When only a few years old, Ned Ellison was adopted by his father's cousin Harirota, who was a grand daughter of Marangai, a brother of Whati, and her husband, William. H. Eyes. Harirota was unable to have children and thus Ned was raised as an only child on a small dairy farm at Punehu, opposite the Pihama dairy factory, Taranaki . "I was a lone child with little companionship. A flax stick could be my horse, a red rag my reins, and this I could ride for hours, until the horse or rider had had enough." His lonely existence revolved around his step father, who was always kind to him, his mother Harirota whom he adored and his beloved dog Whiskey. Ned's biological father, Raniera , was a staunch supporter of Te Whiti and Tohu but disagreed with Te Whiti's wish that his supporters should not attend Pakeha schools. As a result, Ned was the only Maori at Pihama School as evident in the school photo circa 1892.. He quickly displayed his keen mind and interest in education and excelled at school. "During that impressionable age, certain incidents strongly influenced me. For example , there were the frequent funerals which took place and passed our home, but didn't pass unnoticed. Years afterwards, when an opportunity of choosing a calling arose, I chose medicine , which I considered preferable to Tohungaism, which I felt was the cause of the numerous deaths I had seen in Taranaki" As a boy, Ned visited Parihaka on several occasions and remembers seeing Te Whiti and Tohu.In 1896 , a tragic accident occured which was to change Ned's life forever. Harirota was driving a wagon heavily laden with milk cans down the hill to the factory when the front axle snapped and she was thrown amongst the bolting horses. Ned records "I saw four or five people approaching our house carrying someone". He realized it was his mother; "She was apparently unconscious. The scalp was partially stripped and torn from the head and bleeding profusely. Her long hair was hanging loosely down. She was laid carefully down in her bed and a message was taken for a doctor to come urgently. I stood by weeping and she would tug my hand and console me. It wasa heartbreaking. She lingered 2 days and at last died. Harirota was buried amongst the sand dunes, not far from their house. " I stood over her grave and observed the surrounding clover was attracting bees but my Mum would never move again. She was dead, and her body lowered in it's coffin was covered and buried. She was relieved of pain and life's worries. Goodbye Dear Mum. You were kind to me always." After the funeral, a group of Maoris who were part-owners of our farm, met with my foster father, but no workable agreement could be reached, so the cattle were driven to Opunake saleyards to be sold . "How sad it was to say goodbye to the haunts of my childhood and my Mum, Rest in Peace."Ned travelled down to Wellington with his foster father by train and stayed with some friends there. "I gradually learnt that Tom Ellison, the great rugby footballer was my brother, and he took me under his wing and gradually brought me to meet my real parents at Waikanae." The family was living at Waikanae , where Raniera owned land, and Ned continued his schooling here until the family returned to Otakou in 1898.