REMARKABLE LIFE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22723, 8 May 1937, Page 15

REMARKABLE LIFE

MES. M. A. HILLS , 102 NEXT WEDNESDAY VIEWS ON MODERN GIRL SOME SEVERE COMMENTS To have lived under six British Sovereigns is the distinction enjoyed by Mrs. M. A. Hills, of' Upper Queen Street, Onehunga, who will celebrate her 102 nd birthday next Wednesday. Born in Kent in 1835, when William IV; was King, Mrs. Hills has seen the currents of life diverted into channels undreamed of in her youth. Since then, tho stage coach has been superseded by the railway, the motor-car and the aeroplane; tallow dips by electric light, and the China tea clipper by the ocean liner.

Mrs. Hills knew Auckland in 1855, when it was but a humble hamlet, when Queen Street was a dirty clay track with never a footpath, lit on moonless nights by half a dozen sickly kerosene lamps, and a verandah was a curiosity. Not a telegraph post existed from the North Cape to Bluff, and the cable service was unknown. An Early Auckland Bakery In such conditions did Mrs. Hills first see Auckland, when as a bride she arrived with her husband by the ship Merchantman. Governor Gore-Browne was a fellow-passenger. Tho ship anchored in the harbour and the passengers were landed in boats at a small jetty at the foot of Shortiand Crescent. A baker by trade, Mr. Hills commenced business in Official Bay and Mrs. Hills recalls that his prospects were anything but promising, as most of tho settlers living in the few scattered cottages and raupo whares baked their own bread. However, the young couple, by dint of hard work, long hours, frugality and determination, gradually increased their sales and made ends meet. Having baked his bread, Mr. Hills trudged the muddy tracks through fern and tea-tree carrying his loaves from house to house in a tray on his head. As trade increased he moved into a shop at the intersection of Durham and Queen Streets, and in three years lost his all by being burned out. Nothing daunted, the _ young colonists commenced anew in Karangahape Road, opening another bakery business on the site where the Bank of New Zealand : stands to-day. Maori War and Trade

Then the Maori War broke out and, Mr. and Mrs. Hills drove such a thriving trade and were so fortunate in their investments that in a few years Mr. Hills was able to retire. For health reasons he went to live, at Qnehunga, where he died 35 years ago, and where Mrs. Hills has since resided with her family.

Although her sight does not permit Mrs. Hills any longer to read the Herald, she has been a continuous subscriber since the date of its first publication 73 years ago, and to the old Southern Cross, eight years before that —a record that has probably been seldom equalled. When seen yesterday, Mrs. Hills appeared younger than many persons of 85 or 90, and as she walked to the porch by the doorway to be, photo-' graphed, ' someone jokingly remarked that when her picture appeared in the Herald all the young gallants would be chasing her. With a beaming; smile, she smartly retorted: " Indeed, I could get plenty of them vet if I wanted to." Her health and intellectual faculties are even better than when she celebrated her cfentenary. Her natural shrewdness for business shows no sign of abatement, for she still controls her housekeeping expenses, checking her cash with meticulous care to the last penny. She rises daily about 11 a.m. and retires at night with the rest of the family. She is still fond of her meals and enjoys- a full share of whatever is placed before her. " Dieting," she said, " never troubled me. I enjoy everything that is on my plate." Her hearing is not materially impaired and although she has fears of failing eyesight, she was able yesterday* nevertheless, to name all the different colours in a shawl worn by one of her visitors. Her son-in-law, Mr* W. T. Court, takes her for an occasional drive and she is sufficiently alert to recognise and name the different localities and landmarks in and around the city." The Cigarette Habit Chatting about .the social changes that have taken place -since she was a girl, Mrs, Hills was very severe on the modern young women. "The pleasureloving young people of to-day," she said, " with their late hours, late suppers and unhealthy habits of living, are helping to fill the hospitals." Asked what she thought of -the cigarette habit, she flashed indignantly, "Fast hussies! They never did that in my time. Our mothers would never have allowed it." " The powdered and painted girls of to-dav," she went on, " will never have clear complexions.". Proudly patting her cheek, she clinched the argument, " Look at mine," she said. The old ladv recalled how the early .villagers used to climb a tea-tree slope, now known as Wellesley Street, by holding on to the scrub and pulling themselves through the mire, or by jumping from clump to olump to avoid sinking to the knees in. mud and slush. Mrs. Hills is the mother of 16 children, seven of whom are living, the eldest being in her 80th year. There are 17 grandchildren, 16 great-grand-children and twp great-great-grand-children. A reunion of her descendants will take place on Wednesday, when the birthday cake will be decorated with flags instead of candles, in honour of the Coronation. The flags, numbering 102, will be the national ensigns of all the Dominions in the British Empire. Mrs. Hills, who is jf%t!y prpud of her great age, having an inward sense of satisfaction that shehas lived a useful life, is looking forward with pleasant expectation to enjoying a happy birthday.