OBITUARY.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2951, 5 January 1912, Page 5

OBITUARY.

—n —■♦ MR ROBERT LEE. Very sincere regret was felt through out the Wakatipu district on Saturday, J ;oth December, when the news became'known that Mr Robert Lee of "Threepwo >d," ke Hayes, had passe.l away. The late Mr L, *® had be ' n in a F ecarious stati i of health fa, J3J * ime f ° d biß u CoDd i' ' ion gave hU fr ■ ,se for much anxl et 7The end, bo*J* er ' Came 'omewhat ;suddenly on the date mentioned. A general break-up in health, brou S ht aboi »' t'y» strenuous commercial career, was mainly instrumental in cutting .wort a life wl nch had been full of usefulness and of signal. service to many important concerns ic, the Dooxnniou, including several ill tbe WakaThe late Mr Lee was born in Tb reepwood Hall, Barrony of Laugley, j Northumberland, England, on the 21st July, 1849. He came out to New Zealand in February, 1881, for several yean, prior to which he carried on farming and min-j ing in the district of which he was a native, i His father, it may be mentioned, -was one j I of the three men who started the 1 ton colliery in the north of Englaud. On j bis arrival ifl Otago, Mr Lee took up land at Taieri and Otago Peninsula, which was fanned under bis direction for a number of years. In 1890 he turned nis intention to L'jiningtgain wheu, bringing his ripened experience to bear, he was the means of openiu 7 up the Castle Hill Coal Mine near Kaitanga*tt. Subsequently—in 1897—he was sent Hon* on a very important mission, nanr-ely, tbe notation into one company of the Kaitangata, Orepuki, and Castle L£il3 mi.**,, which he very satisfactorily accomplished. In 1902 the late Mr Lee was appointed managing directorof the concern no w knowu as the N.Z. Coal and Oil Compa. w, a position that was at tinws beset with i U*ny difficulties, which, however, by reas *»n of his mature knowledge, he invariably surmounted. Deceased was one of the fo U > viers of one of the Dominion's largest b v»neta coucems, namely, the N.Z. Expivs. i Co. He was also a director of this Coinpa »5 up till the last. He held many other directorships m mining companies, mcluc W amongst them, it is interesting tarelat *, being that of the Sew Hoy Big Beach D redgmg Co., of which deceased was one < i «*>e founders. Ihe

late Mr Lee also held l;<rge interests in dredging on the Molyneux and in the Waikalbi district as well occupying important positions in connection with several of same. He was a director of many of these 1 companies during the days of the boom, i Deceased had great faith in the Shotover . as a gold-producing field, as evidence of j which he put a good deal of capital into both quartz mining and sluicing. ■ t His efforts in the former were con--1 fined mainly to the opening out of 1 the old Achilles mine, where he intro- [ duced the first aerial tramway in the . district. Howevc, the prosecution of , work in this property had unfortunately to be abandoned some years ago. He was more successful in his sluicing ventures. ' A more recent enterprise was in connection vvi tli scheelite mining at the Head of Lake Wakatipu where in conjunction with Mr , Geo. Reid he was the means of putting this industry on a good sound footing and thus giving a tilio to trade never before known in the history of this district It nuy be mentioned that the late Mr Lee took an important part in the formation of the Ferry Company which run a service l>etween Andersons Bty and Dunedin.and about 15 years ago. after the company went into liquidation, he conducted the "business himself. His latest enterprises were, firstly, the acquirement for his son, Leo, a little over twelve months ago, of the prettily-sitnated farm at Lake Hayes, formerly owned by Mr R. McDowall, and now named " Threepwood," after his old home ; secondly, the carrying out of probably the largest private irrigation scheme in the Dominion in connection with the same property. The litter was completed only about a week before his death so that in respect of this the lute Mr Lee was, unfortunately, not spared to see the fruits of a scheme which he so dearly cherished. All these and many other enterprises I earned for Mr Lee worthy repute not ; tiaae in Otago and Southlaud, but throughI out the Dominion. The Wakatipu disi 'Driot fW very largely indebted to the de!csa»ed gentleman for the valuable &nd! Jaatting service he has rendered it t #*d commercially. Therefore 1: -(faniriae w,|U »be .severely felt in the direct- b .Generally speakiug, Mr Lee . Tsuoeesaful iu iis business transacSJJ* 1 *! ''if *&*«wd judgment, trained intellec'tiuli "•****' upniglrtuess, and perteuectiui c r w fa hw ftß t()ok personal ace «V of modern him far forw. »»life to be «ut short civilisation. ±»™ A loss w y ch this at 62 years is, w '""♦. . ~ ,- :- I ". .', „ . »o»{inon generally can district and the i "?r T • . ' ,• •li a- j tu i», %\t Lee took up his ill afford. The late wir *** „, • ••£ j:„ permanent residence ii/ «J » ±TJ»' Iricr, mainly for the benefit J bfam,, » health, aboiit seven years *g°, the greater portion of this time being 'Pf" 1 »" Q mem ; town. Here, a« elsewhere, J»e was much respected bv all creeds and classea. Asa mark <>f respect, for the iu wiorjr « deceased the Hags in town were' flown »*> half-mist on Saturday and SnWy last. The services in St. Peter's Chtirc.\«W Sunday were memorial in character, tpe fovev. H. Vacke, Vicar, in his sermon, payin'g.jwe following high tribute to the sternng/ character <tf deceived gentleman and tv*(: valuable services rendered by him to tbtf Church:

