GIFTS FREELY GIVEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 122, 25 May 1928, Page 7

GIFTS FREELY GIVEN.

-if SPIRIT OF AUCKLAND—CITIZENS WHO REMEMBERED—MANY liberal BEQUESTS.

AMAKI-MAKAU-RAU was the yCTX name given by the old-time Maori to jfc|lCl the isthmus upon which the City ot g|Dg=j Auckland now stands. The meaning is "Tarrmki of a Hundred Lovers,'" KS| and truly the description is a happy one, for public-spirited citizens have Igenerous in their gifts to the Queen ot the North, described by Bishop Selwyn ®4, 0 "Corinth of the South." As originally idiimed, the boundaries of the borough of extended from Tamaki Inlet, on the tto the Whan Portage, on the west, and from fVaiteniata, on the north, to the Manukan, the south. After being subdivided into small boroughs and road boards, AuckJjlCity extends once more from the Whau yjrt to the Taniaki Inlet, with the exception Borough of Newmarket, which is in about freentre of the area. frit for Anckland seems to continue even n-former citizens have gone to other countries. , t otrf>le ihstance was that of J. T. Mackelvie, -u »fter having resided in England for many oft bequeathed to the city a most valuable of antiques and pictures, as well as jpji with which to endow the Art Gallery that name, and which is admitted to be the in the Dominion. Mr. Moss Davis, who has for many years in London, at intervals jjftirds pictures to embellish the Art Gallery. \ Swiss named Ferdinand Barth, who lived in in 1872, and died many years later in git Francisco, left to Auckland a sum that granted to £125 after the American law costs fcdeut it down. That was not a large amount, Irtit was his all.

Gifts by Sir George Grey. gir George Grey's donation of his almost litriegs literary treasures, art collection, and jiori eurios gave the Auckland Public Library I splendid start. It included no less than 15,000 numerous manuscripts, and letters.

Henry Shaw, who died recently in Wellington, fcntod to the Public Library some years ago a Id of rare volumes that were valued at £3000, jli later he added others to the collection.

Edward Costley, a man who had lived very [fcylly, surprised the citizens of Auckland when Imi announced that he had bequeathed £84,700 jj equal shares to the following institutions * Publie Library, Hospital, Sailors' Home, Costley loo* for the Aged and Needy, Boys' Training btitnte, Papatoetoe Orphans' Home, and iieklind Museum.

That valuable institution near Mount fiQjngton, the Home for Incurables, was the ggtetme o£ a bequest of £70,000 by Ellen Knox, ijw, with her husband, was amongst the pioneer lam at Tamaki. Mrs. Knox also bequeathed no nuns to different institutions in the city.

Cornwall Park, consisting' of 236 beautiful nmrronnding One Tree Hill, was the handMgift, while he was still living, of the "Father j jukland," Sir John Logan Campbell, who Bind here in 1839, and was Mayor of Auckland ika the present King visited the city. Sir John |r left £5000 for the erection of an obelisk on fenmmit of One Tree Hill, to be not ltss than Ift high, as a memorial to the Maori race. At .fcdeath Sir John also bequeathed £76,000 to mH public and charitable institutions.

Bequest of James Dilworth.

James Dilworth left property which at the time of his death was valued at £100,000, to build and maintain an institute for boys. As th? estate included a large area at Remuera, which has since been cut up and leased, the value of the estate has greatly increased.

