OBITUARY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 39, 14 August 1909, Page 5

OBITUARY.

MR. SAMUEL BROWN. Mr. Samuel Brown, who has been identified with the public life of Wellington, and, indeed, of New Zealand, for very many years, died at his residence, Hanson-street, at 1.15 this morning. For somd time past he hafl been suffering from an internal trouble, but his end was unexpected. Deceased, who was 64 years of age, was a native of Ireland, and came to New Zealand in 1862. In those days the facilities for travelling which are now provided did not exist, and he and eleven others started to walk from Dunedin to Invercargill. Only three of them reached their destination ; the others turned back. Mr. Brown was one of those who won through, and he started in the Southern town as a contractor, in which, capacity he erected Messrs. Hallenstein and Cos. first business premises in New Zealand. He was only quite a young man afc that time, but he was vigorous and progressive, and after a couple of years at Invercargill he came to Wellington and started the wood and coal business, which at the present day, under the title of Messrs. S. Brown and Sons, Ltd., is one of the biggest private enterprises of its kind in' New Zealand. His sphere of activity, however, was not confined to wood and coal. He was at one time running a timber and flax business at Foxton, with the aid of a small steamer, called the Piaka, and he also went in largely for contracting. He constructed the Paekakariki section of the Welling-ton-Manawatu Railway, laid down the first line of tramways in Wellington (the old steam service), carried out big tunnelling contracts on the Midland and Westland Railway*., built the old Wellington destructor (a big innovation in those days), and erected the first portion of the Wellington gasworks. He also erected the first lighthouse m Cape Farewell. In addition to the various businesses with which he was associated, Mr. Brown always took a keen interest in public affairs. He filled the high position of Mayor of the city in 1887 and 1888, and was one of the promoters and first president of the Wellington Industrial Association, and subsequently the first president of the New Zealand Industrial Association. As president of tile Wellington Industrial Association, he took a prominent part in connection with the Wellington Industrial Exhibition of 1896. Technicnl education was with him almost a hobby, and it was to a large extent due to his energy and initiative that the Wellington Technical School received a substantial grant from the Industrial Association. For the past eight or nine years, Mr. Brown was the employers' representative' on the Arbitration Court, and in that capacity he was always credited with a strong desire to act fairly in the interests of both sides to a dispute. Combined with keen business instincts, he had an innate faculty of getting at the rpot of an industrial trouble, and his views on such matters were always listened to with respect, and received the fullest consideration. He was a prominent member of the Masonic Order, and one of the oldest members of the Wellington Bowling Club, although of late years his duties in connection with the Arbitration Court had not allowed him 1 to identify himself with such matters. He leaves a widow* and a family, consisting of Messrs. Stanley S. Brown, W. R. Brown, A. E. Brown, and J. A. S. Brown, and one daughter, Mrs. O'Shea, wife of Mr. J. O'Shea, city solicitor. The flag at the Town Hall was flown half-mast to-day as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased citizen, and the various branches of the municipal business were closed. The funeral will leave the late residence of the deceased, in Hanson-street, for the Sydney-street cemetery, at 2.30 to-morrow afternoon. MR. SAMUEL HORDERN. By Telegraph. — Press Association. — Copyright. SYDNEY, 13th August. The death occurred to-day of Mr. Samuel Hordern, principal of the firm of Anthony Hordern and Sons, merchants. Deceased, who was sixty years of age, had been ailing for some time, though death came unexpectedly. Deceased was a son of the late Anthony Hordern, founder of the firm. On the death of his elder brother, he became sole proprietor of the business. Mr. Hordern was a keen sportsman. He was for some time commodore of the Prince Alfred Yacht Club, and after figuring "prominently on the turf, established the well-known stud farm of Wilton Park, in New South Wales.