OBITUARY. MR ALEXANDER AYSON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2173, 17 October 1895, Page 17

OBITUARY. MR ALE XANDER AYSON.

Mr Alexander Ajsou, who died on the evening of the 7th at the r« sidcnoe of his poo, *.t Wyudhanj, ?8 another of the old settlers whohis been called to his rest, having reached the age of four score jean, and cue. Bora iii the parish of Gleenshee, Scotland, he, by hit own efforts, gecured a faiily Jib u i»l education, and chose the profession cf schocltooAUr. He Fccurcd the appo'ntrawil of master of tbe Free Church School at Uiquhars., Kljiiriahire, near th« place of hifc birth, Mid, i'- m*j ?>c sneubiunf d, had under hi-o, training KB a pupil teacher, the late Mr Taylor, o>r oldest • ohool iiiHpe^tor. To meet, the wants of a rapidly increasing population, the Provmo'al Oouu il appointed a conimnsiou in Scofcla-id to make selections, and one of the fi<ft bo nu.de was Mr Ayson, who>e testimonial* wore of a high order. He arrived with his wife aud family at Put Ch timer* ou the 26 h February 1856. He received an appointment as first traoher i>x th« Tokomairiro district, the school having he< n erect* d in the Government township of Fairfax Here he remained for some 10 jo vs, his educational efforts being very Buccmfu), many of h-e pupil* attaining tho high^t honours m tho O-agc-Boy*' and Girls' High S.h ol*. He liien r - signed to devote his ntfc-ntism to f*imi»g at War«p». and having given his family a start he applied for and who appointed head master of the school at Waihola Gorg**, where, aftar serving six years, he was transferred to Southbrdge. In 1883, finding the ii-flrnoifcies cf age gaining on him, he applied for a release, and on the let March of that jear he retired, receiving one year's leave of absence on full pay. As his appointment in SeotUnd was for life he oould have demanded better terms, but h« was apparently quite content. Mr Ayson gained m»peot> and esteem in each district iii which he was a teacher. He took a keen interest in all matter* relating to the Presbyterian Church, of which he w&a an elder. As a teacher he tok oare (h*t bis pupils were imbued with eound moral and religious principle*, for in the d»>s of provincialism th» Biblo wm in use in the schools of Ota&o. Tbe sad accident which a few year* ago bareft him of his wife was a great blow. For the oast few years he has resided with his son at Wyndham, wh«re two brothers eged 87 and 79 and a eister sg-d 85 reside. UK 'WILLIAM TATLOB. Mr William Taylor, th« oMw.t of the~sch^l ui*pf«torf in the service of the Otago B Jncation BowrH, died at baif-p&st 1 on B*turd»y, morning, after o very brief illnece, from heart di*e»6e. Lout week he had bet- n examining tchooln in the Tokomairiro district, and on Friday be inspected the Waihola Gorge School. H« pubsequfntly returned to town by the evening express in company with Inspector Goy«-n. On his arrival iv Dunlin he >.ppearod to be in g( od health and spirits, and taking a tramcftf be j r cpeded to Calton, in the NorthEast Valley, where he resided. Shortly after getting ont of the car, however, he was overtaken by 8n attack of pain and Felt so weak that he bad some difficulty in reaching home. While on his way to Waihok in the afternoon he was attacked in ft similar mftnner, but did not pay muoh att'-ution to his condition. On arriving home he h*d a light tea, ar.d alth< ugb he did not f eel very well he wrot« out bin r^\ ort of the in«pe< - tion of the Weihola Gorge School At 10 o'clock he went to bed, aud subsequently to >k very ill, but even then he evidont'y did not regard the state of bis health as serious. Ho. ho*ever, gradually grew worse, and at If ngth it was found necespary to tend for his medical advi«or (Dr Bitchclor), but he died about a qoatter of an hour bfor« the doctor reached his residence. The deceased was born at Urquhart — a district in luvemeHS - shire — where he was also educated, being a pupil of the l&te Mr Alexander Ayson, whose death took place a few days ago. While still a youDg man he occupied the position of a schoolmaster at Cromarty, one of his pupils boing the late Dr Hogh Macdonald, of Lyttelton. He arrived in the colony about 1865, and received an appointment from the Education Board of Otatto as teacher at the North-Ea»t Valley. In 1869 he, having a knowledge of music and being a proficient vooaliat, was appointed aa singing master for the Otago schools ; and later on, in the same year, ho had added to bis duties of singing master those of as»i*tantinspettor of schools in the Otogo di>fcrict He occupied the poflition of assistant inspector for about two years and font months, leaving the service of the board in April 1872 to engage in farmiDg and flax-dressing at Wbare Flab. In 1874, however, he gave up this occupation, and re-entered the board's service, taking charge of the newly-eßtnblii<hpd school at Keneington. Id September 1875 he wu reappoii ted as subjnspec'or of echoes, and under the Education Act of 1877 hit position was made equal to that of his fellpw-jn«peotor Mr Petrie, now of Ancfeland. Ever rinoe then he has oontinued to ActuOfi inspector for the board, Mr T*yloi

