OTAGO EARLY SETTLEBS' ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 34

OTAGO EARLY SETTLEBS' ASSOCIATION.

'•A committee meeting, held m the registered office of the association on Monday evening, and was attended by Mr John Reid (in the chair), Messrs Duke, Martin, Pxoudfoot (treasurer), Langlands (secretary), and Dr Fulton. •The piano, the first manufactured in New Zealand, go generously presented by Messrs | Charles Begg and Co. (Limited), and the pipe ; organ, previously presented by Mrs A. ft. i Atkinson, Oamaru, will be placed for the use I of qualified members in the gallery of the new I hall, -which will have a clear space of 37ft by 70ft, and,, besides other uses, it is hoped will load to the formation of a choir. The votes of thanks so cordially passed at the reunion | on the 2ith November to Messrs Charles Begg ! and Co. for the presentation of the piano, to |. Mr Alexander Bathgate for his interesting coaching reminiscences, and to Mr Maitland ; Ggrd'ner and his "talented Madrigal Company for their thoroughly appreciated and tasteful musical selections were unanimously endorsed by the ocmmittee and minuted. ' Votes of thanks were passed to Mrs Eobert Campbell, St. Glair,, for the portrait of her late husband intended for, the art gallery of the ! Early Settlers' Museum; to Mr Campbell for biography written by himself, a really valuable addition to thffi collection; and to Mr Donald JReid, Salisbury, for the photo of an unmistakable .old identity building, still standing, erected in 1851 by two worthy pioneers, Messrs Allan and John Boyd, who .arrived by the Mooltan in 1849. John has passed away, but Allan and bis son Hugh are represented in fiont of the building. The Secretary reported that the celebration of tthe jubilee of the arrival in 1854 of the/ ships ' Thetis, Dolphin, " Ashniore. and Pudsey Dawson was held, in the Garrison Ball on the 24th November, and, as a full' report has already been published, it is only necessary to say it was carried out with the U3ual success attending those meetings, members always taking pleasure, in meeting each other in an informal way, the intervals for conversation being muoh enjoyed. As the ships named brought very "few passengers, there 'was," only a limited number of survivors present. The Thetis was represented by Mrs Rosetta, Downe3 ( noe Elmer), Mr William Churchill, and Mr Fred B. H. Hainer, all of Dunedin; the Dolphin by Mr Jo&eph Bame3 Borton CDunedin); and the Pudsey Dawson by Mr John Reid, all having members of their families with them. The tables were, as ustiail, provided for by the ladies, who deserve great credit for the quantity and quality of the viands supplied, and much of the success of these meetings is dius to the ladies taking charge of this department in such a way that leaves nothing to be desired, and the highest commendation is dtie to a certain number who attend at the hall in the afternoon to receive baskets and fix things up, in the evening making arrangements for serving by dividing the hall into sections, so that none are overlooked by the willing assistants. As over 600 weie present, some idea, may be formed of the task so capably and thoroughly carried out. Here : it may be mentioned that 40 dozen, cups and saucers, with milk jug 3; sugar basin 3, and plates to correspond, were in use, and carried in trays all over the hall — total breakage, one saucer — thus keeping up the record of all these meetings. This reunion being 'held in the Garrison Hall was a good test to indicate the necessary size of a hall for holding social meetings in, and the Garrison Hall just suited, being c&mfortably filled, with room to move about, and the seats were not too close. As noted on the cards of invitation, the committee was present to consider objections from some members who were disappointed at the proportions of the proposed hall, and considered} after the success of the carnival, one large enough, to hold social meetings in should have been provided. The president explained, that wifih the limited means at their disposal, and being disappointed in the grant of a. site, they had acted to the best of their judgment, and were perfectly satisfied with what they had done, but would be glad of practical suggestions from any who differed with them as to the carrying out of their wishes. None were forthcoming, and eventually a vote of thanks

to and confidence in the committee was proposed by Mr Thomas Walsh, a Philip Laing descendant, this being seconded by Mr Alexander Gilmour, Palmerston, put to the meeting, ?nd carried with acclamation, not one dissenting. The purchase of the Moray place site -was embodied in the report brought before 'members at the anmial meeting last May. and the report was unanimously passed with applause. The members of the Site Committee were also re-elected at that meeting with the exception of Mr Alexander Thomson, ■nho had passed away. It must be borne in mind that although the carnival was an immense success, for which all praise- must be given to the ladies taking part, and realised just on- £I2OO, that amount, with nearly £100 of association funds, would form a mere fractional part of the amount required to purchase a site and erect a hall of even mod«rate dimensions, let alone a social hall, which would require to be of the capacity of the G-ar-lison Hall, a-nd additional buildings for a museum, an office and strongroom, a country members' room, and a ladies' room, all of which, with the exception of the social hall, can be provided for in the proposed hall, with the addition of a gallery 37ft by 70ft clear. Social meetings are only held twice, or at most three times, a year, and tlie erection of a social hall is not a pressing question at present, as until the association is in a position to acquire one of its own a hall can always be obtained; but it is of the utmost importance that the valuable collection of books, records, and relics, most of which, in the event of a mishap, could never be replaced, should be safeguarded and permanently housed, and also -that paying rent for office should be done away with. These axe really matters of urgency, and all members should exert themselves to the utmost to provide a secure -receptacle for the collection, which is a very, valuable asset now, 'and will become more so a3 the yeaxs go on. It is always being added to, to say nothing of many things of 'interest which are held back untU the would-be -donors are satisfied they can be securely located. Unfortunately it is too evident many members have no idea of, or are indifferent to, the value of the collection. The secretary ■ had only a portion at the Fire Brigades' carnival, and tile room in which they were pieced, through want of space, was not in a -fitting position ; still all visitors took great interest in the exhibition, amongst others being the Right Hon. the Premier, who spent some time making a close inspection of the display, and expressed himself as being much interested, and, at the request of the secretary, promised the presentation of an Otago early history relic which is at his disposal, and further stated he would in future have much pleasure in adding to the collection if it was pointed out how he could do so. It was satisfactory to note that the receipts for the first six months of this financial year, from May 1 to October 31, exceeded those of the corresponding period last year by £27. The first picnic this season under ihe auspices of the association would take place at Milton, and the secretary was going south to arrange. Wingatui would follow, then Waikouaiti. The secretary regretted that though subscriptions were due and payable last May a large sum was still^outstanding. Eleven new members were elected. The following deaths were recorded: — Mrs Peter Bayne (Catherine Anderson), (84), TCokonga, Sir Edward Paget, 1856; Thomas Littlewort, Lower Mataura, 1855 ; John Mellor (85), Matakanui, 18G4; James Macadam Todd (70), Enfield, Mooltan, 1319 : Mrs E. Gunn (64), North-East Valley, Storm Cloud, I860; J. P. Young (71), Orepuki, 1859; Robe.-H; Campbell (91), St. Clair, Ajax, 1849; John ..Graham (87), Dunedin, Columbus, 1852; Robert Barnes Twelftree 778;, Berwick, Mariner, 1350 .