UNUSUAL LIFE STORY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 24 October 1941, Page 4

UNUSUAL LIFE STORY

DEATH OF WELLINGTON WOMAN £26,500 IN BANK NOTES FOUND IN' ROOM The unusual life story of a little old woman, well known to many Wellingt'.n residents because of her adherence to fashions and customs of many years y ago and who siarted life with nothing and amassed a fortune which may *• j amount to more than £IOO.OOO. was - brought to light when the police broke . into the home of Mrs Alice Merry, widow, at 72 Cambridge Terrace, on Wednesday, and found her dead in bed. ! In the single front room used by her as ’ t< bedroom sittingroom was found G £26.500 in bank-notes. Born in Truro, Cornwall, England, [j 83 years ago Mrs Merry came to New Zealand at an early age and lived c thereafter in Wellington. Before her , marriage she was Miss Alice Powell. She and her husband were in business y in Courtenay Place, he as a bootmaker t i nd she as a dressmaker, in premises y now occupied by and adjoining that of the France Sports Depot. Mr - Merry died in September, 1924, and the only child, a son, died the followa ing year. The only surviving relatives known o ne the families of Mrs Merry's bron ther, Mr J. J. K. Powell, formerly a contractor and coal merchant, Wcly lington, and two sisters, Mrs Mary Woods and Mrs Elizabeth Rae. They s are: Mrs Leslie Laurenson, Notting--1 ham street, Karori; Mrs James Fox, The Parade, Island Bay; Mrs Albert e McDougall , Wilton road, Northland; r Mrs Alice Jones. Holloway road, j* Mitchelltown; Mr B. Pow-ell, Endea- ' vour street. Lyall Bay; Mr P. Powell, 1 Daniell street, Newtown: Messrs Robert, Percy, and Jack Woods, believed to be living in the Taranaki province, and Mr R. Rae, Wellington. RELATIVES AMAZED e None was more amazed than the d j relatives at the announcement of the d discovery of such a huge sum in bank e notes. Probably nobody was more ’ s closely associated with Mrs Merry ff than Mrs Fox, who assisted with her e account books. L "We were all amazed to hear she | bad so much money in her room. Cer. c tainly none of us was aware of it, *M though I knew r she had several hune Jared pounds with her at times,” said s I Mrs Fox. She added that Mrs Merry had been a particularly smart busii nt-sse wpman. but lived a very secluded life, and nobody knew much about her >s j affairs. y Mrs Merry was a substantial proL ' perty holder in Wellington, owning 45 , residences and shops, all freehold. She l was known not to buy a new property ,J till her previous purchase was cleared e of debt. In addition, she had an uno ] specified sum in bonds. Both she and n her husband invested the savings from ,v their respective businesses in property. Since the death of her husband and only son, Mrs Merry had collected all , rentals herself, this being her sole 1 ’ occupation, e e WELL-KNOWN FIGURE d Dressed conspicuously in a style rei-! miniscent of the Victorian or early Edwardian era, Mrs Merry was a striking and well-known figure in the city. She was frequently in the puba lie eye between 1929 and 1934 because of a course of litigation extending over those years between her and the Public Trustee. Mrs Merry alleged that the ° Public Trustee, in administering the j estate of her husband, had obtained insufficient rentals, for 12 or 13 years, 0 for three of the 19 properties in the estate. The case went from the Supreme ’ [ Court to the Court of Appeal, the judg- _ ment of which was regarded as a parc tial victory for both sides. Within the last year Mrs Merry appeared per- _ 1 sonally in the Magistrates’ Court to _ conduct a tenancy case in respect of one of her properties, o The notes found in the house were r taken into custody by the police, pre:t sumably till their new ownership is - 1 established. Under the Reserve Bank i, of New Zealand Act bank-notes issued - by the private hanks are good for 4<l 1, years from the time of the assumption of liability by the Reserve Bank in d 1934. Reserve bank notes are good for approximately 40 years from their n date of issue it n SEARCH FOR WILL Though the relatives believe a will if had been made, none had been discovs ered up to yesterday. One of the relatives said that for reasons that might well be understood, none of the relatives had pressed Mrs Merry on the quc_ 4 ion of a w ill. She had always remarked to them. "You will be all right.” Her habit of keeping her business to herself was shown only a few years ago, when during a serious illness, the relatives visited her. but to none did she disclose anything concerning her financial position. The last relative to see her alive was Mrs Fox. Or 9th October Mrs Merry told Mr# Fox she would coir.’ and see her during the weekend, but illness prevented her. That she realised her end was near was reflected by a parting remark to _ a friend recently: -Toa. will pray for