wns held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. He was of a genl&l disposition, and tho children whom he taught, and also those whom ho examirjed, had a kiudly feeding for him. Both as a teacher and an inspector he manifested great devotion, to his work, and by his death the board has lost a faithful and trustworthy servant. Mr Taj lor was at one time an enthusiastic volunteor, and up t« the time of bis death a k«>en rifle *hob. In 1868, when he was a sergrant of the old Scotch Rifles, originally oapt.»ined by Mr John Cargill, he won the Rifle Championship of thti colony at the colonial liflo gathering, and in 1874 he took part in a rifle contest in Victoria. The dewafcl leaves a wife and family of four young children to mourn their loss, and his death is ftlso deeply regretted by a large circle of friends. Tho funeral took pace on Monday afternoon, the cortige, whioh was a large one, leaving tho deceased's residence at Calton, North- Bat t Valley, at 3 o'clock for the place of inte< mint at the Northern Cemetery. All the I oily and suburban cchools were doped in the afternoon out of respect to the memory of the deceased, and most of the schoolmasters, as well as a number of the elder scholars, attended the funeral. The hearse wa« preceded by about 40 lads frcra the North-East Valley School bfarirg floral wreaths ; and among those preeeat at the funertl were— Dr Btenhouse ar.d Mr M. Cohen, representing tbe Education Board; IncprctofA Qojeu and Fitzgerald; Mr P. Q. Fnrde (secretary to the board), and the rest of toe board utaff. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. James Gibb. MB JOHN MUIR. Death has been somowhat busy of late ' aoQcne the Uesening band of the earlier settlors of Otago. We have to rcord the pusieg | aw»y of Mr John Muir, an early and inunh reBpec'ed settler on tbe 13tb. Mr Muir was a native cf Wigtonshire, and wae born iv 1828. When quite a youth he left for the parish of Colmonei, in tho south of A>rshire, where he married. In 1849 ho arrived in OUfcO with ai» wife and two young ohiWren by the ?hip Cornwall. Ho sor>n afterwards entered the service of the lato Mrs Sh*nd, of Green Ibland, »nd in the course of a »fcort time he Required fully 100 acres of freehold land alongside the S mtheru Main road, and contiguous to Mi's Shand's propmty. He and hi» wife l«boured on their farm with unsparing assiduity and industry, and considerable success attead<,-d their welldirected efforts. It 18 muoh to the ciedit of Mr *nd Mrs Muir, a* well as others of their fellow countrymen in the Green Island district, that nli hough the Jabonr of their children wxb most valuable and at tinaeß muoh needed at home, (hey were so determined to secure for them the benefits of school instruction that a number of the elder ones were *ont somewhat rpgulnrly to the East Taieri Public School, a distance of five miles, when an yet there was merely a rough rr»ck through flax, fern, aud ofttimea mud. Among those refe rred to were a bny and a g'rl of the Mnir family. Time hai proved that a number of the earlier sct(l«rs felt themselves compelled to labour beyond what their strength reasonably warranted, with the rfeult that, in not a few oases, bodily vigour failed them long before what mlsjht have be«n the oaee if they had more carefully conserred their energy. This h« undoubtedly been fch« result in rep ard to the nubj">-t of fchi* notioe. The large iucr^aee of the Otflgo population ronsc quent on the goldflelda dieoovery had so increased the value of land iv th« neighbourhood of Dunrdin that Mr Muir in IB6* i«folvt-d to sell bis Green Island properly and take up an area of land in th* Shag Valley, which had by t.h«t timo been opontd np for heitlomrut He was ».U the more induced to take this step from the fact of bis being anxious to h«ive a het.tr r opportunity of securing a sai-iffaotory settlement in life foe hia children. Ifc may b'-» mentioned that the Green Island property waa «nrveycd a3 a townehip, on which are now erected the uov. Pi'fmby terisin Ohnmh. the public school, and othc* buildings. On th«>ir la:id iv Shag Valley Mr and Mrs Muir, by th-ir wonted industry and skill, prospered greatly, and they enjoyed the happiness of wituesiing their sods and daughters scquittii'g thetnsf lvts in a highly exemplary manner, aod one by one getting patisf'i.c'Dr'ly settled in life After a resident c ot 19 or 20 years at Sn<vg Vallay, they found thomselveß in a pouitirn to r»+ire from active labour. Tboy look ap their resid«>nc*i In Dunediu. where the> h&vo bscn much rea-jee'ed by mstny new as well ivs old f rif-nds. For a,b< ut 15 mouths Mr Mnir'a hearth was gtadually on the decline, and after a trying and psiuful illness, which he bore with meoh Cbri-tian patience, he pwsed aw*y peacefully and quietly. Mrs Muir snffcred from protracted iUness for fully 18 month*, which *fco also bare with wonderful pfttsitnwe and fortitude. She pa« Bed aw*y on th« 2nd d the present nu'iifch, only about 11 days before her husband. Tbe flliftl attention and kjndueefl of all the family towards thrir pareDiw during their Umgcontmued illne*9 was very marked, and vary gratifying to all who witneesed it. The aged couple leave four sons and two daughters. They -ire all marripd, and are engaged in farming pursuits. Tuerti are 40 grandobildren and two great-grandchildren. „1

News has been received of the death in West Australia of John, eon of Mr James Trueidale, furmer, BUtik-nui. He went to West Australia about 15 months ago.