LONG LIFE ENDED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20650, 23 August 1930, Page 12

LONG LIFE ENDED.

DEATH OF MR. G. COZENS.

ADVENTURES IN EARLY DAYS. VARIED AND ACTIVE; CAREER. A life which was marked by action nnd advcrlturo in earlier days came to a close with the death yesterday of Mr. George Cozens, of 5, Staffa Street, Parnell, at the ago of 92. Born nt Launceston, Tasmania, in 1838, Mr. Cozens left for England with his parents at the age of nine years. When the ship Jane Francis, on which the family was travelling, was a few days out from Hobart, water ran short, owing to rats gnawing through the pipes leading from the tanks, and the master, Captain W. Crosby, was compelled to put into Auckland to replenish (he supply. The voyage to England occupied five months. After receiving an education in Kent and Norfolk, (he boy developed a deep love of the sea, and at the age of 12 he joined a vessel trading in the Mediterranean at the time of the insurrection in Sicily. A brief visit (o London enabled him to witness the funeral of the Duke of Wellington. Strangely enough, he then became articled as an apprentice on the Jane Francis, on which he Iliad made the voyage to England as a passenger. On this ship ho then made several voyages between England and Australia, In lattfl' years Mr. Cozens' work took him frequently to the Marshall, Caroline and Yapp Groups in the Pacific, where ho was employed on numerous occasions in connection with (lie winding up of estates, an occupation which was not altogether immune from dangers in the lawless regions of the South Seas. Once, while in his tent, he was shot at by an islander, evidently owing to the fact that he had seized the person of a chief for appropriating a boat for which he had not paid. This was not the only occasion on which his life was threatened. During the first gold rush Mr. Cozens was on the Thames field, and he was also at Gabriel's Gully, lie engaged in various kinds of employment in the South Island, including six months in the Postal Department at Hokitika. lie was at one time owner of the cutler Lapwing, trading to Fiji. Later he was articled to Messrs. Button and Ileid, then a well-known firm of solicitors. For 15 years ho was a customs-house agent in Auckland, retiring about 17 years ago. Many years ago Mr. Cozens took a prominent part in public life. He had the distinction of being one of the first members of the now defunct Parnell Borough Council, and he served on the Auckland Harbour Board. Ho was a keen supporter of various outdoor sports, being well known as a yachtsman and acting as treasurer for a number of years of the Auckland Tennis and Bowling Clubs. Mr. Cozens is survived by his wife and family.