100TH BIRTHDAY
MR. JAMES J. COOPER Proud of his English birth tnd resenting any suggestion of being a colonial, although he,has lived for 78 years in New Zealand, Mr. James Joseph Cooper celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. G. Vazey, Onehunga. According to his own estimate he should have been 101 years old on Saturday, but the recent receipt of his birth certificate shows that he was born at Cromer, Norfolk, on August 9, 1841. Mr. Cooper went to see at the age of 13 and after sailing in all parts of the world for nine years he reached Auckland in 1863 in the ship Ironsides, said to be the first iron sailing vessel built in Great Britain. Hearing that the Maori War had broken out, Mr. Cooper swam ashore from the ship one dark night and listed for service. For a period he was engaged in naval vessels on the Waikato River and on the west coast as far south as Wanganui. Obtaining his discharged, Mr. Cooper went to the Otago goldfields, later trying his luck in Westland. In 1873 he returned to Auckland, married, and began fanning at Pakuranga.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20632, 13 August 1941, Page 9
Word Count
198100TH BIRTHDAY Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20632, 13 August 1941, Page 9
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