Bob Pender has spent more than 30 years researching his family history.
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He's traced his ancestors back to Scotland in 1721 and even looked into the families that Pender descendants joined through marriage.
Now the great grandson of John Wiltshire Pender has had his biggest win of all after Wollongong collector Michael Delhaas bought historic Pender documents for $5 at an online auction and has chosen to reunite them with the family.
Mr Pender saw the Maitland Mercury’s story about the Pender dynasty and is eager to be the custodian of the items and expand his research.
He said there was a box of old papers in the roof of John Wiltshire Pender’s house alongside Pender Brothers, but he didn’t know what happened to them.
Mr Pender hopes the documents, which include a copy of J.W Pender’s will, his wife Jane’s original death certificate, cancelled share certificates for his children and grandchildren, and a handwritten letter from Ada Mary Ann Jor Foon, of Say Chow, near Canton, in China, will help him learn more about the family.
“I can refer back to them and make sure I’m right in what I’ve recorded,” he said.
Benhome is one of the iconic buildings that the Pender family designed and built.
Mr Pender said it had a special connection to the family because three generations of Penders worked on it at different times.
“John Wiltshire Pender worked on it, his son Walter Samuel worked on it and Walter’s son Ian also worked on it,” he said.
“It was the longest running family architectural business in Australia at that time.”
Mr Pender’s father Dick Pender worked for Pender Brothers all his life.
His grandfather, Robert Pender, worked for Pender Brothers until 1917 when he left to make his own way as a builder.He became a councillor in the area and a representative on the Hunter District Water Board.
“I wasn’t interested in being an architect, the family insisted I become a fitter and machinist so I did that and then went into business,” Mr Pender said.