OBITUARY

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 27

OBITUARY

The late ~SIr John Or, who died in Sydney oil June 22, was born at Castlederg, County Tyrone, Ireland; hi 1843, was an old colonist, and was in business in Inver-oai-gill as far back as 1863 with Me Andrew Ore. He went to> Ash-burton* in. 1878. ', \ Th-e Glmstchurch- Eress reports the death 'of Captain Hugh. M'Eennan. one o£ the oldest shipping masters in New Zealand and i indeed' one of the pioneer masters of the j colony. He was one of the early eona- ; mand'ev3 of the sinali coasting vessels trad- : ing between New Zealand ports in the e-arly days. Captain. M'Lellan wa& born on May 12, 1836, at Ealabus, Isle of Islay, ►Scotland. He went to sea at the age of fourteen, and after voyaging about the world for som© years, he< eamo out to Nelson in January, 1859, as mat© of the brig Spray,. He left the vessel, and went to- try his fortunes, at the Nelson gold diggings, whero ha remained fox- about six months In July, 1859, he became master cf t,ho sailing vc??el r Fanny, and T-emauwl in her for over two years, trading on the coa&t. In 1861, the gold rush, to C4abn«rs Gully sod in, and the old steamer Mullogh wa« cent down to Port Chaimeis with a load ■sf intending' miner? Oaptam Jl'Lellan accompanied the Mullogh as mare. After thai ko becamo master of the sttiaraer Gazelle, and later he took charge, of the steamer ilaJd of the Yana. Captain ><M'Lellan was constantly running in the

coastal track in the above steamers from about 1862 to 1873. The deceased thon occupied the position of harbourmaster at Lyttelton for some 12 years, and he subsequently commanded the wooden twinscrew steamer Jane, the steamer Jane Douglas, and the steamer John Anderson. Captain M'Lellan. was a member of the Canterbury Masonic Lodge of Christchurch, and was a Deputy District Grand Master of the English Con-st'tution in Canterbury, lie leaves a widow and grown^-up family of five sons and three daughters. Tha Dunstan Times reports the death of Mr Thomas Sims r one of the pioneers in the goldfields districts. The deceased, who was 73 years of age, had been an inmate of the Benevolent Institution for some six months, but prior to that time, and indeed since early in the sixties, was a resident of Clyde. i Mr Joseph Hampton Davidson, who died at Waikaia on June 24, was an excellent type of the pioneer settler, and will be much missed throughout the district, being universally respected for his many excellent qualities. Mr Dovnlson was born at Fort George, Scotland, in the regiment of the 72nd Highlanders, and was brought, up in the old city of Breohin, Forfarshire. " He was married on the 4th July, 1849,. by the Bey. John Paul, and shortly afterwards emigrated with his wife to Sydney, landing there in the barque Lord Stanley on August 26 ]850. He remained in Australia, unhl the beginning of 1863, and took ps>rt in many of the gold rushes, when he sailed, for l>unedin in "the barque Salacia. On arriva her? he went to the Dunstan, and after mmmg 1 there for some time went to Switzers ana entered the employ of Mr Swanston, on the i Waikaia Plains Station, and lemained there until 18(59. when the Government threw open the Waikaia Flat on the deferred-payment system, fee afterwards pxirchased more land and an hotel at the crossing of the Dome Creek in 1874, where he remained until the time of* his death. He- took an active interest in every public matter that tended to the welfare of the district, and was a consistent and enthusiastic advocate of the Riversdale-Switzers railway. Mr Davidson, whose wife died 14 years ago, leaves +wo sons, lns> on'y rliushter having pip(iecen'"'ci li'na Our Roxburgh correspondent wires: — "An

oil resident of this place, Mr Peter George, passed away eaily on Sunday morning, aged 72 years. Mr George settled here at the time of the Dunstan rush, and has been engaged in mining."