OBITUARY. (Daily Times, January 23rd.)

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8797, 25 January 1897, Page 3

OBITUARY. (Daily Times, January 23rd.)

The many friends throughout Otago of Mrs Holmes, wife of the Hon. Mathew Holmes, M.L C, will have received with deep regret the intelligence of her death, which occurred at Wellington on Thursday. The deceased lady was a Miss M'Lean, belonging to a branch of the family of which Mr John M'Lean, of ! Redcastle, is a member. As a child, she camo with her parents from Scotland to Tasmania, and in Melbourne was married to Mr Holmes, with whom she afterwards removed to Goelong, whore her husband entered into business as the head of the firm of Holmes, White, and Co. This was at tho time of the gold rush, when most of the trade of the goldfields passed through Geelong. On the memoiable Black Thursday (February 6, 18()4) Mrs Holmes had an experience of a terrible kind. The thermometer on that day stood at 112deg in the .shade, and flames from bush fires were consuming the wholo country round about" Mr Holmes' house, which was itself completely destroyed in the fire, the family losing everything. Mrs Holmes and the whole ot her family, to save themselves, stood for the whole of that day immersed in the waters of a lagoon, and from the effect of that experience the then youngest child subsequently died. Leaving Goelong the family visited Enghnd, and came to Otago in 1864. They settled it Andersons Bay, but Mr and Mrs Holmes were in the habit of spending a portion of their tune also at Awamoa, near Oamaru, and Litteily they lived in Wellington. The dccc isod lady, who was about 77 years of age, took an active part while hvii'g in Dunedin in charitable and philanthiopic movements. She was one of the founders of the Female Refuge, she took a warm mteiest in the Benevolent Institution, and she was one of those who were associated with Miss Dalrymple in the movement for providing the girls of Otago j with the advantages of higher education. Mr Allan Holmes (solicitor, of this city), Mrs George M'Lean (wife of the Hon. G. M'Lean), Mr J. S Holmes (of Awamoa), Mrs J. White (wife of Mr John White, solicitor, of this city), and Mr Stuart Holmes (of Kakanui) are surviving members of the deceased lady's family.