OBITUARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 172, 22 July 1924, Page 6

OBITUARY.

MR. THOMAS HENDERSON. WELL-KNOWN SHIPPING AGENT. A KEEN SPORTSMAN. The death of Mr. Thomas Henderson, which occurred last night, removes a gentleman ranking amongst those who saw Auckland grow froii a comparatively small town to a big city, as ho was born here in 1849. In the intervening 73 years the greater part of the progress of the city has taken place. His father, the Hon. Thomas Henderson, was head of the well-known firm of Henderson and Macfarlane, general merchants and shipping agents, established in 1842, also proprietors of the celebrated sailing ships known as the Circular Saw Line. The house flag was a circular saw, chosen because the firm also had sawmills at Henderson. As a matter of fact the township of Henderson is named after the father of deceased. In the early days the Hon. Thomas Hender- j son acquired 27,000 acres of land running | back from the waterfront at Henderson, well into the Waitakpre Ranges. on which was a lot of very valuable kauri bush. The firm had built for it in Auckland many of the vessels of the Circular Saw Line, which ultimately ran to Australia, Polynesia, America, and Great Britain. One celebrated barque, the Novelty, was built by the late Mr. Henry Niccol. and launched in Mechanics Bay, just in front of where the Swan (now Strand) Hotel stands. Other crack liners of the firm were the Alice Cameron, Kate Bredalbane, Sir George fJroy, Neva, and Thomas W. Howe. The barques were real clippers, and frequently made the. voyage from Sydney to Auckland in seven to eight days. On one occasion the Kate Brcdalbane made the run across in live, days twenty hours, and a little later the Alice. Canierou did the trip in a little over six days. Later the firm owned the steamers Claude Hamilton, Phoebe and Lord Ashley. When the Union S.S. Company was formed Messrs Henderson and Macfarlane were appointed agents at Auckland. Mr. Thomas Henderson, jun., received his primary education in Auckland, but went to Sydney to complete'his studies. He returned to Auckland in the barque Novelty in the sixties, and in 1875, when the Union S.S. Company, opened a branch here, Mr. Henderson was api pointed manager. In 18S9 he was transferred to Hobart to act iis the Tasmanian representative of that company. Afterwards he was for a time acting manager of the branch at Melbourne, but in 1004 failing health necessitated his resignation, and he returned to Ilia native town to recuperate. After a complete rest, Mr. Henderson started business in Auckland as a- shipping agent, which he continued until quite recently, when his health again broke down. Mr. Henderson was for a number of years a member of the Auckland Harbour Board. In his younger days he was a good all-round athlete, and was one of the first to organise football clubs in Auckland, aiding also in the introduction of interprovincial matches. He I was a great lover of the sea and took I great interest in the annual regattas in Auckland, being for a long time on the committee of management. He was one of the founders of the Rowing Club, as far back as iSt>4-o, and was a keerl yachtsman, having owned the two famous boats the Rita and the Volunteer. Mr. Henderson had numerous friends in this city, afc lie was a man of genial nature, courteous and obliging to all. To the last Mr. Henderson was very keenly interested in the progress of the city in which he was born. Possessed of a wonderful memory, he was often sought by those who wished to learn facts about the early days. Auckland owes a good deal to the Henderson family. In the early sixties, when the second and third Waikato Kegiments were being enlisted in Melbourne, by Colonel Pitt, the Hon. Thomas Henderson guaranteed the New Zealand Government to the extent of £40,000, for which he subsequently received the thanks of Parliament. Sportsmen owe to the Hon. Thomas Henderson the introduction of pheasants, as he brought the first birds liberated here from China. The death of Mr. Thomas Henderson severs a link with the early days of this city.