MISSED THE TITANIC DISASTER.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 25 June 1912, Page 6

MISSED THE TITANIC DISASTER.

It is not often that a man has occasion to look back with gratitude upon the necessity for submitting himself to a serious surgical operation, followed "by prolonged' confinement to his room. Such, however, is among the privileges of Lord Pirrie. As head of the great shipbuilding firm at Belfast he had in•fcended, in accordance with his custom, to accompany the latest triumph of his workshops on her first voyage across the Atlantic. Also, in accordance with habit, he would have been accompanied liy Lady Pirrie. It fell out that a ■short time before the Titanic started ■on her first and last voyage he was a prisoner in his room, and reluctantly ■abandoned a trip looked forward to with keen expectation. In his place he sent his nephew, Mr Andrews, who' though a comparatively young man, had, by sheer capacity, reached a high position in the management of the colossal business at-Belfast. His loss -is well nigh irreparable to the firm. Beyond that is the sad but mixed rejection that in taking Lord Pirrie's rplace he met with a fate which, had <fche original programme been carried wit, would in all probability have fallen to the lot of his uncle.