DEATH OF MR. CLEMENT WINTER

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1745, 16 August 1905, Page 43

DEATH OF MR. CLEMENT WINTER

The news of the sudden death of Mr Clement Winter, New Zealand inspector for the Bank of Australasia, came as a shock to a large section of the community in Wellington on Monday morning. It was known that Mr Winter had been a sufferer from asthma for many years, but no one had any conception that his case was so serious, least of all the deceased himself. About two years ago he left on a trip to England, where he underwent treatment for catarrh and asthma, and on his return via America he stayed for a time at Los Angeles in California. The deceased had only been back a year last March, and during that time had enjoyed better health than before he undertook the ocean voyage. Indeed, so lightly did he regard his condition that he did not think it necessary to consult a medical man until Saturday last. His extremity did not become apparent until Sunday evening, when he suddenly became much worse, and died a little before midnight, before the doctor arrived. As it turned out, death was caused from heart failure, not the ailment he had become familiar with. Mr Winter, who was the son of the late Mr Thomas Bassell Winter, a West India merchant, was bona in British Guiana (South America) in 1846, and received his early education at a private school in Canada. He arrived in New Zealand in 1857 by the ship Cossipore, which called at Wellington, and proceeded to Lyttelton. He completed his scholastic course at Christ’s College, and then entered the service of the Bank of Australasia in Christchurch as a junior in March, 1864. After filling positions at Christchurch, Greymouth, and Auckland, he was

transferred to Melbourne in 1877, and was promoted to be accountant at Sydney two years later. In 1883 he acted as manager for some time during the long illness of the manager. Subsequently he was appointed actinginspector at Sydney, New South Wales, and after nine years spent in Australia returned to New Zealand as manager at Christchurch, where he had commenced work as a youth. Two years later he was sent for to act as manager at Melbourne during the absence in Europe of the then manager. In September, 1890, he returned once more to the colony as Dunedin manager, and on the death of Mr E. W. Morrah, in February, 1894, Mr Winter was appointed to the position he held with honour up till the time of his decease. He leaves a widow (who was the daughter of the late Mr R. H. Willis, formerly Collector of Customs at Launceston, Tasmania), but no family. The deceased gentleman had a quiet and extremely courteous disposition, and for his acknowledged ability and sterling integrity was greatly esteemed and respected by banking people throughout Australasia. He had two brothers — sheep farmers — residing at Poverty Bay, and another brother, Mr C B. Winter, was in the service of the Bank of Australasia in Napier and Christchurch, and before he retired on a pension recently was manager at Adelaide. The deceased would have been entitled to a pension in a little more than twelve months.