Sixty Years Onward

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 254, 26 October 1940, Page 5

Sixty Years Onward

To tread the path of life together t for 60 years is an experience not given t to many couples, but this has been the e happy privilege of Mr. and Mrs. R. S. i Abraham, highly esteemed residents of 1 Batt Street, Palmerston North, whose ] diamond anniversary of their wedding 1 falls to-morrow. The wedding of sixty t years ago • of Miss M. F. Philson to t Richard S. Abraham was celebrated at j the little church of St. Mary’s, Auck- \ land (now Pro-Catnedral) by tho Von. t Archdeacon Maunsell. The bride was l the third daughter of tho late Dr. T. i M. and Mrs. Pnilson, her father having i como to New Zealand with the 58tfi J Regiment during the Maori wars, sub- ( sequently taking up his residence iu j Auckland carrying on his profession in i that centre for fifty years. There is prooably no more eloquent tribute to a 1 ! life of self-sacrifice than the tablet in 1 the Auckland Hospital to commemorate 1 an. act of devotion to duty when the i doctor isolated himself with a smallpox patient wuoin he brought back to I kealtu. The bridegroom was the tfiird sou of Rev. Canon Thomas Abraham, rector of Risby, and grandson of Lord WeStbury, one time fiord Chancellor of i England, their home being near Bury ; St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where he was born in Juno of 1851. Mr. Abraham 'was educated at Haileybury and Keble | College, Oxford, and was destined for the cnurch but from tales of New Zealand brought by an uncle, Bishop Abraham, first Bishop of Wellington, sprang tho desire to seek his fortune in ’ new lauds aud so he followed au older ; brother to these shores arriving in New Zealand in October, 1871, in the Zealandia. v lt is interesting to recall that Mr. Abraham brought tue first two foxterriers to this country . For the first four years after his arrival he farmed in the rough bush country at Pukekolie with his brother Charles, but prospects did not seem very brignt and he joined the service of the Bank of New Zealand, being stationed in turn at Auckland, Wellington and Masterton, finally being appointed manager at Bulls, where married life began in the old bank building with barred windows, now replaced by a modern structure. One of the liveliest recollections of that period in Bulls, Mr. Abraham told the • 4 Times; ’ ’ was of a violent earthquake which, was preceded by noise suggestive of thousands of demons let loose, and the countryside was rent with many deep fissures. In 1881 Mr. Abraham left the service of the bank and bought out Mr. John Stevens from the firm of Messrs. Stevens and Gorton, removing to Palmerston North to which rising centre they travelled by buggy through standing bush over tracks with potholes that to-day might suggest bomb craters. The railway station was at that time in the middle of the Square. The principal buildings were the Bank of New Zealand, Royal Hotel and Snelson’s Auction Mart. Later Mr. Abraham took over the southern portion of the district and taking Mr. A. Williams, of j Hawke’s Bay, as .his partner established 1 the firm of Abraham and Williams which to-day is still going strong. Truly indeed has Mr. Abraham earned tho right to bo called tho “grand old man in the stock and station business,” for

despite his S 9 years ho is still actively engaged as the chairman of directors, and can claim au intimate connection with the progress of the district, lie has served on every local body and is probably the oldest J.P. in the district. Ho has always been a keen sportsman and lias given liis active assistance to the Manawatu Racing Club over the years, being one of the members behind i the move to Awapuni which has been such an asset to the club. Polo claimed ' his ardent partisanship and the Manawatu A. and P. Association his fullest support. Mr. Abraham was one of tne founders of the Manawatu Club; iu- ; deed, his activities in the march oi. ! progress arc almost too numerous to mention Mrs. Abraham’s interests have been bound up iu her home, ner family aud her garden but she lias been a keen horsewoman iu her clay and musically | inclined as her parents before her. 1 Mr. and Mrs. Abrauam made their first home in Palmerston North in Paid Road adjacent to that of tho late Mr. Lionel Abrafiam, where they lived lor twenty years. They tuen bougnt 17 acres of busnianu at Tnitea wmeu was soon transformed with a line house and I well-laid out grounds where they remained for some 18 years. Mrs. Abraham was essentially a iiome-maner and a keen gardener ana * 4 Tiritcu / was j the scene, oi many iiappy social gather- | ings, the marriages oi three of the daughters taking place from there. Mr. • Abraham pays ms wito the graceful . compliment of stating that throughout their married life his home has always been graced by beautiful flowers sue has grown. “Tiritea” was eventually sold to Mr. Percy McHardy who in turn sold to Massey College Council and the old home has been divided to provide a residence for Professor Peron and offices, the main coliege building now standing on the old site, but the driveway bordered with bulbs in springtime remains a monument to the planning of these home-makers. “Risby,” the present home in Batt Street, has the gracious setting one would expect with its fine old trees and gay garden beds, i its sunken garden anu lawns, and here members of the family will gather tomorrow to offer felicitations on the occasion of the sixty year milestone. I Of a family of seven, two sons, Messrs, j H. E. and R. P. Abraham passed away some years ago, also the eldest daugil- j ter, Mrs. Francis Hewitt, the surviving members being Miss Ethel Abraham and Mrs. A. N. Barraud, of Palmerston North, Mrs. J. R. L. Stanford (Marton) and Mrs. L. A. P. Slier riff (Taihape). • There aro 23 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and Mr. aud Mrs. Abraham aro proud to be able to claim that ten grandsons have enlisted for overseas service. The good wishes of the citizens will i go to Mr. aud Mrs. Abraham wit.h not a little pride that these two’ fine > pioneers enjoy excellent health.