you as a member of the family, your application to join will be accepted. It's a great way to keep in touch with a wider section of the extended family, and we have posted Reunion updates there. You can also ask questions, upload photos, and connect with other family members.

Family group photos

For those who were present at the Memorial Service at St Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday and for the family group photos, copies of these are available on our Facebook site.

Audio Visual CD

Steve and Tony Rush put together a wonderful audio-visual show tracing our family from the earliest times. Copies of this track are possibly available electronically and on CD. Just ask Steve.

Family Tree Updates

View the latest version of the Rush Family Tree from 1790, from the Family Tree webpage. Contact us with any updates.

A Humble Beginning

We have published continuous updates of "A Humble Beginning" after we processed and typed up all the new information we collected at the reunion. If you have original copies of any photos or documents you think might be of interest, please scan and send them to Steve Rush for adding to our collection.

We have also published the the latest edition as an e-book online, so you'll be able to print copies yourself. It's on our Facebook site and includes a Reunion 2017 update, as well as new photos and information, and a list of those who attended the reunion. Dale can also send you the word versions.

Website Contact details

If you have any information or photos to provide us, or any corrections, please contact Dale Hartle in Levin, New Zealand, by email at mjhartle at xtra.co.nz (please adjust email address) or phone 021 45 34 24.

Last updated: 19 January 2026