PERSONAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 218, 3 June 1918, Page 4

PERSONAL ITEMS

H . Their Excellencies tho Ctovernor : General and the Countess of Liverpool, who have been at Kotorua for the past fortnight, will arrive in.Auckland to-day and take. up their residence at Government House. The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, who, with Mr: Skeat, Commissioner of Crown Lauds, and Mr. Thompson, Ciiief Drainage Engineer, is touring the YVaikato, visited' the soldiers' settlements Temaro. .Ho received deputations, to whom he promised an outlet road. On Saturday the party went to Eotorua, and they will return to Hamilton to-day. The Minister will open the Waikato Winter Show to-mor-row.

Private advice has been received in Greyinoutli of the death of Mr. James Galbraith, formerly manager of _ tho Paparoa Coal Company. He died recently in a sanatorium in England after his return from tho front.

The death is reported from New Plymouth of Mr. Joseph Mackay, who for « number of years was headmaster of Wellington College. After being in charge of Nelson College for many years. Mr. Mackay became headmaster of Wellington College, a position ho held for seventeen years, when no was succeeded by Mr. J. T>. Firth. On leaving Wellington Mr. Mackay took a farm at Stratford, where lie lived up to tho time of his death. White in Taranalci Mr. Mnckav took an active part in public affairs, and at different times was chairman of various local bodies. He leaves a wife, four sons, and one daugMer. Tim sous aro: Mr. C. Mackay, Mayor of Wangamii; Mr. "Frank Mackay, who'is farming at Stratford: Mr. •'. Mackay. farmer. Canterbury; and Mr. P. Mnckny, of the Defence Department, Wellington. The daughter is Miss Mackay, of Now Vumouth.

The Rev. ,T. W. Bnrton. who has iust returned to Christchurch niter an absenco of several years, has spent most of his ministry in foreign missionary work. For nine years lie laboured amongst tho Hindus in Fiji, and then visited India in order to study the problem of Hindu immigration at its source. Ho is now organising secretary for Methodist Foreign Missions in Victoria and Melbourne.

A Press Association telegram from Nelson states' that the City Council has apnoiuted Mr. Litllejohu (who at present holds the position) city engineer. Ikcro were twenty-seven applicants.

Captain White-Parsons, harbourmaster at Napier, has been appointed lieu-tenant-commander of the Royal Naval Eeserve, with seniority as from the beginning of this year. Captain Parsons, who is still at tho command of the Admiralty, has been serving with the Navy during the present war.

Mr. A. H. Holmes, Registrar of the Sucreme Court. Christchurch, and formerly of Wellington, lias received the following official account of the deed which secured for his'son'the Military Cross:—"Second Lieutenant C. H. Holmes, infantry, led his platoon with great gallantry and dash against strongly-wired and defended positions. He crashed through tho wiro ahead of his platoon, and when held up by machine-gun fire he consolidated the position he h;jd won, his courago and cheerfulness beinj a splendid example to all rauks." Second Lieutenant Holmes left Zealand with the 12th Nelson Reinforcements, a;>l was the sole surviving officer of his regiment in tho Passchendaele operation on October 12, 1017.

i Another old Wellington identity has died in the person of Mr. Enoch I'onks. who died at his residence, Webb Street, on Friday night, after a long illness, at the advanced agp of 79 years. The lato Mr. Tonks was a native of Staffordshire, England, and camo out to Now Zealand with his parents in the ship Birman, arriving in Wellington in 1842. It was then that tho brickmaking business was established which has been carried On by Iho family ever since. Tho lato Mr. Tonks was the father of fifteen children, of whom ten are living:—Mr. W. Tonks, head of tho firm-; Mr. Frank Tonks, contractor, New Plymouth; Mr. Edward Tonks, of Messrs. 'Tonks and Andrews, contractors; Mr. Henry Tonks, hlaeksmith, Wellington; Mr. Horaco Tonks, painter, Wellington; Mrs. B. Fauvcl, wifo of Mr. F. Fauvel, of Messrs. Duthio and Co.'s slaff; Mrs. Chisholiu, wife of Mr. F. Chisholiu, Assistant Postmaster. 'Wellington; Miss Nellie Tonks; Mrs. Carr, wife of Mr. J. W. Carr, of the A.M.P. Society; and Mrs. Edwards, wifo ofiMr. Geo. Edwards (Messis. Edwards and Co., haidwaro merchants), Palmor.-ton North. t Tho ; Wellington branch of (lie New /calami Educational -Institute, at its meeting on Friday evening, on the motion of Mr. A. M'Kenzie (president), agreed lo forward a letter of condolence to Mr. J. Costin Webb on the loss of his son on active service.

