OBITUARY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20443, 2 January 1941, Page 11

OBITUARY

MR. W. C. DUNSTONE 24 YEAR’S IN ONE POST WOOL STORE EMPLOYEE The death occurred this morning at his residence, 512 Ormond road, of Mr. William Charles Dunstone, aged 71, who had been ailing for the past six months. Mr. Dunstone was born in England, and came to New Zealand with his parents as a youth. His father engaged in the flax industry in Taranaki for a time, and after some experience there Mr. Dunstone came to Gisborne. He was employed by the late Mr. J. R. Redstone as a driver in his extensive coaching service, and gained a reputation for reliability under conditions which offered a difficult test. Later he was in the carrying business as an employee of Mr, G. Brocklebank, and 24 years ago .he took a post with the New Zealand Shipping Company, Limited, in its woolstore at the Waikanae Beach. He remained continuously in the com-, pany’s employment since then, his record being one of absolute reliability, punctuality and faithful service. He is survived by Mrs. Dunstone. The funeral will take place to-mor-row, leaving Mr. Dunstone’s late residence at 11 a.m. for the Taruheru cemetery. ARMY VETERAN SERGT.-MAJOR W. T. BURR A veteran of the South African and Great Wars, and also well known as a footmaller, Sergeant-Major W. T. Burr has died in .Wanganui. After service with the Wairoa Light Horse, Sergeant-Major Burr left for South Africa with the first contingent, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in the field. At the end of the war he went to England as one of New Zealand’s representatives, of the Empire. Returning to New Zealand, he served with the Defence Department as a staff sergeant-major for 12 years. When war broke out in 1914, Sergeant-Major Burr rejoined the army, training young officers at’ Trentham and Featherston. camps, where he was recognised as a moat efficient drill instructor. He afterward went pverseas himself.

MR. EDWARD KEON MILLER Advice has been received of the death of Mr. Edward Keon Miller, at the age of 73 years in Sydney. Mr. Miller was born in Auckland, and accompanied his father to the Coromandel during the gold rush there, subsequently coming to Gisborne with Mr. Miller, sen., and other members of the family. He served his time as an apprentice to the late Mr. Fred Hall, and subsequently went to sea for a time. Later he settled in the United States for a year or two, and then joined the rush of gold-seekers for the Australian fields. Since 1880 he had lived in Australia, and he took part in most of the major rushes to, fields In Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. He lost his wife a short time ago’, and since then his health had declined steadily. Mr. Miller was a brother of Messrs. W. Barrington Miller, Harry Miller and Frederick Miller, Gisborne, and of Mrs. W. Duggan, Christchurch. MR. JAMES MCLAUCHLIN

Following a short illness, Mr. James McLaughlin, known in this district as Darcy Kirkford, died on Sunday at the Cook Hospital at the age of 86 years. Mr. McLaughlin was born in Australia, and was unmarried. He had no relatives in New Zealand, and his closest acquaintances were not aware of his family connections in Australia. A man of considerable education, he was of a most retiring nature, and had spent more than 30 years in this district.

He followed a variety of occupations, in which his gifts as a practical worker served him well. Bush contracts and similar work engaged him during his younger years, and he also managed properties fpr several Gisborne settlers from time to. time. His interment took place yesterday at Taruheru cemetery. H.B. COUNTY CHAIRMAN The death of Mr. Charles Cowper Smith, J.P., “Whirinaki,” Bay View, chairman of the Hawke’s Bay County Council, occurred in the Napier Public Hospital on Saturday after a brief illness. He was 65 years of age. Mr. Smith’s death brings to an end a career of local body administration and farming extending over a long period. The late Mr. Smith was the eldest son of the late Hon. W. Cowper Smith, M.L.C., who for many years was member of Parliament for Waipawa, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. Mr. Smith was born in Waipukurau in 1875. CAPTAIN HAROLD PARKER An Auckland message records the death of Captain Harold Parker, aged 53, a well-known coastal master. For the past eight or nine years he had been in command of the Tiri, one of A. G. Frankham,' Limited’s vessels, but recently he had been ashore on sick leave. He was a son of a master mariner who was well-known in the earlier days of Auckland, and he had spent his lifetime at sea as a scowman and rafter, and later as 1 mate and master of various coastal vessels, including the tug Akaroa. He was said to know every corner of the coast from the North Cape to the Bluff. Captain Parker is survived by his widow and two daughters.

A well-known Auckland resident, Mrs. Jane Bowden, has died at the age of 84. She was married in 1873 to the late Mr. Will Bowden, who was one of the best known of Auckland’s cabowners and drivers in those days. Mrs. Bowden was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Howard and came with them to New Zealand from Australia in 1864. Mrs. Bowden had lived in Auckland since 1873, and she is survived by three daughters, 18 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.