OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 120, 14 February 1929, Page 12

OBITUARY

WELL-KNOWN MASTER MARINER CAPTAIN WALTER MANNING On Tuesday evening , there passed away at his home in Wellington after a prolonged illness, Captain Walter Hanning, at the age of 75 years. He waS’for many years one of the most widely known masters in the service of the Union Steam Ship Company, and retired on December 31, 1918, when well beyond the retiring age. The. late Captain Manning was born in London on May 4, 1854, both his parents dying when he was quite a child.- Adopted by his mother’s sister, 7 he -attended school to the age of thirteen, when he was apprenticed to a London engineering shoi». He served

as ’iipprentice for 3} years and then left-td-gb to sea- with his uncle, Captain William Perry, 3 as apprentice in the -barque, Warren Hastings,, trading between London and Mauritius, in an endeavour to build Up. a delicate constitution. He subsequently joined the Isabella Blythe, .which traded to the East. Indies: and also In . the North Atlanyifr.: These vessels were owned by Messrs Wthe, Green Co - At, 19 yearshot, age Captain Manning joined the Liverpool-owned full-rigged ship, Duke, of Edinburgh. (Captain McInnis), which brought a large number of emigrants to; Wellington. On arrival at Wellington in -1873 the-date Captain Manning, came ashore : and secured an .engagement on the ketch Clematis, • which traded on the New. Zealand coast. A few months latgr.he 'joined the sailing ship Glentpra (Captain Itenaut) bound for 'England. ,-He remained, but a few weeks.in'England, again' coming to New Zealand, this time on the Tyser sailing ..ship ‘Howrah, which arrived in Wellington with a number of emigrants in August, 1874. After a month ashore he went before the mast on the Government , pad®e-wheel steamer Luna, under the late Captain Fairchild. A few months later he went as mate on the ketch Falcon,? and eventually secured a hometrade master’s certificate, and became successively captain of the schooners Otaki and .Shepherdess. Captain Manning joined, the service of the New., Zealand Steam Shipping Company in 1876 as mate of the' steamer Jane Douglas, and afterwards was given command of the steamer. Stormbird. . In’lBBo he passed his examination for a foreign-going master’s certificate, and next.-year on 30 he was ap-pointed-second officer of the‘Union Steam Ship'.Company’s steamer Penguin, which many years afterwards was wrecked near Terawhiti with great loss of life. On September 1, 1882, he was promoted to chief officer of the Waihi, and on’ October 18, 1882, .was"tnade master of that'Steamer. Then for 36 years he was in command of several of the Union Company’s. vessels, Including' the Kanieri, Rosamund, Oreti, Mawhera, Rotorua, Tarawera, Pateena, Takapuna, Mokoia, Waikare,. Rotomahana, Mararoa, and Maori?The Union Company’s Wellington-Lyt-telton “ferry service” started' in 1895 with Captain Manning in command of the first vessel in that service, the Penguin.-.. Afterwards he was master of the Rotomahana for seven years in that run, master of the . Mararoa for seven and a half years, and twice captain of the 1 Maori, first in 1907 and again in . 1913. He was master of the Maori continuously until’his retirement, having served alto--1 gether 23 years continuously in the Wel-lington-Lyttelton service. Altogether he was 37. years in the Union Company’s service,- as mate for one year, and the remaining period as-master. The late Captain Manning never lost a life or a ship and never drew one day’s sick- pay. He was senior master of the Union Company’s service from 1910, and his period of, service as a master for that company constituted a'record. . On his retirement he was given a testimonial by the directors, expressing their entire satisfaction with his. services and regarding him as a most careful navigator, the-company having at all times full confidence in his good judgment and. ability. . He Was the author of two books, “Below gnd Above the Water-line” and “Interned?’ After leaving the sea he oc-‘ casionally contributed articles to the New Zealand-Press. ■' ■ The late . Captain Manning leaves a widow, three sons, Messrs. Walter Manning (Marton), Reginald Manning (Sumatra), William Manning (Wellington), and two daughters, Mrs. 0. A. Cuff (Ash- • burton) and Mrs. J. Mourie (Titoki). The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. to-morrow.

FAMOUS LILY LANGTRY . 'British Official Wireless.) ■ ; ' ' Rugby,. February 12. Lady de Bathe, better known as Lily Langtry,.'famed aS an actress and society .beauty, died to-day at her Monte Carlo 'residence from heart failure, after three weeks’ illness. [ln the . days when she was Lily Langfry, the late Lady de Bathe was the outstanding beauty of her generation.-, .She was born in-1852, and was the daughter of the Rev. W. 0. le Breton, Dean.of Jersey; and was married first to Edward Langtry in 1874 and afterwards to Sir Hugo de Bathe in 1899,(.After. -.being .for. several seasons the belle of London society, she adopted the stage as a profession; and so quick was her rise'to fame that in six years she is said to have accumulated £60,000. She kept up a large racing establishment at Regal Lodge,-Newmarket, under the name of “Mr Jersey,” and.- was the owner of several notable performers, of' which the'chief was the famous Merman. She paid quite a number of visits to the United" States, where she was-exceedingly popular, and for nearly twenty years was a naturalised American citizen.] FOXCROFT (Australian;.'Press. Assn.—United Service.) -’ London, February 12. Ttid death is announced of Captain Charles FoxcfOft, Conservative M.P. for Bath. : ■' . .