Tim friends of Mr. Arthur E. Stokes, of Mangawhita, will regret to learn of his death, which look place oti Friday night at a public hospital after a very brief illness. Tin; deceased, who kavos ■a wife and yoiiiii; family of three uhildrou. was onl.v Wi years of age, and was a very popular resident of Mangawhita, where ho was engaged in farming.

Mr. F. M. Drewitt, Chriotchurch, has received advice that his son, Captain IT. Drewitt, flight commander, lioyal Flying Corps, was awarded the Military '!ross on April 12 for carrying out specially valunblo reconnaissance work during Uio recent heavy fighting. Cuptaiii Drewitl, who is 23 venrs of age, is an ex-pupil of tho Auckland Flying School. The liev. A. .1. Seamer, chaplain to the New Zealand Forces, who has been wounded on the AVestern front, iwas minister at St. Kilda (Dunedin) Methodist Church- for four years. He was previously working among the Natives in the North Island, and was later stationed at Petone. Ho joined the Eighth K-einforcemenls as a private, but .was invalided home from Egypt. He underwent a serious operation at Dunedin Hospital, and eventually sailed again as chaplain with the Twenty-third Reinforcements. His wife and two children aro residing in Wellington. The death occurred on Wednesday morning of Mr. Alex. Lazaretle, a resident of Foxtou district for many years. Deceased lived in tho Cautorbuiv province before coming to Fox I mi. l\o leaves ft son (Mr. J. Luzarette, Nelson) and two daughters (Mrs. Sturrock. New Brighton, and the other a resident of Sumuer). 11. S. Turtill, killed in Franco about April 11, was a well-known figure on tun football field in New Zealand for a number of years. He was a Canterbury player and filled. tho position of fullIjuck. Turtill represented the Canterbury province.on eighteen occasions, and was alto a New Zealand representative in l!)l)j. In addition ho twice played for the Suuth Island against the North, when the fixture usually formed ' the basis of a trial match for a probable New Zealand team. He also look a keen interest in the management of the gamo, being an official of his club, and was a member of tho Management Committee of the Canterbury Kubgy Union, in which position he did good work. When the proiessional All Black team loft here to tour England, Turtill joined it. He did not return, settling down in Lancashire, where lie set up in business and. played-football there for a number of years. His play under the League Code in England was very highly snoken of by critics.

Tho death on Friday, at Pleasant Valley, Goodwood, of Mr. George Sloan marks tho passitg of a pioneer colonist. Mr. Sloan, who 'was in his eighty-eighth year, was born in Castle Douglas, Scotlaud. Ho took to a seafaring life at an early age, and for ten years was engaged o'i skips trading to all parts of tho world. Ho arrived in Australia in 1851. and took part in tho Adelaide gold rush, and was mining in Victoria. After a visit to his home, lie sailed for Canada, and took up land (10 miles north of Toronto, where lie farmed for eight years. He came to New Zealand in IhCG. shortly afterwards taking up land near Goodwood, where he has since resided.- In 1855, while on a visit to Scotland, he was married to Miss Armstrong, but e'ic died eight years later, leaving two sous and one daughter.

Mr.'James Harvey, a well-known InvcrcargiU solicitor, died on Thursday (report*; the "Southland Times"), at the age of 82 years. The deceased was born at Edinburgh in May, 18311, and was educated at Circus Place High School and University of Edinburgh. He afterwards studied law in Edinburgh, and after passing .his examination came to New Zealand. On his arrival in tho Dominion ho was admitted to practice in 18(il by Chief Justice Sir George Arney, and followed his profession in Auckland until .1 uly, 18112, when he removed to Southland. A month later he founded iu Invercargill the business firm which was so long and honourably known, and from which he retired only a few years ago. Mr. Harvey, who was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was at oiu time Provincial Solicitor of the province of Southland. He also took a keen interest in tho volunteers, and was the first commanding officer of the first company formed iu the Southland district. Mr. Alan E. L. Chorlton,' 0.8. E., has been appointed Assistant Controller of the Department of Aircraft Production in England to deal with the supply and production of aero-engines, excluding Rolls-Royce engines..

Captain Colbeck, who has decided to retire from tho executive of the Farmers' Union, was presented by the Auckland provincial members at the annual reunion with a gold watch. The-president (Mr. A. A. Ross), in making tho presentation, stated ihat no man had done more for the interests of farmers in the province than Captain Colbeck, and members sincerely regretted that he had decided to retire.

Constable F. Bourko, who for four years has been in the Auckland District I'olice Oflicc, was made a presentation by his comrades of a travelling bag, umbrella, and mounted hairbrush, ou the eve of his departure on transfer to- tho district office al Invereargill.