English born Surveyor Samuel Hewlings arrived in New Zealand in 1841 at the age of 21. In 1854 he was employed by the Canterbury Provincial Government to survey the land around Talbot Forest, as Geraldine was known at the time. He and his wife, Nga Hei (Ngāpuhi) built a small hut in the area that had been proposed to be the town centre. The township sprung up around his hut as saw-millers came to level Talbot Forest to the ground. The hut, the first in Geraldine, later served as offices of the Road Board and then later as the town's first school.

The plaque beneath the tree records that the totara was planted by Hewlings to mark the birth of (his daughter, Catherine (Kate) Hewlings) the first child of European descent to be born in the Geraldine District (Cadwallader, B.G. 2017).

Reference:
Roots Web website Samuel Hewlings - Surveyor accessed 02 Feb 2017