A LUCKY MAN.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 February 1925, Page 7

A LUCKY MAN.

MELBOURNE MILLIONS

ROMANCE OF EARLY DAYS

One .hundred years ago Captain Howey, skipper of one of the sailing ships which carried our earliest pioneers from. Britain, purchased a block of land in Melbourne for £l2O. The other day a descendant arrived in Melbourne from Berkshire, England, on the liner Sierra to inherit the property which at a conservative estimate is now valued at £1,500,000.

When originally acquired the block was portion of a wild held within easy distance of a creek running into the Yarra Yarra River.

Apparently the hardy ancient mariner of a century ago did not lack foresight. The creek to-day is known as Elizabeth Street, cine of Melbourne's leading thoroughfares. The paddock is a substantial block of palatial buildings bordered by Swanstoii, Collins. Elizabeth and Bourke Streets. THE HOWEY ESTATE. And the prize plum of the paddock is the Howey estate —better known as Stewart Dawson’s corner, which faces Ui* Town Hall on one side, and has a fioutage to Collins Street on the other. In recent years this property has increased so greatly in value that it is now regarded as one of the most valuable city sites south of the equator. Tragedy and romance are blended in its early history. Shortly after making the original purchase" Captain Howey, with his wife and seven children, were drowned when the vessel in which they were travelling for a trip home foundered in the Pacific —almost within sight of Sydney Heads. tithe; heeds a secret. The title deeds concerning the inheritance were claimed and kept a close secret for many years. •What time Howey succeeded Howey and struggled to maintain families in their native Berkshire unaware that an estate and fortune left them by their nautical relative lay unclaimed in faraway Australia. It" was not until one member of the family decided to try his luck at the diggings that the secret was disclosed and the Howeys came into their own. MILITARY MAN. 1 Unlike his ancestor, the present millionaire owner of the estate. Captain ,J. E. Howey, is a military man. During the war he was one of Britain’s most daring flying aces in France and a hussar who hunted the Turks and Arabs at Mesopotamia. He is also a racing motorist of note, having recently won the world’s record for sixteen miles at Brooklands, U.S.A.. against all-comers. He accomplished the journey at the rate of 117 J miles an hour with a flying start. After a brief visit Captain Howey who is accompanied by his wife and brother, is returning to his native Berkshire.