OBITUARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13136, 21 November 1904, Page 4 (Supplement)

OBITUARY.

MR JOHN CHUECH. Mr John Church, well known as the secretary for Iho North Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association for over 30 years, passed away quietly at Oamaru on Hie 4th at the advanced age of 84 years. Mr Church was horn in lio.vburglishire. in lfZl, and brought up in the vicinity of Melrose Castle. Our renders will no doubt recall lite fact of his liuviiig on several occasions pubilsned letters in our columns recalling his recollection; as a youth of the figure of Sir Walter Scott. Ho was educated at Edinburgh University, and then fumed his attention to farming;. After Ms Scottish experience lie gained a position in Kngland as manager of some properties. Karlv in 1852 Ms attention, like that, of thousands of others, was attracted to Victoria, where a rush had set in on the discovery of sold, and he made his way to Melbourne with the stream. Ho did not, however, take to gold mining, ana after.spending about a year in Victoria ho decided to proceed to Tasmania, where ho turned his attention to agriculture. After nino years' residence in Tasmania he camo to Dunedin, and, turning his attention to literature, lie became editor of the Bruce Herald, and afterwards edited the Bruce Standard. He afterwards went to Oamaru, where he acted for a timo as locum tcnens editor of the Oamaru Times. Shortly after taking up his residence, in Oamaru Mr Church accepted the position of secretary of the North Otago A. and P. Association, a position which ho occupied with conspicuous ability up to two years ago, when advanced years and failing health caused him to resign. Ho has filled tho positions of secretary to the Oamaru School Committee, auct the Oamaru Hospital Trustees, and was associated with many other organisations in tho northern town.--.. During bis residence in Milton he tpok a' prominent part in tho formation of the Tokonmiriro Farmers' Club. On one occasion his interest in politics led him lo stand for Parliament, hut bis steadfast refusal to canvass or adopt any of the ordinary methods of candidates beyond sneaking on' the platform caused him to be. rejected in favour of tho Hon. T. W. Hislpp. He was a strong advocate, of settlement upon tho land,' and took a keen interest in all matters affecting agriculture, and he was highly respected in Oamaru, as elsewhere, for his energy and care in detail in everything with which ho associated himself. His widow and family havo received' numerous expressions of sympathy in their hour of bereavement.

SIR ROBERT CAMPBELL. Tho ranks of the early settlers have been further thinned by the death, in his ninetyfirst year, of Mr Robert Campbell, Milton House, St. Clair, who. passed away peacefully yesterday. Mr Campbell enjoyed robust health and unimpaired faculties until a few days ago, and he was able to be present and open the Sr. Clair bowling green on 3th October last. Mr Campbell was a native of Rcnton, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, and in his early yea»'s (at about the ago of eight) was apprcntoai to tho business of calico printing. At this business ho was employed for some years, but, trade being bad, he left it, and worked before the mast, making several long voyages and enduring a great deal of hardship and privation. At this period of his life and. afterwards ho kept a voluminous diary, which tho .writer of this notice has been permitted to see, and an extract or two from whioh will give some idea of the type of man ho was. Returning to his native plaeo after a very trying tea voyage, during which his ship encountered very heavy storms and the crow were on tho verge of 'starvation, the diary says:, "Driving to my homo in an omnibus, I met Louis Guthrie, who fold mo that I need not, wander more, as 1 could start at Dalmonach at my own trade. He said he could get mc a job next day if I wished. I accordingly began work on the morrow "—and this after a long voyage, when his life was several times in danger, when ho suffered from severe illness, and when he was very nearly starved. Mr Campbell sailed from Glasgow with his first 'wife (who predeceased him some years ago) in 1348 in the Ajax, and reached Otago HsrUour on the 7th January, 1849. TliD/diary above-mentioned ia full of'-'interestipg' matter bearing on the early $!»•& feuf gpas© fojbida ■ more tJjaa" an

