OBITUARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22612, 28 December 1936, Page 12

OBITUARY

MR. W. CUTTEN SUCCESSFUL ENGINEER EARLY OTAGO FAMILY The late Mr. William Henry Cutten, of London, who died on Christmas Day at the residence of his brother, Mr. L. C Cutten, at Takapima, was the fourth son of the late Mr. W. H. Cutten, of Dunedin. He was horn on December 23, 18-37, when his father was Commissioner of Waste Lands under the Otago Provincial Government, and the proprietor of the Otago Witness. He had thus just completed his 79th year. Mr. Cutten was educated at the Otago Boys' High School and later went to London and became a student at Gower's College, one of the engineering colleges attached to the London University. While at Gower's he invented a speedometer, but when steps were taken to have it patented it was found that the same tiling had been patented only a few days before. His engineering bent had shown itself early, when he and his brothers built a bicycle in the early "seventies," the wheels bavin" tangent spokes. '1 his principle was patented in England long afterwards, and is now almost universally used lor wire wheels. . , On returning to New Zealand in the late "seventies" he and his brother commenced business as manufacturing engineers in Dunedin under the name of "Cutten Brothers. In 1886 the manufacturing side was dropped and the firm carried on as consulting and ing engineers. Their specialty was gold dredging, and the firm was the first to | apply an elevator at the tail of a ! dredge, an improvement without which I dredging would have been very limited j in its application. The 1889 gold dredgi ing boom in Otago so extended the i firm's business that eventually dredges i were being supplied from New Zealand ! to South America, Africa, Burma and ; Siberia. _ . : The firm in 1903 moved to London, ! where it introduced dredging machin- ! cry for tin, the Siamese Dredging Comi pany bein" the first and one of the . most successful of these companies. I During the war this class of business | came almost to a standstill And the I staff mostly wont to the war. Mr. Cut- : ten first of all took a position in the Woolwich Arsenal and later accepted i an appointment as shore inspector for I the Navy. After the war the business ! was carried on until about eight years S ago, when the two brothers who conI ducted it retired and left the business i to some members of the stafi. In his younger days Mr. Cutten was an amateur cycling champion of New Zealand, a position he held against all competitors until he was defeated by his vounger brother. Mr. Frank A. Cutten." who in turn held the championship until he retired from racing. About two ! years ago Mr. Cutten came to New Zealand from London and stayed with his brother, Mr. E. C. Cutten. He was ! never well enough to permit of his rei turn to England, where his wife and two children had remained.

MR. FRANK SUMMERS The death occurred yesterday at his residence in Meadowbank Iload, Kenuiera. of .Air. Frank Summers, a veteran of the Zulu War. at the ajie of 78. He was in the detachment of the Army Service Corps that went with a column to the relief of the Third _ Buffs Regiment. These men, under Lieut.-Colonel Pearson, were hemmed in by the Zulus at Ktsliowe from January, 1879, to the latter end of April, and they suffered great privations from want of food and clothing, but especially from want of food. When the Army Service Corps men arrived with provisions they were rushed by the hungry garrison, -and Mr. Summers used to recall that one of the cases bearing, like the others, the mark of the Deptford Victualling Yard, when hurriedly burst open was found to contain not biscuits, but; newspapers addressed to men engaged in the Crimean War of 1554. mers wits later with the Ist King's Dragoon Guards and the Seventeenth Lancers, when they marched hurriedly to lsandhlwana, where it fell to their lot to bury the dead of the 2-1 til Regiment, who had been killed practically to a man by the Zulus exactly three months previously. The men were lying as they foil, for the greater part in fours, back to back. Some hundreds of British soldiers were killed in this disaster. Mr. Summers, who was a retired farmer, is survived by his wife.

MR. WILLIAM CLARK The death has occurred of Mr. William Clark, who was a well-known resident of the Pukeoware district for many years. He was the second son ol the late Mr. and Mrs. W. Clark, of Northern Wairoa. and was born at Wliakahara in 1874. At the age of 27 In? moved to Auckland and carried on :.i business in Eden Terrace for a few years. In 190SJ he went to settle near Waiuku, and had been fanning successfully at Pukeoware for the past 2"> years. Mr. Clark held a number of public ofliccs in the district. Ho was chairman of the school committee for many years, and president of the Franklin Hockey Association. At th<> time of his death he was vice-president of the local tennis and croquet clubs and vice-president of the Pukeoware Sports Club, which he helped to found and always continued to support. Ho is survived by Mrs. Clark, two sons and two daughters. There aro four grandchildren. MR. A. THOMSON [BY TELEGRATHt —OWN CORRESPONDENT] DUXEDIX, Saturday One of the Dominion's best-known breeders of Clydesdale horses, Mr. A. Thomson, of Kelso, died suddenly at his home yesterday, aged 55 years. Stock bred by Mr. Thomson enjoyed a high reputation, and was eagerly sought by New Zealand and Australian buvers.

MR. JAMES GOW [by telkgrafu—own correspondent] DUXEDIN, Saturday A prominent figure for many years in local government at Taicri and in agricultural and pastoral administration, Mr. James Gow, of Wingatui, died on Thursday, aged 80 years. Mr. Gow was born in the Taicri County in IS AG. He was educated at the district school and the Otago Boys' High School, and later took up farming. He was a prominent member of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society, which lie joined on its establishment, and was keenly interested in its growth and development. He was a member and a former chairman of the Taicri County Council, and was also for a long period a steward of the Duncdin Jockcv Club.

MR. JAMES EDGAR [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] DUXEDIN, Sunday A resident of Otago for more than 60 years, Mr. James Edgar, died on Saturday, aged 80 years. Ho was a prominent figure in insurance circles, and for more than 2S years he was general manager of the Victoria Insurance Company. Mr. Edgar was well known as a bowler, ami was also prominent in other forms of sport. He served for a long period as deacon of Knox Church.