PERSONAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 June 1931, Page 4

PERSONAL.

Mr Percy Crisp, formerly editor of the Auckland Sun, has been appointed to the editorial staff of the Daily Express, London. Mr Crisp, is a son of Mr E, G. 'Crisp and brother of Mr E. S. Crisp, of Levin.

Elected by a majority of 620 votes Mr Harold Vivian Ward, assistant.supervisor of the telegraph delivery branch at Wellington, will succeed on the P. and T. Appeal Board, Mr J. D. Burns, of Christchurch, who did not seek re-election.

Prior to the commencement of business at the annual meeting of the Le-vin-Waiopehu Tramping Club last evening, the Chairman (Mr N. M. Thomson) referred to the loss sustained by the death of Mr Eod. McDonald, one of the oldest members of the club. All present stood in silence while a vote of sympathy with the family of the deceased was passed.

Events in the earliest history of the Manawatu district are recalled by the death at Waotu, near Putaruru, of Mr William George Barnett, whose living descendants number over 200. ihe death of Mr Barnett at the age of 91 years has ended a most active and industrious career. As a child of two years, he came to New Zealand with his parents in the barque Clifton, which arrived at Wellington. His mother is stated to have been the first white woman to enter the Manawatu district. The vessel in which the family made the passage up the coast from Wellington was stranded temporarily at Foxton Heads, and they were obliged to make a landing from open boats. The family settled on the banks of the Manawatu River, in the vicinity of Moutoa. There Mr Barnett grew from boyhood to manhood. He became an expert at handling large canoes on the Manawatu River, and his services were much in demand. He brought the very first families of settlers to Palmerston North. Subsequently Mr Barnett settled in Foxton and lived there for many years before proceeding to the Opiki district. After farming there, he went to the northern Waikato to make his home and lived there until' his death. Mr Barnett is survived by a family of eleven children. There are 80 grandchildren and 116 great-grandchildren, all of whom live in the North.