Hi Phillipa,
How are you. All Sunbeams here in New Zealand are related. I live in Amberley and my Mum and Dad live in Rolleston but we grew up in the Woolston/Opawa area of Christchurch. You heard right. Henry Suraj Bullie was born in India in approx 1838. He came to Christchurch as a schoolboy on the Akbar as a servant of Sir JOhn Cracroft Wilson in Cashmere. He left Sir John about 1865 and went to Nelson where he was a servant for David Munro (and where we obtained his photo taken in 1870) He then went to Nelson in about 1875 and was there for about 20 years. He came back to Christchurch and married Harriet Townsend who already had two children illegimately to whom he claimed fathership. He had a further 4 children to her. He died in 1904 in Sydenham Park when a tree he was cutting down crushed him. He and Harriet lived in SouthHampton St in Sydenham wher ehe was a chimney sweep and gardener. I knew my cousins in Waltham and My Dads cousin in Oaklands, so would appreciate it if you could let me know how you are related. I have done a heap of research on the Indian servants. Cheers Jo
P.S Suraj is both an Urdu (Muslim) and a Hindi name meaning SUN - it is NEVER a surname only a fist name in India. Pronounced Suroosh