Gold was discovered in Australia in 1850, and Frederick and Clement decided to try their luck there searching for gold. At the beginning of 1852, he quit smoking, drinking, drinking coffee, tea and eating meat, as he was boarding himself needed to save his money. By the time he left Mr. Taines’ store in July, Fred had saved $67.00 and went to Australia in search of gold in company with some other young men.
In Australia, he soon learned that the majority of the people who had come to seek gold could be classed as the scum of the earth—murderers, robbers, etc., and he had some unpleasant experiences with some of them. These were often more treacherous than the natives they had encountered in New Zealand. He worked for some time in a store before trying his luck in the gold fields. When he and a friend did try for gold, they didn’t have any luck at first, and at one time found it necessary to borrow some money in order to eat. Finally they were able to find a profitable location where they “made money hand over fist.”
Fred was in Australia about a year when he heard of the death of his father and returned to New Zealand. He intended to settle there, but his mother had sold the farm and was keeping a boarding house, so he had to seek employment elsewhere. Against the entreaties of their mother and friends, Fred and his brothers, Alfred and Clement, again set sail for Australia on October 1, 1853 to look for gold. In Australia, a friend offered them the use of his cabin for a short while until he himself was able to travel up to it.
After a long and weary march they arrived at that place. The following Sunday while at dinner, a gentleman came in accompanied by a number of others and informed the boys that they were going to hold a meeting there. Fred judged him to be a Methodist, inasmuch as the owner of the cabin was a zealous Methodist. He and Clement and a friend had decided to go out prospecting, but Alfred, who was very religious (in Fred’s words), begged them to stay to the meeting. Fred said he had heard "enough of Methodist doctrine and humbuggery.” However, the preacher came out and persuaded them to stay. Fred was struck at the peculiarity of the hymns. The hymn books were in pamphlet form and headed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he read that, he thought to himself that the Methodists were getting up. He was even more astonished at the prayer that was offered by the preacher. He prayed to the Lord to bless the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Brigham Young, his counselors, the twelve apostles and others. Frederick wondered who all these were. The preacher turned out to be a Mormon Elder and he was instrumental in persuading Frederick to eventually accept the gospel. They had heard and felt something that could not be obtained anywhere else and from which they could not get away from. Alfred, however, was against the Mormons from the very first.
The brothers worked very hard and got very little gold. After the owner of the cabin arrived with his family, the Hurst brothers had a steady diet of Mormonism. Alfred became discouraged with searching for gold, and after their meetings with the Mormons, he decided to return to New Zealand.
Frederick and Clement attended all the Mormon meetings. Frederick eventually offered himself for baptism and was astonished when his brother Clement did likewise. They were baptized Sunday, January 12, 1854, at a place called the Sheep Wash. After they had been in the church a few weeks they wrote home to tell their family about the gospel, thinking that as soon as they heard the truth they would accept it. However, they were sadly disappointed, as the letters they received from home were full of abuse toward Joseph Smith and the church in general. The letter criticized them for their disgraceful conduct and stating that their names would be scratched from the family record until they should denounce Mormonism. This fact was substantiated when Frederick returned home to New Zealand twenty years later to fill a mission there. They also held him responsible for Clement’s defection inasmuch as he was older. Frederick and Clement wrote home repeatedly, but received no other answer in return.
Mary Ann Hurst was so determined her sons should not be identified with the Mormons that she hired detectives to prevent Fred and Clement from sailing to Zion (Utah). The detectives were furnished with pictures of the boys, as well as a thorough description of them. Acting under council, the boys remained in the same crowd as the detectives, but acted so very unconcerned because of a promise made to them that they would not be molested. The boys were not recognized and were successful in boarding their boat with the detectives looking on and sailing a way on their long journey to the "valleys." The detectives were heard to say, "Well, we have not found them, but we have at least prevented them from sailing."
In September of 1854, Frederick was ordained to preach the gospel in the Bendigo gold mines. He held the office of a priest at the time. After preaching there for a while, and also working for gold, Fred and Clement set out for Zion with a group of fellow saints. They stopped at Tahiti, and "…after five weeks of indescribable kinds of times [they] put-in in distress at the Sandwich Islands, the vessel so leaky she could hardly swim."
They reached Honolulu in the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands on July 5, 1855, after a voyage of eleven weeks from Australia. Some of the passengers stayed in the Islands to make a little more money before going to Zion, but the rest put to sea again about a week later. After they got clear of the land they were becalmed for eight days waiting for the wind to blow again. When it did start to blow, it was almost a hurricane. After some difficulty, it was decided that the vessel was not seaworthy, so they returned to Honolulu.
