PERSONAL ITEMS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 December 1924, Page 4

PERSONAL ITEMS.

_Mr G. H. Shute, of Kuripuni Street, Masterton, who is claimed to be the oldest New Zealand-born white man m the Dominion, celebrated his 82nd birthday on Christmas Elve. Mr Shute was born in New Plymouth on December 24, 1842. Although he -was indisposed a few weeks ago,, he was sufficiently recovered to spend a very en lovable Christmas.

The.-death occurred at Wellington on Sunday evening of a well-known Wellington ..resident, Mr. Daniel Drake, in his 84th year. . The late Mr. Drake arrived in Wellington in 1863,- and had resided in the city almost continuously ever since. He was connected with the Thorndon Wesleyan Church since its foundation. Mr. Drake suffered severe injuries in a lorry aecident on Monday afternoon last week.

i Miss Phyllys Atkinson, late" of the literary staff of the King Country Chronicle and the Otorohanga Times has joined the staff of the Waimate Miss Atkinson comes of a well-known newspaper family, her father being proprietor of the Otorohanga Times and her uncle former proprietor of the Taumarunui Press. Miss Atkinson was successful in winning the gold medal for soprano singes in the Auckland province, and is a well-known amateur' actress, having xt tu k? ding l 3arts in most of the North Island amateur operatic productions. 1

lhe death occurred suddenly in bydney last week of Mr. Arthur McCubbin. He was well known in sporting mrcles. He played first-grade .Rugby football with the Manly Club, arid mad represented the metropolis, against New Zealand, and he was cap- °* ~ ,e Maill -V Returned Soldiers’ Cricket Club. He had a fine war reCol ’d. When the war broke out he was chief engineer of a ship in New Zealand waters. He immediately enlisted, and went to. Gallipoli with the Infantry Battalion, N.Z.E.F. He was on Gallipoli until the evacuation, and on his return to JWPt he saw service there. While ™ he aipplied to the Royal Navy for an engineer’s commission, winch, was granted, and, after passing his he joined a de.stnover that subsequently took part in the Battle of Jutland. He served With the na,vy on a mine-sweeper, and attained the rank of senior lieutenantengineer. . Subsequently he went into business in Scotland, returning to Australia from there about 16 months ago.