The late Sir Henry Brett gave to the city the fine organ in the Town Hall, at a cost of about £9000. He also bought the Exhibition organ and presented it to the Auckland Choral Society, as it had been built in the Choral Hall. When the Aucb- pland University had the Choral Hall handed over to it, Sir Henry bought the organ a second time and presented it to the Institute for the Blind. He also bequeathed several thousands to charitable institutions in Auckland. John M. McLachlan gave to the city Corawallis Park, an area of 1900 acres, fronting the Manukau Harbour. E. A. Mackechnie. a former member of the City Council, left £2500 for the erection of a gallery for the Auckland Art Society, as well as £2000 to endow a library for the Auckland Institute, and £500 to found a School of Art. Helen Boyd, in addition to other gifts, donated to the city a number of valuable statues for the parks, together with some handsome vases. William Henry Smith and Mrs. Smith presented the Home for Convalescents (valued at £5000) at Russell Crescent, Ellerslie, which is now administered by the Hospital Board. William Arrowsmith left £11,500 for the Orphans' Home at Papatoetoe, and a similar sum for institutions for the caro of women and children. The Elam School of Art was founded with a bequest of £6500 from the late Dr. J. E. Elam. James Leslie bequeathed a large sum of money to erect the orphanage bearing his name at Remuera. Large Presbyterian Gift. David Dingwall left £250,000 (less death duties) for the erection and maintenance of a Presbyterian Orphanage. Humphrey Rawlings bequeathed the sum of £3000, the interest of which is devoted to providing scholarships for the sons of working men. When Mr. Henry Partridge, with the consent of his family, offered his line collection of Maori paintings by Linciauer for the benefit of the Belgian Relief Fund at a price of £10,000, the money was quickly raised locally to purchase it for the Art Gallery. The Jubilee Institute for the Blind in Parnell is another instance of the generosity of the citizens of Auckland. The late John Abbott was active in getting it started, and the late William Mason left £21,000 to the Institute, besides £1000 t'> Leys Institute, and £500 to the Society for the Protection of Women and Children and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. William Leys and Thomson Wilson Leys founded, equipped and endowed the Leys Institute in Ponsonby which was subsequently handed over to the city. Later Dr. Leys donated 20,000 volumes, many of them rare and valuable works. As far back as 1884, Judge T. B. Gillies presented to Auckland University College £3000 for the purpose of founding two science scholarships.

R. H. Abbott gave to the city some land surrounding St. John's I »ke, at Remuera, which has since been increase br purchase to an area of 127 acres.

Henry Atkinson gave an area of 134 acres of beautiful bush at Titirangi, and his son, Mr. H. W. Atkinson, subsequently donated the summit of Mount Atkinson, Titirangi.

Mr. Butterworth bequeathed £500 to the church in which he was married, and £5000 to the Orphans' Home at Manurewa.

The Wolfe Home connected with the Auckland Mental Hospital was started by a bequest from a gentleman of that name.

Mr. James Trounson gave a park named after him, comprising some very fine kauri bush.

Myers Park Presented.

The late Sir Arthur Myers (a former Mayor) gave daring his life time the park bearing his name near the Town Hall, ~ and also equipped it as a playground for children. Sir Arthur also donated the Town Hall clock and the kindergarten which is named after >"*n

Mr. Wesley Spragg, as a memorial to his only son who gave his life in the Great War, donated to the city a park of 761 acres at Huia. Mr. J. M. Mennie erected the fine statue of Robert Burns in the Domain, also the bandstand. He bequeathed a large sum for charitable purposes, and gave the Scots Hall in Symonds Street. Mr. John Court provided the fine fittings for the children's playing area at Victoria Park.

Areas for public reserves were also given by Messrs. A. Sturges, J. Potter, and A. E. Harding. This list of gifts to the city, lengthy as it is, does not cover all donations, for there have been many others for scholastic and charitable purposes, added to which the generosity of the citizens made possible the erection of the fine buildings for the Young Men's Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association. A large amount of the money for building the Veterans' Home was raised locally, and the Auckland Museum, unlike the one at Wellington, was started and maintained without any grant from the Government. Large sums of money were given by citizens to assist in building the War Memorial Museum in the Domain. It was a similar sense of pride in the city that caused a sum of over £11,000 to be donated recently by Mr. Wm. Elliott and a band of business men for the new Winter Gardens in the Domain. The late Mr. Frank Shaw, brother of the late Mr. Henry Shaw, quite recently left an estate valued at about £15,000. Of this £1000 went to the Museum and the balance was divided equally between the Children's Home at Papatoetoe, the Children's Home at Richmond Road, the Order of the Good Shepherd, and the Salvation Army Rescue Home. The People's Bank. Many years ago a few business men started the Auckland Savings Bank with the object of encouraging habits of thrift among the people. By the time it had reached its jubilee, the institution had become a big concern. As there are no shareholders to absorb the profits of the "People's Bank," it has become the custom for the trustees from time to time to make grants to various public and charitable institutions in Auckland. The first grant was the sum of £10,000 towards the fund for erecting the Seddon Memorial Technical College in 1906.

Since then till April of this year the grants made by the trustees have reached the large total of £108,305. Among the grants made were the following:—Knox Home for Incurables, £5000; Sailors' Home, £4000; Auckland University College, £10,000; Karitane Home, £2000; Plunket Society, £5000; Institute for the Blind, £5000; Salvation Army Congress Hall, £2000; Play and Recreation Association, £2000. Grants of varying amounts have been made to various organisations. Those made to the War Memorial Mnseum have now reached the sum of £50,000.