OBITUARY

Evening Star, Issue 18773, 24 October 1924, Page 6

OBITUARY

HR MERT BUGHAHAH. 4 STAR ’ PRINTER FORTY-NINE YEARS. The cause of the half-masting of tho ‘ Evening Star ’ flag to-day was the death of our veteran and ''much-esteemed printer. Mr Gilbert Buchanan. The printer in a newspaper office is the man who has control of the composing room. Mr Buchanan was appointed to that position in 1875. His name appeaVed in the “ imprint ” for the first time on November .15 of that year He succeeded Mr Joseph Drumm. During practically the whole of his life Mr Buchanan enjoyed good health, but in September of last year ho was laid aside with stomach troubles and had to take a rest. He resumed work in January and was at the office dailv till the end of May, when he became weak and had to retire.again, much against his will. From then onwards he never picked up much. The deutii, though not altogether unexpected, came suddenly at the finish. He was about to sit down to tea at a quarter to 6, when ho said he felt a queer feeling coming over him, and he lay down, passing away almost at once from failure of the heart.

At the annual meeting of the ‘Evening Star ’ chapel, held yesterday evening, a letter was sent wishing him a speedy recovery, but before it could be delivered the much-esteemed printer had his final call. The expression of condolence in that letter was in no sense a mere form of words. Mr Buchanan was on terms like those of a family relationship with every member of tho chapel and all the other men in every department. As the printer his outstanding distinction was his Kindliness of heart,' his desire to be personally friendly, and on tho rare occasions when it was necessary in the performance of his duties to enforce his will he did so in the nicest way possible. Nobody ever saw him angry, not oven heard him say an unkind word.

Mr Buchanan was born in Dunedin, in Maclaggan street, on October 5, 1851, the only son and the third child of Mr and Mrs John Buchanan, who came to Otago by the Philip Laing in 1848. He got his first education at Mr Livingstone’s stone school, which stood very near the site of the Standard Insurance Company’s offices; was subsequently at Mr John B. Park’s school in Walker street, and for ono or two terms ho was on the High School roll. As a young man he played with the Albion Cricket Club, and was in the North Dunedin Presbyterian Church choir. Ho first went to the printing trade in the ‘ Colonist ’ office, and joined the ‘ Evening Star ’ employ when the paper was issued from Shaw and Harnett’s office in Manse street. That was some time before the paper was bought by Mr Georgo Bell. When the ‘ Star ’ shifted to Brown’s corner in Stafford street, Mr Buchanan had charge of the jobbing department, and upon Air Drumm’s retirement he became tho printer, as above narrated, in 1875, Air Buchanan married Aliss Margaret Gebbio, who has outlived her husband. Their home for many years lias been at St. Leonards. The family consists of Mrs Alfred Ibhofson, Airs H. Pine! (of Hawera), and three sons—Norman, Leonard, and Ralph, all belonging to Dunedin.