OBITUARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23072, 24 June 1938, Page 11

OBITUARY

AGED PHILANTHROPIST SIR CHARLES McNESS (Received June 23, 8.48 p.m.) PERTH, June 23 The death has occurred of Sir Charles McNess, one of "Western Australia's most picturesque personalities, and its most noted philanthropist. His benefactions totalled £250,000.

Philanthropy was the hobby for years of Sir Charles McNess. He was born in London in 1853 and went to work as a child, saved his pennies, and at 25 migrated to Australia with a few pounds. In Perth he opened an ironmongery store, which was the foundation of his fortune. Prior to 1931, when ho was knighted, he had given many thousands of pounds to charities in the various Australian States. At one time Sir Charles gave away £7500 within a month. In Brisbane he gave £IOOO to a hospital, and set up a store for a man with a largo family, who had been out of work for months. During one of his visits to London he gave a cheque for £633, which enabled the committee of the lloyal Northern Hospital at Holloway to claim a gift of £35,000 to erect a special block of beds. It was a last-minute win in a race against time. The officials had to collect £35,000 before the dawn of 1929 to claim a similar gift from an anonymous donor. Just before midnight Sir Charles walked into the hospital and promised to make up any deficiency to the amount of £IOOO. He was an entire stranger to the hospital officials, and merely intimated that the gift was the result of a newspaper paragraph.