OBITUARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 86, 13 April 1931, Page 3

OBITUARY.

MR. GILBERT ALAN COLLARD. The death took place recently in Paris of a well-known Auckland journalist, Mr. Gilbert Alan Collard, who was found dead in bed in an hotel in that city. A message to London on February 28 stated that he had arrived at the hotel on Tuesday, and as nothing had been seen of him on Wednesday, the door was opened and he was found to be dead. His passport showed that he had been born in Auckland on February 23, 1899, and a doctor certified that his death was due to natural causes. Mr. Collard was well known in Auckland, as' he was educated at the Auckland Grammar School and at the Auckland University. Later he joined the literary staff of the "Auckland Star," and from this paper he went to the Christchurch "Sun." He was offered, and accejjted, a position on a Brisbane paper, where he did some good work, and contributed regularly to the Red Page, of the Sydney "Bulletin." He was looked upon as a very promising writer of poetry, and in 1924 he decided to try his fortune in London. He quickly obtained a position with the "Daily Express" and had some success with signed articles in that journel. He vacated this position to join the "Morning Post," where he was engaged, among other activities, in doing dramatic criticism, and was.marked for promotion to the position of chief dramatic writer, but as he had always desired to devote himself to literature, he gave up the position. His efforts in fiction had not as yet met with success, but he had signed articles frequently in the "Morning Post," "Daily Express" and "Country Life." Some time ago he went to Greece and wrote articles for the "Daily Express" on the conditions in that country. On the Saturday before his death he again left for Greece by way of Tilbury and Dunkirk, but the message received in London shows that he must have stayed at other places before reaching Paris.