PERSONAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14776, 8 March 1910, Page 6

PERSONAL.

Bishop Verdon returned to Dunedin yesterday from his pastoral visit to the south.' Mr Peter Dcwar, a member of tho firm of John Dewar and Sons (Limited), has arrived in Dunedin. _ Mr W. M'Oulloch, manager of the Wellington branch of the Bank of New South Wales, died suddenly vesterday morning. At the offices of T. E. Shiel and Co. on Friday last Miss Vincent, who has been on the typist staff for the .past 10 years, was presented b.y the firm's employees with a handsome silver afternoon tea kettle on the eve of her approaching marriage. . At the meeting of the Methodist Conference ' last night the following appointments to the home mission stations were made:—Nightcaps, W. E. Sleep; Cromwell. W. Watson; Riverton, W. T. Hooper; Falmerstor South, A. Hopper; Winton, C. A. Fostonj Waiau, S. J. Campbell. Mr Matthew Muir, who was well known in .musical circles in Dunedin and Balclutha, has been appointed to the charge of the Labour Exchange at Worcester. .Mr Muir has been for some time past in the service of the Board of Trade. Dr W. A. Fairclough, an old Dunedin boy, came out as surcrcon on the Federal-Houlder-Shirc liner Buteshire. Dr Fairclough has been five years at Home, carrying out post-graduate studies, and has now returned to New Zealand to set up a practice.

Mr and Mrs ITopgood, well-known in Southland business circles, were given a farewell social in the Pukerau Hall oir Friday evening, and presented with a hall barometer. Mr Hopgood was also presented with a silver-mounted set of pipes by the Pukerau Lodge of Oddfellows. Captain Robert Stewart, well and favourably known as one of the Union Company' 6 skippers, has given up " the sea," and is now landlord at. the Club Hotel, Bluffs Captain Stewart, who is an old Dunedin boy, joined the Union Company's service 18 yeans ago, and had command for quite u number of years of many of their passenger steamers, :his name being a, household word m the Cook Strait sorree, where he was exceedingly ■popular wi-.li all classes of tho travelling public.. '

Mr John Owen, yard foreman -for the Railway Department at Lyttelton, is retiring from the service upon superannuation. On Saturday lie was met by representatives of the shipping firms doing business at the Port, and was made the recipient of a handsome silver tea and coffee service as a farewell gift. Mr Owcir has been 35 years in the railway service, and has spent about 20 years of that time at Lyttelton. He has been yard-foreman for the past 12 years. t Sister Annie, who recently resigned her position as deaconess of the Helping Hand Mission, was presented last evening with a beautiful 6 il»er egg-stand as a mark of the appreciation of the telegraph messengers. The Telegraph Messengers' Christian Association was formed a few months ago, and the meetings have been held i; the Batn Street Mission Hall. In a few well-choseir words one of the senior .messengers expressed the congratulations and good wishes of the T.M.C.A. in making the presentation, and wished her Godspeed in the- future. . Sister 'Annie, in reply, made reference to the interest she had in the welfare of the members, and thanked them very heartily for their boautiful gift, which came to her as a very pleasant surprise. The death is reported of Mr Thomas Iratt, who had been closelv identified with lnvcrcargill since 1861. He was born in. Liverpool m 1535, and in 1860 went to Australia, arriving in lnvcrcargill in' 1861 Mr Pratt was a partner with Mr John Hare and Mr Carter in the contract for budding the railway station in 1865. Later ho and Mr Hare and Mr Bull opened out as merchants and importers in Dee street and at Averial. That connection lasted till about 1280. when Mr Pratt became a flourmillcr. .For .the past 12 or 15 years ho was fire-insurance adjuster'for most of. the companies doing business in Invercar-' gill. _ generally giving satisfaction to both parties by his impartiality. -For the first 20 years of" residence in lnvcrcargill the deceased was prominent in public life, having been a' representative of firvci-cargill in the Soutfiland Provincial Couacil and a member of the Executive Government. He took a-prominent -part in establishing the municipality of lirvercargill with Messrs Lumsden, Garthwaite.'Jaggers, and Scandrett. He was a member of the first Borough Council, and became the town's third Mayor. He joined the council later as a member, and it is memo l>!e thathe was brought from a sick-bed about 6 o'clock one morning to vote oir a question that had-kept, the Borough Council sitting from 7.30 the previous evening. -Mrs Pratt predeceased her husband. He leaves four daughters and one son, all of whom have reached adult age.