OBITUARY

MR. W. H. FIELD j The death of Mr. William Hughes Field, who had represented Otaki In. i Parliament for 33 years when he re-1 tired from politics in 1936, occurred in Wellington this morning, ; Mr. Field was born in Wanganui in i 1861, and in 1893 became a barrister I and solicitor, practising in Wellington. He was elected tc the Otaki seat in 1900, on the death of his brother, Mr. H. A. Field, the former member. He sat as a Liberal until 1911, when he was defeated by Mr. J. Robertson, the Labour candidate. Standing as a Reform candidate, Mr. Field regained the seat in 1914, and continued to hold it until his retirement. Among his activities in local affairs, Ihe served for an exceptionally long time as a member of the Wellington | Colleges Board of Governors. He was

appointed Government member of the board, and completed 41 years', service in that capacity in May last. Mr. Field fought for years for the improvement of the railways service, one very long-needed train, "Field's express," being named after him, also for the Tawa Flat tunnel. He took a leading part in obtaining the electric railway service Welj lington and Johnsonville. Among his I enthusiasms were the preservation of Native bush and birds, tree planting, the prevention of river erosion, and the reclamation of sand-drift areas, in all of which he had attained much success. Mr. Field married Miss Isobel Hodgkins, daughter of Mr. H. M. Hodgkins, of Dunedin: Mrs. Field whose sister is Miss Francis : Hodgkins, the celebrated English painter, and who is herself an artist, survives him. There are two daughters, Miss I Field and Mrs. •W. N. Pharazyn, and three sons, Flight Lieutenant G. A. H. ("Peter") Field, D.F.C. and bar, and Mr. Geoffrey Field, and John Field, both of Waikanae.