"The veil lias been lifted, after 17 weeks patient suffering, fo - our brother in ChristRobert Lea. You will not rind one iu this district—rmy more, you will not find one wherever he was known, and he had a wide circle of friends throughout the Dominion and in th»< Old Country—you will not find one who i/ill not bear witness to the goodness of him who is gone, and who did not respect him He walked uprightly,worked righteous ness, did good, and spoke the truth fro. i\ his heart. He was a great leader bee ause ho had not only profound knowledge i but also great goodness. No one ereics ime to him without being benefitted, no c ne spoke to him without .feeling he was adt Iressing one of God's nobility. Those who had to deal with him knew that he had a sfc '-ong will, but it was governed by right rea son. He would listen to others but he also . listened to his own conscience. And now he reits from his labours .*nd his works do foil ow him. It was the law which God give, it is the last blessing that He utters ** i nter now thy work is over, into thy rest.' - ' To each of U3 he whi. ipers to-day—Hera i : s thy work; the great garden of the earth to be tilled j the great vinej r ard of the earth to be tended, and its fr aits rendered, and its waste places cleai'edWork as he *rorl "ed, in honest integrity, tall death release, thet ' : then shalt thou ha\ r e earned, thus pnly cans't thou obtain, thus only cans't thou et "joy thy rest. For the idle, for the useless, for the self-indulgent, tliere is no place in heaven. If the noble character of him win Leader has called from the turmoil of th e world's machinery lias no other lesson—- take home this one questi6n " Are my wot ks ; good works, or bad works, or no work»." For most assuredly your works? sfca 11 follow you and the/ shall be made manifest in that day whan the fire shall try man's work of whtt sort it is." A.t the conclusion of the seiwice " 0 Best in the Lord " was played hydJhe organist.

'{The genuine sy ropitby of the people of the Wakatipu di itrict is expressed for Mrs Lee and ber far a ily of three sons and one <ia«£fater in the ir loss of a loving husband juxfcfcther. Tbe family, who are all grown up,-t»»nsisU of Mr. 0. A. Lee, who was last week,appc .in*' id engineer to the Bluff Harbour Boa rd jMr Robert Lee, who succeeded hi i father as manager of the Coal aodCilC orapany ; Mr Leo Lee, at whose residence deceased passed away, and Miss Mary Le> j. It will be remembered that some foo r years ago Mr Lee lost his "Ides* s< m, WiLliam, in an heroic attempt to save the lives of some miners during an explosion at tl is Kaitangata Coal mine.

Tbefu neral took place on Sunday last when tl le remains were conveyed from " Tbreep wood" to their last resting place in tbe Que anstowu cemetery. Besides the relatives there were present, among others, at , the graveside Mr R. A. Anderson, manager of J. G. Ward and Co., Invercargill, Mr Owen, manager of the N.Z. Express Co. , Mr 0. E. Lockhart, secretary of the E*«ti ngatu Company and Mr W. Indcr, solicitor, Gore. The Rev. H. Packe conducted ui e service at the grave.

Asa. "token of the respect in which the late Mr i'iee was held by the employees in the F k aitangata Coal mine, a beautiful wreat Ji has been placed by thorn on the gravi i of their late master.