Editing Bob Fitzsimmons (section)

== Early life ==
[[File:Fitzsimons helston.jpg|left|thumb|300px|The birthplace of Bob Fitzsimmons in Helston, Cornwall]]
Robert James Fitzsimmons was born on 4 June 1862{{Efn|Although some records believe his birth date was 4 June 1862|name=a}} in [[Helston]], [[Cornwall]], [[England]], the youngest of seven boys and five girls born to James and Jane ({{nee|Strongman}}) Fitzsimmons.<ref name="teara">{{DNZB|McMillan|N.A.C.|2f12|Fitzsimmons, Robert|15 January 2017}}</ref> Not long before his birth, his parents had moved from his father's native Ireland to Cornwall, where his mother came from, in order for his father to find work as a policeman.<ref name="ingram37">Ingram 2012, p. 37.</ref> Fitzsimmons received his early education at the [[National school (England and Wales)|National school]] in Helston.<ref name="odnb">{{Cite ODNB|id=37418|title=Fitzsimmons, Robert [Bob] |last=Baker |first=Anne Pimlott |orig-year=2004 |year=2011}}</ref> In 1873, the family moved again; James, Jane and their youngest five children sailed on the ''Adamant'' for the 93-day journey to [[Lyttelton, New Zealand]].<ref name="teara"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Bre01Whit-t1-body-d69.html |title=White Wings (volume I) |last=Brett |first=Henry |publisher=The Brett Printing Company Limited |year=1924 |location=Auckland, New Zealand |page=152}}</ref>

They settled in [[Timaru]], a town 147&nbsp;km (91 miles) south-west of Lyttelton populated mainly by Cornish immigrants, and James Fitzsimmons established a blacksmith's forge in the town.<ref name="odnb"/> Once Fitzsimmons had completed his education at the Timaru Main School, he took on a range of jobs. He wanted to join the crew of the ''Isabella Ridley'', and do some service as a sailor, hoping that it would toughen him up for a career in boxing, but the ship was badly damaged in storms while still docked in Timaru.<ref>Nicholson 2011, p. 45.</ref> Instead, he took on a range of jobs; as a butcher's delivery boy, a carriage painter, striker at an iron foundry, and a decorator, before becoming an apprentice at his family's blacksmith's forge with his brother Jarrett. His time working in the blacksmith's forge helped to develop his upper body, particularly his arms and shoulders.<ref name="teara"/><ref name="odnb"/> During his time working in the blacksmith's forge, there are stories that Fitzsimmons was not averse to fighting quarrelsome, often drunk, customers, and it was suggested that this even boosted business, as customers returned to the forge, hoping to see a fight.<ref>Nicholson 2011, p. 46.</ref>