Oldest Christ’s College Old Boy

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31740, 25 July 1968, Page 15

Oldest Christ’s College Old Boy

The oldest living old boy of Christ’s College, Mr Herbert Anderson Williams, will celebrate his ninetyfifth birthday today.

Mr Williams, who has been living at Averill House for the last 13 months, attended the college from 1882 to 1888. He will celebrate his birthday today at Averill House, and one of his daughters has prepared a birthday cake with 95 candles. Mr Williams's mother was the second white girl bom in Canterbury, having missed being the first by only the week, but his father was bora in England, one of a family of seven. His grandfather, grandmother and their family came to Canterbury in the Randolph, one of the First Four Ships, but his grandfather died only two or three days after landing in New Zealand, Mt Williams said. His father joined the Lands and Survey Department in Christchurch and worked for the department for 41 years until his death. He was chief draughtsman for many yean and was also receiver of land revenues.

The parents of Mr Williams’s mother, Mr and Mrs Gebbie, came to New Zealand in the Aurora in 1841. They landed at Petone and travelled by yawl from Wellington to Port Levy, the trip taking 12 days. They lived in Riccarton. Mr Williams attended a private school in Christchurch run by a Mrs Barnett before going to Christ’s College at the age of eight years and a half. After leaving college, Mr Williams spent four years working for an insurance company before going farming in Taranaki with his cousin, David Gebbie.

Mr Williams married Miss Alice Morrison in 1896, and soon afterwards started work as a stock agent. He remained in the stock and

station agency business for the rest of his working life. Mr and Mrs Williams had three daughters and a son. None of the daughters married, and one, Miss Edith Williams, has been matron of both the Limes Hospital and St George’s Hospital. Mr Williams retired in 1934 and gave up driving his car the same year. He had started driving in 1912, having previously travelled about his territory in the North Island on horseback.

After he retired he gave all his time to caring for his wife, who died in 1941. Mr Williams then stayed with relatives in the Bay of Islands for several months before returning to Christchurch, where he has remained ever since.

Mr Williams enjoys having "The Press” read to him each day, and one of his great regrets is that his sight no longer permits him to read for himself. However, he is very interested in good music and enjoys listening to it on the radio. Until about three years ago he was a very keen gardener.

Mr Williams still takes a deep interest in stock and station affairs, and says the prices of stock today never fail to interest him. A cow that would have been worth $6 when he started in the stock and station business was now worth $BO, he said. Apart from the change in the value of money, this was because of the greatly increased market now available to producers.