90 YEARS OLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 225, 23 September 1938, Page 13

90 YEARS OLD.

HAS LIVED HERE FOR 85.

WELL-KNOWN BUSINESS MAN. With the exception of a bout of ouinsv Mr. J. W. Bridgman, of 187, St. Andrew's Roa<J, Mount Roskill, who will ,-ek-biatc his ninetieth birthday on Wed.ie«duy next, has passed his whole life free fi.-m illness. Spry, a keen student .f human affaire, and in full possession of all Ms faculties, Mr. Bridgman attributes his longevity to the fact that h« neither smokes nor drinks. He has been n.arried for 63 years, and Mrs. PrL'gnan is now 86 years old. Once familiar to Aucklanders as the proprietor of a flourishing groj'jrv store at the corner of Valley Road and Dominion Road, Air. Bridgman l.a* bcrn living in retirement since 1914, a*id lias found sufficient work to ki.-ep him occupied in and around his h iu«e and garden. It was in 18.>3, when lie was five vtars of age. that he arrived in Auckland wi'.h his father, John Bridgman. hi> mother and five brothers and sisters. Tliey had left Truro, Cornwall, where Bridgman senior had been in the drapery busiress. It was the intention of the family to settle in Sydney, and in the sai!ing"«l;ip Resolution they arrived in the New iV.outli Wales capital after a voyage during which the ship was nearly wrecked. Unimpressed by Sydney, the family stayed there only 11 months before coming on to Auckland in the brigantine Marmora. In this vessel, too, driving before a gale around the north of New Zealand, one dawn broke to find them almost ashore on one of the Three Kings. It was a narrow escape. First Plate-glass Windows. Shortly after his arrival in Auckland the elder Bridgman opened a drapery shop in Shortland Street, a few doors above the "Star" Office, and, incidentally, he was the proud owner of the first plate-glass windows in the city. "In those days they used to drive cattle through the streets," said Mr. Bridgman to-day. "My father had in his shop some yams as a gift from Norfolk Island. These attracted the attention of a bullock in a mob being driven past, and the animal went into the shop to explore. On his way out he,smashed the plate-glass window"

There we>-e only about 0000 people in Auckland in those days, and Mr. Bridgman recalls with amusement that it was his habit to bathe and fish in what is now Fort Street. The town was in a state of continual alarm owing to the hostility of the Maoris, and soldiers from Albert Park barracks were a common sight in the streets. In the harbour, too. there were always two or three men-of-war. Each year the men from tlieae ships held a great day when there were competitions, races and "greasy pole" events.

Mr. Bridgman went to school first of all at the establishment of !\lr. Stables, where St. Andrew's Hall now stands. From there he went to the Lysnar Brothers' school at the bottom of Parnell hill, in the vicinitv of Stanley Street. The family lived over the shop in Shortland Street, but, owing to the fear instilled in Mr. Bridgman's mother by the sound of the fire bells, they went to live at Orakei Bay, Mr. J. W. Bridgman attending the Anglican Grammar School at Parnell. which was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Kinder. Milked 45 Cows by Hand. Though ambitious to enter the Lands Department, Mr. Bridgman had to take what was offering, and entered the grocery trade in the employ of Mr. John Morrin, the biggest provision merchant in the town, whose premises occupied the area at the corner of Durham and Queen Streets. It was his ambition, however, to buy a farm, and, at the age of 22, he and some of his brothers took up land at Te Awamutn, which, in those days, was considered to be in the wilds. After farming there for a time, Mr. Bridgman went to Grahamstown to the goldfields, and then on to Tauranga, where he entered the employ of a storekeeper. After a brief stay he came back to Auckland, whore he took positions in the grocery trade at Parnell, and later in Eden Terrace. He married Miss Elizabeth Cicely Burton, a member of a very old Auckland family. It was then that his brother, who was managing the farm at Te Awamutu, wanted to go to Raglan, and Mr. Bridgman and his wife took over the farm, which they sold at the end of five vears.

Mr. Bridgman then bought Te Awamutu's first store and ran it for ten years before he lost practically everything in the fire that swept the township in 1887. After this blow he took a position on a farm, milking 45 cows by hand for four years. He sold his house in Te Awamutu, and with the proceeds he started business in Dominion Road in 1806. From a monthly turnover of £25. by dint of hard work, he built it Tip to a turnover of from £700 to £800 a month and sold out in the week that war was declared in August, 1014.

Mr. Bridgman is an artist of ability, and many of the pictures that adorn his home have been painted by him. A deeply religious man, he was a foundation "member of the Epsom Methodist Church, and has been a Sunday school teacher for 57 .years, being a superintendent for a long period. Despite his ninety years, Mr. Bridgman takes a keener interest in the political situation internationally than most of the younger generation, and can discuss intelligently the latest moves in Europe. Ten years ago, when threatened with blindness, he learned word for word the verses of many hymns which he considered would sustain him if he lost his sight. His eyes are to-day, however, strong enough for ordinary reading in a good lisbt.

His philosophy of life may be summed up in his phrase, "Look after yourself, lead a clean life and keep mentally alert."

j COMPULSION URGED. j . j SWIMMING FOB CHILDREN. j (P.y Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday, j A comprehensive survey of the swira- | ming facilities throughout the Dominion was discussed by the SchoolCommittee's Association Conference today, and it reaffirmed that swimming should be made a compulsory subject for all physically fit children, and that the Government's attention should be drawn to the inadequate and dangerous facilities in use. j It was decided to hold next year's i conference in Auckland.