There was some confusion among the saints, as many of them had given all they had for their passage to Utah. The able-bodied men were asked to give what they had in order to help the aged and the women and children. Frederick gave what money he had and then later turned over the gold nuggets he had sewn in his clothing, which were worth about $1,000.
While in the Islands, Fred was called to serve as a missionary and was ordained an elder on the 16th of August, 1855. He was sent to the island of Molokai to labor. As he didn’t have any money, he sold a pair of boots to pay for his passage to Molokai and to obtain some things he needed. The native saints enjoyed hearing him and his companion sing in English, and whenever they went anywhere to visit, that is about the first thing they were asked to do. Frederick accepted what help his brother was able to send him, but mostly the missionaries had to depend on the natives, among whom they worked, for food, lodging and even their clothing. Many times they went without these necessities and went hungry frequently.
At one time the elders traveled from Molokai over to Lahaina. While there, they were given some bread—the first Elder Hurst had eaten for five months. Mostly their diet consisted of fish, potatoes (salt is mentioned frequently), poi and fresh fruit. On February 8, 1856, Frederick recorded, “We had three meals today for the first time for I will not venture to say how long. We fasted about three days this week.”
Most of their traveling was done on foot; sometimes they went twenty or more miles in a single day. He made many journal entries similar to the following: “My boots had just given out when we got to this place. One of the brethren gave me a pair of low shoes, so when I have begged a pair of socks somewhere I shall be set up.” However, before he did get any socks, he made at least one long journey without any and ended up with very miserable feet.
Frederick William Hurst was released from the Sandwich Island Mission on October 6, 1856. Fred and his brother, Charles Clement, set sail for San Francisco on November 8, 1856 and arrived there on November 23, 1856. The brothers found what work was available, eventually going to the Redwoods to split posts. They returned to San Francisco in the spring with the intention of going to Salt Lake Valley. Frederick was again called to be a missionary—this time in California. In fulfilling his duties he again did a lot of walking and traveled from one settlement to another, preaching the gospel wherever he could find people to listen. His labors in California were cut short, as all the saints were advised to go to the Salt Lake Valley to help meet the advance of Johnston’s Army. He left California October 12, 1857, in company with a group of saints to travel to Salt Lake City via San Bernardino.
They traveled in wagons and arrived in Beaver, Utah the end of January 1858. He was counseled to stay in Beaver, Utah, which he did. About a month later he received a letter from a long time friend, Elder William Cook, telling him that he could find profitable employment for him and his brother Clement, and inviting him to make a home with his family. He and his brother finally arrived in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 20, 1858.
At that time the saints in Utah were concerned about the threat of invasion and a call was made for volunteers to go out to the mountains. Brother Thomas Cook was called to go out in the mountains to Echo Canyon at the end of March. Frederick volunteered to go in his place and Clement joined him there later. Those maintaining the Echo Canyon posts were charged with the task of setting fire to the Mormon possessions in the Salt Lake Valley if the invasion was hostile. They were released from this service at the end of May, 1858.
Following this, they worked at anything they could find—cutting hay, mowing, hauling, road building, etc. Frederick met a young lady there in the Salt Lake Valley by the name of Aurelia Hawkins and they were married on the 3rd of November, 1858 in the Endowment House. The following season he and Clement and Aurelia’s brother, Creighton, got work cutting saw logs in City Creek Canyon. After nearly working themselves to death for six or seven weeks they each cleared about $13.00 each.
Aurelia’s brother had given Fred a lot in Salt Lake City just north of Sugar House and east of what is now Eleventh Street East.. He bought a log house and worked very hard moving it and getting it ready to live in, which they were able to do in November of 1859. Their first child, Frederick William Hurst, Jr., was born February 23, 1860.
