Born in Thames in 1891, Vera (Veronica) Cummings parents were pioneer settlers of Scottish and Irish descent. Her father Matthew arrived in New Zealand in 1862 from County Armagh, Ireland. Matthew Cummings served in the First Waikato Regiment during the Waikato and Tauranga campaigns. He was then discharged and settled on land granted by the Government. By 1870 he had moved to Thames and was for many years a member of the Thames Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Vera’s mother Annie came to Auckland from Tasmania as a child with her mother and stepfather, Sergeant James Knox, during the Waikato War. She boarded at the Onehunga Convent for many years. After marrying Matthew Cummings, the family lived in St. Johns Redoubt, Hamilton; and later mov...