extract .or two relating to tho cubjcctof this notice. Doubtless his experiences in those days represent very largely the oxperi-; enees of most of the Pilgrim Fathers whoso' ranks are now wearing so thin. He built a hous© where Manor placo now is, having to carry tho trees n considerable distance, and the;"rashes" to thatcli with he had to carry from Tomahawk Bcach. After getting settled in his hous® ho accepted employment under Mr Kettle in surveying work,, being paid at the rate of 4s per day— certainly not a princely income, considering that his work todk him long distances from home,- when there were no roads, no bridges, no hotels, and consequently very seldom a, bed to sleep in, and when provisions for long or short trips had to bo carried on'the' back. After a spell of this work Mr Campbell bought a section down tho harbour, built a house,, traded with a boat'to and from Port Chalmers, and at the samo'time set to 'work'to make hima garden and improve his ground. Difficulty after difficulty'faced the pair, but no difficulty daunted them. Without a bed to sleep on, he set to work and made one which tho Rev. Dr Burns highly praised. He had to build a fowlhousc, making supplejacks tako the piaee of netting; to invent and make a churn, which he'did out of a meal barrel and some tin. Ho built a byre, a stable, and other' erections while lis had no sawn timber to work with and very few tools. All the time he was improving his garden and land. Says the dairy: "We worked very hard, night and day. I stayed at homo as much as I could, and 'stuck in,' to get our garden so that we might be able' to grow our own fruit and vegetables. Wc very often worked till nearly midnight." No wonder (as the diary records) that "Dr Burns and Mr Macandrew, after seeing our place, put a very flattering paragraph in the Otago News, saying wo wero the proper people for colonists." etc. It is quite evident from tho foregoing that Mr Campbell was not an eight-hours-a-day man and that Shops and Offices. Acts wero not in his lino. It is surely a fair enough question to ask: Suppose the early settlers had been imbued with present-day notions of limiting tho hours of work to tho utmost, what would havo been the position of their descendants and tho province generally in this year 1904? It is quite evident that hard work is not detrimental to health or responsible for shortening, life. "Wo often worked till nearly midnight," he goes on to say, and we may be quite sure ho did not " go to his office" on the following day at 10 o'clock! After five or six years' residence down tho harbour, Mr Campbell bought some land in tho Kaihiku district, and here, again, the same labour of building, delving, digging, planting, planning, and overcoming had to be gone through. But hard work, plain living, common souse, uud downright grit surmounted all difficulties, and in due time " Glenfalloch," from being a. virgin wilderness, was made to blossom as the rose. If tho writer had it in his power ho would be inclined to take from Mr Campbell's diary a dozen- pages of extracts and incorporate these in the public school reading books. Mr Campbell, with his wife, made two trips to the Home Country, and in 1883 (shortly after returning from the peeond trip) he retired from active lifo as a farmer. He built a residence at St. Clair, where ho lived until his death. This notice may fitly conclude with the last paragraph in the diary: "I think, as- I have now gone 70 years of mv life, I will stop here. If at some future time I take up the pen and add a few lines, wpll and good. Meantime I am in the hands of a wise Providence, and am content to rest there."— Communicated.

Wellington's settlers of the early forties are passing away. Mr Henry Eglinton, of Oriental Bay, whose death occurred on tho 31st ult., arrived at .Wellington, .1 child of three years, in 1841, ill tho ship Slai;is Castle. He afterwards became a farmer at tho Ilutt, where ho lived lor many years. Ho also owned ti shoot) station at Palliser Buy. 'Deceased's father was appointed clerk of the court in Wellington, a position which lie held until his death.—New Zealand Times.