In the spring of 1860, Fred took care of a Pony Express Station located in Ruby Valley—about 375 miles west of Salt Lake City. He rented out their house and made arrangements for his wife to stay with her mother while he was in Ruby Valley. He had many thrilling experiences and narrow escapes there, for the Indians were very hostile. At one time, his was the only station for many miles around that was not burned by the Indians. This fate would also have been his, but he had been kind to the Indians earlier that winter. The winter was very severe and the Indians were dying by the hundreds. Against the advice of others, Fred mixed flour and water into a paste similar to Hawaiian poi and set it outside at night for the starving Indians. This charity proved a great blessing to the Indians and to himself, for those whom he helped warned him of pending attacks and he was able to take adequate defensive measures. After he arrived at the Ruby Valley station, Fred either did not keep a journal or it has been lost. After a number of years he made the following entry in his journal:
“October, 1875. I ought to write up a little of the past. In 1865 we moved to Logan, April 29th. At that time we had three children; namely Willie, Samuel Harris, and Lucy. 9th of April, 1967, Nora was born. October 28, 1869, Aurelia (we call her Lillie) was born. March 29, 1872, Reigo was born. March 27, 1875, we were blessed with a fine pair of twins, son and daughter, we named them Leo and Leoline.
“In the month of August 1868, I met with a very serious accident. I was run over by a load of hay and nearly killed. My left arm was paralyzed, and for the next two years I earned but very little, after which I quit farming entirely and turned my attention to house painting, graining, etc. And I gradually worked into a good business, in fact, had a great deal more work that I could possibly do.
“My brother, Charles C. Hurst and myself were called, October 11, 1875, to go to New Zealand on a special mission to the Maoris....Means I had none, and no property to dispose of, however, as soon as I heard the news, I went up to the President’s Office and had the pleasure of not only seeing Brother Brigham Jr., but also his father, President Brigham Young…And President Young informed me that he had instructed Bishop W.B. Preston to look after my family and see that they would be provided for while I was away.”
He recorded that on the 12th of October he was baptized for his father and brother, who were dead, and returned to Logan on the following day. Some of the children were sick with sore throats and fever and he, himself, had a bad cold and the chills. Harris and Nora were much worse than the rest. These two were administered to and Harris felt better immediately. He was able to get up and dress the following day. Then quite suddenly, without a moment’s notice, Nora died. She talked up to the last minute.
Frederick Hurst expressed thankfulness that this tragedy had happened before he left for his mission to New Zealand, feeling that it was better that way. After the death of little Nora, there were seven children for his wife to care for while he was gone. He left San Francisco on November 10, 1875 and arrived in Wellington, New Zealand a little more than a month later. He had some difficulty in locating his mother and brother, but finally found his mother, who was in a very feeble condition—almost helpless. She was very happy to Frederick and Charles Clement. At first, Alfred was happy to see them also, but soon his old hostility towards them returned.
Clement and the other missionaries were sent to labor on another island and Frederick was left to labor alone. Working alone and meeting with so much prejudice against the Mormons was very discouraging for Fred. If he did find someone inclined to listen to his message, that interest didn’t last long because of the prejudice there. Frederick did not take a room at that time, but stayed wherever he could. After laboring by himself for about six months, he received word that his brother was coming to work with him. He decided to rent a place so that they could “bach” it with Clement. Some of his acquaintances loaned him blankets and other furnishings. Part of the time Charles cut wood to pay the rent and also to sell. They often went hungry and didn’t know where the next meal would come from. They did whatever they could to earn money. Frederick painted pictures and sold them, and also carved tomb tablets out of wood. They visited their mother whenever they could, but Alfred was so bitter about their being Mormons that he wouldn’t come around anymore and wouldn’t help with her support. As destitute as the missionaries were, they used some of their income to help her. After laboring in the Wellington area for some time, the brothers went to Christchurch, which is located on the South Island.
After laboring in Christchurch for some time, the New Zealand missionaries received word on Sunday, January 28, 1877, that they were released to go home whenever they could raise the means to pay their passage home. Early in the month of February, Elder McLochlan, who had been in charge of the New Zealand mission, set sail for Utah, leaving Charles Clement in charge. Elder Frederick Hurst had written home in an effort to borrow money so that he and his brother could go home. However, one of the brethren in the church went around collecting donations to assist them in returning home, saying that it would be better for all to help so the missionaries wouldn’t have any debts to settle after they got home.
The message of the missionaries to those who had joined the church was to gather to Zion as soon as they were able. They had been called to work among the Maoris and had attempted to do so, but the priests of other denominations set the natives against them, so the mission did not accomplish much along that line. One of the interesting practices in the church at that time for the members was the renewing of their covenants through re-baptism. The brothers left Christchurch to start their homeward journey the 4th of May 1877. In Wellington they went to say farewell to their mother, “perhaps for the last time in this life.”
