LATE MR. J. S. SQUIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 144, 17 June 1918, Page 4

LATE MR. J. S. SQUIRE

Mr John Simpson. Squire,'who passed away on the 14th in-st after & long illness, was the son of William Squire and was born at Brentor, near Tavistock, Devonshire, where his father farmed' on the borders of Dartmoor, and was noted a? the some ; of the finest Devon cattle that reached the West of England'markets. An old world quainrt.ness revealed' J in the circumstance that a right of- moorland pasturage attaching to the farm was/ derived from ! the service of assisting, the. Crown to keep down wolves on the. adjacent Royal Forest of Dartmoor, a duty, howevei:, which the tenants had not been called on to perform for' at least five hundred' years. . Although* his prospects in the Old- Country were good, MiSquire (accompanied 'by his brother Edwin, who died ■in Canterbury some years ago) decided to try his fortunes in New Zealand, and' in 1868 sailed' for Nelson in the barque Ballnrat. She was a leaky old "vesseh of a type only too frequent in the Zealand trade of those days,, and was compelled, a few davs after leaving London, to return to a Channel port for repairs,,.which occupied three weeks.- The. voyage was then resumed, 11 -and Nelson reached some four | months later. / - • •- .

Tt is a coincidence that Mr Squire on visiting "England four years ago, returned in a vessel named the Ballarat, a ten thousand ton- modern steamer of tliß P .and O. Line.

I On landing in Nelson, Mr Squire enpaged in farm work for a - time in the j Waimeas, proceeding later to' 'Collingwood. whither In? was attracted by the gold-diggings, and he continued! his connection with that district up to the time of his death, following the avocation of a miner, contractor, and farm.v. - , and' ultimately settling down on his farm at Tukurua, Golden Bay. Mr Squire served for a time oil" the Collingwood County Council, and was always assiduous in 'promoting the industries of his district, being especially confident of the future success w> bo achieved by the iron industry in the locality 6f Parapara. To visitors Mr Squire extended' a coi'dial hospitality, and. like most Devonshire men, he totained a strong impress of his t ative county, and he also had a rich store of information relating to customs, legends, * and superstitions of the Dartmoor district. He loaves a tyo daughters (Mrs J". Duncan and Mrs iA 1 . Peters, four sons (Messrs William, Arthur, Ernest, and Everlcy Squire, the last-named being in hospital in England through wounds received in France , alfo a number of granchildren. and one great-grandchild. The l'ifneral, which took place at the New Cemetery, Stoke, yesterday afternoon, was. very largely attended, tho pall-bearers being Messrs 1 T. A. Eipld, IVf.T., .W. Rogers, O. Burford, 'C. P. Palmer, K Small bone, and-E. Thorn-* son. The Rev. W. Wills (Methodist) officiated at the graveside.