DEATH OF MR " BEN" CRISP.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 201, 3 September 1901, Page 2

DEATH OF MR " BEN " CRISP.

; " Our old h iecd, Mr Ben Crisp " — by which title he has been so "well known and roppected by three generations of 5 Nekonians— passed a ivay about half -past 1 nine last evening, after an illness of a ' little over a fortnight's duration, and T at the advanced age of 93 years. Last Saturday fortnight Mr Crisp sustained a fall, which resulted in an injury to bis ' spine. He was confined to his bed, and for a few days he remained in an unconscious or semi -conscious condition, Some four or five days after the accident he rallied, and it was thought that he ■ would recover. His extreme age, however, was against him, and the improvement was not maintained. He gradually sank until last evening, when he quietly and peacefully passed away in the 9ith year of an honoured and well-spent life. The following particulars of the deceased's career, which appeared in the " Mail " in May, IS9B, were then supplied to the present writer by Mr Crisp, on the occasion of the celebration of his 90th birthday, and their reproduction will be of interest ; — " Most, if not all of our readers, know that ' Ben ' is one of the earliest settlers of Nelson, but all may not be aware that he is in the proud position to claim the distinction of being the oldest colonist | south of the Line. It was in August, 1819, when our present Queen waß only three months old, that Mr Crisp, as a lad of eleven years, left the shores of Old England to seek his fortunes amidst the venturesome and exciting conditions of life in the then little known Britain of the South Seas. At this time the oldest of the Australian colonies were in their infancy, whilst our own favoured colony was known to civiliuation only as the abode of a blood-thirsty race of cannibals - a terra incognita untrodden by the foot of civilised man, save for the occasional visits of whaling crews to a few spots along the coast. It was at Hobarfc Town that Ben Crisp first landed on Australian soil and commenced his present record of nearly eighty years' of colonial life. He was engaged in various occupations, principally as a bullock driver in Tasmania, Adelaide, and Sydney, until 1837, when he came to New Zealand fired with all the vigour and ardour of a young man of 29, and commenced anew in the country which has now been his home for 61 years. For some four or five years ' Ben ' was engaged in whaling, principally near Timaru and the island of Rapiti. Many are the tales of adventure, danger, and hair-breadth escapes that be is able to tell of those old days spent in this hazardous and exciting occupation. '• When the settlement of Nelson was formed he decided to try his luck here, and early in February, 1842, about a week after the landing of the first emigrants, he came over from Wellington in the ship Mary Ann, and threw in his lot with the hardy band of pioneers who were start ing to carve out a home for themselves in the trackless wilderness of fern, flay, and manuka which then flourished on the sif c of our city and country homesteads. As ' Ben ' the bullock driver,' he became a familiar figure in the new settlement. Iv 1843 he joined the Temperance band vrhich had been formed by Mr Alfred Saunders. ' I signed the pledge on Juno Ist, 1843, and I have not had a drink since,' he triumphantly remarked yesterday in the course of a chat with a representative of the ' Mail.' From that time till the present day ' Old Hen ' has been well known as a consistent advocate of Temperance principles. Vox a long tinio he conducted a Band of Uope in N3lsou, and it is with natural pride that he re--1 fersto 'My Band of H< pc boys ' now scattered over all parts of the colony, and \ ' not a few of whom are beginning them- ' selves to look venerable under the grey : hairs of their ' sixties.' Air Crisp was 1 also for many years Superintendent of the Nelson Wesleyan Church. ' Old 1 Ben ' has been, however, perhaps better known to all (and certainly so to the young folks) in connection with the children's treats given by him on the Queen's Birthday year after year, without fail, for something like 50 years. At theso treats all the children of the town were welcome guesfcs, and many of the gatherings were participated jn by upwards of a thousand of the young folks ' Sen ' wa3 never so happy as when he was in the midst of a noisy throng of a rosy and laughing children. lie took an army of 1500 of the children to meet the Duke of Edinburgh when the latter visited Nelson, and a similar number accompanied him when he met Sir Ueorge Grey on one occasion, The treats were kept up till four years ago, since when the infirmities of his advancing years have pre/ented ' Ben ' from continuing the time-honoured custom. Mr Crisp can remember healing, as a boy, of the defeat ot Napoleon at Waterloo, and of seeing in the London shop windows ' Bonaparte's ribs,' this being the name given to a certain? clas§ of sweets manufactured in the form of ribs in commemoration o f "Wellington's great victory." Mr Crisp, until his accident, was remarkably hale for his years, and it is believed that, but for his unfortunate mishap, he might have lived to complete his century. His sight had lately failed considerably, but otherwise he retained the full use of his faculties up till the time of his accident. He had been a member of the Wesleyan Church for the past 57 years, and for the greater portion of that time he was one of the Church Trustees. He leaves a widow and grown-up family, with whom much sympathy is felt in thai* bereavement. The funeral is fixed for to-morrow afternoon, and no dpubt it will be largely attended. T.be flags in fche pity were flying at halkmagt to-day as a mark of respect tc the deceased