The first Sunday School in Cache Stake was organized in Logan in May 1866. F. W. Hurst took an active part in the organization. Later he was put in charge of the Sunday School, which position he held until he left for his mission to New Zealand. In 1881, he was again chosen and set apart as Stake Superintendent. He always had a place in his heart for the Sunday School. After returning from New Zealand he records that he and his brother had the pleasure of telling their experiences to a large congregation in the morning, stating, “It does seem heavenly to me to hear our Sunday School children sing.”
Frederick William Hurst also filled at least two stake missions in Cache Stake. He and his wife had two more children after he returned from New Zealand, a son, Clement, who died in infancy, and a daughter Nellie. He worked on both the Logan and Salt Lake Temples. After it became necessary because of age to discontinue his trade, he spent his time with art painting, keeping a very beautiful garden of flowers and vegetables, and fruit trees to supply his needs. His wife Aurelia died in April, 1907. He later married Mrs. Ann Norfold, one of his New Zealand friends that he mentions several times in his diary.
For a number of years before his passing he would good-naturedly tell his friends that he was getting homesick and would be glad when the time came for him to return home. This desire was granted him on the 30th of October, 1918—in his 85th year. His life had influenced people from all walks of life in many lands.
In 1961, the original diary of Frederick William Hurst. Sr. was in the hands of Samuel H. and Ida Hurst. With the help of family and friends they transcribed the diary entries and prepared them for printing. Later, in 2001, another descendent, Joyce Holt, keyboarded the Diary to produce an electronic copy.
“Now the Diary is in a shape to be turned over to the family as a possession of anyone who desires it. This is a great relief to me, though it has taken much patience, and tedious work to put it into its present form. Most of his writing is over one hundred years old, and was written in a style that is not common today. Naturally, age has left its effect upon it until in a few places it could not be read, therefore, a few lines have been left out. As is mentioned in the diary that is now ready, pages are missing from the original writings. It is quite probable that names of people and places, at times, are not properly written because of not being able to distinguish the letters properly. It is hoped that these things will be overlooked, but that the spirit and the message that runs through its pages have been preserved.
The diary is as it was written by its author. There are places where he is rather outspoken regarding people and practice. These have not been left out or modified, for these statements express his personality as much as any other expressions, and if full credit is given to circumstances prevailing it will be understandable why frankness of expression was used even though it may not have been the wisest course to follow.”
Samuel H. Hurst
June 26, 1961
("The Diary of Frederick William Hurst, Sr.," p. i-ii)
Frederick William Hurst was the tenth child of William and Mary Ann Green Hurst. His parents were natives of Hampshire, England, but moved to the Isle of Jersey about 1832 to run a nursery. Frederick was born there on June 30, 1833. The youngest and eleventh child, Charles Clement, was born there May 28, 1839. About September, 1839, William Hurst sold the nursery and the family went to Essex, England to visit relatives.
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There was a lot of interest at that time in the colonization of New Zealand, and his father caught the fever. He felt that with his large family it would be advantageous to go to a new country. There were six children—four boys and two girls, although if all of the children of William Hurst and Mary Ann Green had lived there would have been eleven. Frederick William was the tenth child, next to the youngest.
The family left England in the month of December 1839, bound for New Zealand and arrived there sometime in April 1840. They landed in what is now the city of Wellington. They found the country very wild and uncultivated, and had many frightening experiences with the natives. The natives of New Zealand were very friendly at first, but before the end of the year 1840, they took up arms and commenced murdering whole families because of the imposition and oppression of the whites. Fred, being too young to bear arms, carried food and supplies to his brothers and father while they cleared the ground and fought off the natives.
At the age of twelve, Fred was too small to join the volunteers, but he did some drilling along with other boys his age for several hours each day after school was dismissed. Sometimes they would also assist in making fortifications. His father and eldest brother had to drill and build forts, etc. Troops and ships of war came from England, and a great deal of blood was shed before peace was declared sometime in 1847.
Although the family was in a new country, the parents gave their children a good education for those days. During his school life, Fred studied the art of painting.
His father leased a farm near Karori and the two young boys, Fred and Clement, and an older brother, Alfred, were sent to take care of it. Alfred was careless and indifferent about the farm and Fred had to take the responsibility even though he was quite young. Because of that he decided to go to work on his own. He worked at a grocery, hardware and ironmonger’s store, beginning about December 1846. He stayed there about a year and then, through the persuasion of Alfred, he again tried farming. That evidently did not prove satisfactory, as he later went back to the store to work. When his brother Alexander died Fred was offered Alexander’s position although he didn’t accept the work until a later date. In the meantime he badly injured his back in an accident, which kept him ill for six to eight weeks.