Tho Southland papers record the death 011 the Ist inst. of Mr A. Storie, a well-known resident of Invercargill and district. Mr Stcrie came to New Zealand in the shin Straiiilieldsaye in ISSB, arriving in Port Chalmers at the end of April of that year. He proceeded to Hiverton shortly after his arrival, where he remained for some years, and then removed to Invercargill, where 110 resided up to the timn of his death. He look an active part ill municipal matterr. and church affairs, and during his late years was a keen bowler, 'l'he death is recorded 011 November 4 of 11 r Andrew Hill. 0110 of tho oldest settlers of Owaka Valley. About a month ago ho experienced a para'.ytie stroke, from which ho never rallied. At the time of his deatii he had reached tho ago 0: 84 years.— Clutlia Leader A Pa'.merstcu North wire says:—The death i.-t announced ot Mr It. Murray, lather of the Rev. 1!. ,7. Jiurrav, o[ Chrislclittrcli. Tile daeoiisod had been n resident oi the colony for !he past 55 years, 20 oi which were passed in business in Asliburton and the remainder here, where he was well known and universally esteemed. . ■ The death is 'recorded at Wyndham 011 Sunday evening o! Mr Thomas Littlewort, orio ot tho very oar'.iost residents of Lower Mataura. He arrived in Otago about 1855, and over 40 years ago was the mail carrrier between Invercargill and and afterwards between Clutha Ferry and Mataura. Ho was in the Popotunon district in 1863, and afterwards bought a farm in f!:c Tuturau districl. He was Government valuer for Wyndliuin, Mokorota, and Waikawa districts, and also undertook rate-collecting and similar jobs on behalf of various local bodies.

The death is announced, on the 15th inst., of Mr John Browne, one of tliq oldest residents in Southland. Deceased was for 20 years widely known as a Government assessor, and was at one time interested in pastoral properly unci the timber trade. A Napier telegram reports the death of the Rev. H. W. J. ili'.'cr, Congvcgal loual minister, after a long and painful illness. The deceased, who was 41! years of age, was educated at the Congregational College, Nottingham, and attended Glasgow Univerrity. He was ordained in 1882, and came to the colony owing to illhealth. He was pastor of the Onehunga Congregational Church for 11 years, and in 1693 was chairman of the Congregational Union. The following year lie inaugurated church work in Ji'apier, and' laboured there till 'aid aside by illness. The deceased was a powerful prohibition advocate, and did much to advaiico the temperance cnus; in'his district. At a united meeting of Sunday school teachers, held last evening, the llev. W\ Saunders and Mr J. A. Wilkinson made sympathetic reference to tho death of Mr Miller. A vote of sympathy with tho widow and family was passed. Mr James Blakie, farmer, of Eva' Bush, Southland, who met with a trap accident some 12 months ago, died at his home at Ryal Bush on Saturday. lie was for many years one of Ihe lending exhibitors at Southland shows, and earned considerable distinction as an exhibitor of draught horses and stallions, his name being ft byword in farm houses on account of the numerous prizes he had won. He was also an extensive breeder of sheep and had gained was one of the best kept in the Southland district, and was tho object of much admiration, from visitors to Ryal Bush—Southland Jvows.

Tho Tuapeka Times records the death at Waitahuna road, on the 15th inst., of Mr John Hall, a farmer, who resided in Tuapeka West district since its first settlement. Lieutenant R. H. Porter, the youngest son of Colonel Porter, died at New Brighton, near Christchurch, on November 9, after a lingering, illness. Deceased served in South Africa in the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Contingents, and was specially commended for his gallant rescue of the sergeant of his company at Varmbadt while under fire. The hard life he led in South Africa impaired his constitution, and after suffering from severaPcomplaints he eventually succumbed. He was only 22 years old. Captain W. TVorster, lately in.command of tho steamer Wakanui, who was being treated in a private hospital {or ah internal complaint, died 011 November 13 at Auckland. He was in tho service of the New Zealand Shipping Company for 40 years. Mr Michael Fitzgerald, one of the old Canterbury pioneers, died at his residence, Church street. Timaru. on Thursday, 27th ult. He was in his sixty-fourth year at the time of his decease. Mr Fitzgerald was a native of the parish of Cullon, County Cork, Ireland, and left tho Old Land for the colonies in 1858. Ho first visited the goldfields, and then spent some time in Christchurch and Geraldine, and finally settled in Timaru, starting business as a nurseryman. He did most of tho forestry work for tho Mackenzie County Council and other South Canterbury publio bodies, and tho future forests of those districts were planted under his direction. Ho leaves *a widow, two sons, and four daughters to mourn their less; also two brothers—Mr M. Fitzgerald,- .T.P., Arowhenua, and Mr W. Fitzgerald, Dirrah Farm; Pleasant Point- road.—New Zealand Tablet. - j.